Garmin Edge 540
 

I’m curious what has been your experience if you used the garmin edge 540. I’d use it for planned routes, reading sensor data, and structured workouts.

i like wahoo, but the new ones have low visible screens in overcast conditions

I just switched from a 520 to a 540. I love the display on the 540 but, overall, it's kind of driving me nuts. The factory setup seems to have every stupid feature enabled, so the 540 is constantly beeping at you until you disable a dozen features. The last ride was particularly frustrating, as it automatically started downloading an update for some accessory just as I was about to start riding. I had to wait 5 minutes for it to finish, because I didn't want to risk bricking something by interrupting an update.

If you are going to do anything more than just let it record your ride data, then get a Edge that has touch screen.

With my Edge 500 that I'd had for 10 years, push button control was fine. It didn't have a lot of features that I wanted to get to once I started my ride. Thinking buttons were great and touch screens had issues I got a Edge 530. I soon found out that when riding, all those extra features I wanted to get to while riding were too much trouble to drill down the menus with buttons. So many go unused during the ride.

My son got a 1030plus to replace his Edge 820 at the same time as I got my 530. Garmin seems to have resolved most all the the touch screen issues of the early Edge models with touch screen. He can very easily get to all those features that I'd like to get to while riding. Touch screen makes the interface much easier and faster than buttons to get to the feature desired.

Plan and review your routes on RideWithGPS, Strava, Garmin Connect or other site that lets you plan cycling routes and easily sends them to your device with just a click of the mouse. Same for workouts.

is the touch screen problematic during rain, can't you do things like maping route and structured workouts in ride with gps and garmin connect, and import it to the 540? I thought touch screen is usualy necessary when you are going to a place withoout a phone, my routes are pre planned ? YOu still think i need touch screen ?

After owning a 1040 Edge for a week, I decided that I would never again buy a computer without a touchscreen.

My son's 1030plus wasn't a problem in the rain. And even if it was a issue, I'd rather put up with a few problems in the rain. Then the majority of my riding in dry weather I'll have easy access to the features I'd like to use.

One doesn't plan routes and workouts while actually riding. And since I don't, I don't really care if I can plan them at all on any Edge device. It's all too easy to use a PC, MacBook or smartphone and just send them to the Edge. I use RWGPS and all I have to do is what they call, "pin" it. And it automagically shows up on my Edge soon after.

Buttons make doing anything with the map on the device more cumbersome. Panning and zooming in and out are just too painful. Especially when on the bike riding. Swiping with one or two fingers is easy to move and zoom the map.

That's what I said in my previous post. You can do that for most any Garmin GPS sporting/fitness device. Planning is more limited on the device, and screen size is a issue. I don't plan anything on my Garmin devices. So the few nerds :p that like to do planning on the device will know more about it than I.

On the Edge while riding it's easy to follow saved workouts and routes. However if you want to start up one of those while riding. Buttons might have you stopping your bike. Though for most anytime you are going to do a route or workout, typically one would just start that immediately before they start their ride. But there have been some times I wanted to start a route after I started my ride. And I do so dislike stopping.

I really don't know what you mean by this. Touch screen or buttons, both types will work with and without a phone. A smart phone with the Garmin App and cell service is needed for a lot of the special features you might want to use on any Edge or other Garmin fitness/sporting device.

But they all will work without a smartphone or cell service. Just that some of the niffty features such as text and phone calls. Live tracking of your location and live tracking of friends that might be out on the route with you knowingly or unknowingly won't be available.

I have had an Edge 540 for about a year, it is my first Garmin computer. Some things like configuring data screens can be done using the phone app. I would definitely appreciate a bigger screen, but that means Edge 1040 and I was not ready to pay that much.
Edge 540 has 16GB of internal storage, that is enough for Alaska/Canada, US and Central America maps. If you need other regions you will need to replace some of the maps, this can be done using the Garmin Express program. Edge 840 and 1040 have 32GB and can fit more maps at the same time.

what functions do you use on the computer? I.e structured workouts, navigation, sensor data, and has it been reliable and smooth operations?

Mostly sensor data, some navigation. I tried creating a power guide for a given route, but have not used it for a workout. No problem with what I use it for.

Sometimes the climb pro feature shows climbs incorrectly, I think it is related to the inaccurate maps - for example, some climbs on the North/South County trailways are a bit off. It is a rail trail with no car traffic, some elevation profile inaccuracies are to be expected.

... another good thing about Garmin is its Connect IQ store. It has some apps which let you customize the display of the data - for example, each of the two datafields on the climb screen can be replaced with four datafields - for example, heart rate/3s power/cadence/speed.

I heard with garmin when you are using navigation, it takes you away from the data screen to map screen, is this true? What do you have to do to get back to map screen?
also sometimes it gets or restarts for updates as you are using it .. can it be configured not to do that ?

Earlier this year I'd been reading stuff here about Garmin's Edge devices, so I bought an 840.

Been riding with it now for a couple months, spent time with it (and the manual) fairly often since it arrived, trying to wrap my head around exactly how I can use it to further my knowledge of what's going on when I ride either of my two road bikes.

Compared to my iPhone, the 840 remains a frustratingly opaque contraption. Seven (!!) external buttons, along with its touchscreen capability, invariably leads me in circles whenever I try to bring up something I want to monitor or review. And the screen is kinda small but I can understand why Garmin felt anything much larger might not get much traction in the marketplace.

Maybe I need a mentor....

Maybe you should have gone with Wahoo?

I bought a 540 to supplement my touch-screen 830, which is not ideal for winter riding with gloves on (sometimes more than one pair). I also find a touch screen to be less than ideal with my warm sweat dropping onto it.
The 540 is okay, no regrets. So many buttons (7, v. 3 on the 830) that it can be tricky to do something like handling it to remove the unit from its mount without turning it off (such as when I am going inside for a bit and don't want to end the ride yet or leave the unit in place where it might attract a thief).

********
The Garmin will take you to a map for an upcoming turn cue during Navigation, true. But it gives you an easy on-screen option to return to the previous screen.
Haven't had any update issues. Maybe because my Garmins are not synced to my iPhone, dunno.

Screen size is battery driven. They want these devices to display for a longer period than you get with a phone and they deliver on that. As well, they try to please the folks who don’t want a device as large as a phone on the bar, so smaller size is a factor in sales. And you dont have to use the buttons, except power and track start. On the 840/1040/1050 you can pretty much just use the touchscreen.

I usually stay at the map screen when I have to use navigation. Otherwise one can cycle between the screens (one can define multiple data, map, compass or other screens using the Garmin Connect smartphone app) using the two buttons on the left side. This also applies to the ClimbPro feature which is enabled by default and switches to a special screen (map + elevation profile) at the beginning of the climb - one can go back to the other data screen using the buttons on the left.
I did not have a problem with updates in the middle of the ride. Once it tried to send an update to the radar (RVR315), probably using wifi at home, but I just took off and the update was installed later. I think for the Edge 540 itself to get an update it would need a WiFi connection or some Bluetooth connection to a smartphone.

Thread moved from General to Electronics.

I can understand the design rationale you make mention of, and how it would appeal to a larger target market.

I'll take your word on the "...just use the touchscreen." part, motivates me to study up
in their user manual more assiduously over listing it here among the 'for sale' items.

Thanks for your post BTW!

I see a lot of negative comments about how difficult the Garmin OS is to get thru, but as a long time user, I find it’s just different then other devices and once you learn where stuff is located, it’s not hard to make adjustments as needed. Typically once you get it set up you just leave stuff alone. I only occasionally use navigation and for the every day stuff like starting a ride, looking for past ride data, etc….. it’s easy to find and use.

Put me in the "buttons aren't bad" camp. OK, using my Garmin 530 is a little fiddly. But in rain or heat and humidity, the 530 has never had sweat fall on the screen and re-map the screen like my 1030 did last week. I like the larger screen of the 1030, but a drop of sweat while using it triggers "is the screen locked or not?" anxiety. And you think using buttons on the 530 is intolerably fiddly? Try some fancy stuff like adding a new sensor while the screen is locked on the 1030.

Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks.

When I used a Hammerheads Karoo 2 it had a set of buttons that essentially replicated functions of the touch screen. I never, ever used those buttons, except as with the Garmin’s, to power on/off or start/stop a track recording. As well, screen locked out is a simple short press of the power button to unlock.

Now that I can agree with! Different it certainly is, in a manner different from how Apple expects their customers to 'think different'. As with any tool worth using, it takes some time to learn how to use not only properly but also well.

From what all I've read it's apparently a remarkably sophisticated device in such a small package, so its 'learning curve' is prolly steeper than I'd expected. I hardly ever use it for navigation or for that matter starting a ride.

I'm looking for it to display little more than speed, cadence (from the 4iiii crank on my NDS), HRM #'s, what the Varia in back is trying to tell me, and not shut off after a couple of minutes into a ride. Maybe grade % if it can do everything else on the same screen? If not, then HRM and speed from Strava on my iPhone. I'll stick with it....

That’s a bit of an exaggeration don’t you think. I have been using Garmin touch screen bycycle computers since the 800 probably over a decade ago. I have never seen these extreme situations during a rain storm much less a drop of sweat. Also, how often do you add new sensors mid ride?

I don’t add new sensors, but I do on occasion need to get into sensors to activate stuff that fails to auto connect. It’s a simple process and I can do it in the touchscreen while riding along.

As well, I use an out front mount and never get sweat on the screen and pretty much never really ride in the rain so on.y maybe once had the screen get winky from wet drops.