Anyone have any info on when Garmin plans on updating the 500/800?

All i've seen is the article from January on Bike Radar which is purely speculative, But they think an update is coming this year.


https://www.bikeradar.com/news/articl...-to-see-33061/

I'm getting a warranty replacement for my 500 and the LBS offered me an upgrade to the 800 for $200.00. I want it mostly for the Virtual Partner feature. Trying to decide if I should go with the 800 now or wait and upgrade to the 900 later this year/whenever it drops. And not that I need either, I just think some of the extra features are really cool.

I've had an 800 for a year and a half, and I've never used the Virtual Training Partner.

I have a Forerunner, which has the training partner for running. I think I used it once, when doing 800m repeats

I only use my 800 for MTB rides up where I might get lost, or when I know I'll be in some unfamiliar territory in a different city (like on vacation). If you don't do those things often, I'd save the $200.

I really doubt you'll see any new higher end EDGE computers within the next 2 years, so I wouldn't hold out for that. IMO the 500/800 are here to stay for a while.

I hate using my training partner, he always catches me on the hills....

That's a good point. While they haven't been updated in 2 years, they don't really have any competitive reason to upgrade their units without any meaningful competition in the marketplace.

You are aware that the 500 has the Virtual Partner feature as well, yes?

oh snap, and no he was not, nor did I -

I don't use it on the 500 either.

Of course, Garmin's being sued by Icon Health so who knows how that will affect their long term prospects. hopefully not, I hate these predatory suers.

Pretty content with my 800. Would't mind a longer battery life on the current one. The read on the next version was interesting though. Thanks for sharing.

+1

+1 Yeah I never use the Virtual Partner either. Not that I'll never ever start using it. :-)

I use it all the time. I have 4 regular courses that I do, of varying length and elevations, that I run through, each once a week.

I compete against my prior week's time with the VP feature... and I usually win (so far). It's been immensely helpful in getting faster (and generally better) on the bike.

With a 500 you can use the virtual partner feature for mapping a course.
You can also save your current course and follow it to find you way home (or out of a river bed when you take a wrong turn on the trails).

^This too. The Edge has a ton of great features beyond just recording metrics like speed, hr, cadence & elevation.

I'm actually kind of surprised that more people don't utilize them.

I wasn't aware of this. I'm out of town and away from my bike right now but tell me if this is correct:

I should be able to ride against myself on previous rides that I've saved as courses on garmin connect and +/- a % of the average speed?

I used the Virtual Partner feature on my 800 once but the wind was from a different direction and it was basically worthless. I sure wouldn't buy one for that feature. I think you are far overestimating the value of that feature.

If the VP pulled, it would be worth it

Didn't know Garmin was being sued, but maybe this is Timex's window of opportunity to leap into the market. It has been brought up that only a few select retailers are selling the Timex stuff, and you can't even find info about their new cycling 'puters on timex.com.

Yes.

Well, I may be overstating the value of that feature based on your opinion, but I'm certainly not overestimating it as you say...

I use it regularly and therefore don't have to estimate anything. I know empirically what it does and how valuable it is to me.

Garmin is notoriously bad with their software updates. Many people complain about issues lasting years and no resolutions, no comments from garmin and when releases are made they are inconsistent.

My experience has been that I've been hit by a few bugs like the auto adjusting issue (would get the tire size wrong) on the 305, ending courses early (305), crashing on courses (705) and a few other random ones. At this point my 705 seems to be fairly stable but the calorie count is still darn near useless, which was commented on from the start of the 305 and the impression given by garmin was that the 705 would resolve (which it did now). The 800 (and the 500) finally improved on calorie usage calculations but many people report it to have potential errors, clearing the devices seems to work.

Courses and virtual partner stories are all over the place from people who have no issues (VP always worked for me and I ride with groups vs courses).

200 bucks to upgrade.. It costs about 350 from some places head unit only. If you want the graphical interface and the mapping, sure, go for it. Use open cycle maps to get a free map set though, no reason to pay for that stuff. I've gotten myself lost before and found the maps to be useful

ok i've got the VP pulled up on my unit now, but i'm not seeing the ability to increase or decrease the speed from the previous ride. Am I just missing that somewhere?

Gotta make my decision on the upgrade tomorrow AM.

You can't do it on the unit itself, but it's still super-simple.

Upload the course to your Garmin Connect account then select the course and click on the edit button (pencil icon) in the top right corner.

On the right-hand side of the screen, you'll see a panel that includes a field labeled "Speed".

Type in your desired increase, hit return and then click the "Save" button at the top of the screen.

Next, with your Edge still plugged in, click on the button "Send To Device".

That's it. The next time you ride that course, you'll be riding against the VP at your new speed.

thanks man!

you'll just have to show me...