The Garmin Edge relatives is very established at The pinnacle of your cycling GPS Laptop desk – and the sting five hundred took a placement as being the firm favourite for years. Occur 2013, an update eventually arrived – in the shape of the 510. The touch monitor performance on both equally the 510 and 810 did not impress, and The brand new development was later replaced by its big brother: the Garmin Edge 520.
I’ve been Driving using this design for just more than a year – while the tiny critter is packed with countless options that I’ve most likely not employed Each one.
Where by the Garmin Edge five hundred was revered for its very simple presentation of The essential metrics: velocity, distance, time, elevation – as well as energy and coronary heart amount with ideal screens – the 520 does every one of these and so way more.
Garmin Edge 520 display screen, buttons and mounts
The Garmin Edge 520 is light and compact, taking up little room on your handlebars
At Edge five hundred level, Garmin personal computers have constantly been known for providing a compact handlebar companion that’s huge more than enough for simple viewing, nevertheless sufficiently small that it doesn’t look like an all singing, all dancing ‘the way to experience a bike’ guide bouncing with your handlebars. The 520 iterations follows accommodate – measuring four.9cm wide, seven.3cm tall and 2.1cm deep.
The buttons are easy sufficient to barter without the need of shelling out any time looking through the Recommendations – a basic marker of accomplishment in my e book. ‘On/off’ and ‘scroll up/down’ about the still left, ‘Okay’ and ‘back’ on the ideal. ‘Lap’ and ‘quit/pause’ are together the bottom on the unit. This may current occasional problems when attempting to mount the Garmin to a shorter stem – say 90mm – Considering that the ‘pause’ button is often nudged by the top cap, nevertheless only really when fidgeting with buttons somewhere else.
Talking of mounts, the 520 comes along with a variety of compact plastic attachments that may be placed on the bike with two sturdy elastic bands, or you should purchase an out-front mount.
I’ve heard criticism of Garmin mounts not holding up perfectly in crashes – and it’s correct that my own Garmin 520 display is scuffed from the crash the place it did turn out to be dislodged from the bike, skidding throughout the gravel (as well as my lessen overall body). However, Garmin do supply a tether you could use to loop the mount and Garmin collectively.
Details Exhibit and transfer With all the Garmin Edge 520
Plenty of data screen options on the Garmin Edge 520
Progressing with the Garmin twenty/twenty five or certainly any standard cycling GPS Personal computer, and into the earth with the Garmin 520, people enter an entirely new landscape In relation to info Exhibit.
You could put in place many profiles – and select the journey metrics that you choose to’ll Show for each. You can even elect to apply a special colour scheme to each profile.
Set up individual profiles for different bikes and riding styles on the Garmin Edge 520
Garmin provides a big decision of knowledge readings. All the basic principles: distance, pace (in all its guises),coronary heart level, elevation (and perhaps normal quality), cadence, energy burned. Then there’s the many teaching metrics – percentage of your time expended in schooling zones, ability meter metrics such as TSS, normalised energy and the like.
In case you’ve obtained Garmin Vector pedals, you are able to see a bunch of personal readings for both still left and ideal leg, there are facts screens for Garmin Varia lights, connectivity to Di2 equipment methods implies you could look at battery level and equipment ratio.
Pair your Garmin Edge 520 with a smartphone for two way connectivity
Speaking of connectivity, It's also possible to hook your Garmin up for your Android or apple iphone – making it possible for cable totally free transfer of rides (indicating easy Examination of Strava initiatives arrive publish-experience-coffee) and If you prefer you can view calls and texts – at the very least in summary variety – from the handlebars. Useful In the event your lunch time journey has someway extended to the afternoon.
With regards to battery lifestyle, Garmin states 15 several hours – and I did come across While using the monitor brightness at a sensible degree, it would very last every week of excellent Driving effortlessly.
Strava segments around the Garmin Edge 520
Strava Live segments can be presented on your handlebars with the Garmin Edge 520
I’ll move away from the moral argument all-around Strava’s dominance of The straightforward satisfaction (or brutal self destruction) of cycling: if you wish to, it is possible to established your Garmin 520 up with the Strava profile.
You’ll get a warning any time a Strava section is approaching, and find out your progress – in addition to a more on screen notification in the event you’ve attained a PB, claimed a KOM/QOM or topped the chief board within your biking club.
Not surprisingly, there are a lot of Strava segments to choose from – so when you don’t want to spend your total journey examining your results towards the rest of the entire world, you could star crucial segments.
Even with resisting Strava’s dominance in the beginning (didn’t every one of us?), Garmin as well as the orange giants are Obviously batting for the same group now, and also your unit comes with a garminedge520.com two thirty day period trial period with Strava Top quality.
Measuring V02 Max and FTP around the Garmin Edge 520
New for your Garmin 520 is the ability to mechanically observe for V02 max and FTP – presented you’re using a coronary heart rate check and power meter.
The V02 max (the most volume of oxygen you could eat for every minute per kilogram of physique bodyweight) measurement can be an estimate – and it’s hard to assess its accuracy with no carrying out a complete on V02 exam. Having said that, the Garmin 520 did flash up with ‘New V02 max!’ soon after some more durable classes and I suppose although we will’t ensure the accuracy of the actual selection, Garmin is comparing apples with apples so it’s a helpful measure of Conditioning.
You'll be able to inform the Garmin 520 when you want to accomplish an FTP test – in reality, it's going to even supply on display screen Recommendations for how To accomplish this (heat up, ride for five minutes at zone 6, 10 minutes zone 2, 20 minutes check, amazing down) – and it will observe your FTP as time passes.
Plenty of training data feedback from the Garmin Edge 520 with V02 and FTP measured
After you’ve located your FTP and recorded your zones, it is possible to download coaching classes produced on Garmin Join and follow them on the display screen. And if you don’t have an influence meter, you are able to established your zones utilizing your max heart price, and operate from All those.
These capabilities have been likely my most underutilised – perhaps because of the somewhat unstructured strategy I’ve taken to schooling during the last twelve months. Having said that, if you are next a structured approach, they provide an outstanding Resource – getting the middle-guy from you finishing up a test independently, then storing it yourself coaching platform somewhere else and mentally implementing your zones to subsequent periods.
Restoration notifications are a little bitter sweet. Picture this: You’re lined up at Cyclopark in Kent, Along with the http://edition.cnn.com/search/?text=bike computer previous day’s race endeavours even now large as part of your legs. Since the commissaire barks Guidelines, your Garmin beeps out of your handlebars. A big crimson circle and the concept ‘Recovery: Very poor’. Yea, thanks mate.
Garmin’s 520 is intelligent more than enough to analyse your attempts, and evaluate the recovery needed for optimum efficiency – giving you a Restoration time in hours as you strike ‘cease’. If you subsequent change the unit on, it’ll let you already know if that recovery window is not completely finish.
In addition to instances where you really didn’t wish to be reminded of your respective very poor preparing, This is often unbelievably handy – providing a helpful reminder of when it’s time for you to back again off.
Mapping and navigation using the Garmin Edge 520
The main difference between the Garmin 520 and its huge brother, the Garmin 820, would be that the scaled-down brother of the two would not bundled in-depth maps and navigation. The 520 comes create having a ‘basemap’ – that is practically the epitome of lacking element.
Nonetheless, it is possible to download a route onto your Garmin, and receive ‘convert remaining’ / ‘change correct’ navigation alerts. The maps and navigation perform – but they’re never to precisely the same normal like a Garmin 810 – so if that’s imperative that you you then it would be value investing slightly even more.
Verdict
A handlebar friendly sized bike Personal computer that provides all the information and data you need. Fulfils all standard requirements, and also supplying some extremely clever coaching equipment - however not the best choice for your navigationally challenged.