BayAreaUser

Care to share that code?
I'm ready to purchase that Unit =)

Nevermind: I found the code. Thanks =)

Just to make sure, is there another difference between the blue and black unit, other than the color?
Thanks =)

SVThis

I've had mine since March. No issues. Best purchase so far. Highly suggest getting one.

chasmm

I've had a Garmin Edge 500 since March, and have been really happy with it. That said, the unit is not without bugs, and Garmin's firmware updates have addressed some, and appear to have caused others.

When I got my Garmin, the lap/course functionality was spotty. Using it would often cause the unit to hang. Garmin released a firmware update that pretty much addressed that, but there still appears to be an issue with courses that have a large number of miles and/or checkpoints.

Another past problem was that of "losing" data. The unit would simply lose ride info. That problem seems to have been corrected with the most recent firmware update.

The issue introduced by the most recent firmware update has to do with how the Garmin determines speed and distance. If you only have the unit and not the speed/cadence sensor, it's pretty straightforward...it uses GPS and GPS only.

If you have the unit AND the speed/cadence sensor, then according to Garmin speed and distance should be determined using the speed/cadence sensor (revolutions * wheel size, which can either be entered manually or calculated by the GPS). With the speed/cadence sensor, the only time GPS should be used to determine speed and/or distance is if there is a problem with the signal from the sensor (which can occur if the sensor gets bumped out of position, batttery dies, etc). However, anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that GPS is being using as the first method EVEN with the speed/cadence sensor. Users on the Garmin forum have reported getting no distance readings when out of GPS signal, for instance in a tunnel or parking garage. Others have reported speed spikes when riding in heavily treed areas. I've experienced the speed spikes myself, and they do correspond to areas of my ride where I have poor GPS coverage due to buildings/trees/overpasses/etc.

This logic "bug" was also introduced in the 705 series with their last firmware update and it caused such an uproar that Garmin pulled the update and recommended that users roll back to the previous update to correct the GPS/sensor issue. There's been no admission of the problem in the 500 series, but again, it's been reported pretty widely in the Garmin support forums. FWIW the users of the new Edge 800 have also reported the same issue.

Not trying to be negative here, but it's important to understand that you're buying a fairly sophisticated piece of equipment that is more and more like a small computing device rather than a simple speedometer. Garmin has been pretty good about trying to address the issues.

As I said at the beginning of my post...I'm pretty satisfied with my 500...and will probably upgrade to the 800 at some point. I've recommended the 500 to several other riders, and will continue to do so...while telling them about my concerns.

If you want to get more of the story...check out the Garmin Edge 500 forum at Garmin Forums: Edge 500

icyclist 

Flash - do you still beat your spouse? (Had mine since January - no issues.)

jgjulio

Had mine since August. No problems. Works great!

Jasper Storm

Bought mine in February with HR+cadence and use it with a Powertap.

I lost one ride file fairly early on, haven't lost any others. I had a recent ride where the time/date were way off. I manually corrected it, but my elasped time for the 60 mile ride is now shown as around 136 hours.

milliron

I just used the course feature for the first time yesterday.

Generated a route from my parent's place on bikeroutetoaster.com and uploaded it to my Garmin 500. The "map" feature on the 500 seemed a little buggy. It would bounce around a lot and just generally didn't seem useful. So, I switched to just showing my Power, Cadence and HR. Relied on turn/course warnings (left, right, straight, off course, back on course) that would pop up. That worked perfectly for navigation on my ride.

Though, on bikeroutetoaster, I had turn warnings set to 200 ft. I think that's what prompts the turn warnings on the 500? Seemed a little close when you're rolling at 20 something MPH.

colinmcnamara

@milliron you are correct, on the 500 when using a route the warnings and turn indications are a function of the tcx file sent from bike route toaster. Also, you can change the warning distance to something a bit more appropriate for your cruising speed. I put mine to 600 feet and it works fine MOST of the time. The only time it doesn't work as well is when the route zig zags through some tight streets.

kissTheApex

Is there a way to get the turn/course warnings on if you use ridewithgps instead of bikeroutetoaster? I don't like the interface on bikeroutetoaster.

purdyd

i gave up on the warnings from bike route toaster as they just go too confusing when you make quick turns



instead i rely on the 'route sheet' display since it gives you a distance to the next turn you just keep your eye on it when things are confusing



the map display works fine when you are just starting out but can take forever to update when you are 80+ miles into a ride - they did add a feature in the last software where you can control the scale which was a step forward



one nice feature of bike route toaster is you can edit the cue sheet to display the turn icon along with the street name - by default you just get the icon and left or right



here is an example - answer no when it asks if you want to stop running the script - an endearing 'feature' of bikeroutetoaster



https://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Cour...?course=192879



ridewithgps produces a better map (especially with bike paths involved) but the cue sheet feature is not as good as bikeroutetoaster



i have even entered in things with ridewithgps and imported into bikeroutetoaster just to create a better cue sheet

guadzilla

So, just a couple of days after the glowing testimonial, I had the speed spike happen today.

It was working fine, I stopped for a rest and when I re-started, it went haywire. Happened a few times. And yeah, I have the speed/cadence sensor attached. As a result, I found myself cycling at 30kph while grinding out my 39/26 up an 8% slope... meh.

The gradient also went for a toss. At one time, I was coasting up a 3% incline, if the head unit was to be believed. Another time, I was struggling to keep the bike moving in 39/26 on what the head unit said was a 2% slope.

V.

johnileo61

I've had a 205, a 305 and now a 500. Been using the 500 since March and up until about a month ago, all was well. I use the unit with the cadence sensor and firmware version 4.2, FYI. There are virtually no trees or other impediments to the GPS signal here in southeast Florida so signal issues are few and far between as far as the GPS is cconcerned. About a month ago, the unit began to pausse and then "auto-resume" on its own while in motion. I have it set to pause while stopped and the wheel size sensor set to "auto". After pausing and then resuming, the speed would ramp up ridiculously fast and read 4 - 5 mph faster than what I was riding. Additionally, the mileage on routes I've done hundreds of times would now change. In essence, the unit was resizing the wheel and giving a faster speed and further distance than normal.

I called Garmin and was asked to reset the unit and re-enter my data... Not a big deal so I went ahead and reset the 500. No good. The issue worsened and was now pausing and auto-resuming upwards of once per mile. Crazy. So they replaced the 500 with another one and I've been using that one with no issue... until today. It began to pause and auto resume on a 20 mile ride and added 2/10 of a mile to the total ride distance. When I looked at the wheel size setting it was still set to "auto" and the wheel size option had "2042mm" entered in the box to the right.

While the 500 was being replaced, I used my daughter's 305 with the latest firmware upgrades and had no issues... I'm thinking of upgrading to the 800, but if it has the same problems as the 500, then...

Could this be an issue with the cadence sensor? If so, then why doesn't it seem to effect the 305?? Lots of cyclists in the two clubs I ride with use 305's, 705's, 500's and there are two 800's I saw but I seem to be the only one with this issue now... twice. Thoughts??

thirdgenbird

i just ordered one. hopefully all goes well...

ericm979

Don't use the auto wheel size feature. It can cause the symptoms you are seeing. Specify a size for each bike.

Herbie53

My magnet fell off mid ride yesterday. I was still getting speed, but it seemed to be slow (by about half). Does the default pick up speed signals from both the P-tap and the wheel sensor?

I think I would rather have it just use one or the other or GPS. I really don't care about instantaneous speed.

chasmm

If anyone is looking for a 500, I just noticed that Nashbar has the Garmin Argyle version (blue/orange) premium bundle for $250 (normally over $400). This includes the HRM and the speed/cadence sensor.

The downside is you have to have a blue/orange computer on your bike...

thirdgenbird

Tatedefence has the grey bundle for $250 and free shipping.

NoRacer

I've had only one problem--with courses over about 50 miles, when you switch screens, it can't get past the breadcrumb route without shutting off the unit.

Workaround: I cut long rides (usually centuries) into four segments (usually at the schedule rest stops). It worked flawlessly when doing this.

thirdgenbird

ok, it was $250... they had two listings side by side with a diferent price. i bought it at $250 and it was promptly removed. maybe it was a mistake... my paypal went through and i got an invoice though.