Originally Posted by greatscott

Why did you like the Oregon one? Does it do point to point and address to address navigation with turn by turn directions?

When I said lots of people, I mentioned earlier that I tour, so I have opportunity to see people using those things, and some that had used them but will no longer use them. Some of those that used them claimed they were on their second or third Garmin and that they didn't last long but they didn't care if they had to replace them, like some of you here eluded to, but those people also had high incomes so money was no object. The people more like me who had them at one time only to have a unit break went to their phones and maps instead of buying a new Garmin and chance it not lasting long. I ran into a couple of people that used the Etrex and they really liked it. So I may go that route, but would like to hear your thoughts on that vs the Oregon in more detail if you don't mind.

Apparently the Oregon is made by Garmin, I thought they were different companies!, but I am interested in the Oregon due to it's touchscreen; see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJmWsdTCoMU

Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest

​​​​​​It's mainly the touch screen I liked about the Oregon. It's such an intuitive and easy way to deal with maps. Buttons are just really frustrating in comparison. Also it has this 3D view, it looks like a video game, but it's an easy way to see where the hills are around you when trees block your view. I've used it on the bike, but never for address navigation.

I've never had to do this myself but I know Garmin will replace stuff very cheap after the warranty goes out. I looked it up when I sold a watch, it was 1/10 the price.

There's a site and forum called BackpackingLight. You can read without a membership. Touring on a bike imposed a lot of special needs, but those folks have a great deal of knowledge and you might find some useful info there too.

Originally Posted by tunavic

I thought the discussion was about Garmin GPS units?

There are still many using the Garmin Edge 500, Edge 800 and Edge 810 (including me) who are satisfied with them.

Originally Posted by greatscott

When you say Garmin will replace stuff, if I buy a Garmin computer and the warranty has been expired for say 5 years, they will sell me a new one for about a 1/10th of the price of a new one?

Originally Posted by tunavic

It depends on the unit and how old it is.

For example, a Garmin Edge 810 (new in 2013) was replaced in 2018 with a refurbished unit (they called it refurbished but I believe it was new) for $50

Originally Posted by greatscott

Interesting, I assume in order to get a deal like that you have to have an older unit which you need to send back to get the deal? Or can anyone just go to Garmin and buy a refurbished unit and get the same deal?

Originally Posted by greatscott

When you say Garmin will replace stuff, if I buy a Garmin computer and the warranty has been expired for say 5 years, they will sell me a new one for about a 1/10th of the price of a new one?

Originally Posted by tunavic

You have to send the old unit back before they'll send out the replacement.

Originally Posted by puma1552

Have not had a cycling computer before, but would like to get one this year. Am looking at the usual suspects: Garmin 520, 520 Plus, and Wahoo Elemnt Bolt.


Here's where I'm at, maybe a bit odd as an old millenial:


-I do not ride with ANY app or use any ride service like Strava, Ridewithgps, Travelroad or whatever it is and hate syncing anything with anything; I get so tired of society trying to force me to integrate every aspect of my life and it's just more hassle to manage and makes my life more complicated, not simpler. I basically want a device that is self-contained and doesn't penetrate other areas of my life.

-I do not ride with speed/cadence/HR sensors, and think if I get to that point then I'll enjoy riding less because it will feel like more of a chore/job, when I'm just a recreational rider who would like to just look at basics (not even track, really) just for fun.

-In fact, I don't even - as of yet - bring my phone with me on a ride.

-I don't care about maps, I pretty much know where I'm going and am not going off on mystical journeys on my rides.


That said, there are only a couple things I really care about:


-Being able to flip through and look at metrics of my ride on the device itself after my ride, and then just delete them from the device itself; basically I need it to save all the ride metrics to the device for just a little bit, and then allow me to delete

-With one exception, that being I want the device to keep a lifetime running odometer total


Otherwise, the total feature set I'm looking for is:


-Current speed

-Max speed for a given ride

-Average speed for a given ride


-Distance traveled for a given ride

-Lifetime odometer miles


-Ride time for a given ride

-Time of day


-Total climbing elevation for a given ride (net elevation less important since it should always be 0 since I start and end in the same place)


-Color screen would be nice, but not necessary I guess


I think the Edge 520 does all this. I know from a lifetime of being alive that Garmin makes a lot of straight up junk. Google (and Wahoo converts) seems to confirm this is still the case. So I started looking at the Elemnt Bolt. Looks like it's a flat-out better product, with one glaring error - it doesn't have a lifetime odometer feature, you have to upload all your rides and add them up or whatever. I can live with the monochrome screen I guess. Setting it up with my phone is sort of a drag, but not the end of the world if it's a one and done setup.


Basically, neither are perfect, but an Apple watch isn't the solution either.


So do you buy the supposedly higher quality product with a couple glaring feature omissions for more money, or do you buy the less regarded product with all the features for less money? Should I be looking at something else in the $250 or under bracket? Garmin 520 Edge can be had for as low as $190, but the Elemnt Bolt is going to be the full-tilt $250. Probably don't really need the 520 Plus.