netman9718

I'm about to buy a new Garmin. Couple questions. For those who have 520 is there any woulda, coulda or shoulda's? Example should have paid extra and got the 1000.
Im leaning towards the 520.
Another question. With most places selling for 299.00 would you buy from Garmin direct , local LBS or internet retailer. I'm asking due to the price being the same or close. Would a person be better off getting the unit direct from Garmin rather than something off the shelf?
Thanks

deapee

Can't help with the first part, but I'd try to support the LBS when I can. If they're $309 and internet is $299, either mention it casually or just outright ask. At the very least, they'll appreciate the fact that you asked even if their answer is to get it from the internet. Personally, if it were just $10 difference, I'd just mention it and if there wasn't anything he could do, I'd just mention that I'd rather support his business and get it from him anyway.

gregf83 

I have the 520 and it's perfect for 99% of the riding I do. It's OK, but not great, for navigation. Biggest problem I had with navigation was if you get off course it's hard to find your way back. When I got off course I ended up using my cellphone to see where I was. It's possible they've updated the firmware to allow zooming of the map but I didn't try too hard to figure it out.

Given I only need navigation a couple of times a year, it's not worth it to me to have a bigger unit all the time.

As far as where to buy, Garmin won't care or know when it comes time for service.

Marcus_Ti

They're two very different units.

A) Firstly one is touchscreen input whereas the other is not. As someone who used non-touchscreen Garmins like 305 and 705, back when touchscreen bike computers didn't exist...I personally never want to go back, especially when doing data entry. But some people dislike touchscreens on bike computers. E1Ks screen is nicer than the other touchscreen Garmins in terms of sensitivity and so on. Situations like hefty rain can sometimes cause erratic input, but I just lock the digitizer and no problem. One nice feature E1K has is auto-brightness/dimming based on ambient light.

B) Very different form factors....E1K is small-cellphone size. That can be nice or a huge turn off. Allows more data fields on a screen of the same text size.

C) Both are at very different points in their life cycle as products. E1K is nearly EOL, which means much more of the bugs have been worked out. 520 is still new. Garmin tends to use paying consumers as beta testers. Only at EOL do units tend to be stable and non-frustrating.

Both otherwise do much the same things with similar looks-they're running basically the same software GUI. Both do ConnectIQ which is nice, as consumer made monolithic data screens tend to be better. IMHO. Buy wherever you get it the cheapest. And be prepared to throw away the "premium heart rate monitor" of Garmin's, it is a serious unreliable POS. And if you are an iPhone user, don't expect cellphone pairing to work well for SMS and calls.


Have an E1K. I've had a love/hate relationship with it...with the final updates this spring it has gotten much less glitchy.

kkapdolee

I would say the differences are touchscreen, screen size, form factor and cost.

I had a 520 before and now use a 1000. I tend to mess around with which data fields I want for what kind of ride, set up multiple ride profiles, etc. and a touch screen is infinitely easier to do all that so to me, 1000 was very well worth the extra money for touchscreen alone.

The bigger screen is easier to see.

I prefer the overall shape of the 1000. 520 is smaller and fatter while 1000 is longer, larger, and slimmer.

I don't use navigation features much so can't comment on that.

Seattle Forrest

I looked at the 520 but the limits on mapping and navigation take it off the table for me.

Marcus_Ti

The other side of it is battery life. On its own, with bluetooth paired, HRM/cadence, and GPS only, and screen scrolling on, digitizer locked....An E1K will maybe last a century. Maybe. IME. Any longer and you need a USB lipstick battery charger.

The 520 should have considerably better battery life.

floridamtb

I'd support my local LBS. I know that I personally benefit significantly from my business with them. Free stuff here and there, expedited service when I need it, they'll order something for me and not make me come in and pay for it ahead of time, things like that. There are some things more valuable than saving a few bucks on so when I can I'll buy from them even if it costs me $10 more than online.

As for the other part, can't speak to that, I bought my Garmin 510 about 2 months before the 520 came out. I'm glad I did too, I like the touch screen better than the buttons on the 520. I didn't really look at the other series units.

netman9718

Thanks a bunch. The LBS has a couple 520's for 299.00. I cracked my rim a few days ago and took the rim to them. They jumped on getting me a new one. I called a few minutes ago to see if the wheel was ready and was told it was due in later today or tomorrow. They said if it comes in tomorrow they are going to hand me a new wheel today to get me through until the other is ready. That makes me ready to buy my Garmin from them.
I need to figure out which unit....

WalksOn2Wheels

As a general rule of thumb, ALWAYS buy from a local shop vs. buying direct from the manufacturer if the price is the same. Unless you're just super in love with the manufacturer and/or hate your local shop. Might as well help your local guy get a cut of the transaction.

I have the 510 and really like it. I would buy the 520 if I were in the market for a new one, but I have no desire for mapping/navigation outside following a course.

K.Katso

I have both. The 520 is 95% of the computer of the 1000, the only thing it lacks is the touchscreen really. The battery life on the 1000 lasts about 7 hours max. The 520 about 12. I've got an 8-hour ride planned for next week, and I'll be taking the 520.

FIVE ONE SIX

i would definitely agree that when a new Garmin hits the shelves, it's usually a hot mess as far as software bugs go. i don't know if i would necessarily say that the 1000 is at it's end of life, but it has been around long enough to get the majority of software bugs worked out. i have one friend with a 1000 and he loves it and i have another friend with a 520 that is not crazy about it, but the 2nd friend also had a 510 that years that still had a ton of software bugs a long time after it was released. me personally, i say go with the 1000 if price isn't an issue, and like others said try to get it from your LBS if it's close to the same price there...

i don't know how far or long you ride for, but if you think the battery is going to die just keep a "lipstick" charger in a plastic bag somewhere on you to charge it if you want. also, make sure you use the newer Garmin in-front mount that goes on the left side of your stem (which i'm 99% sure the 1000 comes with) because that one does not cover the charging port in the back of the 1000 like the ones that go on the right side do. and if you check youtube, you'll find a few videos that will give you some tips on what to turn down and/or shut off to get the most out of the battery on the 1000...

WalksOn2Wheels

This reminds me. If you find a shop where one or two of the employees regularly use Garmin stuff, go to them with questions. From what I have read online, Garmin support is generous with warranty claims but absolutely useless when troubleshooting some issues. I used to regularly set Garmins up for people and it's a lot quicker to explain things in person than it is to get odd answers on forums, etc. Riders in shops tend to put in good miles and will be more likely to know about specific problems.

And also I should say that while I generally love my Garmin 510, it HAS been buggy on some firmware updates. I don't expect that to improve with any device they make. There is an active Garmin forum and you can usually check in there to see if anyone is having major issues with the latest update. It's kind of like owning a smart phone. Sometimes you have to give it a month or two to make sure the bugs are fixed before you take the dive as well.

Drew Eckhardt 

I'd get a factory refurbished 800 for ~$170. It takes micro-SD cards so you can have maps covering your entire range, knows about the streets so you can have an arrow shaped like turns 500 feet before them, and has fewer bugs than the 810 - I crashed that in my first day, and lost data within a few.

dalava

The other difference between the 1000 and 520 is the ability to support Di2 gearing display which I don't believe 520 does. It may not be a big deal for some, but with the new Di2 9070 top button and Di2 D-Fly transmitter, this is actually quite useful.

PepeM

I think the 520 got Di2 and etap compatibility recently.

SpeshulEd 

I think this might be available with the 510/810/1000 as well. Not exactly sure, but thought I saw something on the last firmware update.

Seattle Forrest

Can you elaborate on your troubles with it?

The premium HRM is $40 on Amazon; HRM-RUN is $100, HRM-SWIM is $100, HRM-TRI is $130. My girlfriend needs an HRM for hiking and an elliptical machine, and the premium one seemed like the natural choice based on price.

Seattle Forrest

I pre-ordered my Fenix 3 from REI last February. Got it pretty quickly. Garmin didn't start fulfilling orders until their main distributors had sent out all their pre-orders. I'm sure they didn't want to make waves with their dealers. I didn't know it at the time, but I wanted the watch sooner than later, and not ordering it directly from Garmin served my interest.

thin_concrete

I ordered my Edge 1000 from Amazon only because my LBS didn't have any in stock, and they didn't know when they would. My preference would have been to support them though.

DrIsotope

The no-touchscreen of the 520 was a big selling point for me. I prefer physical buttons over a screen smudged with sweat and oil within the first 10 minutes of a ride.

I'm currently enjoying 15-16 hours of use per charge on my 520, I only plug it in to charge once a week. It does everything fast (powering up, syncing to GPS/sensors) and has been trouble free on every ride. If you haven't seen a 1000 in person, it's big. It's seriously smartphone sized. The estimated battery life on the 1000 was an automatic dealbreaker for me.

My LBS has the 520 for $299, just like everyone else thanks to Garmin's MAP policy. So as everyone else says, buy local.

Marcus_Ti

For lots of people the "Premium HRM" strap has been nothing but erratic since it was retail released years back. There are threads singing "praises" about the "premium" strap on RBR and BF.

Myself personally. Since I unboxed it day one, it spent less time reporting my heartrate and more time telling me I'm clinically deceased. Replaced battery, cleaned contacts (that weren't dirty), used gel, used water, put a non-synthetic cork overlay on top of it-as some people report flapping jerseys can mess with it.....never got a consistent signal out of it for more than 10-30 seconds. The predecessor to the "premium" strap which was a rubbery thing just worked, took a licking and kept on ticking.

If you're in the market for a strap the Polar ones are good (although some use a proprietary comms protocol), I use a 4iiii Viiiiva strap that works great....The great thing about the Viiiiva is that it is not just a strap. The Viiiiva is Bluetooth Smart as well as ANT+, so it can talk to anything that can make sense of HRM data. Not only that, the Viiiiva has an ANT+ reciever in it-so it can pair to ANT+ speed/cadence sensors and take HRM/speed/cadence and presto-chango all three into one Bluetooth Smart signal so ANT+ sensors can get data sent to a BT Smart phone.

Amazon.com : 4iiii Innovations V100 viiiiva Heart Rate Monitor V100 : Sports & Outdoors

So if, and/or when, phones can finally replace Garmin Edge computers, you can use your ANT+ sensors with your phone that completely lacks ANT+. Only downer about the Viiiiva is that it eats batteries quicker than non BT Smart HRM straps. With the Viiiiva app you can check battery life I should add.

DCRainmaker did a review of it when it came out:
4iiii?s Viiiiva ANT+ to Bluetooth Smart Bridge & Heart Rate Strap In-Depth Review | DC Rainmaker

SpeshulEd 

I'm on my second one, first one died after 2 years of use. The only issue I've had with either of them is the one time I didn't wet the connections before putting it on, and even then, it started reporting my heart rate after about 5 minutes on the bike.

I take the monitor off and wear the strap into the shower about once every two weeks. It gets washed in the washing machine about once a month.

GuitarBob

Does she really want a chest strap? I've been using a Scosche Rhythm+ on my forearm and it's been accurate and other have had good luck with Mio link on their wrist. They can sometimes be a little fiddly, but so can chest straps--but I think they are quite a bit more convenient. Just a thought.

Rolling15

I agree. The Scosche Rhythm + and the Edge 520 make a great combo.