garmin edge 500

mick121

Thinking about getting one.whats the pros and con's. All feedback much appreciated. Seems ok and can be got new for 205 euro.have a feeling speed sensor wont work on turbo trainer as its calculated by GPS.

carltonleon

I got one about 5 months ago and i love it. Really simple to configure and use and along with the HRM it it does all I need it to. And the speed sensor does work on a turbo trainer as I use it on mine all the time, just turn the GPS off in the house.

Smokeyskelton

I assume you are getting the Edge 500 with the speed/cadence sensor and HRM, if so it should be fine on the stationary trainer.

If it is the basic Edge 500 without the performance bundle, you probably can't use it indoors (as far as I know).

mick121

Smokeyskelton wrote: »

I assume you are getting the Edge 500 with the speed/cadence sensor and HRM, if so it should be fine on the stationary trainer.

If it is the basic Edge 500 without the performance bundle, you probably can't use it indoors (as far as I know).

Hi smokey its the full package I'm looking at.kinda trying to justify 200 quid

Sarz91

mick121 wrote: »

Hi smokey its the full package I'm looking at.kinda trying to justify 200 quid

Just bought one a week ago. Fantastic bit of kit. I honestly thought it was all hype. Gives you everything you need to know about your ride. Best bit of training equipment I've ever bought.

The only down side to it is uploading your data to strava and seeing how poorly you compare with everyone else. It does push you though.

Bunnyhopper

Ray Maker's in-depth review:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/12/garmin-edge-500-in-depth-review.html

mick121

Sarz91 wrote: »

Just bought one a week ago. Fantastic bit of kit. I honestly thought it was all hype. Gives you everything you need to know about your ride. Best bit of training equipment I've ever bought.

The only down side to it is uploading your data to strava and seeing how poorly you compare with everyone else. It does push you though.

Cool thanks.Now to tell the wife its only a 30euro speedo

mick121

Bunnyhopper wrote: »

Ray Maker's in-depth review:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/12/garmin-edge-500-in-depth-review.html

That seems like a very honest review
Thanks for the link.

Sarz91

mick121 wrote: »

Cool thanks.Now to tell the wife its only a 30euro speedo

My excuse to the girlfriend was "Its GPS. If I crash you'll know exactly where to find me." Still feel bad about that actually.

mick121

Sarz91 wrote: »

My excuse to the girlfriend was "Its GPS. If I crash you'll know exactly where to find me." Still feel bad about that actually.

Good one.I just feel the need to devalue items for her own sanity
Dont want her getting upset and all that stuff.so its me doing her a favour after I spend silly money on expensive stuff I really dont need and find very hard to justify. Yeah I'm some catch all right

Sarz91

mick121 wrote: »

Good one.I just feel the need to devalue items for her own sanity
Dont want her getting upset and all that stuff.so its me doing her a favour after I spend silly money on expensive stuff I really dont need and find very hard to justify. Yeah I'm some catch all right

I was in the same boat as yourself. They are worth it in the end. It makes training that bit easier and if you end up getting injured at least you've some data to look at and figure out why exactly the injury occurred. It'll also show if and by how much you're improving. Especially when you use a site like strava. The biggest benefit for me though has been the added incentive to go out on the bike and ride. I've no idea why but I love the idea of putting in a ride and getting home and analyzing it.

mick121

Sarz91 wrote: »

I was in the same boat as yourself. They are worth it in the end. It makes training that bit easier and if you end up getting injured at least you've some data to look at and figure out why exactly the injury occurred. It'll also show if and by how much you're improving. Especially when you use a site like strava. The biggest benefit for me though has been the added incentive to go out on the bike and ride. I've no idea why but I love the idea of putting in a ride and getting home and analyzing it.

You should be on commission he he.thanks for the info think I'm sold.

Sarz91

mick121 wrote: »

You should be on commission he he.thanks for the info think I'm sold.

Get this one. It's the same price as the blue one but the heart rate monitor with it is a good bit more comfy. Plus it's red. Unless you're getting the stand alone computer.

brayblue24

Sarz91 wrote: »

My excuse to the girlfriend was "Its GPS. If I crash you'll know exactly where to find me." Still feel bad about that actually.

Joking aside I found my Garmin 500 was the best impartial witness to a recent RTA so no need to feel guilty there!!

mick121

Sarz91 wrote: »

Get this one. It's the same price as the blue one but the heart rate monitor with it is a good bit more comfy. Plus it's red. Unless you're getting the stand alone computer.

Thats the exact one I'm looking at.Its for sale on eBay for 205euro same spec and free shipping from isreal.

Sarz91

mick121 wrote: »

Thats the exact one I'm looking at.Its for sale on eBay for 205euro same spec and free shipping from isreal.

Sweet. Just remember to pay through paypal. Enjoy.

mick121

Sarz91 wrote: »

Sweet. Just remember to pay through paypal. Enjoy.

Always do.thanks again

mick121

brayblue24 wrote: »

Joking aside I found my Garmin 500 was the best impartial witness to a recent RTA so no need to feel guilty there!!

Hope everyone was ok

brayblue24

mick121 wrote: »

Hope everyone was ok

Battered, bruised and sore but alive to tell the tale, thanks

mick121

brayblue24 wrote: »

Battered, bruised and sore but alive to tell the tale, thanks

Glad to hear that.stay safe

gman2k

500s start at £130 from Handtec
http://www.handtec.co.uk/garmin-edge-500-010-00829-00.html

mick121

gman2k wrote: »

500s start at £130 from Handtec
http://www.handtec.co.uk/garmin-edge-500-010-00829-00.html

Thanks.Saw that alright but it doesn't include heart rate monitor or cadence sensor.

homer simpson

That one in Israel tempted me to, be beware there is only a 14 day returns policy so if something happens the item after 14 days tough luck. The product is also a refurb and not factory new I posed the question to him when I was buying mine as to the warranty he said it was the 14 day only as it was a refurb.

Bought mine in Chain reaction for £200 on the nose (they deliver free to ROI) , best purchase I've made.

Sarz91

If you're going new buy here. Cheapest I could find. It's where I got mine.

mick121

homer simpson wrote: »

That one in Israel tempted me to, be beware there is only a 14 day returns policy so if something happens the item after 14 days tough luck. The product is also a refurb and not factory new I posed the question to him when I was buying mine as to the warranty he said it was the 14 day only as it was a refurb.

Bought mine in Chain reaction for £200 on the nose (they deliver free to ROI) , best purchase I've made.

Hmmm thats very important. Its listed as new on the site.I did see the 14 day return policy but I though that was if I wasn't happy with the product and didnt realise it was their warranty.Don't feel comfortable spending over 200 on a second hand unit with a 2 week guarantee.Thanks for that very useful.

Smokeyskelton

Here's a pretty comprehensive review, which includes setting it up on a stationary trainer. http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/12/garmin-edge-500-in-depth-review.html

Personally I'd steer away from reconditioned units if the price difference isn't massive, but that's just me.

mick121

Smokeyskelton wrote: »

Here's a pretty comprehensive review, which includes setting it up on a stationary trainer. http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/12/garmin-edge-500-in-depth-review.html

Personally I'd steer away from reconditioned units if the price difference isn't massive, but that's just me.

I would be the same.for an extra couple of quid you get new and full warranty. I e mailed them about the unit and warranty but no answer.I had mailed them earlier and they answered pretty quick.My thinking is they dont want to answer

mick121

Smokeyskelton wrote: »

Here's a pretty comprehensive review, which includes setting it up on a stationary trainer. http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/12/garmin-edge-500-in-depth-review.html

Personally I'd steer away from reconditioned units if the price difference isn't massive, but that's just me.

Got e mail from isreal.These are brand new units with a 1 year guarantee. The guarantee is for isreal so I would have to return it to them.

homer simpson

mick121 wrote: »

Got e mail from isreal.These are brand new units with a 1 year guarantee. The guarantee is for isreal so I would have to return it to them.

Could be a different seller so. Can't see too many from that part of the world selling them to Ireland all the same but if they are brand new why not.

brayblue24

mick121 wrote: »

Got e mail from isreal.These are brand new units with a 1 year guarantee. The guarantee is for isreal so I would have to return it to them.

I bought my original 500 second hand and after a while the bracket on the back snapped off. I emailed Garmin customer service more in hope than expectation (I even told them I had bought it second hand and I didn't know how old it was) and they replied with a job number and details of how to return it. Within a week I had a brand new unit. At no point did they question me about where it came from or if I even had a receipt. Whatever else about Garmin their after sales service is 100%.

Soarer

Israel is outside the EU, so you might get caught for tax when it arrives.

Something to think about.

Vizzy

I bought the HRM/Cadence bundle from an English site on E-Bay on Saturday for €155 plus p&p of €16.
Was a bit worried that it might be a Chinese copy but it arrived this morning with all the bits and pieces.It was advertised as brand new and it seems to be.
No origional box and no manual but it is currently being charged so give me a couple of days to fit it and I will come back with a short review.

nordicb

I'm a regular user of Garmin 500 with HRM and find it fantastic, use it for all activities. Few things to avoid though, I hope this saves trouble for someone one day - from data corruption to completely dead unit. Please feel free to add.

- Never unplug the device from the PC without stopping the device safely - from Internet, may kill the unit.
- Avoid stopping the Course when it is being prepared (right after you select "Do Course") - I've got the unit hung and Course file damaged.
- If you're happy with the unit, avoid updating the firmware - from Internet, may kill the unit.
- Worth learning the 3 button combo to reset the unit.
- Stop and then Reset the workout when done, this will separate different workouts, otherwise they all get glued together resulting in a workout of few weeks long

I'd be very interested to learn more tips too.

mick121

Vizzy wrote: »

I bought the HRM/Cadence bundle from an English site on E-Bay on Saturday for €155 plus p&p of €16.
Was a bit worried that it might be a Chinese copy but it arrived this morning with all the bits and pieces.It was advertised as brand new and it seems to be.
No origional box and no manual but it is currently being charged so give me a couple of days to fit it and I will come back with a short review.



nice one,i ordered last night total 211euro inc cadence/speed sensor mounting bracket and premium hrm.Am a happy camper,but wont be here for a while.I checked with the company through e-bay mail and it is 100% new with 1year guarentee so i have some piece of mind.Let me know how you get on and best of luck.

mick121

nordicb wrote: »

I'm a regular user of Garmin 500 with HRM and find it fantastic, use it for all activities. Few things to avoid though, I hope this saves trouble for someone one day - from data corruption to completely dead unit. Please feel free to add.

- Never unplug the device from the PC without stopping the device safely - from Internet, may kill the unit.
- Avoid stopping the Course when it is being prepared (right after you select "Do Course") - I've got the unit hung and Course file damaged.
- If you're happy with the unit, avoid updating the firmware - from Internet, may kill the unit.
- Worth learning the 3 button combo to reset the unit.
- Stop and then Reset the workout when done, this will separate different workouts, otherwise they all get glued together resulting in a workout of few weeks long

I'd be very interested to learn more tips too.

thanks for the info and please let me know if you get any more.

Vizzy

Right,as promised a short review of the unit and setup and how it operates.

Firstly, as I said during the week the unit arrived without the manual but I downloaded and printed one so I am going around all week with the manual and the unit, checking how to do this and that as I think of things.
All the bits and bobs were individually packed and were all present(even the correct number of tiewraps)
You need to allow the unit to charge for about 3 hours before you can do an initial setup. Read the manual a couple of times while you are waiting :)Once you turn it on, it walks you through a "user profile" which is very intuitive (e.g. when you put in "male" the height defaults to 178cm)Initial setup takes about 3 minutes. I set up my wheel size manually but the system will also do this by using the GPS.
Then setting up on the bike; again this is simple stuff, just be sure that the spoke magnet clears the arm on the speed/cadence sensor. The manual is very good on this too but it states that both the cadence magnet and the spoke magnet must be within 5mm of the sensor but mine are at least 10mm or maybe even closer to 12 or 13mm away. Bit of advice would be to set it up loosely first(as suggested in the manual), to make sure everything fits right and when you are happy, tighten everything up.
Then move on to fitting the mount on your stem with the elastic bands.
Put on the HRM strap(unlike others you don't even need to wet it)
The unit should then give you a message "Heart Rate Sensor detected" and Speed/Cadence sensor detected".
There were 3 pages "open" when I got the unit but I opened a fourth and I customised the number of items on each page. This is down to personal preference but I have only 5 items on my main page(i.e. the one you see when you turn the unit on, cos I think that any more would just look cluttered and the old eyes aren't great)Doing this is well covered in the manual.
So now you are ready to go !!
First impressions:
I went out for a quick spin this afternoon and I actually used the cadence and the heartrate readings and not the speed reading to set my pace and I actually upped my average speed over 32 kms by about 3km per hour without even realising it.
I had the manual in my pocket so I did a bit of changing views on the GPS as I went along.
Only had the one spin but I am seriously impressed with the Edge 500.
Had a Polar CS200 up to today, which is very good but the Edge is simply in another league for data capture and uploading.
Lastly I didn't use any of the Garmin sites to load the data on the computer. I loaded direct to Strava and again this is done in about 20secs.
There must be loads of stuff that I haven't discovered yet but if I come across any neat trick I'll keep ye posted.
If you are sitting on the fence regarding whether to buy a Garmin or not, I can only say that so far I'm delighted with my purchase.

Carpenter

How do you upload to Strava:D

GreyEagle

Carpenter wrote: »

How do you upload to Strava:D

Simple, with the unit plugged into your computer, select Upload Activity.
This brings you to the Upload page.
Strava will search for your Garmin and upload all new rides. Sorted.

Carlosthejakal

Cheapest I could find the red one http://www.bikeinn.com/bike/garmin-edge-500-pack-red/18205/p

nilhg

GreyEagle wrote: »

Simple, with the unit plugged into your computer, select Upload Activity.
This brings you to the Upload page.
Strava will search for your Garmin and upload all new rides. Sorted.

You need the garmin communicator plugin installed first.

mick121

nice one keep us posted

FirstinLastout

Question re this Garmin model; does the 500 have the ghost rider feature or is that feature only on the G510 model?

Thanks Folks!

Sarz91

FirstinLastout wrote: »

Question re this Garmin model; does the 500 have the ghost rider feature or is that feature only on the G510 model?

Thanks Folks!

No the 500 doesn't have that feature. Unfortunately you either have to remember how fast you were going last time over the course or you've to wait to upload your data to strava.

jinkypolly

FirstinLastout wrote: »

Question re this Garmin model; does the 500 have the ghost rider feature or is that feature only on the G510 model?

Thanks Folks!

With the 500 if you use the 'Course' feature you can race against a virtual partner.

Courses allow you to train using a previously recorded activity. You can follow the course trying to match or exceed previously set goals. For example, if the original course was completed in 30 minutes, you will race against a Virtual Partner trying to complete the course in under 30 minutes.

Link to manual HERE. Page 13.

Sarz91

jinkypolly wrote: »

With the 500 if you use the 'Course' feature you can race against a virtual partner.

Really? Sweet. Thanks.

inc21

got one 210 premium hear rate and sensor. \Just in the door, cant wait so will install it now and out for a small test spin.

mick121

inc21 wrote: »

got one 210 premium hear rate and sensor. \Just in the door, cant wait so will install it now and out for a small test spin.

Cool,let me know how you get on and any tips installing.

Vizzy

mick121 wrote: »

Cool,let me know how you get on and any tips installing.

Here's a tip that I just discovered a few minutes ago.
Switch on the device.
Press and hold "Enter",then select "Settings","Bike settings","Data Fields".
You can then go to "Page 1"(i.e the page that you see when you turn on the unit normally)
You can select the number of different readings that you will see(e.g.Heart Rate,Speed,Time of Day etc).I have five showing.

BUT, and this is the good part, if you look closely you will see that the "Name" of one of the fields will be highlighted, so if you press enter again you will get a menu of available fields that you can select.Pick the one you want and press enter and then go on to your next field.
So, not only can you customise the number of fields on each page, you can also customise which fields appear and where they appear on the field.
That way you could set up Page 1 as a "Speed" page (e.g.current speed,ave speed,max speed),Page 2 could be your cadence page and so on.
Very handy as you can keep the clutter to a minimum.

inc21

mick121 wrote: »

Cool,let me know how you get on and any tips installing.

http://app.strava.com/activities/74484507

Brilliant little machine.

Install is quite straight forward. I got a tip from a guy who sold me this - Put crank magnet on first then sensor. It makes sense and makes matching them up a bit easier.

Now to read the book and play more around in menus.

mick121

Vizzy wrote: »

Here's a tip that I just discovered a few minutes ago.
Switch on the device.
Press and hold "Enter",then select "Settings","Bike settings","Data Fields".
You can then go to "Page 1"(i.e the page that you see when you turn on the unit normally)
You can select the number of different readings that you will see(e.g.Heart Rate,Speed,Time of Day etc).I have five showing.

BUT, and this is the good part, if you look closely you will see that the "Name" of one of the fields will be highlighted, so if you press enter again you will get a menu of available fields that you can select.Pick the one you want and press enter and then go on to your next field.
So, not only can you customise the number of fields on each page, you can also customise which fields appear and where they appear on the field.
That way you could set up Page 1 as a "Speed" page (e.g.current speed,ave speed,max speed),Page 2 could be your cadence page and so on.
Very handy as you can keep the clutter to a minimum.

Nice

Smokeyskelton

Has anyone had the following problem with their cadence sensor? I recently installed it using the 3M adhesive sticker and one cable-tie.

It was working fine, but yesterday the cadence sensor secured to the crank-arm had moved slightly towards the axle, as the sensor itself had parted company from the adhesive. It is now too far from the receiver unit.

The adhesive strip is still firmly glued to the crank-arm and held securely in place, but the sensor itself had pulled away from the adhesive strip.

It is not going to fall off and get lost, as the cable-tie is holding it in place, but it is currently not working due to the misalignment.

Should I remove it and use super-glue / other glue to re-attach it and use a new cable-tie, or contact Garmin?

Thanks