# As of June 2014, how well do Edge 500's work?



## spaaarky21 (Jul 1, 2007)

Lately, I've been looking at getting a Garmin Edge 500 but there are tons of conflicting posts here from throughout the years, talking about how well they do or don't work for mountain biking.

It sounds like they are fine if you have an external sensor to force the one second sampling interval. Without one, it sounds like users are stuck with "smart sampling," which has been tweaked a bit through the years by firmware updates.

So what are people's opinions as of right now, with the current firmware? Without an external sensor to force one-second updates, how good is the Edge 500 for singletrack? If it still sucks, is there anything better? It seems like a lot of companies make GPS watches but there isn't much (good) competition when it comes to bike-mounted computers. Thoughts?

Brandon


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

a firmware update a couple years ago permitted 1sec recording without an additional sensor, IIRC. My Forerunner 310XT got that firmware update, too.

As for performance, I can't say based on personal experience. I can say that others here have opinions on both sides. Some are very strong.


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## llamma (Apr 28, 2012)

It still sucks. I use my Edge 500 for recording my road rides with 1sec interval, and that works perfectly fine. I can map out the ride on Google Maps or Runkeeper and it's pretty accurate. When i mountain bike I record the ride with My Tracks on my phone and also record with the 500 at the same time. After a 14 mile ride the phone says 14 and the Garmin says 11ish, and this happens ride after ride after ride. I'm basically just using the Garmin for time-keeping. Just today I used the Garmin to record a time trial race lap. The lap was slightly more than 3 miles and afterwards the Garmin said I had gone 2.34mi. I have a cadence/speed sensor sitting in a box that is supposed to help the Egde 500 be exponentially more accurate, but I just haven't made the time to put it on my FS bike yet, so I can't say whether that would really help or not. 

People claim that the 800/810 is supposed to be better, but I'd have to see that for myself to believe it.


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## spaaarky21 (Jul 1, 2007)

Thanks for the input. It's the no sensor setup that I'm the most interested in. And that's with the latest firmware too?


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

I follow people on Strava whose 500s are always jumping all over the place.

But mine is always bang on. 

So I dunno what to suggest.


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## llamma (Apr 28, 2012)

spaaarky21 said:


> Thanks for the input. It's the no sensor setup that I'm the most interested in. And that's with the latest firmware too?


I've updated the firmware some time in the last 6 months, but I'm not sure of the exact firmware version off the top of my head. I'll check it after work.


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## DYI01 (Jun 28, 2012)

I have the latest firmware and a Wahoo speed/cadence sensor, not the official Garmin sensor. It works really well even on mountain rides. When you connect it to a PC it has really good resolution detail, it picks up on tight switchback corners, and the mileage seemed pretty spot on to my old roll out calibrated Cateye. From what I've read, a speed/cadence sensor makes the 500 much more accurate in it's acquisition.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

My Garmin Edge 500 has been ok to be fair. It's on the latest 3.30 firmware now. With a lot of these devices the settings that you use play a large part in how reliable they'll be. Never using the Courses feature seeming to be the main one for avoiding any data corruption issues on an Edge 500.

The Garmin Edge 500 used without a speed sensor is hopeless in woodland or at slow speeds. I have an ANT+ speed sensor mounted on the fork leg to override the GPS speed so that isn't an issue for me. An individual speed sensor is small and stays out of the way so you can fit it to a full suspension bike without any hassle.

My current Garmin Edge 500 settings (Post #38):

http://forums.mtbr.com/xc-racing-training/power2max-mtb-power-meter-889731.html#post11216130


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## 3034 (Apr 12, 2006)

SH_TBOX, Im a GPS user for 10 years
the edge 305 was the gold standard for accuracy on steep woody single track


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## car_nut (Apr 5, 2010)

Mine's gone from bad to useless this year. Wanders all over the place. I did my usual weekend ride recently and it captured two out of about fifteen Strava segments. My Forerunner 305 was always bang on. When I first got the 500 it was noticeably less accurate and has since degraded to its current state. I'm running the latest firmware with one second recording and no wheel sensors.

If you search the Garmin forums, there's no shortage of people with the same complaints. The reviews for the 510 rank it as being far more accurate than the 500. I'd just spend the extra and get that.


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## mabrodis (Oct 19, 2005)

We have two Edge 500 units. I have the blue rimmed one (US model, software 3.3, GPS: 2.6) and my wife has the black rimmed one (China/Taiwan model, software 3.1 (which is the latest version for this model), GPS: 2.6).

I've had mine for about 2 years I think, never had really any problem with it, I use it on a road bike (with speed/cadence sensor) and on my mtn bike with nothing but just GPS signal. I've had a few rides (within the past 3 month) that had a bunch of GPS drift or just it thinking that I'm stopped when I'm not. I only use the GPS log to upload to Strava so it's not a huge issue, but annoying if you are trying to ride a specific segment and it thinks you're in the next canyon over.

My wife's has had many more issues. Initially it would record rides for about 10 minutes then shut off, actually power down. Even though everything in the menus was set to never turn off, not even timeout, but it'd still shut off. Many others complained about this also on some cycling forums...I found a Taiwan firmware upgrade (which is fun, clicking OK and Next on screens where you can't read anything) and that fixed it dramatically, now it's usable at least. I found another update and just did that process again a few weeks ago even though no obvious problems with it that I was fixing.

So we use our two on about a daily basis, I can't say anything is terribly wrong with them. I like the smooth elevation log that a real GPS provides, whereas a phone usually inflates the elevation climbed numbers because it shows the path as up and down all the time, I guess because it has less raw number averaging for the position.

I use the HR strap often with mine and that always seems to work well.

Edit: Just to clarify we use our two Edge 500's with speed/cadence sensors on our road bikes and with no sensors on our mtn bikes, and most of the time they work fine in both places.


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## llamma (Apr 28, 2012)

spaaarky21 said:


> Thanks for the input. It's the no sensor setup that I'm the most interested in. And that's with the latest firmware too?


Firmware version is 3.30 which looks to be the latest.


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## niloch (May 28, 2014)

I'm facing the same dilemma - purchase the 500 or the 510, however I'm leaning towards the bundles with the HRM and Speed sesnor based on everything I've read. I wouldn't use the advanced tracking features of the 510 right now but may in the future. the 500 bundle is $80 cheaper than the 510 ($130 non-bundle)

Is the 500 with the speed sensor as accurate as the 510 with the speed sensor? or is the 510 still a better bet?


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## chiva (Oct 13, 2010)

I use the 500 on my mountain bike. It's paired with an SRM power meter. No speed sensor. I guess it does ok? Maybe I should get an ANT+ speed sensor to mount on the fork? I mainly look at Watts and elevation gained. Distance, etc don't mean much to me.


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

I use the 510 and it's dead accurate on the road or in the woods.


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## AlliKat (Apr 28, 2006)

I've run many miles with my 500 without these issues. I've done things like ride a 95 mile race with 10 laps on exact same course. I can barely tell the difference in the lines recorded from one lap to the next.

HRM: For me it is usually great (across 300 hr and 5000 miles). My girlfriend has had a heck of a time keeping a good signal. After a 7 day trip, we tried many combinations of two straps, two 500's, and to bodies and couldn't guarantee any combination worked.

Altimiter/barometer: It seems to be good relatively but not absolute. Was recently at a summit with a marked elevation of 11,100 (burro pass) and garmin read 10,600. On previous day, total ascent was 2500 before lunch. After lunch, it showed 4400. I suspect for the second scenario, a storm rolled in causing a pressure drop. In both cases, it would be nice to have an option to calibrate the barometer and altimeter.

Temperature: it seems to be consistently off about 8 degrees. Wish I could calibrate it.

Battery: 16-20 hours. It charges quickly on goal-zero.

Over all, I love the unit. It is really nice to have a very small, light unit with good battery life.


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## niloch (May 28, 2014)

I ended up going with the original 500. Really like the simplicity and size. I did add the wheel sensor and hrm as well, BTW its cheaper to buy everything separately than the package right now. All in was about 280 before tax vs the 320 package price. 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk


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## spaaarky21 (Jul 1, 2007)

I ended up buying a 500 and things pretty much worked out like I expected - for me, it works but not very well without a speed sensor.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the current firmware (3.30 as of right now) does *not* require an external sensor in order to use one second recording, as opposed to "smart" recording, which is generally considered to be worthless for mountain biking.

Without a sensor and using one second recording, I went for a few 10-15 mile singletrack rides and the Edge was consistently about two miles short. Not cool. But also kind of expected. So I added a GSC 10 speed/cadence sensor to the setup and once I got the wheel size set right, my distances started looking right.

This seems like a bit much compared to just using the Strava app but at least this won't run my phone down while I'm riding in remote areas and it will keep recording when I'm not getting a good GPS signal.

On a side note, when I first installed the speed sensor, I used the Edge's "auto" setting to find the wheel size. After riding a little, it uses the distance you rode and the number of wheel rotations to determine your wheel size. I ride a 29er with 2.35" tires and the wheel circumference that the Edge calculated was the equivalent of a 25.2" wheel. So be sure to set that manually.

On another side note, since I don't care much about monitoring cadence, I originally bought only Garmin's new magnetless sensor but it was too wide to fit the hubs on my CB Cobalts since the points that the spokes attach to are bulkier than the flange that spokes attach to on a more traditional wheel. I imagine wheels with similar hub designs (e.g., all of Mavic's current MTB models) might have the same issue. The sensor was right between 40mm and 41mm wide.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Using Auto-calibrate basically requires riding in a straight line on a road with good skyview until it beeps that it has set the wheel size. Mine gets it pretty much dead on in these circumstances, at least according to google earth measurements.

Any turns or obstructions during the calibration process tend to throw it off, but it does display the number it calculates, so you can see if it looks right.

If you're a low-tire-pressure type of rider, that will also reduce the effective wheel diameter, so calibrate with the PSI you trail ride at.


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## thatdrewguy (Jul 28, 2009)

ghettocruiser said:


> Using Auto-calibrate basically requires riding in a straight line on a road with good skyview until it beeps that it has set the wheel size. Mine gets it pretty much dead on in these circumstances, at least according to google earth measurements.
> 
> Any turns or obstructions during the calibration process tend to throw it off, but it does display the number it calculates, so you can see if it looks right.
> 
> If you're a low-tire-pressure type of rider, that will also reduce the effective wheel diameter, so calibrate with the PSI you trail ride at.


Right now I only have the speed/cadence sensor on the road bike and no sensor on the mountain bike. I do have 3 bikes entered into the Garmin bike settings. So if I add a sensor to the mountain bike, will the wheel size be kept based on what bike I've selected in the Garmin so that it doesn't have to recalibrate each time I switch the Garmin to another bike?


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## AngryElf (Feb 12, 2014)

I have the Edge 500, black edge with Cadence/wheel and Hear Rate sensors and so far it has been good. Its never been more than .1 miles difference when I compared it to Run Keeper and the heart rate monitor makes the calorie calculation more accurate. I emailed Garmin that they should add a Numeric Gear field so you could track which gear you are using on which hill, which would be easy to calculate once you have cadence and wheel size, plus the tooth count on the chainrings and cogs.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

AngryElf said:


> I emailed Garmin that they should add a Numeric Gear field so you could track which gear you are using on which hill, which would be easy to calculate once you have cadence and wheel size, plus the tooth count on the chainrings and cogs.


Some of the newer cycle computers will display directly what gear you're in if you're using Shimano Di2. The electronic gears connect wirelessly to the head unit by private ANT.

The Mio 505 and Garmin Edge 1000 are two head units that can do this.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/03/mio-di2-wireless-control.html

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/06/garmin-1000-depth-review.html#shimano-di2-support

(Scroll down the page to the Di2 section of the Edge 1000 review for more detail).

I doubt that support for this feature will ever come to the Garmin Edge 500 though as it's quite an old model now. The newer Edge 810 and Edge 510 might get it at some point apparently. I think it's just a case of whether Garmin decide to update the firmware.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

thatdrewguy said:


> Right now I only have the speed/cadence sensor on the road bike and no sensor on the mountain bike. I do have 3 bikes entered into the Garmin bike settings. So if I add a sensor to the mountain bike, will the wheel size be kept based on what bike I've selected in the Garmin so that it doesn't have to recalibrate each time I switch the Garmin to another bike?


Yes, it keeps the wheel sizes and wheel sensor ID's saved separately for each bike.


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