I need a new GPS, can you help!

Johnny Utah

Johnny Utah

Well-Known Member
My ten year old Garmin 520 is starting to have a fading battery. I get maybe 3.5 hours to a full charge now which is cutting some rides short - and I hope I get some bigger rides in this summer.

I need to replace this legend - is Garmin still the go too?

Hoping for 10hrs of battery life (dreaming a bit) - if it comes with map function that’s great. I load to Strava still (Through the Garmin App).

What would you replace my 2015 520 with?

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Johnny Utah said:
My ten year old Garmin 520 is starting to have a fading battery. I get maybe 3.5 hours to a full charge now which is cutting some rides short - and I hope I get some bigger rides in this summer.

I need to replace this legend - is Garmin still the go too?

Hoping for 10hrs of battery life (dreaming a bit) - if it comes with map function that’s great. I load to Strava still (Through the Garmin App).

What would you replace my 2015 520 with?

View attachment 255152
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Just noticed the same thing occurring with my 520. Long Pines ride a few weeks ago and got the low battery alert around 4hr mark. Finished the ride but it was cutting it close. Tomorrow doing 60ish miles and with the cold thinking it won't make it. Will use the watch as backup.
 
Johnny Utah said:
My ten year old Garmin 520 is starting to have a fading battery. I get maybe 3.5 hours to a full charge now which is cutting some rides short - and I hope I get some bigger rides in this summer.

I need to replace this legend - is Garmin still the go too?

Hoping for 10hrs of battery life (dreaming a bit) - if it comes with map function that’s great. I load to Strava still (Through the Garmin App).

What would you replace my 2015 520 with?

View attachment 255152
Click to expand...


I have a Garmin 1040 solar but even my old 1030 would exceed 10 hours on a charge. The solar addon seriously helps if you ride during the day.
 
I have an 810 a 520 plus and a recently acquired new to me 1030 plus for a great deal.

The older devices are showing their age with the battery life losing 20% every hour or so. It’s definitely worse in the cold. The 810 is older but it actually holds battery life a bit better probably because it doesn’t do as much stuff.

I didn’t have the budget for a new 1040 or 1050 but even tho the 1030 plus is a few years older the battery life is incredible.

I’m embedded in the garmin ecosystem (watch too) so I am very glad with the way the new one works.
 
Johnny Utah said:
My ten year old Garmin 520 is starting to have a fading battery. I get maybe 3.5 hours to a full charge now which is cutting some rides short - and I hope I get some bigger rides in this summer.

I need to replace this legend - is Garmin still the go too?

Hoping for 10hrs of battery life (dreaming a bit) - if it comes with map function that’s great. I load to Strava still (Through the Garmin App).

What would you replace my 2015 520 with?

View attachment 255152
Click to expand...
Replace the battery?
 
I might have a slightly used 520/30/40 (have to check the model) I'd sell you cheap. My wife got it and then shortly afterwards started training with power, and this model Garmin was missing a feature (either L/R power or Normalized, don't remember.... But it was a "big deal" 🤷‍♂️). I thought I'd use it but have been using my watch vs a head unit.
 
Almost all current bike computers can handle 10 hours between charges. Solar will help more on road/gravel but still help a little on singletrack. Though the Edge 1040 Solar gets upwards of 90 hours between charges, which is insane.

Wahoo's new Ace claims 30 hours but it's closer to the 10ish mark and is missing a bunch of features for a 2025 computer. Coros Dura is the gold standard of battery life if that's your primary concern but I also got mixed reviews feature wise when it was released last year.

For my money the Edge 1050 is the computer I'd buy once/cry once. I laughed at the size when someone gave me an old 1030 they were replacing...now I can't imagine going back to smaller for my daily driver. Garmin sorted out their touchscreen woes as well since the "x20" series which helps.

When in doubt, DC Rainmaker is incredible for in depth product reviews. Poke around his site and you'll get a feel for what you want.
 
The 540 seems to be in a good spot for lots of functionality, long battery life and reasonable price - especially if on sale.

Otherwise, I'm sure there's a YT video on replacing the battery on your old Garmin.
 
I had a Garmin 840, worked really well and battery life was great, but decided that I wanted a bigger screen for when I use navigation, picked up a 1040 Solar and it's really good, but either a 840 or 1040 (even non solar) will have great battery life, buy whichever one of those hits the target budget you are after.
 
I did it years ago on one of the first gen Edges, worked great until I lost it at Round Valley. YouTube it.
 
Johnny Utah said:
Ooo - I may look into this!
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The only challenge may be that if it works after you’re done it probably won’t be as waterproof as it was before but not sure if that matters to you.

For the effort in time and money I’d say scan around for a used 830/1030 or higher since those are touch screen and as mentioned above they don’t have the issues the older versions had. Keep the 520 as is for shorter rides this is what I am doing now.

After so many years of small Screen devices the 1030+ is incredible for my bad eyesight.

100% spend a little time on DCrainmaker site his in-depth reviews and comparisons are very well done.
 
my 520 wouldn’t turn on, kept that thing alive since we lived in Somerville. Bought a 530 for $245, happy with it
 
My five year old 1030 has a battery life>8 hours.

Great warranty support when you smash a screen on a rock.
 
Fire Lord Jim said:
Hammerhead Karoo 3. I use a Karoo 2, but have used two Garmins and was underwhelmed. The Karoos are basically stripped down Android phones.
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This 👆
I've had the Karoo since it was introduced. On K3 now. Hated my Garmin 1000.
I have a mint Karoo 2 for sale if interested.
 
I don’t have experience with brands other than Garmin, but if you create routes regularly IMO Garmin is the way to go. Every major route planning website has a “send to Garmin” button to sync the route to your Garmin connect account. Then you sync your GPS with your Garmin connect account to pull down the route and you’re on your way.
 
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