User submitted reviews
Review by Dan
I have been using this for training and racing. The course mapping is improved over the 520. No problem finding heart rate monitors, smart trainers or power meters. Multiple displays can be set up for each type of riding that you are doing. You can have your main screen focus on heart rate, power, cadence and time and then have other screens to check lap data and so on. You can have turn-by-turn info for your course too. So far, I have used it in a race, for training and on a road bike (Favero Assioma power) and mountain bike (Stages power). Western Bike Works had a really good price for the unit.
Review by Zoom
This is my second 520. The first died after heavy, heavy use. The cyclone has all the metrics required for effective training in a small body yet readable screen (I use at least 5 screens with 10 elements in each). It is easy to shift from one bike to another, connect to you phone, get messages, alert a designated person in the event of a crash, plan and follow routes, and the list goes on.
Review by Bhaydamack
I bought this wanting a solid GPS for mountain biking. There's lots of options out there but Garmin has a long history and reputation. I Iike the quick startup and customizable screens. I thought I'd want to see my cell phone notifications, which this one offers but I actually find them an annoyance. It can upload 3rd party maps for turn by turn directions but I wouldn't use it for mountain biking as often there just aren't really many turn options. It was a little challenging to get it connected to my phone consistently as well as a 3rd party heart rate monitor, but it eventually settled down. I have an iPhone X so iOS upgrades might have disrupted the settings connections. I really like the app and it offers some of the measurement features that one must pay for.
Review by DHP
Upgraded from the Edge 25 to the Edge 250 Plus I like the longer battery life and being able to see more info on the first screen that is completely modifiable to your liking would recommend this over the Edge25 any-day it's nice to have the maps even if you can not set destination on the fly best to set some points of interest in advance
Review by kyvdh10
This product syncs with satellites so much faster than my previous product. Really enjoy that. Still learning all the features and it does seem pretty feature rich. A little disappointed that many Strava features require a paid subscription to Strava and Garmin Connect just doesn't have the same appeal. All that said, I found the display very easily visible in all light conditions. Hasn't dropped a signal yet. Battery life is probably better than I expected which is nice. Would definitely recommend to others.
Review by Relic
I have used the 520 for years and love the simplicity and "BUTTONS". I hear a lot of issues with touch screen. With gloves or cold fingers i can't be messing with touch screen. The only reason to swith to 520 plus was for the Varia integration.
Review by Anonymous
I was just looking for an upgrade from the garmin edge, and this checks all boxes. I'm not into power management or heart monitoring, just more things that ain't gonna make me faster. Just train. Still need to discover the potential of this like using the nav for set routes or races. No issues, battery life is good. Would recommend to others.
Review by Alex D
I use this product to record my rides. The unit is dependable and has good battery life. It seems overly-complicated (I prefer Lezyne's fewer buttons) and things like backlight and switching screens can be cumbersome. The screens are customizable, but depending on how many fields you're displaying re-sizing a particular field or fields may not be available. Other than that, the unit works well.
Review by Anonymous
Excelent tool for riding do not ride with out it
Review by ibnbatouta
This has some nice updates, but I miss the specific bike profiles of the 510. The only way for it to read a different bike is if you have a different ANTBluetooth sensor on that bike.
Review by stillbiking
Works fine. A step up from the smaller models.
Review by Jeff
Easy to read, great battery life, precise GPS navigation and smooth integration into the iPhone... couldn ask for any more.
Review by Allen254
i love using the new Garmin 520, it has everything the 520 has Plus the slightly toned down maps of the 820. overall i like the new maps it comes with. wish the screen was slightly bigger but it fine overall. Also has a slightly updated data fields which look great.
Review by Michae Leiser
I replaced my old 500 with the 520 plus after trying the 820 out. The 520 is easy to setup and use. I mapec out an 8 day 400mile ride no glitches at all.
Review by Retired HPD Biker
The Garmin Edge 520 Plus has been the most important item I have purchased for my bicycle. I ride around 16 miles a day, and I has improved my skill and speed on the bike. I love that it keeps a record of every ride so that I can track my progress. I also like that I can read incoming texts while riding.
Unfortunately I had an accident one dark morning on a isolated bike trail, where I dropped a chain, cracked my carbon fiber frame, and injured my right knee. When I came to a stop the Garmin sent an emergency text to my contacts, alerting them I had an accident, and before I could get up from the ground I received a phone call from one of them. It was really reassuring that I could get help if I was total disabled in a crash. I'm riding again and will always have my Garmin with me.
I highly recommend other bicyclist get a Garmin Edge 520 Plus, because it could save your life.
Review by Vince
Im new to Garmin GPS units and reading the history on them the new 520 Puls seemed to be a good place to jump in. Pretty decent tech for the rapidly falling price. The data and screen are great, more than I know what to do with. The Garmin Connect App is pretty basic, seems you need Strava and other third party apps to get more value out of the GPS data. Uploading routes is still clunky having to plug your device into a laptop but its pretty solid once you get it in the device. All and all its a cool toy, we arent totally there yet with GPS cycling computers but its cheaper than ever to try it out.
Review by Anonymous
Replaced my 10 year old Garmin 800 Edge with this unit. works fine! I do miss the swipe and touch capability of the 800....but not the 800 price. Does all you expect a Garmin head unit to do. the bluetooth link up to the Iphone is nice - no more running to the laptop to upload data. comes with the incident notification feature - which does work, based on personal experience. A good value if you want a Garmin unit and are willing to use some slightly older tech.
Review by plat72
I have owned a Garmin 520 for several years. One too many mtn bike crashes probably did it in. Anyway, my biggest complaint with the old 520 was battery life, especially in cold temps. I didn't want a bigger computer, so I took a gamble with the 520 plus. Battery life is exceptional (8-12 hours average) and am really enjoying the navigation features. I have it synced with my wife's cellphone number so she can track my riding, thus giving her peace of mind that I'm not dying on the side of a road or trail somewhere. All in all, I am very pleased with the features and the price was the lower than anyone else offered.
Review by JoeRicky
I had some difficulty getting it to work at first, but great customer support from Garmin got me going. 520+ doesn�t shut down mid-ride like my 510 was doing. It also automatically reads the right sensor from different bikes.
Review by Anonymous
Physically not much larger than Garmin 520.
Better Battery life, map on the device, clarity and size of characters, Speed of booting up, ease of use. Setup - connected my 530 to Garmin Connect and it sucked down most of my screen settings, saving setup time.
meh Track of where i've been on the map is very hard to see on the map.. maybe a setting somewhere? 520 map is black and white.. so pretty easy, though the map itself on the 530 is much better than on the 520.
If you have a bit more money, buy the 830 .. map is the same, but touch screen helps navigate the map itself, slide left and right, etc..