GarminEdge 820(Return to Product Page)

All computers seem overpriced since upgrades are needed more often than I would like. Watch for sales. Others have complained about the sensitivity of the touch screen but it seems just right to me including when using gloves. The stop and onoff buttons are located on the bottomside to prevent accidental touches. Garmin seems to continue to lead all others in the field.

Great unit. Customizing data screens is easy and can be changed mid-ride. Havent had to use navagation, but tested it out on local route and was very easy to use. Touch screen works good and I added screen protector and still works good.

Used on multiple bikes. No more searching for sensors after initial set up.

Looking forward to the faster processor for maps and turns. The 500 was so slow.

I use the item on the road and CX. I like the small form factor and the placement of the startstop and lap buttons. I previously had an Edge 510 so I was familiar with the touchscreen. The Edge 820 touchscreen is not as precise as I would like it but it's doable. The performance metrics are a nice feature. It pairs easy with all of my devices. So far it's been working well given the discounted price I paid.

I bought this to replace my 510 since I like the touch screen. It's faster starting up with more features and a larger screen. The color navigation is nice. The battery life is poor, less than my 510. I can get 2-3 rides out of a full charge. The altimeter failed at 6 weeks and Garmin had to send me a new one. I miss the bike profiles from my 510 but the 820 had no problem handling all the sensors from 5 different bikes. Overall it's a big step up from my 510 but I think battery life could be better.

This is my second Edge. I upgraded from the 800. To keep this succinct, connectivity is simply fantastic. Screen size has me squinting. The reason for the less than perfect rating is that the apps are not tested to work well. For example an excellent third party graphical training page crashes the connectivity with the Vector power meter. Yes, there are resets and work arounds, but. In summary, this device is more an Android than an iPhone.

There are just to many kinks on the Garmin Edge 820. My Garmin 500 wasis great. Solid! But the 820 is finicky at best. Won't turn off 12 the time. The battery life is very short. Connections come and go, especially to the Garmin Varia Rearview Radar that I bought at the same time.

The touch screen is a pain in the '$' as well. If you like looking down and swiping 100 times, then this is the computer for you. I've tried several different settings and they all seem to work just as problematic.

I've only used the routing capabilities twice now and for the most part it was good. At times it would tell me to turn only to tell me I was off course for not going straight! Besides that quirk, it got me to my destination even if I ran off course by accident (or on purpose due to road work).

After reading and watching video reviews for the recent months after the 820's launch date, it appeared that it had some significant shortcomings for those users. However, I purchased my unit in mid-2017 and have not had the problems noted in their reviews. My unit came with software version 8.0, which may have solved their dilemmas. I find that the screen responsiveness is satisfactory for me even though it requires a more definitive touch than a smartphone. I later purchased a Garmin remote to jockey the 820's data screens easily while riding. An added benefit with the remote is that it keeps the flat glass surface free of finger and glove smudges, which helps me see the ride information on the screens. I like the 820's size. It's on the small side for mapping, which I don't use much. Heck, I don't even like big smartphones - I got an iPhone SE instead of the bigger iPhone 7 so it fits more comfortably in my pocket. So, far the group ride track rider feature is not too useful to me since older Garmins don't have that feature. It's hard to convince other riders to participate in that for my benefit alone. It may be a while before others purchase newer units such as the 820 and the 1020 for that to happen. I do use live tracking on every ride so my wife can monitor my location. My typical rides are 40-60 miles and I am away for three hours, give or take. It was a great upgrade from the Edge 500, but may not be worth it for riders with more recent Garmin units.

Been using my new Garmin for a couple mouths now and love it. I feel comfort knowing my wife can track me on my rides from her phone.

I bought this device primarily for a 400 mile cycle the erie canal ride. Since my sense of direction is so poor I figured that I would be able to get to the night's lodging if I lost track of the road markings.

However, due to touchscreen, , sensor and software issues I am considering selling this thing on Ebay.

First the touchscreen.

I rank it somewhere between horrible and unacceptable. Never again will I purchase a Garmin product with a touch screen. It is slow to react , unreliable and I still do not have the hang of the gestures needed to navigate across screens. In fact I am surprised that I have not crashed while being distracted trying to change screens with this thing on my bike. I also believe that a side effect of having a touchscreen also dims the display , like what happened with the Garmins that are used for hiking. I have no idea why Garmin doesn't offer a push button model.

Sensors- The bike cadence and speed sensors work OK on this device. However, the altitude sensor is wonky with quite a discrepancy between it and my Fenix 3 on the same source. I suspect it needs re-calibration. Another issue is that I got spikes in altitude initially. This caused the altitude display to look flat on the Connect.garmin website since it had to expand the display scale to accommodate the spikes. I had to edit the .fit file to eliminate the times where the spikes occurred.. This resultant Altitude display did scale properly but still had the annoying offset that I mentioned earlier.

The gradient displays are a disappointment , since they are slow to react and seem inaccurate.

Software- I did have the Edge 820 lock up when I was using it for navigation. I had to reset it during a bike ride.

On the positive side - I was able to navigate to where my car was when I on a bike ride, so that should count for something.

However, since I have a Fenix 3, I do not believe that this Unit's features offset the problems I've had.

Set up has proven difficult. Was linked to smart phone, then connection was lost. Some settings are hidden far too deep in the menus.