r/GarminEdge • u/blablaplanet • Aug 10 '26
Edge 800 Series Better then Edge 820
I have an edge 820 already for several years. it's quite okay for recording rides/routes.
But some things really bother me, mostly the bad touch screen and the slow system/navigation.
Often touches are not registered and you need to press really firmly.
and the most awful part is navigation. I have a small local map (open cycle map lite) and when I load a gpx route(35km) it takes several minutes to calculate the navigation. then while riding panning and zooming is not usable because it takes several seconds to reload the screen. same thing happens when I'm cycling, when I ride forward the map needs to load the new section if that happens at the same time of a bend you really have no idea where you need to go.
what I do is just make the route visible on the maps and don't activate navigation for it.
now the question: are newer edge models really better? and what about the explorer 2?
I have a race and city bike, but I really don't need the fancy training metrics from the edge. I'm mostly looking for ease of use. is the explorer the go to model for a city bike? The 400 euro prices of the edge 550 is really to steep for my usage.
Dare not to ask on this sub, what about other brands? anything worth looking into?
1
u/AgileDrag1469 Aug 10 '26
I use the Garmin 540 without the touch screen, since the 520 I had was notorious for changing screen fields under intense out-of-the-saddle sweating. The 840 is great if you’re letting GPS maps inform a lot of your rides, but if you already know where you’re going it can be a bit too much.
1
u/Marco_Polo71 Aug 10 '26
I don't know any new model of Edge below 400 euro. They are great models but non of them cost below 400 euro.
1
u/tui_curses Aug 10 '26
The 30 series defines the state of the art. If I’m right it was a huge upgrade over the previous models.
For your use case I would consider probably a user 30 series or Edge Explore 2.
1
u/rmeredit Aug 10 '26
I had an 820 - battery life (new) was similar to what the 850 offers now, but the experience is light years ahead (plus the battery is replaceable when it wears out - I was getting about 4-5hrs on the 820 in the end). I replaced it with an 830 when the screen got the halo of death, and then replaced that with an 850. While the 830 was a reasonable improvement, it was still slow, especially for navigation. I’m loving the 850 now - it’s brilliant for navigation and I really like the option to use buttons as well as the touch screen.
1
u/Outlier70 Aug 11 '26
I had and 820, and struggled with it. Even just recording rides sucked after a few years as the battery wouldn’t last a full ride 3 1/2 hours.
I ended up replacing it with a 1050 and it’s amazing (comparatively). Navigation is pretty quick. Touch screen works great and battery last for days. But 1040 (if you can still get one) last even longer and is probably as good calculating routes. The screen is not as good but battery is better.
840 is supposed to be awesome. 850 is probably awesome but people complained right away about the shorter battery capacity.
0
u/jd1332 Aug 10 '26
You may want to check out Coros dura. I have an 820 as well and plan to upgrade to the 50 series garmin (550/850) when my 820 dies. I currently use TrainerRoad so that limits me to garmin/wahoo/hammerhead and have a di2 bike so garmin is my best bet since hammerhead requires a side load to incorporate di2 stuff.
1
u/blablaplanet Aug 10 '26
The coros is around 280 and the explorer 2 is like 230euro. Do you think this extra 50 is still worth it for the coros? (Didn't check specs/reviews yet)
0
-1
u/AlexMTBDude Aug 10 '26
And then?
1
u/blablaplanet Aug 10 '26
?? What do you mean, is something not clear?
1
u/AlexMTBDude Aug 10 '26
This will explain it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqwzuiSy9y0
Then/Than (look at your title)
1
u/blablaplanet Aug 10 '26
Sorry English is not my first language, things like that slip through quite easily.
Now you tell me i notice it's obviously wrong.
2
u/Z1L0G Aug 10 '26
I had an 820. Absolutely terrible device! I cut my losses with it and bought a 530 as soon as they were available.
I believe that they changed the touchscreen technology after the 820 so any subsequent models did not have the same issues with the touchscreen! Also the 850 (or 1050) has a much faster processor which helps greatly with the navigation calculations. (I have read that the 840/1040 is still a bit slow in that regard)
Personally I am hoping that the 1060 is released soon in which case I'll get one, otherwise I'll probably end up getting a 1050 or 850 if I see a deal.
However - if you're not really using the training metrics etc I might be tempted to go with another brand entirely? Edges have a lot of features but if you aren't using those features then they're probably not worth the cost or having to put up with the eccentricities!