Garmin Edge 820 - Reviews

(3.7)

101 reviews

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For Garmin Edge 820, 101 customer reviews collected from 1 e-commerce sites, and the average score is 3.7.

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25.7.2016

I have owned this for only a few days, so this is likely to be an incomplete account of its full capabilities and functions, however what I can do is compare it to the Mio Cyclo 505 which is the unit I had previously. For readers of this, be aware that this is a review of the Edge 820 Explore and not the Edge 820. The Edge 820 is more expensive and has a greater number of training features such as FTP analysis etc. Nonetheless, the Explore has everything that a recreational cyclist like myself (commuting, weekend road cycling, occasional sportive) might need. The only feature that the Edge has over the Edge Explore, that I would have quite liked to have seen, is Strava Live,where you can measure your realtime progress against previous PBs or against the KOM. As for how the Edge Explore shapes up against the Edge, you can read the blurb on the website. They are essentially the same unit but one has more features than the other. The following compares the Edge Explore to the Mio Cyclo 505 as they are both similarly priced units and have similar capabilities on paper:Screen: My main reason for returning the Mio was its inability to cope with rain or sweat. The screen would often go haywire and I would lose my ride data - very annoying. Apparently this is a known issue with the Mio. Beware. I took the Edge Explore 820 out for the first time yesterday where it was duly rained upon and sweated upon. Works well. No malfunctions, unprompted screen changes, or data loss. The screen size may be an issue for some however. The 820 Explore is about the same size as the Garmin 520 (i.e. much smaller than either the old 810 and the Mio Cyclo 505). Having said that, I didn't have problem with the size of the map or the data display. Screen brightness is good, and it works well in bright light. Touch screen is good but not excellent. Much better however than the Mio, which had quite a delay after each 'press'. All in all, considering this was the main reason for my purchase, it has performed well.Battery: Another bugbear for me with the Mio was battery life. If you are out for about 6 hours (i.e. a long sportive distance), you would struggle to get the unit to the end of the ride. If mapping function was turned on it lasted even less. Yesterday with the 820 Explore I was out for 2hrs 45mins, with the screen on full brightness, and the mapping function working throughout. I arrived home with 87% battery life remaining!!! Amazing. The unit does have a battery save feature which switches the screen off in-between turns, which would save even more battery life, however, having started out with this on I found that the directions for turns were coming a little late. See belowNavigation: The audible and written directions I feel are too late. This lead to a couple of moments of indecision approaching junctions. With the map screen on all the time, I could be more confident I knew where the next turn would be visually, rather than having to wait for the computer to tell me. Annoyingly though, this meant I couldn't have my data screen up, and I quite like to keep an eye on cadence and my average speed. I'm not sure if there is a way you can have it on this screen and it switch to the map prior to a turn automatically, but if there is I can't see how you set it up. Incidentally, the Mio Cyclo does have this feature, which I find really useful if you are relying on mapping to find your way.Other niggles: Another problem I have with the unit, is that it seems to have calibrated it's barometric altimeter to 60metres below my actual elevation. I know that my house is about 20m above sea level, yet the unit is currently reading 40m below sea-level. The consequence of this is that my total ascent is correct (presumably) but my maximum elevation is falsely low. I'm not sure if I can re-calibrate this somehow. I will have a look at the instructions. If not, the unit will be going back to the shop for a replacement.So, in a nutshell, early experience of this little unit is good. I have not given it 5 stars, for the problems I have mentioned. Even if these are able to be solved by delving into the menus a bit deeper, the UI on this unit is not as user friendly as the Mio Cyclo 505, but that may be because it has more features. Having said that I think that for the same price, I would definitely buy this unit over the Mio Cyclo 505. Hopefully this is useful info for those looking to buy.

20.8.2018

Bought elsewhere for a good price. Set the touch sensitivity to medium. Unlike the button-only 520, the 820 can create routes on the fly - not as well as Google on your average phone but it can be done none the less. It took me much of last weekend to begin to get to grips with such a complex device. Have ridden with it a few times but not in the rain where many feel the touch screen becomes its weakest point. You can set the screen to auto-scroll through a customisable numbers of screens instead of swiping.Setting up wasn't as straight forward as it could be - I had to pair it twice with my iPhone before Garmin Connect Mobile would see it over Bluetooth.Pairing my Garmin HRM was pretty easy as was my Giant speed/cadence transmitter. To download maps & updates, you need to connect to a PC or Mac via USB. Although i've set up WiFi, I'm yet to figure out when it is used! The 820 requires Garmin's Connect application that's available for IOS, Android, Windows & MAC OS is a bit hit or miss at times - Garmin's reputation for getting its software & firmware to run smoothly before launching a replacement product isn't that great when you factor in user comments but reading then rereading the on-line manual & watching numerous YouTube videos certainly helps.The screen's clarity isn't up to smartphone standards but is useable rather than breathtaking. It will work with most Power meters & will show left & right levels. You can set various automatic parameters such as start, pause on stop or pause on an adjustable minimum speed, scrolling at 3 different speeds, set up different types of riding or repeated routes. You can analyse performance, set it it navigate to an address, points of interest, map ref, previous searches, download other's routes, segments, access Strava call a predefined number if you sneeze too hard, allow other's to follow your route live, communicate with other riders with compatible devices including routes, monitor their position on the same ride etc, etc, etc.I will update these notes as I get more miles under its belt. I have so far only wanted to throw it across my carpet rather than into the gutter.Updated Jan 2019:Bluetooth seems to have packed up - did work for a while with my iPhoneXS but now refuses to reconnect. Goes round in circles, telling me delete all BT references to the 820 then retry, lists it but the app doesn't connect!I, like many have a low opinion of Garmin's ability to write effective applications or firmware for there devices. If you can dispense with the not particularly great colour screen, consider the rechargeable models from Wahoo!Update 16/02/2019:Garmin have at last released a working firmware version (11.00) that appears to have sorted out a lot of bugs including Bluetooth connectivity - I now get a single entry in my iPhoneXS' Bluetooth list instead of 2! Goes from 1 star to 4. There are a few wrinkles such as not being able to edit the Odometer distance on the device or Garmin Connect app. Route planning on the fly is so damn clumsy compared with most phones & the next model really needs a button to scroll through the display - you can't use gloves on the touch-screen. I've just paired an Edge Remote that solves the touch screen issues when wearing winter gloves.

2.4.2019

Don’t read too much into the touch screen being laggy , I’ve used mine on 3 rides so far without issues, it’s currently set to medium and it reacts to every touch, the unit itself is very good and reasonably accurate in speed and distance etc, battery life seems good but again that depends on sensors attached and gps use , I’ve not had chance to test the water resistance as of yet but I don’t envisage any issues on that front either , in the box you get the out front mount as well as 2 others that attach to the stem via the black rubber bands , so I’ve attach one to my MTB and one to my indoor road bike ??The unit picks up speed\cadence\HR monitor with no issues either even non Garmin sensors.

15.5.2019

I'm using this mostly for motorcycle routing - it supports this and e-Bike options too; as well as usual standard bicycling options.But also I use it for cycle training (performance metric tracking) at weekends too.I also have the Garmin heart-rate, speed and cadence monitors.With all being picked-up as I start cycling and working well with this device.Entering the routes is not quite as simple as entering just the full PostCode as you would on a standard SatNav.When you start to enter the PostCode then at some point you will be prompted for House Number and Street Name.This always happens and you will need to have a rough idea of these to enter such addresses.You can edit the "Saved Locations" afterwards...

8.5.2018

Predominantly used for mtb. I wanted a device that could navigate me around a route that I had created myself. This works brilliantly for this, at no point did I struggle to find which way to go! Price maybe a little high but fully satisfied with the purchase. Battery lasts well, over 50%left after a 3hr ride with full navigation on. The touch screen could be a little more responsive, but what do you expect, it’s not a £800 iPhone/Samsung etc. Plugging into garmin connect gives good data post ride. Personally I have no problem creating a route and uploading via garmin connect/explore. If you take a bit of time to create a route I found it to work very well. I haven’t experimented asking the device to plan a route for me,

20.6.2018

Great upgrade on the 810 (mine just died while charging) - smaller, lighter and with more functionality. Take s little to adjust to slightly modified screen format. However, does not offer Bike profiles, just activity profiles. So you can create different activity profiles for each bike, but it means manually configuring each screen as opposed to just enabling the bike you are on, with the same screens. Never mind.Having written the above, I now find you can copy an activity, which allows you to create new ones very easily, once you find the screen configuration you like.The event notification (accident) is impressive, but beware it is quite sensitive. It can trigger with hard braking,

19.3.2017

This is my first proper cycle computer having previously only owned simple wireless magnet-based computers that weren't particularly accurate and prone to breaking quite often. I'm seriously impressed!Yes, quite a hefty price tag but you're getting a device that not only works as a fantastic navigation aid, but also relays advanced cycling metrics back to you during and after your ride. I'm by no means an advanced or professional rider but my inner geek loves this sort of data. It fits well on the bike, I have got the bumper as well, and I also thread the leash around the handlebars as extra security in the unlikely event it falls off mid-ride! FYI, I bought the bundle package which has the HR,

26.7.2019

After reading so many reviews on both the Garmin and Wahoo G.P.S computers I nearly opted for the Element Bolt , the only reason I went for the Garmin was because I really wanted to use the Varia radar system to let me be aware of vehicles approaching from behind as we ride small country roads mostly . I was slightly concerned about buying the Garmin after quite a few bad reviews but to be honest after a price drop to £160 for the 820 I decided to give it a go . I have only used on four 40mile rides but as of yet have had no problems , everything works well , it seems to be accurate,works perfectly with the Varia which I cant reccomend enough and battery seems ok so far ,

17.10.2016

The new 4.10 device firmware has dealt with all of the previous issues. Unit appears water resistant contrary to previous poster; it is using GLOSNAS as well as GPS and GPS locks are very quick now. I have had no problems with mis-reporting of Strava segment times; elevation issues now fixed as per changelog:New Feature! Added support for LiveTrack Auto Start.Added Touch Sensitivity setting to improve touchscreen performance with gloves and in wet conditions.Added the ability to swipe through data screens while recording a ride while the screen is locked.Improved elevation recording due to poor initial calibration and drift throughout a ride.Fixed an issue where position could be reported

3.8.2018

Fab product from garmin for tracking my rides. I was disappointed to find that this doesn’t link up with either my Apple Watch or any of their own Garmin watches to monitor heart rate so had to buy a heart rate monitor to use this feature, it does however pair up with my cadence and speed sensors.The accessories are somewhat a weak point, while mounting the out front mount to my bike at the right angle the head of one of the screws broke off without much pressure rendering it now useless for the Tri bars as it’s now stuck in a road bike configuration. Garmin are less than helpful about this and I’m still trying to get a half decent response to the email I sent them on the 21st July.

29.9.2019

I decided to upgrade from the 520 to the 820 mainly for the more advanced navigation and I am not disappointed. The touch interface is simple to use, the battery lasts all day on a ride and it picked up my ant+ devices quickly as well.I use the strava routes feature with is great. It is a little annoying that you have to first sync garmin connect before it will connect to stara, but that is a very minor thing.Very please with the device and the ability for me to just ride off and then have it navigate me home. I didn't buy the garmin maps, I instead used the free community OS maps and saved myself £80. They are great too as they tell you where the cycle lanes are.

2.5.2020

Love the 820. Had a 500 before.Touch screen works really well once you get used to it - and seems to work with a licked finger (ugh! I know) if you have gloves on.Simple to use - I took my family London - Paris with it on the bike and had no problems at all.Love the fact that if you connect to wifi - it updates Garmin Connect on my phone instantly without me having to ask it to sync.Maps are easy to read and the instructions are clear - never had a problem with Garmin - particularly the later ones like this 820 as batter life will last a day of riding no problem.

1.11.2019

Well Garmin definitely know what they do and we’ll. great little bike computer though depends how you use it on the battery life front as if you plan a map in and use this the battery will last about 3 hrs well that’s what I get when I do, but if using it for just tracking and stats it’s as on the tin. Touch screen is ok but not great could be improved but hay for the size screen can’t expect phone touch quality. If your not a tech then can see why it take time to get to grips with, but it’s actually easy once you set it up.

5.3.2019

I bought this to replace my old and trusted Garmin E-Trex which I have been using for many years. The Garmin Edge 820 is fantastic! It has so many features and useful modes. It's probably a bit too sophisticated for me but I absolutely love it. The GPS is incredibly sensitive, the display is clear, it is user friendly and almost every day I discover some other feature that is useful. It links to my phone and so I can keep track of my rides from the Garmin App. The technology for the cost is unbelievable. Fully recommended.

29.4.2019

All good, the seller was superb, the package arrived promptly. only thing is the Garmin 820 itself and the touch screen setup, leaves its a bit more difficult to use than the little brother 520 but the extra features and the colour screens are way better. i wish the mapping on the route guidance was better as well as the follow me feature so you can find the rest of your group or team on a long ride or sportive or starting out at different times in different places. I think i got it at the right price in a sale.

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