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Dirtyhip

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2 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

My 500 was lost in a forest.  Maybe someone else found it and put it to use.  

I think the 500's were the best series of that.  Durable and reliable.

It does what I need to do, and the display is simple b&w so battery life is great. I get about 20 hrs per charge.

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2 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

I suspect motherboard fried. It lasted about 3 years.

I've never had a Garmin die. Somewhere around the house, I still have a 305 Forerunner watch that still worked, last I knew. Last time I checked, my Edge 705 still worked.

Their programmers should be shot and pissed on, but their hardware has always been solid.

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12 minutes ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

I've never had a Garmin die. Somewhere around the house, I still have a 305 Forerunner watch that still worked, last I knew. Last time I checked, my Edge 705 still worked.

Their programmers should be shot and pissed on, but their hardware has always been solid.

I have (maybe?) in my cycling drawer a 305 and two 500s.  I use my cracked screen 520 that is quite a few years old now, but I purchased it because while the 305 & 500s never "died", they did start to lose their battery life.  Seems my 520 is still rocking longer batter life - more than enough for any century I would do.  I think the 500 was a great computer (nice siize and function) and a major improvement over the 305.  The 520 is really just a minor improvement over the 500, and seemingly, the 530 even less of a jump?  

Does the 500 still get software updates and feature improvements? I know, about a year or so ago, the 520 started adding some more "interactive" stuff for rides and segments to keep up with Wahoo changes and Strava stuff.  Has that happened on the 500?

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6 minutes ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

Damfino, but I'd bet my 10 year old 705 still has better battery life than my 2 year old Wahoo. :angry:

One big reason I stopped using the Wahoo because 1) it never warned me the batter was low (not any synced battery like Di2 or Powertap), 2) it drained relatively quickly, and 3) it would die on rides with no warning or anything.  How hard is a 20% battery life notice????  A 20% is or should mean, "Hey, you have 2 hours to get the ride done." and I can just ride and get home with no issues.

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3 minutes ago, bikeman564™ said:

Thankfully not anymore. Aboot 6 months after I bought it, there was a firmware update that killed it :angry: REI replaced it for free.

No active segments?  Virtual partner?  Routing?

Like now my Garmin (and the Wahoo before) warn me like 100 meters before a "starred" Strava segment with the leader's time and a countdown.  That's new in the past year, and not something I turned on.  Just was there one day after an update.

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21 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

No active segments?  Virtual partner?  Routing?

Like now my Garmin (and the Wahoo before) warn me like 100 meters before a "starred" Strava segment with the leader's time and a countdown.  That's new in the past year, and not something I turned on.  Just was there one day after an update.

I don't know of segments until I'm done. What's routing?

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Just now, Dirtyhip said:

YOu can upload a route and it tells you where to turn.  This is a huge feature for going out on long forest routes where google maps does not help you or if you are out of service range.

The Edge 500 allows course files to follow (TCX), but no maps. I've used courses a lot which has turn by turn. Courses were created on ridewithgps.

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6 minutes ago, bikeman564™ said:

The Edge 500 allows course files to follow (TCX), but no maps. I've used courses a lot which has turn by turn. Courses were created on ridewithgps.

It can be tricky with that model.  It gives you an arrow and says "on course"  "Of course.  The 1000 is much easier to work with in this regard..  

Like, imagine a forest 5 way intersection and just an arrow saying this way.  We didn't get lost, but we had to backtrack a few times.  

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1 minute ago, Dirtyhip said:

It can be tricky with that model.  It gives you an arrow and says "on course"  "Of course.  The 1000 is much easier to work with in this regard..  

Like, imagine a forest 5 way intersection and just an arrow saying this way.  We didn't get lost, but we had to backtrack a few times.  

I understand :) Another tricky part is the delay. The 500 shows a line and when to turn. But if there are two upcoming roads close together, it'll say right 150ft. Luckily, it also shows the road name too, but only sometimes. Must be how the course is created. When it shows off course, the arrow points the direction and distance to the course. But I do see your point.

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Just now, bikeman564™ said:

I understand :) Another tricky part is the delay. The 500 shows a line and when to turn. But if there are two upcoming roads close together, it'll say right 150ft. Luckily, it also shows the road name too, but only sometimes. Must be how the course is created. When it shows off course, the arrow points the direction and distance to the course. But I do see your point.

These forest roads sometimes don't even have a number.  At some sections it is a maze of logging roads.  

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2 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

These forest roads sometimes don't even have a number.  At some sections it is a maze of logging roads.  

Yeah, I remember being on some of those in the U.P. (not on bike). Easy to get lost. I'm glad the 500 compass points north...that's good (if using a course).

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46 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

YOu can upload a route and it tells you where to turn.  This is a huge feature for going out on long forest routes where google maps does not help you or if you are out of service range.

I find - as a good back up - is to "download" the map into my phone's Google Maps app ahead of time, so no matter where I am in the "wilderness", my first option (the Garmin) with a good back-up option (my phone GPS which doesn't need data or cell signal). Like when I was in New Zealand with the phone off cellular and wifi, I could still use the GPS to navigate a town or city with full detail because the Google Map for that area had been downloaded.  Very helpful.  If you are going to ride a particular area that is new, just download the map the night before.

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5 minutes ago, bikeman564™ said:

Paper map. When we were biking in the peninsulas of Traverse City, the satellite signals would come in & oot. So we used the paper map a few times.

That would be the back-up's back-up!  I'm thinking there is a 99.9% I will be carrying my phone on any outing, so Garmin on handlebars, phone in jersey pocket, and a map (w/ cue sheet) as potential third. 

I regularly create cue sheets for new areas based off existing data and rides on-line.  I usually study a map to some level to tweak the route to my liking, but often just print the cue sheets but not the map.  I still really don't pre-load a course, since I so often deviate to a different ride depending on mood.

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Just now, Randomguy said:

I have an old 500 or 510, I forget, but it is blue and a funky pattern on it.  Anyway, the battery doesn't last, can I change out the battery on it?

Probably 500.  Hmm, my battery lasts like new. Anywho, it can be replaced but it's a PITA,

 

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