The feature rich Garmin Edge 520 Plus review
The functions you know and have come to rely on with added battery life and better navigation
I like not thinking about the one electronic device I choose to have on my bike. I don’t usually ride with power or a heart rate monitor, opted for a mechanical groupset over an electronic one but have gotten accustomed to having a computer in the middle of my handlebars. Sure, I’ll glance at it to see what time it is, how far I’ve ridden or whether I am going as fast (or slow) as it feels like but I don’t want to be thinking about it. The Garmin Edge 520 Plus adds features and functionality to my riding experience but isn’t intrusive.
I’ve come to know what to expect from a Garmin Edge computer having ridden with the previous generation and spent time with the 820. The 520 Plus does everything a good cycling computer should but ads some of the features previously kept for the higher-end computers. It has a nice 35 x 47 mm colour display, is easily navigated using seven buttons and features a rich set of functions cyclists have come to expect from Garmin.
Coming from the touchscreen Edge 820, it did take me a short period of time to adjust to the buttons but I have come to prefer it especially in colder weather when I am always wearing gloves or when it’s training which sometimes made using the touchscreen difficult on the 820.
The mapping and navigation is excellent, I can upload pre-routed rides and it will give me turn-by-turn directions. The main improvement on the Edge 520 is the addition of Garmin Cycle Map, which gives turn-by-turn navigation, will recalculate your route if you go off-course and can give you directions back to the start of your ride. You can’t create routes on the device itself like on the Edge 1030 and 820, but those auto-generated routes often made use of busy roads most locals wouldn’t choose to ride. I often mapped out my rides on Strava’s Route Builder on my laptop and plugged the device in dragging the GPX file into the New Files folder on the 520 Plus. Very straightforward and the Edge 520 Plus makes your routes easy to follow.
The Edge 520 Plus is very dependable for training keeping track of all the data you’ll need. It can also calculate your VO2 max and FTP along with other training data derived from your heart rate and power. After a ride it will give you an estimate to your needed recovery time which are questionably accurate.
To pair your training devices, the 520 Plus has ANT+ and Bluetooth connectivity allowing you to pair it to your heart-rate monitor, power meter, smart trainer and phone. There’s no wifi connectivity so the device needs to be paired with your smartphone with the Strava and Garmin Connect apps, to be able to automatically upload your rides. Just remember to still plug it in for charging.
On that note, you may get away with charging a Garmin Edge 520 Plus less often, especially when using the routing functions, than on the 820 and 520. Garmin claims the battery should last 15 hours when not using routing. I often went a full 10 hour riding week without charging it and still having some juice left. If you are running low, the device will automatically go into a power save mode which I found lasted surprisingly long. When following a route, the battery lasts easily twice as long as with the 820 where the battery was almost fully drained on a 4 hour routed ride.
The out-front mount that comes with the Edge 520 Plus allows the computer the sit flush with the top of my handlebars making it more esthetically pleasing than previous Garmin mount generations. It also accepts the Varia UT 800 light I ride with during the darker months while the 520 Plus paired easily with this light and the nifty car detecting Varia RTL510 rear light.
Additional features on the Garmin Edge 520 Plus include Strava Live Segments so you can smash your best times on your favourite segments, you can send pre-written messages to other 520 Plus users and incoming text and call notifications.
The Edge 520 Plus is a trusty everyday mid-sized riding computer with good turn-by-turn navigation and automatic rerouting, a strong battery life, buttons, and all the features performance oriented riders need. At $380 for just the device or $500 for the speed sensor, cadence and heart rate monitor bundle, the Edge 520 Plus is likely the best bang for your buck in the Garmin Edge line-up at the moment.
