Garmin Edge 830 Review | Cycling Weekly

The Garmin Edge 800 range of devices has lived in one guise or another for quite few years now. In 2011, the original Garmin Edge 800 was born – the first to feature a touchscreen.

Then came the 820 in 2016. Those first touchscreens were difficult to use, went haywire in the rain and generally glitched out – often at the cost of your whole ride.

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[stevegeek]

I've had my 830 for more than 1 year now and really pleased with it. Definite upgrade from old Edge 1000. Especially like the loooong battery life. I also rate the Garmin Varia rear light / radar which I pair with the 830. Never leave home without it.

[patricepinel]

I agree that it is a well designed object that is a joy to use when everything goes according to plan. In other less ideal circumstances, the navigation simply drives me nuts.

The unit constantly decides that the correct route is one that is passing nearby in parallel from the route I traced in Komoot. It also sometimes sees mini loops in the route and tries to send me into U-Turns. It’s not just my unit, a friend who uses Ride With GPS routes on a 530 has the same issues. So, it spends most of the ride telling me to turn or U-turn. This is where the unit automatically switching from the dashboard to the map when a turn is approaching goes from being a cool feature to being a pain as I have to fight with it to get to the data I want to see.

When I deviate from the planned route, it calculates new routes that seldom make any sense. Sometimes, it is so busy calculating new routes and trying to tell me where to go that it takes minutes to realise that we are back on the originally planned route.

This navigation is the perfect example of trying to do too much and failing miserably.

[vmzgwfv]

just ordered ! the review gave me the information needed to make a decision after days of looking at different units. My old edge 1000 now only lasting max 4 hours with most connections disabled... looking forward to the long battery run time..

Please make a video for a garmin 530! Thks!

[Madtriboy]

Good review. Key Msg to Garmin is that whilst the training effect is really nice touch, they need to find a way for it to work across all feeds eg Zwift and other Garmin devices.

[loadstarelectricalaircondi]

Had mine for a couple of months now, having a few issues with correct data recording such as distance seems to be a problem with the garmin

[wostrick]

Thanks for that. What about the upcoming edge 1040, any (insider) news / details?

[george]

I would rather see a tutorial on how to use the map and routes and how it interfaces with a smartphone app. I have been trying for hours my new one, and I am getting nowhere.

[Eagleburger]

Got my 830 in the mailbox yesterday. Have the 530 and it is great. Wanted to try the touch screen.

[verhagen]

I finally said goodbye to Garmin and went Bolt. What a relief! Wahoo just works! Had so much trouble with the garmin software and the touchscreen. Never again Garmin.

[nigelhaarlidge]

I would have liked to know more about the 2 buttons on the bottom edge 🤔
How to use....

[SherryOram]

I was considering purchasing this particular model. Could you please tell me if the data output also includes calories burned durning cycling? Thanks in advance 🤗🇨🇦👏🏻

[NigelPCrane]

Must confess to being really disappointed with the 830. I spent more time with it not pairing to the phone that it did pairing and losing the GPS signal every time I went under some trees. Switched to the Roam and no problems. Garmin software is not very user friendly.

[MichaelRedford]

Why do people struggle so much with garmin connect.it works so well

[markbentley]

Battery life is great. Touch screen can be pretty laggy at times. Ride upload is full of glitches and you need to be a software engineer to solve them. No such problems with my other computer, the Elemnt Bolt. ClimbPro, which you didn't mention, is pretty cool and now improved

[trroland]

Garmin Connect the app and Garmin Connect the website may seem a bit clunky compared to newer rivals, because both are older and embedded with older legacy approaches. They need a wholistic rethink and maybe make one version for serious training racers and another for tourist.

[nclsv]

Is there a 830 plus coming soon? Or is this still a smart choice to buy mid 2012?

[amritv]

Is the battery of Garmin Edge 830 replaceable? If so, then from where should I buy the battery, what should be the specification of the replacement battery and how do I replace the existing battery ?

[armansalvoro]

Thanks for the review..just got my edge830 today. 🚴🏽‍♂️💪🏼

[MrNeurovegal]

Well, I still can’t understand how the configuration process and phone app for such a great device is so, so, so bad. I’ve got a Wahoo Bolt and a Garmin 830. The main reason I still use my Wahoo (besides I love it) is the headache for the frequent failures in sync and the pain in the ass that is to configure or change settings on the device through the app. All is so easy on my Wahoo. Otherwise the device is absolutely great. I’ve got same problem with my beloved watch (Garmin Phoenix 6) compared to my previous (Suunto). Why, Garmin, why?