GPS tech (Garmin, Hammerhead, Wahoo, RWGPS, etc)

Unless I've missed it, it doesn't have a dark/night mode so it is far too bright to see comfortably and wastes battery power

I looked at yours when you mentioned it a couple of years ago but I think it doesn't do power, is that right? I think that's why I didn't use it.

Agree that the car apps / Google are not great for cycling.

The ones I have on my phone are:

• rwgps, which I pay for,
  
• osmand, which I paid for a small one off amount,
  
• bikecomputer pro (ditto), which is the best all round alternative I've found for my needs as it does power, and it's designed for cycling, - cyclemeter, which is very good for intervals.
  
  
  

Good point. I generally have it so the screen turns on/off.

I don't know why they don't add a dark mode. I have asked them.

On bikecomputer they had a dark mode which was auto. I asked the guy to make it possible to enable it all the time to save battery, and he did.

You can use an app like Night Screen, I have it installed on my Karoo to lower the brightness at night.

It's not just the brightness, it's flipping the colours so it has a black background and colours that work with that.

It will show raw power and RPM figures from a Bluetooth power meter.

Im now leaning towards the garmin 530 at £200

Reading reviews it sounds like its actually a finished product, rather than the beta tester units that Garmin tend to ship (an approach that the other manufacturers seem to have followed)

Any compelling alternatives?

I have used garmin devices from the etrex H, etrex 20, Oregon, the edge 800 and now the 530.

Very satisfied with the 530 though occasionally miss the touch screen of the 800, but not too often

No, you won't regret the 530, it's very solid and has the right functionality.

May even be better deals on it since the new models came out.

So RWGPS does it, can someone explain for an idiot?

Decent reduction on Top end Garmin Watches.

Garmin Epix Pro 2 Sapphire

https://amjwatches.co.uk/product/garmin-epix-pro-gen-2-sapphire-edition-47mm-4460

Garmin Fenix 7X Pro Sapphire Solar

https://amjwatches.co.uk/product/garmin-fenix-7x-pro-sapphire-solar-edition-47mm-4458

51mm too - https://amjwatches.co.uk/product/garmin-fenix-7x-pro-sapphire-solar-edition-51mm-4457

I was sort of waiting for the 8 but that is very tempting.

Anyone seen deals on a 1040 Solar anywhere?
I still want to play with one with the idea to let the missus have my 1030 Plus then sell off the 1030.

Balfe has it for 9% off and with their additional save25 code it's £542

Thanks. bike24 is a smidge cheaper (629EU) and bikeinn is 572.49 (~490.15 quid) so still looking like it's £50 better to order one when I'm in Spain for El Piri rather than buy in the UK.

rather than buy in the UK

always the better option.

Had to jump start my Garmin 530 before a ride this morning and didn't plug the USB cover back in. Helpfully it jettisoned itself mid cycle - anyone have a spare/good replacement bodge that isn't £20 odd from ebay? Blu tac looking like the front runner at the mo...

Could you get it through a cycle to work scheme?

"Accessories" seem to be included in a lot of schemes now.

Didn't think of that. Possibly. I'll have a look at their policy.

How have you got on with yours after a couple of weeks?

I've now used it (Giant Dash L200) for 4 long rides and am very happy with it.

The functionality is what I want but the main thing is that it's just much more pleasant to look at than my Garmin. Given I spend many cumulative hours staring at the thing that counts for a lot.

There have been no major malfunctions of the type that occurred when I had one (actually two) of these two years ago, so it looks like they have fixed the big issues. However, twice in four rides the GPS has drifted slightly. Both times it got it back within ten minutes. Neither was bad enough to impede navigation, but worse than I've had in the Garmin and could be an issue if it happened in a city.

Can’t find the 530 for £200 anymore - I should have bought one a week or so ago - so £120 for the L200 is tempting again.

And edit

Bought another l200 at £115. Fingers crossed.

A younger me is bemused that I’m actually paying attention to prices and not just getting the best shiniest thing

Anyone have any experience with aftermarket quick fit straps for garmin watches (lots on Amazon) ~£40 for the garmin version vs £9-20ish for aftermarket. I’d just get silicone, it’s just I like the ability to switch straps easily and sometimes put my watch on the bars.

I've never had a problem.

I bought a bunch for my Fenix and other half's vivoactive 4 from AliX for like £1-2 each. They took a couple of weeks to come and one of the VA4 ones occasionally releases by itself but generally they're pretty decent quality.