Simplified, rugged design with 1.8” display that’s crisp and easy to read in sunlight or low-light conditionsWith GPS, GLONASS and Galileo satellites and an altimeter, you’ll know how far, fast, hard and high you’ve ridden on the longest climbs or on your way through the cityIncludes navigation with turn prompts and even shows you how to get back to start; download courses from the Course Creator feature in Garmin Connect™ online community, and race in real time against Strava Live SegmentsCompatible with Varia™ cycling awareness accessories, including rearview radar and smart bike lightsConnected features, when using a compatible device, include smart notifications, weather and more; LiveTrack and assistance features make it easy to share your locationBattery ... MoreSimplified, rugged design with 1.8” display that’s crisp and easy to read in sunlight or low-light conditionsWith GPS, GLONASS and Galileo satellites and an altimeter, you’ll know how far, fast, hard and high you’ve ridden on the longest climbs or on your way through the cityIncludes navigation with turn prompts and even shows you how to get back to start; download courses from the Course Creator feature in Garmin Connect™ online community, and race in real time against Strava Live SegmentsCompatible with Varia™ cycling awareness accessories, including rearview radar and smart bike lightsConnected features, when using a compatible device, include smart notifications, weather and more; LiveTrack and assistance features make it easy to share your locationBattery life: up to 15 hours

Data screens too small to see

Coming from earlier Garmin Edge bike computers, I expected this (relatively new) unit to be the same. What I didn't reckon on is that the screen is so small that viewing even 4 data points on the display is darned near impossible -- font is just too small! Mind you, this is from (bent) arm's length in cycling position, i.e. pretty close.As well, the button sequence to start an exercise has changed from the Edge 510/520 series. Now it takes 2 or 3 presses to start a normal session whereas before it was just one. Silly and totally unnecessary.For $100 more, buy the Edge 530 -- you can see the data (even with old man's eyes) and the in-use routine is the same (as the 520).Feel silly that I didn't anticipate the font size issue; the programming is on Garmin.Also ... MoreComing from earlier Garmin Edge bike computers, I expected this (relatively new) unit to be the same. What I didn't reckon on is that the screen is so small that viewing even 4 data points on the display is darned near impossible -- font is just too small! Mind you, this is from (bent) arm's length in cycling position, i.e. pretty close.As well, the button sequence to start an exercise has changed from the Edge 510/520 series. Now it takes 2 or 3 presses to start a normal session whereas before it was just one. Silly and totally unnecessary.For $100 more, buy the Edge 530 -- you can see the data (even with old man's eyes) and the in-use routine is the same (as the 520).Feel silly that I didn't anticipate the font size issue; the programming is on Garmin.Also feel a bit guilty about sending it back -- it works and hasn't actually been mis-represented in any way. But I know I won't use it.

Feature packed but slow and unreliable

Contains everything you really need for riding. The climb pro feature is a vital feature to manage your energy on any hilly route. You can even use it for navigation: the turn-by-turn navigation works good enough to find your way. Only on rare occasion you miss a turn because the device lacks map data. The synchronization is quite slow and it often takes minutes to transfer a course to the device. A handful of times it happened that the device crashed mid ride which resulted in a couple kilometers of lost recording.

Garmin Edge 130 is a great entry level cycling GPS device

The Garmin Edge 130 is a great entry-level GPS cycling computer, particularly if you just want fairly basic data. It can be configured to provide a lot of really good information, including speed, distance traveled, heart rate (with a chest heart rate monitor) and total time of bike ride. It can be configured to provide average overall speed and average moving speed. It can be configured to automatically upload your ride at the end to Garmin's app, "Garmin Connect." You will then be able to see your entire route on a map, together with the above information, as well as other data. My only very minor issue with this device is that it does not support "training effect," which is a composite score based on how much time you spend in various heart rate zones during a ... MoreThe Garmin Edge 130 is a great entry-level GPS cycling computer, particularly if you just want fairly basic data. It can be configured to provide a lot of really good information, including speed, distance traveled, heart rate (with a chest heart rate monitor) and total time of bike ride. It can be configured to provide average overall speed and average moving speed. It can be configured to automatically upload your ride at the end to Garmin's app, "Garmin Connect." You will then be able to see your entire route on a map, together with the above information, as well as other data. My only very minor issue with this device is that it does not support "training effect," which is a composite score based on how much time you spend in various heart rate zones during a bike ride. However, for me, at least, this is a very minor issue, particularly since you will be able to see how your heart rate changed over time during a workout. I personally would not spend the additional $$ to upgrade to a device that includes training effect. Even if you are a competitive athlete, this GPS device may be all you need. I myself am a competitive triathlete--I often win my age group and consistently place in the top 3 and the Edge 130 does a great job for me. Erik's, in Rochester MN, is a great place to buy this device. Their sales and service departments are outstanding.

Good overall

So far I have just used it for showing speed, distance traveled, etc., and it is good for that. The one feature I was looking forward to using was the ability to pair with one of the Varia radar units that warn of traffic approaching from behind. The Edge 130+ does pair with a Varia radar unit, and it displays a graphic of approaching traffic, but the audible warning is not loud enough. When I mounted the Edge 130+ on the Garmin extended out-front bike mount, I couldn't hear it at all unless I got off the bike and put my ear right next to it. When I mounted the Edge 130+ on the stem mount that comes with the unit, I could just hear it while riding. Unfortunately, the out-front mount puts the unit in a much better position, so I consider it a defect to have to use ... MoreSo far I have just used it for showing speed, distance traveled, etc., and it is good for that. The one feature I was looking forward to using was the ability to pair with one of the Varia radar units that warn of traffic approaching from behind. The Edge 130+ does pair with a Varia radar unit, and it displays a graphic of approaching traffic, but the audible warning is not loud enough. When I mounted the Edge 130+ on the Garmin extended out-front bike mount, I couldn't hear it at all unless I got off the bike and put my ear right next to it. When I mounted the Edge 130+ on the stem mount that comes with the unit, I could just hear it while riding. Unfortunately, the out-front mount puts the unit in a much better position, so I consider it a defect to have to use the stem mount.I consider the audible warning to be the most important feature of the Varia radar unit. I hope Garmin improves the volume of the Edge 130+.

Good, not great

I’ve used this product between 10 and 15 times. I like its size, battery life, and features, like showing you progress on your climb.Here are the things I don’t like that I wish I knew beforehand.1) The climb progress screen only shows if it knows your route in advance. You have to create a course in the Garmin app and upload it to the device first. Otherwise, if you go up a steep hill, it will not show you your progress or bill grade.2) If you go off course, it won’t show you how to get back. You’ll just see your progress wondering into the void with the trail or road you are supposed to be on to the left or right. It is a small screen, so it can be hard to tell that you are off course until you’ve ridden the wrong road for a bit.3) If you are on a climb on ... MoreI’ve used this product between 10 and 15 times. I like its size, battery life, and features, like showing you progress on your climb.Here are the things I don’t like that I wish I knew beforehand.1) The climb progress screen only shows if it knows your route in advance. You have to create a course in the Garmin app and upload it to the device first. Otherwise, if you go up a steep hill, it will not show you your progress or bill grade.2) If you go off course, it won’t show you how to get back. You’ll just see your progress wondering into the void with the trail or road you are supposed to be on to the left or right. It is a small screen, so it can be hard to tell that you are off course until you’ve ridden the wrong road for a bit.3) If you are on a climb on a course you programmed and you go off course, you won’t see any notification at all. Your progress on the climb will stay the same until you get back on the right course. It gave me a phantom instruction to turn right today, and I went up a steep hill for 10 minutes before realizing that I was off course. It is disconcerting to be in an unfamiliar place without any indication or instruction on how to get back.4) The Garmin course creator has an automatic course creator which is cool. If you are bored of your usual routes, you tell it how far you want to go and what direction, and it will create a course. However, sometimes it will tell you to get on a road that you don’t feel safe riding on. Today it wanted me to turn onto a two lane highway with no bike lane. I decided to go an alternate way.It is good for tracking distance, time, speed, and calories. I won’t rely on the GPS directions in unfamiliar territory anymore.

Ideal

I have the Garmin 500 (2010 vintage), 830, and now the 130 in my stable of bike computers. They’re all superb. Each provides features I’ve used and enjoyed. The more recent 130 serves my basic needs of speed, cadence, heart rate, elevation gain, and trip distance in a compact package. While I enjoy the multiple map and other features on my 830, it was a tad large for my personal bike cockpit needs. I like keeping my handlebars as uncluttered as possible. Over time, I’ve discovered there are times a bike computer can distract from the joy of riding, and surroundings, with too much screen and too many features. The 130 is ideal for most of my riding needs, and so far battery life seems sufficient for most rides.

Mixed Bag

Finally decided to get on board with the GPS enabled cycling computers after using standard computers (wheel sensors) on my bikes since the mid 80's. I opted for the $50 upgrade here with the HR monitor, as it's useful to not only see my HR in real time but also to look back on the ride and see what the average and max HR readings were. I've only had this long enough for about 6 rides, but here's my impression so far: Disappointed in the communication between the HR strap and the head unit. During my last two rides, the HR kept reading in the high 50's to the low 60's for the beginning of the ride, sometimes going into the low 70's. That might be true for a resting HR or while walking around in my house, but not while riding. Then at some point (today it was after ... MoreFinally decided to get on board with the GPS enabled cycling computers after using standard computers (wheel sensors) on my bikes since the mid 80's. I opted for the $50 upgrade here with the HR monitor, as it's useful to not only see my HR in real time but also to look back on the ride and see what the average and max HR readings were. I've only had this long enough for about 6 rides, but here's my impression so far: Disappointed in the communication between the HR strap and the head unit. During my last two rides, the HR kept reading in the high 50's to the low 60's for the beginning of the ride, sometimes going into the low 70's. That might be true for a resting HR or while walking around in my house, but not while riding. Then at some point (today it was after the first 15 minutes of the ride), it begins reading properly. I've used HR monitors for over 30 years, so I'm well aware that you need to moisten the sensors, and I've also had finicky HR readings occasionally from other devices, but not to this extent. I expected this to work better. Sometimes in the first several minutes there is no HR reading at all. I like the fact that it automatically syncs my ride to my Strava profile…Or at least it did for the first two times...then it didn't. But while fiddling around with the unit and the Garmin phone app, I somehow got it to recognize that I'd done a couple of rides and it then uploaded the data to both Strava and the Garmin app. I’m not finding that the navigation on the unit or the app very intuitive. The app tends to show me what it wants me to see, most of which I have no interest in. Took me some experimenting with the app to learn that I was able to set the timer on the unit so that the clock would not run all the time. My preference is to only have the clock running while I’m moving so that my average speed is a reflection of my actual riding, not how much time I spend at stop lights. Even the guy in the bike shop didn’t know that this was an option. Garmin could do a lot better job here of providing an owner’s manual that walks you through the navigation and options. Right now I’m still learning by trial and error. The unit’s display gives you all the date on the same screen; current speed, average speed, elapsed time, distance, and HR. I would prefer to also have the option of toggling through different modes as I do with a conventional cycling computer, where I can just see each bit of data at one time, in larger numbers, but that’s not an option here. I think if I’d had the option to try this for a couple of weeks prior to purchasing, I would have passed and stuck to my cycling computer and Strava app.

Not so good. would return if I could.

Bought this to replace a Bryton 310 I was using that broke because the internal GPS antenna separated from the board. Use to mainly track my rides, I don't usually need Nav features.Initial observations 1) This thing is super light and is tiny. If you are even remotely far sighted you will have trouble seeing the small type on the screen. The Data fields themselves are ok though 2) Build quality is "ok"... not great. combined with how light it is, it doesn't inspire confidence if dropped and the plastic housing feels "soft". Buy a silicon cover for it on Amazon to protect it. 3) it connects to Ant and BT sensors and auto uploads results to phone when done. 4)It is SLOW. If your using the breadcrumb navigation, the turn prompts are going to drive you nuts. Its like ... MoreBought this to replace a Bryton 310 I was using that broke because the internal GPS antenna separated from the board. Use to mainly track my rides, I don't usually need Nav features.Initial observations 1) This thing is super light and is tiny. If you are even remotely far sighted you will have trouble seeing the small type on the screen. The Data fields themselves are ok though 2) Build quality is "ok"... not great. combined with how light it is, it doesn't inspire confidence if dropped and the plastic housing feels "soft". Buy a silicon cover for it on Amazon to protect it. 3) it connects to Ant and BT sensors and auto uploads results to phone when done. 4)It is SLOW. If your using the breadcrumb navigation, the turn prompts are going to drive you nuts. Its like it cant keep up. the 100m prompt comes up at what feels like 50m and the 20m prompt comes up at the turn and the "turn here" prompt a good 3 seconds after you have already completed the turn. 5) this unit crashes a lot if you use navigation, especially if you use waypoints/ course points on your map. I figured this out when I realized that the computer kept crashing at the same houses on a particular route for a group ride. sure enough it was crashing where ever I put a course point and would keep crashing until I got out of the geographic area. Its also crashed a couple time for no identifiable reason.I have a ticket open with Garmin support... they are stumped. they admit its not working as it should but no solution. To be honest I would return it if I could but its beyond the 90 return period at MEC and I only started using the Navigation features and thus the crashing after the initial 90 days.Its very likely that If I used the unit like I used the Bryton before it that I would never see a crash. I may just be over taxing it. But if its an advertised feature should it not work? Have I known the unit cant handle it I would have bought a cheaper Edge 20 or something that lacks Nav altogether. Really disappointed. Hoping Garmin replaces my unit but right now I just want to tape it to a 1/4 stick of TNT and blow this thing. If this thing is any indication of Garmins current build quality at the entry level then I doubt I will buy another.

almost perfect

I was looking for a garmin bike computer :- bluetooth (no need for a cable to download courses)- cheap (I wanted something only a fraction of my bike price)- very easily readable in the sun- with customizable data fields, and overall the possibility of displaying the route map and the HR on the same screen.- with breadcrumbs type course planning- with change of direction warnings- with good battery life- small (i don't want a desktop on my bike...:D)I've got all that with the garmin edge 130Only drawback, it doesn't handle the gps recording per second.