There is no doubt for me that this is Garmin’s best GPS cycling computer to date, I’m a fan of the form factor of 5xx series computers so getting all the technology of the Edge 1000 and more is fantastic.
I was a little surprised with Garmin moving the Edge 820 down to the size of the Edge 520, I’ve shown the new Garmin Edge 820 to a few current Edge 810 owners and they didn’t like the new size. I wonder if a future update of the Edge 1000 will bring it back to around the old Edge 810 size, for me that’s a better ‘large’ size computer. Again, not an issue with me a I’ve always used the 5xx series sized computers and my eyesight is good.
GroupTrack, LiveTrack, Connect IQ, incident detection and Strava Live Segments all work well and show Garmin is continually innovating by adding performance and safety features, the Garmin Connect app has had welcome updates as well.
The touchscreen is not quite there yet and I’m hoping the issues can be resolved with a firmware update. That’s about the only thing I could fault with the device right now.
The Garmin Edge 820 is priced at USD $399 sitting exactly half way between the Edge 520 at USD $299 and Edge 1000 at USD $499, in Australia the Garmin Edge 820 is AUD $609 with the Edge 520 at AUD $449 and Edge 1000 at AUD $749.
After 3-4 weeks of riding with the Edge 820 there is not much I could fault, pretty much everything works as it should and confirms the Garmin Edge 820 as the most advanced GPS cycling computer on the market right now. Garmin sent me out the Edge 820 bundle to review, I’m sending that back shortly but I have also bought my own Edge 820. I can highly recommend the Edge 820.