Before the virus broke out and they were cancelled, I registered for a couple of long distance & self supported events. To satisfy my navigational needs, I plundered the piggy bank and treated myself to a Garmin Edge 530. While I found the functionality to be really great so far, I’m also a bit overwhelmed by all the functions, apps etc.
So to my question: What are your favorite apps, widgets etc. from Connect IQ? What are some of the setting options that you consider essential? Or what are functions, that are maybe a bit more obscure?
I really appreciate any input!
(And yes, I’ve already watched all the videos of our two favorite gear reviewers, Lama & Rainmaker )
The nav is pretty sweet, I’m always happy to get warnings about sharp turns even though I don’t have a course loaded. Think GPLama covered basic setup - most important IMHO is setting power to 1-sec recording. Probably a couple others I’m not thinking of…
Next up is setting zones to match TrainerRoad:
Not sure if this matters to you, but I know my Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (LTHR) and so I set heart rate as % LT
but then didn’t bother setting HR zones, because I don’t look at them in GC, TrainerRoad, or WKO. I can climb all day in the mountains at HR in 130-140bpm range, so during a ride I will look at HR on 530 from time to time. But I don’t bother displaying HR zones on the 530, or reviewing after the ride.
Apps - I’ve only loaded RideWithGPS app. Did use some of the Xert stuff on my old 520, but that was years ago and didn’t really find it useful. But some do.
I continue to tweak the data fields on pages while on rides… pretty easy if on a trail or less traveled roads. Recently I’ve done some max effort testing and wanted to know max power of each lap, so during a recovery interval quickly tweaked my power graph page while doing some easy pedaling. Pretty sure my navigation map page has been tweaked to show speed (if its my turn pulling) and 10-sec average power (my preference). Climb pro is really nice, but I found the elevation profile annoying while on a state highway, some miles later I removed that during a short climb on a back road. Also tweaked things on lap summary page to have it show average lap power instead of lap speed (and added 4 fields to use while riding: 10-sec power, cadence, HR, speed).
Data fields are easily tweaked while riding if you aren’t on a busy road. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, the user manual has a list of all data fields you might want to scan for ideas: Edge 530 - Data Fields
Its maybe been mentioned earlier in the thread but if youve got a garmin Varia the app MyBikeTraffic.com MyBikeTraffic.com - Home gives you some good stats on vehicle numbers/ speeds. I think the website from memory gives you the exact location of every motor vehicle pass too.
Turn off climb pro (it annoys the cr@p out of me!!)
If you are a Strava premium subscriber, it will transfer routes onto it automatically. It’s actually easier than using the Garmin Connect app.
I’ve also got a Garmin watch, so I’m now pretty much logging everything into Garmin Connect!
Oh, I use a PowerPod as a power meter (they are great!). I have a widget on the Garmin that allows it to display headwind speed. That’s is pretty cool!
I have found it really useful on long climbs. I’m a non-climber flatlander that travels out west occasionally where I encounter real climbs - 5-10 mile climbs. I find the information on what is coming up to be helpful - as in if there is a really steep section coming up I know I need to be ready and conserve a little energy leading into that section.
Same here, Climb Pro is useful. I’m a flatlander living between the Sierra Mountains to the east, and the Coastal Mountains to the west. If it pops up on a shorter climb I might flip back to my favorite page.
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