After 7 years of usage. I decided it time to order another pair for both of my road bicycles. When they started needing close to an hour to fully charge. As to the many years of 10 minute fully charged time. But the originals still last 6 hrs on low strobe. Just hedging my bet? But rain or shine they have been worth every penny knowing they have my backside. People have commented they'd seen me from miles away. On our back country gravel shouldered county roads. Comments like that make me smile. Even on shouldered highways. Vehicles tend to give me a half a lane or at least 3 feet. So the Blackburn DayBlazers are like a warning beacon for my safety.
The Edge 840 is a really good GPS computer. I purchased this after my Wahoo Roam started being unreliable. The detail and capabilities of the Edge are superior to the Wahoo. I do most of my riding solo and the LiveTrack on the Edge provides much more detail than the tracking on the Wahoo.
The one negative I can think of is that the setup and menus on the Edge and the Garmin Connect app are WAY to complex. It seems like any sort of configuration change on the Edge is buried three layers down in the system menu.
I've been on the fence about getting these, but decided to bite the bullet knowing they were almost likely to get more expensive. And I really should have gotten them sooner! Integration with the head unit is seamless (Edge 540), display is clear and intuitive without overloading me with information. Not many false positives (reading cars that weren't there) and no false negatives (missing cars that were). Bonus: It does a great job of picking up smaller vehicles (other bikes, scooters) that come up quickly. Light is really bright and I have no doubt it is really easy to spot.
The only thing I wouldn't use this for is my commute--it would just be going off non-stop while I ride through the city and I'm not sure the warning would outweigh the noise.
If you have a saddle bag that potentially obstructs the radar function, I'd suggest getting a mount that affixes itself to your saddle bag and maybe a protective case and lanyard to attach to the seat rails for extra peace of mind. Surprised Garmin doesn't at least provide the saddle bag mount as standard.
This bike computer was an upgrade for me from a Garmin Edge 130 Plus. The technology isn't the latest, i.e., no touch screen, no solar power. However, the upgrade has provided many advantages over the 130 Plus.
Here's what I like: 1) More data and fields per screen. E.g., the 530 records fluid and calorie consumption, derailleur and gear status of Di2, and up to 10 data fields per screen. 2) More available screens. 3) Longer battery life by a wide margin. After 3-hour ride in 45F weather with screen brightness at 60%, battery is between 75 - 85%. 4) Faster processing and syncing. Syncing routes from RideWithGPS now takes seconds, not minutes. 5) I like the summary screen and data that are available after a ride.
Here's what I don't like: 1) It takes some time to learn the function of the 6 control buttons. They're very different from the 130 Plus. 2) While the 530 offers color maps that can be browsed, the navigation process is very antiquated. Moving about on the maps is very slow.
The 4-star value rating comes from the retail price remaining around $300, which I believe is high compared to other computers and newer technology that's available. Overall, I like the computer, feel it's a good improvement over the 130 Plus, and would recommend it to anyone who wants solid function and capabilities at a moderate price.
