The Garmin 1000 costs more than double the 520 and for most of you reading this, it's the wrong buy. I picked one up last month and took it out for a 29k test ride to see how it actually stacks up. Here's what I found.
Key Takeaways
The maps function is the one genuine reason to pick the 1000 over the 520. If you're heading to a training camp in Mallorca or riding roads you don't know, having the map on that bigger screen is genuinely useful — I've been caught out on unfamiliar roads before and had to stop and pull my phone out, which is exactly the kind of thing the 1000 fixes. The Garmin Varia integration works well too, and the auto-sync to your phone after a ride is cleaner than anything I've seen on older units.
For racing, forget it. The thing sits nearly flush with the ends of your bars. It's heavier, it feels like you've bolted an iPhone to your stem, and when you're chasing numbers — power, heart rate, speed — the 520 does all of that just as well and gets out of your way. More features doesn't make it a better tool, same as anything. If you can only buy one and you race, get the 520. If you do training camps abroad and the maps would actually save you, get the 1000. That's the whole decision.
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