[freetime101]

Hi All, 

I’m now the proud owner of a Garmin 830 

I’ve always tracked my rides using a Huawei smartwatch and uploaded to Strava manually, and now have the Garmin set to auto upload to Strava following a ride. The figures between the 3 are always slightly different, I’ve discounted the Huawei as being inaccurate but the Garmin surprises me….

On last night’s ride, Garmin recorded a max speed of 63.3 km/h but Strava has this as 80.6 km/h – Strava gets its info from Garmin so to be this far out surprises me. All other ride data is the same for this ride. Huawei has 45.36 km/h so I suspect it’s Strava that’s wrong…

Has anyone else found this? What’s the cause?

I’ve had a Google and answers talk about how mobile phones track GPS points differently to Garmin giving different data, but in my case the Strava data is the Garmin data, no mobile phone involved…

Topic

[Organon]

I have never had accuracy

I have never had accuracy issues with my two android phones I’ve used. In fact they are much more accurate than other devices other people use. I almost never get an early finish to a segment.

I once flagged a guy who took a segment off me for bad GPS. He messaged me to ask why. I pointed out that his trace floated around a corner through a building and had 2/3 seconds short at each end of the segment. He hadn’t beaten me and been given 4 or 5 seconds by his low refresh rate. He insisted Garmins were accurate and scoffed at the idea the a phone was better. I pointed out he had about 13 data points to my over 50 points. He blocked me after that and started to try to knock off my other segments with mixed results, I still have the offending climb in my pocket.

It really just depends on the device, newer should be better, but that is no guarantee.

[freetime101]

You were robbed! 

You were robbed! 

[freetime101]

Just the Garmin for now – I’m

Just the Garmin for now – I’m not bothered about complete accuracy but though having such a big difference was weird! 

[freetime101]

Thanks, that link is useful! 

Thanks, that link is useful! 

I’d assumed Strava takes Garmins results (i.e. speed etc) but it seems it actually takes the GPS data and does it’s own working out – that explains the differences. 

[freetime101]

That’s good going! I guess my

That’s good going! I guess my speed difference is just a blip, I’ll check again next time I ride that route to see if there is something about that route causing a drop in GPS signal etc. 

[freetime101]

That’s quite the list! 

That’s quite the list! 

I’ve sometimes noticed 3, or similar issues; if I plot a route that covers the same road multiple times Garmin gets confused when I pass the second time and tells me to make a U-turn. Or if I miss a turn and double backit takes a while of being on the right route for Garmin to realise…

Also 6, Live Track only seems to work if Garmin Connect is running in the background on my phone. Only a slight annoyance as I clear my apps regularly to save battery life. 

The lack of USB-C is a shame given that’s now the standard and the 830 is relatively new.

I’ve not noticed the other issues, but then I’ve not been looking either! 

[huntswheelers]

Quick question…..is the
Quick question…..is the Garmin solo or hooked up to speed and or other sensors?….as Sensors are more accurate than gps for speed … I use sensors with both my Bryton units….and both the records on Bryton active & Strava are identical for me…..

[Kapelmuur]

I once recorded a speed of

I once recorded a speed of over 200mph through a tunnel and I didn’t even get the KoM.

[Steve K]

At the end of a long ride
At the end of a long ride once I did a couple of loops of the caravan park where I was finishing to get the total distance on the Garmin to reach 100 miles. When I uploaded to Strava, it was 99.99 miles.

[0-0]

Freetime101 wrote:

Freetime101 wrote:

What pisses you off about it? I read all the good reviews before buying but now that I have it I’ve noticed a couple of weird things, the differences with Strava being one… This time it’s speed but other times it’s been distance and elevation. Weirdly if I plot a route on Garmin connect, then ride that exact route, Garmin sometimes gives a different elevation for the ride…. That’s a discrepancy with Garmin itself!

I’ve also noticed that the GPS nav lags behind me, which is annoying when riding quickly – it’s as useful as saying “you should have taken that last left…”

As mine is brand new I hadn’t thought to update the firmware – I’ll give it a go then reset afterwards to see if things improve. 

1. I have a problem with the 830 and the Varia radar. The light pattern keeps either switching off or changing the light mode.
2. When using battery saving mode, I keep getting a prompt telling me to use battery saving mode. This prompt doesn’t auto time out, so if you’re navigating it blocks the entire screen, and I need to tap the screen to remove it.
3. The navigation seems to have a mind of it’s own sometimes, telling me to make U turn even when I’m on the correct course.
4. The grade of a hill always seems to lag behind its true position on the road, maybe a 20 second delay.
5. Total elevation gained during a ride, never matches Starva. But I’m unsure which is correct.
6. Sometimes Live Track doesn’t work.
7. Sometimes a completed ride doesn’t auto upload to Garmin Connect.
8. The screen can be difficult to read in bright sunlight (with polarized lenses).
9. Micro USB instead of Type C.

Edit:
10. (Latest FW problem) When the screen is in battery saving mode. Emails etc don’t wake the screen. Then they don’t time out as pre latest FW.

[zeeridesbikes]

I’m an 830 owner and I’ve

I’m an 830 owner and I’ve found it all good so far. I’ve not checked the elevation data against strava though. Speed is the same though using the Garmin speed/cadence sensor. 

[OnYerBike]

Strava’s help pages are quite

Strava’s help pages are quite useful. See this one to start with then follow some of the links on the left: https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001188684-Moving-Time-Speed-and-Pace-Calculations

[EddyBerckx]

Freetime101 wrote:

Yeah I’d expect a bit of difference between my phone and Garmin (and watch) but the data I’m talking about here is just the Garmin data – it uploads direct to Strava. The difference in this case though is significant though so I’d say it was more than just a margin of error?

If you’re talking about the top speed difference you found from your ride it could be GPS error and the way different software handles it/corrects it/smoothes it out. I’ve certainly seen top speeds way higher than I acheieved in reality before, usually in town with tall buildings or even under tree cover coming down a hill and so on. Unless it’s constantly happening or happening when you think it shouldn’t I wouldn’t worry about it tbh

[PRSboy]

Zoom in on the Strava map

Zoom in on the Strava map where you did your highest speed… odds are there is an error there, you will see your course deviate from the road, so it thinks you got between two points quicker than you did.  Do the same with the Garmin map and see if that is a difference.

GPS will give errors in speed and distance (one of my loops is less far if I do the course in the opposite direction)

Get yourself a wheel speed sensor if you want the real data.

[freetime101]

Yeah I’d expect a bit of

Yeah I’d expect a bit of difference between my phone and Garmin (and watch) but the data I’m talking about here is just the Garmin data – it uploads direct to Strava. The difference in this case though is significant though so I’d say it was more than just a margin of error?

[Author]

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