Side by side, Garmin's new Edge 520 and Polar's new M450 GPS computers are similar in size and shape, but quite different in price and feature sets. Which one is best for you depends on your budget and what you intend to do with the little handlebar-mounted machine.
The M450 is about half the price of the 520 – and has about half the features of the Garmin unit. While the 520 can connect to third-party peripherals like heart-rate monitors or power meters on ANT and your smartphone on Bluetooth, the M450 is Bluetooth only. The 520 has basic mapping and can give you turn-by-turn directions if you load in a route; the M450 can only point in the general direction of your starting point and its distance away.
But for some riders, more may not be better. If you just want a reliable GPS computer that can record your route along with all your vital metrics like distance, speed, heart rate, power, time, and so on, then the M450 does a good job of catching all this data.
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Garmin Edge 520
Polar M450
ArrayHow they are similar
Both units measure and/or capture most of the same data, including distance, speed, elevation and the standard variations thereof like average, maximum and total. Both have layouts that can be configured by number of fields per screen, and what information goes on that screen.
Both units can pair wirelessly with heart-rate monitors, cadence sensors, power meters and smartphones.
Both units can upload completed rides wirelessly via a tethered smartphone with their accompanying app, which can then be synced to auto-upload to Strava.
Both record your route for later analysis along with all the above data.
Both use buttons for operation instead of a touchscreen.
Both give you some basic post-ride on-screen analysis, calling out the ride's stats and time spent in various training zones.
How they are different
The Polar M450 has a little LED light on the front of the unit, which can be turned on manually or by natural light conditions. The Garmin Edge 520 does not.
The Polar M450 only works wirelessly with Bluetooth, which limits third-party options compared to the Edge 520, which also works on ANT .
While the bodies are the same size, the Edge 520's screen is larger and of higher resolution.
Resolution is twice as good on the Garmin than the Polar
Polar's deep history in heart-rate training shines through with the on-screen information and the post-ride analysis. The Garmin does much better with presentation of power-related fields and analysis.
The Edge 520 has mapping, and can give turn-by-turn directions while following a course. The M450 has no maps, and its directions consist of a compass-like arrow that points back to your starting point and lists the direct distance from that point.
The 520 has Strava Live Segments, FTP testing and Di2 integration. Both have a VO2 Max calculation and recommended recovery time.
Bottom line
The Garmin Edge 520 is clearly the better, more full-featured GPS unit for cycling, but it's also substantially more money. If you are interested in heart-rate training but not power-based training and are on a budget, the M450 is a good option. If you want the better overall computer, the Edge 520 certainly is the one.
