Garmin Edge 550 Review: Overpriced and Easy to Ignore?

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I spent another $1100 on Garmin’s latest bike computers,¹ so you don’t have to. I compared the Edge 550 with the previous generations and also some competing bike computers. So, is it worth it?

My Edge 550 rating at a glance:
Battery Life 4/5 | Ease of Setup 5/5 | Display 5/5 | Ease of Use 5/5 | GPS Accuracy 5/5 | Maps & Navigation 5/5 | Price 1/5 | OVERALL 4.3/5
More about this bike computer scoring.

NOTE: I tested the Edge 550 with firmware version 7.10.

Garmin Edge 550 Pros and Cons

These are the main pros and cons of the Garmin Edge 550 I found during its use.

Also available at rei.com, competitivecyclist.com, jensonusa.com, and tredz.co.uk

What’s New Compared to the Edge 540?

In the Box

Initial Setup

Setting up the Edge 550 is the same as with previous Garmin bike computers. If you’ve used an Edge device before, your settings (including data fields) will be automatically downloaded from your Garmin Connect account. This is super convenient as you don’t have to spend time adjusting the data pages or pairing sensors. Wahoo ELEMNT bike computers can also sync data pages, but not sensors. So Garmin has an edge here (no pun intended!). The only settings I had to adjust were the widgets and their visibility.

The UI is identical to that found on the Edge 1050. Naturally, Garmin unified the entire lineup to provide a consistent experience.

My Experience with Garmin Edge 550

Let’s now dive deeper into individual features.

Display

Garmin increased the display size by 0.1″, bringing it to 2.7 inches. Thanks to a technology known as transmissive LCD, it’s much brighter and easier to read in various scenarios (see the gallery below).

The pixels per inch (PPI) are lower than on the Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT 3 (271 vs. 376 PPI), for example, but everything looks sharp, so this is kinda irrelevant. The 0.1″ size difference is also negligible. The following chart shows the display sizes of other popular bike computers.

The display is now bright enough to be easier to read even in direct sunlight. However, it’s tricky to capture it on camera. The screen brightness appears differently depending on the tilt of the bike computer. Keep in mind that the screen surface is glossy, so it still reflects glare. The glossy screens are dragging the Edge bike computers down a bit. An anti-glare coating could take them to another level. Below, I have included a gallery of various light scenarios and a comparison with different Edge bike computers.

Here is another comparison, this time with other bike computers. In reality, Karoo 3 is the brightest, with Magene C606 a close second. BOLT 3 and ROAM 3 are the least bright.

The Edge 550 can display up to 10 data fields at once, keeping them relatively easy to read, though they are naturally a bit smaller than on the 10×0 models.

Also available at rei.com, competitivecyclist.com, jensonusa.com, and tredz.co.uk

Battery Life

The Garmin Edge 550 has a dramatically lower battery life than the previous generation and most other bike computers on the market. It should last up to 12 hours, but the real battery life is lower. I squeezed only 10.3 hours from it.

I rode with a connected Wahoo TICKR, Elilee EK01, Garmin Varia RTL515, Shimano Ultegra Di2, and iPhone 14 Pro. I set the brightness to auto and rode in autumn temperatures (around 15°C [59°F]).

For comparison, the following chart shows the claimed battery life of the best bike computers on the market.

The horrible battery life is one of the main reasons why I would not recommend this bike computer. Yes, I know, it’s not that long ago when we had bike computers not making it over 10 hours, but those times are long gone!

Control & User Friendliness

The new user interface is an improvement over the previous one, but the Edge 550 remains button-based. This makes navigating the menus a pain. Although it is better than the previous interface, given the feature richness of the Edge bike computers, it will always remain suboptimal for button-based control. I don’t understand why the 5×0 line was not killed years ago. Wait, I actually do. I believe that the Edge 550 (and the previous 5×0 models) serves only one purpose: to make the Edge 850 and Edge 1050 look like a better deal. This “anchoring” strategy is pretty widely used.

Going through the data pages, widgets, maps, etc., is much easier on a touchscreen than with buttons, so if you care about that, Edge 850 is the way to go. The good news is that if you have an electronic groupset, you can pair it with your Garmin and switch pages via the buttons on your shifters.

Finally, I want to point out the new chassis design, which simplifies repairs and battery swaps. This is mainly thanks to the EU’s Right to Repair legislation, which will take effect in 2026. You can remove the entire back panel, and the adaptor is replaceable as well.

Maps & Navigation

One of the improvements in the Garmin Edge 550 over its predecessor was in maps and navigation. They are easier to follow because the roads, trails, and other features have distinct lines and contrast.

Needless to say, the Edge 550 can navigate you almost anywhere, but compared to the E850 and E1050, the navigation is a bit more limited. The E550 doesn’t have address search, an on-device course creator, or provide audible alerts due to the missing speaker.

I tested navigation mainly on paved roads, and it worked flawlessly. Garmin has one of the best maps, also for off-road. You can also install third-party apps, such as TrailForks, to explore trails and more. If you are a frequent map user, consider the Edge 850 or the Edge 1050 instead, as they have touchscreens and make browsing maps easier.

Also available at rei.com, competitivecyclist.com, jensonusa.com, and tredz.co.uk

GPS Accuracy

Thanks to the multi-band GNSS, the Edge 550 is one of the most accurate bike computers. When I test bike computers, I ride a specific segment in the forest, record my ride, and then compare the recorded route with the actual route and my previous tests.

I tested the Multi-GNSS Multi-band system because it’s the most accurate. The accuracy is so good that the ride recording nails the side of the narrow forest road I’m riding on. On the other hand, it drains more battery. Take a look at the following screenshots for further reference.

ClimbPro

ClimbPro is one of the most useful features. We can slightly customize the data page and make the map smaller. So, instead of 2 custom fields, there are now up to 4 (compared to the Edge x40 models). However, it is a pity that there are no data fields, e.g., “Average power during this climb.” That would be very useful. But the truth is, you can work around this via Avg. power (lap) field. You just have to turn on the lap before each climb.

Overall, I am grateful to Garmin for inspiring other manufacturers to copy this feature and implement it as well (mainly Wahoo and Hammerhead, but also a few Chinese competitors) because ClimbPro-like alternatives are usually my favorite features.

Real-Time Stamina and Power Guide

Thanks to Real-Time Stamina, you will see how long you can ride at the current pace and how much you have left in the tank. Power Guide suggests the power zones for your planned route based on your FTP. These features can now account for additional metrics, such as route elevation, weather, and user profile. In other words, they are more accurate.

So, for example, when using Power Guide, it will account for your Stamina and also wind data. This means that if you ride into a headwind or your Stamina drops faster than expected, the Power Guide will adjust the target power zones. I appreciate this improvement. It makes me excited to see what other metrics Garmin adds in the future to improve the accuracy even further.

Shared Road Hazards

Sharing risks on the road, as is the case with Waze or Google Maps, is a really great thing. The more people use it, the more useful it becomes. It might take a while before enough people in some areas are in the Garmin ecosystem and contribute by adding these hazards. Fortunately, Garmin made this feature available for the x40 head units some time ago to widen the user base. This is another example of the benefits of the Garmin ecosystem.

GroupRide, Challenges, and Awards

GroupRide has received several improvements. For example, the first is that if the E550 detects a crash, it notifies others in the group (when GroupRide is on). This is brilliant. I am surprised we didn’t get this feature sooner. Imagine how useful this feature will be in fast descents.

The Challenges are similar to Strava live segments. You can compete with your friends to see who can climb the upcoming climbs faster. Yes, this feature has only worked for climbs in ClimbPro so far. This is Garmin’s way of giving you another reason to choose the Garmin bike computer and lock you into their ecosystem.

And the Awards are just Garmin’s way of leveraging additional gamification elements. You earn rewards for your power output, speed, and more.

As you can see, these are just some examples of how Garmin tries to lock people into its ecosystem.

Connectivity

There are no connectivity changes. The Edge 550 still supports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and ANT+ connectivity, so you can connect it to sensors or your smartphone. Of course, it can auto-sync activities, courses, etc. I have not experienced issues with synchronizing activities, but loading courses sometimes takes several tries.

Garmin Edge 550 Alternatives

Garmin Edge 550 Technical Specifications

Below, I summarized the technical specifications of the Garmin Edge 550.

My Verdict

The Garmin Edge 550 offers many new, quite useful features, such as weather overlay, but it comes at a high price. Personally, I can live without them and believe that the previous generation offers better value for money. Among other things, this is because the Edge 550 lacks a touchscreen and lasts just over 10 hours in real use.

Anyway, I hope you liked this review and found it helpful. If you are considering buying the E550, please use the links below. It’s the best way to support this website, and it won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks a lot in advance.

Also available at rei.com, competitivecyclist.com, jensonusa.com, and tredz.co.uk

Recommended Accessories

Below are some recommended accessories for the Garmin Edge 550.

Garmin Varia RTL515 Radar

Garmin Varia RCT715 Radar with Camera

Garmin Edge 550 FAQ

1. Garmin Edge 550 and Edge 850. ↩︎