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TECH NEWS
Garmin Edge 530 ClimbPro copy 2Garmin's ClimbPro post-climb notification is driving cyclists "nuts"... so will the GPS giant change its tune?
ClimbPro is a feature on the latest Garmin cycling computers that identifies and classifies any significant climbs, helping you manage your effort. But, what may seem like a useful feature also plays a rather loud, OTT melody (according to quite a lot of peeved cyclists on a Garmin forum thread) when you've conquered your climb, with many asking for it to be removed or altered to something more subtle. Is Garmin likely to change this update any time soon?
Those of you who have a Garmin might be haunted by this sound; but for those of you that haven't heard it, road.cc reader Mike sent us in this example. The post-climb notification plays at around five seconds into the video above, but you can carry on for a taste of what it's like to rip down the legendary Sa Calobra in Majorca (as opposed to up it, with the Strava KOM for that now famously being held by Tom Pidcock).
What may make you smile the first or second time you hear it, has quickly had the opposite effect for some Garmin users. Yes there are worse things going on in the world, but you can imagine that it may become irritating, particularly on a hilly ride or on a group ride where everyone's Garmins start bleeping incessantly after a climb.
Or, imagine if you spaced yourselves out at 5 metre intervals? "...the melody will play a canon, or fugal like J.S. Bach," writes one Garmin forum poster who imagined this scenario playing out.
Wahoo has a similar feature to this, however it's just a little beep sounding if you have the climb feature enabled. Garmin, on the other hand, plays this tune automatically, and you can't disable the ClimbPro feature alone.
> The present and future of cycling computers
Garmins says, "there is an option to disable tones from the Edge but doing this would disable ALL tones."
Apparently this all or nothing approach isn't the solution many Garmin users wanted, preferring to make the tone optional or have the choice of a more discrete bleep rather than a full symphony.
During a ride you'll be shown things like the total number of climbs, the distance and ascent remaining for the climb and the average gradient.
The ClimbPro feature is on the Edge 130 Plus, Edge 530, Edge 830, Edge 1030 and Edge 1030 Plus. Many users report finding it useful, but some have switched it off since the new update included this post-climb notification.
Two months ago, a representative from Garmin commented on their forum saying, "at this time, I have a ticket created. I cannot guarantee we will implement a change to the ClimbPro melody in future updates but we will certainly look into this. Please manage your expectations accordingly."
Another ticket has since been raised on the thread in the early hours of this morning, but we are waiting for Garmin to comment on exactly what it plans to do with this update, and when Garmin units might have that much-requested option to modify the melodies...
What are your thoughts on the ClimbPro post-climb notification? Let us know in the comments section below...
Emily is our track and road racing specialist, having represented Great Britain at the World and European Track Championships. With a National Title up her sleeve, Emily has just completed her Master’s in Sports Psychology at Loughborough University where she raced for Elite Development Team, Loughborough Lightning.
Emily is our go-to for all things training and when not riding or racing bikes, you can find her online shopping or booking flights…the rest of the office is now considering painting their nails to see if that’s the secret to going fast…
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19 comments
Hmmm...
What did we do before this was available...?
I turn all sounds off.
What annoys me about ClimbPro is it's inaccuracy. It tells me I've completed a climb when I'm still going up, gets gradients wrong e.g. it can show 0 when it's clearly not, 20% when I'm at a dip in the climb etc.
On a different Garmin matter, I would like to see customisable reply messages in the notifications.
It's not about the tone, it's about the notification displayed sometimes 1 minute after reaching the peak !
The sound on my 1030 is intermittent. What's the bet it starts working the one time I am using climb pro 🙄
I don't mind the jingle so much, what I don't like about climbpro is it obscuring the route map. Quite often there are junctions within a climb. You look at your screen for nav guidance and the stupid climbpro graphics are there instead.
This!!
Annoys me to no end. I don't need to see the damn climb data, just the godforsaken map will do just fine!
You can change screen when it pops up. I have configured long press on left Di2 hood button to go straight to map regardless of current screen. Or turn off ClimbPro altogether, this can be on or off for each activity profile.
I have an Edge 830 and if I am following a planned route ClimbPro will switch back to the junction to show route guidance before flicking back to ClimbPro
on the 530 (and I suspect the 830) this USUALLY happens, but there are times when the unit has decided there is a turn when there isn't or there is not a turn when there is. e.g left turn on right hand bend.
The more annoying thing for me is when you are on a route and going up a hill that Garmin has decided isn't really a hill!!! I usually make my way up it with quite a few expletives
Other manufacturers with different products do exist. You could even just go tech' free as I did on the last Ride London, it was strangely liberating.
fine if you know the route, or are following a signed route, but the easiest way to follow a new course is to follow the garmin navigation
Yes electronic gizmos that navigate are a wonder to behold. It wasn't too long ago that we all planned routes using maps, followed road signs and appreciated the importance of being able to work out which way's north. These skills will prove invaluable in those moments when technology lets us down. This is why military aviators still learn astronavigation. As Einstein once remarked, when technology surpasses our human interaction we will have a generation of idiots (at least the interweb say's it was Einstein, and as we know it can't be the digital technology that's wrong)
Got to say though, having been stuck in the middle of Dartmoor circa 2001 in a biblical thunderstorm where we had to put up one of the tents just to have somewhere dry enough to look at the map with lightning grounding all around us I'm not entirely averse to a bit of GPS...Albert never said that by the way, that quote first appeared around 2012.
I've got a Hammerhead Karoo, it's wonderful (if you remember to pack it, hence the Ride London comment...doh!) and I agree wholeheartedly with the Dartmoor issue, it was the Quantocks for me, a horrible experience still etched in my memory. If I'm out somewhere unfamilliar, usually an audax, I carry the relevant page from an old road atlas 'cos battery life in the real world is never as good as advertised; that and I'm always forgetting either a back up charger or lead, strangely I've never forgotten a route sheet. All of which probably explains my aversion to electric gear shifting and other gizmos. As for Albert, yeah I know but it's just too good a misquote not to use it!
Don't count on them implementing selectable tones anytime soon. Many users who have Varia radars have already had to turn off all tones to stop the incessant noise when riding on any road with any amount of vehicle traffic. For years, we've been requesting a way to turn off that specific tone without turning off all tones, and still Garmin does nothing. The generic response you got from Garmin translates to "We have our own ideas what's best for our customers and could not care less what our customers actually tell us."
Not sure what what you mean, that tone has been selectable for years now.
I like the initial chirp when the first car comes into range, I find the 'all clear' chirp pointless and annoying.
You can turn that off with "Green Threat Level Tone" shown in my picture above.