Garmin Edge 1040 Solar

My Edge 1030 which I've had for some years, was beginning to fail, needing constant restarts, failing to work in cold weather, sometimes the battery wouldn't last the ride, so all in all the unit was generally no longer to be relied upon. Due to this experience I was a bit skeptical of getting another Garmin, but finally after a lot of research I opted for the Solar. I'm very happy with it so far. Much easier to program the screens, the battery life especially, is outstanding. My favorite thing is seeing a depiction of the route I'm about to ride on the opening screen, I no longer have to scroll through the lists of saved courses to find and select the right ride. The graphics are generally easier to read and I also like the enhancement to the rear radar alerts. The ... MoreMy Edge 1030 which I've had for some years, was beginning to fail, needing constant restarts, failing to work in cold weather, sometimes the battery wouldn't last the ride, so all in all the unit was generally no longer to be relied upon. Due to this experience I was a bit skeptical of getting another Garmin, but finally after a lot of research I opted for the Solar. I'm very happy with it so far. Much easier to program the screens, the battery life especially, is outstanding. My favorite thing is seeing a depiction of the route I'm about to ride on the opening screen, I no longer have to scroll through the lists of saved courses to find and select the right ride. The graphics are generally easier to read and I also like the enhancement to the rear radar alerts. The one piece that is missing, and why at one point I considered the Hammerhead very strongly, is the ability to see the profile of a climb when you're not following a preselected route. I would also have like a stronger indication of the next turn, on our night gravel rides it's a bit hard to see what's coming up because the text and the direction arrow is rather small. Generally I'm delighted with the new unit, and it seems like the integration with the Connect app is much better. I often had to restart the 1030 over and over again, turn bluetooth on and off on the phone and endure a lot of frustration trying to get it to synch. The App sees the 1040 almost immediately which is much better. All in all, so far, a great product.

I bought this after the battery in my ageing Edge 520 started giving up, as I'm planning on riding longer off-road rides I went for the 1040 Solar to maximise both battery life & screen size (to make the map easier to see). It hasn't disappointed, it needed topping up once from a power bank on a 3 day trip of constant navigation, the solar charging being really impressive on the sunny 3rd day. I'm not expecting such strong charging in more typical British weather but it is handy to have.As ever with Garmin, the menu interface takes a bit of getting used to but I can't fault the technology & features. Connecting to existing sensors was really simple (both Garmin & other), & I've been nicely surprised with how easy the touch screen is to use. Being able to upload ... MoreI bought this after the battery in my ageing Edge 520 started giving up, as I'm planning on riding longer off-road rides I went for the 1040 Solar to maximise both battery life & screen size (to make the map easier to see). It hasn't disappointed, it needed topping up once from a power bank on a 3 day trip of constant navigation, the solar charging being really impressive on the sunny 3rd day. I'm not expecting such strong charging in more typical British weather but it is handy to have.As ever with Garmin, the menu interface takes a bit of getting used to but I can't fault the technology & features. Connecting to existing sensors was really simple (both Garmin & other), & I've been nicely surprised with how easy the touch screen is to use. Being able to upload courses straight from my phone is nice & easy, and when following them the navigation has proved easy to follow & accurate. The climb-data feature is really interesting, & handy for pacing on climbs you don't know - less nasty surprises when you turn a corner! Getting my profiles & data screens setup was actually easier than on my old 520, the touch screen editing proving an improvement there. There are so many features that I'm not sure I'll use them all, the workouts function is most likely the next I try.

My 8 year old Garmin Edge 810's touch screen wasn't responding along the far right perimeter and decided to look for a replacement. I loved the 810. It brought me from LA to Boston, Astoria OR to Rapid City, SD and San Francisco to Pueblo CO and hundreds of other rides in between. Many friends recommended Wahoo or Kamoot and after looking at them determined that for my riding and priorities, I preferred the Garmin ecosystem. I looked at several models and even the solar powered ones and landed on the 1040 non-solar powered one. Love the wireless upload to Connect, Love the synch feature with my phone for alerts, (won't have to greet a cranky spouse on arriving home about missing a text or phone call), crisp text on screen I can actually read.Love the hill profiles ... MoreMy 8 year old Garmin Edge 810's touch screen wasn't responding along the far right perimeter and decided to look for a replacement. I loved the 810. It brought me from LA to Boston, Astoria OR to Rapid City, SD and San Francisco to Pueblo CO and hundreds of other rides in between. Many friends recommended Wahoo or Kamoot and after looking at them determined that for my riding and priorities, I preferred the Garmin ecosystem. I looked at several models and even the solar powered ones and landed on the 1040 non-solar powered one. Love the wireless upload to Connect, Love the synch feature with my phone for alerts, (won't have to greet a cranky spouse on arriving home about missing a text or phone call), crisp text on screen I can actually read.Love the hill profiles that I can easily swipe away if I don't care to look at gradient ahead, I love how I customized two screens to give me my priority data and nice to know data. Love how synching with my bike sensors was effortless. This device lets me enjoy my ride by giving me confidence I'll always know where I am and that the battery will easily last even my longest ride without needing to recharge even after multiple day rides. I haven't yet drained the battery but I don't I expect I will.I don't like the fact that the frame needs a separately purchased rubber gasket to protect the edges. That's a design omission. I suppose it's like getting a case for your phone... But still. This is a bike computer that will be outside in the elements not sitting in a climate controlled environment. Garmin should've known better.On face value it is expensive. With advances in chip technology it still baffles me that bike computers are still nearly the price of a high end tablet. I'm still mad I couldn't resist purchasing it on principle. But I did need a replacement and I wanted something that will take me on my next decade of riding. Bottom line is I do love the unit. Just wish someone had given it to me for my birthday.