Characteristic-rich with an old-school show

Once I first began biking roughly 4 years in the past (yep, one other pandemic bicycle owner), I rode with out a bike computer. I might merely observe my rides utilizing my Garmin watch. Then, my husband purchased me the Garmin Edge 130 Plus, which made monitoring my rides simpler since I may see key stats in entrance of me as an alternative of needing to carry my wrist excellent to see my watch. Nevertheless, it had a tiny display and pretty restricted options, so it wasn’t a motorbike pc that received me very excited.

Unboxing the Edge 1040 Photo voltaic, then, left my jaw on the bottom. The machine is huge, wanting extra like a small smartphone than a motorbike pc. The function set is powerful, too, offering way over I even want at this cut-off date, but it surely means I’ve issues to develop into as I proceed down my biking street. General, the Edge 1040 Photo voltaic is a significantly spectacular machine, and I’ve totally loved my time with it.

Really useful

Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic

The Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic is a complicated bike pc with photo voltaic charging capabilities to increase battery life. It presents a sturdy checklist of options for navigation, efficiency, and security with a large show that makes it simple to see info throughout your rides.

Professionals

• Comes with a lot of equipment
• Massive show offers loads of room for knowledge
• Numerous helpful maps and navigation instruments
• Very feature-rich
• Wonderful battery life
• Photo voltaic charging is useful for lengthy rides

Cons

• Show appears somewhat outdated
• Photo voltaic charging is barely helpful in particular conditions

See our course of

How we test and review products at Pocket-lint

We do not do arm-chair analysis. We purchase and check our personal merchandise, and we solely publish purchaser’s guides with merchandise we have really reviewed.

Worth, availability, and specs

The Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic is accessible from Garmin’s web site, Amazon, and REI for $750. It comes with a silicone case, three totally different bike mounts, a lanyard, and charging cable.

What I favored concerning the Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic

Intensive options with a lot of display actual property

Put merely, there’s quite a bit to love concerning the Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic. Firstly is the dimensions. The three.5-inch diagonal display leads to loads of room on the show. All of that display actual property makes it extremely simple to see your info whereas using, even with only a fast look down. It is particularly helpful when wanting on the map. Plus, due to a number of knowledge screens which can be customizable, you possibly can select which info you see whereas using.

As is typical for a Garmin machine, the Edge 1040 Photo voltaic is extraordinarily feature-rich. This assessment may get very lengthy if I touched on all of them, although, so I am going to spotlight my favorites. To start out, I very a lot admire how simple it’s to sync routes to the Edge 1040 Photo voltaic. I principally use routes from Strava, which robotically present up on my machine. The pinnacle unit then offers turn-by-turn instructions throughout a journey so I do not get misplaced.

The instructions popped up with loads of time forward of a flip and have been pretty fast to regulate if I received off track. Whether or not you might be following a route or simply monitoring a journey, you will additionally get notifications if there is a busy street forward otherwise you’re getting near a good flip. I actually appreciated these options when using in areas I wasn’t very acquainted with. Plus, accessing the map throughout a journey is kind of good, even when I do know the place I’m.

Past navigation, the Edge 1040 Photo voltaic presents the complete suite of Garmin’s efficiency instruments, together with each day prompt exercises, coaching standing, efficiency monitoring warmth and altitude acclimation, synced coaching plans, and a lot extra. These efficiency instruments are much more sturdy and helpful when you pair further sensors like a coronary heart charge monitor and energy meter. I bike for health causes, so it is helpful to have that, particularly because it all feeds again to the Garmin Join app, which additionally collects knowledge from my Garmin watch.

In fact, as this can be a photo voltaic charging-capable machine, I might be remiss if I did not discuss battery life and photo voltaic charging. The Edge 1040 options two photo voltaic panels above and under the show, together with Garmin’s Photo voltaic Glass show, which is an primarily clear photo voltaic panel over the show itself. Which means your entire unit is roofed in some type of photo voltaic panel.

Garmin guarantees as much as 100 hours in battery saver mode or as much as 45 hours in demanding use circumstances (primarily when you’re utilizing all of the sensors with the GPS settings on the most correct). The corporate additionally says the photo voltaic panels can add as much as 42 minutes per hour in battery saver mode or as much as 20 minutes per hour in demanding use circumstances. The journey abstract exhibits you the photo voltaic depth in the course of the journey, together with the battery acquire you bought in consequence.

I’ve the Garmin HRM-Match related to the Edge 1040 Photo voltaic, and lots of of my rides use turn-by-turn navigation with the map on the show, which chews via the battery quicker than the opposite knowledge screens. Primarily based on Garmin’s Battery Life Expectations chart, I fall roughly within the ‘Mid’ use case description, which Garmin says ought to lead to 40 hours of battery with out photo voltaic charging or 50 with.

Most of my rides have been beneath 1.5 hours, so I did not push the unit to its restrict by way of battery life on particular person rides. Throughout my testing, I used to be in a position to get proper round that 40-hour mark that Garmin promised. Actually, my shorter rides used barely any battery in any respect. I solely needed to cost it a number of instances, and a type of was as a result of I left the brightness at 100% as an alternative of auto and forgot to show it off (a double whammy). I additionally did not reap the benefits of the truth that the Edge 1040 Photo voltaic will get photo voltaic charging even when off (it was tucked in a darkish nook), which may have prolonged the life much more.

I did not get the photo voltaic charging numbers Garmin promised, however to get these, you will persistently want 75,000 lux circumstances. One journey was at roughly 10 am on a sunny day, albeit with occasional shade on the path, and the machine stated the photo voltaic depth was 85% with 2:13 of battery acquire. If I have been completely out within the open in the course of the day, that quantity would doubtless be fairly a bit larger, leading to extra battery acquire.

Although much less essential than all of the above options, I used to be additionally impressed by all of the extras the Edge 1040 Photo voltaic comes with. It features a silicone case that protects the unit when you fall or when you drop it, which is a superb merchandise to have given the value. You additionally get three totally different bike mount choices (​​MTB, customary, and out-front) and a lanyard.

Associated

Garmin’s latest bike computer is close to perfection

A contemporary show, speedy efficiency, and an countless checklist of options gained over my bicycle owner coronary heart.

What I did not like concerning the Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic

Outdated display know-how

Whereas the show is giant, it, sadly, appears somewhat outdated. The touchscreen may be very responsive, however the transflective TFT show know-how, in comparison with what you are used to in your smartphone and even Garmin’s newer watches, merely appears a bit unhappy. The colours are uninteresting, the distinction is pretty low, and it is not very vivid.

The display continues to be simple sufficient to learn in vivid circumstances, but it surely certain appears far older than the Edge 1040’s 2022 launch date. Garmin deployed the identical sort of show in all of its bike computer systems, which was a standard criticism. Actually, it was such a standard criticism that the corporate not too long ago launched the Edge 1050, which makes use of a way more trendy, vivid, and vibrant show. The Edge 1040 merely pales as compared.

In fact, the value is one other ache level. At $750, this is without doubt one of the most costly bike computer systems out there. You get quite a bit for the value, to make sure, however that worth is greater than many will likely be keen or in a position to pay.

Do you have to purchase the Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic?

The Garmin Edge 1040 is a spectacular bike pc. There’s quite a bit to love about it. The large show makes it simpler to see your stats and browse maps whereas using, it offers all kinds of coaching, security, and navigation instruments, and the battery life is implausible. Those that deal with lengthy rides, need in-depth metrics, and depend on a head unit for navigation ought to completely put money into the Edge 1040 Photo voltaic.

There are additionally downsides to this unit, although. Whereas the photo voltaic charging is a plus, and it does add a pleasant increase in the precise circumstances, it prices $150 greater than the non-solar version. For anybody not tackling lengthy rides in demanding conditions, or when you do not dwell in a sunny location, that further value doubtless is not value it. In case you nonetheless care about lengthy battery life however do not want the increase from photo voltaic charging, you’d be higher off choosing the Edge 1040 with out photo voltaic for $600.

Lastly, when you’re choosy concerning the show and would like one thing even simpler to learn in all circumstances with extra vibrant colours, then the Edge 1050 will likely be a more sensible choice.

Really useful

Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic