Key Takeaways
- Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic incorporates a huge show, making it simple to see stats and maps on rides.
- The gadget boasts in depth efficiency instruments, turn-by-turn instructions, and photo voltaic charging functionality.
- Though costly at $750, it affords glorious battery life and a protracted listing of options.
After I first began biking roughly 4 years in the past (yep, one other pandemic bike owner), I rode with no bike computer. I might merely monitor 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 elevate my wrist good to see my watch. Nevertheless, it had a tiny display screen and pretty restricted options, so it wasn’t a motorbike laptop that acquired me very excited.
Unboxing the Edge 1040 Photo voltaic, then, left my jaw on the bottom. The gadget is huge, wanting extra like a small smartphone than a motorbike laptop. The characteristic set is powerful, too, offering excess of I even want at this time limit, nevertheless it means I’ve issues to develop into as I proceed down my biking highway. General, the Edge 1040 Photo voltaic is a significantly spectacular gadget, and I’ve completely loved my time with it.
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Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic
The Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic is a sophisticated bike laptop with photo voltaic charging capabilities to increase battery life. It affords a sturdy listing of options for navigation, efficiency, and security with a large show that makes it simple to see info throughout your rides.
- Comes with plenty of equipment
- Massive show supplies 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
- Show seems somewhat outdated
- Photo voltaic charging is barely helpful in particular conditions
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Value, availability, and specs
The Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic is obtainable from Garmin’s web site, Amazon, and REI for $750. It comes with a silicone case, three completely different bike mounts, a lanyard, and charging cable.
What I appreciated in regards to the Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic
In depth options with plenty of display screen actual property
Put merely, there’s lots to love in regards to the Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic. Before everything is the dimensions. The three.5-inch diagonal display screen ends in a number of room on the show. All of that display screen actual property makes it extremely simple to see your info whereas driving, 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 driving.
As is typical for a Garmin gadget, 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 will spotlight my favorites. To begin, I very a lot recognize how simple it’s to sync routes to the Edge 1040 Photo voltaic. I largely use routes from Strava, which routinely present up on my gadget. The top unit then supplies turn-by-turn instructions throughout a journey so I do not get misplaced.
Put merely, there’s lots to love in regards to the Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic.
The instructions popped up with loads of time forward of a flip and have been pretty fast to regulate if I acquired off beam. Whether or not you’re following a route or simply monitoring a journey, you will additionally get notifications if there is a busy highway forward otherwise you’re getting near a good flip. I actually appreciated these options when driving 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 affords the complete suite of Garmin’s efficiency instruments, together with day by day steered exercises, coaching standing, efficiency monitoring warmth and altitude acclimation, synced coaching plans, and a lot extra. These efficiency instruments are much more strong and helpful in case you pair further sensors like a coronary heart charge monitor and energy meter. I bike for health causes, so it is useful to have that, particularly because it all feeds again to the Garmin Join app, which additionally collects knowledge from my Garmin watch.
After all, as this can be a photo voltaic charging-capable gadget, 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 basically clear photo voltaic panel over the show itself. Meaning 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 instances (basically if you find yourself 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 instances. The journey abstract reveals you the photo voltaic depth through the journey, together with the battery achieve you bought consequently.
I’ve the Garmin HRM-Match linked to the Edge 1040 Photo voltaic, and plenty of of my rides use turn-by-turn navigation with the map on the show, which chews by the battery sooner 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 capable of get proper round that 40-hour mark that Garmin promised. In actual fact, my shorter rides used barely any battery in any respect. I solely needed to cost it a number of instances, and a kind 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 benefit from 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 constantly 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 gadget stated the photo voltaic depth was 85% with 2:13 of battery achieve. If I have been completely out within the open in the midst of the day, that quantity would probably be fairly a bit larger, leading to extra battery achieve.
Although much less vital 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 in case you fall or in case you drop it, which is a wonderful merchandise to have given the value. You additionally get three completely different bike mount choices (MTB, commonplace, and out-front) and a lanyard.
Associated
Garmin’s latest bike computer is close to perfection
A contemporary show, speedy efficiency, and an infinite listing of options gained over my bike owner coronary heart.
What I did not like in regards to the Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic
Outdated display screen expertise
Whereas the show is massive, it, sadly, seems somewhat outdated. The touchscreen could be very responsive, however the transflective TFT show expertise, in comparison with what you are used to in your smartphone and even Garmin’s newer watches, merely seems a bit unhappy. The colours are boring, the distinction is pretty low, and it is not very shiny.
The Garmin Edge 1040 is a spectacular bike laptop. There’s lots to love about it.
The display screen remains to be simple sufficient to learn in shiny circumstances, nevertheless it positive seems 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 grievance. In actual fact, it was such a standard grievance that the corporate lately launched the Edge 1050, which makes use of a way more fashionable, shiny, and vibrant show. The Edge 1040 merely pales as compared.
After all, the value is one other ache level. At $750, this is likely one of the costliest bike computer systems out there. You get lots for the value, to make certain, however that worth is greater than many will probably be prepared or capable of pay.
Must you purchase the Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic?
The Garmin Edge 1040 is a spectacular bike laptop. There’s lots to love about it. The huge show makes it simpler to see your stats and browse maps whereas driving, it supplies all kinds of coaching, security, and navigation instruments, and the battery life is improbable. 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 best circumstances, it prices $150 greater than the non-solar version. For anybody not tackling lengthy rides in demanding conditions, or in case you do not dwell in a sunny location, that additional value probably is not price it. When you nonetheless care about lengthy battery life however do not want the increase from photo voltaic charging, you’ll be higher off choosing the Edge 1040 with out photo voltaic for $600.
Lastly, in case you’re choosy in regards to the show and would like one thing even simpler to learn in all circumstances with extra vibrant colours, then the Edge 1050 will probably be a more sensible choice.
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Garmin Edge 1040 Photo voltaic
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