Garmin Edge 1040 Solar Review for Bikepacking

[@marcclish]

Great review... Ive been pondering over this since it came out but past experience with Garmin has deterred me from taking the plunge. I used the first hammerhead Karoo which I loved then moved to the Karoo 2 which was a big let down for me due to the terrible battery life, too many unnecessary (for me) features and a reduction in screen size.. I think this has made my mind up.

[@Cycling366]

Thanks! Can’t say I’ve had experience with that one to compare it against, but I’m super happy with the Garmin! Works like a dream for what I need

[@KeshenMac]

Wow, from the first 10 seconds of this video: your video quality is incredible!

[@Cycling366]

Thanks! 😃

[@grahamhaines9931]

You can get a remote for the Garmin which sits by your hand and this allows you to switch screen without shifting your hand.

[@Cycling366]

Thanks for that! I honestly didn’t even know that existed haha

[@SGWChaosteam]

I also have Shimano GRX Di2 with Little Buttons in the hoods. I programmed the garmin to Start/Stop, switching lights on and off, Both with a double tap, switching pages with single taps and quick switching to the map immediately (important when navigating and having additional pages like climb pro). You can program whatever you want. Just wanted to get that info out to Users Not knowing that.

[@julesh4924]

I’ve always had Garmins and they have all been pretty reliable. 2 big issues they share 1) setting up the things to show on the screen has to be done on the head unit not on a phone like a wahoo - medieval! 2) upload issues - refuses or takes ages to upload quite regularly. Thee last time it refused to upload I told my friends to shoot me if I buy another. That said I watched your review and now I want one 😂

[@Cycling366]

Haha tbh I’d not even thought of using the phone to set up a device as I’ve always used Garmin devices and that’s never been an option! Agree on the clunkiness aspect though!

[@FOB-on-a-bike]

Your issue with buttons can be partially resolved by using the Garmin Remote. It can change pages with a press of a button, great when it's wet.

[@Cycling366]

Cheers Gary, had another comment about this as well so thanks for tip!

[@kai_v_k]

I am using the same Garmin and I agree. One downside though, typically Garmin, is the number of points in a file: over 10000 points and it does not longer work properly. I was doing a 700km trip planned with bikerouter and the for the last 100km I only had an indication for the direction for my final destination, but no routing. The route itself was still visible, if I remember correctly.

[@Cycling366]

That’s interesting. I don’t merge my routes together I break them into days so didn’t realise that

[@grahamhaines9931]

I agree about the battery life of the 8 series. I had an 820 and the battery was rubbish. I only now use mine on the turbo trainer. I replaced it with a 530 and the battery on that is superb by comparison. I now get a weeks riding between charges. I also bought the Garmin battery pack which fits on the out front mount with an adapter (supplied). With that fitted I reckon I’ll get 7-10 days between charges.

[@Cycling366]

Also didn’t know about the battery pack so I’ll take a look into that as well! Thanks for the tips :)

[@OldLostGuy]

Would be interested in a follow-up review in another year's time. An update on battery life, durability of unit and any cons that pop .

[@Cycling366]

Good shout. Will make a note to check back in on this at some point later down the line 👍

[@paulhadfield8006]

I had garmin for many years but move across to the hammerhead karoo 2 very happy

[@Cycling366]

Nice! Had a few people say they like that so must be good!

[@maximumsolitude4215]

I’ve just ordered the Garmin edge explore 2 @ £201, excellent reviews and will do everything I need. The 1040 looks a great piece of kit but at £630 I couldn’t justify it

[@Cycling366]

Yeah that looks good to be fair, is there anything that it can’t do that the Edge can do? Seems like a bargain!

[@maximumsolitude4215]

Just more spec really 4x memory, WiFi, inride power compatible mount, lots of training metrics which I’d never use and obviously solar charging and a bigger screen, £430 is a massive difference especially if there are features you’ll never ever use.

[@danielbliss1988]

@@Cycling366 no power-metering on the Explore series.

[@tiffmercer4306]

I have been eyeing this one! Mine is a Garmin Edge 730? I bought back in 2008. I can’t even download routes to it. I wish it wasn’t so expensive though!

[@Cycling366]

Wow that’s good going! My 500 was 2012 and that packed up a while ago! Yeah they’re pretty expensive unfortunately… but I think it was worth it personally!

[@tiffmercer4306]

@@Cycling366 with line still Working and a working phone that I can put routes on, I can’t justify it right now. But hopefully in the next couple years!

[@Cycling366]

Yeah no point replacing if it’s still working: those older models are built like tanks anyway!

[@feins]

the unit from Euro and US dont come with Asia map preinstall. But you can plug it into Garmin Express and install Asia map FoC. I bought a 1040 international model and uninstall the Euro and US map for APAC maps.

[@Cycling366]

Ok that’s useful to know thank you!

[@renatoperim6722]

Muito obrigado pelo seu review. Foi muito útil. Um abraço brasileiro a todos os viajantes de bicicleta do planeta.

[@Cycling366]

Thanks!

[@adventures_of_a_dale]

I'm on Edge 530 still. It does look a great bit of kit but I don't want touch screen.

[@Cycling366]

That’s a good computer in fairness. Yeah the touchscreen is pretty decent but I miss that extra button

[@bonn1771]

solid review my edge 810 died so i am getting this or 1050 (if it is out before aug)

[@Cycling366]

Cheers! Yeah you’ll definitely enjoy the upgrade!

[@ZotmundSzele]

I don't bikepack or ride that much but I love tech and I'm navigating with my phone. It's simply bigger, more colorful, nicer. But I'm a Garmin fan, I wear a Fenix and I always get tempted to use an Edge. I barely ever follow a preset route and often spontaneously plan small portions ahead. And for that, the mapping of the Edge is slow, dumb and awkward. When you browse around it's not very detailed. You cannot add via points mid ride either which is annoying.

[@Cycling366]

Nice, yeah it depends on what you’re wanting from it. I’d never use it to plan a route on the fly, I only use it to follow routes I’ve already made so can’t comment!

[@JeremyLawrence-imajez]

I have the non-solar version of the 1040 which I got at a very low price and still came very close to sending it back because it is so frustrating to use compared to my antique original Wahoo Elemnt [8-ish? years old], which still has enough battery life to do a long day's riding. Currently I have a Garmin watch on my wrist and had a forerunner Garmin map watch prior to that, plus I also owned but finally returned a couple of Garmins bike computers, so I'm hardly new to Garmin. One was unusable in rain due to an over sensitive touch screen, which the 1040 has sorted thank god. And the 530 was simply not an upgrade to my older Wahoo and painful to do simple things with in comparison. My main criticism [of all garmin hardware/software] is how faffy and fiddly everything is, particularly when compared to using say a Wahoo. I have to use Google way too often to work out how to do basic stuff and I still struggle with my watch and the clunky phone app's interface after years of use. Other new products I can use more easily after half an hour even if very different from what I'm used to, *because* they are well designed. As for the 1040, for a device that's primarily a navigation device, the hard to spot small low contrast arrow to denote your location on map is inexcusable, I usually just assume it's roughly below map centre. I want to quickly glance at screen when riding to see where I need to go. Now whilst the map may be more far detailed, following a route is much harder to do than on my lower quality B+W Elemnt due to poor UI contrast on the Garmin. Despite my playing with various display options. The hardware buttons and LEDs on the Wahoo are also sorely missed. I frequently zoom in and out of the data screens on the Wahoo, because I don't need to see all of the data fields all of the time. The zoom is very handy when I do need that less frequently needed nugget of info. Rest of time I have the key data writ large, so again I can very quickly glance at screen and get what I need. I need to have everything I need on one cluttered screen or spread across several pages, neither of which are as elegant as Wahoo's implementation.

[@Cycling366]

Aye, I get that. I got frustrated with my old garmins. Bad software mostly, but the improvements are much better now imo. The wahoo looks decent as well though

[@JeremyLawrence-imajez]

The main reason why Garmin upped their game and got better in recent years was Wahoo's arrival with better designed kit in a space Garmin pretty much had to themselves. @@Cycling366

[@Madtriboy]

I love my 1040 but buying the solar opton was a mistake. Solar dims screen and is pointless as most rides are early morning with the group..... not much sun

[@Cycling366]

Fair dos. I’ve never had that issue!

[@peterswanson2090]

I love and hate my Garmins - reliability has been a huge issue, and in last 12 months have had warranty claims on 3 Edge Garmins (1x Explorer 2 and 2x 830s) - all with faulty climb issues. And have also had a faulty chest band, less than 12 months old and burns through batteries every couple of weeks - now gone to a Polar H10 band and loving it so far. I do like the functionality of the 830s and integration is pretty good, but just have gotten sick of poor quality - am waiting on an 840 in the post, and hopefully that will work out - if not, it will be no more Garmins for me, as just too frustrating. Also worth saying the warranty process has been frustrating - the Explorer took months to resolve, so not great all round... :-(

[@Cycling366]

That first sentence sums up my relationship with them too haha. Thanks for the info, worth noting! Not had a warranty claim myself so didn’t realise that.

[@bikepackingadventure7913]

I think OS maps are a must for bikepacking in the U.K. Does it do OS?

[@FOB-on-a-bike]

You can get great maps for Garmin from Talky Toaster. Better than OS maps 😳

[@Cycling366]

Apparently that is still possible to transfer the OS maps data onto the device. Don’t think they’re built in though!

[@Cycling366]

Not heard of this before!

[@stevemullin1195]

How do you like your jones bars

[@Cycling366]

They’re not Jones bars! Planet X On One Geoff 👍 about a tenth of the price 😉

[@kevindean9613]

It's Wahoo roam 2 for me , Their back up for myself has been excellent,& I prefer having the editing on my phone (a Dooge with a 10000 mha battery & bomb proof ) As with Garmin I just don't like their ethics ,customer support & their heart rate monitors on the products I had were very inaccurate.

[@Cycling366]

Each to their own! I’ve never used a wahoo bike computer in fairness so I can’t comment!

[@JeremyLawrence-imajez]

Wahoo are a game changer in usability@@Cycling366 . I've had numerous Garmin products over the years including the current 1040. It is rubbish in so many ways compared to my 8 year old Wahoo Elemnt. Which still has a long enough battery life for a day's riding. The 1040's new battery is rather impressive though.

[@UnashamedKen]

Question does it come with pre loaded cycling routes?

[@Cycling366]

Nope 👎 pre loaded full maps but no routes. Super easy to transfer though

[@UnashamedKen]

@@Cycling366 through Strava?

[@ForkNLeans]

Good review 😊

[@Cycling366]

Thank you :)

[@CharlesM236]

Now I'm serious searching what the left button is used for. 😁😫

[@Cycling366]

On/off 😛

[@CharlesM236]

@@Cycling366 Press to mark a new lap. Pdf shows the left bottom button is used for new lap, try to hack it, search for it. I forgot the button because the rubber protector is covering the button 🤔 There are always solutions to hack something on a device.

[@topbanana4013]

this is not a honest review. in con you mention 1 thing the size ?? we know the size before we buy it. that's not the issue. the real issue is the screen, i can see already you have this on full brightness because it needs to be on that to see the dam screen because of the 3rd solar panel over the main screen it washes out the colors its so dim you strain to see anything and the solar itself just does not cut UK weather making little gains when full brightness drains this device fast . 1040 basic is far superior richer colors and no faded out screen and the battery last longer . i know i had a solar and sent it back st8 away for a 1040

[@Cycling366]

Where is your evidence for that? Because I didn’t mention one thing (the screen) you deem to be a negative it must be a fake review? I bought this with my own money… what benefit do I get for ‘lying’ about it? Maybe rethink how you phrase your comments in future.

[@topbanana4013]

@@Cycling366 learn to take criticism. you only mentioned 1 con the screen size strange it should be a pro as you can place more gadgets on the screen. but you never mention the actual screen been used with 100% brightness that takes 10 hours off the battery and is so dim it strains the eyes. its why no 1 is buying them or sending them back there not fit for purpose in the UK weather

[@Cycling366]

@@topbanana4013there’s criticism and false claims: Yours was the latter. “This is a fake review” isn’t criticism. It’s BS