The Garmin Edge 1050 is PERFECT, but...

[@FoobsTon]

As a 52 year old with eyes that have seen better days, I need that big bright screen. The flip side is that one positive of being 52 is that I can afford one.

[@jaec6986]

haha nice one, im the same

[@brucekirby2031]

Thank god for the bell,who`d a thought ?

[@neilbuckley5796]

Get a 1040 mate and save your money.

[@zcarfanatic]

Same here. just ordered the 1050 and hoping it's easier to see than my 1030. When I do go out with my 1030 and think Wow, that's a crisp display, I realize it's just because I accidentally left my progressive glasses on and forgot my cycling glasses :-D

[@martincoenen2]

The brightness on my 1040 was never the issue , it is the map colors that are making it for me difficult to navigate ..Garmin still hasn't changed that .

[@varen6]

I agree with you, I have the same problem (I had 3 Garmins over many years and they all have the same problem)

[@Bike4Coffee-Cake]

Thanks David! I have the 840, and whilst I mostly really like it, it does crash occasionally, the wifi-sync feature is really buggy, and sending routes from Komoot is a bit variable - sometimes very quick, sometimes annoyingly slow. The 840 does have the pothole feature, but it is just super-annoying as it covers the bottom row, so I can’t see power every time an alert pops up. And as others have said, if all the potholes were notified it would basically be a permanent stripe across the bottom as most roads have at least one pothole every 200m where I live…. On the plus side, the configurability, battery life, hill climb, eat/drink reminders etc are useful.

[@midsfella]

Great review, I'm loving mine after changing it from the 1040, My reason was screen quality, as someone that wears glasses for reading this has helped my 10 fold. Most of the features are identical but with a much smoother interface. I'd love someone with the knowledge to produce a video on the latest routing advice and settings.

[@davidarthur]

What do you want to know re routing advice, Garmin-specific or general routing info?

[@midsfella]

@davidarthur Garmin specific, tips and settings advice for gravel and road, the devices have changed and so has the tech but nobody has put together do all garmin routing video. Thanks for your reply

[@flouserfehler]

Best "feature" of the 1050 is that the 1040 has dropped in price. So I finally got one of those ;-)

[@bruceritchie7613]

It may be expensive but for me it's worth it just for the screen. I like large screens and i need bright (eyes are not awesome). Last computer died last year (wahoo bolt) and i needed a new one. Used a 1030 for part of last summer riding across the continent and loved the size of the screen.

[@InvestigationHour]

Waiting on the ELEMNT ACE to be announced DEC 3 before deciding

[@frits8986]

I’ve been testing the ACE, can say that it’s an easy pick over the 1050.

[@jaec6986]

@@frits8986 yeah but how much more $$$?

[@vrapan]

is the ace being announced today?

[@InvestigationHour]

@@frits8986 After seeing the reviews this morrning.... and the comparisons. They absolutely did not hit a slam dunk here. Rushed , expensive , heavy , lacking in software features straight out of the gate, and the screen is not that bright. Not sure how they feel we can all justify $600 when the competition is offering a more compelling argument but okie doke!

[@BadTanLines]

@@frits8986 biggest troll on the internet LOLOLOLOLOLOL

[@fenwick458]

7:52 hazard reporting, It's absolutely useless where I ride most of the time and I have now turned it off. Way too many potholes have been reported and the thing just makes noises every couple of hundred metres, even though most of the reported potholes are not that bad and I could probably ride straight though them without any damage. I have no idea how it's going to work as it gains popularity surely there will just be even more people reporting even the smallest things? I did try it for a few weeks and constantly flagged minor potholes as "not there anymore" but then just gave up with it and switched it off. it might be useful in somewhere like Mallorca or the canary islands where there aren't that many potholes, but for northern England it's just

[@przemekmacioek6458]

Same here in Poland! What surprised me though, it had very few reported potholes when I was riding it in SF Bay area few weeks ago. The roads there were not the greatest. Wonder what might have been the reason (cycling is quite popular in that area so I would expect many Garmin Edge 1050 users)

[@TexasNightRider]

Good review. As a long time Wahoo (currently Roam v2) user I still can't justify going with Garmin because of the reflective screen and I wouldn't use most of the features.

[@SantaClarita-g3i]

If I didn't already have a garmin, I'd buy this one!

[@foodbymark]

Price seems where it should be for the market especially now the Wahoo Ace has been released, a half baked device that can’t even compete with the 1040. I’m a 1040 user and I have done a few 5-7 day partly off grid bikepacking trips, hands down the second best device as I wish I’d bought the solar. 😅

[@cathalkenneally1614]

I had trouble adjusting to the 1040 size from my old 530. Great little device despite no touchscreen

[@TimR123]

Consider that the hazard alert feature has rolled to the x40 series as well. I've got a 1040 and started seeing useful warnings. Not there yet but it has to start somewhere

[@kierenkd]

The hazard thing needs work. My gamin map is littered with hazards that are temporary and long since expired. EG, something traffic related that happened 12 hours ago - eg accident. The potholes obviously can get ridiculous - a way to filter them would be to nice.

[@londonlionel]

The screen wouldn't need to be so bright if the glass was less reflective.

[@JIMMYHIBBS1]

Agreed - I have a 530 and a Wahoo Bolt V2 ... and there is a lot to like about the 530 .... but the Bolt screen is a masterpiece of Kindle simplicity ...

[@bonn1771]

Thanks for this

[@mariosimas]

wahoo ace is coming........

[@suisinghoraceho2403]

Allegedly with the bells 🔔 as well.

[@RoadHammer123]

I have used many Garmins over decades and not once had a system crash of any kind. The 1030 or 810 rule !

[@markianross]

I've had it a few times on some older devices - I think it might have been a Fenix 5 watch.

[@macca94]

What data field is it which shows current heart rate with average and max beneath it? I can’t seem to get it on my Edge 1040 solar.

[@Brookes79]

Totally wrong about hazard reports only being in the 1050, it was later added to the .40 series devices & the Edge Explore 2 GPS.

[@davidarthur]

Ah thanks for that I must have missed that update, good to know they've pushed it to previous devices

[@Brookes79]

@davidarthur I've also seen loads of hazards reported in Cheshire, so there's a lot more riders using it.

[@davidarthur]

that's good to hear

[@alexeydanilchenko434]

@@davidarthur on that note all 1040 and 840 have the same menus and features as 1050 (sans the missing hardware like the bell and others). Still just as easy to use and 1040 non solar can be had for almost half the price

[@lehtjug]

I'll wait what Garmin can offer in a future. I still have a 1030 Plus and it's been worked very well, despite that Garmin hasn't release any updates for awhile. As long as it work well and battery life stays in good level I keep using that. After that I consider what alternatives I have.

[@cathalkenneally1614]

I doubt that Garmin will be issuing any updates for the X30 series. Any software updates will be aimed at the 1050 and X40 series. I have a 1040 and it gets all the software and features updates that are filtered down from the 1050. That’s not to say that the 1030 plus isn’t a good bike computer because I used for ages. I just bought the 1040 because I fancied an upgrade

[@bojanstojkovic3927]

How does it track the gradient? How does the Climb Pro perform? That feature has been a mess, I'm surprised you didn't even mention it, as it's such a big part of cycling.

[@vrapan]

in regards to wahoo stability, i have only had wahoos for the past 7-8 years give or take, they used to be extremely stable and reliable. Not my experience lately. The latest bolt is a bit of a mesh, from connectivity to crashing. By far the most common/annoying one is that it somehow loses the loaded route you are following. The only way to get it back is to end the ride and load it again. Has happened quite a few times. The Roam has known issues with battery reliability/charging indicator, one of my ride buddies has hone through 2 of them because of battery related issues. I am not quite ready to pay the Garmin Tax but I am losing faith on Wahoo's ability to produce relatively bug free software.

[@colincampbell8311]

The worst thing about road hazard warnings is that you cannot turn them off. I tried adding a warning for a pothole, and it got repaired inside a week. But the warning persisted on my 1050 for weeks (I’m told they last 90 days). This causes most owners to turn the feature off entirely.

[@10ktube]

I caught a deal on a Solar 840 a while back. Worst purchase I've made when I was chasing a feature. The solar is a bust, it barely makes a difference, we're talking minutes at best. Maybe it's my position on the bike, maybe it's because the screen sucks up more battery than the solar panel can generate, but totally a waste. Couple that with the fact that the device only uses the solar panel to charge when the device is ON, which is totally silly. If I could leave it charge with the device OFF, it'd be a much better design. I think they do that so they can compile the silly metrics and show you how much solar time you got, but seriously, I want it to charge when I'm stopped, or I want to leave it outside before a ride and let it top off, etc. I'm at the point I'd rather record on my phone and not deal with a second, very expensive gizmo.

[@danielposchl6226]

The hazard also works on my 1040, i really like.

[@sharkzor]

Nice unit. Steep price. I rather upgrade to iphone pro which also has multiband gps and enough battery life for my riding (150km). Ride with gps is excellent

[@JIMMYHIBBS1]

Thats brilliant .. a bell !! ... genuinely, I have an old fashioned bell on my gravel bike, and this is great .. mind - not paying £600+ for it ....

[@markianross]

The bell is a bit rubbish. I've tried it quite a few times and people haven't heard it.

[@JIMMYHIBBS1]

@ 👍👍 mind - people don’t hear real bells these days - too wrapped up in their conversations, or listening to something

[@markianross]

@@JIMMYHIBBS1 I have a Timber bell that everyone hears from a long way back (unless they have earphones in of course)

[@ScottBaker1]

It retails for $950 cdn +tax. Bonkers money. But also I love so many of the features. I’ll stick with my Karoo 2 for now. New SDK just release, hopefully gets a few more features

[@rwo5402]

I had a 1030 for quite a while. Never used it for navigating because the resolution and the map display was just so 1990's. When they didn't change resolution with the 1040 I finally gave Garmin a pass and switched to the Hammerhead Karoo 2. It took me a while because the display is smaller and battery live wasn't quite with teh garmin but everythign else is so much better. I've had the Karoo now for close to 2 years and I haven't looked back. Much better unit for a much more reasonable price than the gramin. The price of the garmin is just ridiculous.

[@SweetappleC]

@David - Great timing, I'm about to buy one! The two crashes you mention. I understand they were early on in your trial, not sure of the SW release level, but I know as a current Edge user there have been a few in the last couple of months. Could have been with an early release, and a bug that Garmin have fixed?

[@davidarthur]

Hi, yes hopefully just an issue with the earlier firmware and something they fixed, I've honestly not had any issues or crashes with it since the summer it's been very reliable since then. Definitely much easier and nicer to use than many years ago when they definitely were not

[@chriscross5689]

Best company to get prescription cycling glases from?

[@JIMMYHIBBS1]

I've got a Garmin 530 and V2 Wahoo Bolt ... and only really need one .. but can't work out which I prefer .... so still got both

[@Jarek.]

8:37 - hazard warnings have been backported to E1040 as well; I think it may be also on the rest of the x40 family. But I agree - how useful pothole warning is?? Questionable 🙂

[@RenAigu]

I've said this before about the 1050, but with the screen, high quality speaker and Garmin pay features, Garmin is halfway toward a rugged high battery life semi-smartphone. It must be fairly trivial to put in a SIM tray and a radio and have it have phone and mobile data capabilities. With a few key apps, you'd be able to leave the phone at home for basically all rides and adventures. Not that it's a big issue, riding with a phone in the back pocket, but still.

[@peteT269]

My phone comes with me only for photos to be honest. So unless Garmin packs in a top notch camera system, I would still need my phone.

[@serzhick23]

So why should we buy Garmin 1050 instead of a mid-tier Android smartphone. Honestly 1050 looks like a cheap old android device with Garmin OS installed 😂.

[@XXXENOWRAITHXX]

thats what im saying, you could buy a second hand iphone or an andriod phone for a hundred bucks and it does pretty much anything these bike computers do

[@MrbrendanG]

At 10:47 what’s the data field use that show heart rate zone and current heart rate?

[@christianvincentcuenco6825]

Waiting for 850 with the screen and all the buttons in a manageable size

[@tommim9367]

When is 850 expected to come?

[@rodriguezahr]

The screen is a welcome change but Garmin should learn how to cut wasted real estate on these devices. The area around the screen is humongous. Getting rid of that dead space would have made the device substantially smaller and more practical.

[@fabianmolyneux2308]

It seems only a step away from becoming cellular. That’d be great for weight weenies having the option to leave the mobile at home and extra space in the back pocket too.

[@JayGrofte]

How aero and lightweight is it?

[@owenmalkin3967]

Can you use the Garmin mount of the 1030 plus with the 1050?

[@JK-wl5bx]

Does rain affect the screen , change pages etc like it does on my 820

[@lazzaboyman8003]

I have an 840 which is about the right size, has buttons and a touch screen and has most of the features. It's still a lot of money but better value than the 1050 IMHO

[@paulschulman8131]

Always like buttons. My 530 has buttons and it's hard to go to touchscreen

[@JIMMYHIBBS1]

I have a 530 and a Wahoo Bolt V2 .. not sure why you need more than these TBH ...

[@paulschulman8131]

@ the only one Id upgrade to would be the 840 but thats as needed when the 530 dies. From what I heard from DCR the 540 buttons aren't as good. Which suggest that later versions will just be touch

[@ChrisSpriggs-rj2ys]

I’d rather keep my eyes on the road 😊

[@DarrenStone-qw7jo]

This or wahoo ace?

[@cathalkenneally1614]

Unlike GCN’s review of the new Wahoo unit. They are partly sponsored by Wahoo so their review is slightly biased 🤣

[@JDsGafflin]

People pay 5k for a frame and moan the computer is expensive lol

[@VampireRhino]

Overpriced. Battery>> fancy screen

[@FOXMAN09]

Amen

[@markianross]

I did a 6 hour ride with it at the weekend and the battery finished up on 78%. There's plenty of battery life for the majority of people.

[@FOXMAN09]

@@markianross And with backlight turned on (winter months problem) when dark? This is what stunned me when i borrowed a 1030. It demolished 50% of the battery within 2 hours.

[@markianross]

@FOXMAN09 backlighting is always on because it's an OLED screen. In fact it would use less battery in the dark because the backlight can be turned right down.

[@FOXMAN09]

@@markianross Ah ok, good clarification. How does the OLED do in direct sun?

[@kkostasgr]

I have problems using this with gloves even conductive ones and I and I am disappointed.

[@XXXENOWRAITHXX]

For 700 dollars there should be no bad or ugly, it should be a perfectly functional device that has all the features you want and others you might need. For the price of an iphone that can do pretty much anything one of these can do i don’t see the point

[@elleffeff]

If the screen of my Edge 830 wouldn't be so poor/ low-contrast in the morning hours, I would not give this thing a second thought.

[@bobobobobobo4597]

I will stick with my phone that I already own. $700 is insane.

[@Andy_ATB]

No bike computer is worth more than £200; it's all nonsense and too many people are falling for it.

[@sdanjohn]

Tried the 1050. Prefer my 1040. Screen didn’t do anything for me. If you have brightness off you can’t see the screen at all….

[@pulser955]

I’m trying to decide between the 1040 and the 1050. I can get the 1040 for 20% off from work. But we don’t carry the 1050. And I just can’t justify the price. But most of the comparisons I have seen say the 1050 is definitely the better device for mapping and for the UI.

[@alexeydanilchenko434]

I went with 1040 (non solar for brighter screen) having compared them in the Garmin shop whilst I was on holiday in Germany. The 1050 looks great but it is trying to be an iPhone of bike computers and I have an iPhone for that. 1040 seems great and small enough to do all I need bike computer to do. Works great so far. The only thing on both 1040 and 1050 is a very reflective screen so riding on a bright day with clear sky - reflections are very annoying so I fitted 1040 with matte screen protector (and happy now). The price of 1050 is not worth it IMO

[@goproati8602]

I have 1040 solar and 1050... battery life is 100%better on 1040. screen is better on 1050 unless!!! direct sunlight, it's like a mirror when getting the sun from a specific angle, not like the 1040

[@gaza4543]

Unless your kati kookaburra doing 3-600 mile ride fairly regularly you dont need it. Id spend my money on power meter pedals. A wahoo bolt sized device does everything that 99% need

[@artt3231]

Way too expensive and form factor could be better. The sweet spot is a size between the 8xx and 10xx...

[@bikeman123]

Garmins are surprisingly unreliable for such expensive items - battery dont last and the on/off buttons usually fall apart. The bmw of the bike world.

[@rickaguilar1833]

Costs as much as a top model Cell Phone!!

[@appala]

Question. This is a full featured device to address multiple types of riders. This is not for everyone. Similar to Mac book pro with max cpu.

[@vwgtiron]

Too much money.

[@themcguires3562]

Bought the Edge 130 plus at a reasonable price. Lots more features than I need.

[@vwgtiron]

@themcguires3562 yeahbi think I spent 300 on the 830. Its fine for me.n

[@frankyao5854]

@@vwgtiron you could probs get a 1040 second hand for around 300 now that 1050 is out

[@vwgtiron]

@@frankyao5854 yeah I've got an 8:30 that I paid around $300 for that works really well. For updating the UI and adding a solar panel , doesn't seem like these updates are enough to justify the price

[@jonathanellis1842]

I bought a Bryton 420 for a 6th of this price, does most of what I need for local rides, I would like proper maps when away on holiday or further afield with bike, but still would not pay this much, so happy with my 420 that prop would just buy a S800 for less than half the money this Garmin would cost!

[@peterlindsay8235]

Garmin is never worth it, the interface is clunky, clumsy and far from straight forward. Even then the platform is not stable and on a recent tour my uploaded files simply wiped off the platform leaving me stranded, for me my best Garmin day was taking my newly purchased Garmin and throwing it in the bin.

[@TheQc007]

Was not the 1040 the same price when it came out ? Was it considered overpriced then ? For all it provides, compared to the market, it’s ok for me.

[@realekm]

Too heavy and too expensive. I will pass

[@SignorLuigi]

That thing costs $150 US more than a new Mac Mini M4 desktop computer. And like other bike computers, it's bezels are gigantic. 🤦‍♂️

[@burikot101]

just get on your bike and ride heheh cheers.

[@tianshuozhang]

I still don’t understand amateurs paying so much money for this

[@notime2stop]

in comparison the K3 is much brighter, in your video. :D and also on my bike. K3 has buttons to use in winter, half the price. ;)

[@edymarkonthego4096]

Use old Smartphone + Komoot app + powerbank.

[@alexeydanilchenko434]

Mobile phones (except some androids) do not support ANT+ and that limits some devices like power meters with cycling dynamics. There are excellent apps that replace cyclin computers on mobile but most of those lack ANT+ and require subscriptions

[@drill_fiend1097]

​@@alexeydanilchenko434some old smartphones used to shop with ant+, good old days... But there's usb-c dongle for ant+

[@GroteGeer]

I'm using still an Dell XPS laptop - from 2012. Every month I must take time (20 min at least) - because the security updates of Windows 10. And the display quality get more and more waisted out. If you enjoy time and not in a hurry - it's fine.

[@drill_fiend1097]

@@GroteGeer let's be honest, the SoC used in Garmins are extremely slow and outdated. Like a phone from 2017 can run laps around it if it weren't for battery life.

[@GroteGeer]

@@drill_fiend1097 Faster chipset - like HH is using in their Karoo (3) - consumes much more power.

[@peteT269]

It's way overpriced, given the quality of the technology. And I never trust reviews on Garmin computers... every single one I've owned has had numerous issues, bugs etc that the reveiwers never point out. I've got an 830 and had to get it replaced twice, once because the GPS was unstable and the other time because it randomly started freezing during rides and wouldn't let me save any data. Garmin release horribly buggy, unstable products at ridiculous prices because they know the cycling community will lap it up and few will really question it. I'm not an Apple fan, but I wish they would release a bike computer to force the others to up the quality.

[@davidarthur]

Yup that's why I moved to Wahoo several years ago. But apart from a few crashes early on it has been solid and reliable for 2500km so it does seem they've finally learnt their lesson

[@peteT269]

@@davidarthur That's good to hear. Maybe when the price drops by a 3rd or so I'll try one out.

[@Irnbruist]

My 180 bucks Edge Explore 2 can do 95% of this!

[@Gk9311]

hi, what is your opinion regarding the edge explore 2 ? Considering getting one. Thanks in advance.

[@Irnbruist]

@ like EVERY Garmin Edge it has it‘s software bugs but for the price I‘m quite happy, has good routing, climb pro, very long battery life and USB-C

[@josediaspinto7438]

Too late review, we’re waiting for the new Wahoo gps.

[@mikefj2004]

Already ordered because I literally love the latest in bike tech. If you don’t want it, don’t get it. To each their own. Most of these features are on the 1040 though so I could see the argument of not upgrading if you are already a prev gen owner.

[@dangerfulmind]

Too expensive, too many features, too big. Total overkill. I like to ride and look around, not have my eyes and fingers glued to a GPS unit.

[@eddiesmith6806]

£600 and the best feature is a bell Get in the real world

[@carbonlord.]

Buttons rattle, and break. Ask my 1000.

[@XMGi00]

Geez. At that price might as well use an iPhone.

[@markfrost2003]

650 quid!! Ridiculous, but you do get a bell I suppose. More importantly, is this repairable, recyclable? Can I put a new battery in it or will my 650 quid be in the bin in a few years? How long will they commit to software upgrades? Maybe Dave these kind of questions could be covered in your reviews, unless of course those are difficult questions for you to answer 😉

[@pe3117]

I prefer my 1040 and forget about battery…1050 is full of software issues…no thanks!

[@GroteGeer]

It has a remake user interface and also a new excellent screen. Give them some time to solve the issues with the upcoming version 11.

[@LazySquirrel-vp2kb]

11fw has a lot of issues and GARMIN doesn’t solve them. It’s not an issue but how long users from all the world asked GARMIN for switch off Virtual Partner? One simple button…many many years without any progress)) (owned 830, 1030, 1040 and 1050 for now so I know about what I said) Waiting for Wahoo Ace too

[@GroteGeer]

@@LazySquirrel-vp2kb Almost everyone is asking Hammerhead: to make the Lap function optional ..... they just don't do it. To increase the battery ..... they just don't do it.

[@LazySquirrel-vp2kb]

@ yes, agree that all of manufacturers have lags in customer support or in realizing theirs wishes.

[@javabk]

All these features and still can’t disable virtual partner 😂

[@edjack1993]

Size way too big for my taste.

[@TheAllEngineering]

Will it make me any faster ? Just another overpriced gadget.

[@suisinghoraceho2403]

£350 for a really really nice bike bell 🛎️ and a battery pack 🔋🪫

[@RSGSulldorfAltona-West]

It needs 10 - 20 seconds to switch the menue to ring the bell? WTF! Yeah its the worst bullshite ever having a crash cause of watching the display, switching forward/backward aso.

[@bruceritchie7613]

Nah. It's damn near instantaneous on mine.

[@tomtennant-Propel]

Every pretentious fat banker has one