Need a new bike computer for my gravel bike. Need it primarily for Ride with GPS and navigations. Need to be able to download routes from the application Ride with GPS and navigate a course. I’m doing a gravel triathlon that will require navigation. I normally just use my phone but think a bike computer will be easier than dicking around with my phone or mounting my phone (prefer not to do this)
I have a power meter on my tri bike but not on my gravel bike since I normally don’t race my gravel bike.
Thanks! I just did. I noticed in one photo she does have a Garmin bike computer but can’t tell the model. And also asked her what bike mount she uses. Vermont gravel roads can be jarring and bumpy and would not want my Edge to get knocked off from the tough terrain here.
I have an Edge 530 and use it on my gravel bike a lot w/ lots of chunky, bumpy riding. I use the Garmin out front mount and it’s never come off. I also use it on my mtb and never lost it. You can load a Ride w/GPS route into Garmin Connect fairly easily and have it on your bike computer for turn-by-turn directions. It’s also nice because you can set activity profiles (gravel, road, mtb…) and have what’s displayed based on what bike you’re riding.
Thanks! I was looking at the now 540 and it looks good. The 1050 has a built in speaker and gives verbal prompts for navigation (thinking much like my phone GPS). But is it worth the couple hundred dollars extra. I do get a 35% discount for Garmin being on Team Zoot and have my discount code. So will be a great deal. Just trying to be practical. Do I really need that verbal communication? It would be nice.
Yes, they come with a tether (never needed). I had a 520 and it did everything you want. I just got an 840 which is basically similar to the 540 only with touch screen. The 1050 is a much (relatively) bigger unit.
10xx also don’t have buttons as I recall - touchscreen only. Which might be a downside if you ride in weather with full fingered gloves. (840 has buttons AND touchscreen, 540 has buttons only).
Like @david, I’ve never used the tether and I’ve used multiple brands of mounts. Since you’re moving from a phone…maybe see if you can get to a store to compare the 500 series to the 1000 series for screen size.
This is a good point living in Vermont. But honestly as I get older, I really don’t love riding in cold inclement weather. I’d rather just watch bad tv and Zwift away in my basement or go xc skiing. I do run outside in terrible weather and even put my phone in a plastic baggies sometimes. I have to take my gloves off to check my phone, so this wouldn’t really be too much of an issue if I was out riding in the late fall/early spring and was wearing gloves. I don’t mind taking off my gloves to do something on the Edge
The first question is big or small? Next question is touchscreen or hard button?
All of these are fantastic at navigation, so it is just a question of user experience preferences.
Edge 1050 - pretty tough to beat its amazing screen and vast landscape of data for nav. It is far and away the best at navigation because of its big screen.
Edge 840 - same UI as the 1050 but with a smaller, compact package. Still very good, just smaller.
Edge 540 - same as above, but hard button UI instead of touch screen. Sometimes this eliminates touch artifacts on wet days.
It distills down to size and budget. They are all great.
Screen size is the number one consideration. If you’re going to need to actually navigate on rough terrain, or if you’re going to use the head unit to keep you abreast of what’s coming up on long descents (which is what many/most folks are doing in races these days) you’ll likely want a bigger screen.
If you wear long finger gloves offroad, you’ll want to avoid touchscreen only head units.
Something like a Garmin 1040 or 1040 plus can be found pretty darn inexpensively, and will do just about everything you might want.
Eyesight and physically fitting it to the bike are the constraints on either side. Ie may need to go 1040/1050 for eyes, or may need 540/840 to fit between aerobars/on the stem mount - 10X0 don’t fit on all as too big to twist in.
It’s hard for me to calibrate/compare because I haven’t used many different head units, but I’ve been having some major issues with my Edge 840. In summary, often during a ride, the menus and touchscreen are slow, laggy, and unresponsive. For example, it can take 8+ seconds for it to respond after I tap to switch the ride profile. Or sometimes I can’t scroll through my widgets, either it doesn’t respond to my touch or it “misclicks” and goes back to the home screen. Not sure if it’s a CPU issue or if it’s overheating, but when I contacted support they basically said “we know it has some issues, we’re working on beta software.”
That does sound like an individual computer issues… Have you tried a total factory reset and re-setup? I have an 840 and have not seen anything like this on mine.
I had to do a factory wipe last week, and re-setup only took a few minutes. So, it was not a hassle at all.
Maybe a long shot, but I’ve also noticed with some Garmin devices, if you load custom maps, they can become very slow to start up and exhibit some of what you described. I don’t have an 840 personally though.