Bigger, Brighter, Less Battery Life

“], “filter”: { “nextExceptions”: “img, blockquote, div”, “nextContainsExceptions”: “img, blockquote, a.btn, a.o-button”} }”>

For years, if you looked in our cycling accessory reviews, there were only two credible bike computer options. Garmin, arguably, started the segment and Wahoo showed how it should actually work. Others have come and gone but only those two were serious contenders.

Then, more recently, Hammerhead started bringing real competition to the segment. This year’s Hammerhead Karoo 3 firmly cemented the brand as a contender just before the segment expanded again. The Coros Dura is still a work in progress but it’s got a lot going for it and a compelling price.

Now it’s time for Garmin to remind everyone the brand isn’t asleep at the wheel. Today marks the release of the Garmin Edge 1050 and it’s an interesting one. This isn’t a Plus model, off-year update, but it’s also not replacing the Garmin Edge 1040 Solar.

Updated hardware

If you are the type to pay attention to Garmin hardware updates, the Garmin Edge 1050 probably isn’t a surprise to you. It’s been extensively leaked and there have been pictures out for weeks. What those leaks tended to focus on was the hardware and for the most part they were right on.

Right away what you will see is an updated design language. The Edge 1050 looks a bit more angular and with dimensions of 2.4-inches x 4.7-inches x 0.6-inches (60.2 x 118.5 x 16.3 mm) it’s also a bit larger than the current Edge 1040 bike computers. The difference is only 1 mm in length but the Edge 1040 is already quite tight on some out front mounts. To combat this, Garmin moves the buttons farther out to the edge of the bottom corners.

Despite the larger case size, the 3.5-inch display hasn’t changed size. This is obviously a let down for those who were looking for reduced bezels but the screen does get an update to the specs. Packed into the same diagonal dimension you’ll find a completely new LCD screen. The new screen keeps the aspect ratio the same and bumps PPI from ~166 to ~266.

Unfortunately the new screen also means a hit to the battery life. Garmin is promising a brighter, crisper, and more vibrant display but it more than halves the power you’ve got on tap. Those who enjoy never charging, or find themselves riding ultra endurance events will now have to decide what makes sense. If you prefer a better screen, Garmin quotes battery life as 20 hours “in the most demanding use cases” and up to 60 hours in battery save mode.

Also with the new case and screen, Garmin is also adding NFC and speaker. NFC means that “Garmin Pay Contactless Payments” will work with only your Edge 1050 and should be a good backup for a dead phone. Meanwhile, the speaker upgrades the simple beep that all bike computers have to an actual feature. Garmin promises workout and navigation prompts but also the ability to “alert riders and pedestrians ahead using an on-device bike bell.”

Group ride features

The ability to send your ride tracking link to the people you are riding with is a longstanding group ride hack. Now Garmin is taking that basic functionality a step further. The new Garmin Edge 1050 has the ability to link a group of people all using Garmin headunits using a code.

Once linked, the Garmin Connect app will use GroupRide to help keep everyone together. The old ride tracking adds “in-ride messaging, live locations and incident detection alerts.” To add a bit of fun, it will also keep track of performance metrics and after the ride you can see things like who was fastest up a hill or who had the highest speed.

For those that ride alone, GroupRide may sound less interesting. Garmin is also thinking of the larger cycling community with the addition of Road hazard alerts. This will be a feature that allows you to report, or see alerts for, things like potholes and fallen trees.

Garmin Connect will underpin these features and Garmin reports that the Edge 1050 won’t be a requirement to use them. According to the brand, all of the “GroupRide updates and road hazard alerts will be available on Edge 540, Edge 840 and Edge 1040 series cycling computers soon.”

Improved mapping

Garmin already has a robust mapping system. It has detailed maps, shows street names, and will reroute if you are off course. It will do all of this without a connection to a phone or mobile service. With the Garmin Edge 1050, the brand is building on those features with even more details and less reliance on Garmin Connect or third-party services.

It was already possible to create a route in Garmin Connect, both on a phone and in a browser. With the Edge 1050 Garmin is extending that to the bike computer. As you create those maps, Garmin will now also tell you what the surface type is. This allows you to “see paved or unpaved roadways on the Edge while riding and get alerts for upcoming unpaved sections.” The functionality will also extend to automatic routing with “Ride-Specific Routing” making sure the suggestions are appropriate for “mountain, gravel or road” rides.

The last feature that Garmin is adding is an easier way to add maps to the unity. Anyone who owns an Edge 1040 may find this slightly abstract as that computer comes with worldwide maps preinstalled. Still, should you ever need to add something on that device or other Garmin units, it still requires a USB cable. With this release, Garmin is adding “Map Manager with Wi-Fi Connectivity” to do exactly what you’d expect. Instead of a cable, you can “add, swap, or update additional maps via Wi-Fi right on the cycling computer.”

One more piece of the training puzzle

As with mapping, Garmin is already quite comprehensive when it comes to training. Nothing goes away on that front and you can still find the same “power guide and get real-time stamina insights while you ride.” You can also continue to use “cycling ability and course demands to compare your cycling ability to the demands of a specific course.” What’s new is adaptive training.

Instead of only offering a static training suggestion, Garmin is offering a way to target an event with “event adaptive training plans.” This will take what’s currently offered and add the ability to adapt based on your current performance and recovery. Daily suggested workouts will also extend to “provide ride suggestions based on a cyclist’s current training load and VO2 max.” During the actual event, or any ride, if you create a power guide, it will “now take wind data and a cyclist’s current stamina into account to make real-time adjustments to power targets.”

Pricing and availability

The Garmin Edge 1050 is available at garmin.com starting today. Rather than replacing an existing Edge computer, the new model slots in at a new product tier, with a $699.99 USD price point. That puts it directly between the $599.99 Edge 1040 and the $749.99 Edge 1040 Solar.