It’s feature rich with an old school display

Key Takeaways

• The Garmin Edge 1040 Solar features a large display, making it easy to see ride stats and maps.
• The device has multiple operating tools, turn-by-turn directions, and solar charging capabilities.
• Although it is expensive at $750, it offers excellent battery life and a long list of features.

When I first started cycling about four years ago (yes, another epidemic cyclist), I went without a bike computer. I can simply track my rides using my Garmin watch. After that, my husband bought me a Garmin Edge 130 Plus, which made tracking my rides easier as I could see important stats in front of me instead of needing to lift my wrist to see my watch. However, it had a small screen and limited features, so it wasn’t a bike computer that I was very excited about.

Opening the Edge 1040 Solar, then, left my jaw on the floor. The device is huge, looking less like a smartphone than a bike computer. The feature set is solid, too, providing much more than I need at this point in time, but it means I have things to grow on as I continue down my cycling path. Overall, the Edge 1040 Solar is an impressive device, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it.

Price, availability, and specifications

The Garmin Edge 1040 Solar is available on Garmin’s website, Amazon, and REI for $750. It comes with a silicone case, three different bike mounts, a lanyard, and a charging cable.

What I liked about the Garmin Edge 1040 Solar

Extensive features with multiple screen housings

Simply put, there’s a lot to like about the Garmin Edge 1040 Solar. First and foremost is size. The 3.5 inch diagonal screen takes up a lot of space on the display. All that screen real estate makes it super easy to see your information while riding, even with a quick glance down. It is especially useful when looking at a map. And, thanks to the many customizable data screens, you can choose what information you see while riding.

As is typical of a Garmin device, the Edge 1040 Solar is extremely rich. This review would be too long if I touched on them all, though, so I’ll highlight my favorites. For starters, I really appreciate how easy it is to sync routes on the Edge 1040 Solar. I mainly use routes from Strava, which automatically appear on my device. The head unit then gives us turn-by-turn directions during the ride so I don’t get lost.

Simply put, there’s a lot to like about the Garmin Edge 1040 Solar.

The directions appeared most of the time before the turn and were quick to correct if I went off course. Whether you’re following a route or tracking a ride, you’ll also get alerts if there’s a busy road ahead or you’re approaching a sharp turn. I really appreciated those features when riding in unfamiliar areas. Also, having access to a map while riding is really nice, even if I know where I am.

In addition to navigation, the Edge 1040 Solar offers a complete suite of Garmin performance tools, including suggested daily workouts, training status, temperature performance monitoring and altitude adaptation, synchronized training programs, and much more. Those performance tools are even more robust and useful when you pair additional sensors like a heart rate monitor and a power meter. I cycle for fitness reasons, so it’s handy to have, especially since it all feeds back into the Garmin Connect app, which collects data from my Garmin watch.

Of course, since this is a solar-chargeable device, I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about battery life and solar charging. The Edge 1040 has two solar panels above and below the display, as well as Garmin’s own Solar Glass display, which is a very transparent solar panel over the display itself. That means the entire unit is covered by some type of solar panel.

Garmin promises up to 100 hours in battery saver mode or up to 45 hours in heavy usage conditions (especially if you use all sensors with the most accurate GPS settings). The company also claims that the solar panels can add 42 minutes per hour in battery saver mode or up to 20 minutes per hour in heavy usage conditions. The ride summary shows you the solar power during the trip, and the battery benefit you got as a result.

I have a Garmin HRM-Fit connected to the Edge 1040 Solar, and most of my rides use turn-by-turn navigation with a map on the display, which eats up the battery faster than other data screens. Based on Garmin’s Battery Life Expectancy chart, I fall roughly into the ‘Mid’ use case definition, which Garmin says should result in 40 hours of battery life without solar charging or 50 with it.

Most of my rides were under 1.5 hours, so I didn’t push the unit to its limit in terms of battery life on each ride. During my testing, I was able to get around that 40 hour mark that Garmin had promised. In fact, my short rides don’t use the battery at all. I only had to charge it a few times, and one of them was because I left the brightness at 100% instead of auto and forgot to turn it off (double whammy). I also didn’t take advantage of the fact that the Edge 1040 Solar will receive a solar charge even when turned off (it was tucked away in a dark corner), which would have extended life even more.

I didn’t get the solar charge numbers Garmin promised, but to get those, you’ll need 75,000 lux conditions regularly. One ride was around 10am on a hot day, although there was occasional shade on the track, and the device said the solar power was 85% with 2:13 of battery gain. If I were completely outside during the day, that number would be much higher, resulting in more battery gain.

While not the most important of all the features above, I was also impressed by all the extras the Edge 1040 Solar comes with. It includes a silicone case that protects the unit if you drop or drop it, which is great for the price. You also get three different bike mounting options (MTB, standard, and outdoor) and a lanyard.

What I didn’t like about the Garmin Edge 1040 Solar

Outdated screen technology

Although the display is large, unfortunately, it looks outdated. The touchscreen is very responsive, but the dynamic TFT display technology, compared to what you’re used to on your smartphone or Garmin’s new watches, looks a little sad. The colors are dull, the contrast is very low, and the brightness is not very bright.

The Garmin Edge 1040 is an amazing cycling computer. There’s a lot to like about it.

The screen is still easy enough to read in bright conditions, but it looks a lot older than the Edge 1040’s 2022 release date. Garmin used the same type of display for all of the bike computers, which was a common complaint. In fact, it was a common complaint that the company recently released the Edge 1050, which uses a more modern, bright, and vibrant display. The Edge 1040 is light in comparison.

Of course, price is another pain point. At $750, this is one of the most expensive bike computers available. You get a lot for the price, to be sure, but that price is more than most will or can afford to pay.

Should you buy the Garmin Edge 1040 Solar?

The Garmin Edge 1040 is an amazing cycling computer. There’s a lot to like about it. The large display makes it easy to see your stats and read maps while riding, it offers all kinds of training, safety, and navigation tools, and the battery life is amazing. Those who deal with long rides, want in-depth metrics, and rely on a basic travel unit should absolutely invest in the Edge 1040 Solar.

There are also downsides to this unit, however. While solar charging is a plus, and adds a nice upgrade in the right conditions, it costs $150 more than the non-solar version. For anyone who doesn’t mind long rides in harsh conditions, or if you don’t live in a sunny area, that extra cost probably isn’t worth it. If you still care about long battery life but don’t need the boost from solar charging, you might be better off opting for the $600 non-solar Edge 1040.

Finally, if you’re choosing about a display and would like something that’s easy to read in all situations with bright colors, the Edge 1050 would be a better choice.