My new bicycle computer is a Garmin Edge 1040 Solar. It has a larger display and more features than than my 830 did.
My primary consideration for buying this unit was battery life. Among Garmin's offerings at the time, this was the one with the longest battery life. It should be able to run up to 45 hours, with 10 of those hours coming from the solar collector. No matter what, this is enough for a whole century without any need for supplemental power. Indeed, during my first century with it, which was fairly sunny, only about a quarter of the battery was used.
I ordered this Aug 14, 2025 after my 830 died.
I have the following components to go with it:
I have Garmin mounts on all four of my bikes.
My Émonda and my Checkpoint have wireless sensors installed. However, I don't see any value in putting speed, cadence, or power sensors on my Trance or my Farley. Cadence is basically irrelevant on a trail bike, and speed can be detected well enough using GPS.
I have a Garmin Edge 130 Plus that I will keep as a spare in my car.
I bought this Aug 15, 2025 in Seattle after my 830 died.
The first Garmin bicycle computer I had was the one I bought for my Trek Émonda (on August 31, 2021), a Garmin Edge 830. It lasted nearly four years, over 660 hours and 9000 miles, before it started behaving unreliably.
I got Tim the little monochrome Garmin Edge 130 Plus.
I have tested out the capability of creating a "course" on the Garmin Connect web site and using it for navigation prompts on the Edge 830. It works quite well, giving me audible and visual prompts before each turn, and a useful map display. It also gives me distance and time count down to the upcoming turn. I can put distance to the next turn on the data display, along with a description of the next point. At the end, it shows distance to the end point.
The only disadvantage is that anytime I go through a tunnel, it gets lost and tells me I'm lost.
I have a dual-sensing power meter (XC200) on my Émonda, and I really love it. I have a single-sensing power meter (XC100) on my Checkpoint, and I don't miss any of the extra cycling dynamics that are only available from the XC200.
I now have a Garmin Varia RTL515 rear-facing radar and tail light. I have installed mounts made by Bup Labs on three of my bikes. I also have a clip for a saddle bag made by KOM Cycling.
In the past, I was worried about battery life on my 830 for longer (century) rides. I contrived to carry a USB battery pack in my handlebar bag, with a right-angle USB cable, to recharge the computer midway through the ride. This worked well.
This should no longer be necessary with my 1040 Solar.