When I first started cycling roughly four years ago (yep, another pandemic cyclist), I rode without a bike computer. I would simply track my rides using my Garmin watch. Then, my husband bought me the Garmin Edge 130 Plus, which made tracking my rides easier since I could see key stats in front of me instead of needing to lift my wrist just right to see my watch. However, it had a tiny screen and fairly limited features, so it wasn’t a bike computer that got me very excited.

Unboxing the Edge 1040 Solar, then, left my jaw on the ground. The device is massive, looking more like a small smartphone than a bike computer. The feature set is robust, too, providing far more than I even need at this point in time, but it means I have things to grow into as I continue down my cycling road. Overall, the Edge 1040 Solar is a seriously impressive device, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with it.

Price, availability, and specs

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

What I liked about the Garmin Edge 1040 Solar

Extensive features with lots of screen real estate

Put simply, there’s a lot to like about the Garmin Edge 1040 Solar. First and foremost is the size. The 3.5-inch diagonal screen results in a lot of room on the display. All of that screen real estate makes it incredibly easy to see your information while riding, even with just a quick glance down. It’s especially useful when looking at the map. Plus, thanks to multiple data screens that are customizable, you can choose which information you see while riding.

As is typical for a Garmin device, the Edge 1040 Solar is extremely feature-rich. This review could get very long if I touched on all of them, though, so I’ll highlight my favorites. To start, I very much appreciate how easy it is to sync routes to the Edge 1040 Solar. I mostly use routes from Strava, which automatically show up on my device. The head unit then provides turn-by-turn directions during a ride so I don’t get lost.

The directions popped up with plenty of time ahead of a turn and were fairly quick to adjust if I got off course. Whether you are following a route or just tracking a ride, you’ll also get notifications if there’s a busy road ahead or you’re getting close to a tight turn. I really appreciated those features when riding in locations I wasn’t very familiar with. Plus, having access to the map during a ride is quite nice, even if I know where I am.

Beyond navigation, the Edge 1040 Solar offers the full suite of Garmin’s performance tools, including daily suggested workouts, training status, performance monitoring heat and altitude acclimation, synced training plans, and so much more. Those performance tools are even more robust and useful if you pair additional sensors like a heart rate monitor and power meter. I bike for fitness reasons, so it’s handy to have that, especially since it all feeds back to the Garmin Connect app, which also collects data from my Garmin watch.

Of course, as this is a solar charging-capable device, I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about battery life and solar charging. The Edge 1040 features two solar panels above and below the display, along with Garmin’s Solar Glass display, which is an essentially transparent solar panel over the display itself. That means the entire unit is covered in some form of solar panel.

Garmin promises up to 100 hours in battery saver mode or up to 45 hours in demanding use cases (essentially when you are using all the sensors with the GPS settings at the most accurate). The company also says the solar panels can add up to 42 minutes per hour in battery saver mode or up to 20 minutes per hour in demanding use cases. The ride summary shows you the solar intensity during the ride, along with the battery gain you got as a result.

I have the Garmin HRM-Fit connected to the Edge 1040 Solar, and many of my rides use turn-by-turn navigation with the map on the display, which chews through the battery faster than the other data screens. Based on Garmin’s Battery Life Expectations chart, I fall roughly in the ‘Mid’ use case description, which Garmin says should result in 40 hours of battery without solar charging or 50 with.

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 individual rides. During my testing, I was able to get right around that 40-hour mark that Garmin promised. In fact, my shorter rides used barely any battery at all. I only had to charge it a few times, and one of those was because I left the brightness at 100% instead of auto and forgot to turn it off (a double whammy). I also didn’t take advantage of the fact that the Edge 1040 Solar will get solar charging even when off (it was tucked in a dark corner), which could have extended the life even more.

I didn’t get the solar charging numbers Garmin promised, but to get those, you’ll consistently need 75,000 lux conditions. One ride was at roughly 10 am on a sunny day, albeit with occasional shade on the trail, and the device said the solar intensity was 85% with 2:13 of battery gain. If I were totally out in the open in the middle of the day, that number would likely be quite a bit higher, resulting in more battery gain.

Though less important than all the above features, 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 fall or if you drop it, which is an excellent item to have given the price. You also get three different bike mount options (​​MTB, standard, and out-front) and a lanyard.

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

Outdated screen technology

While the display is large, it, unfortunately, looks rather outdated. The touchscreen is very responsive, but the transflective TFT display technology, compared to what you’re used to in your smartphone or even Garmin’s newer watches, simply looks a bit sad. The colors are dull, the contrast is fairly low, and it isn’t very bright.

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

Of course, the 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 many will be willing or able to pay.

Should you buy the Garmin Edge 1040 Solar?

The Garmin Edge 1040 is a spectacular bike computer. There’s a lot to like about it. The massive display makes it easier to see your stats and read maps while riding, it provides all sorts of training, safety, and navigation tools, and the battery life is fantastic. Those who tackle long rides, want in-depth metrics, and rely on a head unit for navigation should absolutely invest in the Edge 1040 Solar.

There are also downsides to this unit, though. While the solar charging is a plus, and it does add a nice boost in the right conditions, it costs $150 more than the non-solar version. For anyone not tackling long rides in demanding situations, or if you don’t live in a sunny location, that extra cost likely isn’t worth it. If you still care about long battery life but don’t need the boost from solar charging, you would be better off opting for the Edge 1040 without solar for $600.

Finally, if you’re picky about the display and would prefer something even easier to read in all conditions with more vibrant colors, then the Edge 1050 will be a better choice.