Well the feature I discovered worked wonderfully for a century ride was pairing with phone in chest pocket and hearing audio directions. Worked great. There are times in varying light when seeing screen prompts can be an issue but audio always worked.
Pairs fast with a variety of devices from SRAM to Shimano, we use Ride with GPS mapping on many organized rides and that works great.
Not having to worry about exhausting battery is wonderful and works with earlier 1030 auxiliary battery so even on long rando rides you will not run out of battery power.
Contrasted with 1030 where we often ran out of juice after 6 hours continuous use this is major leap forward.
This is the highest priced Garmin Edge, but the extra dollars gets you useful features. This device uses GNSS multi- band satellite technology that is more accurate and connects very fast. I�m ready to go immediately; no waiting for five minutes in my driveway waiting for a satellite signal. The touch screen is very helpful for quick menu changes. I thought it may not work well in the rain, but it does! The solar charging helps preserve the battery. I don�t have to charge the device nearly as often as I would have thought.
I have used a 1030 for a long time, but decided to upgrade to the 1040 solar because I am doing the TCR this summer. So, mainly, I got it for solar charging. I am just getting used to it, but there are a number of improvements. First the user interface is far nicer. Second the wifi connection is way better than using the phone because I don't have to think about leaving Connect running on my phone and draining the battery. I jsut come home and put the 1040 on a sunny windowsill - it downloads everything and charges for the next ride. I have started playing with Power Guide also and on flatter / rollers rides I am finding that I am gaining about 3 km/hr with the same level of power / calories. Probably just scratching the surface though. It's an expensive headset, but it is really nice.
I like the touch screen as it makes it easy to set up multiple Activity Profiles and scroll between them depending on which bike you are riding. I have mine set up for four bikes, gravel, road, mountain and eBike. Also it is easy to change data fields within the screen by merely holding on the field you want to change. The battery lasts a very long time. Thee is one issue I cannot resolve even with Garmin Support, more often than not it does not sync wirelessly and so I have to connect it to my computer and go to Garmin Express, download my ride and then check it on Strava.
I upgraded from the Garmin Edge 1000 to the 1040 Solar.
Much better computer.
1. The display fonts are larger and bolder.
2. The battery is spectacular and the solar charger keeps charging.
3. Everything is better. Too many improvements to mention.
I really did not want to spend so much $$$$ but like anything, you get what you pay for.
I bike alot on my own 20 to 50 miles routinely and having a great computer I never feel I'm riding alone.
Typically i ride road bikes 100-200 miles/week.
I ride during early AM before sunrise, and a couple rides after sunup.
The device is certainly quicker to map rides out on the fly. While the 1030+ had amazing battery life, the 1040 solar takes that even further. Setup was easy thanks to Garmin's new approach to sharing your device data to your new computers.
This device ain't cheap, the screen could be improved, but it's a deal with the devil to make battery life absurd vs the competition.
Would i buy it again, probably, but I'll wait until the next big head unit update.
Using the 1030 for 6 years and now switching to the 1040 for about a month. The 1040 has better screen clarity in bright sunshine. The solar makes a small improvement in power consumption. Screen and field navigation are different (better is a personal interpretation). Garmin Express and Connect are quick to find the new device. The wifi and phone bluetooth are much better and ride data is loaded once the ride is complete. I find that the power down vs device sleep can be annoying since the power down is only an option after a ride is fully completed (back to the home screen).
My recommendation is get the standard model unless you are totally sold on the solar. It is an improvement on other series of Garmin's, but if your happy now it is hard to say how much happier you will be upgrading. I won't go back to the 1030 (will ensure it gets a good new home that will use it).
I've only used it a few times, but so far it works just as easily as it's predecessor. The screen is different, but fairly easy to adapt to. Battery life has been fine for my shorter rides, but the solar recharging definitely is a boost to the overall battery life. I've had it glitch a couple times and not want to shut down properly, so had to hold the power button until it would turn off completely. Same as with my 1030 Edge, so nothing new there.
Stays charged for a long time, easy to change between Activity Profiles and also easy to change the fields within the profile even after starting the ride. The map feature is second to none and Garmin customer support is truly amazing.
I have taken my new Garmin 1040 solar on 8-9 rides so far and I really love this computer! I had an 810 previously and finally wore it out after 6-7 years. I went for the 1040 solar mainly because my old eyes have trouble seeing the smaller computers. This 1040 is much larger and has much less glare and with the solar replenishment of the battery, 40-50 miles uses 5% battery.
I am enjoying this computer as it it so user friendly. I do not have to charge after each ride.
This is the one I have been waiting for. The battery lasts longer because it charges as you ride. This may be the future and I am glad to play a small part. This is the top of the line Garmin computer and it has every bell & whistle you could ever imagine. How did I ever live with out one?
Having used bike computers as far back as that Avocet shaped like an Oreo, this is like magic. Super fast, ultra clear screen, and solar charging. It�s not without issue. It will freeze once in a while while shutting down, and it occasionally won�t cleanly pair with my Stages power meter. Garmin being Garmin, I assume these will be fixed in a firmware update. This computer does everything that I�d want, and more.
No problems. It shows solar intensity and what you gain on battery life. On a 3.5 hour ride it gained 53 minutes @ 54% average intensity.
I am enjoying this computer as it it so user friendly. I do not have to charge after each ride.
