I'm engulfed in the Garmin ecosystem at this point. My trust Edge 830 had an accident after a wet ride, and it slipped out of my hands. Shattered the screen, so I had to bite the bullet.
The core stuff that you need it to do for you, is spot on. No issues. The GPS accuracy is much better, the second I start moving the ride resumes, before it took a couple pedals out of traffic for example. It's super fast too, and USB-C is incredible, it matches my other devices now.
There are some "neat to have" features, but I turn most off as I don't need endless updates on hills near me, etc. etc. I'm sure it's useful to someone but for me, not really doing anything for me.
I really, really, wanted solar to do something usefull. After many hours of riding in the sun, summer sun too, the thing MAYBE will get 15 minutes of "extended use" after a 4 or 5 hour ride. Seems like an expensive thing to have that doesn't add much. And, here's the real kick in the teeth, it only charges while turned on, if you just leave it in the sun, while off, it does nothing. THAT seems unhelpful to me, leaving the thing on takes more energy from the battery than the sun can give it. Bust right there, if you're doing this as a new purchase, save your money.
USB-C is incredibly nice to have, no more trying to put the micro-USB in correctly. That is more helpful than solar.
Had it drenched for hours on end, it seems to be okay in the wet thus far. The ability to use the buttons instead of the touchscreen is also nice, fiddling with the touchscreen in wet/sweaty weather is annoying sometimes.
No seriously function issues with it for just a bike computer, it does what it should there. The bells and whistles though, not a huge add for the price. And speaking of the price, these things are out of control expensive. I don't fault it because I know the price going into it, it's not a surprise, but do I really need to spend 400-500 bucks just to log my data? Most of us carry our phones, I'm toying with just recording the data with that, leaving it in my pocket like usual, and not needing a computer anymore. There are plenty of apps that will generate a file I can upload into Garmin Connect just fine.
I'm upgrading from a 520 that was end of life. I went with the 840 Solar because I do long bikepacking trips and need 12hrs of battery life. While I have not tested this in detail, it appears to be very good in this regard. The UI is quite different and seems more intuitive than the the 520 and the touch screen makes it much easier to configure. One thing that I had to learn was how to lock out the touch screen because it can get wonky in muddy conditions if stuff splashes on it. Fortunately, it's just a tap of the power button; while the touch screen is locked out, the physical buttons are all operable.
Used for my road bike. Major upgrade for me from old previous Garmin that only showed speed, distance, ave speed, and time. Got this to go with new bike and sensors. Great display. Not too large, but no problem reading. Love the climb pro that shows climbs ahead, % grade, and distance. Paired with Varia tail light and camera. Able to keep my head and eyes forward, and be alerted on traffic approaching from the rear. The geographic route display is nice too, but so far, I have not used it for any new routes that I needed the guidance. I did download some routes, though, from Ride with GPS, which wasn't too difficult after some initial phone support. I considered saving cost, going with the 540 edge, but all of the online evaluators advised to spend the extra for the touch screen. Definitely worth it. Makes operation much easier and more intuitive. For the length of my rides, the solar doesn't add a meaningful amount of time (15 minutes in full sun after about 3 hrs), and the battery life is more than adequate without this, but this one was on sale for just a bit more than the standard 840, so I figured might as well.
I've previously had an 820, then a 530 and now the 840. Really happy with the upgrade. The display is higher resolution and the UX is dramatically improved. The new features like Power Strategy and the dynamic Pro Climb are great additions. I'm very happy with having the option of using buttons or the touch screen -- bringing both was a smart move.
While the on-phone configuration is much improved, I still wish for more, as there are some things that you have to do on device. I'd rather have full capability to configure on the phone, as well as see the data that's on the 840.
All up, a great upgrade!
Garmin Edge 840 Solar GPS Computer is packed with lots of features and functions. I use it on two road bikes and a dual, suspension trail bike. Paired with lights, radar, speed, cadence and heart rate sensors. There is some learning curve especially for those of us trying to get away with not reading the manual. The screen is readily visible anytime during the day. I hope the components prove to be durable.
I have both a Wahoo Roam as well as the Hammerhead Karoo 2. I moved away from Garmin Edge a few years back given they hadn't really innovated as fast as their competitors then. I participated in Unbound 200 earlier in June and was concerned that neither Wahoo or Karoo would last the duration of the race - and based on encouragement from my race buddies, took the leap back to G Edge. Wow. Lots of new innovation including Power Guide, temp acclimation, recovery data and of course solar charging. This thing is a game changer. I'm immediately switching back all my bike mounts to Garmin.
Packed with features that can really dial in your training if you wanted it from Coach Garmin. I really wanted this devices for the extended battery life with the solar. No more low battery warning after 4hrs. My previous computer was 7 years old.
Really good unit that is easier to use and set-up now that you can use the Connect App to set up screens, etc. Typical of Garmin, however, there are some glitches that I cannot figure out. For example, my Strava segments won't carry over into this unit, but the unit has picked up other segments that I had not identified before. Not a big deal, but frustrating.
