Interfaces with radar/light unit, easy on/off mounting (came with numerous mounting options). Good battery life. Like the feature ability to track fellow riders over busy courses (e.g RAGBRAI type events).
I was updating my old Garmin Edge 530 which served me faithfully for 6 years or so. I don't replace gear that often so this was a big change for me. My first impressions after 200 miles or so indoors and out. The unboxing process was seamless; I unboxed it and synched it using house wi-fi. Everything from my old unit worked seamlessly and the process was fast. Initially I noticed my phone would interfere with the Wahoo Kickr core signal. Solution was to connect phone last. Same thing happened using a Garmin Varia. I just needed to connect ap on phone after getting 840 set up. Otherwise system is a great upgrade. I actually was on the fence about touchscreen but after using it for a couple months I've gotten used to it and love it. Overall great experience and I'm happy I didn't spring for the extra solar charging unit.
This replaces my Garmin Edge 830 and is a huge advance in many ways. It's notably faster--nice to see the road incline in near realtime vs. a 10 second delay and everything loads much quicker. It's a major step up in navigating the various menus. The display is awesome--much easier to read, more options, more responsive.
While its increase in size is noticeable, it's worth it for the better, clearer display. Good for us aging baby boomers!
My only gripe is that that attachment piece on the bottom is more centered on the unit so it doesn't fit well with many of the existing Garmin and face-plate mounts. I have a Bar Fly mount and even with their special mount adapter, the back of the 1050 is barely clearing the face-plate bolts. Not sure why they couldn't have positioned it so it fit existing mounts.
I've been using Garmin products for a long time. My previous bike computer was an old Edge 130 and after I purchased an Instinct watch I moved over to it for most of my training. Recently I got more serious about my training and needed a better computer to follow the workouts I was creating and doing, so I moved up to the 840. It's more bells and whistles than I really need and the settings have some features that default to 'On' that I'd rather configure for myself. E.g., "Why does it keep beeping at me every time I reach the east end of the velodrome? Oh, it thinks I'm about to cross I-75!" I've created a 'Velodrome' activity specifically for my track sessions. And when I'm riding on the road I don't need it to switch the display to a map and show me the grade that's approaching. I'm sure that as I use it more, and take the time to configure it to my particular preferences, I'll be happier with it. But I'm sure that once I do, I'll only be using about a third of all the features it provides.
