Garmin Edge 840 Solar GPS Touchscreen Cycling Computer Device

2024-06-18T20:00:00

Have had it for about a month. It regularly doesn't connect to watch, di2, powermeter if left in sleep mode after saving a ride. But that's the default for the power button. It's annoying to have to fully turn it off and on each time when I commute daily and the battery should last at least a week in sleep mode. Could not find a fix on forums, Reddit or online.

Tri-ed i.

Originally posted at

2024-05-27T20:00:00

Amazing simplicity of setting up my new Garmin! Scan the QR reader and all my information, page layouts, etc. are loaded in!

PMT C.

Originally posted at

2024-05-25T20:00:00

The face is larger than I expected as compared to the Garmin 1030.

Bikestew

Originally posted at

2024-05-16T20:00:00

Nice hardware upgrade, not sure solar on this model is really worth it, the change to the interface is a pretty big step with a fairly large learning curve which will frustrate some.

Reviewer

Originally posted at

2024-05-08T20:00:00

Love the touch screen, USB-C charger, and bright display, but of all these awesome features, the Solar is just a game changer!

Derek T.

Originally posted at

2024-05-07T20:00:00

So far so good I guess. The 840 seems great, but I am struggling with how to use it. This is my first Garmin product so I have no experience with using them and there are essentially no instructions provided. Even most YT videos out there are assuming you have some experience with Garmin. For example, is there a simple shortcut back to the ride screen when the computer is showing something else? I don't know? I haven't found any indication that there is. Sometimes in the middle of a ride I'm left fumbling around with buttons or the touch screen trying to return to the ride screen just in hope of randomly ending back up there.

AndrewN

Originally posted at

2024-04-22T20:00:00

So, yeah, you get all the great metrics from power meters, cycling dynamics, hill climbs, and even messages. But the GUI is the worst I've ever seen (that's coming from a UI designer who's seen some pretty bad designs). The solar glass reduces the screen's visibility more than it does to improve battery life.

LanceA

Originally posted at

2024-04-01T20:00:00

I am using this to train for a century in the mountains. It's perfect. Lightweight, functional, and extra cabbage for solar is worth it!

Colonel F.

Originally posted at

2024-03-15T20:00:00

It does an outstanding job that all bike computers do. I am still finding new aspects of the device. The alert to eat or drink is really useful on longer rides. The solar is not as efficient as some their other devices. Still is nice to have a little extra charge to get home.

Waynea

Originally posted at

2024-02-25T19:00:00

When the 840 is running well, it is great for navigation and understanding your real time physical condition, but it often does not work. On long rides it restarts and loses the data and it often become unresponsive at the end of a ride when you stop and try to save your ride. If you don't need to store data and only need a part-time navigation tool, the 840 will work. If you need reliable data collection to review later and analyze, stick with your phone.

Salem C.

Originally posted at

2024-01-22T19:00:00

I've got Edge 840 Solar from my wife as a present. I've previously used other cycling computers and phone. The Edge 840 Solar is simply fantastic. I combines the best of both worlds with buttons (easy to use in winter gloves) and touchscreen (easy to navigate map). The number of features and screens - well, I have not learned all of them yet. However, even with out of box settings - it already setup perfectly and been useful from the day 1.

g707

Originally posted at

2023-11-04T20:00:00

I used this for the first time and it kept shutting off throughout my first ride. The problem with that was it stopped engaging with my Garmin radar and was a bit dangerous.

JohnnyG

Originally posted at

2023-11-02T20:00:00

I think the option to have both the buttons and touch screen is a great option?especially during a race or riding singletrack. The UI is a nice an improvement with the added colors and features.

TLID

Originally posted at

2023-10-12T20:00:00

I have the 840 Solar, HRM Pro, Varia headlight and taillight radar and I've been really happy with the system. The touch screen functionality is worth the extra cost, and the spray is a really cool feature. I like seeing how much time I've gained with the solar charging. The battery life is so good that I'll probably never be in a situation where I have to rely on the solar power alone, but it's fun to track.

F40_Endurace

Originally posted at

2023-10-09T20:00:00

i really like the Garmin, especially the solar chargin. i had an old Garmin and the battery was really short lived. one problem we had which my bike shop had trouble solving was getting the power meter to pair with the device. it still is difficult but i have found that if i turn the device off and on several times it will learn how to pair.

tonyh

Originally posted at

2023-10-09T20:00:00

Admittedly I'm a Garmin fanboi. I'm fully invested into their ecosystem and I love the integrated metrics their devices provide, so I thought it was a no brainer to upgrade my Edge 530 to an Edge 840 Solar. First, the good. The interface is great. It's very intuitive and things are as you would expect. Configuring data screens on your phone vs on the Edge itself is SOO much easier. Full time ClimbPro, without have a route loaded. This is good, but it seems to have the bug that DC Rainmaker and GPLlama and a whole host of other Youtubers has described. It will often start well in to a climb and just be off. I'll be at a steep section and ClimbPro will show me at a mild section, and vice versa. Then I'll crest the top and it will show there are still a couple hundred feet to go. I'm confident this will eventually get fixed, but until then it's kind of just a gimmick, it used to be great when it worked. Now for the Solar. I give Garmin a lot of credit for the innovations of adding solar, as far as I know, no one else is doing it and you can bet they are now looking at it. That said, it's not worth the premium. I live in Colorado, we have bright sun all day long here. I did a 2hr ride at dusk at 5pm, had the Edge flat like Garmin suggests, got zero solar time. Ok, so it was encroaching on evening you say? Well, I did a 2.5hr ride at 11am, in bright full sun, I got 14min back. A couple days later I did a 2hr 1pm ride in bright full sun and got 9min back. Not only that, but the solar screen on the 840 is dimmer in contrast, so you have to run a lot more brightness to see it, which sucks the battery big time. The battery widget now shows you estimated time remaining as you change brightness. Overall, is it a worthwhile upgrade over the 530, probably, but not the solar, go with the non-solar. I do love Garmin and I was kind of sad to write this review.

Scott22

Originally posted at

2023-09-29T20:00:00

Most of the functions are the same as the 830 it replaced though the menus are a little different and require some relearning. I like the way it transferred most settings from one unit to the other during the upgrade. My biggest complaint is the Fitness Age calculation difference from the 830 to the 840. On the 830 my Fitness Age was 55 or 56 (I'm 71 years old). My VO2 was in the top 10-15% for my age. I'm in the top ten for my age on almost every Strava segment I ride. I'm a little overweight but not obese. On the 840 it lists my resting heart rate as 93 even though I've manually entered it as 62 (and measured last week at the doctor's office as 59). Suddenly my Fitness Age is 100. In less than two weeks I've aged remarkably according to the 840 even though I've actually put in more time and effort. My second complaint is the maximum heart rate "calculation." In the last seven years I've never gotten my heart rate over 154. One theoretical heart rate calculation says, at the age of 71, my max should be 149. The new 840 is giving me "new" max heart rates in the 160s even though the stats at the end of the ride don't indicate anything over 134. Just a few tweaks to the system might be able to make the 840 more consistent and as reliable as the 830 was.

Contrebassiste

Originally posted at

2023-09-26T20:00:00

I bought this about a month ago and it has lived up to the hype

Cycling t.

Originally posted at

2023-09-21T20:00:00

So many features to analyze your ride, it's hard to decide what to put on the display! My initial 2 weeks with the unit were NOT good. THEN I found a YouTube on how to operate it and open up the magic! Love it ever since. I was seriously going to return it trying to read the instructions, and make it work for me. But the video saved the sale.

Trek4Me

Originally posted at

2023-09-21T20:00:00

After about 20 years of training on various Edge units, I had my first "my fault" failure of my 830. I dropped it. Heavy rain ride, took it off my twist lock, slipped out of my hand, shattered the screen. It still worked, but slowly, the screen would lose a piece after every ride. I gave up. Was drawn to the 8xx series, it's a good Goldilocks of not too big, not too small, good features, and my eyes see the screen fine so don't need the huge 10xx series. Decided on solar. The battery is already good in the 800 series, but the solar seemed like it'd be great to just have less charging. The other huge draw to the new device, USB-C finally. Now it matches all of my other devices, no more micro USB nonsense that you plug in wrong every time and have to try to squint to see the trapezoid shape. USB-C was a no-brainer, I do wish it had wireless charging though somehow, and not just solar either. Anyway, main features are fine, it's fast, maps well, battery does seem to last forever, directions are good, I don't use a lot of the climbPro type of stuff, I'm using it more to log my data and then I do any analysis on a computer. The solar is a let down though. If you think it's going to charge enough to make a significant difference while riding, it doesn't. And it only charges while ON too, not if you just leave it in the sun, which is a bummer. Why would I turn it on, to leave it in the sun, so it'd charge? Seems dumb. I tried seeing if it was maybe because I ride in an aggressive position over my bike and shield it, but I made a point to do some loops with the sun hitting me (time of day riding change) better, and it doesn't do much. I don't even have the navigation on endlessly either, just normal ride metrics and I often lock the screen too since I'm a heavy sweater. Cool idea, but nothing worth splurging on. I had a coupon and caught a sale, but not worth it. Biggest wins are USB-C, speed, and battery life. Personally, I'd focus on figuring out a way to wirelessly charge like you can with a phone (and FROM your phone too), and it'd be more helpful. The other stuff is neat, but rarely used from my side. The screen is still sensitive to sweat too, if you are at a light, holding a trackstand, and dripping sweat on the screen, your data fields end up all over the place. Probably nature of the beast, so I just lock the screen. Humid days are the worst, your fingers can barely make use of the screen. It's basically an iteration of an existing, vs a revelation. And also, it did NOT take my settings over from my old device, despite the endless copying files to the NewFiles folder, etc. etc. My data screens were all gone, my profiles were gone, my totals didn't come over, etc. Garmin has yet to get that sorted out. I use that to keep track of mileage on my bikes, for no reason other than I like to know how many miles a bike has on it. Since there's no way to flag it in Garmin Connect and have it be a reportable field either. Bust. Really a 3.5 out of 5, lots of hype and buzz, it does have a lot of features, but in real life, I want it to set up easier and accurately, charge wirelessly (or maybe have the solar actually be effective), and seriously, the price of these things is a bit much. I know that going into it, so don't fault it, that's on me as a buyer, but seriously, 450-500+ dollars for a gizmo to record my bike rides? For the price point, I want it to set up cleanly, carry my settings without a fault (phone level type of setup), etc. Maybe I expect too much, but I'm a back to basics type of user and want the easy stuff to work as expected, the faff should be the experimental area.

CYinPA

Originally posted at

2023-09-10T20:00:00

I'VE BEEN USING THE 1040 SOLAR NOW FOR CLOSE TO A YEAR... WHEN THE NEW AERO BIKE ARRIVED I REALIZED THE 1040 DIDN'T QUITE CLEAR THE STEM SO I DECIDED TO TAKE THE PLUNGE AND SNAG A 840 SOLAR. FOR THE PAST 3 1/2 WEEKS I'VE LOGGED 1200 MILES ON THE NEW BIKE AND LOVE THE COMPUTER!

SHAWN R.

Originally posted at

2023-09-05T20:00:00

My son needed a new bike computer so used this as an excuse to buy the new 840. Terrif update over the 830. Solar works well and the new climb pro is solid.

C-Dub22

Originally posted at

2023-09-01T20:00:00

Love the climber pro feature and the touchscreen feature. I also have a wahoo element that I still use for regular rides. I needed the solar for bike events / century rides. The only issue that h have with Garmin edge 840 solar is it's not compatible with my Quarq Tyre pressure monitor compared to wahoo. Also, there's no temperature feature on it. But overall, it's a good computer for bikes.

2pogi4u

Originally posted at

2023-08-25T20:00:00

Fast shipping and I love this item. Easily connected to bluetooth

Eli21

Originally posted at

2023-08-17T20:00:00

Really like the computer but find the battery to drain faster than I anticipated. I have the Solar function on but definitely don't think I get the 20 hours useage from it that they state.

Paul812

Originally posted at

2023-06-14T20:00:00

I upgraded from my edge 530, and it does everything it did and so much more. The touch screen is fantastic. The solar charging is a nice bonus for long days. Can't go wrong with this one!

willfromfreeport

Originally posted at

2023-06-11T20:00:00

New function are Great, solar part its not helpfull

Honkien

Originally posted at

2023-06-10T20:00:00

Happy with the upgrade from The 830. Easy to navigate and accurate

Kevzim

Originally posted at

2023-05-24T20:00:00

Nice new interface, better battery, glad I upgraded. Only wish Garmin would develop a Apple Watch Connect app so I can leave my phone at home while cycling.

donwc

Originally posted at

2023-05-23T20:00:00

I bought this Garmin just under a month ago and I love it it has a great display a lot of futures with mapping that I never had on my old Garmin and the solar part is amazing

Shelby1

Originally posted at