This product has been discontinued by the manufacturer. It's been replaced by the Garmin Edge 1040 Base, you may want to check out that review instead.
After over three years, Garmin has updated its flagship GPS navigation computer with a new edition – the Edge 1030. This new large-screen style unit features a longer battery life along with a new external battery pack option. Not only that, it adds in Bluetooth Smart sensor support, FirstBeat Training load metrics, Rider to Rider messaging, and more.
I’ve been riding with the unit for quite a while now and have a pretty good grasp on all these features, so much that it’s definitely in-depth review time. Also, the unit starts shipping today (yes, really). The question is – is the new Edge 1030 worth the price? And more importantly, how well are all these new features implemented? I set out to answer these questions.
As always, once I’m done with this media loaner unit I’ll send it back to the Garmin folks in Olathe, Kansas. After which I’ll head out and get my own unit via normal retail channels. If you found the post useful, feel free to hit up the links at the bottom – I appreciate it.
What’s new:
Let’s dive right into things with what’s new on the Edge 1030. And what you’ll see is that in many cases it’s more of an evolutionary upgrade than it is a revolutionary one. Which isn’t to say that’s bad – in fact, in many ways that’s good, as it minimizes the amount of issues you see at the outset. In any case, in usual DCR style, bulleted list here we come:
– Totally revamped main user dashboard: This is pretty apparent from pretty much any photo you see here. – New FirstBeat Recovery and Training Status metrics: We saw these introduced on FR935/Fenix 5 earlier this year, they mirror the same here. – New External Battery Pack Option: You can now attach a secondary battery pack to the bottom using a locking mechanism. – Longer battery life: Claimed at up to 20 hours internally, and then you can stack on another 24 hours with the battery pack. – Trendline popularity routing: When creating routes, it’ll leverage all the data from Garmin Connect to find the best cycling routes across road, mountain, and gravel categories, meaning that it’s going to leverage where people actually ride. – Support for Bluetooth Smart sensors: Like the Fenix 5 and FR935, you can now pair to Bluetooth Smart heart rate straps, speed, cadence, and power meter sensors. – New Garmin Connect Mobile Course Creator: You’ll see improvements here in conjunction with the new Garmin Connect Mobile (GCM) that allows route creation more easily from the phone. – New Garmin Connect Mobile Workout Creator: As part of the new GCM release, you can now create structured workouts on the phone (finally!). – Rider to Rider Messaging: You can send/receive canned messages to other Edge 1030 users in your friends list. – Real-time Strava Segment listings: The unit will now use your phone to show you actual Strava segments nearby as you ride along (not just pre-loaded ones), along with real-time data on those segments. – New Strava Routes Connect IQ App (pre-loaded): This app allows you to pull your saved Strava Routes directly to your Edge 1030 (this will be released for all Edge Connect IQ compatible units). – TrainingPeaks & Best Bike Split Connect IQ apps pre-loaded: These will automatically be on your unit to begin with. Simple as that. – Updated Workout Functionality: Software now lets you restart a structured workout step, such as if outside and stuck at a red light. – Display handles rain a lot better: The display is far better than before in wet conditions. Check out my video on this below. – New protected microSD card slot: While it comes pre-loaded with maps, you can add more maps on microSD card and this new slot design is much more waterproof/weatherproof – Incident Detection: This was introduced on the Edge 1000 Explore (but not regular Edge 1000, and then the Edge 820 – but it’s here now on the Edge 1030. It’ll notify friends/family when you crash. – New out-front mount: Places unit level with handlebars, instead of above it. – Slightly uglier white external case design: Just my two cents. I like the black look of the Edge 1000. – Landscape mode is gone: It’s dead, Jim. Nobody used it, and it Garmin cut it to focus on other product areas.
Phew!
And the kicker is I’m sure I’m still missing some minor nuance items. Things like when you pick out which data fields to add it’ll show you in tiny text the data fields in the listings you’ve already selected. Or the new controls menu that consolidates mid-ride actions like calibration, live track, and so on. Oh, and for lack of anywhere else to stash it – the price is $599USD.
If you want to see what all this looks like, I’ve put together a simple video that walks through the entire user interface from start to end. It’s just one simple camera angle and me going through the menus – nuttin’ fancy.
So with all that out of the way, let’s dive into the box and more.
Unboxing:
You’re in luck – you get a twofer unboxing in this one! First up is the Edge 1030, and then I’ve got the external battery pack. Note that this is the non-bundle version of the Edge 1030. The bundle version does NOT include the battery pack, but rather the speed/cadence/HR sensors.
Ok, first up the Edge 1030. After cracking open the box seen above, you’ve got the below situation:
And then if you flip that pile over, here’s everything spread out on a table:
Running through each piece individually, first up we’ve got the out-front mount. There’s some notable changes, in that it now puts the Edge 1030 flush with the handlebars. Also, it has a new bottom piece that allows connectivity with the external battery pack.
Here’s the bits that make the mount attach to your handlebars, plus the lanyard.
If you want to use the rubber band mounts instead, there’s a small stash of them and extra bands:
Finally, the Edge itself:
On the bottom, in between the two buttons (which are annoyingly still side-facing), you’ll find the micro-USB charging port. Meanwhile, on the back, you’ll find the charging contacts for the external battery, as well as the microSD card slot:
And finally, for comparison purposes, here’s how it stacks up in size against the Edge 1000:
Now, I’ve got plenty more size and weight comparisons in my video than I show here, which is the total unboxing video including the battery pack. I also got into detail on how the battery pack works as well.
With everything out of the box, let’s talk about the basics.
The Basics:
As part of my general life goal to not reiterate the same basic GPS bike computer things in every review, I’m going to mostly focus on what’s different/unique here Still, I’ll talk a few quick paragraphs on the basics to bring folks up to speed.
First, we’ve got the new dashboard on the Edge 1030. In many ways there’s really only two core sections that are different here (control center and dashboard) in the user interface. Everything else will feel pretty similar. This may remind a lot of folks of the Edge Touring units.
To start an activity you’d tap the button that currently says ‘Road’ on my screen. This is because I’ve got it set up to use an activity profile called ‘Road’. You can create your own activity profiles, which customize things like data pages, how maps work, whether or not Segments show up and many more options. Think of these as your preferences for that ride. You can have numerous profiles.
Once you’ve selected an activity profile, you’ll be ready to ride. It’ll find any paired sensors automatically as well as GPS (if outdoors). These are all visible along the top of the unit in the status line:
If you swipe down you’ll dive into the new controls area, which acts like a quick-access center for various mid-ride things you might want to tweak or do. Previously on the Edge 1000 this was a single page, now you can swipe left/right. Here’s a small gallery of what you can swipe to. They include notifications center, mid-ride control of live tracking, calibration, weather, live Segment explore, general system configuration, and more.
Once riding, you’ll get data as normal – all of which is recorded to a .FIT file. This is the standard that almost all sites use for sport and fitness data. Later on within Garmin Connect, you can also download other file formats like .GPX and .TCX. Further, you can sync to 3rd party apps automatically such as Strava, TrainingPeaks, and more. Here’s an example of a ride recorded with the Garmin Edge 1030:
With those basics out of the way, let’s talk the newer stuff. Specifically starting with the ‘My Stats’ page you’ll have seen back on the main dashboard. This consolidates all of your health/performance related metrics into one place, as well new metrics not seen on the Edge series before.
Up top is the new Training Status including fitness load and stress. This comes from FirstBeat and is the same tech seen on the Fenix 5 and FR935 earlier this year. I talk about it in-depth in this post. Like those devices, you need about a week of training on the unit for these stats to show, and then from there it really takes about four weeks of training for things to really stabilize and be at the peak of their accuracy. Below all that you’ll find your current VO2Max as well as fitness load.
Next, we’ve got current recovery numbers below that, which will decrease over time as you recover. This again comes from FirstBeat and is based on heart rate strap data. And then below that, your FTP. You can either have that automatically determine your FTP, or you can have it manually set.
Now one big bummer here is that while all of this was introduced on the Fenix 5 and FR935, none that data carries over here. I’m a perfect example of why this matters. I generally ride with a separate Edge unit, but I run with a FR935. So all my recovery metrics wouldn’t really be complete on either device (especially the Edge, sans-running data). Ideally, we’d see Garmin carry these metrics across behind the scenes with Garmin Connect, like they do for steps via TrueUp. Hopefully, that happens sooner rather than later.
Next on the new features piece is the rider to rider messaging. This allows you to select canned replies/messages that you can, in turn, send to other Edge 1030 riders on your friends list. This functionality leverages that of Live Tracking, which has been around for many years. Now though you’ve got a dedicated control panel for it that you can initiate messages directly from. You’ll see below one of my contacts that’s riding at that time. I’ve configured this page not to show up if nobody else on my list is riding:
Next, I can see his location on the map, in comparison to my location:
And at the bottom, I can go ahead and select to message him. There’s about 20 or so canned messages I can send to him.
And then he can reply accordingly:
I demonstrate how this all works in this short 5-minute video. Super easy to do.
Note that at this point you can’t customize any of these messages, nor can you simply type out a response. These are what you get. I’d love to be able to customize some of these in the app and then have them available to use. For example, to have canned messages to taunt friends that are slackin’, or messages to say meet at specific/favorite cafes.
One more area I want to very briefly note is the new ability to create workouts on Garmin Connect Mobile. This used to require Garmin Connect desktop, or a 3rd party service. Now you can do it from your mobile app:
Last but not least, before we dive into navigation and other areas, let’s talk about the display. It’s definitely different/improved upon the Edge 820. Certainly there were lots of comments on the Edge 820 touch screen display. For some it worked great. For others it sucked. For yet more people (most), it may have sucked for about half the year, and then got better with various firmware updates. I suspect most of those that still reside in the ‘suck’ camp probably actually have hardware issues more so than anything else. And I suspect it’s mostly a display manufacturing issue, hence the variability people see.
In any event, at this point, I’ve only got a sample size of one (me). But I can say that even side by side the Edge 1030 display is incredibly good in rain. During a recent random-ass thunderstorm I went outside and filmed this simple segment to show how well it works. This was a one-take wonder. No other takes, just this one shot:
That behavior seems to mirror what I’ve seen during other rainy rides as well. Again though, I’m interested in seeing how things work longer term with other people’s units now that this is on the market.
Mapping & Navigation:
Of course, the main reason you’d buy the Edge 1030 over other units is really the navigation components. It differs from most mid-range units that may have maps in that the Edge 1030 can act as a standalone unit when it comes to routing to points of interest locales, addresses, and really anywhere you want to go. Whereas units like the Edge 520, Wahoo ELEMNT/BOLT, and more all require some sort of computer or phone to do any routing. I talk a lot about the nuances here when it comes to routing in my recent ‘Best Bike Computer’ post.
With that, if we tap on Navigation on the pretty home screen we’ll get to a less exciting navigation menu. It’s here we can do normal stuff like browse the map and search for places to route to.
It’s this search piece that sets the Edge 820/1000/1030 in a different category than other units, as you can do this all on the unit itself without cellular connectivity. So I can search for restaurants, hotels, etc… In other words – it’s what you expect from a touring computer where you may be somewhere without data service.
All that works fine and dandy, and I actually just used it on Saturday to route to a random hotel near the top of a mountain while biking. Super quick and easy.
However, what I want to focus on is the new course creation bit. Garmin has always had the ability to do course creation from the unit itself, often under the ‘Round Trip Routing’ piece, but equally true of just routing somewhere one way (or a selection of waypoints). But now with the Edge 1030, you’ve got what’s called ‘Trendline Popularity Routing’, which means that it leverages Garmin Connect data to determine these routes. As you might image, there are millions upon millions of activities uploaded to Garmin Connect (my guess is probably upwards of a million per day). And most times people ride in places that have the best and most efficient routes. So by applying a heatmap-like concept to that, you get better Edge routes.
Now you won’t really see much different on the Edge 1030 itself. It’s just that the underlying data is better. And in my testing in doing a couple of random-ass routes from Paris (where it normally sucks on round trip routing), I got some really solid ones. For example, this ride I did a few weekends ago was driven by the Edge 1030.
Interestingly, on the Garmin Connect Mobile app you can also create routes as well now. These options are purely focused on round-trip routes, so you can’t just quickly tap out a new route with waypoints yet. But still, it’s cool to create routes there and be off and cookin’:
Once out riding, navigation works pretty much as you’d expect. It’ll overlay the route you’re on, as well as notify you as you approach turns:
I had no issues with any routing, and almost all of my rides actually had routes on them – even if just silly routes. The only time I didn’t get notified of a turn was when the auto-generated popularity route had me on a bike path that paralleled the road. I ignored this and stayed on the road, so when we got to a traffic circle and the bike path didn’t have said circle, I didn’t get a turn notification. But that’s my bad.
More importantly – I didn’t have any issues with re-routing. This is an area that some folks have seen trouble with in the past, such as when they go off-course. My suspicion is that this was typically related to routes created by 3rd party apps (.TCX/.GPX) that were more challenging on re-routing. Garmin said they’ve worked on this a bit in not only the Edge 1030, but also a recent update sent out for the Edge 820 that focuses on re-routing scenarios for courses.
In my case, I often used the Strava Routes functionality, which in effect does exactly the same thing as you’d do manually – exporting a route from Strava and plopping it on the Edge 1030. No issues with re-routing there either.
Also – and perhaps most notable is that it doesn’t take forever to calculate a route like the Edge 820 does. This was one of my chief complaints with the Edge 820 in that it was roughly 1 minute per 20 miles of course. So you’re talking a number of minutes just standing there waiting.
Sensors & Battery Pack:
When it comes to sensors, the Edge 1030 carries through all of the existing sensor compatibility we’ve seen in the past from an ANT+ perspective, but it also adds in new sensors as well from the Bluetooth Smart side. This is the first Edge unit to support Bluetooth Smart sensors, following Garmin adding that functionality into the Fenix 5 and FR935 earlier this year.
In total, here’s all the the sensor types the Edge 1030 supports:
ANT+ Cadence only sensors
ANT+ Edge Remote
ANT+ eBike
ANT+ Heart Rate
ANT+ Bike Lighting Control
ANT+ Power Meters
ANT+ Radar
ANT+ Gear Shifting (SRAM RED eTAP, Campagnolo EPS)
ANT Shimano DI2
ANT+ Speed/Cadence combo sensors
ANT+ Speed only sensors
ANT+ Varia Vision (aka remote displays)
ANT VIRB Action Cam
Bluetooth Smart Cadence only sensors
Bluetooth Smart Heart Rate
Bluetooth Smart Power Meters
Bluetooth Smart Speed/Cadence Combo
Bluetooth Smart Speed-only sensors
Phew, got all that? Good.
Oh, and then you’ve got 3rd party pieces like Muscle Oxygen sensor support via Connect IQ apps as well (for Moxy, and now discontinued BSX devices). Plus other 3rd parties have done other private-ANT implementations via Connect IQ too.
I’ve tested a bunch of sensors with the Edge 1030 and haven’t noticed any issues. I’ve largely done ANT+, but I have done some Bluetooth Smart rides on specific sensors as well. As an aside, you can see here how a BLE sensor shows up within the Edge 1030:
Ok, but what you were all waiting for was the battery pack piece. I may do a separate post on this, but for now we’ll keep it here (since it’s only compatible with the Edge 1030 at this point). The Edge 1030 has connectors on the bottom for the new external battery pack. These connectors allow you to mount the external battery pack via the included out-front mount and then power your Edge 1030 further. In total the battery pack is said to give an additional 24 hours of battery life (which puts you in the 44 hour range in total):
The battery pack itself charges via micro-USB, like most battery packs out there today. It has a 3,300mAh capacity, so it’s on the lower end of USB battery packs its size. Though, it’s also designed to be waterproof (IPX7 so up to 1m for up to 30 mins) and snap onto the front of a bike computer at speed. Obviously, there are tradeoffs here compared to a simple USB lipstick charger.
The unit has battery status indicators on the edge of it, allowing you to see current battery status. Unfortunately there isn’t anything clever like Apple’s own iPhone case where it shows battery status of the battery within the Edge unit, though that’d be cool.
On the bottom of the unit near the micro-USB charging port you’ll also find a regular USB charging port so you can charge your phone or other device.
As a pro tip, I take along this simple and cheap charging cable with me if I’m headed out for a long ride. It allows me to charge my phone via it (has Micro-USB, USB-C, Apple Lightning, mini-USB connectors), and I can even plug the battery pack into a USB port at a café or such. It’s like my most favorite $8 cable ever.
Finally, this whole thing locks in place using a locking system on the out-front mount that you swap out. I show how this works in the unboxing video up above – so take a look at that for more details on it all (sometimes it’s easier to explain in a video).
The thing is pretty stable though, so I don’t expect any issues. Nor have I had any issues in terms of cobbles or the like. It’s a rock solid locking system, very similar to that of the Garmin UT-800 lights.
Of course – some of you might say that for the price ($130USD) you could buy a boatload of USB battery packs. And that’s absolutely true, you can. But you can’t buy ones that are waterproof and sit seamlessly below the Edge unit on the same mount. If you’re ‘just’ doing day touring, then honestly I’d just get a cheap USB battery pack too. Whereas if you’re doing 24-hour style rides, then I’d probably go with something like this.
Lastly, I regret to inform you have I haven’t gone out for a 40-44 hour non-stop ride, so I can’t vouch for whether or not it holds up to that much pounding. But if any DCR readers do so down the road with it – I’d love to hear about it!
Strava & 3rd Party Apps:
The Edge 1030 carries through support for Garmin Connect IQ apps, like the Edge 1000 had (as does the Edge 520 and 820). This means that 3rd party apps can be developed for the Edge series like before. I talk extensively about this in all these posts.
What’s notable here though is that with the Edge 1030 they’re pre-loading apps from Strava, TrainingPeaks and Best Bike Split. I’ve talked about the TrainingPeaks one previously. It’s this new Strava app though that’s most interesting to me, and is something I’ve actually been testing most of the summer. This new app allows you to pull Strava Routes from your Strava account, straight to your Edge for navigation. You’ll do a quick one-time activation via Garmin Connect Mobile, and then from there the Edge 1030 will pull your Strava routes from your account:
You can tap on any given route to see high-level stats about it (no map on this page yet):
And then you can hit ‘Navigate route’, which will download the route to your Edge 1030. At which point it’ll ask which activity profile to use.
It’s at this juncture that the Strava route hands off the course package to the native Edge 1030 routing engine and it does its job as normal. Still, you can see the ride route and so on from this page:
All of this works really well, as I discussed in the navigation section.
But here’s the best thing: it’s coming to the other Edge units via Connect IQ app. You should be able to download this app for the Edge 520, 820, and 1000 as of now (these are the only Connect IQ capable Edge units). In fact, I’ve been using it on the Edge 820 for much of the summer and it works great.
Finally, on the Strava front, you’ve got some new functionality that’s not quite as obvious. First is that while you’re out riding you’ve got a new Strava controls page that shows you nearby Strava Segments. This control panel is actually pulling live segments via your phone for the roads around you:
So you can tap on any of these and then go off and compete on that Segment. As part of that, they’re now calculating leaders and related data live, in real-time, using the phone connection. Previously this was cached from whenever it was the last time you synced. This also goes for people who are closest to you (friends) on the leaderboards. Pretty neat.
While these two items may sound minor, they’re part of the larger play from Strava to get you to sign up for their Premium membership, as all of these Strava related features do require a Premium membership.
GPS & Elevation Accuracy:
When it comes to GPS accuracy, in general you see bike computers do pretty well on road conditions. This is because in most cases you’re travelling pretty quick and there’s not a lot of random movement like you would be when running. Still, we’ll take a look at things as well as at barometric altimeter accuracy, which is an area that sometime varies on units.
I’m going to dive straight into analyzing the first set, which is a mountain ride. This ride was this past weekend in the Swiss Alps with the 1030, two other Edge 520’s, and a Fitbit Ionic. All have barometric altimeters. Here’s the link to the DCR Analyzer set if you want to poke around yourself. Here’s the altimeter track on that ride:
These are displayed in meters. Note that on the right side that’s the point in time the little dots are at. So you’ll see, as is typical, that there’s a pretty even offset between the units. Picking this point you see that the elevation is reported as:
In all these cases I simply let GPS acquire it automatically. I wasn’t interested in setting a specific GPS elevation point, since quite frankly I didn’t know what that point was at my starting location. I don’t generally care whether or not there are a dozen meters of offset between the actual and reported location. What I care about instead is the ups and downs – the ascent and descent. Check out this small climb in the middle of the descent:
This only lasted about 30 seconds, but you can see that all Edge units tracked nicely. Whereas the Fitbit was a bit wobbly through here (it’s still beta though). Also of note is that you’ll see the same ordering exists from start to finish on the altimeter readings – meaning that they’re staying consistent.
Looking at the GPS track, things look very good throughout this ride, but especially at the start where I’m in a partial tunnel (a snow shed, where one side is open, but otherwise under a cliff), against a mountain. One of the Edge 520 units struggled a bit here, but everyone else was happy:
For this, it’s easier for you to zoom around the set yourself, which you can do here. Note on the distances, these were pretty close by the end of it:
There’s a spread of less than 100 meters between the three Edge units after 40,000 meters. And the Fitbit was only another 200 meters out from there. Note that since the PowerTap hub has a speed sensor in it, that distance would be considered the ‘true’ distance.
Next, we’ve got a more city-focused set, where I start inside of Paris and then head outside. On this ride, I had a crapton of devices (2xEdge 520, Edge 820, FR935, Suunto Spartan Trainer, FR935, Lezyne Mini GPS). Most of these have barometric altimeters.
So there’s a lot going on here, but of note is that while there is again a slight offset spread between the units of about +/-10 meters, that offset stays the same the entire time, even through the rollers and such (some other units do have variations though). Again, it’s probably easier for you to zoom in on the different tracks in the Analyzer file here.
What about distance? Well again – very close between them. Almost all of them are within about 100m, on over 60,000 meters of riding. And in fact, most are within a small 35-50 meter spread. Note that aside from the PowerTap G3 unit, none of the others had a speed sensor attached.
Now, what if I recorded the same power meter on three units? Would that look the same? Let’s look:
You can see the three units recorded the same Assioma power meter data almost identically. You’ll see very slight differences in average power, mostly due to how transmission and recording works at the sub-1 second layer. But otherwise, things are very solid here.
Now I’ll be uploading the rest of my sets later today into a table to check out, though at the moment a bit slammed with slow WiFi at Eurobike. Still, I can say that the rest of the sets are pretty boring, in that they all show the same thing over and over again: Good GPS accuracy, and consistent barometric altimeter accuracy.
Note that in most of my Paris rides I also had tunnels I’d go through – and there were no issues of weird entry/exit issues on the tunnels.
(Note: All of the charts in these accuracy sections were created using the DCR Analyzer tool. It allows you to compare power meters/trainers, heart rate, cadence, speed/pace, GPS tracks and plenty more. You can use it as well, more details here.)
Summary:
Overall the new Edge 1030 is fairly impressive. It fills in many of the minor gaps that people looking at this type of unit have complained about. Be it longer battery life or battery extender options, or better Strava Routing integration. Not to mention the touch screen definitely improves upon the Edge 820 (though, I don’t see much difference compared to the Edge 1000). Next, the new training load pieces are a nice addition, and on other Garmin devices they’ve been introduced to – they’re generally well received.
Of course, there are still some minor quirks I wish were different. The first being those very same training load/recovery pieces, those should really be integrated across the Garmin platform seamlessly. After all – it’s in Garmin’s interest financially to drive you to buy other devices. Then there’s the buttons on the front instead of the top, which can be tricky in some out-front mounts, especially with gloves. And finally, a personal annoyance is the white bezel. I know, it’s nit-picking, but seriously, it just looks ugly and reminds me of the Touring units. But the core of the unit works well – especially in navigation.
Still, ignoring those nitpick items – it’s a really solid unit for those that need the extra battery life, or want the larger display. The display quality is brilliant – both in bright daylight as well as dusk and night – and the new dashboard startup screen is a much cleaner way to start each workout from.
With that – thanks for reading, and feel free to drop any questions down below.
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Hopefully you found this review useful. At the end of the day, I’m an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase – so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device. The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so it’s a fair bit of work (and labor of love). As you probably noticed by looking below, I also take time to answer all the questions posted in the comments – and there’s quite a bit of detail in there as well.
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Thanks for reading! And as always, feel free to post comments or questions in the comments section below, I’ll be happy to try and answer them as quickly as possible. And lastly, if you felt this review was useful – I always appreciate feedback in the comments below. Thanks!
Thanks for In-Depth review in day of announce.
Could you run a Tree Benchmark from ConnectIQ store to see how powerfull CPU is? link to apps.garmin.com
Please talk to Garmin about this connect IQ app for Fenix 5x. I would love to be able to easily use my Strava running routes on that platform without a 3rd party app to connect the two.
Are the fitness stats still device-specific, or has Garmin got them syncing yet? In other words, if I go for a run with my fenix 5, will the changes to my training status be reflected on the 1030? Or do I still have to use a single device as the primary recorder for all my activities?
It took garmin a while to get steps to sync properly between multiple devices…I’d guess this will take some time too. Not holding my breath. I’d suggest using StravistiX plugin for Strava, it does an awesome job providing training fatigue, fitness, and form across all activities you upload with HR, power, or using a swim threshold pace.
Ray, is it correct to assume the external battery pack doesn’t recharge the 1030, but is used directly (which would make it more efficient/smaller than using generic external battery)?
Sorry, what I meant: A generic battery pack can normally only recharge the computer’s internal one, which has inefficiencies. By comparison, is the Garmin E1030 external battery used directly, and not to recharge the internal one?
Hello Ray, Thanks for this in depth review, I have a garmin edge 800 and I have been waiting for quite some time to see this released, do you know by any chance if it’s shipping in EU ? I can’t seem to see it on eu.clevertraining
You’ll see a bunch more about it over the coming days, and I believe the plan is late September for full release. Though it sounds like they may allow folks to start using elements of it sooner.
But yes, it’ll be compatible with all existing Garmin units.
As I understand it, measuring training load and heart rate variability requires recording of the RR interval. I’ve been using the Elite HRV app, and a chest strap as they say that optical hr sensors aren’t capable of recording accurate RR values. They just broadcast a number which is an average.
I’ve got a Scosche Rhythm+ and I take the “recovery time” value from my Garmin with a pinch of salt because of this.
Do you know if this is actually the case?
Can I accurately measure my training load from my Garmin using an optical HRM? I’ve also got a power meter fwiw.
Curious if this has ever come up in conversation with the guys at Garmin/Scosche etc.
I’d love to know how the claimed battery life stands up in practice. When using my edge 1000 in routing mode I’m lucky to get 7 hours. The only way I’m able to get longer is to keep switching from the map screen to the data screen… which isn’t ideal.
I pretty much wont leave the house without a lipstick battery for it these days.
Yes, routing or only showing the map with an additional GPX-track decreases the battery life to max. 7h. It would be fine, if Ray could test this with the 1030!
You´re lucky, I am getting 4 – 5 hours with Edge 1000, still got my Edge 800 wich is one of the best so far I tested, but is not compatibile with Varia radar which I am considering as a greatest gadget I have on bike. Today morning it seemed like my Edge 1000 died, so I almost ordered 1030, but I managed to get it going by holding all buttons at once for some time. So don´t know if its worth the update. The battery life is biggest issue on my 1000. It really sucks.
It’s probably worth noting on the 4-5 hours with the Edge 1000 – is that on the map screen exclusively? And if not, is that with backlight turned all the way up manually?
I often forget to turn off the backlight manual settings when I’m taking photos, and when I do so, then I can burn through almost any Edge unit in about that timeframe. Full brightness on backlight is a blowtorch for batteries. :-/
Hey Radim. That’s not normal. I had the same issue on my 810 and realized I had the backlight sent to “always on”. It would kill my Garmin within the same time. Once I changed it to “backlight off in 15 sec” boom! Back to 8-10+ hours of battery life. Check it out and see where yours is set.
One thing you didn’t mention (at least I couldn’t find it), did Garmin manage to implement any sort of keylock on this new Edge 1030 device? I mean, not just locking the touchscreen, but also the buttons, in case you want to e.g. put it in your pocket while skiing or hiking.
A whole lot of the trips I have made with Edge 1000 in my pocket (most of them during winter), the unit has stopped recording due to an unfortunate push on the start/stop button at the front of the device. It’s rather annoying.
As far as I know, none of the previous Edge have had this very simple, old and easy-to-implement feature…so if Edge 1030 has it, I will probably run to get it.
I have this exact same problem with the Edge 1000. It turns off ALL THE TIME when I’m x-c skiing, snowshoeing, and hiking. I will buy the new 1030 only if they have implemented a button lock feature. I’ve searched endlessly in an attempt to find out more, but so far, no info about a button lock feature. DCR?
Actually, I meant to say that the 1000 stops all the time, because it has gotten an accidental start/stop button push, not that the unit itself is turning off.
Ray, thanks for the review. Do you happen to know whether the selectable layout in the data screens will come to the 520/820/1000? And whether there is a list of the possible layouts somewhere?
About GPS accuracy, note that Garmin units sold in different markets have different capabilities. For example, the Edge 820J knows about Japan’s QZSS satellites, but other market’s models don’t. (I’m bummed to find that my USA-market Edge 820 does not take advantage of the extra satellites overhead).
I *think* it’s just a matter of including positional data about the satellites, so one wonders why it’s not included in all regional models. I dunno.
Europe has their own Galileo satellite system… I wonder whether an European-market Edge units take advantage of that, while USA- and other- market units don’t…..
Same question. I got it to work once without plugging the 1030 into the computer via USB, but haven’t been able to replicate despite hours of faffing with the computer, the Edge and the phone app.
Update: hours more spent. I downloaded routeCourse, but it says the 1030 is connected to the phone by Bluetooth (it is). When I try to use Strava Routes, it says my session is expired and I need to log in again (I am already logged in, but if I log out and log back in, it still doesn’t work.) I am about a day away from sending this [thing] back to Garmin.
So I stumbled into that same weird Strava session expired bug two days ago trying to add a replacement unit.
My workout that worked: After it pops up the message to authenticate Strava, select from within that mini-window to log out of Strava (the windows that Garmin Connect opens up sorta halfway in their app).
Then, close that window, and on the Edge try again. This time it should let you sign-in and authenticate properly. I’m not sure where the error is there (Garmin or Strava), but either way, I agree something now seems broken.
“Ideally, we’d see Garmin carry these metrics across behind the scenes with Garmin Connect, like they do for steps via TrueUp. Hopefully, that happens sooner rather than later.”
have you heard any rumblings of that actually happening someday, tough?
Wish that my Fenix and 820 could “talk” so that i dont have to record every bike session with both, just to have the corrects stats on the Fenix 🙁
according the the k-edge specs (Edge 1030 and Edge 1000 fits on the longer XL mount) – I’m assuming the battery won’t work with the current k-edge combo mount.
Cool. I have a Edge 1000 which meets all my needs, so only compelling factor is screen.
Ray, it looks like the screen may be much easier to read in low light without using the backlight (compared to 1000). Would you say that this is true? Maybe a photo comparing side by side?
I fully agree with the ugly design … road cycling is such a beautiful sport and people love beautiful designed pieces to put on their bikes …. so garmin wtf!
What a shame if this is true. We paid a low of $$ for 1000 and now no update of interface ? I understand better display etc. but still 🙁 if this is true what you said.
To be fair, in that three years since the Edge 1000 came out, it’s received an absolute crapton of updates and new features (including today, with the new Strava Routes app):
is there a setting to turn off alerts when creating workouts?… i.e. say i set my interval at 300W… if im at 290 i have my 520 beeping at me.. i dont want that…. its super annoying
I know you haven’t had a ton of time with it, but for a 100 bucks more is it safe to say you would recommend it over the Edge 820? I need to upgrade from my 510.
Yeah, $200 is a lot if you ask me. I’d focus on whether you plan to go really long with it, or if you want the bigger screen. For stuff like better touch screen, I wouldn’t say that’s a deal breaker at these price differences.
This looks like a really good upgrade over the 1000. The battery life is great. BTsmart is also really good. It probably also has a faster, more powerful processor and more internal memory. All are much needed.
I’m disappointed with the screen, unit size and external battery. In 2017 why does an electronic unit need such a huge bezel? Edge to edge on all four sides is the only thing that makes sense today. The 1000 unit is too big already, again, in 2017 why is a replacement bigger? Unless an electronic does more than an iPhone (and this doesn’t), it shouldn’t be thicker. The external battery is really cool but why so darn clunky? A thin battery that twists on to the mounting post betwwen the unit and the mount would have made much more sense. Their battery requires a dedicated out front mount that prohibits using a camera-style mount under it.
Again, really nice upgrade and probably enough to get me to upgrade before my 1000 fails but they left alot of potential on the floor with a huge casing, huge bezel and clunky external battery design.
Ray, as usual, thanks for the great review and putting all of the features in their best light.
Thickness generally means more battery. I don’t know of any iPhone that can run for 20 hours with the screen on continuously. So the 1030 does do more than the iPhone, even without considering navigation without cell service and ANT+.
The iPhone is just an example/benchmark. Please don’t let that size and shape benchmark obfuscate the point that I believe there is significant opportunity to make a smaller, slimmer device with a bigger screen and more elegant external battery solution. Does a device with a 24 hour external battery need 20 hours of internal battery life? 10 hours of internal battery life would still be an improvement over the 1000.
Also, please read my above praise of the device with all intended sincerity. I like the unit while also recognizing that resolving the above stated opportunities would make it better fit my expectations. Just one person’s desires. They don’t have to match yours to be valid.
I’m viewing this device as a (long overdue) nod to the rando crowd. I’ve been trying for a many years to find a device that lasts through a nonstop 15 hour 400KM ride, and for a 600KM or longer you’re definitely stuck with a hackish solution involving USB battery packs. There are long discussions about how to best seal the USB port while charging Garmin devices and riding through soaking wet rain.
The 1030 should work, on its own, through even a slow 400K. One battery pack could get you through a 600K and even a fast 1000K. 2 or 3 packs could last for a 1200. Assuming the battery pack interface really is watertight, that’s a really nice feature.
It would be fantastic to have a “1030 thin” option and a “1030 touring” option that have different base battery lives (but both extendable). And I have to assume that in a few more years the high end devices will have much smaller bezels. But for now the 1030 definitely fills a niche that nobody else has paid any attention to. So I’m appreciative for what it brings to the table!
Agreed, use the edges more for screen real estate. I am older and need the larger screen myself, but not so large as my Samsung tablet. lol Seems the 1000 we have is already thick enough to put a 24-30 hour battery life unit in the case (assuming not running backlight, which I find kills the current power life considerably).
I’m interested mostly in a brighter screen, without using backlight. I ride a lot in the dark in Vegas to avoid the heat in summer, so any help I can get to more easily see the screen with my old eyes helps.
If the unit has to have a large bezel, how about using the space for something useful … like solar panels. So the unit can get a slight charge while being used.
Following up on MiIlesio’s question… Does the external battery pack charge the internal battery or just provide direct power to the unit?
Does it support pass through charging? Meaning can I have have my dynamo charge the pack within the pack discharges to the unit and\or another device via the second USB port.
How does the routing in map mode work on trails in the woods? When trying to find a route home with the edge 1000, it just took you straight to the nearest paved road.
That always depends on the maps. If the map has routable trails, then it will work, if not, then not and you’ll get the behavior you describe, since it’s doing the best it can for you. I’d expect the 1030 to come with Garmin’s cycling maps, so they won’t have trails. You can easily get maps that do have trails. OpenStreetMap maps, especially those oriented to MTB or hiking, will have them. I use Garmin’s TOPO maps on my 1000, and it has some but not all of the trails in my area, and I doubt they’re routable (don’t do much singletrack so haven’t had much reason to try). The OSM maps I use on my Epix and have used on the past on Edges have all of the trails in my area and are routable.
What about the display? Can you say some words about brightness, mirroring in the sun and exact pixel resolution – compared to the Edge1000?
What about the processor? Scrooling and zooming through complex maps, e.g. the streets of a big city, is very slow and you habe to be patient. If you have loaded an additional gpx-track, it is really slow to navigate through the maps. How does it feel compared to the Edge1000?
Another great review, I hope to order soon through your affiliated links.
One question – how does the mount work if you have the Varia light that typically mounts under the head unit – the same way that the battery pack does?
I assume that I have to use the mount that came with the light and am not able to use the battery pack?
Does the lower part of the outfront mount supplied with the Edge 1030 fit the battery pack and the Varia 500 light?
I understand that you can’t use both the battery pack and the light together, but would like to switch between the Varia 500 light and the battery pack without having to change outfront mounts as well.
Not weighing in on the you should or shouldn’t upgrade to a 1030 (it is a nice device!), but the segment on routes will carry over to other CIQ devices that run the app.
Thanks for a excellent review as always! I think you should add a section in your reviews about GPS reception. Seems like some people (like myself) have problems with the reception for the Wahoo Bolt under trees. Would be nice to know how different GPS computers work in the woods.
Hi Ray, a request to extend your review for us 50+ riders that normally would use reading glasses.
With my 820 sometimes it is hard to read the numbers.
On the 820 you can select 5 lines (10 datafields) but not 4 lines (8 datafields) with slightly larger numbers.
There is only one ConnectIQ app that provides a 4 lines screen, but users can only choose 2 fields of the 8.
Request from my side for an app providing an 8 datafield screen did not succeed.
How is the number-size of the 1030 compared to the 820 ?
Is there an option with (slightly) enlarged numbers ?
PeterH. Not answering your question, but I also have sight issues on the bike which are made worse by virtue of insisting on not wearing prescription glasses when I ride! Partly for this reason I switched to a Wahoo Elemnt recently (not the Bolt which has lower resolution and a much smaller screen) as the text is very clear in all conditions and can be zoomed up with the buttons on the side. Perhaps that will help you; it certainly did me.
Yeah, normally I include that, and will add in tonight. I’ve just been overwhelmingly slammed with new product launches this week (the bulk of which is still to come), and so had to cut a few draft things out temporarily to add in later on this evening.
referring to the CIQ app that provides 4 lines / 8 fields, I assume you are actually referring to a CIQ data field? An app replaces the entire user interface, a field is selectable to be displayed in a data page for a normal activity. In any case, was it the developer of the CIQ field that you tried to contact and said no? I can’t imagine Garmin rejecting any CIQ app/field just displaying data. My edge is too old for CIQ so I haven’t looked but it surprises me there aren’t numerous CIQ fields out there that draw custom screens with a configurable layout. For the watches, there are several such fields. I have a CIQ field out there for watches that shows 4 large font fully customizable fields specifically for those that have a hard time reading the screen.
Ray, or anybody that knows, where can the 1030 be ordered today? Ray’s review mentioned that it is ready to ship, however even the Garmin site isn’t accepting orders. Anybody know?
It’s compatible. Though honestly hearing of dropouts on the Edge series for Stages is super-rare (increda-rare). Which makes me wonder if something else is up there.
At least on the Edge 1030 you could try BLE connectivity to see if that resolves it.
I disagree. Stages drop outs with the edge are not rare. I have an 820 and it would not connect properly with either of my stages power meters. Stages acknowledges there are problems, but choses to bury this info on the stages website. They told me the edge 820 with an out front mount can have issues and to mount on the bars. It still didnt work and i do not want it mounted to the bars. Sold my stages power meters and bought 2 quarqs. WAYYYYY BETTER!!!!!!!!
I have the same problem with dropouts on stages gen 2 (for both an ultegra and DA version) and the 820. The stages power meter work fine with the older 800.
I’ve used my 1030 on 3 rides now with a stages Gen 1 Ultegra PM and no issues with dropouts. I also have a Gen 2 that I plan to use on another bike but haven’t tested that one yet.
I’m coming from an 810 w/ no stages issues. I’d be very p#ssed if there was issues with a $600 unit and a widely used PM.
“new ability to create workouts on Garmin Connect Mobile.”
Hey, what? Is there a new version of the app (nothing I can see in the app store), or is this something that only appears when paired with the 1030? My app still says “visit Garmin Connect online”
As I still have the Egde 1000 and no plans to upgrade, one question regarding battery packs: is there an alternative for the Edge 1000 (third-party), that could salvage the double-sided mount?
I’m not aware of one. Part of the challenge is that connector on the Edge 1000 is non-waterproof (and out the back). Now, that said, you could quite frankly buy the Edge charging block/mount and then just use a small tiny micro-USB cable to loop back to the battery. Maybe I’ll try it out tonight.
(Caveat: I need to look carefully at my unboxing stuff and see if the out-front mount that’s required for this comes with the Edge or battery.)
“Don’t just receive your incoming messages and leave friends and family hanging in the interim—respond to your texts and calls with one quick tap, pre-written messages that communicate info such as you’ll “Be Home Soon.” Additionally, send pre-written notes to fellow riders so you can communicate on the fly without leaving your friends wondering whether you’ll catch up in a few or not.”
This is what clever training has on it’s site, which seems to indicate you can respond to any text messages. I read a message below that you can only send to other riders. If what you stated is true, clever training may need to update there text to be a little more clear.
So it’s funny. In talking to some Garmin folks it sounds like on Android you actually do this with the Edge 1030. I’ll try and get that rigged up tonight.
(Random FYI: All text on sites like Clever Training actually comes from Garmin. It’s copy/paste. This is done so retailers don’t promise something that doesn’t exist.)
Without supporting firmware yet… Plus I’ve read that whilst the 1030 will connect to BTLE sensors (HR, speed and cadence etc.), it’s ANT+ only for Power Meters?
I’ve been opting to use wrist based HR during my rides from my 935 and broadcasting that to my 520. For me this serves two purposes. First, not having the clunky strap to put on every ride as well as saving the lifetime of the HR strap for race day only. Second, since I am broadcasting I just save and don’t upload the ride from the 935 so I get my training load from all my workouts in one place. I agree it would be nice to have them integrated, but this is more than a serviceable workaround for me.
The 935 and Edge 520 do differ quite a bit in freshness calculation, it would be nice to see Garmin tighten that up. It seems like the 935 is a much harsher critic of where you are at.
I have only had one instance when the wrist based HR was not accurate for about 25 minutes of a 40 minute cyclocross race, where I opted for it over the strap because I didn’t need/want running dynamic data. I do generally see a few minutes of lag with the wrist based measurement from the 935 at the start of an activity. Does anyone else?
Probably a better solution to not saving is to save on both your Edge and 935/Fenix 5, but have them syncing to different accounts. At least that way you have a backup of the data.
I have the Edge 520 and the display is dreadful in direct sunlight. You mention at the end you like the display but how does it compare to the Edge520?
One thing I’ve noticed about the Edge 1000 is that when navigating, navigation prompts come up a bit too close to the turn when you’re on a group ride. I like to warn groups about upcoming turns. The distance at which the prompt comes up is not configurable on the Edge 1000. Is it configurable on the 1030?
“More importantly – I didn’t have any issues with re-routing. This is an area that some folks have seen trouble with in the past, such as when they go off-course. My suspicion is that this was typically related to routes created by 3rd party apps (.TCX/.GPX) that were more challenging on re-routing.”
I don’t think your suspicion is correct here. The rerouting doesn’t actually have anything to do with the course (except to determine a point on the course to get back to).
The rerouting is calculated just like computing a route to a location (like a hotel).
There’s lots of confusion about how the routing works.
If you are using “turn guidance”, there are actually two routes: one is the track and the other is a calculated route that follows the track using roads on the map. (This can be seem sometimes with odd shortcuts in the secondary route (the one used for “turn guidance”).
If the second route is able to be calculated, it should have no problems calculating a route to the track.
There aren’t really differences in the track files created by RWGPS (for example) and Garmin Connect. Planning the route using a different map than is installed on the device can be a problem but that’s not an “app problem” (it’s a map problem).
If there’s a problem with different file sources (which still seems unlikely), the problem would be with picking a point on the track to route to.
If the device can calculate a route to a randomly dropped pin (which seems to be easy to do if the pin is close to a road), it shouldn’t have any problem calculating a route to a point on the track (where the track is close to a road).
I’ve only used my 1000 for navigation once, just to try it. (Generally I navigate a few times a year.) It worked well for the most part, but a couple of miles from the end it deliberately went off course for a few tenths of a mile. It told me “off course” and then “on course” after I rejoined the course, but the navigation prompts were insisting that I turn around and ride back to the place where I left the course. So it knew I was on course and it gave the “end course” notification and stopped navigating when I reached home, but it wasn’t satisfied and never prompted correctly from the time I left the course. So its idea of what to do when deviating from the course isn’t the way I’d want it done. Trying to go back is almost always the wrong thing to do.
I had an issue in earlier firmware (Edge1000), where live segments interfered with following a course. Lots of spurious “off course” messages. Not using live segments anymore but I think its no longer an issue anyway
It knows you are on the track route (it’s easy for the unit to do that). That’s were the “end course” notification comes from.
The prompts (the big white arrows) come from the second (calculated) route. The devices can have problems picking up the second route in the right place). It’s a bug. The ancient 800 picks up the second course in the correct place reliably. That the newer units don’t seem to be as reliable for this is one reason I still use the 800.
You might be able to get things working by reloading (restarting) the course. When doing that, it might help to ride along the course path in the correct direction so the unit can determine your heading. (The units use your heading to figure out what leg of the course you are on and GPS units need you to move to determine heading.)
Yeah, the Edge 800 might be the best cycling navigation unit Garmin has ever made. I replaced mine with the 1000 when my 800 after 4 1/2 years gave me trouble two days in a row. (The second day I was expecting trouble and so took my Epix with me and had to use its track afterwards.) From what I’ve read about the successor models and my one experience with the 1000 they simply aren’t as good as the 800 at navigation. The 1000 is still better than the 705; my 705 would probably have tried to make me repeat the loop attached to the out and back.
The deficiencies are what you’d expect. You can’t really wear it and there’s nothing to clip it to a pack, so you have to carry it somehow. It isn’t designed for hiking, so auto-pause might give you some trouble if it’s on. As mentioned somewhere above the touch screen and buttons might get pressed and do something you don’t want if you pocket it. The antennas on Garmin handhelds designed for hiking are usually better. I used an Edge 705 for many years for hiking and cross-country skiing as well as cycling, and it worked OK, but I don’t use my 1000 for anything but cycling now. For occasional use it’d be OK so long as you’re careful about the screen, but for regular use you’ll be happier with a Fenix 5X or one of the handhelds.
Thanks for this detailed review
Do you know if this Edge 1030/Battery Pack mount could also be compatible with Virb action cams or à Varia light instead of the battery ? avoiding to switch to a combo mount every time you use the Virb/light
Thks
Ray, Thanks for rushing this key review out to us so quickly. Two easy questions — is the mounting mechanism compatible with the existing Garmin 1000 Mount? Does this then preclude the use of the extra battery pack? Also ++ What is the mechanism used to communicate with other riders via messages? Do we need a mobile signal? Do we need to be in Bluetooth range? I suspect and hope that it is something better than either. Thx DCR. #rideon
” is the mounting mechanism compatible with the existing Garmin 1000 Mount?”
The battery contacts on the 1030 are flush with the surface of the mount. The 1030 should work with any Garmin mount (that allows for the size of the 1000/1030).
“Does this then preclude the use of the extra battery pack?”
The battery pack will only work with mounts that support it. The mount has to have a hole to allow the connectors on the battery pack mate with the contacts on the 1030. The mount also has a connector on the bottom for the battery.
Yeah, but the category “cycling GPS’s that can navigate independently of a cell phone using onboard routable maps” includes, to my knowledge, the Edge 820, the Edge 1000, and now the 1030. Garmin is basically only competing with itself in this category. They can’t go too nuts since there are some phones that can also do the job more or less, but they can charge a premium. They can’t do that with the 520, since there’s already competition in the “maps but can’t navigate” space.
They can charge whatever price they want and all you said existed in the past. I’m wondering why they are going with a $200 price jump from the next lower down unit when they were at $100 during the life of the edge 1000.
Don’t agree that Garmin alone is on the navigation. I have a Wahoo Bolt now and it just works. Ok, you need a phone to route or re-route, but watching the speed of an Edge 820 to recalculate a route (Shane Miller video) It was just a joke. You rather get out your phone and than calculate a route than have an 820 calculate the route. Apart form the slow and cumbersome touchscreen of the 820.
As for the 1030: I cycle and I like to clear my head when training. Not have all sorts of gadgets to link to my smartphone and keep up to date. You can buy a Wahoo Elemnt (Bolt or not) and have a reasonable smartphone for the price of an Edge 1030.
They aren’t the same product so each has its limits. But still close enough someone could easily go “Road names for an extra $350? I’ll pass, I can carry my phone with me” I think the Garmin is much better, not so sure on the price jump of the 1030.
Well it’s not that limited as you say. There’s a whole category (also from garmin sadly) that Ray doesn’t cover much: The outdoor segment. Sure the devices are bigger and more clunky that the slim and sleek edge series, but they also come with a bigger screen and handle navigation far better. And most (not sure if all) run on AA-batteries, easily changeable or can be hooked up to a powerbank. I currently use an Oregon 600 instead of an edge (simply because I already owned that before I started speedcycling) and if you want a bigger screen there’s also the Montana and Monterra series, though I prefer the size of the oregon. If you want smaller, there’s also the etrex and some others.
BTW Ray, why don’t you start reviewing these devices? Hiking is also a sport 😉
I started with a Garmin handheld, the 60CSx. I used it for everything, automobile routing, cycling, hiking, cross country skiing. Then, because of a design flaw (road vibration would cause it to shut down if it was mounted on the handlebars because of how the batteries were connected to the electronics), when Garmin announced the Edge 705, I got one when it came out. (And shortly afterwards made it a principle that I would never buy a Garmin device when it first came out. I carried the 60CSx along with me for 6 months before I could trust the 705 not to screw up somehow during a ride). Once the 705 was stable, it was a much better experience than using the 60CSx (which, among other things, had no ANT+), although the 705 did have navigation quirks I had to live with. Around that time I got a Nuvi for automobile use, and again it was a much better experience than the 60CSx (which didn’t have voice navigation prompts; you’re not going to go wrong when Darth Vader is giving you directions). Now I use an Edge 1000 for cycling, have a built in Garmin navigation device in my car, use an Epix for hiking and skiing, and otherwise wear an Apple Watch as a smart watch which I leave home whenever I’m doing an outdoors activity. Handhelds are great, but specialist devices do the job better.
Well I lack mountains too, doesn’t mean I’m not interested in the device. Besides if you combine a forest hike with a hilly bike ride you more or less get the same info as you would from a proper mountain hike. Point I’m trying to make: lack of mountains is something I can forgive in a review. Lack of time on the other hand is not something I can fix for you.
Just know that I’d welcome the expansion to the outdoor devices (from any brand for that matter) I still feel they bring a lot of bang for buck navigation and sport wise, it’s just not really as specialized as the edge series.
From the provided graphs with comparison of elevation charts with two other 520 units and Fitbit it unfortunately looks bad and the sensor is probably the same shity one with big lag like 520 and 820 has :((
The Fitbit sensor is probably more accurate and sensitive. So far the white color and barometric sensor are only two things that bothers me on 1030. Otherwise it pretty solid.
Yes, this would be interesting. I often use the map. But only two data fields aren’t enough. We need more on this screen. 4 at least. it is only a Software issue. Ray please test it!
Thanks for writing up this wonderful and detailed review! Btw, does the new unit allow for multiple bike profiles and tracking? Meaning, would I be able to track the individual odometer across several different bikes with this one device?
Another awesome review. I cannot help but comment on one aspect of the review that is somewhat unrelated to the the 1030 but is highlighted by the data. The elevation data graph certainly proves one thing…..the 820 absolutely sucks when it comes to reliably producing altitude or grade information. It stands out as the most inconsistent of the group shown. As always, thanks for doing this! Still the best and most reliable bike site on the web.
I’m curious for more information on exactly how it chooses which strava segments to show that it pulls from your phone. Just your starred segments like before? Or non-starred segments that are popular? Or all nearby segments?
Primary use. If you’re primary use is cycling (mountain included), get an Edge. If hiking or something similar, get the Oregon. I’m not sure, for example, an Oregon can pair with a power meter, and the Edge won’t pair with a Tempe.
Consider the oregon (and similar outdoor devices) as a more rounded ‘jack of all trades’ device, lacking the specifics an edge, tailor made for cycling, brings. This shows in the bigger/better? options in navigation on the oregon and geocaching functions, but the lack of workouts, strava segments that the edge brings. It comes to what you want to do with it in the end what brings the best experience.
I miss one topic though. In your Wahoo Elemnt review you were very positive in their SW abilities, namely their Strava integration. One thing that sucks in current Edge models is that overlapping segments is not supported, and that you cannot choose to race against your own PR or the KOM. Is this fixed in the 1030? Wahoo seems to have set the standard in SW so far.
I can choose to race my own Strava PR on my Edge 1000. You select one of 3 “opponents” at the top of the screen with the arrows. You can also set the default opponent for each Strava segment in the segment settings on the Edge itself.
You could always choose against you wanna compete… But to do it on each of your segments is a reaaaaal pain.
I’d like to set all to “compete against KOM” globally and I’m through. To have the option to set it individually, fine… but it should work globally as well.
Another annoying “fact” of Strava integration to Garmin units is, that it allowed only to sync 100 segments to your Garmin device. If you marked more than that on Strava, it kicked out others on your device with the next sync.
That was finally the killer for me, why i switched to the Bolt.
@Ray:
Is the 100 segment limitation still valid?
Last but not least:
Any update, if they gonna improve GCM to configure Garmin units via phone (Wahoo like) instead of just at the device (also a pain).
Hmm, there is no similar note in the firmware update for the 820 released on the same day, and I believe the 820 has the same 100 segment limit. So my guess is that it’s a bug fixed when you have more than 100 starred segments and not that the 100 segment limit is being lifted. Happy to be proven wrong though!
If you have road, tri, cross, mountain bike, and Zwift, and use them all, and if you also **don’t care about cost** , which is the better buy, Wahoo Elemnt or Edge 1030. (If it matters, my devices all connect by Bluetooth smart.)
Heading out on a bike tour in two weeks. Based on your comparison of the Element to prior Garmin models, my ELEMNT just arrived. I am an occasional bike “tourer”, not an everyday thing. But lost a phone pulling it out in the rain to figure out where to go, so I want a good navigation feature.
So, without regard to price, do you prefer the 1030 to the ELEMNT? (The Wahoo app is sweet, but everything I have, other than my KICKR is Garmin.)
If you’re primarily a tourer, the Edge high-end series is better if you don’t know exactly where you’re going each day. Whereas with Wahoo you do need to either:
A) Plan where you’re going that day ahead of time
B) Be OK with a single-point routing via the phone app (pushing to ELEMNT).
For touring, the big difference between the Elemnt and 1030 is that the 1030 does navigation without assistance from your smartphone. Think about navigation in a car, without a cellphone you can enter a destination and the car’s nav system will create a route and start navigating. Depending on the cell coverage along your tour, that might be important. Both have relatively long battery life, but if you are outside for more than 15 hours then Elemnt *might* need a charge before the 1030. On long rides (7+ hours) I carry a small Anker battery pack and usb cables to charge my Varia radar, Edge 520, and even my cellphone on a recent 16 hour double century. A nice but expensive accessory for the 1030 is a mountable battery pack.
Did you get a feel if the lag time on turns for the GPS for turns has improved? I’ve missed many a turn because the GPS wasn’t keeping up with the route (even on the 820).
So its faster or you don’t notice any difference as lag was the same?
Maybe have a side by side shot following a route in a dense part of Paris (dense areas are slower for the unit to handle the map for) using the same map base (some maps are faster then others, but maybe just the maps included on the unit works) Also turn handlebars are light when stopped. Did they add a compass like the 935?
That’s bad. Would have been one reason to upgrade. When following a route off road, sometimes you stop and the edge 1000 loses orientation. It would have been a useful addition.
Useful for city use too when stopped at a more confusing intersection, especially if you move to the side of the road as you stop so the gps gets confused. True, more clues to figure out how its supposed to orient but still annoying
Annoying how the fr920 and fr935 have magnetic compasses built in but not this
Lag has a few things of interest. When using the UI (menu and switching screens), scrolling the maps, time till it warns being off course, redrawing the map as you move (missing a turn because you don’t have a map to read is a pain) Those I think are the important lag issues. Sure doing the initial routing at the start of the ride may be annoying if slow but never caused a problem during a ride.
Any chance you could have side by side of the 820, 1000, and 1030 on map mode all zoomed to the same level? (maybe a 810 too as guessing thats what many would be upgrading from) Would be nice to see if the screen resolution allows them to change how much detail they show on the map (higher resolution can allow readable road names the lower resolution unit can’t show) along with how much extra surrounding a larger screen will allow being shown. But if you are moving around can see if the lag is different.
Ray, this may be a dumb question, but I will ask anyway. What do I do with the lanyard? I have an 830 and my lanyard is sitting in my deck drawer because I am at a loss concerning how to use it.
One end attaches to the little slot on the device. The other gets wrapped around your handlebars. The idea is that if the mount or tabs on the back of the device break, the device isn’t going to hit the ground. I had a mount break twice on my Edge 705 (hit the road once, the other time I noticed something was wrong and caught it when it came loose). The only lanyard I have now is for my VIRB Elite, and I use it. It’s like a helmet: you never want to actually use it for what it’s intended for, but it’s a good idea to have it just in case.
Where IS this “little slot”? I can’t find any place on my 1030 through which I could loop the lanyard (I’ve not waded through all of Garmin’s documentation, since Ray’s review is so much better).
Jim, you have to open the USB port on the 1030, and then you can access the “little slot” on the left bottom edge. You can see it on the bottom of the Edge.
I’d be interested in the K-Edge mount experience with the battery pack setup. Even possible? or if you want the battery pack you are now locked in to their mount. The K-edge seem to have picked different angles, etc. that maybe block access to this port?
You have to use their mount for the battery pack. I’m sure others could design for it, but there’s portions that are obviously hardware-focused there to make work.
thank you for the best review so far , one question I do have is the actual battery life on the actual has it increased as Garmin claims didn’t see that in the review maybe I missed it t
May have missed this, and sorry if this was answered already, but is the “heat map” route planning coming to other devices for the route creation? I just bought 820 and get sick of traffic and stop signs.
Can you do splitt screen navigation of some type? By that I mean e.g. seeing the map and where to go on the top and your data fields on the bottom half?
Generally you can put a limited number of data fields on the map page. On the Edge 800 it’s two, and I think that’s still the case on the Edge 1000 (that’s all I have on my map page). Since the 1030 screen is bigger, the limit might be higher. I like to use auto rotating screens instead; I have several data pages and eventually I’ll see the map or data that I want just by waiting.
The manual is out, and possibly answers questions like this (although you never know with Garmin manuals).
True. But I don’t really need the label. If it says BPM, I know it’s heart rate.
Besides, there is tons of unused space to the left, when it’s speed, HR and power (3-4 digits max) Why not stick the label there?
Can you tell me whether the 1030 fixed a different problem I’ve found with the 1000 font sizes? If you add “Navigation / Location at Next” to a data screen, the text for that Location name is tiny on the 1000 — it’s the same size as the label for the data field.
As you know, in any given data field “box” on the Garmin, the label is tiny but the data itself generally displays much larger depending on the size of the data field box, which varies according to the number of fields displayed on the data screen.
But this is not true for “Navigation / Location at Next” on the 1000: even if the Location name (course point name) is short, the data font is tiny and uses very little of the vertical space assigned to the data field, regardless of how short or long the Location name is.
And as someone over 50 using reading glasses, I’d like to be able to read that Location name — even more than reading the labels for the data fields.
(The Garmin 810 approach was adequate: it truncated the Location name if it was too long. Of course, there are other alernatives, such as formatting the text as a “ticker” or “marquee” so that the Location name cycles through the width of the data field. There are numerous other approaches with tradeoffs in simplicity, clarity, etc — but Garmin’s leaving small text on screen feels like age discrimination to me!)
Does this new Edge unit interface seamlessly with your daily metrics on Garmin Connect. For example, on my Edge 1000 if I do a ride the HR track appears as a gap on my daily timeline, whereas if I record the ride with my Forerunner 935 it adds the HR to the est of my day, combined with all the Vivofit 3 data. Does this new Edge change that?
Great insight….so i have an 820 and wanted to know if Garmin will push out a full firmware update to bring the 820 on par with the new 1030 similar to what apple does for supported devices…ask because a lot of the new features and native apps etc look super cool. Thanks.
1. Is this correct, it´s impossible to repair/open(no screw) the Edge 1030 after 2 year warranty? junk?
2. No European Galileo Satellitennavigation?
3. No 3-axis compass?
Is there a compelling reason why Garmin doesn’t add a headlight to these units?
Or a simple camera?
They could even sell multiple editions of the same device, with different options.
Having a simple headlight for improved visibility would be helpful, without having to add another device to the handlebars.
Any meaningful headlight destroys battery. It’d double the size of the unit. Polar tried a ‘safety light’ on the V650, but it was a complete failure by pretty much any metric you use (that feature). Nobody used it, and even Polar stopped promoting that aspect of it. It just wasn’t bright enough, and barely did anything.
With the UT800 light though, they developed it to fit under the out-front mount, so it’s a pretty tidy package.
I don’t get why that’s the case.
I have a daylight visible flashing taillight with a tiny rechargeable battery, that lasts 14 hours.
If built in to a Garmin unit, you could choose when and how to use it.
I ran into a storm during my early morning ride last week (the skies got dark enough to turn on the backlight on my 820), and wished I’d had a little bit of light to be more visible to approaching cars, on a rural highway.
I’m not talking about a light that’s bright enough to mountain bike at night, just safety visible to cars.
Is the UT800 only compatible with mount included in the urban edition? I was hoping that the 1030 mount would also be able to carry the light.. For me that is an absolute desaster. If I want to switch between batterie pack and light I would also have to switch the mounts.. Charging cable all over..
Can you confirm the UT800 fits underneath the out front 1030 mount with anything extra to purchase?
It is clear as mud on the Garmin website although they show the UT800 being attached in one of the 1030 videos.
Is the clamping connector included with the 1030 out front mount?
Yes, it works. I have the 1030 mount, the UT800 and the Garmin Charge Pack for the 1030. The UT800 and battery pack are interchangeable (but can’t both be mounted simultaneously). I’ve been riding with a UT800 on my 1030 mount since December.
To be clear, the clamp that comes with the UT800 and its out-front mount works out of the box with the 1030 out-front mount. There is nothing else to buy.
Sorry that’s not very clear on the website JD. Yes, you can use the 1030 mount with the UT 800. The UT 800 will have an adaptor in the box that allows you to secure it to the underside of the 1030’s Out-Front Mount.
So frustrated right now. After waiting a year and a half to upgrade my Edge 500, expecting Garmin to come out with this unit, less than a month ago I finally gave up and bought the 1000. Now this comes out, with not much advance warning until a week or so ago. I don’t suppose Garmin would offer me an upgrade price? Wonder if my LBS wound exchange it for me.
Next question: on the Edge 1000, there is no way to turn off that stupid and battery-draining Virtual Partner on navigation courses. Is this possible on the 1030? I suppose it’s less of an issue since the battery life is better, but Garmin has ignored our requests to fix this on the 1000.
@Giles, do you mean in the 1000 or 1030? I have turned it off in the 1000 for the profile “Ride”, but whenever I am navigating from a file, I guess a .GPX IIRC, that partner still comes on.
Virtual partner is just a page like any other. Remove it from whatever (or all) profiles you use.
This will have no effect at all on battery life.
This is on the 1000.
In any event, at this point, I’ve only got a sample size of one (me). But I can say that even side by side the Edge 1030 display is incredibly good in rain. During a recent random-ass thunderstorm I went outside and filmed this simple segment to show how well it works. This was a one-take wonder. No other takes, just this one shot:
Does the lower part of the outfront mount supplied with the Edge 1030 fit the battery pack and the Varia 500 light?
I understand that you can’t use both the battery pack and the light together, but would like to switch between the Varia 500 light and the battery pack without having to change outfront mounts as well.
Know you are not a fan of the audio alerts, but did you happen notice the levels in traffic? The 1000 always seems to have a lower volume than the other units, and a pain when you miss a turn.
Is the page now customisable or does it have the ability to show more than one performance metric?
Reason I am asking is that when following a custom workout it usually involves following 2 performance metrics. For example hold 200W for 10 minute at a cadence of 70rpm. On the current Garmin units while on the workout page you could not keep track of your cadence or customise the page to display this, in addition to power ofcourse.
You can definitely create a new page for you workout where it shows W, Rome, time elapsed, time to finish interval, interval done… I have done that while following the training plan from TODAY’S PLAN
Regarding the recovery metrics: this is why, whenever I go for a ride, I use my Edge 520 to track and display my vital statistics, but also have my 735XT recording at the same time. I use the 735XT’s recovery time, and ignore the Edge’s.
This practice is also why I’m still a bit negative towards BLE. Yes, I realise that that seems to be the direction the market is headed, and Garmin’s newfound support for that protocol strongly suggests that they’ll be moving that way as well, keeping ANT+ basically for “legacy” devices – although there will doubtless be an extended period during which their sensors will be dual band. But that said, it’s perfectly feasible to have two devices recording data from the one ANT+ sensor… but not from the one BLE sensor.
Is there any improvement in the ability of the unit to record vertical ascent / elevation in the rain ? The barometric sensor holes on my 810 and 820 both block quickly during rain and I have to put a plastic bag over them.
I can’t quite tell from the pictures but the sensor hole on the 1000 is underneath the unit behind the mounting point and I haven’t had any trouble in the rain (unlike my old 800).
Does anyone know if this will pick up the proprietary ANT+ data feed from Pioneer’s power meter which shows the advanced pedaling information like torque at different locations in the pedal stroke left and right etc?
Also, can this be viewed in landscape mode like the 1000?
Regarding the mapping, what maps come pre-loaded? Just the maps specific to the region you purchase the 1030 in? I’m liking the sound of the micro-SD card and ability to load other maps (compared with the 820 which doesn’t have the extra storage).
This announcement is very very disappointing. A heavy bulky kit on the handle bar. No innovations. Battery spares are thousands at the market before and do the job….This reminds me to squeeze my macbook pro at the handle bar….no no no…
Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t see anything about the battery life of the 1030 itself. Most of the time manufactureres exaggerate the battery life or give you the time with every feature that’s useful turned off. So, did it last 20 hours?
I hadn’t had a chance to leave it alone for 20 hours to try and see what happens. Though, I should have such an opportunity this week, so I’ll report back then.
Even more interesting than battery runtime for pure recording would be while routing. This is one of the big (I mean, BIG) downsides of my Edge 820 (beside slow routing calculation and sometimes slow map drawing)…let the Edge route you on looong rides? Don’t forget the power bank! Using a K-Edge adjustable stem mount? Don’t forget to charge the 820 while taking a break!
With the Edge 1000, if you’re following a pre-baked course, you don’t have access to any segments that weren’t included in course creation. Has this finally changed with the 1030?
Ray, my main motivation for the 1030 over my 520 would be the availability of more CIQ fields per activity profile. The 520 is capped at 4 and it looks like the 820 is capped at 5. Can you provide the limit for the 1030?
With some of the great CIQ fields and apps being released this may end up being the limiter for older models!
Thanks for your review. I’m still wondering if it’s possible to import GPX-files, created by another program (non Garmin)?
Currently I have the Edge 25, import from non Garmin programs isn’t possible.
I can’t tell for 1030, but for Edge 800 and 1000 and I believe also for most other Garmin devices (except Edge 20 and 25), you can load any (non-corrupt) GPX file on the device.
For those devices I have owned, the simplest way is to drop the file into the “\Garmin\NewFiles\” folder.
For Edge 25 you need to convert the GPX file to a FIT file first. Check the guide at link to scarletfire.co.uk
At least for the Edge 1000 there’s an CIQ app (gimporter) which allows to import GPX/FIT files from Android devices via the bluetooth connection (needs the corresponding Android gexporter app).
A little disappointed they didn’t use the charging cable from the 935/Fenix5 line. I was hoping they would make that a standard on all their units. Also interesting that they didn’t leverage the expansion battery pack connectors for charging / computer connecting so they wouldn’t have to have an additional usb port.
I am most interested for battery pack as it’s great for super long / 24 hour rides especially where I need mapping. I have used external USB packs and they can be a pain to mount cleanly and reliably and connections in wet conditions can cause issues.
You indicate that they battery pack comes with the base unit (not bundle) but the “what’s in the box” does NOT show that it does. Can you confirm whether battery pack comes with it!
I don’t get it. Should I spend another $100 to get the 1030 when I already have the 1000 and can download the Strava segments and Training Peak apps etc. Not sure I see the advantage other than slightly crisper GUI and extended battery life.
Hi Ray. You mention a New Garmin Connect Mobile Course Creator as one of the highlights and you have screenshots of what appears to be this. However, I am not able to find this on my GCM (Android). Is this something that has not yet been released or is there any trick (like connecting a 1030) to get access to it?
I’m not quite sure on where things stand precisely for all the GCM features and updates. I know that some stuff was set to go live today, but I don’t know if that’s happened already.
I got the update today so I have had a chance to check it. It looks like an interesting addition, but the failure rate is extremely high. More than 90% of my attempts on creating a round course ended with a generic error message.
In any case, all I see in the current Android GCM is a round trip suggestion with no way to actually modify the course, just some waypoint annotation tools that seem incredibly out of place on a “take me somewhere, anywhere” loop generator. If this is turns out to be the final product Garmin is pitting against the popular Wahoo/Komoot tag-team it would be a disaster for Garmin.
The current plan for Garmin is to do full routing from the GCM app by the end of the year. This was their (finally) first step.
Keep in mind it continues to be a mistake to equate the navigational capabilities of the ELEMNT to the Edge 820/1000/1030. While Wahoo has a lot built-in, they do lack any ability to re-route mid-ride, or any ability to do round-trip routing mid-ride without a phone to create the routes. That might not matter for some, but it’s also really important for others. To each their own.
That’s good to know! I’m all for pushing out incomplete features to the public earlier than later, but in this case a little ” (beta)” or something in the UI could have avoided a lot of disappointment and confusion. Loop suggestion seems so pointless on a cycling unit because it’s incredibly rare to have a bike with you but no idea where to go. I can see the appeal for runners, taking a pair of running shoes along on a business trip (like the pre-Paris DCR did) is so much more common.
Is there a max distance to the “friend messaging” feature.
My main bike friend and I live 20-25km away from each other, and bike about 12-13k each to our meeting point. Would be awesome to be able to send messages from the get go (25k away).
Sometimes I have biked 300km and met a friend half way, in that case it would be cool to be able to see the friends progress the entire time too (so in that scenario 300-350km distance).
And if there is a distance max, can you somehow force it to still send messages to any friend despite distance?
From what I understand it lifts on the cell phone mobile internet to work. So as long as you have reception and internet connection enabled you should be fine.
Thanks for this detailed review
Do you know if the Edge 1030/Battery Pack mount could also be compatible with Virb action cams or a Varia light instead of the battery ? avoiding to switch to a combo mount every time you use the Virb/light
Thks
Might be too early to know for sure, but has anyone announced plans for a Blendr mount that supports the external battery as well? I have a 2016 Madone that uses the Blendr system exclusively. The current high Garmin mount will likely work for the computer itself, but it won’t support the battery.
The course creation appeared with the last app update on android, however I am finding it useless, at least from my location. I try to create a course, select distance and direction, select a starting point, and then I keep getting a message “A course is not available in this direction. Do you want to try a different direction” but I keep hitting Yes and the same message keeps popping.
Strange thing is on garmin connect on the web I am able to create a course on the same map area.
On the Edge 520 and 820, the cover for the USB is a bit soft making it difficult to get to cover the port. Have they improved that in the new 1030? I know it’s a small detail but it points to a failure in attention to detail by Garmin.
The responsiveness/refresh rate of the screen compared to the Karoo demo you gave is pretty showing. Any chance you could show some panning and zooming on the map? Also can I put connect IQ fields (Xert) on the map/elevation/other pages?
The power connectors on the back are reason enough for me to get this, despite the slowness compared to the Karoo.
I put some panning and zooming action into this video I just posted with the water on screen test: link to youtu.be
I agree it’s certainly not as fast as a phone-based one, but I think folks have to keep in mind that the Karoo is quite a bit less featured than the Edge 1030. So there are tradeoffs to be made.
The missing features are why I’m not grabbing the Karoo at launch. Maybe someday. For now Xert and being able to charge it via the mount on multi-day adventures wins.
No, not at all. At least not compared to the Edge 1030. No chance.
But…
It’ll be an interesting product at a lower price point for navigation to consider. I don’t see it competing with the Garmin Edge 820 either. But I do see it competing with the ELEMNT/BOLT and to a lesser extent the Edge 520 for those that care less about structured stuff and more about navigation. I don’t see any scenario before 2019 where the Hammerhead could compete with the Garmin Edge 820/1000/1030.
Edge over hammerhead
* Shipping now
* ConnectIQ (Xert/BestBikeSplit are game changers)
* GroupTrack
* Mature ecosystem (all the people that have existing garmin devices that support grouptrack will work with it)
* 20 hour + 24 hour = 44 hour claimed battery life vs 12. Expect both these numbers to be lower in practice, but the 44 hour number is great for the ultra croud
* Varia Radar support – best bike purchase in the last 10 years
* Varia Vision Support – if they update this to work with connect IQ then this is my next purchase
* Garmin Virb remote support/etc built in — not a huge plus to me.
* Their routing engine has probably more rides than any other source to use. TBD how well they execute. Interested in the new GCM app as being able to plan routes on my phone or tablet is a better experience than any routing on a small screen
* Garmin now has creditable competition from Wahoo/Hammerhead, so I expect them to pick up the pace of innovation a bit (same thing happened in the Avionics space a few years ago).
* Charges through mount — again for the ultra/rando crowd that will be a win.
Karoo over Edge
* Price
* Screen clarity/responsiveness
* builtin cellular means no phone necessary for most functions
* new product not worried about backward compatibility allows them to take new approaches
* eventually they may support most of the lacking features, but first we need to see production hardware and production software. I’ve only seen limited previews on pre-production hardware.
I have a Bontrager Flare RT ANT+ enabled tail light, and there is a ConnectIQ app for it. It turns on when I turn on my Edge 1000. No more forgetting! It also automatically adjusts to day and night conditions.
The Edge series also has DI2 integration, which is vital for me. When I’m using Synchro Shift, it warns me with a beep when the next shift is going to shift the big ring. It also beeps when you reach the end of the rear cassette (which usually results in a big “screw you” from me when I’m on a particularly steep hill.)
The number of connected features that Garmin has is pretty much unmatched right now.
I ordered my Edge 1030 (my first Garmin computer) and am excited to try it out. Though I am excited about the charger, I will wait until someone decides to beef it up a bit, meaning a built in light. If they can build a light (UT-800) that can manage battery status from the Edge, then they can build a combo & get rid of the status indicator lights on the side too.
So after pouring through the videos and manuals the only omission that I was hoping for was the Active Weather from the Oregon/GPSMap series: link to buy.garmin.com
Infinitely more useful than the weather on the Edges I’ve used. I get a better idea of when it will rain on my route, , how hard it will rain on my route, and how long it will rain on my route. This drives decisions on pressing on vs seeking some shelter and eating lunch for an hour.
I am interested in the improved touch screen functionality (and have watched the video).
I have an Edge 1000 and have had a few rides in the wet (I live in London) – generally the touch screen works OK but on longer rides I have had a situation several times where the screen seems to lock itself. I get a note saying screen locked when I try to do anything but there is no obvious way of unlocking it.
I am not sure if this is normal lock behaviour (I have no idea how to lock it or unlock it) or if it is a bug – all I know is that I have to do the rest of my 60 mile or so ride with the screen locked to whatever it happened to be on as I don’t want to split the ride into 2 on strava.
Is this a known issue? Has it ever happened to you?
If the 1030 fixes this great, if it just improving responsiveness then that’s less impressive as to be honest when the 1000 works it’s fine.
I solved this by using the Garmin remote, when it locks up change the screen using the remote and it returns to normal. Not a cheap solution but gets the navigation back on a long ride.
I haven’t had this issue but the way to unlock the screen if you deliberately lock it on an 820 is hold the on/off button for a few seconds and a screen button will show up to lock/unlock the screen, push it to lock or unlock. Very helpful in a good rain or when standing over the bars sweating all over the front of the bike climbing – keeps the screen from switching when drops hit it.
So looks like the 1000 and 1030 are basically the same for connectiq use outside of a slight resolution bump. Anyone know of any cpu improvement? This kind of implies that as new versions of the SDK come out with new functionality the 1000 can do everything the 1030 can do. (Thinking back to when 2.x came out and older devices didn’t have the ram/cpu to handle it)
I’ve been holding out for this one for over a year and It looks like it will support my Specialized Turbo S e-bike functions? Also, I don’t like wearing a heart rate strap (I am aware its still the most accurate way to train) but can you clarify if the Apple watch 2 HR can link with the edge 1030? Apple doesnt support Ant+ so I assume it can’t? so I would need a Fenix 5 HR or similar? Is that correct? Or maybe the next Apple watch 3 will have ANT+??
I have a 1000 and ordered the 1030 which arrived yesterday. Sadly I am out of town. Why? The screen on my 1000 is slowly failing and in a hard rain it stops working. I used it a lot in three years. I will have the screen replaced and then sell it on eBay. Cheers.
Hi, I have an Edge 1030, and find that it won’t stay connected to my Samsung S7 phone. My Edge 1000 stays connected to this phone. My iPhone will stay connected to the 1030. I can ‘forget’ the S7 on the 1030, go through the pairing process again, and it will find the S7 and go through the setup procedure, sync, then disconnect and won’t re-connect. Anyone see this behavior?
It’s the same text/call notifications only (at least on iOS).
For totally re-setting connections on the Edge 1030, be sure to complete the following:
A) Remove pairing on Edge 1030
B) Remove BLE pairing on settings on phone
C) Remove BT pairing on settings on phone
D) Delete Edge 1030 from Garmin Connect Mobile
E) Airplane mode on
F) Kill/close GCM app
Did not find steps B&C on Android phone (latest OS version per Pixel) but am trying the rest of these steps to see if that improves pairing the phone.
Otherwise my almost-daily-routine is to: 1) start the 1030, 2) wait for paring on phone (with or without GCM running in background), 3) nothing happens 90% of the time, 4) “Forget phone” on 1030, and 5) pair again via 1030 and GCM steps which typically includes a Retry attempt after first attempt fails.
What’s so different about pairing a phone versus connecting to a BT/BLE sensor?
The 1030 finds my Polar Cadence/Speed sensor ever time without fail.
Paring the phone? Not so much.
Wish there was a simpler way to re-establish pairing when it fails.
Hopefully the reset steps will help.
When pairing a sensor, it’s all Bluetooth Smart. Versus a phone Garmin takes a dual-approach of one layer at legacy Bluetooth, and another at Bluetooth Smart. Frankly, it’s a mess and continues to frustrate me.
Their reasoning is that Bluetooth Smart is slower/lower bandwidth than legacy Bluetooth, and the concern is that at the end of a ride someone could turn off their device before it finishes transferring (something that does indeed happen on my Wahoo units sometimes). So for that they use legacy Bluetooth to high-speed transfer the data over.
Personally, in this day/age of WiFi on most of these devices anyway uploading, I’d rather have to remember to leave the unit on another few seconds or a minute, than dealing with the pairing hell.
I haven’t tried Varia Vision with it, but I saw zero freeze-ups or restarts every with it. Same goes with sensors. It’s actually an area I’m overly focused on since I’m using the data for power meter testing, and so every ride that I had the 1030 recording data from a HR or power sensor, I also had it recording data to an Edge 520 and often a wearable (usually 935). No drops.
I would say given all the oddities you’re having you may want to consider a hard reset, and failing that – a ring to Garmin to swap out.
Circling back on landscape mode, no, it’s gone. Chatted with the Garmin folks about this over the weekend. Here’s their reasoning:
“The main reason was that it removed a variable from the design of the new mount interface since we needed a locking mechanism for the battery pack.
We also just don’t see that many people using landscape mode on the Edge 1000 and removing it also saves a lot of development time, especially as we continue to develop features that go across the product lines.”
Note that on the battery pack mount portion, he’s referring to the fact that it can’t be rotated 90* due to the way the locking mechanism works.
While a bummer, I had always wondered about just how large that dev effort was. After all, it means every time a new feature/function works it has to be fit into the landscape/horizontal mode and tested as such. :-/
Woah, that’s crazy. I’m currently at 3.70 on my Edge 1030. I assume that’s the latest since I haven’t been notified of anything from either the product group or the update thingy.
But yeah, 2.2 is like…ages ago? Pre-August at least. That said, the Garmin Support person should be able to simply give you the .GCD file. So I’d call back. That’s the firmware update file and it just placed in the ‘Garmin’ folder on the Edge 1030 via USB. Then unplug and it’ll update.
Weird. Not sure what to say. I’ll check with the product team peoples and see what’s up. This firmware is from probably two weeks ago – so hardly new per se. Also somewhat odd that they initially said you were on an older firmware but now are backtracking.
Only thing I can think of is if 2.2 and 3.7 are somehow the same and just a change in numbering (sometimes happens as they near release). But either way, I’ll circle back once I figure out.
Will let you know once I find out the difference (if any) between those two.
(And yes, I just double-checked the firmware version online in my activity from yesterday just in case I transposed .2 for .7…but no, still 3.70): link to connect.garmin.com
Ok, got some clarification on the whole 3.70 thing. In a nutshell, it’s actually a Garmin Connect quirk. See, my actual firmware on the unit was 3.07.00. But GC will truncate leading zeros when it shows firmware versions, so 3.07.00 = 3.70
Meanwhile, the 3.20 that everyone got today is fresher than my 3.07, so I’ll be upgrading along with the rest of you.
For the elevation data, you should check what the FIT file says. It seems to be a common thing nowadays that a Garmin device will display one altitude and record another. My 1000 does it, although the difference isn’t big enough to be a problem (on the order of 10 ft; I only notice because I know the exact altitude of many points in the area). My Epix does it, and there the difference is consistently 100 ft. They seem to put raw elevation numbers through an algorithm, although why they don’t just display/record the same number is beyond me.
Grade is always problematic. So far as I know there’s no way for the Edge to measure it, so it winds up doing elevation gained/distance traveled, and both of those (distance especially if GPS based) can have errors. After the ride calculations will always be more accurate (the Edge can’t look into the future, so it will always lag). A speed sensor might help, but I have one and I never trust the grades displayed on any of the successive Edges, currently a 1000, I’ve used. They’re usually not ridiculous, but they’re not reliable.
I generally don’t think so – unless there are very specific items you’re looking for with respect to some of the new features outlined in the first section.
Thank you all for your contributions.
It seems I will continue to use my reliable 1000, which has been very dependable for the last 12 months (specially compared to my failing 810). As I do not plan for a 40 hour bike trip any time soon. The 1000 will do fine.
The only thing I will probably do is the out front mount, which seems better then the one that comes standard with the 1000 (too short).
I like the garmin ones because they level the computer with the handlebar.
Does anyone know of any other 3rd party mount that would do the same?
Riding with 3.7 today, the 1030 did not freeze and the sensors stayed paired; thats progress
However the “grade” field was sometimes inaccurate, and it only showed whole numbers, no fractions
The varia vision froze repeatedly just like before the update
Also during the short periods when it did work, the “grade” field showed a whole number with fractions although the 1030 was showing the whole number only
Funny, I stumbled into the grade issues two days ago as well. It’s almost entirely linked to higher grades (above 7-8%), and when sustained longer. Basically shows half the value.
I circled back to Garmin and they’re tracking to track it down. They lack any sustained 8% grades in the greater Olathe area. I captured some video on it among other things.
I didn’t see it earlier since all my rides while having short steep sections above 8%, those sections didn’t last for long periods like my Tuesday ride (hours).
Will be adding grade thing to review sometime tomorrow. Hopefully they’ll fix it soon, given I have a slew of emails on it with them – I think they’ve got a path forward.
ELEMNT took roughly a year to stabilize. Typically for Garmin the first month or so has numerous quirks, but usually they either get fixed quickly…or never. The trick is when quirks are transient and may be new in a later firmware.
Ray, I didn’t see any mention of one of the most important adds to the 1030 that I’d been waiting for. In 2014, they came out with the Edge Explorer with the Incident Detection whereby the rider could have his device paired with his smartphone to send out a text to friend, relative,etc. in the event the rider came off the bike. It sent out the GPS coordinates and a message that the rider could set up in advance. The new 1030 also now incorporates this feature, given the 1030 now has an accelerometer incorporated; the 1000 did not have an accelerometer negating any kind of software update to the 1000 to incorporate Incident Detection. I will be ordering a new 1030 to replace my 1000 just for this feature. I bike tour all over the world, solo unsupported and highly desire this feature.
Hi Ray,
I have just purchased a 1030, I’ve been out for 3 rides with it, seems great apart from the “grade%”
It doesn’t seem to go above 6%, even when climbing a hill I know is 18%!
I didn’t have this problem with my 1000, any ideas please?
Indeed, that’s the grade issue I’m referring to last week that I stumbled into. You can also see it in my ‘Swiss Alps’ video I posted to YouTube last week. Same problem as you – I was climbing up 12%+ grades and showing half of it.
The good news is I just got a beta firmware update to address it. The bad news? I’m in the Amsterdam today/tomorrow, where the highest piece of land is a speed bump. But Monday I’ll be in the US with some valid climbs to test out.
Received my 1030 and had to send it back for replacement. Appears to have had a faulty backlight or screen. Colors were muted and screen was barely readable in the dark. It was perfectly legible in daylight, so probably just a backlight issue, but again, colors seemed muted. I own a Garmin 800 and 1000 which don’t exhibit the same issue and looked much better side by side to the 1030. Hopefully the replacement will be better, but now of course, the 1030 is sold out so I have to wait.
Also, I was disappointed to see that the 1030 did not support horizontal mode. Hopefully this will be addressed soon as I find the wide view preferable when using the map. Had some issues with pairing as well using the Garmin iPhone app. I was hoping the 1030 would do a better job staying connected to my phone for messaging, etc., but it uses the same two-fold bluetooth setup as the 1000. Phone and Garmin need to connect using both standard Bluetooth and Bluetooth BLE. That’s always seemed to be troublesome.
Bit of a disappointement all around, but at least the larger screen real estate for mapping was great compared to the 1000 and that’s my prime reason for upgrading along with better battery life and faster general operation.
Will do, Bill, but it may be a while. Clever Training just emailed saying they’re on-track to receive more 1030s before the middle of September so sounds like it’s going to be weeks before I actually receive one. Disappointing as I was one of the first to order a 1030. Not only was I sent a defective unit, but now I’ve got to wait longer.
Can you post a photo of your 1030 in the dark with backlight at max? If they’re all going to be dim like the first one I was sent, then the screen is huge downgrade compared to the 800 and 1000 brightness-wise. Night-time riding with the map will be almost impossible for me and my 50-year-old eyes.
I was really hoping the 1030 was going to have a similar iPhone nice and bright retina style display. I’m so disappointed to hear it’s dim. Garmin screens are just terrible when it comes to brightness. They sacrifice screen brightness for battery life. I returned my Fenix watch due to a how dark and and unreadable the screen was. And it appears Garmin Photoshops the screens for all their print and video advertising to enhance there appearance. Please post an update when you get your
replacement.
Looking back at his night photo (I missed that earlier) – I’d say that’s accurate. I don’t notice any meaningful difference during the day, but during the evening the Edge 1030 screen is slightly dimmer. Certainly very readable for me (more than enough light), but I
Of course, it’s all about camera technique in getting a night photo of a screen. Also of note is that on the photo above, it doesn’t appears as though you’re in night mode, which specifically makes things more readable in the dark. Just my two cents…
Hi Guys whats going on with the Edge 1030?? I received mine yesterday night and was devastated when I switched it on. You can barely see the screen at night when Auto-brightness is on. My Edge 1000 screen looks amazing at exactly same settings when compared side to side. The screen under low light conditions is horrible, very fainted. The auto-brighness feature for sure has some bug also as is setting brightness to very low values under low light conditions. Even if you manually/statically set the brightness to 100% is so bad. Side to side comparison of Edge 1000 vs 1030 screen is night and under low light conditions. Also in the 1030 screen there is literally NO BLACK colour everything is fainted white. Like there is no contrast at all.During the day all is good no problems at all, I could say 1030 looks better during the day vs the 1000. This is crazy!
So the question is simple is my Edge 1030 screen broken? Do I send it back for replacement or all 1030 are like that and I am I just being picky? What’s the value for asking for a replacement when the unit that will arrive might have same issue? Unless someone tests this before is shipped is a bit pointless to hope for a better replacement screen
@ Ray amazing review man as always, but I am surprised that you did not notice any screen quality issues during evening/night use. Unless my 1030 is broken. I am more amazed how this screen passed quality control if so many of us have issues
I attach a photo of 1000 vs 1030 (with same display settings) for refernece…have more that are similar or even worse
other point is that we need to wait for some time now for the existing nice IQ apps (like Xert My FTP and My Edge) to be updated (I hope) to support the 1030, really hope the developers do their magic as the apps that support 1030 now are quite few
Yup, still waiting for my replacement (see above), but based on what I’m seeing and reading, the dull screens on the 1030s might be the new-normal. They’re just abysmal in the dark.
Yeah, I’ll be honest – I guess I just don’t see the issue. Meaning sure the blacks aren’t as black as the previous screen, but it’s also actually more luminary (?) than the previous screen as your photo shows. I suppose like the old Plasma vs LCD TV type debates.
Looking at the picture I just took in a dark room (traveling, so only have 1030 with me), I’m not sure how it’s abysmal. It’s clearly readable from at least a few feet away (heck, all the way across the room). The numbers are crisp.
I will say that the auto-backlight function in a pitch black room seems to be a bit low, but most of us don’t ride in a pitch black bedroom either. When I’ve ridden at night with it, I was more than fine with it. I do suspect there’s an element here of different screens to save battery life – hence how they’re getting 20 hours of battery now.
Abysmal, not abysmal? I guess it depends on what’s important to the viewer. Sure, the 1030’s screen at night is legible, though I’d argue still not as legible as the 1000’s screen. So, OK, not abysmal on that front.
Is the 1030s screen purposely designed to have a washed out appearance at night to preserve battery life? If so, yeah, that might be a legitimate tradeoff.
By the measure contrast, and black levels (attributes that are indeed common factors in determining a screen’s quality), is the 1030’s screen comparable to the 1000’s or even the most basic smartphone? Objectively, no, it is not. And on that front, (to me and some others) it’s not an overstatement to qualify the 1030’s screen as abysmal.
But it is subjective as to how much this lack of contrast is an overall issue when judging the 1030. There have been a few comments here voicing disappointment with the screen contrast. So, to some the issue is apparently important. I’m not certain it’s a great idea to overlook that in a review used to help make a buying decision once that’s become known.
I agree with CPall, for a £500 unit and a model that is meant to be a successor of 1000 after 3years of R&D the quality of the screen at low light conditions (irrespective of how much someone will use it or no) is unacceptable and the concern should be voiced to Garmin (if they care or not is another story). If the screen quality was same as Edge 1000 I would be thrilled, if it was a bit worse then 1000 I would be ok, but the difference between the two at night is a comparison between iPhone 3Gs vs iPhone 4 (whoever has used both will understand)
Hi Ray – any word what else the Beta will address? There are a lot of us seeing phone connection dropouts (v3.2) expressed in the Garmin forums. I was hoping to see if this might be in the works.
Yeah man. Glad it’s not just me. I am coming from an 810 unit and was searching for the contrast setting for 15min. I’m not sure why they decided to eliminate it but I think it could be added again with a software update if enough folks voice their concern to Garmin.
The Garmin ones are fine, but I prefer the Wahoo ones because they’re dual ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart. Whereas the Garmin ones are only ANT+. This matters down the road if/when you want to connect those sensors to 3rd party apps (like iOS apps such as Zwift) that may be Bluetooth only.
I am curious if you have any insight on why Garmin decided to keep the 1000 form factor (actually made the 1030 ever so slightly bigger than the 1000). Was the 81x form factor so undesirable that Garmin said no more?
Seems like there is a hole in the lineup right now. Personally I can’t actually benefit from a bigger screen, I have to ride with bifocal sunglasses (readers) and bigger screen, while providing bigger numbers to look at are still blurry and I still need readers to see them clearly.
Garmin was simply updating the Edge 1000 form factor with the Edge 1030. Last year they updated the 8xx form factor with the Edge 820. They skipped 1010/1020 merely so folks didn’t think it was ‘lesser’ than the 820.
Hi thanks for review , just wondered , if the adaptor for the battery pack is fitted to the out front mount but i decide not to use the battery – can you still mount the edge unit without having to remove the adaptor ?
Does the 1030 have both European and North American maps preloaded like the Elemnt supposedly does? With the 1000 you get either NA or Europe depending on where you buy. I know I could load OSM maps, but the Garmin cycling maps have better/more POI’s. Especially when in Europe, routing and finding places is most important.
For driving purposes I have two different car Garmins, one with lifetime updated NA maps, and one with lifetime updated Euro maps. When I go to Europe, I take the Euro version, along with the live traffic receiver version of the power plug.
Unlikely, but you can always buy the other map from Garmin for not as much as their other maps ($50, I think). The OSM maps I’ve used come with plenty of POI’s, but I’ve never actually systematically checked to see if there are things missing. I navigated around London once with OSM maps on an Edge 705 and had no difficulties.
Funny you should compare to the ELEMNT, because from what I’ve read they have absolutely no POI’s or even street names on their maps. On the other hand, I believe their maps are worldwide, so you’d be covered for all those places you’re not likely to actually go.
TRIATHLON setup question: I have spartan ultra, but I would like to use some Edge computer on the bike to see power (from P1) and HR. So Edge 1030 has BLE, but If I pair suunto HR to record HR while swimming (and runining) it will not connect to 1030, so 1030 could display HR. Am I right? What setup do you use or recommend?
What I would like is tri watch to record whole race including HR and Power, but also cycling comp displaying power and HR during bike leg.
Hi, good review.
It seems it can connect with SRAM Etap.
However, does this mean that now you have an opportunity to do true good interval programms based on Watts? Means ETAP can shift automatically depending on what power and cadans you are putting in the Garmin? Means it is anticipating on your SRM and Cadans sensor.
That would be sooooo awsome!
Can you charge that external battery same time when you are riding (and using that external battery to charge your Edge) via hub dynamos for example? Or must you uninstall the battery from the Edge and then charge it?
And it is not waterproof when you are charging that so plug is open and charge cable installed?
Greetings from Finland! Waterproof is #1 in Finnish shitty weathers…
Any idea if the pieces in the bundle are updated as well? No need for me to buy another bundle if I already have the 1000 bundle, correct? Just want the most updated items. Thanks
My Edge 1000 lasts typically 7hrs of continuous use (with backlight mostly off, gps+glonass on, bluetooth to phone, route active), so on long rides I have been using a simple 3000mAh lipstick usb charger, strapped to the handlebar with two velcro strips. Garmin claims twice as long, can we expect the same derating from their now claimed 20hrs?
The $64k question really is – does it still locks up in the middle of a ride? Mine still does, specially when on the mapping page, with custom kmz overlays. I’d upgrade today for a reliable unit. Everything else doesn’t seem worth going from a 1000 to a 1030.
They could be innovative, bring the sensors from their cameras into an Edge (100Hz acceleration, compass, etc etc.) Would be nice to see G’s during a mtn bike ride.
I haven’t seen any lock-ups on the Edge 1030, or Edge 1000 for that matter.
Generally speaking, almost all crashes on Garmin Edge units are from corruption of the disc (either SD card or onboard storage). If you’re seeing crashes, then honestly I’d look at doing a hard reset and re-formatting the micro-SD card you’re using.
Good point Ray. Being active on a few forums I’ve noticed the majority of issues are related to the file system of the device being corrupt for different reasons… just plain corruption or virus related or caused by 3rd party applications (like enterprise software encrypting all devices connected to a PC). I was hoping for Garmin to move to a different approach and not share anymore the internal storage as a file system device.
Yeah, it’s tricky. If they don’t share the file system then it’s worse for the consumer overall because it forces you to use a 3rd party app down to access it.
It could be done with Garmin Express or Basecamp. In the end the filesystem is used mainly to copy tracks or maps. Just having an handy way of sending tracks wirelessly would drastically minimise the need of connecting it to a PC.
It looks like Garmin have also updated the course creator on the main website (could be beta as I did sign up to beta test the app interface and I’m not sure if that also opts me in to beta of the website).
The good…
They’ve now made it full screen.
The interface is a bit more polished.
Routing can be done by popularity.
You can add course points.
They’ve added course import.
The bad…
You can’t set the type of the course point to left / right as you can in gpsies etc.
If you import a course it discards the course points.
Bugs (when using a course on my Edge 520)…
The notifications for course points that I created were ‘late’ the first notification appeared approx. 30m after the point on the map; subsequent notifications were further and further after the correct point until the final one was showing 280m to course point at the point I was at the junction. I went back and checked after the ride and even zoomed in the course points were definitely in the correct places in course creator.
It also adds ‘direction’ course points approx 20-30m after the course points I added; these correctly show the symbol. However, they are worse than useless because they don’t show until after you’ve made the turn (because my own course point notification – which I can’t add a direction arrow to – is showing until the turn – or at least it would be if it wasn’t showing 10s or 100s of meters late!)
It does seem bizarre how these bugs can possibly have made it into a live product from an organisation like Garmin – I can only assume either I’m in beta mode without knowing it, I’m doing something wrong or no-one has tested the functionality on an Edge 520 before releasing it to customers – since these issues are obvious on the first ride you do…
Also I’m pretty sure this isn’t an Edge 520 issue since my courses created on http://www.gpsies.com exported as TCX with waypoints and then imported by copying to NewFiles when the Edge 520 is mounted as USB storage still work fine!
Has anyone had any experience with the Custom Workouts screen?
Is this customisable now, or still fixed only showing the ‘Duration’ of the set and the ‘Target’?
Reason I ask is because its useful to be able to add another 1-2 data fields to this page as when following workouts sometimes you have to keep an eye on more than one metric. For example when have a 10min set at 250W you have to follow a specific cadence, and in the current ‘Custom Workout’ page there is no way to add another data field.
I know it is possible to add another page, etc etc, but this is an easy solution to avoid having 10 pages……
Hi, I continue to have a problem where I pair my Samsung S7 to the Edge 1030, and then after it pairs and syncs for the first time, it disconnects, and won’t reconnect. This doesn’t happen with an iPhone, and didn’t happen with that same phone and my edge 1000. Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks
Mark
I was having the same problem with my new 1030 and my S8+. In settings, under smartlock settings you can set your garmin under trusted devices. I did this and it seems to stay paired. I think my s8+ was disconnecting when my phone went to lock screen so this fixes that.
Do you find moving the map (zoom in and out, scrolling, etc.) is much faster on 1030 vs 1000? I find 1000 is quite slow and makes it hard to improvise navigation during a ride… (vs googlemap/iphone). Merci!
Claude
just got my edge 1030 setup and ready to go
bought it through clevertraining USA and shipped to denmark
everything is fine except the speed datafields wont change to KM/H ??
everything else has changed to metrics also the elevations
After ~9 hours following a course almost always on the map screen its down to 43%. (Was a slow social ride and long rest stops but never turned the unit off) So battery seems really good)
Hi, My Garmin 1000 has been faithful friend for last 3 years but is now having issues meaning I am looking for replacement. If money were no object would you recomend The Garmin 1030 over 1000 I want the navigation smarts as well as all usual training elements. Thanks for support.
I gather from Ray’s review that the 1030 can do everything the 1000 can do except landscape mode, while it has a bunch of new (minor) abilities that the 1000 lacks and a different UI. So it boils down to how much aggravation you’re willing to endure. Since the 1000 is still on sale, you could just buy a new one, since you’re familiar with it, but it probably won’t be long before Garmin stops updating the 1000. The 1030 from what I gather like (almost) all new Garmin devices has some software problems, like the gradient problem, My rule of thumb is to never buy a new Garmin device within 6 months of its release just to avoid the initial software bugs, but I’ve broken that rule several times, mostly in category changers like the Edge 705, the (original) Fenix, the Epix, the VIRB Elite, and just recently the VIRB 360. I’ve had absolutely no trouble with the 360 (but it’s definitely not a daily use device), while I did to some extent with the other 4 (and to a great degree with the 705).
I’ve had my 1000 for less than a year. If it started giving me trouble today, I’d probably go with the 1030 now, and definitely within the next few months the 1030 would be the replacement I’d get if my 1000 broke.
Maps: does it come with Europe or US or WW maps. I messed with my garmin 1000 maps trying to load North america maps (and thus despite the very good tutorial or Ray)
Thanks
Hi Ray, Ok so ive got my new 1030, I want to buy and connect the UT800 smart light,. it seems the flush out front mount wont allow, can you confirm this? looks like you have to use the out front mount that comes with the UT800.. a bummer…
Thank you for at least mentioning USB-C in the unboxing video. In my opinion, this deserves stronger criticism, and I’m no longer willing to spend money on devices without it.
99% of products are not brand spanking new, flagship products from the industry leading company and were designed before USB-C was a viable option.
My phone (2 years old), tablet (2 years old), and laptop (1 year old) all use USB-C exclusively, and I already have about seven chargers that work interchangeably. If the 1030 had USB-C, I could use my phone as a backup battery because any USB-C device can charge another. For me, waiting to upgrade (and not giving Garmin my money) makes sense.
Also, Apple deserves more criticism than Garmin. Many people thought the newly announced iPhones would ditch the lightning port, which would be a huge signal for other products and accessories to make the switch.
Right. The new iphone 8 doesn’t ship with a usb 3 cord. it comes with a lighting cable to usb 2.0
I wouldn’t be exactly say the usb 3 solution on the macbook is a good one. it only came with 2 ports and one is good for charging and the other is not. add to that to use multiple usb devices it needed a pricey adapter.
Can anyone else comment if this type of color contrast is normal between 1000 / 1030? It’s not so much the brightness I’m looking at, but rather the colors. If this is normal, I’m confident it will be okay outside but I can’t get out to test as we’re stuck with a long overcast.
*UPDATE*
Please disregard the comment above.
I was able to do this same test outside once the sun came back out.
The colors on the 1030 actually stand out really well when viewed outside; it actually does look slightly better than the 1000.
Sorry, I know you’ve been asking. I was always in the wrong spot when your post came in.
But no, it is not customizable by itself. However, keep in mind you can add a custom data page, and then use the “Workout” fields, of which you can select from the following (plus regular data fields):
Calories to go
Distance to go
HR to go
Reps to Go
Time to Go
Workout Step
I ended up sending mine back as the 30 day window was approaching. The screen looked fine in sunlight. However, I make my own custom maps for mountain biking. They have a green shaded relieve background with countour lines, and red lines for the trails. Once I got in the woods and out of the sun, the lack of color contrast was a bit too much for me personally. It’s not ‘as’ bad with the stock maps, but the colors don’t stand out enough for me to choose this over the 1000. Just something to think about.
On the plus side, I will say that the larger screen was fantastic given that it’s a similar form factor.
So some initial impressions after a long ride with the edge 1030
+ Love the Bigger Screen. It’s Huge. I came from the 820 and I still wish Garmin made a true 810 successor. The 510/820 screen is just small. the 810 screen is great. the 1000/1030 is huge. I want great ;)]
+Faster Navigation – doesn’t stall like the 820
+Touch screen works MUCH better than the 820. 820 has touch issues confirmed by many people
+Strava Segments – love the new layout. much easier to see how far ahead and nice to see a PR/KOM and the next person.
+love how nice and loud it works with the radar. just so visible.
-screen is washed out. dull colors.
-white casing is ugly and gets dirty quickly
-resolution of screen is sh1t . it’s a $600 device!
-Overall size of device is ridiculous for 2017. I think the edge 1000 has a much slimmer profile.
-battery life. Rode 4 hours today and it’s already at less than 1/2
Final thoughts. WTF Garmin – 3 years and you give us this ?! This isn’t an innovative device by any means guys. save your $ but i’m keeping it as it’s my only garmin edge device now.
Something I missed going from Edge 705 to 1000 is being able to associate sensor sets with activity profiles, making it easier to go from bike to bike (especially since my wife and I share bikes). Any sign of that on the Edge 1030? Must be a technical challenge, or not enough people seeing value in that?
The 1030 like the 1000 (and pretty much every current Garmin device) uses a “sensor pool” model. It’ll pair with any active sensor of a given type, so when you go from bike to bike it automatically connects with the available sensors and you don’t have to worry about switching bike profiles. For me, at least, that’s much better than the old days with my 705 and 800. No need to remember to switch profiles. The only advantage of profiles is per bike statistics, but I have other ways of doing that.
Hi, a couple of notes after using it a couple hundred miles. The battery life seems close to as advertised. I did a 3 hour ride today, connected to a smartphone, and it took about 17% of the battery. Probably not linear, but still much better than the two 1000s I have. Although total elevation gain appears to be right (compared to two other riders today who were using an edge 1000 and an edge 820), the real-time grade display is way off. It showed 2 or 3 percent grades when actual was 7-8%, and the other day 6 percent when the actual was 14-15%. Finally, I reported earlier that I couldn’t get the 1030 to stay connected to my Samsung S7. Miraculously, it started working and connects easily and stays connected perfectly. I do not know what happened, it wasn’t the recent firmware update as far as I can tell. Gremlins?
I like the larger display (it is a bit less vibrant in dark conditions, but not awful), and battery life, and incident notice, and way it handles text’s with ability to reply. All in all once the grade display is fixed a pretty nice unit, and a good replacement for me for the 1000.
Went today for my first ride, and I had almost identical remarks with Mark M:
+ From a 3h 30min ride with 4 ANT+ sensors/devices connected (Garmin HR, Speed/Cadence, SRAM eTAP, Quarq Power Meter) and an iPhone BT connected (for Live Track & Strava Beacon) the Garmin Edge 1030 battery went down only 22%, this was with 20min navigation and auto-brighteness set to auto. My Edge 1000 in a similar ride would have lost easily 40-50% of the battery. So a big + to 1030 on the battery
+ No Garmin crashes or a sensor or phone dropout which is also good and gives confidence
+ Screen during day use is perfect no issues, as per my previous post the issue is only at low-light conditions
+ Strava segments are awesome on Edge 1030
– Grade is wrong total Ascend/Descend seems ok, weird. I am sure this is fixable
– I believe the reported temperature is a bit (few celcius) higher than normal, but nothing major
– The buttons to Start/Stop and Lap are placed in an annoying position if you use integrated handlebars and mounts, there is no much space to put your finger and press it. Would prefer them as they were on 1000 or at least on the side. Getting a longer integrated mount could fix it but would make it really ugly as it sticks too much out
One feature I would love to see on any Garmin (as is SW related only) is the ability to configure how many seconds you stay in each screen when set to auto scroll…every time I keep changing between slow and off
All in all, I am selling my Edge 1000 and keeping the 1030
If it underestimates the slope/grade, it sounds _almost_ as if 1030 shows slope/gradient using a unit of degrees instead of % grade… Then a slope of 7% could be showed as 4˚ and a slope of 14% as 8˚ – not very far from what you describe.
Does it actually show the unit (%) or do you just assume that it is percent?
There’s some discussion up above on it in comments, but in short, above a certain percent (roughly 6-7%), for sustained climbs, it’ll halve the grade value (oddly short climbs are fine). I stumbled into it last week in the Alps.
The good news is that Garmin’s got a beta firmware update that they’re (and I’m) testing that should resolve it. So hopefully we’ll see that released shortly.
I received a 1030 yesterday and got it set up without incident. Today I did a 101 mile ride with the 1030. I also was running an Edge 820. I was more than pleased with the experience of riding with the large screen in comparison with the 820. However, when I finished the ride, the 1030 indicated that I had traveled 89 miles and climbed 6200 feet with an average speed of 13.5 mph. The 820 on the other hand, indicated that I had traveled 101 miles and climbed 4646 feet and averaged 15.3 mph. The Edge 820 elevation data agrees very closely with the Garmin Connect elevation correction value. Inspection of the data revealed that the speed sensor data showed numerous drop outs starting about 3 hours into the ride and continuing until the end. These drop outs were not present in the Edge 820 data. Thus, for whatever reason, the 1030 was not receiving or not processing the speed sensor data. Has anyone seen these issues? Any ideas on a solution, other than simply returning the unit (which I think, is the only thing I can do)?
Out of curiosity – what firmware version are you on?
Latest is 3.20 – and for some reason I vaguely remember there being some sort of ANT+ connectivity fix in that, but I can’t find it on the release notes (and my Outlook e-mail search is upset at the moment).
As an aside, my guess as to why you’re missing elevation and distance would simply be that auto-pause was probably kicking in upon zero speed value (would be interesting to note total activity duration differences). As even if speed was off, elevation should have still been same.
Using 3.2. Autopause was set for zero. However, zero speed never coincided with drop outs. Drop outs occurred with increasing or decreasing or constant speed. Activity time was the same for the 1030 and 820. That is why the average speed was so much lower on the 1030.
similar issue as I was carrying an Edge 520 in my jersey pocket in case the new 1030 failed. Various paired ant+ data didn’t match. Garmin Tech support recommended to use only a single head unit as multiple units may cause interference. Ray seems to have no issue though with numerous head units
I ran into a problem with my 1000 recently and I wonder if this might be part of the problem with the 1030. I activated a ConnectIQ thing (Strava Routes) and afterwards had trouble with ANT+. The 1000 would not connect with any of my sensors in the usual way by showing them connected, but after power cycling it all of the sensors would show connected. After disabling Strava Routes, everything is working normally again. On both rides where I had trouble with the 1000 I was also carrying my VIRB 360, which paired successfully with all sensors on one ride but failed to connect with a couple on the next. So if you’re running any ConnectIQ stuff, you might want to turn it off and see if it helps.
Again, very informative DC…, I have currently got the Edge 1000, but the start stop button cover has perished, and is out of Guarantee, a replacement would be £200.00.
So, reading your article makes me think do I upgrade to the 1030, in time yes ?
Thanks again for your article, I have always read these before buying a Garmin, as have had the 800, 810 and 1000.
I have just received my new Garmin Edge 1030. I haven’t taken it out for a test ride yet, but I am rather unimpressed for a fe reasons:
(1) The first thing, immediately evident, is the very low brightness and contrast of the display when backlit, especially in night mode. Either I use it very close to max brightness, or it’s very hard to read (again, especially in night mode). Even at max brightness, colours are really “washed out”: not a nice screen in my opinion
(2) Connection with iPhone SE drops off and back on rather frequently. Sometimes it’s hard to connect.
(3) Touchscreen is unresponsive at times, it needs a bit of encouragement. One time the whole unit froze.
All this just spending a couple of hours in the evening and a bit in the early morning at the desk.
The Edge 1030 is meant to substitute an Edge 800 I have had for many years and is still working reasonably well. Last year I bought an Edge 820 but returned it for two reasons: (1) Temperature readings were way too high, something like 10C above room temperature, (2) Issues with altitude. No matter which altitude I set (the correct one being 14m), the Edge 820 in due time would drift to some fantasy -30 even with GPS switched off. The Edge 1030 doesn’t have this problems. I guess some will be corrected with firmware updates, but the low brightness might be an issue. Did I make a mistake againin buying upon release? Should I return it and wait 5 months? I’m not sure yet because overall I really like it. I’ll se what happens after a test ride.
I upload a comparison between Edge 800 and Edge 1030 at maximum brightness. I fully understand that they have two completely different screens, but still the difference in backlighting is really stunning!
Regarding temperature readings, I played a bit with Edge 800 and 1030, keeping them both sitting on a desk. The readings of both devices go up about 3°C in about 20 minutes from the moment they are switched on. Evidently the thermocouples are never completely isolated from the rest of the device which warms up slightly when swtiched on. Compared to other thermometers, 800 keeps 1-2°C under “real” room temperature, 1030 1-2°C above. When I was commenting on the Edge 820 Ray argued that computer bikes should be judged for their intended use, that is on a bike while riding and not sitting on a desk. I agree up to a point, temperature readings shouldn’t depend on your speed. Still, readings of both Edge 800 and Edge 1030 are completely acceptable on the desk, and I assume that the effect of the (mild) unit heating will be reduced while cycling, so the Edge 1030 is actually quite accurate. The readings of my Edge 820 where far off, something like 10°C higher than room temperature, and for me that was indeed way too high, even when the unit was not cooled by incoming wind.
This has been reported by many. But despite the lack of brightness they say the screen is perfectly readable in daylight and seems the change in screen technology has been done to guarantee more battery life.
I would agree screen is not as bright as 820 or 1000, but perfectly readable at day light and night time. Brightness set to auto, and backlight to 15 seconds. I actually like it. Doesn’t distract and I can see map or my numbers during intervals
Can’t pair with iphone7+ running 11.0 (not beta)
Got the 1030last week and once got it to pair both BT connections. That did not last long. Tried and tried to get Otto successfully pair again. Yesterday I reset the 1030. Painful. Now it will just pair BT-Edge 1030. So the 1030 knows it’s not finished pairing and this I also cannot get to the WIFI set up either, which I had successfully completed before reset. Has anyone found a work around or had success calling Garmin?
Pairing a second time is a bit of a pain in the ass. Having had to do this multiple times with each beta release, I got really good at it. But missing any step and it won’t work:
A) Delete the BT_Edge 1030 connection in BT settings
B) Delete the Edge 1030 connection in BT settings
C) Delete the Edge 1030 from Garmin Connect Mobile app (don’t worry, your stuff is saved elsewhere)
D) Close GCM app entirely
E) Briefly turn on airplane mode
F) Try pairing again
An easy way to validate that it’s fully paired (versus half-paired), is to look for the smartphone notifications menu within the Edge 1030. If it doesn’t have the options, it didn’t work.
Thanks Ray, Success! But I was making another critical mistake. I was able to get the first BT pairing but not the second. In Garmin connect mobile, after the first pairing is confirmed, you have to press Start at the bottom. That opens a screen which says select an accessory and was blank for me. So I thought that was for other accessories. But after waiting a second, my edge 1030 showed up and that allowed the second pairing and then everything fell in place. I do not think I did that correctly even with the first paring. Now it is set up. Hopefully it continues. I’m using an Iphone 7 plus with the new 11.0 operating system, FYI
routeCourse: add courses directly to Edge device from IPhone. I ha e been jealous of my android friends who add courses on the fly from their phones. After I got the 1030, I googled and found routeCourse. It’s an IQ app on the Garmin and a website on the IPhone (7+ on iOS 11.0) or any IPhone I think. You put the URL of the Garmin, Strava or several other formats in the web app on the iPhone and they show up in the IQ routeCourse app on the 1030 and you can download them and use immediately. It is so nice to be out and about or traveling and get a route link by email and add it to your Garmin right away. The app is free. They have an upgrade version but it works fine as it is. Just thought others would want to know.
On my 1000, after I saved a ride, it automatically synched and uploaded to Garmin Connect. My 1030 does not do that. In Garmin Connect, (iPhone 7+) under devices, device settings, auto upload is selected.
It does sync manually from devices in Garmin Connect.
Under connected features on the 1030, WiFi is set to auto upload but I want it to auto sync by cellular even when I am away from WiFi. Anyone know what I am missing?
Odd. On every device I have it’s all or nothing. Meaning, if/when it syncs – it does it instantly. If it doesn’t sync, then its all broke-ass.
I presume you have the Garmin Connect app open at the end of the ride (or at least, in the background)? And does it show the little green circle around the Edge 1030 in the upper right corner indicating a live connection?
I never “close” the Garmin Connect app on my phone but I know it goes dormant. When I open the app before I save the ride, I do see the green dot in the upper right and in that case it auto-uploads. Thanks so much.
Amazing in the days of super easy Iphone UI’s that there are devices which are still so complicated. In part I assume that Apple doesn’t make it easy, so its not all on Garmin
I believe there’s some time-limit for how long Apple allows the app to receive external connections without some form of interaction. I don’t know off-hand what that limit is precisely.
How do I report a bug to Garmin? In the meantime I do that here: the average cadence shown by the Edge 1030 is wrong, while the instantaneous cadence is correct. The average cadence seems to start at infinity (first number I saw was about 850 rpm after a couple of minutes of cycling) and goes asymptotically towards the correct number (99rpm was shown after about one hour, the correct cadence being between 80 and 85 rpm). The real bummer is that this number is transmitted to Garmin Connect, so online I see the wrong number: 99rpm, which incidentally is the same as max cadence (yes, impossible). I need to correct numbers manually.
All the above with autopause when stopped turned on.
The best way to report bugs to the Edge group is to file a support ticket (especially with a .FIT file). As a head up, Garmin actually just rolled out the ability to chat via instant message now. The reason support tickets are best is that it has accountable tracking on it.
That said, I saw an issue on the recent production firmware (same one with grade) that had wonky cadence spikes (i.e. 250RPM), but didn’t actually transmit them in the real file themselves. But basically sounds like same issue.
My understanding is that is fixed in the latest beta they sent me – but I haven’t used it in a few days. So not quite sure there.
Just got my 1030 and as an update for a very old (but still functional and practical!) Edge 500 I think it’s great. I went out for a ride of about 40km this afternoon and this all went fine. When I got in it updated to 3.20, and in spot of going for a 40km ride my all time ride total says 0km, though there is a ride registered in the ‘rides’ menu. Does updating firmware erase all time ride totals, or is this a software bug?
Hi Ray: My 1030 elevation for rides is 25% to 30% too high compared with an 820 and Fenix. This error is also confirmed using estimated elevation on CalTopo. Can you provide total elevation gain for the each device for your test rides included in the elevation plot. It seems to me that simply showing offset from one unit to another at a point in time does not show cumulative measurement errors. Total elevation gain/loss for entire rides might be more appropriate and might provide better insight into altimeter accuracy. So far, I see unacceptable accuracy in my 1030.
Per your request, the DCR Analyzer now has ascent totals in it (total elevation gain). 🙂
Edzo-
In general, assuming your scale just isn’t really small, most baro issues (where it shows wildly wrong numbers) across most devices can be traced down to something getting stuck in the baro holes. For example, mud or dirt. Sometimes salt. Occasionally sports gel. Rarely small animals.
I am looking to do more “adventure” rides (two track logging roads, gravel roads, etc..). Some of these routes barely appear on a google map. I have a 520 now. I am not concerned with power data now like a triathlete needs, mostly GPS/mapping.
What are the main advantages of the new 1030 over my 520 for my needs?
Provided you can find maps including the roads you want (check OpenStreetMaps maps), the 1030 can actually route using the map independently of anything else, while the 520 can’t. I’d be surprised if the 1030 has less than 16 Gb of storage of internal storage, and it has a microSD chip slot for additional storage, while as I understand it the 520 is limited in that regard. So lots of room for maps and the ability to actually navigate are the big advantages of the 1030. That comes at a price, of course. There are cheaper Garmin alternatives (the 1000 and the Explore 1000, the 820 and the Explore 820).
I do mostly gravel and double track myself in the mountains, and the OSM maps and Garmin TOPO maps that I use have everything that I ride on them.
regarding “It’ll find any paired sensors automatically”
Question #1: Although my HRM and P1 pedals have been paired, they aren’t found automatically. I can connect them from the sensor screen. Ray or anybody, any idea what I can do to make them pair automatically?
Question #2: After pairing manually the connection is lost while waiting for the ride to start even tho the unit stays on. How can I keep it from losing the connection when not riding?? Once connected and riding, 1030 works great.
Any chance they can have a way for those with wrist hr devices (F5/935/etc) to easily enter HR broadcast mode to get HR data?
For example:
– I turn on my Edge 1030 and start a ride.
– the 1030 sends a special Ant+ packet to my 935 to turn on the HR module to fully measure HR data the same as it would be if in an activity but without the 935 doing the rest an activity normally entails (i.e. no gps use so battery impact is smaller)
– I do my ride getting HR data from the 935 the whole time
– I finish the ride. When I stop the 1030 and save the ride it sends another special ant+ packet to the 935 to turn off the HR broadcast mode.
Or maybe just a special new sport type for the watch that just does HR broadcast and garmin connect to be intelligent enough to know that that activity is just the HR part of the one that is from the 1030 (so no duplicates of work making it seem you did twice as much activity or sending to Strava)
“Or maybe just a special new sport type for the watch that just does HR broadcast and garmin connect to be intelligent enough to know that that activity is just the HR part of the one that is from the 1030”
I’ll talk more about something like this next week…
Zero tolerance for non USB-C devices – I think I am not the only one in camp, who simply won’t buy the device, because it comes with obsolete connector. Pretty much every phone and tablet in 2017 lineup is currently charged through usb-c; micro or mini usb should have no place on premium devices in 2017. I don’t expect really advanced usb-c things for now, but manufactures need to move toward common power connector and start to use features it provides like common cables and some power networking capability where any device with juice can power one without juice. Especially on bike where you have lights, maybe radar, bike computer, and definitely would expect that you can charge your devices including phone through some dynamo. Or in case of emergency use phone or battery in front light to charge up your bike computer (or opposite in night).
I recently purchased the Edge 1030 after riding for years with the Edge 1000. I agree with the review above but I have had extreme difficulty getting the Edge 1030 to sync with my iPhone (6S) and getting it to upload rides to the iPhone Garmin Connect app. I can upload files by connecting the Edge 1030 to my computer using Garmin Express but it was a nice feature to have the rides automatically upload directly to my phone when I’m away from my computer. I trust that Garmin will fix this in their next release?
Sam,
I am having similar problems. Looking at my blue tooth connections on my iPhone 7+, I see that Edge 1030 is connected but BT- edge 1030 is not and will not. So when I look in the Garmin Connect app, there is not a green dot next to my device in the Garmin Connect app ( upper right). No green dot, no sync. So I started over and had my phone forget both and the edge 1030 to forget the phone. When you repair, the BT-Edge 1030 is found first. Then you have to go to the Garmin Connect app, under Garmin devices and add device and then find the device and then add accessory. At first the window is blank. Wait 15 seconds and the edge becomes listed and now the Edge 1030 will pair. Even as I write this, the edge 1030 connection stays solid but the BT-Edge disconnects on the iPhone. Touching the BT -edge 1030 on the IPhone usually allows it to reconnect and sync. Hope that helps a bit.
I experienced some sync and connectivity problems but the big problem was that my varia vision kept freezing. Garmin tech was no help and it seems that they are in no hurry to fix these problems via an update. Also the screen at night is poor. For a $600 flagship product garmin should have done better, much better.
A “power connector” (similar to the one that you can get for the Virb 360) with a connector for the mount/ 1030 interface at one end & USB at the other would be useful. I’ve got an Anker power pack, with 3 outputs, for if I want to run a video camera for extended periods. Being able to run the GPS off that too would be handy.
Late August I did a 9+hour ride & I had trouble getting a micro usb cable to stay connected to my 1000 when I wasn’t sure the battery was going to last. In the end I recharged it enough to be sure it wouldn’t while stopped at a stop to re-fuel me (although it probably would have been OK without the charge if the displayed percentages were to be believed).
Used the 1030 for the first time on my Trek Domane with the DuoTrap cadence/speed sensor.
The sensor will not communicate well with the 1030: the 1030 will go in “auto pause mode” when you start riding.
When disconnecting the sensor, the problem is solved and the 1030 works well.
No, both batteries are fully charged.
Tried to remove the speed magnet form the spoke to stop the speed function of the DuoTrap, though also didn’t work.
Seems to be a signal from the DuoTrap which activates the auto stop.
Problem solved!
You have to connect the DuyoTrap via ANT+ and not via Bluetooth. It seems the BT option will set the 1030 on “auto-pause” mode. Connecting via “all sensors” and choose the one without DuoTrap in the nam but only a number. That is the ANT+ signal.
Thanks to someone from the Garmin Forum for the help.
Hi Ray, I’m looking for the feature to use Virtual Partner/Racer and cycling dynamics on the same time. the vurtual.partner would be of high motivation, but I would like to see further data like the cycling dynamics or cadence, power and want to avoid using 2 cycling computers.
In addition do you see a possibility to train distance and speed like on the edge500 virtual racer/partner?
Is it just me or is there not the ability to be alerted if off course when doing a random round trip route , it does do it for saved courses but seems not to on the random round trip routes ? Also i really miss the natty tune my 800 played when finishing a saved course – bring it back please!
This is the worst Garmin device at launch ever. I have 1000 and 820, and I have bought the new 1030, and have nothing but problems with it:
– Constant disconnect/connect messages (Iphone 7)
– Recording frozen during ride (only reset helped)
– Upload problems via Phone
– No upload via WiFi
– Varia Radar disconnect – sensor is every now and then disconnected/disabled
– Auto off does not work – unit does not turn off after the ride has been completed.
Generally speaking I haven’t heard of any of the issues you described reported elsewhere. There’s other issues, but really, not those issues.
That seems to imply that either something is horribly wrong with your unit. Or, by the sounds of it with the phone (since most of your issues seem tied to that), related there.
Perhaps the next firmware will fix it – but if you’re waiting for that, I’d recommend just opening a ticket anyway with Garmin. That’s not normal, so something is amiss.
Make sure you update Connect Mobile on your iPhone. Garmin has been releasing 4 or 5 updates just the last two weeks. They seem to fix a lot of issues on the iPhone app.
in your summary you stated, the display quality is “brilliant”. Two days ago I got my new 1030 – and I was totally astonished by the bad display in terms of colors and contrast. I did a direct comparison to my 1000:
As panning and zooming is as slow as on the 1000 (after 3-4 years of development!) I’m a little bit disappointed. I think I will sell my 1030, keep my 1000 an wait for the hammerhead.
Could this be the reason to get extended battery life? A less bright screen will use less power in my opinion.
OK, ik may look “less cool”, however for me battery life is more important as a bright shining screen :-).
It is a cycle computer, not a torch ;-).
Agree, as Edzo said – it’s an element of battery life. For me outside during the day (which is when I primarily use it), it’s quite brilliant. And at night, it’s still quite visible to me. I get putting them on a desk to compare.
As for Hammerhead, they’re at 10hrs of battery life right now. So you’d be trading battery life by a fair chunk. Also, I haven’t seen that screen at night to know if it’s any better or worse.
I would have thought the thicker 1030 might have a larger battery to give the extra runtime. I agree that it looks fine during the day, and is still readable at night. However, it’s not the brightness, but rather the color / contrast that is the issue. While the “contrast” looked okay under daylight, it was quite bad in the woods (even with the brightness up). The stock maps were still readable and didn’t bother me that much. However I make custom maps – graphical KMZ exports from US topo maps with added shaded relief, adding colored route markers for trails. They were not easy to read on the 1030 in the woods; I returned it and went back to the Edge 1000, which they look good even at low light.
That’s probably a rare scenario, but something to keep in mind for mountain bikers.
I also looked into the Hammerhead, but on release they won’t support custom maps, so I’ll stick to the Edge 1000 for now.
I have both and the picture shows actual difference – display on 1030 is much worse than 1000 in the dark.
However, it works really well in the rain, much better than 1000 and 820 (which is absolute crap in the rain), so I hope that the difference in the rain is due to some kind of coating over the screen.
It’s always funny to me what people think of displays. If you didn’t look at an Edge 1000 or a phone (both of which burns far more battery), then people are generally quite happy with the Edge 1030. Yet when compared to something that burns more battery, then it magically becomes ‘horrible’…while sitting on a desk. Despite the fact that the obvious trade-off is making it very readable still (which it is), and yet lasting significantly longer.
But for those that actually go outside and use it and not just put them on desks, it’s perfectly fine for almost everybody.
I have the same issue and have a support case open with Garmin. They told me that they are aware of it and is their top priority. No timing mentioned to me and whether it will be firmware or a Connect update. IOS 11 is to blame
Is it still possible to charge the Edge through an external battery pack via micro usb? or now the only way to charge the edge while riding is via the Garmin Battery pack through Garmin proprietary connector? I would like to buy the Edge but avoid spending more money….
I think nothing about displays, only wonder that you are the only
tester on the world who say display is brilliant in “dusk and night”
Fact is the display have wash out colors/no contrast at dusk and night.
You can test it outside very easy, make a nightride..
Habe nothing to do with “burns far more battery”, see picture,
1030 have brighter light but wash out/no contrast/no colors
Fun camera trick: Next time you take this photo, tap on the Edge 1030 screen on your phone, as opposed to the Edge 1000 screen. Since you set the exposure balance for the Edge 1000 as opposed to the Edge 1030, it balanced based on that and actually shows that the Edge 1030 is brighter than the Edge 1000 (ironically, per your picture). If you did the opposite you’d find the photo would show the Edge 1030 is balanced and the Edge 1000 is then darker.
No worries though, I’ll do it for you (on an actual data page). See above, you can click the image to expand it. Is it not as ‘black’? Sure. Does it have *any* tangible impact on visibility while riding? No (as countless people have noted here).
And that’s the problem with photos of devices at night. I can make any device look as bright as I want through simple camera skills. It’s also the problem with everyone sitting inside and turning off their lights and taking photo. Seriously – go for a ride at night (I have), there’s no issues.
I´m not convinced from your 1030 grey scale Data screen, but thanks..
If the device is in shade (woods) it has far too little color contrast.
The color green looks like grayscale (like the blue? on your picture), red don’t stand out, etc.. On MTB in woods or dark you have trouble reading different colors of the map. Find a video (only look on the 1030 and the colors, same in woods or dark): link to mtb-siegerland.de
and wash out colors/contrast are not the problem from low/high background light
The use cases for this device must be very broad. I assume it is possible that the 1030 is “good enough” for most, under most circumstances. Ray I appreciate that you are doing your best to describe this device. Since you basically hammered the Edge 1000 when it came out, I do not think you are trying to sugar coat the 1030.
This is ultimately what I ran into that caused me to go back to the 1000. Even with backlight off, the 1000 was easier to read in the woods with custom maps. Meaning, where various colors (mainly Primary color) is important with elevation contours, shaded relief, mapping course lines.
The greens seemed almost gray-scale and reds were pinkish.
I’m not going to bash the 1030…I was actually able to use it for mountain biking with the stock maps, as the background was more simple and easy to follow lines on…tho I did wish the primary colors were more defined. I went on a road ride and didn’t have any complaints as I didn’t care about or need the colors popping out (and they do actually pop out under daylight). But for my personal use-case, it wasn’t ideal (and actually difficult to read with more complex elevation / shaded maps). So I’d say it’s something to consider based on what you want out of a bike computer.
I wasn’t overly impressed with the screen colours in the shade either. In bright sunshine it is brilliant but had the same contrast issues with green backgrounds so I made a TYP file with a lighter background and used TYPChanger to put it onto my 1030.
First off, thanks Ray for your great work; I’ve been reading your blogs and waiting for successor to the 1000 for almost 12 months. Following your review when I found the 1030 finally on shelves in Australia last Sunday I had to buy it.
My unit updated to firmware 3.20 as soon as I connected it to my wifi so cannot comment on previous versions. So far I have ridden approx 100km, commuting and exploring in daylight, through dusk into dark.
This is for anyone else out there reading all of the posts and wondering about all the ‘issues’ reported:
– Is the display different to the 820 – Yes
– Is it hard to see in daylight – No
– Is it hard to see at dusk – No
– Is it hard to see at night – No
– Do I think the display is an issue – No not at all
– Navigation/course recalculation – brilliant
– iphone 8 connection – I had an issue but it was user error – after repairing – brilliant
My unit updated to 3.40 this morning so we will see what changes that brings.
Software version 3.40, loading a course from Strava causes 1030 to just power off. Also, using two UT800 lights, 1030 keeps them in full power, so ride time is only 1:50 hours. Varia vision took over one hour before displaying anything. Radar is not part of the light network, so can’t change light mode or auto power off. Like others have said screen contrast is very poor, way worse than my 1000.
Seems that people claim they have version 3.40 on their Garmin 1030. Any reason why 3.40 is not listed in Garmin’s official site of updates here: link to www8.garmin.com
In the UK my Garmin 1030 does not find any new update, even if I set to search for one. Btw no issues at all with iPhone 6 iOS 11.x, Varia Radar rear light, Strava Routes loading/running, Strava Segments or other ANT+ devices (inc. SRAM eTAP, Quarq). I am running this for 3 weeks and not a single hickup apart from the grade info
On the Garmin Forum they have told us 2 days ago, only 20% of the users got the new firmware. It should be available for the rest of the users within 2-4 days.
Hi, I just got 3.4 a few minutes ago. It says it fixes the grade % display and also enables sd card storage (both were not working). Those two things were issues I had noticed and am happy they fixed them (assuming they did).
Mark
Just after above post I got the 3.4 update also :-).
This evening made my first ride in the dark. No issues with the display.
Bright enough to me, it is a GPS, not a headlight 🙂
Not the best review, I have to say from my experience with the Garmin 1030. And it seems I’m not alone with my experience as Amazon reviews are increase from yerified buyers. The Software is very poor/unstable and also the real battery life is far from the promoted.
Since purchasing my 1030 I have not been able to get a reliable BT connection between my I7 with 11.0.1, .2 and now .3. Despite more than 20 pairing attempts. Opened up a support case with Garmin several weeks ago and sent them logs from phone and even the complete Garmin drive file from the 1030. I received an email from Garmin saying all is great now if I go to 3.50 firmware and 3.22.4 Connect app. Did the changes and still the same issue. After 6 attempts was able to complete pairing and 1 sync. After rebooting the 1030 will not connect to the BLT_Edge profile. Deleted all pairings in phone, GC and same issue. Also while on 3.40 while using navigation following a loaded course, at the end of the course, the 1030 just turned off. After turning back on, the .fit file is now corrupted. Pretty frustrating. Came to the 1030 from a 820 and 800 before that one. I do like the size of the unit.
I’m not quite sure what Garmin is or isn’t tell you, but, what I can say from getting myself into a BT pairing mess a few times before on the Edge 1030, is that the key to success is starting from scratch.
I outlined it up above somewhere in the comments the exact steps, but essentially you need to delete both pairings on both sides, as well as delete the unit out of GCM (Garmin Connect Mobile), and then switch off BT on the phone, close the app, and then turn on and start everything.
Part of the challenge is Garmin is still using a two-layer pairing (BT legacy and BT Smart), which makes it a complete mess to troubleshoot when things go wrong.
I have done that several times, deleting all of the pairings, then rebooting the phone and the 1030, delete the 1030 out of the GC app and starting over from scratch. Will not see the BLT_Edge. After 6 or more attempts it finally did and had a successful pairing and sync. Then turned off the 1030 and restarted it and now only will connect to one BT profile not the _Edge one. Only thing I have not done is delete the app and reload it. Sent Garmin the sync logs or crashes. No resolution yet
There are two battery data field options on the 1030, a Gear Battery and Di2 Battery. If you are seeing the ? over the battery, this would indicate that you have the Gear Battery field selected. In the settings, you can change this data field to Di2 Battery and then see the percentage of battery life. The reason for two different data fields is all based in how the various sensor protocols report battery status. We are working on consolidating the two fields to avoid this confusion in the future.
I have been using the 1030 for several weeks now, and like it. The battery life is much better, and the increase in the screen size is helpful to me (older eyes). I am pretty happy with it. Not a leap forward but a nice incremental improvement in a few areas to the 1000 (which has been a great unit for me for years now).
Mark
I find very interesting the new firstbeat metrics introduced with the garmin 1030, i would like to ask you if you believe it is reliable to monitor your training status and whether they are specific to this garmin model or if they are also present in older models such as the garmin 820 and the 520
Garmin uses FirstBeat metrics on many different devices, including the Edge 1030 of course. But on most past devices (i.e. 520/820), it’s used more for calorie metrics, and I think also the FTP and VO2Max pieces.
That said, the Edge 1030 goes beyond that into the recovery and training load metrics, also from FirstBeat, which is likely what you’re referring to. These are also seen on the Fenix 5 and FR935, but not any other cycling computers.
I think the metrics are quite reliable, but my issue is that if you’re someone who has multiple devices (i.e. a FR935 for swim/run and an Edge 1030 for cycling), then the metrics don’t ‘merge’ together. As such, you end up with a broken picture.
Garmin says they’re working on it, perhaps by end of year, or early next year, but it’s still a gap.
But for a bike only I would say that having this kind of metric is a great plus, I’m considering whether to take this or pc8 srm, maybe it’s better to garmin even if it does not have the charm of srm 😉
When a light network is active you can find it by pulling “the curtain screen” down an scroll through the pages. You will find the light network as one of the pages.
Just got software version 3.50. Don’t know what changed. I do know that prior to this, I was still unable to have anything stored to the SC card I have in the unit. Anyone else have any success with that?
Thanks
Mark
Pardon my self replies, but I think that the problem I was having with the SD card and 3.4 was the size of card I was trying to use resulted in the drive being formatted exfat rather than fat32. Should work now.
Mark
Just as a super quick heads up, since a number have asked over the last 60 days, Clever Training Europe/UK finally has listings now for the Edge 1030. As always, for Euro folks* you can use the DCR discount code of DCR10BTF to get 10% off the price, plus of course free European shipping. All of which helps support the site. Oh, and they’re in stock today.
You can’t get 10% off on the US side due to Garmin restrictions, but you can get 10% back in points with the VIP program (link to dcrainmaker.com). And free shipping. All of which basically just makes you awesome.
I have been using Garmin Bike Computers for years, I bike 5-6 days a week, so use them a lot. Pretty much all of them have worked well. My Edge 1000 recently died after a long time, so I purchased a 520 as a stopgap till my 1030 arrived today. 520 worked fine, even though no touch screen and pretty basic. First workout today with the 1030. Awful. Had to start and stop the workout 4 times, and then the hard efforts were not done properly because I could not see the data I needed on the screen.
Screens would switch at random to all sorts of different screens, not just data screens. No pattern. Might work well for 5 minutes, then go berserk.
I disabled phone alerts, then deleted any other data screens in the activity, then disabled weather, These things should work.
I’m not sure if I have a lemon or some setting or interference is causing these issues. I use a TACX FLUX trainer. Initially, I had added the trainer, but then thought it might be causing problems so just added it as sensors, i.e. power, speed/distance and cadence.
Touch screen does not work at all now. Can’t even shut it down properly. Not happy at all.
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Thanks for In-Depth review in day of announce.
Could you run a Tree Benchmark from ConnectIQ store to see how powerfull CPU is?
link to apps.garmin.com
Will do in a few…
The hard part is the SDK isn’t supporting the 1030 yet so not compatible:
link to apps.garmin.com
Another benchmark to do is:
link to apps.garmin.com
Edge 520: 2600
Edge 820: 2793
Edge 1000: 13330
Edge 1030: 14285
Oregon 7xx: 14080
Rino 7xx: 13500
Looks like the cpu is the same as that jump can just be from a bit of optimizations
Ray do you know if any of the new features are coming to the 820? The strava Ciq app at least?
Yes, the Strava IQ app is coming to all units, should show up today if it’s not already there.
Its there 🙂 No more converting Strava routes and uploading to GC!!
link to apps.garmin.com
I expected the fenix 5 to be a compatible device. 🙁
That feature would be great for running, too.
Thanks guys, what about any of the other features? Any plans? The popular routing sounds like something that could trickle down.
If my understanding is correct, popularity routing will be used for courses created on Garmin Connect Mobile and pushed to any device.
Please talk to Garmin about this connect IQ app for Fenix 5x. I would love to be able to easily use my Strava running routes on that platform without a 3rd party app to connect the two.
I was wondering the same thing. Is the Strava Routes CIQ App coming to the 935 / F5 line as well?
Are the fitness stats still device-specific, or has Garmin got them syncing yet? In other words, if I go for a run with my fenix 5, will the changes to my training status be reflected on the 1030? Or do I still have to use a single device as the primary recorder for all my activities?
Argghh sorry, you already answered that in the review – looks like the answer is still ‘no’ for now.
It took garmin a while to get steps to sync properly between multiple devices…I’d guess this will take some time too. Not holding my breath. I’d suggest using StravistiX plugin for Strava, it does an awesome job providing training fatigue, fitness, and form across all activities you upload with HR, power, or using a swim threshold pace.
Ray, is it correct to assume the external battery pack doesn’t recharge the 1030, but is used directly (which would make it more efficient/smaller than using generic external battery)?
It provides constant charge to the Edge 1030. Or are you asking something else. Sorry, a bit confused!
Sorry, what I meant: A generic battery pack can normally only recharge the computer’s internal one, which has inefficiencies. By comparison, is the Garmin E1030 external battery used directly, and not to recharge the internal one?
It is a good point. And does it like some iPhone battery packs that allow the phone to prioritise the power source from battery pack?
Hello Ray, Thanks for this in depth review, I have a garmin edge 800 and I have been waiting for quite some time to see this released, do you know by any chance if it’s shipping in EU ? I can’t seem to see it on eu.clevertraining
Should be coming up shortly!
Is it immediately available, or will be it released later in September?
Some EU shops are already accepting preorders, estimated price is 605 EUR…
It seems first devices will be available next week (The Netherlands). I have already pre-ordered one.
Is it posible to have the map as a data field?
So when is the new GCM released? I assume it will be able to create structured workouts and routes for Fenix 5 as well?
You’ll see a bunch more about it over the coming days, and I believe the plan is late September for full release. Though it sounds like they may allow folks to start using elements of it sooner.
But yes, it’ll be compatible with all existing Garmin units.
Hey Ray,
As I understand it, measuring training load and heart rate variability requires recording of the RR interval. I’ve been using the Elite HRV app, and a chest strap as they say that optical hr sensors aren’t capable of recording accurate RR values. They just broadcast a number which is an average.
I’ve got a Scosche Rhythm+ and I take the “recovery time” value from my Garmin with a pinch of salt because of this.
Do you know if this is actually the case?
Can I accurately measure my training load from my Garmin using an optical HRM? I’ve also got a power meter fwiw.
Curious if this has ever come up in conversation with the guys at Garmin/Scosche etc.
Can we send message to a non rider ? let say the girl (without a garmin account) waiting home a sunday morning ?
No, unfortunately not. Just Edge 1030 riders. You can at least send to a whole group though, which is kinda cool too.
Hi Ray.
Have you tested the new Garmin Vector 3?
link to dcrainmaker.com
I’d love to know how the claimed battery life stands up in practice. When using my edge 1000 in routing mode I’m lucky to get 7 hours. The only way I’m able to get longer is to keep switching from the map screen to the data screen… which isn’t ideal.
I pretty much wont leave the house without a lipstick battery for it these days.
Yes, routing or only showing the map with an additional GPX-track decreases the battery life to max. 7h. It would be fine, if Ray could test this with the 1030!
You´re lucky, I am getting 4 – 5 hours with Edge 1000, still got my Edge 800 wich is one of the best so far I tested, but is not compatibile with Varia radar which I am considering as a greatest gadget I have on bike. Today morning it seemed like my Edge 1000 died, so I almost ordered 1030, but I managed to get it going by holding all buttons at once for some time. So don´t know if its worth the update. The battery life is biggest issue on my 1000. It really sucks.
It’s probably worth noting on the 4-5 hours with the Edge 1000 – is that on the map screen exclusively? And if not, is that with backlight turned all the way up manually?
I often forget to turn off the backlight manual settings when I’m taking photos, and when I do so, then I can burn through almost any Edge unit in about that timeframe. Full brightness on backlight is a blowtorch for batteries. :-/
Hey Radim. That’s not normal. I had the same issue on my 810 and realized I had the backlight sent to “always on”. It would kill my Garmin within the same time. Once I changed it to “backlight off in 15 sec” boom! Back to 8-10+ hours of battery life. Check it out and see where yours is set.
One thing you didn’t mention (at least I couldn’t find it), did Garmin manage to implement any sort of keylock on this new Edge 1030 device? I mean, not just locking the touchscreen, but also the buttons, in case you want to e.g. put it in your pocket while skiing or hiking.
A whole lot of the trips I have made with Edge 1000 in my pocket (most of them during winter), the unit has stopped recording due to an unfortunate push on the start/stop button at the front of the device. It’s rather annoying.
As far as I know, none of the previous Edge have had this very simple, old and easy-to-implement feature…so if Edge 1030 has it, I will probably run to get it.
I have this exact same problem with the Edge 1000. It turns off ALL THE TIME when I’m x-c skiing, snowshoeing, and hiking. I will buy the new 1030 only if they have implemented a button lock feature. I’ve searched endlessly in an attempt to find out more, but so far, no info about a button lock feature. DCR?
Actually, I meant to say that the 1000 stops all the time, because it has gotten an accidental start/stop button push, not that the unit itself is turning off.
Does this new unit allow to set multiple FTPs (linked to specific powermeter/bike)? do you know any unit that do?
No, one FTP only. I’m not aware of any multi-user bike computers.
Ray, thanks for the review. Do you happen to know whether the selectable layout in the data screens will come to the 520/820/1000? And whether there is a list of the possible layouts somewhere?
I’ll try and write-up all the data fields/layouts. I don’t believe there’s any plans to back port that.
About GPS accuracy, note that Garmin units sold in different markets have different capabilities. For example, the Edge 820J knows about Japan’s QZSS satellites, but other market’s models don’t. (I’m bummed to find that my USA-market Edge 820 does not take advantage of the extra satellites overhead).
I *think* it’s just a matter of including positional data about the satellites, so one wonders why it’s not included in all regional models. I dunno.
Europe has their own Galileo satellite system… I wonder whether an European-market Edge units take advantage of that, while USA- and other- market units don’t…..
Hey DC….did I miss the pricing part? I scanned again but I don’t think I saw it..or maybe my eyes are just bad.
Oops, it’s $599USD. Sorry, thought that was in there, but I didn’t have the comparison tool section loaded in yet so it’s normally in there.
Any idea when the Comparison Tool section will be loaded?
Thanks!
How does loading routes from RideWithGPS work?
I’ve been using routeCourse ConnectIQ app to load RWGPS courses on my 520, works well.
can you walk me through steps to get ride with gps into edge 1030
Same question. I got it to work once without plugging the 1030 into the computer via USB, but haven’t been able to replicate despite hours of faffing with the computer, the Edge and the phone app.
Update: hours more spent. I downloaded routeCourse, but it says the 1030 is connected to the phone by Bluetooth (it is). When I try to use Strava Routes, it says my session is expired and I need to log in again (I am already logged in, but if I log out and log back in, it still doesn’t work.) I am about a day away from sending this [thing] back to Garmin.
So I stumbled into that same weird Strava session expired bug two days ago trying to add a replacement unit.
My workout that worked: After it pops up the message to authenticate Strava, select from within that mini-window to log out of Strava (the windows that Garmin Connect opens up sorta halfway in their app).
Then, close that window, and on the Edge try again. This time it should let you sign-in and authenticate properly. I’m not sure where the error is there (Garmin or Strava), but either way, I agree something now seems broken.
“Ideally, we’d see Garmin carry these metrics across behind the scenes with Garmin Connect, like they do for steps via TrueUp. Hopefully, that happens sooner rather than later.”
have you heard any rumblings of that actually happening someday, tough?
Wish that my Fenix and 820 could “talk” so that i dont have to record every bike session with both, just to have the corrects stats on the Fenix 🙁
Since this is a larger screen, will the existing k-edge mounts work?
I’ve tried it on Barfly’s larger out-front mount without issue. I don’t think I’ve rolled with it on the K-Edge ones yet.
Can’t quite tell but I assume the battery currently requires Garmin’s mount?
I have the same question – will the 1030 fit on a k-edge out front mount -I like my k-edge almost as much as the garmin.
yes, it fits fine on a kedge mount that the 1000 fits on.
according the the k-edge specs (Edge 1030 and Edge 1000 fits on the longer XL mount) – I’m assuming the battery won’t work with the current k-edge combo mount.
Cool. I have a Edge 1000 which meets all my needs, so only compelling factor is screen.
Ray, it looks like the screen may be much easier to read in low light without using the backlight (compared to 1000). Would you say that this is true? Maybe a photo comparing side by side?
I fully agree with the ugly design … road cycling is such a beautiful sport and people love beautiful designed pieces to put on their bikes …. so garmin wtf!
Do you have pricing information? I didn’t notice it in your review.
the link for clever training has it at $599.99 USD.
Hi Ray, thanks for the review.
Do you know if the improved UI is going to be back-loaded to the Edge 1000 in a firmware update or will it be kept exclusive to the Edge 1030 ?
Tks
No, I’d expect this to stay on the Edge 1030. I can’t think of any case where Garmin has back-ported UI’s (except Chronos).
What a shame if this is true. We paid a low of $$ for 1000 and now no update of interface ? I understand better display etc. but still 🙁 if this is true what you said.
To be fair, in that three years since the Edge 1000 came out, it’s received an absolute crapton of updates and new features (including today, with the new Strava Routes app):
It’s mind-boggling: link to www8.garmin.com
The UI update is really just two screens here (home screen, and drop-down controls thingy).
So Ray …. 820 or 1030 ? 😀
Thanks for the review !
is there a setting to turn off alerts when creating workouts?… i.e. say i set my interval at 300W… if im at 290 i have my 520 beeping at me.. i dont want that…. its super annoying
I know you haven’t had a ton of time with it, but for a 100 bucks more is it safe to say you would recommend it over the Edge 820? I need to upgrade from my 510.
Shoot I meant 200
Yeah, $200 is a lot if you ask me. I’d focus on whether you plan to go really long with it, or if you want the bigger screen. For stuff like better touch screen, I wouldn’t say that’s a deal breaker at these price differences.
This looks like a really good upgrade over the 1000. The battery life is great. BTsmart is also really good. It probably also has a faster, more powerful processor and more internal memory. All are much needed.
I’m disappointed with the screen, unit size and external battery. In 2017 why does an electronic unit need such a huge bezel? Edge to edge on all four sides is the only thing that makes sense today. The 1000 unit is too big already, again, in 2017 why is a replacement bigger? Unless an electronic does more than an iPhone (and this doesn’t), it shouldn’t be thicker. The external battery is really cool but why so darn clunky? A thin battery that twists on to the mounting post betwwen the unit and the mount would have made much more sense. Their battery requires a dedicated out front mount that prohibits using a camera-style mount under it.
Again, really nice upgrade and probably enough to get me to upgrade before my 1000 fails but they left alot of potential on the floor with a huge casing, huge bezel and clunky external battery design.
Ray, as usual, thanks for the great review and putting all of the features in their best light.
Thickness generally means more battery. I don’t know of any iPhone that can run for 20 hours with the screen on continuously. So the 1030 does do more than the iPhone, even without considering navigation without cell service and ANT+.
The iPhone is just an example/benchmark. Please don’t let that size and shape benchmark obfuscate the point that I believe there is significant opportunity to make a smaller, slimmer device with a bigger screen and more elegant external battery solution. Does a device with a 24 hour external battery need 20 hours of internal battery life? 10 hours of internal battery life would still be an improvement over the 1000.
Also, please read my above praise of the device with all intended sincerity. I like the unit while also recognizing that resolving the above stated opportunities would make it better fit my expectations. Just one person’s desires. They don’t have to match yours to be valid.
I’m viewing this device as a (long overdue) nod to the rando crowd. I’ve been trying for a many years to find a device that lasts through a nonstop 15 hour 400KM ride, and for a 600KM or longer you’re definitely stuck with a hackish solution involving USB battery packs. There are long discussions about how to best seal the USB port while charging Garmin devices and riding through soaking wet rain.
The 1030 should work, on its own, through even a slow 400K. One battery pack could get you through a 600K and even a fast 1000K. 2 or 3 packs could last for a 1200. Assuming the battery pack interface really is watertight, that’s a really nice feature.
It would be fantastic to have a “1030 thin” option and a “1030 touring” option that have different base battery lives (but both extendable). And I have to assume that in a few more years the high end devices will have much smaller bezels. But for now the 1030 definitely fills a niche that nobody else has paid any attention to. So I’m appreciative for what it brings to the table!
Agreed, use the edges more for screen real estate. I am older and need the larger screen myself, but not so large as my Samsung tablet. lol Seems the 1000 we have is already thick enough to put a 24-30 hour battery life unit in the case (assuming not running backlight, which I find kills the current power life considerably).
I’m interested mostly in a brighter screen, without using backlight. I ride a lot in the dark in Vegas to avoid the heat in summer, so any help I can get to more easily see the screen with my old eyes helps.
Dennis
SRM PC8 records a 400 no problem and a 600 with just a quick boost from a lipstick. No routing though but I use a cuesheet.
If the unit has to have a large bezel, how about using the space for something useful … like solar panels. So the unit can get a slight charge while being used.
+1 for Obfuscate ??
ANT+ Wight Scales support? (Tanita BC-1000,…)
Hi Ray, is it worth upgrading from the 1000 to the 1030, if you are not using Bluetooth?
Probably not for most people unless you want extra battery life or the load metrics really bad. Same goes for rider to rider messaging.
Following up on MiIlesio’s question… Does the external battery pack charge the internal battery or just provide direct power to the unit?
Does it support pass through charging? Meaning can I have have my dynamo charge the pack within the pack discharges to the unit and\or another device via the second USB port.
It’ll charge it if left. I’ll have to test the pass-through piece…hang tight.
How does the routing in map mode work on trails in the woods? When trying to find a route home with the edge 1000, it just took you straight to the nearest paved road.
That always depends on the maps. If the map has routable trails, then it will work, if not, then not and you’ll get the behavior you describe, since it’s doing the best it can for you. I’d expect the 1030 to come with Garmin’s cycling maps, so they won’t have trails. You can easily get maps that do have trails. OpenStreetMap maps, especially those oriented to MTB or hiking, will have them. I use Garmin’s TOPO maps on my 1000, and it has some but not all of the trails in my area, and I doubt they’re routable (don’t do much singletrack so haven’t had much reason to try). The OSM maps I use on my Epix and have used on the past on Edges have all of the trails in my area and are routable.
Hello Ray,
What about the display? Can you say some words about brightness, mirroring in the sun and exact pixel resolution – compared to the Edge1000?
What about the processor? Scrooling and zooming through complex maps, e.g. the streets of a big city, is very slow and you habe to be patient. If you have loaded an additional gpx-track, it is really slow to navigate through the maps. How does it feel compared to the Edge1000?
Hi Ray
Another great review, I hope to order soon through your affiliated links.
One question – how does the mount work if you have the Varia light that typically mounts under the head unit – the same way that the battery pack does?
I assume that I have to use the mount that came with the light and am not able to use the battery pack?
Thanks
It’s one or the other unfortunately. I’ll ask the folks if there’s any other creative solution there they may have found.
Considering the size of the Varia headlight, you would think they could put a battery in that and give you a light that also can charge the Edge.
You can do that with Exposure lights although I couldn’t get reliable Edge1000 charging while the light was on.
A related question.
Does the lower part of the outfront mount supplied with the Edge 1030 fit the battery pack and the Varia 500 light?
I understand that you can’t use both the battery pack and the light together, but would like to switch between the Varia 500 light and the battery pack without having to change outfront mounts as well.
Can you track a Strava segment while you are navigating a route? This is something that the Edge 1000 can’t do. But Wahoo can!
Starred segments that are on the route will show up now while navigating.
Ok, that might be worth the upgrade for me.
Not weighing in on the you should or shouldn’t upgrade to a 1030 (it is a nice device!), but the segment on routes will carry over to other CIQ devices that run the app.
I’ll be testing this out with the new Strava routes app tonight on my Edge 1000. Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for a excellent review as always! I think you should add a section in your reviews about GPS reception. Seems like some people (like myself) have problems with the reception for the Wahoo Bolt under trees. Would be nice to know how different GPS computers work in the woods.
Hi Ray, a request to extend your review for us 50+ riders that normally would use reading glasses.
With my 820 sometimes it is hard to read the numbers.
On the 820 you can select 5 lines (10 datafields) but not 4 lines (8 datafields) with slightly larger numbers.
There is only one ConnectIQ app that provides a 4 lines screen, but users can only choose 2 fields of the 8.
Request from my side for an app providing an 8 datafield screen did not succeed.
How is the number-size of the 1030 compared to the 820 ?
Is there an option with (slightly) enlarged numbers ?
PeterH
PeterH. Not answering your question, but I also have sight issues on the bike which are made worse by virtue of insisting on not wearing prescription glasses when I ride! Partly for this reason I switched to a Wahoo Elemnt recently (not the Bolt which has lower resolution and a much smaller screen) as the text is very clear in all conditions and can be zoomed up with the buttons on the side. Perhaps that will help you; it certainly did me.
Yeah, normally I include that, and will add in tonight. I’ve just been overwhelmingly slammed with new product launches this week (the bulk of which is still to come), and so had to cut a few draft things out temporarily to add in later on this evening.
referring to the CIQ app that provides 4 lines / 8 fields, I assume you are actually referring to a CIQ data field? An app replaces the entire user interface, a field is selectable to be displayed in a data page for a normal activity. In any case, was it the developer of the CIQ field that you tried to contact and said no? I can’t imagine Garmin rejecting any CIQ app/field just displaying data. My edge is too old for CIQ so I haven’t looked but it surprises me there aren’t numerous CIQ fields out there that draw custom screens with a configurable layout. For the watches, there are several such fields. I have a CIQ field out there for watches that shows 4 large font fully customizable fields specifically for those that have a hard time reading the screen.
Nice review Ray 🙂
On the ANT+ compatibility section you don’t say if the 1030 can control FE-C trainers, was that missed or it can’t?
Ray, or anybody that knows, where can the 1030 be ordered today? Ray’s review mentioned that it is ready to ship, however even the Garmin site isn’t accepting orders. Anybody know?
Clever Training in the Flordia claims they have them in stock.
Don’t forget to use Ray’s code!.
-marc
nevermind, ordered it through Clever
yes, ordered and should be shipping in 1 day they say. thanks
Does Ray’s 10% off coupon work on Garmin stuff? I couldn’t get it to work.
Garmin gear from CT is discounted 10% via VIP points that can be used toward future purchases.
Two questions
1. How many data fields can be placed on the map?
2. Syncing routes OTA now possible without IQ?
I can´t see screws on back of the new edge 1030, possible to open the case after
warranty to repair button/rubber or change a old accu?
Ray, any idea on compatibility with the Stages PM? My Garmin 820 has drop-out issues.
It’s compatible. Though honestly hearing of dropouts on the Edge series for Stages is super-rare (increda-rare). Which makes me wonder if something else is up there.
At least on the Edge 1030 you could try BLE connectivity to see if that resolves it.
Another Stages/820 dropout user here… Fenix 3HR is so bad that the data is unusable. 810 was rock solid.
My 1000 drops my Stages PM a lot. So much so, in fact, I went back to using my 800 when I ride that bike.
Stages and the Edge 820 do not work together. Stages knows this is an issue. Its total BS and is hidden on the stages website.
I sold 2 stages and bought 2 Quarks, so much better.
I disagree. Stages drop outs with the edge are not rare. I have an 820 and it would not connect properly with either of my stages power meters. Stages acknowledges there are problems, but choses to bury this info on the stages website. They told me the edge 820 with an out front mount can have issues and to mount on the bars. It still didnt work and i do not want it mounted to the bars. Sold my stages power meters and bought 2 quarqs. WAYYYYY BETTER!!!!!!!!
I have the same problem with dropouts on stages gen 2 (for both an ultegra and DA version) and the 820. The stages power meter work fine with the older 800.
I’ve used my 1030 on 3 rides now with a stages Gen 1 Ultegra PM and no issues with dropouts. I also have a Gen 2 that I plan to use on another bike but haven’t tested that one yet.
I’m coming from an 810 w/ no stages issues. I’d be very p#ssed if there was issues with a $600 unit and a widely used PM.
hello, does the harmon 1030 work directly with upper buttons in di2 shifters or do you have to buy an additional component from Shimano?
“new ability to create workouts on Garmin Connect Mobile.”
Hey, what? Is there a new version of the app (nothing I can see in the app store), or is this something that only appears when paired with the 1030? My app still says “visit Garmin Connect online”
Coming to a phone soon near you (for all users).
No Electronic Compass? That is a shame if so and would have made a real difference to the ease of navigation on messy routes.
Funny considering my Etrex Summit had that in ’98…
As I still have the Egde 1000 and no plans to upgrade, one question regarding battery packs: is there an alternative for the Edge 1000 (third-party), that could salvage the double-sided mount?
I’m not aware of one. Part of the challenge is that connector on the Edge 1000 is non-waterproof (and out the back). Now, that said, you could quite frankly buy the Edge charging block/mount and then just use a small tiny micro-USB cable to loop back to the battery. Maybe I’ll try it out tonight.
(Caveat: I need to look carefully at my unboxing stuff and see if the out-front mount that’s required for this comes with the Edge or battery.)
Or just use any small USB battery pack and put it in your top tube bag along with a micro-usb cable of sufficient length.
“Don’t just receive your incoming messages and leave friends and family hanging in the interim—respond to your texts and calls with one quick tap, pre-written messages that communicate info such as you’ll “Be Home Soon.” Additionally, send pre-written notes to fellow riders so you can communicate on the fly without leaving your friends wondering whether you’ll catch up in a few or not.”
This is what clever training has on it’s site, which seems to indicate you can respond to any text messages. I read a message below that you can only send to other riders. If what you stated is true, clever training may need to update there text to be a little more clear.
So it’s funny. In talking to some Garmin folks it sounds like on Android you actually do this with the Edge 1030. I’ll try and get that rigged up tonight.
(Random FYI: All text on sites like Clever Training actually comes from Garmin. It’s copy/paste. This is done so retailers don’t promise something that doesn’t exist.)
Thanks Ray.
Any idea when Garmin might release their own BLE sensors?
They started with Garmin Vector. 🙂
Without supporting firmware yet… Plus I’ve read that whilst the 1030 will connect to BTLE sensors (HR, speed and cadence etc.), it’s ANT+ only for Power Meters?
Nope, it’ll connect to BLE power meters. They started on the Fenix 5/FR935, and it’s the same stuff that arries over.
Will the 1030 support the Komoot Routing which I personnally find much better than Strava.
Does it have the Crash Detection/notification of the Edge Explore ?
I’ve been opting to use wrist based HR during my rides from my 935 and broadcasting that to my 520. For me this serves two purposes. First, not having the clunky strap to put on every ride as well as saving the lifetime of the HR strap for race day only. Second, since I am broadcasting I just save and don’t upload the ride from the 935 so I get my training load from all my workouts in one place. I agree it would be nice to have them integrated, but this is more than a serviceable workaround for me.
The 935 and Edge 520 do differ quite a bit in freshness calculation, it would be nice to see Garmin tighten that up. It seems like the 935 is a much harsher critic of where you are at.
I have only had one instance when the wrist based HR was not accurate for about 25 minutes of a 40 minute cyclocross race, where I opted for it over the strap because I didn’t need/want running dynamic data. I do generally see a few minutes of lag with the wrist based measurement from the 935 at the start of an activity. Does anyone else?
Probably a better solution to not saving is to save on both your Edge and 935/Fenix 5, but have them syncing to different accounts. At least that way you have a backup of the data.
“Wrist-based HR detection”?
Does that mean there’s possibly a way for the Apple Watch to fee HR data to the 1030?
No
I have the Edge 520 and the display is dreadful in direct sunlight. You mention at the end you like the display but how does it compare to the Edge520?
Love the review, Ray!
One thing I’ve noticed about the Edge 1000 is that when navigating, navigation prompts come up a bit too close to the turn when you’re on a group ride. I like to warn groups about upcoming turns. The distance at which the prompt comes up is not configurable on the Edge 1000. Is it configurable on the 1030?
Thanks!
>> “I regret to inform you have I haven’t gone out for a 40-44 hour non-stop ride”
And with one simple move, the DCR brand is forever tarnished. So disappointing.
“More importantly – I didn’t have any issues with re-routing. This is an area that some folks have seen trouble with in the past, such as when they go off-course. My suspicion is that this was typically related to routes created by 3rd party apps (.TCX/.GPX) that were more challenging on re-routing.”
I don’t think your suspicion is correct here. The rerouting doesn’t actually have anything to do with the course (except to determine a point on the course to get back to).
The rerouting is calculated just like computing a route to a location (like a hotel).
My suspicion here is based both on a boatload of comments…and you know…Garmin themselves. 😉
So basically, it’s more than a suspicion.
There’s lots of confusion about how the routing works.
If you are using “turn guidance”, there are actually two routes: one is the track and the other is a calculated route that follows the track using roads on the map. (This can be seem sometimes with odd shortcuts in the secondary route (the one used for “turn guidance”).
If the second route is able to be calculated, it should have no problems calculating a route to the track.
There aren’t really differences in the track files created by RWGPS (for example) and Garmin Connect. Planning the route using a different map than is installed on the device can be a problem but that’s not an “app problem” (it’s a map problem).
If there’s a problem with different file sources (which still seems unlikely), the problem would be with picking a point on the track to route to.
If the device can calculate a route to a randomly dropped pin (which seems to be easy to do if the pin is close to a road), it shouldn’t have any problem calculating a route to a point on the track (where the track is close to a road).
I’ve only used my 1000 for navigation once, just to try it. (Generally I navigate a few times a year.) It worked well for the most part, but a couple of miles from the end it deliberately went off course for a few tenths of a mile. It told me “off course” and then “on course” after I rejoined the course, but the navigation prompts were insisting that I turn around and ride back to the place where I left the course. So it knew I was on course and it gave the “end course” notification and stopped navigating when I reached home, but it wasn’t satisfied and never prompted correctly from the time I left the course. So its idea of what to do when deviating from the course isn’t the way I’d want it done. Trying to go back is almost always the wrong thing to do.
I had an issue in earlier firmware (Edge1000), where live segments interfered with following a course. Lots of spurious “off course” messages. Not using live segments anymore but I think its no longer an issue anyway
It knows you are on the track route (it’s easy for the unit to do that). That’s were the “end course” notification comes from.
The prompts (the big white arrows) come from the second (calculated) route. The devices can have problems picking up the second route in the right place). It’s a bug. The ancient 800 picks up the second course in the correct place reliably. That the newer units don’t seem to be as reliable for this is one reason I still use the 800.
You might be able to get things working by reloading (restarting) the course. When doing that, it might help to ride along the course path in the correct direction so the unit can determine your heading. (The units use your heading to figure out what leg of the course you are on and GPS units need you to move to determine heading.)
Yeah, the Edge 800 might be the best cycling navigation unit Garmin has ever made. I replaced mine with the 1000 when my 800 after 4 1/2 years gave me trouble two days in a row. (The second day I was expecting trouble and so took my Epix with me and had to use its track afterwards.) From what I’ve read about the successor models and my one experience with the 1000 they simply aren’t as good as the 800 at navigation. The 1000 is still better than the 705; my 705 would probably have tried to make me repeat the loop attached to the out and back.
Updated Workout Functionality: Software now lets you restart a structured workout step, such as if outside and stuck at a red light.
I have the Edge 820 and really want this feature! is it going to be available with an update?
Thanks!
Can this also do double duty as a hiking/backcounty gps? Any deficiencies?
The deficiencies are what you’d expect. You can’t really wear it and there’s nothing to clip it to a pack, so you have to carry it somehow. It isn’t designed for hiking, so auto-pause might give you some trouble if it’s on. As mentioned somewhere above the touch screen and buttons might get pressed and do something you don’t want if you pocket it. The antennas on Garmin handhelds designed for hiking are usually better. I used an Edge 705 for many years for hiking and cross-country skiing as well as cycling, and it worked OK, but I don’t use my 1000 for anything but cycling now. For occasional use it’d be OK so long as you’re careful about the screen, but for regular use you’ll be happier with a Fenix 5X or one of the handhelds.
Same question as @peter
Will the external battery pack “in theory” work with a Garmin Virb Ultra 30 outside the case?
In theory. I’ll try it tonight.
That would be wonderful. I like the Virb Ultra but end up using the elite a lot more for battery life reason
Thanks for this detailed review
Do you know if this Edge 1030/Battery Pack mount could also be compatible with Virb action cams or à Varia light instead of the battery ? avoiding to switch to a combo mount every time you use the Virb/light
Thks
The battery contacts makes dealing with broken tabs by using a $30 glue-on piece no longer an option.
Ray, Thanks for rushing this key review out to us so quickly. Two easy questions — is the mounting mechanism compatible with the existing Garmin 1000 Mount? Does this then preclude the use of the extra battery pack? Also ++ What is the mechanism used to communicate with other riders via messages? Do we need a mobile signal? Do we need to be in Bluetooth range? I suspect and hope that it is something better than either. Thx DCR. #rideon
” is the mounting mechanism compatible with the existing Garmin 1000 Mount?”
The battery contacts on the 1030 are flush with the surface of the mount. The 1030 should work with any Garmin mount (that allows for the size of the 1000/1030).
“Does this then preclude the use of the extra battery pack?”
The battery pack will only work with mounts that support it. The mount has to have a hole to allow the connectors on the battery pack mate with the contacts on the 1030. The mount also has a connector on the bottom for the battery.
So price goes up by $100 for the top level while price of the 520 drops?
520 – $249
820 – $399
1000 – $499
1030 – $599
Any reason for the big jump in price?
Nothing competes with the navigation Edges (yet). The 520 directly competes with the ELEMNT.
How much more will someone spend for a few more features? They don’t have to compete on the same functionality to still compete.
Also going for the high end like this can limit some functionality. Unit to unit messaging is only useful if the other person has a 1030.
The Edge 1000 was originally $599 when it launched. Its price fell to $500 after 13 or 14 months.
link to dcrainmaker.com
Yeah, but the category “cycling GPS’s that can navigate independently of a cell phone using onboard routable maps” includes, to my knowledge, the Edge 820, the Edge 1000, and now the 1030. Garmin is basically only competing with itself in this category. They can’t go too nuts since there are some phones that can also do the job more or less, but they can charge a premium. They can’t do that with the 520, since there’s already competition in the “maps but can’t navigate” space.
Although no competition in the “maps with street names but can’t navigate” space. Still, they can’t go too nuts.
The 810 was $499 at release so the 1000 was only $100 more then the lower level unit:
link to dcrainmaker.com
By the time the 820 came out the pricing was:
Edge 520: $299
Edge 820: $399
Edge 1000: $499
link to dcrainmaker.com
They can charge whatever price they want and all you said existed in the past. I’m wondering why they are going with a $200 price jump from the next lower down unit when they were at $100 during the life of the edge 1000.
Don’t agree that Garmin alone is on the navigation. I have a Wahoo Bolt now and it just works. Ok, you need a phone to route or re-route, but watching the speed of an Edge 820 to recalculate a route (Shane Miller video) It was just a joke. You rather get out your phone and than calculate a route than have an 820 calculate the route. Apart form the slow and cumbersome touchscreen of the 820.
As for the 1030: I cycle and I like to clear my head when training. Not have all sorts of gadgets to link to my smartphone and keep up to date. You can buy a Wahoo Elemnt (Bolt or not) and have a reasonable smartphone for the price of an Edge 1030.
Wahoo can’t even show you street names or POI’s on the device, let alone navigate.
They aren’t the same product so each has its limits. But still close enough someone could easily go “Road names for an extra $350? I’ll pass, I can carry my phone with me” I think the Garmin is much better, not so sure on the price jump of the 1030.
Well it’s not that limited as you say. There’s a whole category (also from garmin sadly) that Ray doesn’t cover much: The outdoor segment. Sure the devices are bigger and more clunky that the slim and sleek edge series, but they also come with a bigger screen and handle navigation far better. And most (not sure if all) run on AA-batteries, easily changeable or can be hooked up to a powerbank. I currently use an Oregon 600 instead of an edge (simply because I already owned that before I started speedcycling) and if you want a bigger screen there’s also the Montana and Monterra series, though I prefer the size of the oregon. If you want smaller, there’s also the etrex and some others.
BTW Ray, why don’t you start reviewing these devices? Hiking is also a sport 😉
I started with a Garmin handheld, the 60CSx. I used it for everything, automobile routing, cycling, hiking, cross country skiing. Then, because of a design flaw (road vibration would cause it to shut down if it was mounted on the handlebars because of how the batteries were connected to the electronics), when Garmin announced the Edge 705, I got one when it came out. (And shortly afterwards made it a principle that I would never buy a Garmin device when it first came out. I carried the 60CSx along with me for 6 months before I could trust the 705 not to screw up somehow during a ride). Once the 705 was stable, it was a much better experience than using the 60CSx (which, among other things, had no ANT+), although the 705 did have navigation quirks I had to live with. Around that time I got a Nuvi for automobile use, and again it was a much better experience than the 60CSx (which didn’t have voice navigation prompts; you’re not going to go wrong when Darth Vader is giving you directions). Now I use an Edge 1000 for cycling, have a built in Garmin navigation device in my car, use an Epix for hiking and skiing, and otherwise wear an Apple Watch as a smart watch which I leave home whenever I’m doing an outdoors activity. Handhelds are great, but specialist devices do the job better.
Yeah, I’d love to review hiking devices. But I lack both mountains and time. Mostly time. :-/
Well I lack mountains too, doesn’t mean I’m not interested in the device. Besides if you combine a forest hike with a hilly bike ride you more or less get the same info as you would from a proper mountain hike. Point I’m trying to make: lack of mountains is something I can forgive in a review. Lack of time on the other hand is not something I can fix for you.
Just know that I’d welcome the expansion to the outdoor devices (from any brand for that matter) I still feel they bring a lot of bang for buck navigation and sport wise, it’s just not really as specialized as the edge series.
You do have Fontainebleau just down he road though. Great place to test the hiking devices….
Hi Ray, thanks for your work. What can you say about the accuracy of the gradient?, is there the actual annoying delay of the other garmin devices?
From the provided graphs with comparison of elevation charts with two other 520 units and Fitbit it unfortunately looks bad and the sensor is probably the same shity one with big lag like 520 and 820 has :((
The Fitbit sensor is probably more accurate and sensitive. So far the white color and barometric sensor are only two things that bothers me on 1030. Otherwise it pretty solid.
Hi,
is the new Heart Rate (Premium) that comes with the bundle, Bluetooth enabled?
Looking forward to a comparison to the Hammerhead Karoo when it comes out.
Might drive some competition on price for higher end units
Interested to see the comparison too.
Hi Ray,
How many data fields are configurable om the Navigation screen ? Just 2 like the Edge 1000 or more ?
Thx
Yes, this would be interesting. I often use the map. But only two data fields aren’t enough. We need more on this screen. 4 at least. it is only a Software issue. Ray please test it!
One would think some new features will be add to 520, 820, 1000; if not the 1030 community will have only a hand full of riders to txt on a group ride
FYI: just got an email P1 price cut
Thanks for the great review.
Ive been hanging for this unit but I am disappointed that it is white. Pretty much rules it out for me.
Any mention of any different options like with the 820 v 820 Explore?
Cheers.
There will be silicon cases.
Also Sharpies to make the white whatever color you want
Thanks for writing up this wonderful and detailed review! Btw, does the new unit allow for multiple bike profiles and tracking? Meaning, would I be able to track the individual odometer across several different bikes with this one device?
Presumably it’s a sensor pool model like all recent Garmin devices, so no bike profiles.
Correct.
Another awesome review. I cannot help but comment on one aspect of the review that is somewhat unrelated to the the 1030 but is highlighted by the data. The elevation data graph certainly proves one thing…..the 820 absolutely sucks when it comes to reliably producing altitude or grade information. It stands out as the most inconsistent of the group shown. As always, thanks for doing this! Still the best and most reliable bike site on the web.
I’m curious for more information on exactly how it chooses which strava segments to show that it pulls from your phone. Just your starred segments like before? Or non-starred segments that are popular? Or all nearby segments?
Looks impressive ! But I still cannot understand why Garmin keeps so many product lines … How to choose between Oregon 7xx and Edge 1030 ?
Primary use. If you’re primary use is cycling (mountain included), get an Edge. If hiking or something similar, get the Oregon. I’m not sure, for example, an Oregon can pair with a power meter, and the Edge won’t pair with a Tempe.
Previous edge units paired with a tempe:
link to apps.garmin.com
Consider the oregon (and similar outdoor devices) as a more rounded ‘jack of all trades’ device, lacking the specifics an edge, tailor made for cycling, brings. This shows in the bigger/better? options in navigation on the oregon and geocaching functions, but the lack of workouts, strava segments that the edge brings. It comes to what you want to do with it in the end what brings the best experience.
Did I miss the price of the battery pack?
$130
link to buy.garmin.com
Garmin website lists Garmin Charge™ Power Pack PART NUMBER: 010-12562-00 at US$129.99 .
Hi,
Great review as always, thank you!
I miss one topic though. In your Wahoo Elemnt review you were very positive in their SW abilities, namely their Strava integration. One thing that sucks in current Edge models is that overlapping segments is not supported, and that you cannot choose to race against your own PR or the KOM. Is this fixed in the 1030? Wahoo seems to have set the standard in SW so far.
Thanks again!
I can choose to race my own Strava PR on my Edge 1000. You select one of 3 “opponents” at the top of the screen with the arrows. You can also set the default opponent for each Strava segment in the segment settings on the Edge itself.
You could always choose against you wanna compete… But to do it on each of your segments is a reaaaaal pain.
I’d like to set all to “compete against KOM” globally and I’m through. To have the option to set it individually, fine… but it should work globally as well.
Another annoying “fact” of Strava integration to Garmin units is, that it allowed only to sync 100 segments to your Garmin device. If you marked more than that on Strava, it kicked out others on your device with the next sync.
That was finally the killer for me, why i switched to the Bolt.
@Ray:
Is the 100 segment limitation still valid?
Last but not least:
Any update, if they gonna improve GCM to configure Garmin units via phone (Wahoo like) instead of just at the device (also a pain).
Thanks for your comments! What I wanted to know if you can choose during the ride whether to show your effort vs PR or KOM, like that of the Elemnt.
If possible, it would be super nice to also know if overlapping segments work and if strava segments work even when you follow a route?
Garmin released Edge 520 firmware 12.20 today, one of the items is “Fixed an issue when attempting to load more than 100 segments.”
Hmm, there is no similar note in the firmware update for the 820 released on the same day, and I believe the 820 has the same 100 segment limit. So my guess is that it’s a bug fixed when you have more than 100 starred segments and not that the 100 segment limit is being lifted. Happy to be proven wrong though!
If you have road, tri, cross, mountain bike, and Zwift, and use them all, and if you also **don’t care about cost** , which is the better buy, Wahoo Elemnt or Edge 1030. (If it matters, my devices all connect by Bluetooth smart.)
Heading out on a bike tour in two weeks. Based on your comparison of the Element to prior Garmin models, my ELEMNT just arrived. I am an occasional bike “tourer”, not an everyday thing. But lost a phone pulling it out in the rain to figure out where to go, so I want a good navigation feature.
So, without regard to price, do you prefer the 1030 to the ELEMNT? (The Wahoo app is sweet, but everything I have, other than my KICKR is Garmin.)
If you’re primarily a tourer, the Edge high-end series is better if you don’t know exactly where you’re going each day. Whereas with Wahoo you do need to either:
A) Plan where you’re going that day ahead of time
B) Be OK with a single-point routing via the phone app (pushing to ELEMNT).
For touring, the big difference between the Elemnt and 1030 is that the 1030 does navigation without assistance from your smartphone. Think about navigation in a car, without a cellphone you can enter a destination and the car’s nav system will create a route and start navigating. Depending on the cell coverage along your tour, that might be important. Both have relatively long battery life, but if you are outside for more than 15 hours then Elemnt *might* need a charge before the 1030. On long rides (7+ hours) I carry a small Anker battery pack and usb cables to charge my Varia radar, Edge 520, and even my cellphone on a recent 16 hour double century. A nice but expensive accessory for the 1030 is a mountable battery pack.
Did you get a feel if the lag time on turns for the GPS for turns has improved? I’ve missed many a turn because the GPS wasn’t keeping up with the route (even on the 820).
I didn’t have any lag time issues with routing, even in the city with rapid turns.
So its faster or you don’t notice any difference as lag was the same?
Maybe have a side by side shot following a route in a dense part of Paris (dense areas are slower for the unit to handle the map for) using the same map base (some maps are faster then others, but maybe just the maps included on the unit works) Also turn handlebars are light when stopped. Did they add a compass like the 935?
There’s no compass in the unit.
I can try when I get back to do some side by side in-city routing.
That’s bad. Would have been one reason to upgrade. When following a route off road, sometimes you stop and the edge 1000 loses orientation. It would have been a useful addition.
Useful for city use too when stopped at a more confusing intersection, especially if you move to the side of the road as you stop so the gps gets confused. True, more clues to figure out how its supposed to orient but still annoying
Annoying how the fr920 and fr935 have magnetic compasses built in but not this
Lag has a few things of interest. When using the UI (menu and switching screens), scrolling the maps, time till it warns being off course, redrawing the map as you move (missing a turn because you don’t have a map to read is a pain) Those I think are the important lag issues. Sure doing the initial routing at the start of the ride may be annoying if slow but never caused a problem during a ride.
Any chance you could have side by side of the 820, 1000, and 1030 on map mode all zoomed to the same level? (maybe a 810 too as guessing thats what many would be upgrading from) Would be nice to see if the screen resolution allows them to change how much detail they show on the map (higher resolution can allow readable road names the lower resolution unit can’t show) along with how much extra surrounding a larger screen will allow being shown. But if you are moving around can see if the lag is different.
Thanks
Ray, this may be a dumb question, but I will ask anyway. What do I do with the lanyard? I have an 830 and my lanyard is sitting in my deck drawer because I am at a loss concerning how to use it.
Thanks.
One end attaches to the little slot on the device. The other gets wrapped around your handlebars. The idea is that if the mount or tabs on the back of the device break, the device isn’t going to hit the ground. I had a mount break twice on my Edge 705 (hit the road once, the other time I noticed something was wrong and caught it when it came loose). The only lanyard I have now is for my VIRB Elite, and I use it. It’s like a helmet: you never want to actually use it for what it’s intended for, but it’s a good idea to have it just in case.
Where IS this “little slot”? I can’t find any place on my 1030 through which I could loop the lanyard (I’ve not waded through all of Garmin’s documentation, since Ray’s review is so much better).
Jim, you have to open the USB port on the 1030, and then you can access the “little slot” on the left bottom edge. You can see it on the bottom of the Edge.
Thanks so much!
Jim
I’d be interested in the K-Edge mount experience with the battery pack setup. Even possible? or if you want the battery pack you are now locked in to their mount. The K-edge seem to have picked different angles, etc. that maybe block access to this port?
You have to use their mount for the battery pack. I’m sure others could design for it, but there’s portions that are obviously hardware-focused there to make work.
thank you for the best review so far , one question I do have is the actual battery life on the actual has it increased as Garmin claims didn’t see that in the review maybe I missed it t
Does this order your routes based on your location like the 800 did or absolutely worthlessly by alphabetics like the 820?
It’s still alphabetical. Though you can filter on Strava/Non-Strava routes, as well as search within courses.
May have missed this, and sorry if this was answered already, but is the “heat map” route planning coming to other devices for the route creation? I just bought 820 and get sick of traffic and stop signs.
Can you do splitt screen navigation of some type? By that I mean e.g. seeing the map and where to go on the top and your data fields on the bottom half?
Generally you can put a limited number of data fields on the map page. On the Edge 800 it’s two, and I think that’s still the case on the Edge 1000 (that’s all I have on my map page). Since the 1030 screen is bigger, the limit might be higher. I like to use auto rotating screens instead; I have several data pages and eventually I’ll see the map or data that I want just by waiting.
The manual is out, and possibly answers questions like this (although you never know with Garmin manuals).
The biggest annoyance on the E1000, is the poor utilization of the display. Even with only 4 data fields, the E800 has way bigger digits.
From the looks of it (picture w txt msg shown), they did not fix that. Sad! Can’t even get the basic right….
Helps with the “big edge” IQ app, but that has other drawbacks…
On laptop now, so thought I’d post a few pictures, show the Edge 1000 (and 1030) small digits… E800 & E1000 shown
2nd one
But now the label is easier to read with more space and a bigger font :-p
True. But I don’t really need the label. If it says BPM, I know it’s heart rate.
Besides, there is tons of unused space to the left, when it’s speed, HR and power (3-4 digits max) Why not stick the label there?
Can you tell me whether the 1030 fixed a different problem I’ve found with the 1000 font sizes? If you add “Navigation / Location at Next” to a data screen, the text for that Location name is tiny on the 1000 — it’s the same size as the label for the data field.
As you know, in any given data field “box” on the Garmin, the label is tiny but the data itself generally displays much larger depending on the size of the data field box, which varies according to the number of fields displayed on the data screen.
But this is not true for “Navigation / Location at Next” on the 1000: even if the Location name (course point name) is short, the data font is tiny and uses very little of the vertical space assigned to the data field, regardless of how short or long the Location name is.
And as someone over 50 using reading glasses, I’d like to be able to read that Location name — even more than reading the labels for the data fields.
(The Garmin 810 approach was adequate: it truncated the Location name if it was too long. Of course, there are other alernatives, such as formatting the text as a “ticker” or “marquee” so that the Location name cycles through the width of the data field. There are numerous other approaches with tradeoffs in simplicity, clarity, etc — but Garmin’s leaving small text on screen feels like age discrimination to me!)
Does the 1030 support Faverro bepro batteri status?
The 520 did not support this as i remenber the Faverro in depth review.
Does this new Edge unit interface seamlessly with your daily metrics on Garmin Connect. For example, on my Edge 1000 if I do a ride the HR track appears as a gap on my daily timeline, whereas if I record the ride with my Forerunner 935 it adds the HR to the est of my day, combined with all the Vivofit 3 data. Does this new Edge change that?
Within Garmin Connect it will, but it won’t show up across all your devices.
Does the Garmin 520 get the Strava update that adds the new Strava Controls page – pulling in nearby Strava segments via phone?
No, purely for downloading routes.
Great insight….so i have an 820 and wanted to know if Garmin will push out a full firmware update to bring the 820 on par with the new 1030 similar to what apple does for supported devices…ask because a lot of the new features and native apps etc look super cool. Thanks.
They are still selling the 820 for $200 less.
1. Is this correct, it´s impossible to repair/open(no screw) the Edge 1030 after 2 year warranty? junk?
2. No European Galileo Satellitennavigation?
3. No 3-axis compass?
Thanks
The 820 is basically a 1000 in a smaller size …
I assume there’d an “830” in the pipeline… any ETA on that ?
Given the Edge 820 just came out a year ago, I wouldn’t expect anything anytime soon.
Is there a compelling reason why Garmin doesn’t add a headlight to these units?
Or a simple camera?
They could even sell multiple editions of the same device, with different options.
Having a simple headlight for improved visibility would be helpful, without having to add another device to the handlebars.
Any meaningful headlight destroys battery. It’d double the size of the unit. Polar tried a ‘safety light’ on the V650, but it was a complete failure by pretty much any metric you use (that feature). Nobody used it, and even Polar stopped promoting that aspect of it. It just wasn’t bright enough, and barely did anything.
With the UT800 light though, they developed it to fit under the out-front mount, so it’s a pretty tidy package.
I don’t get why that’s the case.
I have a daylight visible flashing taillight with a tiny rechargeable battery, that lasts 14 hours.
If built in to a Garmin unit, you could choose when and how to use it.
I ran into a storm during my early morning ride last week (the skies got dark enough to turn on the backlight on my 820), and wished I’d had a little bit of light to be more visible to approaching cars, on a rural highway.
I’m not talking about a light that’s bright enough to mountain bike at night, just safety visible to cars.
Is the UT800 only compatible with mount included in the urban edition? I was hoping that the 1030 mount would also be able to carry the light.. For me that is an absolute desaster. If I want to switch between batterie pack and light I would also have to switch the mounts.. Charging cable all over..
Can you confirm the UT800 fits underneath the out front 1030 mount with anything extra to purchase?
It is clear as mud on the Garmin website although they show the UT800 being attached in one of the 1030 videos.
Is the clamping connector included with the 1030 out front mount?
Yes, it works. I have the 1030 mount, the UT800 and the Garmin Charge Pack for the 1030. The UT800 and battery pack are interchangeable (but can’t both be mounted simultaneously). I’ve been riding with a UT800 on my 1030 mount since December.
To be clear, the clamp that comes with the UT800 and its out-front mount works out of the box with the 1030 out-front mount. There is nothing else to buy.
Sorry that’s not very clear on the website JD. Yes, you can use the 1030 mount with the UT 800. The UT 800 will have an adaptor in the box that allows you to secure it to the underside of the 1030’s Out-Front Mount.
Thanks to everyone for replying so quickly.
To be clear this only works if you purchase the Urban model with out-front mount, right?
Just as a heads up to folks, the Unboxing video (both Edge 1030 and Battery Pack), just posted. Available here: link to youtu.be
So frustrated right now. After waiting a year and a half to upgrade my Edge 500, expecting Garmin to come out with this unit, less than a month ago I finally gave up and bought the 1000. Now this comes out, with not much advance warning until a week or so ago. I don’t suppose Garmin would offer me an upgrade price? Wonder if my LBS wound exchange it for me.
Next question: on the Edge 1000, there is no way to turn off that stupid and battery-draining Virtual Partner on navigation courses. Is this possible on the 1030? I suppose it’s less of an issue since the battery life is better, but Garmin has ignored our requests to fix this on the 1000.
You can certainly turn that off. Just remove the page from the profile.
It’s very of what people consider “battery draining”…
Frankly an update for Edge 1000 was expected. Ray hinted at that several times in the past.
Even back in June the Edge 1000 was marked as a ‘don’t buy’ item unless you came across a good deal
link to gpsrumors.com
I guess I just missed those.
@Giles, do you mean in the 1000 or 1030? I have turned it off in the 1000 for the profile “Ride”, but whenever I am navigating from a file, I guess a .GPX IIRC, that partner still comes on.
erg. I mean the “Train” profile.
Virtual partner is just a page like any other. Remove it from whatever (or all) profiles you use.
This will have no effect at all on battery life.
This is on the 1000.
Not true. Disabling the virtual page has no effect on the virtual partner being shown and tracked on the map when following a course.
Agreed. There is no way to turn that annoying thing off while navigating. Ray or anyone: is this fixed on the 1030?
In any event, at this point, I’ve only got a sample size of one (me). But I can say that even side by side the Edge 1030 display is incredibly good in rain. During a recent random-ass thunderstorm I went outside and filmed this simple segment to show how well it works. This was a one-take wonder. No other takes, just this one shot:
[VideoUploading]
Dramaaaa……
Hi Ray. Thanks again for a comprehensive review.
An outfront mount related question.
Does the lower part of the outfront mount supplied with the Edge 1030 fit the battery pack and the Varia 500 light?
I understand that you can’t use both the battery pack and the light together, but would like to switch between the Varia 500 light and the battery pack without having to change outfront mounts as well.
Know you are not a fan of the audio alerts, but did you happen notice the levels in traffic? The 1000 always seems to have a lower volume than the other units, and a pain when you miss a turn.
As always, you rock the review.
Agreed. The Edge 1000 alert volume is very low. Hope the 1030 is louder.
Hey Ray,
Question about the Workouts page.
Is the page now customisable or does it have the ability to show more than one performance metric?
Reason I am asking is that when following a custom workout it usually involves following 2 performance metrics. For example hold 200W for 10 minute at a cadence of 70rpm. On the current Garmin units while on the workout page you could not keep track of your cadence or customise the page to display this, in addition to power ofcourse.
Thanks again for all your great work.
You can definitely create a new page for you workout where it shows W, Rome, time elapsed, time to finish interval, interval done… I have done that while following the training plan from TODAY’S PLAN
Hey Ray,
Do you have any details on what the workout page looks like? Have they added the ability to add further metrics?
Regarding the recovery metrics: this is why, whenever I go for a ride, I use my Edge 520 to track and display my vital statistics, but also have my 735XT recording at the same time. I use the 735XT’s recovery time, and ignore the Edge’s.
This practice is also why I’m still a bit negative towards BLE. Yes, I realise that that seems to be the direction the market is headed, and Garmin’s newfound support for that protocol strongly suggests that they’ll be moving that way as well, keeping ANT+ basically for “legacy” devices – although there will doubtless be an extended period during which their sensors will be dual band. But that said, it’s perfectly feasible to have two devices recording data from the one ANT+ sensor… but not from the one BLE sensor.
Thanks. Great review as always.
I am wondering if all new features of STRAVA segments will be in GARMIN SEGMENT, for those people who are not premium.
Is there any improvement in the ability of the unit to record vertical ascent / elevation in the rain ? The barometric sensor holes on my 810 and 820 both block quickly during rain and I have to put a plastic bag over them.
I can’t quite tell from the pictures but the sensor hole on the 1000 is underneath the unit behind the mounting point and I haven’t had any trouble in the rain (unlike my old 800).
Agreed, no problems of water blocking the barometric sensor holes on Edge 1000 (I had some trouble with 800), and it looks similar on 1030.
My 810 is fine un the rain. As is my 1000. But i definitely have issues when pedaling indoor. It keeps gaining altitude always.
Does anyone know if this will pick up the proprietary ANT+ data feed from Pioneer’s power meter which shows the advanced pedaling information like torque at different locations in the pedal stroke left and right etc?
Also, can this be viewed in landscape mode like the 1000?
Yes. It will. It will pick up any brands ANT+
How does the visibility in bright sunlight compare with the Bolt? Love your work.
Black protective case solves the white bezel problem. I did this on my 520.
Great review – thanks, Ray!
Regarding the mapping, what maps come pre-loaded? Just the maps specific to the region you purchase the 1030 in? I’m liking the sound of the micro-SD card and ability to load other maps (compared with the 820 which doesn’t have the extra storage).
What’s the temperature range? Would it be possible to use them in winter (up to -10 C) on a fatbike, for instance.
The manual says -20 C, but says don’t connect it to an external power source below 0 C.
This announcement is very very disappointing. A heavy bulky kit on the handle bar. No innovations. Battery spares are thousands at the market before and do the job….This reminds me to squeeze my macbook pro at the handle bar….no no no…
Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t see anything about the battery life of the 1030 itself. Most of the time manufactureres exaggerate the battery life or give you the time with every feature that’s useful turned off. So, did it last 20 hours?
+2
This was the main reason I read the review and will consider buying this product.
I hadn’t had a chance to leave it alone for 20 hours to try and see what happens. Though, I should have such an opportunity this week, so I’ll report back then.
Even more interesting than battery runtime for pure recording would be while routing. This is one of the big (I mean, BIG) downsides of my Edge 820 (beside slow routing calculation and sometimes slow map drawing)…let the Edge route you on looong rides? Don’t forget the power bank! Using a K-Edge adjustable stem mount? Don’t forget to charge the 820 while taking a break!
Good read, thank you.
With the Edge 1000, if you’re following a pre-baked course, you don’t have access to any segments that weren’t included in course creation. Has this finally changed with the 1030?
What kind of phone connectivity does it use? Legacy BT + BTLE or just BTLE?
Dual unfortunately.
Ray, my main motivation for the 1030 over my 520 would be the availability of more CIQ fields per activity profile. The 520 is capped at 4 and it looks like the 820 is capped at 5. Can you provide the limit for the 1030?
With some of the great CIQ fields and apps being released this may end up being the limiter for older models!
Thanks:)
Thanks for your review. I’m still wondering if it’s possible to import GPX-files, created by another program (non Garmin)?
Currently I have the Edge 25, import from non Garmin programs isn’t possible.
I can’t tell for 1030, but for Edge 800 and 1000 and I believe also for most other Garmin devices (except Edge 20 and 25), you can load any (non-corrupt) GPX file on the device.
For those devices I have owned, the simplest way is to drop the file into the “\Garmin\NewFiles\” folder.
For Edge 25 you need to convert the GPX file to a FIT file first. Check the guide at link to scarletfire.co.uk
Thanks Anderfo, useful information…
At least for the Edge 1000 there’s an CIQ app (gimporter) which allows to import GPX/FIT files from Android devices via the bluetooth connection (needs the corresponding Android gexporter app).
Sorry if it has already been answered but is there wireless upload compatibility with Ridewithgps?
Does this order your routes based on your location like the 800 did or worthlessly by alphabetics like the 820?
Same as Edge 820.
A little disappointed they didn’t use the charging cable from the 935/Fenix5 line. I was hoping they would make that a standard on all their units. Also interesting that they didn’t leverage the expansion battery pack connectors for charging / computer connecting so they wouldn’t have to have an additional usb port.
I am most interested for battery pack as it’s great for super long / 24 hour rides especially where I need mapping. I have used external USB packs and they can be a pain to mount cleanly and reliably and connections in wet conditions can cause issues.
You indicate that they battery pack comes with the base unit (not bundle) but the “what’s in the box” does NOT show that it does. Can you confirm whether battery pack comes with it!
The battery pack isn’t included in anything – all separate.
Looks like a nice piece of hardware. I might get excited about it in a year or two when the software for it comes out.
Sticking to my 3 year old 1000 for now.
I don’t get it. Should I spend another $100 to get the 1030 when I already have the 1000 and can download the Strava segments and Training Peak apps etc. Not sure I see the advantage other than slightly crisper GUI and extended battery life.
I don’t really think the target audience is Edge 1000 owners already, to be honest.
Hi Ray. You mention a New Garmin Connect Mobile Course Creator as one of the highlights and you have screenshots of what appears to be this. However, I am not able to find this on my GCM (Android). Is this something that has not yet been released or is there any trick (like connecting a 1030) to get access to it?
I’m not quite sure on where things stand precisely for all the GCM features and updates. I know that some stuff was set to go live today, but I don’t know if that’s happened already.
My phone got the GCM update (update dated 31st August) via Google Play today. It now includes the Create Course option.
yep it’s there on ios too.
basically same functionality as online as far as I can see
I got the update today so I have had a chance to check it. It looks like an interesting addition, but the failure rate is extremely high. More than 90% of my attempts on creating a round course ended with a generic error message.
In any case, all I see in the current Android GCM is a round trip suggestion with no way to actually modify the course, just some waypoint annotation tools that seem incredibly out of place on a “take me somewhere, anywhere” loop generator. If this is turns out to be the final product Garmin is pitting against the popular Wahoo/Komoot tag-team it would be a disaster for Garmin.
The current plan for Garmin is to do full routing from the GCM app by the end of the year. This was their (finally) first step.
Keep in mind it continues to be a mistake to equate the navigational capabilities of the ELEMNT to the Edge 820/1000/1030. While Wahoo has a lot built-in, they do lack any ability to re-route mid-ride, or any ability to do round-trip routing mid-ride without a phone to create the routes. That might not matter for some, but it’s also really important for others. To each their own.
That’s good to know! I’m all for pushing out incomplete features to the public earlier than later, but in this case a little ” (beta)” or something in the UI could have avoided a lot of disappointment and confusion. Loop suggestion seems so pointless on a cycling unit because it’s incredibly rare to have a bike with you but no idea where to go. I can see the appeal for runners, taking a pair of running shoes along on a business trip (like the pre-Paris DCR did) is so much more common.
Is there a max distance to the “friend messaging” feature.
My main bike friend and I live 20-25km away from each other, and bike about 12-13k each to our meeting point. Would be awesome to be able to send messages from the get go (25k away).
Sometimes I have biked 300km and met a friend half way, in that case it would be cool to be able to see the friends progress the entire time too (so in that scenario 300-350km distance).
And if there is a distance max, can you somehow force it to still send messages to any friend despite distance?
From what I understand it lifts on the cell phone mobile internet to work. So as long as you have reception and internet connection enabled you should be fine.
Correct, anywhere.
Thanks for this detailed review
Do you know if the Edge 1030/Battery Pack mount could also be compatible with Virb action cams or a Varia light instead of the battery ? avoiding to switch to a combo mount every time you use the Virb/light
Thks
I’m not seeing a good way to make that work to be honest. Maybe they have a small connector swapper thingy. I’ll ask.
Might be too early to know for sure, but has anyone announced plans for a Blendr mount that supports the external battery as well? I have a 2016 Madone that uses the Blendr system exclusively. The current high Garmin mount will likely work for the computer itself, but it won’t support the battery.
The course creation appeared with the last app update on android, however I am finding it useless, at least from my location. I try to create a course, select distance and direction, select a starting point, and then I keep getting a message “A course is not available in this direction. Do you want to try a different direction” but I keep hitting Yes and the same message keeps popping.
Strange thing is on garmin connect on the web I am able to create a course on the same map area.
You may be running into an issue that some of it wasn’t supposed to be fully live till today.
That said, I had that same issue as you yesterday evening for some odd reason.
Same issue for me on iOS. The new feature is useless for now.
I wonder how much of that interface will come to the 1000 with updates
I would expect none of it. 🙁
Is there really support for BLE (aka Bluetooth Smart) power meter sensors???
If one looks at specs and manual it is only stated ANT+ clearly.
rgs
Henrik
Yes, really.
I show a picture of it connected to a Bluetooth Smart power meter in the review.
Didn’t get that the “a BLE sensor” was a BLE power meter.
So from now it is downhill for ANT+… !?!
No, there’s plenty of things ANT+ does far better, and power connectivity is actually one of them.
On the Edge 520 and 820, the cover for the USB is a bit soft making it difficult to get to cover the port. Have they improved that in the new 1030? I know it’s a small detail but it points to a failure in attention to detail by Garmin.
David
The responsiveness/refresh rate of the screen compared to the Karoo demo you gave is pretty showing. Any chance you could show some panning and zooming on the map? Also can I put connect IQ fields (Xert) on the map/elevation/other pages?
The power connectors on the back are reason enough for me to get this, despite the slowness compared to the Karoo.
I put some panning and zooming action into this video I just posted with the water on screen test: link to youtu.be
I agree it’s certainly not as fast as a phone-based one, but I think folks have to keep in mind that the Karoo is quite a bit less featured than the Edge 1030. So there are tradeoffs to be made.
Thanks for the video!
The missing features are why I’m not grabbing the Karoo at launch. Maybe someday. For now Xert and being able to charge it via the mount on multi-day adventures wins.
Does your gut tell you the Hammerhead will be a better product?
No, not at all. At least not compared to the Edge 1030. No chance.
But…
It’ll be an interesting product at a lower price point for navigation to consider. I don’t see it competing with the Garmin Edge 820 either. But I do see it competing with the ELEMNT/BOLT and to a lesser extent the Edge 520 for those that care less about structured stuff and more about navigation. I don’t see any scenario before 2019 where the Hammerhead could compete with the Garmin Edge 820/1000/1030.
Hi, Ray. What is the major difference? what is missing in HammerHead Karoo?
Edge over hammerhead
* Shipping now
* ConnectIQ (Xert/BestBikeSplit are game changers)
* GroupTrack
* Mature ecosystem (all the people that have existing garmin devices that support grouptrack will work with it)
* 20 hour + 24 hour = 44 hour claimed battery life vs 12. Expect both these numbers to be lower in practice, but the 44 hour number is great for the ultra croud
* Varia Radar support – best bike purchase in the last 10 years
* Varia Vision Support – if they update this to work with connect IQ then this is my next purchase
* Garmin Virb remote support/etc built in — not a huge plus to me.
* Their routing engine has probably more rides than any other source to use. TBD how well they execute. Interested in the new GCM app as being able to plan routes on my phone or tablet is a better experience than any routing on a small screen
* Garmin now has creditable competition from Wahoo/Hammerhead, so I expect them to pick up the pace of innovation a bit (same thing happened in the Avionics space a few years ago).
* Charges through mount — again for the ultra/rando crowd that will be a win.
Karoo over Edge
* Price
* Screen clarity/responsiveness
* builtin cellular means no phone necessary for most functions
* new product not worried about backward compatibility allows them to take new approaches
* eventually they may support most of the lacking features, but first we need to see production hardware and production software. I’ve only seen limited previews on pre-production hardware.
Karoo: max 8 data fields on map screen. Garmin: just 0.
Don’t care about most of the stuff you mention, but the above is pretty vital to me!
* just 0-2.
I have a Bontrager Flare RT ANT+ enabled tail light, and there is a ConnectIQ app for it. It turns on when I turn on my Edge 1000. No more forgetting! It also automatically adjusts to day and night conditions.
The Edge series also has DI2 integration, which is vital for me. When I’m using Synchro Shift, it warns me with a beep when the next shift is going to shift the big ring. It also beeps when you reach the end of the rear cassette (which usually results in a big “screw you” from me when I’m on a particularly steep hill.)
The number of connected features that Garmin has is pretty much unmatched right now.
I ordered my Edge 1030 (my first Garmin computer) and am excited to try it out. Though I am excited about the charger, I will wait until someone decides to beef it up a bit, meaning a built in light. If they can build a light (UT-800) that can manage battery status from the Edge, then they can build a combo & get rid of the status indicator lights on the side too.
My 1030 just arrived. I am coming from the 520 so the first thing I noticed is the size of this thing. Its a brick!
Can you comment on how loud the beep is? I have a hard time hearing my Edge 1000 when I’m riding fast.
So after pouring through the videos and manuals the only omission that I was hoping for was the Active Weather from the Oregon/GPSMap series: link to buy.garmin.com
Infinitely more useful than the weather on the Edges I’ve used. I get a better idea of when it will rain on my route, , how hard it will rain on my route, and how long it will rain on my route. This drives decisions on pressing on vs seeking some shelter and eating lunch for an hour.
That would be useful to have. Wonder how much Garmin has heard of requests for this.
Maybe fill in a question to support? link to support.garmin.com
(If they don’t know there is demand they won’t add the functionality)
I have. That and requested the Oregon get ant+ power / varia / etc as that would also make it ideal for the ultra communities.
Still just 2 data fields on the map screen. What an EPIC FAIL by Garmin.
Hi Ray
I am interested in the improved touch screen functionality (and have watched the video).
I have an Edge 1000 and have had a few rides in the wet (I live in London) – generally the touch screen works OK but on longer rides I have had a situation several times where the screen seems to lock itself. I get a note saying screen locked when I try to do anything but there is no obvious way of unlocking it.
I am not sure if this is normal lock behaviour (I have no idea how to lock it or unlock it) or if it is a bug – all I know is that I have to do the rest of my 60 mile or so ride with the screen locked to whatever it happened to be on as I don’t want to split the ride into 2 on strava.
Is this a known issue? Has it ever happened to you?
If the 1030 fixes this great, if it just improving responsiveness then that’s less impressive as to be honest when the 1000 works it’s fine.
I solved this by using the Garmin remote, when it locks up change the screen using the remote and it returns to normal. Not a cheap solution but gets the navigation back on a long ride.
I haven’t had this issue but the way to unlock the screen if you deliberately lock it on an 820 is hold the on/off button for a few seconds and a screen button will show up to lock/unlock the screen, push it to lock or unlock. Very helpful in a good rain or when standing over the bars sweating all over the front of the bike climbing – keeps the screen from switching when drops hit it.
From the connectiq sdk:
1030:
bpp 16
resolution height=”470″ width=”282″
app id=”watch-app” memory_limit=”1048576″
app id=”widget” memory_limit=”1048576″
app id=”datafield” memory_limit=”131072″
1000:
bpp 16
resolution height=”400″ width=”240″
app id=”watch-app” memory_limit=”1048576″
app id=”widget” memory_limit=”1048576″
app id=”datafield” memory_limit=”131072″
So looks like the 1000 and 1030 are basically the same for connectiq use outside of a slight resolution bump. Anyone know of any cpu improvement? This kind of implies that as new versions of the SDK come out with new functionality the 1000 can do everything the 1030 can do. (Thinking back to when 2.x came out and older devices didn’t have the ram/cpu to handle it)
Thank you for the details!
I’ve been holding out for this one for over a year and It looks like it will support my Specialized Turbo S e-bike functions? Also, I don’t like wearing a heart rate strap (I am aware its still the most accurate way to train) but can you clarify if the Apple watch 2 HR can link with the edge 1030? Apple doesnt support Ant+ so I assume it can’t? so I would need a Fenix 5 HR or similar? Is that correct? Or maybe the next Apple watch 3 will have ANT+??
No, the Apple Watch doesn’t re-broadcast HR to my knowledge over BLE.
And there’s approximately zero (more like negative actually) chance of Apple adding ANT+. 🙁
Thnx for all replies. The info is useful.
I have a 1000 and ordered the 1030 which arrived yesterday. Sadly I am out of town. Why? The screen on my 1000 is slowly failing and in a hard rain it stops working. I used it a lot in three years. I will have the screen replaced and then sell it on eBay. Cheers.
Does it have any additional phone notifications or is it still just the same text/call notifications?
Hi, I have an Edge 1030, and find that it won’t stay connected to my Samsung S7 phone. My Edge 1000 stays connected to this phone. My iPhone will stay connected to the 1030. I can ‘forget’ the S7 on the 1030, go through the pairing process again, and it will find the S7 and go through the setup procedure, sync, then disconnect and won’t re-connect. Anyone see this behavior?
It’s the same text/call notifications only (at least on iOS).
For totally re-setting connections on the Edge 1030, be sure to complete the following:
A) Remove pairing on Edge 1030
B) Remove BLE pairing on settings on phone
C) Remove BT pairing on settings on phone
D) Delete Edge 1030 from Garmin Connect Mobile
E) Airplane mode on
F) Kill/close GCM app
Then start from fresh.
Did not find steps B&C on Android phone (latest OS version per Pixel) but am trying the rest of these steps to see if that improves pairing the phone.
Otherwise my almost-daily-routine is to: 1) start the 1030, 2) wait for paring on phone (with or without GCM running in background), 3) nothing happens 90% of the time, 4) “Forget phone” on 1030, and 5) pair again via 1030 and GCM steps which typically includes a Retry attempt after first attempt fails.
What’s so different about pairing a phone versus connecting to a BT/BLE sensor?
The 1030 finds my Polar Cadence/Speed sensor ever time without fail.
Paring the phone? Not so much.
Wish there was a simpler way to re-establish pairing when it fails.
Hopefully the reset steps will help.
When pairing a sensor, it’s all Bluetooth Smart. Versus a phone Garmin takes a dual-approach of one layer at legacy Bluetooth, and another at Bluetooth Smart. Frankly, it’s a mess and continues to frustrate me.
Their reasoning is that Bluetooth Smart is slower/lower bandwidth than legacy Bluetooth, and the concern is that at the end of a ride someone could turn off their device before it finishes transferring (something that does indeed happen on my Wahoo units sometimes). So for that they use legacy Bluetooth to high-speed transfer the data over.
Personally, in this day/age of WiFi on most of these devices anyway uploading, I’d rather have to remember to leave the unit on another few seconds or a minute, than dealing with the pairing hell.
There is no setting on the Edge 1030 for landscape display.
Will that be added later as it was on the Edge 1000?
During a 50 mile ride today the Edge 1030 for no apparent reason shut down twice and had to be restarted.
Another problem was that my Varia Vision repeatedly froze and restarting it and re-pairing with the 1030 did not solve the problem.
Any idea when these problems will be fixed? (yes, I have the latest software on both units).
I haven’t tried Varia Vision with it, but I saw zero freeze-ups or restarts every with it. Same goes with sensors. It’s actually an area I’m overly focused on since I’m using the data for power meter testing, and so every ride that I had the 1030 recording data from a HR or power sensor, I also had it recording data to an Edge 520 and often a wearable (usually 935). No drops.
I would say given all the oddities you’re having you may want to consider a hard reset, and failing that – a ring to Garmin to swap out.
Circling back on landscape mode, no, it’s gone. Chatted with the Garmin folks about this over the weekend. Here’s their reasoning:
“The main reason was that it removed a variable from the design of the new mount interface since we needed a locking mechanism for the battery pack.
We also just don’t see that many people using landscape mode on the Edge 1000 and removing it also saves a lot of development time, especially as we continue to develop features that go across the product lines.”
Note that on the battery pack mount portion, he’s referring to the fact that it can’t be rotated 90* due to the way the locking mechanism works.
While a bummer, I had always wondered about just how large that dev effort was. After all, it means every time a new feature/function works it has to be fit into the landscape/horizontal mode and tested as such. :-/
spoke to Garmin and was told that there is a software v3 (my edge 1030 says 2.2 and NO update available)
was also told that there is a problem with some? all? of the 1030s getting the update
apparently there is a software fix in the works re Garmin express
person did not know what issues it is designed to fix
re landscape mode, thx for the info which is what I suspected
I’m very disappointed bz landscape mode is perfect for my aero bars
also I am able to process the info more quickly when presented horizontally
Woah, that’s crazy. I’m currently at 3.70 on my Edge 1030. I assume that’s the latest since I haven’t been notified of anything from either the product group or the update thingy.
But yeah, 2.2 is like…ages ago? Pre-August at least. That said, the Garmin Support person should be able to simply give you the .GCD file. So I’d call back. That’s the firmware update file and it just placed in the ‘Garmin’ folder on the Edge 1030 via USB. Then unplug and it’ll update.
link to support.garmin.com
Doesn’t look like they posted the firmware publicly yet
Ray,
Garmin tech support tells me that 2.2 is the latest released version.
I told him that you told me that your unit has 3.7 loaded and I told him to 2x check that 2.2 is actually the latest released version.
I was on hold for a long time and he came back on the line and confirmed that 2.2 is the latest version.
Unless he is wrong, I can only speculate that Garmin provided you with a unit with a software version not available to the public.
If this is the case I am sure that you were not aware of it, bz it would be highly unethical, at a minimum, for Garmin to to do that.
Weird. Not sure what to say. I’ll check with the product team peoples and see what’s up. This firmware is from probably two weeks ago – so hardly new per se. Also somewhat odd that they initially said you were on an older firmware but now are backtracking.
Only thing I can think of is if 2.2 and 3.7 are somehow the same and just a change in numbering (sometimes happens as they near release). But either way, I’ll circle back once I figure out.
Ray,
Just got 3.20 through Garmin Express
Not sure why it was not 3.70 which is what you have
Well, at least you’re half-way there. 🙂
Will let you know once I find out the difference (if any) between those two.
(And yes, I just double-checked the firmware version online in my activity from yesterday just in case I transposed .2 for .7…but no, still 3.70): link to connect.garmin.com
Ok, got some clarification on the whole 3.70 thing. In a nutshell, it’s actually a Garmin Connect quirk. See, my actual firmware on the unit was 3.07.00. But GC will truncate leading zeros when it shows firmware versions, so 3.07.00 = 3.70
Meanwhile, the 3.20 that everyone got today is fresher than my 3.07, so I’ll be upgrading along with the rest of you.
You didn’t mention wether you think it’s worth changing from the 1000 to the 1030
Right now I would NOT buy it and I am going back to my Edge 1000
During todays ride other problems surfaced: several sensors lost contact with the 1030 and it was hard to re-pair them
My HR sensor would not re-pair.
Also the elevation data field often provided inconsistent and incorrect readings.
Unless my 1030 is defective, this appears to be yet another situation in which Garmin releases an Edge computer with buggy software.
If not fixed shortly, I will return the unit
For the elevation data, you should check what the FIT file says. It seems to be a common thing nowadays that a Garmin device will display one altitude and record another. My 1000 does it, although the difference isn’t big enough to be a problem (on the order of 10 ft; I only notice because I know the exact altitude of many points in the area). My Epix does it, and there the difference is consistently 100 ft. They seem to put raw elevation numbers through an algorithm, although why they don’t just display/record the same number is beyond me.
Oops, I meant to say “grade” not “elevation”
The elevation field was fine
Grade is always problematic. So far as I know there’s no way for the Edge to measure it, so it winds up doing elevation gained/distance traveled, and both of those (distance especially if GPS based) can have errors. After the ride calculations will always be more accurate (the Edge can’t look into the future, so it will always lag). A speed sensor might help, but I have one and I never trust the grades displayed on any of the successive Edges, currently a 1000, I’ve used. They’re usually not ridiculous, but they’re not reliable.
I generally don’t think so – unless there are very specific items you’re looking for with respect to some of the new features outlined in the first section.
Thank you all for your contributions.
It seems I will continue to use my reliable 1000, which has been very dependable for the last 12 months (specially compared to my failing 810). As I do not plan for a 40 hour bike trip any time soon. The 1000 will do fine.
The only thing I will probably do is the out front mount, which seems better then the one that comes standard with the 1000 (too short).
I like the garmin ones because they level the computer with the handlebar.
Does anyone know of any other 3rd party mount that would do the same?
I use Fetha’s. It replaces two stem bolts. A little pricey but neat.
link to shop.cyclingtips.com
Thx for the info
Riding with 3.7 today, the 1030 did not freeze and the sensors stayed paired; thats progress
However the “grade” field was sometimes inaccurate, and it only showed whole numbers, no fractions
The varia vision froze repeatedly just like before the update
Also during the short periods when it did work, the “grade” field showed a whole number with fractions although the 1030 was showing the whole number only
Is the Wahoo Element less buggy?
Funny, I stumbled into the grade issues two days ago as well. It’s almost entirely linked to higher grades (above 7-8%), and when sustained longer. Basically shows half the value.
I circled back to Garmin and they’re tracking to track it down. They lack any sustained 8% grades in the greater Olathe area. I captured some video on it among other things.
I didn’t see it earlier since all my rides while having short steep sections above 8%, those sections didn’t last for long periods like my Tuesday ride (hours).
Will be adding grade thing to review sometime tomorrow. Hopefully they’ll fix it soon, given I have a slew of emails on it with them – I think they’ve got a path forward.
ELEMNT took roughly a year to stabilize. Typically for Garmin the first month or so has numerous quirks, but usually they either get fixed quickly…or never. The trick is when quirks are transient and may be new in a later firmware.
I live in Arizona and “enjoy” the benefit of many steep grades
I agree that the problem seems to be confined to higher grades
I called Garmin today about the varia vision freeze ups and the person said he had not heard of it before
Do u know if a fix is in the works for that problem?
Although a bit angry, I like the varia radar and vision very much and likely will stay with the 1030
Ray, I didn’t see any mention of one of the most important adds to the 1030 that I’d been waiting for. In 2014, they came out with the Edge Explorer with the Incident Detection whereby the rider could have his device paired with his smartphone to send out a text to friend, relative,etc. in the event the rider came off the bike. It sent out the GPS coordinates and a message that the rider could set up in advance. The new 1030 also now incorporates this feature, given the 1030 now has an accelerometer incorporated; the 1000 did not have an accelerometer negating any kind of software update to the 1000 to incorporate Incident Detection. I will be ordering a new 1030 to replace my 1000 just for this feature. I bike tour all over the world, solo unsupported and highly desire this feature.
Good call, added that to the list. It was also on the Edge 820 – so didn’t think about it initially.
Hi Ray,
I have just purchased a 1030, I’ve been out for 3 rides with it, seems great apart from the “grade%”
It doesn’t seem to go above 6%, even when climbing a hill I know is 18%!
I didn’t have this problem with my 1000, any ideas please?
Indeed, that’s the grade issue I’m referring to last week that I stumbled into. You can also see it in my ‘Swiss Alps’ video I posted to YouTube last week. Same problem as you – I was climbing up 12%+ grades and showing half of it.
The good news is I just got a beta firmware update to address it. The bad news? I’m in the Amsterdam today/tomorrow, where the highest piece of land is a speed bump. But Monday I’ll be in the US with some valid climbs to test out.
Has this grade issue been resolved now (along with some of the other initial bugs)?
Received my 1030 and had to send it back for replacement. Appears to have had a faulty backlight or screen. Colors were muted and screen was barely readable in the dark. It was perfectly legible in daylight, so probably just a backlight issue, but again, colors seemed muted. I own a Garmin 800 and 1000 which don’t exhibit the same issue and looked much better side by side to the 1030. Hopefully the replacement will be better, but now of course, the 1030 is sold out so I have to wait.
Also, I was disappointed to see that the 1030 did not support horizontal mode. Hopefully this will be addressed soon as I find the wide view preferable when using the map. Had some issues with pairing as well using the Garmin iPhone app. I was hoping the 1030 would do a better job staying connected to my phone for messaging, etc., but it uses the same two-fold bluetooth setup as the 1000. Phone and Garmin need to connect using both standard Bluetooth and Bluetooth BLE. That’s always seemed to be troublesome.
Bit of a disappointement all around, but at least the larger screen real estate for mapping was great compared to the 1000 and that’s my prime reason for upgrading along with better battery life and faster general operation.
Here’s a comparison of the 1000 and 1030 during the day. It’s much better than in the dark, but still not quite as bright as the 1000.
Not to ask the silly question – but did you leave auto-backlight on, or manual backlight control?
No, not a silly question. I should have noted that in my post. All the photos were taken with the backlight set to manual and on max brightness.
please update when you get your replacement unit. mine appears dim as well, maybe that’s all we’re going to get out of the 1030
Will do, Bill, but it may be a while. Clever Training just emailed saying they’re on-track to receive more 1030s before the middle of September so sounds like it’s going to be weeks before I actually receive one. Disappointing as I was one of the first to order a 1030. Not only was I sent a defective unit, but now I’ve got to wait longer.
Can you post a photo of your 1030 in the dark with backlight at max? If they’re all going to be dim like the first one I was sent, then the screen is huge downgrade compared to the 800 and 1000 brightness-wise. Night-time riding with the map will be almost impossible for me and my 50-year-old eyes.
I was really hoping the 1030 was going to have a similar iPhone nice and bright retina style display. I’m so disappointed to hear it’s dim. Garmin screens are just terrible when it comes to brightness. They sacrifice screen brightness for battery life. I returned my Fenix watch due to a how dark and and unreadable the screen was. And it appears Garmin Photoshops the screens for all their print and video advertising to enhance there appearance. Please post an update when you get your
replacement.
Looking back at his night photo (I missed that earlier) – I’d say that’s accurate. I don’t notice any meaningful difference during the day, but during the evening the Edge 1030 screen is slightly dimmer. Certainly very readable for me (more than enough light), but I
Of course, it’s all about camera technique in getting a night photo of a screen. Also of note is that on the photo above, it doesn’t appears as though you’re in night mode, which specifically makes things more readable in the dark. Just my two cents…
I received my unit yesterday and I’m experiencing the same dull screen. Will be riding at night today so i’ll report back.
Hi Guys whats going on with the Edge 1030?? I received mine yesterday night and was devastated when I switched it on. You can barely see the screen at night when Auto-brightness is on. My Edge 1000 screen looks amazing at exactly same settings when compared side to side. The screen under low light conditions is horrible, very fainted. The auto-brighness feature for sure has some bug also as is setting brightness to very low values under low light conditions. Even if you manually/statically set the brightness to 100% is so bad. Side to side comparison of Edge 1000 vs 1030 screen is night and under low light conditions. Also in the 1030 screen there is literally NO BLACK colour everything is fainted white. Like there is no contrast at all.During the day all is good no problems at all, I could say 1030 looks better during the day vs the 1000. This is crazy!
So the question is simple is my Edge 1030 screen broken? Do I send it back for replacement or all 1030 are like that and I am I just being picky? What’s the value for asking for a replacement when the unit that will arrive might have same issue? Unless someone tests this before is shipped is a bit pointless to hope for a better replacement screen
@ Ray amazing review man as always, but I am surprised that you did not notice any screen quality issues during evening/night use. Unless my 1030 is broken. I am more amazed how this screen passed quality control if so many of us have issues
I attach a photo of 1000 vs 1030 (with same display settings) for refernece…have more that are similar or even worse
other point is that we need to wait for some time now for the existing nice IQ apps (like Xert My FTP and My Edge) to be updated (I hope) to support the 1030, really hope the developers do their magic as the apps that support 1030 now are quite few
Yup, still waiting for my replacement (see above), but based on what I’m seeing and reading, the dull screens on the 1030s might be the new-normal. They’re just abysmal in the dark.
Yeah, I’ll be honest – I guess I just don’t see the issue. Meaning sure the blacks aren’t as black as the previous screen, but it’s also actually more luminary (?) than the previous screen as your photo shows. I suppose like the old Plasma vs LCD TV type debates.
Looking at the picture I just took in a dark room (traveling, so only have 1030 with me), I’m not sure how it’s abysmal. It’s clearly readable from at least a few feet away (heck, all the way across the room). The numbers are crisp.
I will say that the auto-backlight function in a pitch black room seems to be a bit low, but most of us don’t ride in a pitch black bedroom either. When I’ve ridden at night with it, I was more than fine with it. I do suspect there’s an element here of different screens to save battery life – hence how they’re getting 20 hours of battery now.
Abysmal, not abysmal? I guess it depends on what’s important to the viewer. Sure, the 1030’s screen at night is legible, though I’d argue still not as legible as the 1000’s screen. So, OK, not abysmal on that front.
Is the 1030s screen purposely designed to have a washed out appearance at night to preserve battery life? If so, yeah, that might be a legitimate tradeoff.
By the measure contrast, and black levels (attributes that are indeed common factors in determining a screen’s quality), is the 1030’s screen comparable to the 1000’s or even the most basic smartphone? Objectively, no, it is not. And on that front, (to me and some others) it’s not an overstatement to qualify the 1030’s screen as abysmal.
But it is subjective as to how much this lack of contrast is an overall issue when judging the 1030. There have been a few comments here voicing disappointment with the screen contrast. So, to some the issue is apparently important. I’m not certain it’s a great idea to overlook that in a review used to help make a buying decision once that’s become known.
Thanks for all the hard work you do.
I agree with CPall, for a £500 unit and a model that is meant to be a successor of 1000 after 3years of R&D the quality of the screen at low light conditions (irrespective of how much someone will use it or no) is unacceptable and the concern should be voiced to Garmin (if they care or not is another story). If the screen quality was same as Edge 1000 I would be thrilled, if it was a bit worse then 1000 I would be ok, but the difference between the two at night is a comparison between iPhone 3Gs vs iPhone 4 (whoever has used both will understand)
Hi Ray – any word what else the Beta will address? There are a lot of us seeing phone connection dropouts (v3.2) expressed in the Garmin forums. I was hoping to see if this might be in the works.
Not sure, I’ll ask tomorrow when I see them at Eurobike.
It was just sent to me to address the grade issue.
Yeah man. Glad it’s not just me. I am coming from an 810 unit and was searching for the contrast setting for 15min. I’m not sure why they decided to eliminate it but I think it could be added again with a software update if enough folks voice their concern to Garmin.
I enjoy your reviews and do not mind the ads. Do you recommend using the speed and cadence sensors with the new Edge 1030?
ps it’s hot and sunny in Seattle today
The Garmin ones are fine, but I prefer the Wahoo ones because they’re dual ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart. Whereas the Garmin ones are only ANT+. This matters down the road if/when you want to connect those sensors to 3rd party apps (like iOS apps such as Zwift) that may be Bluetooth only.
Said differently: Always have options.
I am curious if you have any insight on why Garmin decided to keep the 1000 form factor (actually made the 1030 ever so slightly bigger than the 1000). Was the 81x form factor so undesirable that Garmin said no more?
Seems like there is a hole in the lineup right now. Personally I can’t actually benefit from a bigger screen, I have to ride with bifocal sunglasses (readers) and bigger screen, while providing bigger numbers to look at are still blurry and I still need readers to see them clearly.
Garmin was simply updating the Edge 1000 form factor with the Edge 1030. Last year they updated the 8xx form factor with the Edge 820. They skipped 1010/1020 merely so folks didn’t think it was ‘lesser’ than the 820.
A follow up, is the 81x form factor dead as far as Garmin is concerned? Now they have 520/820 size or 1000/1030 size, no longer anything in between.
I think so at the moment.
Hi thanks for review , just wondered , if the adaptor for the battery pack is fitted to the out front mount but i decide not to use the battery – can you still mount the edge unit without having to remove the adaptor ?
Yup, you can go just Edge only in that out-front mount. That’s the way it is on my bike at this very moment.
Perfect – thanks for replying.
Does the 1030 have both European and North American maps preloaded like the Elemnt supposedly does? With the 1000 you get either NA or Europe depending on where you buy. I know I could load OSM maps, but the Garmin cycling maps have better/more POI’s. Especially when in Europe, routing and finding places is most important.
For driving purposes I have two different car Garmins, one with lifetime updated NA maps, and one with lifetime updated Euro maps. When I go to Europe, I take the Euro version, along with the live traffic receiver version of the power plug.
Unlikely, but you can always buy the other map from Garmin for not as much as their other maps ($50, I think). The OSM maps I’ve used come with plenty of POI’s, but I’ve never actually systematically checked to see if there are things missing. I navigated around London once with OSM maps on an Edge 705 and had no difficulties.
Funny you should compare to the ELEMNT, because from what I’ve read they have absolutely no POI’s or even street names on their maps. On the other hand, I believe their maps are worldwide, so you’d be covered for all those places you’re not likely to actually go.
Correct, doesn’t have both continents. Everything else Paul stated is true too.
Hi Ray,
TRIATHLON setup question: I have spartan ultra, but I would like to use some Edge computer on the bike to see power (from P1) and HR. So Edge 1030 has BLE, but If I pair suunto HR to record HR while swimming (and runining) it will not connect to 1030, so 1030 could display HR. Am I right? What setup do you use or recommend?
What I would like is tri watch to record whole race including HR and Power, but also cycling comp displaying power and HR during bike leg.
Thank you!
michal
Hi, good review.
It seems it can connect with SRAM Etap.
However, does this mean that now you have an opportunity to do true good interval programms based on Watts? Means ETAP can shift automatically depending on what power and cadans you are putting in the Garmin? Means it is anticipating on your SRM and Cadans sensor.
That would be sooooo awsome!
No, its just for reading the data – same as before.
Hello!
Can you charge that external battery same time when you are riding (and using that external battery to charge your Edge) via hub dynamos for example? Or must you uninstall the battery from the Edge and then charge it?
And it is not waterproof when you are charging that so plug is open and charge cable installed?
Greetings from Finland! Waterproof is #1 in Finnish shitty weathers…
– VesaP –
Any idea if the pieces in the bundle are updated as well? No need for me to buy another bundle if I already have the 1000 bundle, correct? Just want the most updated items. Thanks
Same-same there. Oddly they didn’t do any sort of battery pack bundle, so just same old accessories.
Hey Ray,
Any idea when the 1030 may be loaded into the Comparison tool? Thanks!
My Edge 1000 lasts typically 7hrs of continuous use (with backlight mostly off, gps+glonass on, bluetooth to phone, route active), so on long rides I have been using a simple 3000mAh lipstick usb charger, strapped to the handlebar with two velcro strips. Garmin claims twice as long, can we expect the same derating from their now claimed 20hrs?
The $64k question really is – does it still locks up in the middle of a ride? Mine still does, specially when on the mapping page, with custom kmz overlays. I’d upgrade today for a reliable unit. Everything else doesn’t seem worth going from a 1000 to a 1030.
They could be innovative, bring the sensors from their cameras into an Edge (100Hz acceleration, compass, etc etc.) Would be nice to see G’s during a mtn bike ride.
I haven’t seen any lock-ups on the Edge 1030, or Edge 1000 for that matter.
Generally speaking, almost all crashes on Garmin Edge units are from corruption of the disc (either SD card or onboard storage). If you’re seeing crashes, then honestly I’d look at doing a hard reset and re-formatting the micro-SD card you’re using.
Good point Ray. Being active on a few forums I’ve noticed the majority of issues are related to the file system of the device being corrupt for different reasons… just plain corruption or virus related or caused by 3rd party applications (like enterprise software encrypting all devices connected to a PC). I was hoping for Garmin to move to a different approach and not share anymore the internal storage as a file system device.
Yeah, it’s tricky. If they don’t share the file system then it’s worse for the consumer overall because it forces you to use a 3rd party app down to access it.
It could be done with Garmin Express or Basecamp. In the end the filesystem is used mainly to copy tracks or maps. Just having an handy way of sending tracks wirelessly would drastically minimise the need of connecting it to a PC.
It looks like Garmin have also updated the course creator on the main website (could be beta as I did sign up to beta test the app interface and I’m not sure if that also opts me in to beta of the website).
The good…
They’ve now made it full screen.
The interface is a bit more polished.
Routing can be done by popularity.
You can add course points.
They’ve added course import.
The bad…
You can’t set the type of the course point to left / right as you can in gpsies etc.
If you import a course it discards the course points.
Bugs (when using a course on my Edge 520)…
The notifications for course points that I created were ‘late’ the first notification appeared approx. 30m after the point on the map; subsequent notifications were further and further after the correct point until the final one was showing 280m to course point at the point I was at the junction. I went back and checked after the ride and even zoomed in the course points were definitely in the correct places in course creator.
It also adds ‘direction’ course points approx 20-30m after the course points I added; these correctly show the symbol. However, they are worse than useless because they don’t show until after you’ve made the turn (because my own course point notification – which I can’t add a direction arrow to – is showing until the turn – or at least it would be if it wasn’t showing 10s or 100s of meters late!)
It does seem bizarre how these bugs can possibly have made it into a live product from an organisation like Garmin – I can only assume either I’m in beta mode without knowing it, I’m doing something wrong or no-one has tested the functionality on an Edge 520 before releasing it to customers – since these issues are obvious on the first ride you do…
Also I’m pretty sure this isn’t an Edge 520 issue since my courses created on http://www.gpsies.com exported as TCX with waypoints and then imported by copying to NewFiles when the Edge 520 is mounted as USB storage still work fine!
Hi all,
Has anyone had any experience with the Custom Workouts screen?
Is this customisable now, or still fixed only showing the ‘Duration’ of the set and the ‘Target’?
Reason I ask is because its useful to be able to add another 1-2 data fields to this page as when following workouts sometimes you have to keep an eye on more than one metric. For example when have a 10min set at 250W you have to follow a specific cadence, and in the current ‘Custom Workout’ page there is no way to add another data field.
I know it is possible to add another page, etc etc, but this is an easy solution to avoid having 10 pages……
Hmmmmm,
Has no one had a chance to check the Customs Workout page???
Someone, anyone???????
Thanks, Danke, Gracie, Merci, Ευχαριστώ
I wish that the text notifications were larger. Starting to hit that age when near vision is not as crisp.
1030 just got new firmware:
link to www8.garmin.com
version 3.20
Hi, I continue to have a problem where I pair my Samsung S7 to the Edge 1030, and then after it pairs and syncs for the first time, it disconnects, and won’t reconnect. This doesn’t happen with an iPhone, and didn’t happen with that same phone and my edge 1000. Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks
Mark
I was having the same problem with my new 1030 and my S8+. In settings, under smartlock settings you can set your garmin under trusted devices. I did this and it seems to stay paired. I think my s8+ was disconnecting when my phone went to lock screen so this fixes that.
Do you find moving the map (zoom in and out, scrolling, etc.) is much faster on 1030 vs 1000? I find 1000 is quite slow and makes it hard to improvise navigation during a ride… (vs googlemap/iphone). Merci!
Claude
The video in the rain shows the zooming in/out/scrolling/etc. It’s located directly above the ‘Mapping & Navigation’ section: link to dcrainmaker.com
Thank you! I of course watched all your videos except that one 🙂 For I have now seen, it looks OK but minor improvement vs 1000.
just got my edge 1030 setup and ready to go
bought it through clevertraining USA and shipped to denmark
everything is fine except the speed datafields wont change to KM/H ??
everything else has changed to metrics also the elevations
¨never mind i just found the solution 🙂 needed to change settings back and forth and then it worked
Ahh yes, was going to suggest exactly that. Seen that work on a few watch firmware versions here and there over the year.
After ~9 hours following a course almost always on the map screen its down to 43%. (Was a slow social ride and long rest stops but never turned the unit off) So battery seems really good)
Hi, My Garmin 1000 has been faithful friend for last 3 years but is now having issues meaning I am looking for replacement. If money were no object would you recomend The Garmin 1030 over 1000 I want the navigation smarts as well as all usual training elements. Thanks for support.
I gather from Ray’s review that the 1030 can do everything the 1000 can do except landscape mode, while it has a bunch of new (minor) abilities that the 1000 lacks and a different UI. So it boils down to how much aggravation you’re willing to endure. Since the 1000 is still on sale, you could just buy a new one, since you’re familiar with it, but it probably won’t be long before Garmin stops updating the 1000. The 1030 from what I gather like (almost) all new Garmin devices has some software problems, like the gradient problem, My rule of thumb is to never buy a new Garmin device within 6 months of its release just to avoid the initial software bugs, but I’ve broken that rule several times, mostly in category changers like the Edge 705, the (original) Fenix, the Epix, the VIRB Elite, and just recently the VIRB 360. I’ve had absolutely no trouble with the 360 (but it’s definitely not a daily use device), while I did to some extent with the other 4 (and to a great degree with the 705).
I’ve had my 1000 for less than a year. If it started giving me trouble today, I’d probably go with the 1030 now, and definitely within the next few months the 1030 would be the replacement I’d get if my 1000 broke.
Maps: does it come with Europe or US or WW maps. I messed with my garmin 1000 maps trying to load North america maps (and thus despite the very good tutorial or Ray)
Thanks
It’ll come with US maps if bought in the US, and Euro maps if bought in Europe. Both can load 3rd party maps like the Edge 1000.
Hi Ray, Ok so ive got my new 1030, I want to buy and connect the UT800 smart light,. it seems the flush out front mount wont allow, can you confirm this? looks like you have to use the out front mount that comes with the UT800.. a bummer…
Thank you for at least mentioning USB-C in the unboxing video. In my opinion, this deserves stronger criticism, and I’m no longer willing to spend money on devices without it.
okay… so that’s like 99% of products out there.
99% of products are not brand spanking new, flagship products from the industry leading company and were designed before USB-C was a viable option.
My phone (2 years old), tablet (2 years old), and laptop (1 year old) all use USB-C exclusively, and I already have about seven chargers that work interchangeably. If the 1030 had USB-C, I could use my phone as a backup battery because any USB-C device can charge another. For me, waiting to upgrade (and not giving Garmin my money) makes sense.
Also, Apple deserves more criticism than Garmin. Many people thought the newly announced iPhones would ditch the lightning port, which would be a huge signal for other products and accessories to make the switch.
Right. The new iphone 8 doesn’t ship with a usb 3 cord. it comes with a lighting cable to usb 2.0
I wouldn’t be exactly say the usb 3 solution on the macbook is a good one. it only came with 2 ports and one is good for charging and the other is not. add to that to use multiple usb devices it needed a pricey adapter.
Can anyone else comment if this type of color contrast is normal between 1000 / 1030? It’s not so much the brightness I’m looking at, but rather the colors. If this is normal, I’m confident it will be okay outside but I can’t get out to test as we’re stuck with a long overcast.
*UPDATE*
Please disregard the comment above.
I was able to do this same test outside once the sun came back out.
The colors on the 1030 actually stand out really well when viewed outside; it actually does look slightly better than the 1000.
Hey Zach,
Could you please comment whether the ‘Custom Workout’ screen has customisable data fields, or is it the same as the 820?
Thanks,
M
Sorry, I know you’ve been asking. I was always in the wrong spot when your post came in.
But no, it is not customizable by itself. However, keep in mind you can add a custom data page, and then use the “Workout” fields, of which you can select from the following (plus regular data fields):
Calories to go
Distance to go
HR to go
Reps to Go
Time to Go
Workout Step
Thanks Ray, appreciate it!!!!
top as usual….
I ended up sending mine back as the 30 day window was approaching. The screen looked fine in sunlight. However, I make my own custom maps for mountain biking. They have a green shaded relieve background with countour lines, and red lines for the trails. Once I got in the woods and out of the sun, the lack of color contrast was a bit too much for me personally. It’s not ‘as’ bad with the stock maps, but the colors don’t stand out enough for me to choose this over the 1000. Just something to think about.
On the plus side, I will say that the larger screen was fantastic given that it’s a similar form factor.
So some initial impressions after a long ride with the edge 1030
+ Love the Bigger Screen. It’s Huge. I came from the 820 and I still wish Garmin made a true 810 successor. The 510/820 screen is just small. the 810 screen is great. the 1000/1030 is huge. I want great ;)]
+Faster Navigation – doesn’t stall like the 820
+Touch screen works MUCH better than the 820. 820 has touch issues confirmed by many people
+Strava Segments – love the new layout. much easier to see how far ahead and nice to see a PR/KOM and the next person.
+love how nice and loud it works with the radar. just so visible.
-screen is washed out. dull colors.
-white casing is ugly and gets dirty quickly
-resolution of screen is sh1t . it’s a $600 device!
-Overall size of device is ridiculous for 2017. I think the edge 1000 has a much slimmer profile.
-battery life. Rode 4 hours today and it’s already at less than 1/2
Final thoughts. WTF Garmin – 3 years and you give us this ?! This isn’t an innovative device by any means guys. save your $ but i’m keeping it as it’s my only garmin edge device now.
Gabe,
In your opinion, is the 1000, on sale now for $300, a better way to go than the 520 or 820? Thanks for any reply.
Something I missed going from Edge 705 to 1000 is being able to associate sensor sets with activity profiles, making it easier to go from bike to bike (especially since my wife and I share bikes). Any sign of that on the Edge 1030? Must be a technical challenge, or not enough people seeing value in that?
The 1030 like the 1000 (and pretty much every current Garmin device) uses a “sensor pool” model. It’ll pair with any active sensor of a given type, so when you go from bike to bike it automatically connects with the available sensors and you don’t have to worry about switching bike profiles. For me, at least, that’s much better than the old days with my 705 and 800. No need to remember to switch profiles. The only advantage of profiles is per bike statistics, but I have other ways of doing that.
Hi, a couple of notes after using it a couple hundred miles. The battery life seems close to as advertised. I did a 3 hour ride today, connected to a smartphone, and it took about 17% of the battery. Probably not linear, but still much better than the two 1000s I have. Although total elevation gain appears to be right (compared to two other riders today who were using an edge 1000 and an edge 820), the real-time grade display is way off. It showed 2 or 3 percent grades when actual was 7-8%, and the other day 6 percent when the actual was 14-15%. Finally, I reported earlier that I couldn’t get the 1030 to stay connected to my Samsung S7. Miraculously, it started working and connects easily and stays connected perfectly. I do not know what happened, it wasn’t the recent firmware update as far as I can tell. Gremlins?
I like the larger display (it is a bit less vibrant in dark conditions, but not awful), and battery life, and incident notice, and way it handles text’s with ability to reply. All in all once the grade display is fixed a pretty nice unit, and a good replacement for me for the 1000.
Went today for my first ride, and I had almost identical remarks with Mark M:
+ From a 3h 30min ride with 4 ANT+ sensors/devices connected (Garmin HR, Speed/Cadence, SRAM eTAP, Quarq Power Meter) and an iPhone BT connected (for Live Track & Strava Beacon) the Garmin Edge 1030 battery went down only 22%, this was with 20min navigation and auto-brighteness set to auto. My Edge 1000 in a similar ride would have lost easily 40-50% of the battery. So a big + to 1030 on the battery
+ No Garmin crashes or a sensor or phone dropout which is also good and gives confidence
+ Screen during day use is perfect no issues, as per my previous post the issue is only at low-light conditions
+ Strava segments are awesome on Edge 1030
– Grade is wrong total Ascend/Descend seems ok, weird. I am sure this is fixable
– I believe the reported temperature is a bit (few celcius) higher than normal, but nothing major
– The buttons to Start/Stop and Lap are placed in an annoying position if you use integrated handlebars and mounts, there is no much space to put your finger and press it. Would prefer them as they were on 1000 or at least on the side. Getting a longer integrated mount could fix it but would make it really ugly as it sticks too much out
One feature I would love to see on any Garmin (as is SW related only) is the ability to configure how many seconds you stay in each screen when set to auto scroll…every time I keep changing between slow and off
All in all, I am selling my Edge 1000 and keeping the 1030
If it underestimates the slope/grade, it sounds _almost_ as if 1030 shows slope/gradient using a unit of degrees instead of % grade… Then a slope of 7% could be showed as 4˚ and a slope of 14% as 8˚ – not very far from what you describe.
Does it actually show the unit (%) or do you just assume that it is percent?
RE: Dorked grade
Yes, it’s grade in percent.
There’s some discussion up above on it in comments, but in short, above a certain percent (roughly 6-7%), for sustained climbs, it’ll halve the grade value (oddly short climbs are fine). I stumbled into it last week in the Alps.
The good news is that Garmin’s got a beta firmware update that they’re (and I’m) testing that should resolve it. So hopefully we’ll see that released shortly.
Will the new release solve the issue I am experiencing which is that the varia vision freezes every 10 minutes or so?
I don’t know. I’ll ask when I see them at Interbike either Tues or Weds.
Hi Ray,
Did you ever ask Garmin about the varia vision freezes?
I saw on a Garmin forum that other riders experienced the same problem.
Thank you
No, I forgot totally. But I see them later today here at the ANT+ Symposium.
The ability to reply to texts?
is this accurate?
I have an iphone and can’t do that.
Ray – did were you able to confirm it works with android?
I received a 1030 yesterday and got it set up without incident. Today I did a 101 mile ride with the 1030. I also was running an Edge 820. I was more than pleased with the experience of riding with the large screen in comparison with the 820. However, when I finished the ride, the 1030 indicated that I had traveled 89 miles and climbed 6200 feet with an average speed of 13.5 mph. The 820 on the other hand, indicated that I had traveled 101 miles and climbed 4646 feet and averaged 15.3 mph. The Edge 820 elevation data agrees very closely with the Garmin Connect elevation correction value. Inspection of the data revealed that the speed sensor data showed numerous drop outs starting about 3 hours into the ride and continuing until the end. These drop outs were not present in the Edge 820 data. Thus, for whatever reason, the 1030 was not receiving or not processing the speed sensor data. Has anyone seen these issues? Any ideas on a solution, other than simply returning the unit (which I think, is the only thing I can do)?
confirmed – having the same speed issues.
Out of curiosity – what firmware version are you on?
Latest is 3.20 – and for some reason I vaguely remember there being some sort of ANT+ connectivity fix in that, but I can’t find it on the release notes (and my Outlook e-mail search is upset at the moment).
As an aside, my guess as to why you’re missing elevation and distance would simply be that auto-pause was probably kicking in upon zero speed value (would be interesting to note total activity duration differences). As even if speed was off, elevation should have still been same.
Using 3.2. Autopause was set for zero. However, zero speed never coincided with drop outs. Drop outs occurred with increasing or decreasing or constant speed. Activity time was the same for the 1030 and 820. That is why the average speed was so much lower on the 1030.
my average speed is slower yet i get these high values for top speed. are you seeing the same thing?
similar issue as I was carrying an Edge 520 in my jersey pocket in case the new 1030 failed. Various paired ant+ data didn’t match. Garmin Tech support recommended to use only a single head unit as multiple units may cause interference. Ray seems to have no issue though with numerous head units
I ran into a problem with my 1000 recently and I wonder if this might be part of the problem with the 1030. I activated a ConnectIQ thing (Strava Routes) and afterwards had trouble with ANT+. The 1000 would not connect with any of my sensors in the usual way by showing them connected, but after power cycling it all of the sensors would show connected. After disabling Strava Routes, everything is working normally again. On both rides where I had trouble with the 1000 I was also carrying my VIRB 360, which paired successfully with all sensors on one ride but failed to connect with a couple on the next. So if you’re running any ConnectIQ stuff, you might want to turn it off and see if it helps.
Again, very informative DC…, I have currently got the Edge 1000, but the start stop button cover has perished, and is out of Guarantee, a replacement would be £200.00.
So, reading your article makes me think do I upgrade to the 1030, in time yes ?
Thanks again for your article, I have always read these before buying a Garmin, as have had the 800, 810 and 1000.
KR
John Baldwin
Anyone know how to get the two free months of Strava?
it’s advertised on Garmin’s website with the purchase of the Edge 1030
I opened a ticket with Strava and attached a screenshot of the 1030 added to my Garmin dashboard. They added the trial for me.
Thanks – that worked!
I have just received my new Garmin Edge 1030. I haven’t taken it out for a test ride yet, but I am rather unimpressed for a fe reasons:
(1) The first thing, immediately evident, is the very low brightness and contrast of the display when backlit, especially in night mode. Either I use it very close to max brightness, or it’s very hard to read (again, especially in night mode). Even at max brightness, colours are really “washed out”: not a nice screen in my opinion
(2) Connection with iPhone SE drops off and back on rather frequently. Sometimes it’s hard to connect.
(3) Touchscreen is unresponsive at times, it needs a bit of encouragement. One time the whole unit froze.
All this just spending a couple of hours in the evening and a bit in the early morning at the desk.
The Edge 1030 is meant to substitute an Edge 800 I have had for many years and is still working reasonably well. Last year I bought an Edge 820 but returned it for two reasons: (1) Temperature readings were way too high, something like 10C above room temperature, (2) Issues with altitude. No matter which altitude I set (the correct one being 14m), the Edge 820 in due time would drift to some fantasy -30 even with GPS switched off. The Edge 1030 doesn’t have this problems. I guess some will be corrected with firmware updates, but the low brightness might be an issue. Did I make a mistake againin buying upon release? Should I return it and wait 5 months? I’m not sure yet because overall I really like it. I’ll se what happens after a test ride.
I upload a comparison between Edge 800 and Edge 1030 at maximum brightness. I fully understand that they have two completely different screens, but still the difference in backlighting is really stunning!
Regarding temperature readings, I played a bit with Edge 800 and 1030, keeping them both sitting on a desk. The readings of both devices go up about 3°C in about 20 minutes from the moment they are switched on. Evidently the thermocouples are never completely isolated from the rest of the device which warms up slightly when swtiched on. Compared to other thermometers, 800 keeps 1-2°C under “real” room temperature, 1030 1-2°C above. When I was commenting on the Edge 820 Ray argued that computer bikes should be judged for their intended use, that is on a bike while riding and not sitting on a desk. I agree up to a point, temperature readings shouldn’t depend on your speed. Still, readings of both Edge 800 and Edge 1030 are completely acceptable on the desk, and I assume that the effect of the (mild) unit heating will be reduced while cycling, so the Edge 1030 is actually quite accurate. The readings of my Edge 820 where far off, something like 10°C higher than room temperature, and for me that was indeed way too high, even when the unit was not cooled by incoming wind.
This has been reported by many. But despite the lack of brightness they say the screen is perfectly readable in daylight and seems the change in screen technology has been done to guarantee more battery life.
Camillo, I confirm the screen looks wonderful in broad daylight, I hope it’s as readable at dusk or at night or (very) early morning!
I would agree screen is not as bright as 820 or 1000, but perfectly readable at day light and night time. Brightness set to auto, and backlight to 15 seconds. I actually like it. Doesn’t distract and I can see map or my numbers during intervals
Can’t pair with iphone7+ running 11.0 (not beta)
Got the 1030last week and once got it to pair both BT connections. That did not last long. Tried and tried to get Otto successfully pair again. Yesterday I reset the 1030. Painful. Now it will just pair BT-Edge 1030. So the 1030 knows it’s not finished pairing and this I also cannot get to the WIFI set up either, which I had successfully completed before reset. Has anyone found a work around or had success calling Garmin?
Bill
Pairing a second time is a bit of a pain in the ass. Having had to do this multiple times with each beta release, I got really good at it. But missing any step and it won’t work:
A) Delete the BT_Edge 1030 connection in BT settings
B) Delete the Edge 1030 connection in BT settings
C) Delete the Edge 1030 from Garmin Connect Mobile app (don’t worry, your stuff is saved elsewhere)
D) Close GCM app entirely
E) Briefly turn on airplane mode
F) Try pairing again
An easy way to validate that it’s fully paired (versus half-paired), is to look for the smartphone notifications menu within the Edge 1030. If it doesn’t have the options, it didn’t work.
Thanks Ray, Success! But I was making another critical mistake. I was able to get the first BT pairing but not the second. In Garmin connect mobile, after the first pairing is confirmed, you have to press Start at the bottom. That opens a screen which says select an accessory and was blank for me. So I thought that was for other accessories. But after waiting a second, my edge 1030 showed up and that allowed the second pairing and then everything fell in place. I do not think I did that correctly even with the first paring. Now it is set up. Hopefully it continues. I’m using an Iphone 7 plus with the new 11.0 operating system, FYI
Sweet!
Yeah, the whole pairing process is wonky…always has been on Edge devices. I’m also on iOS11, so you should be good from here.
routeCourse: add courses directly to Edge device from IPhone. I ha e been jealous of my android friends who add courses on the fly from their phones. After I got the 1030, I googled and found routeCourse. It’s an IQ app on the Garmin and a website on the IPhone (7+ on iOS 11.0) or any IPhone I think. You put the URL of the Garmin, Strava or several other formats in the web app on the iPhone and they show up in the IQ routeCourse app on the 1030 and you can download them and use immediately. It is so nice to be out and about or traveling and get a route link by email and add it to your Garmin right away. The app is free. They have an upgrade version but it works fine as it is. Just thought others would want to know.
On my 1000, after I saved a ride, it automatically synched and uploaded to Garmin Connect. My 1030 does not do that. In Garmin Connect, (iPhone 7+) under devices, device settings, auto upload is selected.
It does sync manually from devices in Garmin Connect.
Under connected features on the 1030, WiFi is set to auto upload but I want it to auto sync by cellular even when I am away from WiFi. Anyone know what I am missing?
Odd. On every device I have it’s all or nothing. Meaning, if/when it syncs – it does it instantly. If it doesn’t sync, then its all broke-ass.
I presume you have the Garmin Connect app open at the end of the ride (or at least, in the background)? And does it show the little green circle around the Edge 1030 in the upper right corner indicating a live connection?
I hope my ineptness helps someone else.
I never “close” the Garmin Connect app on my phone but I know it goes dormant. When I open the app before I save the ride, I do see the green dot in the upper right and in that case it auto-uploads. Thanks so much.
Amazing in the days of super easy Iphone UI’s that there are devices which are still so complicated. In part I assume that Apple doesn’t make it easy, so its not all on Garmin
I believe there’s some time-limit for how long Apple allows the app to receive external connections without some form of interaction. I don’t know off-hand what that limit is precisely.
How do I report a bug to Garmin? In the meantime I do that here: the average cadence shown by the Edge 1030 is wrong, while the instantaneous cadence is correct. The average cadence seems to start at infinity (first number I saw was about 850 rpm after a couple of minutes of cycling) and goes asymptotically towards the correct number (99rpm was shown after about one hour, the correct cadence being between 80 and 85 rpm). The real bummer is that this number is transmitted to Garmin Connect, so online I see the wrong number: 99rpm, which incidentally is the same as max cadence (yes, impossible). I need to correct numbers manually.
All the above with autopause when stopped turned on.
Ray can you tell us when it will be fixed? 🙂
The best way to report bugs to the Edge group is to file a support ticket (especially with a .FIT file). As a head up, Garmin actually just rolled out the ability to chat via instant message now. The reason support tickets are best is that it has accountable tracking on it.
That said, I saw an issue on the recent production firmware (same one with grade) that had wonky cadence spikes (i.e. 250RPM), but didn’t actually transmit them in the real file themselves. But basically sounds like same issue.
My understanding is that is fixed in the latest beta they sent me – but I haven’t used it in a few days. So not quite sure there.
Hi Ray,
Just got my 1030 and as an update for a very old (but still functional and practical!) Edge 500 I think it’s great. I went out for a ride of about 40km this afternoon and this all went fine. When I got in it updated to 3.20, and in spot of going for a 40km ride my all time ride total says 0km, though there is a ride registered in the ‘rides’ menu. Does updating firmware erase all time ride totals, or is this a software bug?
Cheers.
Elevation accuracy:
Hi Ray: My 1030 elevation for rides is 25% to 30% too high compared with an 820 and Fenix. This error is also confirmed using estimated elevation on CalTopo. Can you provide total elevation gain for the each device for your test rides included in the elevation plot. It seems to me that simply showing offset from one unit to another at a point in time does not show cumulative measurement errors. Total elevation gain/loss for entire rides might be more appropriate and might provide better insight into altimeter accuracy. So far, I see unacceptable accuracy in my 1030.
Good idea, I’ll see if I can get it added to the DCR Analyzer.
My 1030, as compared to an 820 and 1000 on same rides, is ready about 10% high I think.
I’m living in The Netherlands, as flat as a pancake, however it looks like I’m living in Switzerland at the moment :-).
Stephen-
Per your request, the DCR Analyzer now has ascent totals in it (total elevation gain). 🙂
Edzo-
In general, assuming your scale just isn’t really small, most baro issues (where it shows wildly wrong numbers) across most devices can be traced down to something getting stuck in the baro holes. For example, mud or dirt. Sometimes salt. Occasionally sports gel. Rarely small animals.
Ray,
I am looking to do more “adventure” rides (two track logging roads, gravel roads, etc..). Some of these routes barely appear on a google map. I have a 520 now. I am not concerned with power data now like a triathlete needs, mostly GPS/mapping.
What are the main advantages of the new 1030 over my 520 for my needs?
Thanks,
John
Provided you can find maps including the roads you want (check OpenStreetMaps maps), the 1030 can actually route using the map independently of anything else, while the 520 can’t. I’d be surprised if the 1030 has less than 16 Gb of storage of internal storage, and it has a microSD chip slot for additional storage, while as I understand it the 520 is limited in that regard. So lots of room for maps and the ability to actually navigate are the big advantages of the 1030. That comes at a price, of course. There are cheaper Garmin alternatives (the 1000 and the Explore 1000, the 820 and the Explore 820).
I do mostly gravel and double track myself in the mountains, and the OSM maps and Garmin TOPO maps that I use have everything that I ride on them.
regarding “It’ll find any paired sensors automatically”
Question #1: Although my HRM and P1 pedals have been paired, they aren’t found automatically. I can connect them from the sensor screen. Ray or anybody, any idea what I can do to make them pair automatically?
Question #2: After pairing manually the connection is lost while waiting for the ride to start even tho the unit stays on. How can I keep it from losing the connection when not riding?? Once connected and riding, 1030 works great.
Thanks!
I will buy this when they implement data carry over. It doesn’t make sense when you seriously train to have physio data per device only…
Sounds like that’s probably a first half of 2018 type thing, maybe sooner.
Any chance they can have a way for those with wrist hr devices (F5/935/etc) to easily enter HR broadcast mode to get HR data?
For example:
– I turn on my Edge 1030 and start a ride.
– the 1030 sends a special Ant+ packet to my 935 to turn on the HR module to fully measure HR data the same as it would be if in an activity but without the 935 doing the rest an activity normally entails (i.e. no gps use so battery impact is smaller)
– I do my ride getting HR data from the 935 the whole time
– I finish the ride. When I stop the 1030 and save the ride it sends another special ant+ packet to the 935 to turn off the HR broadcast mode.
Or maybe just a special new sport type for the watch that just does HR broadcast and garmin connect to be intelligent enough to know that that activity is just the HR part of the one that is from the 1030 (so no duplicates of work making it seem you did twice as much activity or sending to Strava)
UX is bad but:
link to www8.garmin.com
Now they just need to make that easer. And be nice if that watch was in a more useful mode then just displaying HR and time
“Or maybe just a special new sport type for the watch that just does HR broadcast and garmin connect to be intelligent enough to know that that activity is just the HR part of the one that is from the 1030”
I’ll talk more about something like this next week…
Zero tolerance for non USB-C devices – I think I am not the only one in camp, who simply won’t buy the device, because it comes with obsolete connector. Pretty much every phone and tablet in 2017 lineup is currently charged through usb-c; micro or mini usb should have no place on premium devices in 2017. I don’t expect really advanced usb-c things for now, but manufactures need to move toward common power connector and start to use features it provides like common cables and some power networking capability where any device with juice can power one without juice. Especially on bike where you have lights, maybe radar, bike computer, and definitely would expect that you can charge your devices including phone through some dynamo. Or in case of emergency use phone or battery in front light to charge up your bike computer (or opposite in night).
I recently purchased the Edge 1030 after riding for years with the Edge 1000. I agree with the review above but I have had extreme difficulty getting the Edge 1030 to sync with my iPhone (6S) and getting it to upload rides to the iPhone Garmin Connect app. I can upload files by connecting the Edge 1030 to my computer using Garmin Express but it was a nice feature to have the rides automatically upload directly to my phone when I’m away from my computer. I trust that Garmin will fix this in their next release?
Sam,
I am having similar problems. Looking at my blue tooth connections on my iPhone 7+, I see that Edge 1030 is connected but BT- edge 1030 is not and will not. So when I look in the Garmin Connect app, there is not a green dot next to my device in the Garmin Connect app ( upper right). No green dot, no sync. So I started over and had my phone forget both and the edge 1030 to forget the phone. When you repair, the BT-Edge 1030 is found first. Then you have to go to the Garmin Connect app, under Garmin devices and add device and then find the device and then add accessory. At first the window is blank. Wait 15 seconds and the edge becomes listed and now the Edge 1030 will pair. Even as I write this, the edge 1030 connection stays solid but the BT-Edge disconnects on the iPhone. Touching the BT -edge 1030 on the IPhone usually allows it to reconnect and sync. Hope that helps a bit.
I just returned my 1030
I experienced some sync and connectivity problems but the big problem was that my varia vision kept freezing. Garmin tech was no help and it seems that they are in no hurry to fix these problems via an update. Also the screen at night is poor. For a $600 flagship product garmin should have done better, much better.
I couldn’t connect my Samsung S8 to the 1000.
It connects well with the 1030!
A “power connector” (similar to the one that you can get for the Virb 360) with a connector for the mount/ 1030 interface at one end & USB at the other would be useful. I’ve got an Anker power pack, with 3 outputs, for if I want to run a video camera for extended periods. Being able to run the GPS off that too would be handy.
Late August I did a 9+hour ride & I had trouble getting a micro usb cable to stay connected to my 1000 when I wasn’t sure the battery was going to last. In the end I recharged it enough to be sure it wouldn’t while stopped at a stop to re-fuel me (although it probably would have been OK without the charge if the displayed percentages were to be believed).
Used the 1030 for the first time on my Trek Domane with the DuoTrap cadence/speed sensor.
The sensor will not communicate well with the 1030: the 1030 will go in “auto pause mode” when you start riding.
When disconnecting the sensor, the problem is solved and the 1030 works well.
Could it be alignment or low battery?
No, both batteries are fully charged.
Tried to remove the speed magnet form the spoke to stop the speed function of the DuoTrap, though also didn’t work.
Seems to be a signal from the DuoTrap which activates the auto stop.
Problem solved!
You have to connect the DuyoTrap via ANT+ and not via Bluetooth. It seems the BT option will set the 1030 on “auto-pause” mode. Connecting via “all sensors” and choose the one without DuoTrap in the nam but only a number. That is the ANT+ signal.
Thanks to someone from the Garmin Forum for the help.
Hi Ray, I’m looking for the feature to use Virtual Partner/Racer and cycling dynamics on the same time. the vurtual.partner would be of high motivation, but I would like to see further data like the cycling dynamics or cadence, power and want to avoid using 2 cycling computers.
In addition do you see a possibility to train distance and speed like on the edge500 virtual racer/partner?
Thanks a lot in advance,
Is it just me or is there not the ability to be alerted if off course when doing a random round trip route , it does do it for saved courses but seems not to on the random round trip routes ? Also i really miss the natty tune my 800 played when finishing a saved course – bring it back please!
This is the worst Garmin device at launch ever. I have 1000 and 820, and I have bought the new 1030, and have nothing but problems with it:
– Constant disconnect/connect messages (Iphone 7)
– Recording frozen during ride (only reset helped)
– Upload problems via Phone
– No upload via WiFi
– Varia Radar disconnect – sensor is every now and then disconnected/disabled
– Auto off does not work – unit does not turn off after the ride has been completed.
All of this happens on firmware 3.20.
Please do not buy this piece of *****
Have you tried contacting support?
Generally speaking I haven’t heard of any of the issues you described reported elsewhere. There’s other issues, but really, not those issues.
That seems to imply that either something is horribly wrong with your unit. Or, by the sounds of it with the phone (since most of your issues seem tied to that), related there.
Not yet, I am waiting for the next firmware update. I think that this issues are related to 1030, since my both 820 and 1000 have no similar problems.
Many of the issues above are well documented on forums.garmin.com
Perhaps the next firmware will fix it – but if you’re waiting for that, I’d recommend just opening a ticket anyway with Garmin. That’s not normal, so something is amiss.
Thanks for the help, I will do that.
However, it seems to me that this is all related to poor software quality, not the first time for Garmin.
Make sure you update Connect Mobile on your iPhone. Garmin has been releasing 4 or 5 updates just the last two weeks. They seem to fix a lot of issues on the iPhone app.
Ray,
in your summary you stated, the display quality is “brilliant”. Two days ago I got my new 1030 – and I was totally astonished by the bad display in terms of colors and contrast. I did a direct comparison to my 1000:
link to mtb-siegerland.de (beware – it is in german 😉
As panning and zooming is as slow as on the 1000 (after 3-4 years of development!) I’m a little bit disappointed. I think I will sell my 1030, keep my 1000 an wait for the hammerhead.
Could this be the reason to get extended battery life? A less bright screen will use less power in my opinion.
OK, ik may look “less cool”, however for me battery life is more important as a bright shining screen :-).
It is a cycle computer, not a torch ;-).
Agree, as Edzo said – it’s an element of battery life. For me outside during the day (which is when I primarily use it), it’s quite brilliant. And at night, it’s still quite visible to me. I get putting them on a desk to compare.
As for Hammerhead, they’re at 10hrs of battery life right now. So you’d be trading battery life by a fair chunk. Also, I haven’t seen that screen at night to know if it’s any better or worse.
I would have thought the thicker 1030 might have a larger battery to give the extra runtime. I agree that it looks fine during the day, and is still readable at night. However, it’s not the brightness, but rather the color / contrast that is the issue. While the “contrast” looked okay under daylight, it was quite bad in the woods (even with the brightness up). The stock maps were still readable and didn’t bother me that much. However I make custom maps – graphical KMZ exports from US topo maps with added shaded relief, adding colored route markers for trails. They were not easy to read on the 1030 in the woods; I returned it and went back to the Edge 1000, which they look good even at low light.
That’s probably a rare scenario, but something to keep in mind for mountain bikers.
I also looked into the Hammerhead, but on release they won’t support custom maps, so I’ll stick to the Edge 1000 for now.
DC Rainmaker: “brilliant – both in bright daylight as well as dusk and night”
Brilliant at night, quit joking!
DC Rainmaker please compare the 1030 with 1000 and show us pictures or clip to proof.
I have both and the picture shows actual difference – display on 1030 is much worse than 1000 in the dark.
However, it works really well in the rain, much better than 1000 and 820 (which is absolute crap in the rain), so I hope that the difference in the rain is due to some kind of coating over the screen.
This is a “night” mode so make sure you compare in the dark when your eyes are accustomed to darkness. Comparing at daylight is pointless.
It’s always funny to me what people think of displays. If you didn’t look at an Edge 1000 or a phone (both of which burns far more battery), then people are generally quite happy with the Edge 1030. Yet when compared to something that burns more battery, then it magically becomes ‘horrible’…while sitting on a desk. Despite the fact that the obvious trade-off is making it very readable still (which it is), and yet lasting significantly longer.
But for those that actually go outside and use it and not just put them on desks, it’s perfectly fine for almost everybody.
Thus proving you can’t please everyone.
I have the same issue and have a support case open with Garmin. They told me that they are aware of it and is their top priority. No timing mentioned to me and whether it will be firmware or a Connect update. IOS 11 is to blame
Hello,
I received my garmin edge 1030 yesterday. After updating I can’t change the language (only English). Has someone the same thing? I live in Belgium..
Kind regards,
Lino
Hi Ray,
Is it still possible to charge the Edge through an external battery pack via micro usb? or now the only way to charge the edge while riding is via the Garmin Battery pack through Garmin proprietary connector? I would like to buy the Edge but avoid spending more money….
thanks a lot!
It still has a USB port and you can charge it with any charger, just like before. The battery pack is an optional accessory.
Thanks a lot Martin! Very kind.
Best,
M
I think nothing about displays, only wonder that you are the only
tester on the world who say display is brilliant in “dusk and night”
Fact is the display have wash out colors/no contrast at dusk and night.
You can test it outside very easy, make a nightride..
Habe nothing to do with “burns far more battery”, see picture,
1030 have brighter light but wash out/no contrast/no colors
Fun camera trick: Next time you take this photo, tap on the Edge 1030 screen on your phone, as opposed to the Edge 1000 screen. Since you set the exposure balance for the Edge 1000 as opposed to the Edge 1030, it balanced based on that and actually shows that the Edge 1030 is brighter than the Edge 1000 (ironically, per your picture). If you did the opposite you’d find the photo would show the Edge 1030 is balanced and the Edge 1000 is then darker.
No worries though, I’ll do it for you (on an actual data page). See above, you can click the image to expand it. Is it not as ‘black’? Sure. Does it have *any* tangible impact on visibility while riding? No (as countless people have noted here).
And that’s the problem with photos of devices at night. I can make any device look as bright as I want through simple camera skills. It’s also the problem with everyone sitting inside and turning off their lights and taking photo. Seriously – go for a ride at night (I have), there’s no issues.
I´m not convinced from your 1030 grey scale Data screen, but thanks..
If the device is in shade (woods) it has far too little color contrast.
The color green looks like grayscale (like the blue? on your picture), red don’t stand out, etc.. On MTB in woods or dark you have trouble reading different colors of the map. Find a video (only look on the 1030 and the colors, same in woods or dark):
link to mtb-siegerland.de
and wash out colors/contrast are not the problem from low/high background light
but thanks.
closed
The use cases for this device must be very broad. I assume it is possible that the 1030 is “good enough” for most, under most circumstances. Ray I appreciate that you are doing your best to describe this device. Since you basically hammered the Edge 1000 when it came out, I do not think you are trying to sugar coat the 1030.
This is ultimately what I ran into that caused me to go back to the 1000. Even with backlight off, the 1000 was easier to read in the woods with custom maps. Meaning, where various colors (mainly Primary color) is important with elevation contours, shaded relief, mapping course lines.
The greens seemed almost gray-scale and reds were pinkish.
I’m not going to bash the 1030…I was actually able to use it for mountain biking with the stock maps, as the background was more simple and easy to follow lines on…tho I did wish the primary colors were more defined. I went on a road ride and didn’t have any complaints as I didn’t care about or need the colors popping out (and they do actually pop out under daylight). But for my personal use-case, it wasn’t ideal (and actually difficult to read with more complex elevation / shaded maps). So I’d say it’s something to consider based on what you want out of a bike computer.
I wasn’t overly impressed with the screen colours in the shade either. In bright sunshine it is brilliant but had the same contrast issues with green backgrounds so I made a TYP file with a lighter background and used TYPChanger to put it onto my 1030.
It’s much more to my taste now
First off, thanks Ray for your great work; I’ve been reading your blogs and waiting for successor to the 1000 for almost 12 months. Following your review when I found the 1030 finally on shelves in Australia last Sunday I had to buy it.
My unit updated to firmware 3.20 as soon as I connected it to my wifi so cannot comment on previous versions. So far I have ridden approx 100km, commuting and exploring in daylight, through dusk into dark.
This is for anyone else out there reading all of the posts and wondering about all the ‘issues’ reported:
– Is the display different to the 820 – Yes
– Is it hard to see in daylight – No
– Is it hard to see at dusk – No
– Is it hard to see at night – No
– Do I think the display is an issue – No not at all
– Navigation/course recalculation – brilliant
– iphone 8 connection – I had an issue but it was user error – after repairing – brilliant
My unit updated to 3.40 this morning so we will see what changes that brings.
Software version 3.40, loading a course from Strava causes 1030 to just power off. Also, using two UT800 lights, 1030 keeps them in full power, so ride time is only 1:50 hours. Varia vision took over one hour before displaying anything. Radar is not part of the light network, so can’t change light mode or auto power off. Like others have said screen contrast is very poor, way worse than my 1000.
Seems that people claim they have version 3.40 on their Garmin 1030. Any reason why 3.40 is not listed in Garmin’s official site of updates here: link to www8.garmin.com
In the UK my Garmin 1030 does not find any new update, even if I set to search for one. Btw no issues at all with iPhone 6 iOS 11.x, Varia Radar rear light, Strava Routes loading/running, Strava Segments or other ANT+ devices (inc. SRAM eTAP, Quarq). I am running this for 3 weeks and not a single hickup apart from the grade info
On the Garmin Forum they have told us 2 days ago, only 20% of the users got the new firmware. It should be available for the rest of the users within 2-4 days.
Hi, I just got 3.4 a few minutes ago. It says it fixes the grade % display and also enables sd card storage (both were not working). Those two things were issues I had noticed and am happy they fixed them (assuming they did).
Mark
Just after above post I got the 3.4 update also :-).
This evening made my first ride in the dark. No issues with the display.
Bright enough to me, it is a GPS, not a headlight 🙂
Not the best review, I have to say from my experience with the Garmin 1030. And it seems I’m not alone with my experience as Amazon reviews are increase from yerified buyers. The Software is very poor/unstable and also the real battery life is far from the promoted.
Do you have specific examples of things that are an issue for you?
Since purchasing my 1030 I have not been able to get a reliable BT connection between my I7 with 11.0.1, .2 and now .3. Despite more than 20 pairing attempts. Opened up a support case with Garmin several weeks ago and sent them logs from phone and even the complete Garmin drive file from the 1030. I received an email from Garmin saying all is great now if I go to 3.50 firmware and 3.22.4 Connect app. Did the changes and still the same issue. After 6 attempts was able to complete pairing and 1 sync. After rebooting the 1030 will not connect to the BLT_Edge profile. Deleted all pairings in phone, GC and same issue. Also while on 3.40 while using navigation following a loaded course, at the end of the course, the 1030 just turned off. After turning back on, the .fit file is now corrupted. Pretty frustrating. Came to the 1030 from a 820 and 800 before that one. I do like the size of the unit.
I’m not quite sure what Garmin is or isn’t tell you, but, what I can say from getting myself into a BT pairing mess a few times before on the Edge 1030, is that the key to success is starting from scratch.
I outlined it up above somewhere in the comments the exact steps, but essentially you need to delete both pairings on both sides, as well as delete the unit out of GCM (Garmin Connect Mobile), and then switch off BT on the phone, close the app, and then turn on and start everything.
Part of the challenge is Garmin is still using a two-layer pairing (BT legacy and BT Smart), which makes it a complete mess to troubleshoot when things go wrong.
No mention of the live track feature, allowing for people at home to watch your location.
Did you test that feature? Thanks
I actually mentioned it three times. In particular, it’s leveraged in Rider to Rider messaging – it’s part of what makes that work.
It works fine for me on the Edge 1030, but nothing has really changed there since it was introduced half a decade or so ago.
I have done that several times, deleting all of the pairings, then rebooting the phone and the 1030, delete the 1030 out of the GC app and starting over from scratch. Will not see the BLT_Edge. After 6 or more attempts it finally did and had a successful pairing and sync. Then turned off the 1030 and restarted it and now only will connect to one BT profile not the _Edge one. Only thing I have not done is delete the app and reload it. Sent Garmin the sync logs or crashes. No resolution yet
anyone else experience a bug with the di2 battery level not showing up on the 1030?
it has a “?” over the battery.
Thanks and i love this unit. much better than the 820.
I do question the value of this purchase. I’d love to see a break down in pricing of this unit. IMO it’s extremely overpriced.
There are two battery data field options on the 1030, a Gear Battery and Di2 Battery. If you are seeing the ? over the battery, this would indicate that you have the Gear Battery field selected. In the settings, you can change this data field to Di2 Battery and then see the percentage of battery life. The reason for two different data fields is all based in how the various sensor protocols report battery status. We are working on consolidating the two fields to avoid this confusion in the future.
I have been using the 1030 for several weeks now, and like it. The battery life is much better, and the increase in the screen size is helpful to me (older eyes). I am pretty happy with it. Not a leap forward but a nice incremental improvement in a few areas to the 1000 (which has been a great unit for me for years now).
Mark
I find very interesting the new firstbeat metrics introduced with the garmin 1030, i would like to ask you if you believe it is reliable to monitor your training status and whether they are specific to this garmin model or if they are also present in older models such as the garmin 820 and the 520
Garmin uses FirstBeat metrics on many different devices, including the Edge 1030 of course. But on most past devices (i.e. 520/820), it’s used more for calorie metrics, and I think also the FTP and VO2Max pieces.
That said, the Edge 1030 goes beyond that into the recovery and training load metrics, also from FirstBeat, which is likely what you’re referring to. These are also seen on the Fenix 5 and FR935, but not any other cycling computers.
I think the metrics are quite reliable, but my issue is that if you’re someone who has multiple devices (i.e. a FR935 for swim/run and an Edge 1030 for cycling), then the metrics don’t ‘merge’ together. As such, you end up with a broken picture.
Garmin says they’re working on it, perhaps by end of year, or early next year, but it’s still a gap.
But for a bike only I would say that having this kind of metric is a great plus, I’m considering whether to take this or pc8 srm, maybe it’s better to garmin even if it does not have the charm of srm 😉
For those with Bontrager headlight or tail light, Trek has now released an update to their Connect IQ Light Control app that supports the 1030.
I used to use that app until I realized that the built in light network screen on the Edge 1000 did the same thing with more options.
Where is the light network screen on the 1030? I don’t see it as a screen type in trying to add a new screen.
Thanks –
When a light network is active you can find it by pulling “the curtain screen” down an scroll through the pages. You will find the light network as one of the pages.
Thanks Edzo – much appreciated
Just got software version 3.50. Don’t know what changed. I do know that prior to this, I was still unable to have anything stored to the SC card I have in the unit. Anyone else have any success with that?
Thanks
Mark
That would be “SD” card, sorry.
Pardon my self replies, but I think that the problem I was having with the SD card and 3.4 was the size of card I was trying to use resulted in the drive being formatted exfat rather than fat32. Should work now.
Mark
Hi! The edge 1030 can be paired with the rotor power meter
great question, a shame it got lost.
Yes it can.
Hey (European) Folks-
Just as a super quick heads up, since a number have asked over the last 60 days, Clever Training Europe/UK finally has listings now for the Edge 1030. As always, for Euro folks* you can use the DCR discount code of DCR10BTF to get 10% off the price, plus of course free European shipping. All of which helps support the site. Oh, and they’re in stock today.
Euro Link: link to clevertraining.co.uk
*And on the US side, that links’ been there forever, but is available here: link to clevertraining.com
You can’t get 10% off on the US side due to Garmin restrictions, but you can get 10% back in points with the VIP program (link to dcrainmaker.com). And free shipping. All of which basically just makes you awesome.
Thanks for the support!
I have been using Garmin Bike Computers for years, I bike 5-6 days a week, so use them a lot. Pretty much all of them have worked well. My Edge 1000 recently died after a long time, so I purchased a 520 as a stopgap till my 1030 arrived today. 520 worked fine, even though no touch screen and pretty basic. First workout today with the 1030. Awful. Had to start and stop the workout 4 times, and then the hard efforts were not done properly because I could not see the data I needed on the screen.
Screens would switch at random to all sorts of different screens, not just data screens. No pattern. Might work well for 5 minutes, then go berserk.
I disabled phone alerts, then deleted any other data screens in the activity, then disabled weather, These things should work.
I’m not sure if I have a lemon or some setting or interference is causing these issues. I use a TACX FLUX trainer. Initially, I had added the trainer, but then thought it might be causing problems so just added it as sensors, i.e. power, speed/distance and cadence.
Touch screen does not work at all now. Can’t even shut it down properly. Not happy at all.
Thanks for the review. Very helpful.