RoadTrailRide: Garmin Edge 1050 Bike Computer and Varia UT800 Smart Headlight Reviews

 Article by Jeff Valliere

Execs and Cons

Execs: 

Extremely brilliant AMOLED display screenAccuracyImproved consumer interface (intuitive and FAST)Bell/SpeakerNavigation options and easeDigital groupset integrationSensor compatibilitySecurity options (together with Varia radar/mild built-in ecosystem)Battery life (contemplating the brightness stage of the display screen)Value ($699 is lots, however when contemplating the value of Fenix/Epix and even Enduro watches, may be thought-about a extremely good worth).

Cons:

No operational buttons (like on the 840)Battery life (which I additionally listed as a professional for many customers, multi day lengthy distance riders will see this as a con)

Introduction:  

The 1050 is Garmin’s newest flagship GPS biking pc, that includes an all new brilliant and vivid 3.5” AMOLED show with 480×800 pixel decision, a in-built speaker, bike bell and a bunch of different software program updates over the Edge 1040/840/540. 

 Having very not too long ago reviewed the Edge 840, I can say that the 1050 is a HUGE improve and benefit over any of their transflective show fashions, not simply the bump in display screen dimension from the 840 (2.6” to three.5”), which IS a giant distinction, however the AMOLED show makes an evening and day distinction in my capacity to simply learn in all mild circumstances.  

The bell can also be an excellent nifty characteristic, the place you’ll be able to activate by touching a button on the display screen, or, even higher but, may be triggered by distant shifter buttons).  

In fact, like the opposite Edge items, the 1050 has each coaching, health, navigation and fashionable bike sports activities tech characteristic possible, in addition to the easiest GPS accuracy, Sensible options and Sensor compatibility.  

Whereas battery life takes a big hit in comparison with the Edge 1040/1040 Photo voltaic (lower than half), I personally discover that to be a good commerce for my each day driving (although it may very well be a priority for individuals who journey multi day bikepacking excursions or the like). I’m simply capable of get a couple of week of driving (4 rides per week of 2-3 hours) with out having to cost and even then it’s nonetheless not a lot lower than 50%. 

Options/Specs:

Operation:  

The Edge 1050 is touchscreen solely, with the exception an on/off button, a begin/cease button and the lap button.  That mentioned, the 1050 is simple to function, with a big 3.5” display screen, the place capabilities and buttons on the display screen are giant and intuitive.  

When sporting fingerless gloves or skinny  contact appropriate gloves, it’s straightforward to swipe by means of screens and menus on the go whereas driving, regulate settings and such.  I’d nevertheless suggest studying and memorizing the performance and operations at dwelling and never as you might be driving, which could be a distraction and harmful.  

Even with reasonably thick gloves, I can simply carry out primary contact display screen capabilities whereas on the go, however not all of my gloves are contact appropriate, so I do want the 1050 had operational buttons on the edges, such because the Edge 840 (however this can be a minor criticism).  

In lieu of not having buttons on the unit nevertheless, when you occur to have an digital groupset, you’ll be able to sync with it and carry out primary operation by means of distant buttons.  I’ve a Shimano GRX Di2 2×12 groupset on my gravel bike and I’ve arrange one of many hood buttons to scroll by means of the screens and the opposite one to activate the bell.  I just about use this technique of operation completely, as I’d a lot relatively hold my palms on the bars when driving on dust roads and off street.  Should you shouldn’t have digital shifting like Di2 for instance, you should buy a Varia Distant for $49.99 to mount in your bars that may basically do the identical.

GPS Accuracy:  The 1050 options Multi Band GNSS know-how and offers impeccable GPS accuracy, which I discover to be spot on with what I contemplate the benchmark Fenix 8.  In facet by facet comparisons, the GPS observe for each items have lined up completely with each other, in addition to to my observe on street or path.  The screenshots beneath present how intently and precisely each the Edge 1050 (purple) and the Fenix 8 (blue) observe.

Observe comparisons and graphs by DCRainmaker Analyzer

Altimeter:  

The 1050 has a barometric altimeter that has the choice to auto calibrate.  I discover it to be tremendous reliably correct, rather more so than any of my watches that drift and require common consideration.  The graphs beneath reveals the Fenix 8 and Edge 1050 to be very shut over the course of a current journey with many  ups and down.

Maps/Navigation:  

Considered one of my favourite options of the Edge 1050, is the flexibility to navigate in a simple and dependable means with flip by flip instructions which are verbalized by means of the speaker.  You may both preload or designate a course forward of time, or you’ll be able to randomly choose a course with variables of sort of journey and distance for instance and the Edge will calculate a route for you. 

The maps are fairly detailed with roads, trails, options and topography.  The massive display screen and crisp AMOLED show make the maps rather more straightforward to learn and navigate from in comparison with the 840 that I discovered troublesome to decipher when on the go.  Moreover, now with a in-built speaker, you’ll be able to depend upon navigational verbal prompts to point upcoming turns and such.

Display:  

The three.5” display screen is identical dimension because the Edge 1040’s, however the huge story right here after all is the magnificent vivid AMOLED show with decision of 480×800 pixels and 1,000 nits of brightness.  I discovered the 840 to be good in direct solar, however struggled when in shady areas and on early morning rides earlier than dawn.  

The AMOLED display screen is so brilliant and vivid, all the information fields, menus, icons, graphs and maps actually pop and are straightforward to learn.  One of the best description of transitioning from the 840 with transflective to the 1050 with AMOLED is like going from a 19” black and white TV to a 70” flat panel with OLED 4K.  It’s troublesome to seize the brilliance in images, however the display screen is very easy to learn in even the brightest direct sunshine and at any viewing angle.  I hold the 1050 adjusted to auto brightness, which does an ideal job dimming or growing output precisely as wanted.  You may after all override this characteristic and set it to nevertheless brilliant you need, however the auto appears to make most sense from a battery/usability perspective.

Aspect by facet you’ll be able to see the distinction in readability and readability when in comparison with the 840 to the appropriate..

Once more, exterior in direct solar, the 1050 is much superior.

Information Fields/Configurability:  

The information fields are very straightforward to regulate, even on the fly if it is advisable, simply by lengthy urgent and choosing which subject you want to show.  

The font and dimension of the digits are fairly giant, straightforward to learn and you may configure the order and structure as you would like, what number of screens, and so forth…  

Even with 8 information fields as I’ve within the screenshot beneath, the information could be very legible, the font giant and crisp.  You too can configure the information fields from inside the Garmin Join app.

Mounting: 

The 1050 comes with two several types of mounts, a flush out entrance mount to place the unit ahead of the stem in addition to a extra tidy, light-weight commonplace mount that may simply mount on a handlebar or stem.  Additionally included are a bunch of various shims and adapters to suit nearly any dimension typical bar/stem.  Moreover, beneath the out entrance mount can also be an interface to lock on the Garmin Varia UT800 headlight (extra on that later).

Battery Life/Charging:  

Garmin claims a battery lifetime of 20 hours and I’m discovering that to be correct.  Whereas I’ve not run the battery down all the means, I’m simply capable of get a couple of week of driving (4 rides per week of 2-3 hours) with out having to cost and even then it’s nonetheless not a lot lower than 50%. Charging is simple with a USB-C charging cable/port (cable included), so no surprises there.  The chart beneath illustrates how the battery life is affected in several modes.  

Consumer Interface:  

The consumer interface has been up to date and far improved, the place I discover it to be very straightforward to make use of and transition to with just a bit apply. Controls are rather more intuitive than the earlier interface discovered on the Edge 840. 

From the house display screen, swipe left or proper to pick an exercise, or select from Coaching, Navigation or the primary Menu, swipe as much as get to widgets you can additionally customise (add/delete as mandatory or reorder).  Response is quick with an excellent fast processor, basically instantaneous with out delays.

Very harking back to widgets on the Fenix 8, the 1050 additionally offers a variety of widgets so as to add and order as you please.

From a sports activities exercise display screen, faucet the display screen shortly to deliver up the Hazard, Residence or Bell choices.  

To activate the bell, then simply faucet the bell button (or, if in case you have it synced to Di2, simply faucet the button on lever or satellite tv for pc shifter you may have designated to activate.  As primary because the bell characteristic could also be, it’s genius and is truthfully one in all my favourite options on the 1050, as it’s so useful, particularly on a street or gravel bike the place mounting a bell is neither handy or streamlined.  

Moreover, anybody complaining in regards to the added weight of the 1050 (161 grams), you might be saving weight on a bell no less than!  The bell is loud and has a pleasant sharp ding to it, alerting nearly all of pedestrians to your presence (although some are so spaced out in their very own little headphone World, no bell or “in your left” will do the job).

You too can shortly and simply mark a hazard, to  put it on the market to the general public to warn different riders.  This nearly immediately is reported to Garmin join through your cellphone connection (offered you might be in cell vary) and is then obtainable to different riders within the space.  If you do not need the alerts, the notifications may be turned off in exercise settings.

Di2/Digital Shifting Connectivity:  

Having not too long ago upgraded to Shimano’s newest GRX 2×12 Di2 (evaluate right here) group on my gravel bike, I used to be fairly excited to sync up the Di2 with the 1050.  

I used to be most excited to have the option remotely use the bell by designating one of many small buttons on the brake hoods to activate and the opposite button to scroll by means of the screens with out having to take a hand off the bars.  I additionally actually like with the ability to designate a subject on my information display screen to indicate which gear I’m in, which saves me from having to look down and again at my cassette to substantiate that I actually don’t have any extra granny gear remaining.  I even have a whole information display screen that reveals gear combo, gear ratio and battery ranges of the first Di2 battery and the distant shifter batteries.

GroupRide:  Whereas I’ve not been capable of check this characteristic (as it’s considerably uncommon that I journey with others, particularly a bunch and I obtained the 1050 late in my driving season), it seems to be like an important characteristic, permitting you to remain linked on group rides with in journey messaging, stay areas and incident detection alerts, in addition to pleasant competitors with in journey leaderboards for climbs and submit journey awards.

Security/Varia: 

The 1050 is full of security options reminiscent of livetrack, incident detection, help, and so forth…., which give peace of thoughts if one thing unhealthy have been to occur (although all of that’s dependent upon having cell reception and after I go off the grid, so to talk, or even when reception is spotty, I deliver alongside the inReach, that conveniently syncs with the 1050).

Considered one of my favourite points of the Garmin ecosystem is the Varia RTL515 rear radar (evaluate right here) and UT800 good headlamp mixture, which provides an important stage of consolation and consciousness for your self in addition to making your self seen to passing motorists.

The Varia RTL515 has a really brilliant flashing LED mild to make your self very seen from fairly a distance and a in-built radar that reveals approaching automobiles on the 1050 display screen, in addition to an audible alert that’s broadcast by means of the speaker iif the 1050.  

Should you journey with headphones, you’ll be able to sync them with the Garmin Varia app and get extra in ear alerts to approaching automobiles.  This has been an entire sport changer for me.  My street driving is kind of restricted, however I do journey my gravel bike on roads sometimes to get from one path or path to the following or quiet dust roads within the foothills/mountains, so it’s nice to have that alert and anticipate a passing automobile.

When a automobile approaches, the beeping and flash on the display screen is tough to disregard.  The pink dot within the higher proper is me, the white dot beneath is the approaching automobile.

The UT800 Sensible Headlamp boasts 800 watts of regular beam or flashing mode for night time time navigation and daytime visibility, all of which will also be managed from the 1050.

Conclusions/Suggestions:  

The Edge 1050 is much and away the final word bike pc in the marketplace, with the best stage of accuracy, with each characteristic obtainable below the solar, integrations, sensors, well being/health monitoring, coaching metrics, you identify it.  

The AMOLED display screen is spectacularly brilliant and crisp in all circumstances, it’s so straightforward to learn and pleasing to have a look at.  

The consumer interface is a large increase as properly, as it’s straightforward to navigate by means of the operational options, setting and menus, even when on the go.  

The vivid display screen mixed with the audible alerts enhance the navigational/mapping enormously and the contact display screen is simple to zoom and pan the map.  

Those that are into lengthy distance extremely multi day kind of driving will not be enthusiastic about battery life, however no less than for my functions, it’s greater than a good commerce and never a giant deal to cost the unit each week or two (I like maintaining it topped off and never having any surprises).  In case you are in search of higher battery life although, contemplate the 1040 or 1040 photo voltaic, which has nearly the whole lot the 1050 has apart from the speaker/bell and the AMOLED (software program updates and options are trickling down from the 1050 to the 1040, 840, 540).  

If I may give you one criticism, or higher mentioned, room for enchancment can be to have the choice of buttons on the facet to function as on the 840 which I discover to be very useful.  If the 1050 is inside your finances and extremely battery life will not be a priority, then I can’t suggest the 1050 sufficient.

Bike computer systems have come a good distance!

The Garmin Varia UT800 Sensible Headlamp is the proper praise to the Garmin Edge/Varia Radar ecosystem, providing a powerful 800 lumens of heat hued mild with as much as 6 hours of battery life on low and 25 hours in day flash mode.  It syncs up with any Garmin Edge pc and may be managed from the display screen and there’s even an “Auto” mode you’ll be able to choose, the place the sunshine will regulate routinely relying upon your pace and journey profile.

The UT800 comes with a entrance mount the place the Edge clicks in on prime and the sunshine attaches to the underside, which is an excellent clear setup, releasing up room on the bars for extra hand positions, in addition to for my Di2 satellite tv for pc shifters.  You too can angle the sunshine up or down at will.  You may both purchase the UT800 with the entrance mount as I’ve, or, you’ll be able to choose with a helmet mount package.

From the display screen on the Edge, you’ll be able to choose any of the modes, or toggle to automated.  You too can simply cycle by means of the modes manually with the only button on the facet of the sunshine.  Both means, it’s very easy to make use of. 

The brightness of the UT800 is spectacular.  The low and medium settings are adequate for slower speeds and the excessive setting tasks a powerful beam that I’ve not been capable of exceed by going too quick.  

The hue is heat vs. the stark white mild of another lights, which is very useful on trails to boost distinction and definition (plus it’s simply simpler on the eyes).  The vast majority of my driving in the dead of night begins an hour or so earlier than dawn, so figuring out it will likely be mild quickly, I simply default to the brightest setting, however the auto mode is admittedly handy for diverse speeds and terrain.  On all of my day rides, whether or not I’m on the streets or bike paths, I’ll use the day flash mode to make sure automobiles and different cyclists/pedestrians see me coming, it’s soooo brilliant and a focus getting, you’ll have to be actually out of it to not discover.

Conclusions:  The UT800 is a should have add on to your Garmin ecosystem, because it provides a component of security to any journey and is ideal for these pre-dawn begins or getting caught out after sundown.  For extra devoted night time rides of longer length, one would possibly contemplate a brighter mild with longer battery life, however for many riders more often than not, the UT800 is a superb possibility.

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Jeff Valliere has been round bikes his complete life, as a toddler following his dad to bike races and bike retailers, BMX racing as a child, working in bike retailers as a mechanic for 14+ years (10 at U-Bikes in Boulder the place he met John) and racing as an expert street bike owner for a number of years.  Jeff now not races, however nonetheless likes to journey as he introduces his daughters to the fun of biking.  Along with being obsessive about biking, he runs mountains each day and has been reviewing trainers/gear/tech for RoadTrailRun since 2015 and for different publications/firms since 2005.