thinking about a new Garmin head unit. Bring me up to speed

[AngryScientist]

I am anti touch screen.

I've been caught in a few driving rainstorms that render the touch screens useless, and that is to include my iPhone. I much prefer physical
buttons.

[kppolich]

530 User here, it does it all with a smaller form factor while maintaining great battery life even on year 3-4. If I had to purchase today, I'd like at a 540 for my riding. If I was looking for more screen real-esate or routing power --840.

If you are in the bifocal club 1040/1050 if you need a bike bell integrated....

[reuben]

I have an 840 solar. 5xx is smaller, 1xxx is larger - your choice.

I do like the touch screen, although some prefer buttons. My problem is that I can never remember the button sequence to get from one screen to another. For me, swiping is easier. On the other hand, I rarely change the screen while riding anyway. You can operate the 840 either way.

Solar isn't worth it IMHO. It can't collect enough to make an appreciable difference, and I've never come close to running out of battery. And if I did I probably wouldn't care as I know how to get home. Using maps in an unknown area is different, but I've never come close to running out of battery in that situation, either.

I only use HR and cadence on the trainer, mostly to keep my cadence up. I don't use either on the road, just speed, average speed, distance, and maybe one or two other things that i can't remember. Maybe elapsed time and elevation.

I'm obviously not a power user.

I say pick the size you want w/o solar. Then check on other features to narrow it down.

[openwheelracing]

530 is perfection imo

[benb]

Gloves work with any of the Garmins touch screens except the new 1050 with the smartphone style screen AFAIK.

You’re basically giving up battery life and/or use of gloves to get the pretty screen and faster responsiveness when you’re using it without gloves.

[marciero]

Originally Posted by sailorboy

I've had a trusty 520 edge plus for at least 5 seasons now and just wondering if it would be worth it to splurge on an upgrade to that, and if so, what model?

I'm like you- had the 520 and then 520+ for like 10 years til the buttons fell off. These units suited me well so I just got the 540, which I saw as natural progression and the functionality would be very similar. Its been great, and an improvement in several ways - Battery life for one. I also dont like touch screens for GPS.

[marciero]

If you narrow down your choices to two or three you might want to check out DC Rainmaker if he has reviewed them (>99% certainty). These have to be the most comprehensive reviews of GPS units you are likely to find.

[blew]

Originally Posted by kppolich

530 User here, it does it all with a smaller form factor while maintaining great battery life even on year 3-4. If I had to purchase today, I'd like at a 540 for my riding. If I was looking for more screen real-esate or routing power --840.

Second this, been using the 530 for a few years and like the form factor, battery life, and don't need any further functionality. Will use it until it dies out and just upgrade to the latest version when needed.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by benb

Gloves work with any of the Garmins touch screens except the new 1050 with the smartphone style screen AFAIK.

Current Garmin computers use capacitive touchscreens, and generally only work with gloves that have touch compatible surfaces built into the finger tips. Some previous Garmins used resistive touchscreens (800, 810), but this was not as popular because a resistive touchscreen requires a harder push on the screen, and doesn't really allow gesture control (such as swiping). However, resistive touch screens worked with any type of glove, and also worked when wet.

As far as buttons vs. touchscreen, its interesting to note that the the Garmin 840 has both buttons and a touchscreen. Using just the buttons, it operates identically to the 540. The 540 and 840 have essentially the same feature set, so with the 840 you can chose how to operate each feature.

[Elefantino]

I have the 840 Solar and I've liked it. Started the Boone GF with 51% and finished with 6%, which would have been impossible without the sun.

[Mikej]

Garmins are so complicated- I have the 1st gen Bolt and other than not having an odometer I love it.

[RoosterCogset]

For me.. Garmin 520 and then went to the 840. Overlooked or assumptions, the 840 has touchscreen, but it ALSO has buttons

[djg21]

Originally Posted by benb

Gloves work with any of the Garmins touch screens except the new 1050 with the smartphone style screen AFAIK.

You’re basically giving up battery life and/or use of gloves to get the pretty screen and faster responsiveness when you’re using it without gloves.

The Edge 1050 is supposed to work with gloves. There are plenty of reviews you can google, including this one: https://www.cyclistshub.com/garmin-edge-1050-review/. I only wear full fingered gloves in cold weather, so haven’t had an opportunity to test the 1050 with gloves yet.

Battery life certainly is impacted by the new higher resolution screen, but the 1050 still has plenty of capacity, and unless you are riding off the grid where you cannot recharge every day or so, this shouldn’t be a problem. My Garmin is always plugged in unless I am riding. i have used my Edge 1050 in the rain, and it worked just fine.

[mtbmoose]

I have the 540 and really like it. Touch screens don’t always work with my various gloves, particularly in the winter when fatbiking. And in the summer, on my road bike with Di2, I change screens with the blip buttons on the brake hoods. Love that integration feature!

Screen is plenty big enough for me. And since you can choose how many metrics to display per screen, it’s easy enough to get readable text for your level of eye sight.

[sailorboy]

Thanks for some great inputs here. I had forgotten about the prevalence of tough screens and agree with many that a touch-only model would probably frustrate me when wearing full gloves. Not that I ride that much in real cold weather, but it would be irritating to not be able to toggle screens at least.

Maybe the 840 is the sweetspot with both buttons and touch?