With Garmin having updated many of its sports watches with Power Glass, it's perhaps a surprise that it has taken Garmin so long to bring this technology to its Edge family of bike computers.

The Garmin Edge 1040 Solar is topped with Power Glass across its 3.5-inch display, allowing the power of the sun to be harvested, extending the life of the device.

In battery saver mode, Garmin says there's an extension of 100 hours, or 42 minutes of additional riding per hour when riding during daylight. That, of course, depends on the Edge 1040 Solar receiving 75,000 lux, according to Garmin, but it should mean that when you head out with a less than full battery on a sunny day, there's one less thing to worry about.

In reality, this is an update to the Garmin Edge 1030 Plus which has been Garmin's flagship bike computer for a number of years, but the promise of a refreshed user interface will be welcomed.

Garmin Edge 1040 photo 2
Garmin

Garmin also says that it will essentially set itself up, meaning that the first time you turn it on you don't have to spend ages going through the settings, it can basically lift those from a previous Edge device you may have had, or use the most common settings that others use.

Designed to equally serve those cycling on road or off, there's support and compatibility with a huge range of sensors from Garmin's ecosystem and third-parties, while also offering compatibility with indoor trainers - including from Garmin's Tacx brand.

There's multi-band GNSS to boost the satellite positioning accuracy, and guidance to help you focus on training those parts of your ride that are weaker, to maintain steady improvement.

You'll be able to get power guidance (assuming you have a compatible source of power data, like Garmin's Rally power pedals) to help you maintain your efforts throughout a course - while you can track your exertion levels in real-time during a ride.

Garmin Edge 1040 photo 3
Garmin

Of course, you'll get support for all those previous features that Garmin offered, allowing a compete toolkit for tracking your rides and training, to monitor your climbs, as well as offering advanced navigation, onroad and off.

Syncing with Garmin Connect, you'll be able to get all your data on your phone for analysis - as well as syncing to third-party platforms like Strava - while also offering smartphone notifications and advanced features like live tracking, group messaging and incident alerts.

There's also a version of the Garmin Edge 1040 without the solar glass, which will be a little cheaper.

The Garmin Edge 1040 Solar is available now, costing £629.99 / $749.99 / €749.99.

Garmin Edge® 1040 Solar, GPS Bike Computer with Solar Charging Capabilities, On and Off-Road, Spot-On Accuracy, Long-Lasting Battery, Device Only

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