Garmin 1040 in 2025 ?

Drax32
21 days ago

Would you still recommend buying the 1040 in 2025,  just sold my Garmin 840 because it was difficult to read the small text and found the map cramped on such a small screen.

Looked at the new 850 but still think the screen would be too small for my eyesight plus concerned about the battery life on long rides.  As for the 1050 it’s just too expensive for my needs.

  

  • 0 21 days ago

    yes definitely if you find a good deal now. at the moment the 1040 is (for me) the sweet spot regarding functionality, price and battery life.

  • 0 21 days ago

    I've had  my 1040 for almost two years. I have been very pleased with it, but there are other options available. It's worth having a look at the reviews of DC RAINMAKER on YouTube. Slightly off topic, I use bifocal cycling glasses and they make an enormous difference. 

  • 0 21 days ago

    If it has to be Garmin, then yes. The 1050 is a mistake—worse battery—the better screen doesn't make up for it if your Edge shuts down halfway through your ride.

    But if it doesn't have to be a Garmin, take a look at the Wahoo Elemnt Ace. The only thing stopping me from switching to the Elemnt Ace is the lack of a remote control – I'm really fed up with the increasingly poor firmware. My 1040 works worse two years after purchase than when I bought it.

  • 0 20 days ago in reply to MartinF

    My 1040 has been working well and the screens are mostly readable. Sometimes depending on the angle there's some glare depending on the type of lenses you use.

    A bit off topic, but do you use progressive lenses for your regular glasses and bifocals for cycling?  I'm thinking of the same but not sure about switching between the two...

  • 0 20 days ago in reply to DuaneHebert

    I just wear normal sunglasses and ordered the 1040. The larger text on the display will be perfect for me compared to my 840. 

  • 0 20 days ago in reply to DuaneHebert

    I use varifocal glasses for walking around, shoping, etc. I think these are the same as  progressive. I'm in the UK so we may have different names for the same thing. I also have a pair of reading glasses. For cycling, I have bifocals from BZ Optics. The reading screens bit is in the bottom towards the middle. It's perfect. If I look at the screen I automatically look through this bit and am able to read street names, etc. The glasses are quite expensive, although cheaper than a new Garmin, but you can get very cheap bifocal safety glasses on Amazon and see if they work for you. I started by getting three pairs of safety glasses with varying lens darkness, for around  £15 or $20. You do get options regarding the strength of the reading bit of the lens. Once I'd realised how much I liked them I upgraded to something more cycling specific.

  • 0 20 days ago

    I wear progressive bifocals when riding. I have a pair made specifically for walking/hiking/riding where there isn't as much near correction at the bottom and the transition is also somewhat lower.  When I asked, the optometrist knew exactly what I wanted.  For me, these work great. No probs at all seeing my 840, and everything ahead and below is sharp and clear. 

  • 0 18 days ago

    Hi,
    I would say yes and no!
    Yes for the exceptional battery capacity on the market and a little extra with the solar panel if you're planning trips and ultra-long distances.
    Yes for its high GPS accuracy and the ClimbPro Free.
    Yes because the latest update made the 1040 more functional, smoother, and faster on mine, but hopefully it will last, because Garmin is the king of bugs hidden in each update. I would say no because Garmin is making fun of users. 3 years to refine updates and still have issues to this day is a joke. They were responsive to the last urgent fix, but still, Garmin has an issue stabilizing the issue. They'll get there, but it's taking a long time because the update frequency is too infrequent. Take the FR955, which I own, for example; I receive more updates on the watch than on the 1040.
    Yes, because in 3 years, the 1040 has improved. If it had been sold today, we would have been happy with it.
    Let's not forget that the first buyers didn't get ClimbPro Free at first ;-)

  • 0 18 days ago in reply to raphnou

    Thanks for update but my 1040 come yesterday, so far impressed with the display size compared to my 840. 

  • 0 13 days ago in reply to Drax32

    too many software problems that prevent a normal use, upgraded from 830 and regret it every activity, display and numbers are much better but it simply does not work as it should.