Need more bike profiles.


Just got the Explore 2, coming from an Edge 530.
So far the main downside is the limited number of profiles, Road, Mountain and (never to use) Indoor.

On the 530 I had four bikes with separate profiles, eMTB, eRoad, plus analog MTB and Road. So the questions:


1. Is there a way to hide Indoor since I will never use it? Or alternately, make it function as either Road or MTB?


2. If I can't add the extra profiles is there a way to quick hide data screens that don't apply, such as ebike functions when riding the analog bikes? I know how to go through the menus and hide screens but that's too involved when just jumping on a different bike. Is there an easier way to get the screens appropriate only for the bike I'm riding now? Any other solutions to multi-bike setups?

  • Is there a way to hide Indoor since I will never use it?

    Unfortunately, there is no way at the moment.

    Or alternately, make it function as either Road or MTB?

    Not really. The only you can do on the preset activity profiles is change the color and the name, but that won’t change the ride type.
    Not even the logo can be changed.
    I have no idea what GARMIN was thinking when programming this.

  • While I entirely agree that this is an insane choice by Garmin, this profile can be changed to whatever the rider wants. You can turn on GPS and structure the data pages to your liking. The sub profile (I'll call it), still says "indoor" but it is meaningless. That is my experience.

    Why they decided to do this is truly baffling.

  • Thanks for the responses. I know Garmin would rather we pay twice as much for an Edge 1040 but the Explore 2 does everything I want. There are some pretty silly choices in how things are presented in terms of activities/profiles, but after playing with it statically and taking it on the first ride the only thing I miss from the Edge 530 is showing my MTB jumps. But since I'm a pretty sedate (i.e. old) rider, that's a rare stat that's only amusing in that fact it got recorded at all. Getting at the info and setting things up is far better.

    I haven't attempted to set up Indoor with a different name and data screens that reflect actual outdoor riding. Has anyone else tried that? And if so, with what results? I'll give it a go when I have some spare time.

  • I've done it and it works just like any other profile. I use that profile for bumming around town or with my kid on the back (so no power and with a focus on navigation).

    I also have the 1040 (long story). The units are incredibly similar, with the Explore 2 being better in some instances. It seems they just randomly picked features not to include in one and to include in the other. Unless you must have the bigger screen and battery life, paying double for the 1040 is not worth it for most people.

  • Cool. I will rename the Indoor profile to become Analog.

  • The sub profile (I'll call it), still says "indoor" but it is meaningless.

    Unfortunately, it is not meaningless.
    On the one hand, many parameters are calculated differently according to the profile, for example, calorie consumption, recovery values or performance parameters. Furthermore, later when you search for your "normal" bike ride, you will notice that it is not found because it is not stored under "Cycling" but under "Indoor". etc....
    There is a lot more to it which is not meaningless. But that is a matter of opinion.

  • Hmm... I've never heard that the values are calculated differently. If it has speed, power, and HR data, that would be very odd (though I don't put it passed Garmin). The category itself once it is uploaded can be manually changed pretty easily through Garmin Connect on the phone or web browser. Annoying but doable. Do you have a reference to where it says calories are calculated differently and what else is different? I'm curious now.

  • The category itself once it is uploaded can be manually changed pretty easily through Garmin Connect on the phone or web browser.

    C'mon, we are living in 2022. Computers and software should do such things well for us.
    I don't buy a bike computer where I have to go online every time after a synchronization and manually edit the synchronized values.
    This may work for people who make a bike ride 1 time a month but not for several times a day

    Sure, you can also advertise your purchased bad user software. But what for?
    No, that is simply poorly designed, in my opinion.

  • How do I upvote this? Vote seems to have stopped after +22 :-(

    Honi soit qui mal y pense Garmin