BIKE COMPUTERS
When it comes to keeping track of your cycling data on the fly, it sure is nice to have all the info easily available right in front of you rather than looking down at your watch. Bike computers continue to get more powerful these days—the two we’ve looked at below can provide you with all the training and mapping data you could ever dream of.
Garmin Edge 1040 Solar
$1,010/US$750
With 45 hours of battery life (and up to 100 hours in battery saver mode), the Edge 1040 Solar will go for days and up to weeks between charges. All the basics and a lot more are covered here—speed, distance and power measurement (as long as you have a power meter, of course)— but the 1040 does so much more thanks to its barometric altimeter and mutli-band GNSS to provide the ultimate in positional accuracy and coverage no matter how far your ride takes you. The 1040 is smart enough to recommend power targets to get you through a course, and can even give you stamina insights to let you know when it might be a good time to call it a day. There are extensive maps that are easy to read on the 3.5-inch touchscreen, along with lots of ride and training apps (it would take a while to list them all) to help you get the most out of your training and racing. The 1040 can even help keep you safe on the roads thanks to its Varia rearview radar compatibility and ability to communicate with emergency contacts should anything happen to you. On top of all that you can easily track smart notifications, control music, send ride updates to friends and family and connect to a smart trainer. When it comes to bike computers, there’s not really anything the Garmin 1040 doesn’t do.
Wahoo Elemnt Roam
$600/US$400
With a 2.7-inch, 64-colour display, the Elemnt Roam offers all the GPS and power measurements you could want, coupled with smart-navigation features to keep you on track for your next cycling adventure. The latest version of Wahoo’s flagship computer offers dual-band GPS for accurate tracking along with Summit Segment capabilities and public route sharing. There’s even integration with the Supersapiens Continuous Glucose Monitor for those who want to see their blood-glucose levels in real time. All this comes in a lightweight unit (94 g) that offers 17 hours of battery life.—KM