(Please Note: My Full In-Depth Review is now available and published here!)
Today, Garmin announced their latest cycling unit – the Garmin Edge 1000. Unlike some expectations however, the Edge 1000 doesn’t directly replace the 15-month old Edge 810, but rather, is meant to serve as a higher-end tier than the Edge 810 – given its price point of $599.
The unit adopts a new larger and higher resolution screen, first seen in other Garmin products over the past few months, as well as packs in communication technologies such as WiFi and full Bluetooth 4.0 capabilities. Finally, on the pure cycling side, it adds in integration with Shimano Di2 shifting while also incorporating many of the features of the Garmin Touring from mapping to automated route generation.
Before we get into the details, note that I’ve had very limited time with the unit, essentially enough to walk through some of the functions for an hour or so by myself, but was not able to go out for a ride yet. That’ll happen in the following weeks. As such, keep in mind that what you see is beta screens and subject to change. And further, I don’t have any idea how well the unit will ultimately perform. It might be great…or it might be as enjoyable as riding cobbles. We’ll have to see in May or so. Therefore it should go without saying that this is *NOT* a review, in-depth or otherwise.
The Executive Summary Overview:
There’s been a host of features introduced, both small and large. So while I cover all of the major features in separate sections below, let me run through the biggies and the little ones in a quick bulleted form:
Major features:
– New larger high resolution full color screen
– Addition of Shimano Di2 gearing information
– Incoming Call and Text notifications
– Garmin Segment Real-Time Challenges (on device)
– WiFi added to device, full Bluetooth 4.0 chipset
– Full and detailed maps included now
– Added round trip routes (basically a ‘give me a surprise route’ option)
Minor Features:
– Ability to change display to a horizontal orientation
– Downloads satellite data ahead of time to speed acquisition to a few seconds
– Increases data fields to 10 fields per page, up to custom 5 pages (+ lap summary, compass page, map pages)
– Ability to edit saved workouts on the device itself
– Added training calendar support (for scheduled workouts)
– Added support for displaying PR’s in a menu
Not really features per se, but core things of note:
– Edge 1000 price is a wee bit high at $599
– New speed/cadence combo sensors, standalone speed-only, cadence-only sensors
– New Edge Remote, for trigging laps/page changes
– New Edge out-front mount
– Unit now uses micro-USB (like cell phones), as opposed to mini-USB like past Edge units
Ok, with that all covered let’s get through some quick sizing and overview things. After all, one of the core things is the new size. To start, let’s take a look at how it compares to the previous high-end unit, the Edge 810:
As you can see, it’s a fair bit taller, but not really much wider. The screen size is increased along with the resolution. Additionally, the user interface home screen now takes on a bit of an Android home screen look, with a much cleaner icon (with labels) driven approach.
Looking at the depth, it’s quite a bit thinner, though, that doesn’t tend to matter to too many people at this point since the devices are already pretty thin.
Here’s a shot just holding it up:
The bottom of the unit still retains the ability to add a MicroSD card for additional storage (generally used for additional maps).
And as I noted above, they’ve changed from mini-USB to micro-USB for the charging and USB download. You can also download via Bluetooth Smart to both iOS and Android, as well as to WiFi access points.
Like all Garmin Edge units it uses the quarter-turn mount system. However, because of the slightly larger size, there might be some issues with certain mounts that were designed for smaller units. As part of my in-depth review I’ll cover which mounts do and don’t work.
With all the basics covered, let’s dive into some of the major features section by section.
Shimano Di2 Integration:
The Edge 1000 introduces support for reading gearing information from the Shimano Di2 platform. This is similar to what was recently introduced two weeks ago by Mio in their 505 model update.
The Edge 1000 will communicate with the recently announced Shimano D-Fly Data Management function, that’ll be available any day now. Shimano’s $80 accessory (SM-EWW01) will plug into your existing Di2 Dura-Ace 9070, Ultegra 6870 Di2 and Ultegra 6770 units. In doing so, it’ll transmit the gearing data via private ANT to the Garmin Edge 1000.
Once you’ve got that all setup and transmitting, you’ll dive into your sensors menu and then pair the Di2 system to the Edge 1000 via ANT. Note that it’s not technically ANT+, as there’s no public profile, but rather, it does this via private-ANT. However, since Shimano is working with other companies beyond Garmin on implementations of the profile, I’d expect at some point to see it ratified into an official device profile of some sort.
Within the Edge unit you can then add the below data fields onto your display pages:
These fields will then display the state of your Di2 gearing. Of course, I suspect for most folks the battery indicator will probably be the most useful field here, as most people already kinda know what their gearing is.
Longer term however, what will potentially be useful is the recording of this data, as well as the analysis of it. As it stands today, Garmin will be recording this data to the .FIT file along with the rest of your activity data. However, there won’t be any way (initially) to view that on Garmin Connect. Perhaps down the road.
It’ll likely be up to 3rd party providers to find a way to enumerate that recorded data into something useful. Some applications already do that today, to a degree. For example, Sport Tracks through the addition of a plug-in has long shown estimated gearing data from cycling files:
In this case, it’s using some special math to determine it, versus with the Edge 1000 data file it would know the exact configuration and gearing.
Finally, note that the Edge 1000 does NOT control the Di2 shifting. While the Shimano system could actually be enabled to do that down the road, today the Shimano platform is only permitting ‘reporting’ of data. In order to enable control, there would have to be some precautions put in place around authentication and authorization of the platform.
However, to that end, the potential is there for example to specify a certain wattage level and then have the bike automatically shift to maintain that wattage. Such a scenario would be of significant use to time-trialists as well as triathletes who tend to maintain specific effort levels for sustained periods of time.
Lastly, Garmin is considering adding Di2 support to both the Edge 510 as well as the Edge 810. They have not yet decided to, but are reviewing whether to add it, based on feedback.
Edge Remote Control:
In addition to the actual Edge 1000 head unit, they’ve also introduced a new remote control that will trigger certain actions on the Edge unit. The small pod is nearly identical to the Garmin VIRB remote control that was announced last fall and just recently made available. Like the VIRB pod, it also features three buttons.
Two of the three buttons are hard-set for marking laps and scrolling forward/backwards between data pages while riding. The third button is programmable from a predefined list of functions.
The unit includes a small LED light that illuminates red or green based on the button presses (and the lights are also used for pairing). The pod runs on a CR2032 battery that should last a heck of a long time (well over a year), and is waterproofed to 50-meters. Like the VIRB remote, it uses a simple rubber band-style system to connect to your handlebars.
Looking at both the Edge Remote and VIRB Remote, it’s basically the same remote under the covers, just different labels for the buttons. Note that while the menu does list the ‘VIRB Remote Control’ in it, this is actually for controlling the Garmin VIRB directly, and not for using the VIRB remote with the Garmin Edge cycling computer.
Finally, at this time the Edge remote isn’t compatible with any other Garmin Edge units. However, Garmin has stated to me that they are considering adding support for the Edge Remote to the Edge 510 and Edge 810. Again, they have not actually yet decided to do so, but are open to listening to feedback there.
Astute readers will note however that Garmin isn’t the first ones to introduce the remote concept. Nope, that honor goes to O-Synce who introduced a remote with their Navi2Coach unit when it came out a year or so ago.
Call and Text Notifications:
The Edge 1000 is the first cycling device that Garmin has introduced call and text notifications on. The unit will display alerts coming from your iOS device (not Android at this time) for incoming calls and texts. This will enable you to see that someone is calling or that a text has arrived, but it will not enable any scenario to answer the call or respond to the text.
Meaning, you can’t just press a button and type a response, or answer the call. That’ll still have to happen within your phone. And, it should be obvious but is worthwhile stating that you must have your phone on your person for these to work. Meaning you won’t get text notifications if you leave your phone at home. This pairing is done via Bluetooth, not magic.
Above, you can see the two notifications being shown. On the left, you see an incoming message showing an alert. While on the right, you see an incoming call being shown.
Note again that at this time these are only offered on iOS devices. They are planning to roll them out to Android down the road, but have no defined timeframe for doing so.
Garmin Segment Real Time Challenges
Garmin Connect will soon be introducing the ability to create segments, and with it, the ability to race those segments in real time. Segments will work similar to Strava segments (but are not compatible with Strava segments), in that they typically define a short chunk of roadway that folks virtually compete on. For example, a half-mile hill climb, or perhaps a short sprint segment.
As in Strava, these aren’t typically entire courses (though, you can certainly make them longer), but on average range in the handful of seconds to couple minute category.
Within the Edge 1000, you’ll initially need to pre-load segments from Garmin Connect and Garmin Connect Mobile ahead of the ride. Meaning, you need to know what segments you want to crush. Sometime this summer they’ll be adding the ability to view nearby segments from the Garmin Connect Mobile app, and then downloading them to your Edge.
Once the segments are on your device, the segment will surface in a few ways. First is just doing a quick check of it. In this mode you can see where on the map the segment is, as well as the profile information.
Next, as you approach the segment it’ll give you a count-down, as well as information about the segment leader’s time (in this case, 4 minutes, 31.82 seconds). It’ll then trigger a ‘Go!’ alert as you cross into it.
While on the segment it’ll show you how much distance is left, and whether you’re slacking or about to become king of the mountain.
While racing the segment you can change the segment time shown at the top to be any of the three: Overall segment leader, your best segment time, any of your ‘friends’ best segment time. In this case, Garmin calls your friends your ‘Connections’.
This is handy because depending on where you live you may have hardcore riders that you’ll never likely beat. So you can adjust it to people that you’re friends with and then race them specifically.
As it stands today, there are no segments available on Garmin Connect. So once they open it up later this spring, it’ll likely take some time before segments start showing up.
Of course, this is all very cool – but ultimately lacks the integration with Strava here that many people would kill for. No doubt Garmin is trying to make a parallel ecosystem with Segments, Courses, Friends, Likes, Comments, and everything else most social platforms have – including Strava.
Time will tell a year or so from now what that picture looks like, and if folks will trend away from Strava or not.
Finally, at present this will only be supported on the Edge 1000. However, Garmin is reviewing weather to add basic segment support to the Edge 510 and Edge 810. It probably should go without saying that I’d suggest if they want segments to be even semi-successful, then increasing the number of devices that can support it would be sorta prudent.
WiFi Uploading, ANT+ Sensor Support, Bluetooth Capabilities
In addition to supporting mobile phone uploads and Live Tracking using Bluetooth to Android and iOS devices, the unit also supports uploading of completed activities via WiFi. This is similar in functionality to what was introduced on the running-focused Forerunner 620 last fall.
You’ll setup these WiFi networks using Garmin Express (which is the new desktop software for configuring all Garmin devices), and then the unit will automatically connect to them when within range of them. You can save a ton of WiFi networks, and select up to three networks to be ‘preferred’.
Note however that you won’t be able to use WiFi at a locale like a Starbucks or most hotels, because those typically require some sort of authentication page that you have to agree too. Thus, it’s only for either fully unprotected WiFi access points, or protected WiFi access points with a known password (but not with some sort of ‘I agree’ checkbox).
Next, it should be noted that the Edge 1000 does include a full Bluetooth 4.0 chipset in it. This means that down the road Garmin could potentially enable support for Bluetooth Smart sensors. They aren’t doing so today however, but that’s a key difference over the Edge 510 and 810, which contain an older Bluetooth chipset that is not 4.0 compatible and would not be able to communicate with Bluetooth Smart sensors should Garmin decide to add support for them.
Lastly, the Bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity works in much the same manner as the FR220 and FR620, where you’re able to have both enabled concurrently. There are no limitations such as in the Garmin Fenix/Tactix lineup where you can only have one enabled at a time.
Basemap & Round Trip Routing/Planner
Last summer when Garmin introduced the Edge Touring cycling unit, it added a couple of key features not found on any other Garmin Edge units. Specifically, the lower-end Touring gained the ability to create routes on the fly by just giving it a specific distance that you wanted to ride. For example, you could tell it you wanted a 40KM ride, and it’d go out and find a ~40KM route. Well, actually, it’d find a handful of routes and then let you choose which one you liked.
It was able to do this in part because they added a full map set to the unit. Meaning, that unlike other more-expensive Garmin Edge units, the lower priced Touring actually included maps. Albeit, maps from OpenStreetMap, but perfectly suitable maps nonetheless (as opposed to maps that cost $99 per region previously).
I give that all as background to note that the Edge 1000 gains not only all of the round-trip routing features and random course creation capabilities, but also the base map sets as well. This means that you don’t need to buy any additional maps to use the unit.
Now, I do find the round trip routing pretty cool. I’ve been using it lately on the Touring unit (which lacks even a fraction of the features of a lower-end Edge 500, let alone the Edge 1000), and it’s generally working out well. However, I’d point out that the inclusion of maps on the Edge 1000 isn’t something I’d ‘pay for’. Mostly because, you can do it for free yourself as I’ve outlined here.
Thus, be mindful that if you’re looking at paying a premium for the Edge 1000 over one of the other Edge units – do it for reasons other than getting the maps themselves, since, you can do that yourself for free quite easily.
Note that like the Edge 810, you can still create routes online and then transfer them to the Edge 1000 via either Bluetooth or USB. Below, you can see a route I just transferred via Bluetooth.
Finally, one new feature coming to the Edge 1000 a bit later in the spring (not immediately at launch) is the ability to put the device into landscape mode. This is sometimes better for some touring situations, depending on the handlebar configuration.
Because the firmware wasn’t yet enabled on the device I had, the above shows how it’ll look in a bit of a computer generated mockup.
New ANT+ Speed/Cadence Sensors; Out front mount
(Update: See my recent post on just the new Speed-only and Cadence-only sensors here)
Beyond the Edge 1000, Garmin has released a bunch of new accessories. Two of which I find fairly interesting, and one of which falls into the ‘ho-hum’ category.
The most interesting are two new magnet-less speed & cadence sensors. One is a speed-only sensor, and the other is a cadence-only sensor. They are also selling however a speed/cadence combo package – but that’s simply the two individual sensors packaged together.
Traditional sensors have required magnets attached in addition to the sensors. These however use accelerometers to measure cadence and distance. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to poke at these in real life, so instead I have a bit of a confusing computer-generated image of how they look. Obviously, as part of my in-depth review I’ll be testing them, and in particular validating the accuracy of them against magnet based units as well.
Now, these are cool sensors – no doubt. Specifically the cadence one, as it’s sorta modeled in the same vein as the Wahoo RPM (Bluetooth Smart only).
However, my concern with buying either unit (Garmin or the Wahoo RPM), is that you’re kinda buying yesterday’s technology here. The reason being that by what is likely the fall there will be companies selling dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart sensors in these same form factors. Meaning, that if you wait a little bit longer you can get a sensor that’ll last you many years no matter what device you want to connect to it, from your phone to an ANT+ head unit. Obviously, if you need a sensor now – then get what’s on the market. But if you’re just looking to upgrade, I’d probably hold off.
Next, there’s a slightly new version of the quarter-turn mount. This mount beefs up the existing mount a tiny bit, adding a bit more plastic to one section, as well it’s a little bit longer. The previous out-front was not compatible with the unit due to sizing issues (the quarter-turn part is still the same). All Edge 1000’s will get not only the usual bag of rubber quarter-turn mounts for your handlebars, but also the out-front mount.
There’s a bunch of other random accessories that I don’t generally much care about – notably, the different colored rubber cases for the Edge units. Like other recent Garmin Edge units, Garmin is making the rubber protective cases in a bunch of bright colors for the Edge 1000. Just an FYI.
And, there’s already some 3rd party accessories coming out. For example, K-Edge has already released a new Edge 1000-specific mount (it works on all previous units too though), seen below:
This mount is just a tiny bit larger to accommodate the length of the unit.
Product Comparison Charts:
I’ve gone ahead and added in the Edge 1000 into the product comparison tool database, enabling you to compare it against any other unit in the database. For the purposes of keeping things tidy in this post, I’ve just compared it to the Garmin Edge 810, 510, and 500 – which I view as the major ‘steps’ with the Garmin cycling lineup for folks who might be evaluating the Edge 1000. Obviously, there’s the Edge 200 below that – but realistically nobody considering the Edge 1000 is also eyeing the Edge 200.
Of course, you can always mix and match any of the units by clicking this link.
| Function/Feature | Garmin Edge 1000 | Garmin Edge 810 | Garmin Edge 510 | Garmin Edge 500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copyright DC Rainmaker - Updated April 9th, 2021 @ 10:29 am New Window | ||||
| Price | $599 | $399 | $329 | $199 |
| Product Announcement Date | Apr 9, 2014 | Jan 7, 2013 | Jan 7, 2013 | SEP 1, 2009 |
| Actual Availability/Shipping Date | May 2014 | Jan 2013 | Jan 2013 | Dec 2009 |
| GPS Recording Functionality | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Data Transfer | USB, Bluetooth, WiFi | USB & Bluetooth | USB & Bluetooth | USB |
| Waterproofing | IPX7 | IPX7 | IPX7 | IPX7 |
| Battery Life (GPS) | 15 hours | 17 hours | 20 hours | 18 hours |
| Recording Interval | 1-Second or Smart | 1-Second or Smart | 1-Second or Smart | 1-Second or Smart |
| Alerts | Sound/Visual | Sound/Visual | Audio/Visual | Sound/Visual |
| Backlight Greatness | Great | Great | Great | Good |
| Ability to download custom apps to unit/device | Yes | No | No | No |
| Acts as daily activity monitor (steps, etc...) | No | No | No | No | Music | Garmin Edge 1000 | Garmin Edge 810 | Garmin Edge 510 | Garmin Edge 500 |
| Can control phone music | No | |||
| Has music storage and playback | No | Connectivity | Garmin Edge 1000 | Garmin Edge 810 | Garmin Edge 510 | Garmin Edge 500 |
| Bluetooth Smart to Phone Uploading | Yes | No | No | No |
| Phone Notifications to unit (i.e. texts/calls/etc...) | Yes | No | No | No |
| Live Tracking (streaming location to website) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Group tracking | Yes | |||
| Emergency/SOS Message Notification (from watch to contacts) | No | No | No | No |
| Built-in cellular chip (no phone required) | No | No | No | No | Cycling | Garmin Edge 1000 | Garmin Edge 810 | Garmin Edge 510 | Garmin Edge 500 |
| Designed for cycling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power Meter Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power Meter Configuration/Calibration Options | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power Meter TSS/NP/IF | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Speed/Cadence Sensor Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Strava segments live on device | Yes | Q3 2015 | Q3 2015 | No |
| Crash detection | No | Running | Garmin Edge 1000 | Garmin Edge 810 | Garmin Edge 510 | Garmin Edge 500 |
| Designed for running | No | No | No | No |
| VO2Max Estimation | (CYCLING YES THOUGH) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Recovery Advisor | (CYCLING YES THOUGH) | N/A | N/A | N/A | Swimming | Garmin Edge 1000 | Garmin Edge 810 | Garmin Edge 510 | Garmin Edge 500 |
| Designed for swimming | N/A | No | No | No | Triathlon | Garmin Edge 1000 | Garmin Edge 810 | Garmin Edge 510 | Garmin Edge 500 |
| Designed for triathlon | No | No | No | No | Workouts | Garmin Edge 1000 | Garmin Edge 810 | Garmin Edge 510 | Garmin Edge 500 |
| Create/Follow custom workouts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| On-unit interval Feature | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Training Calendar Functionality | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Functions | Garmin Edge 1000 | Garmin Edge 810 | Garmin Edge 510 | Garmin Edge 500 |
| Auto Start/Stop | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual Partner Feature | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual Racer Feature | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Records PR's - Personal Records (diff than history) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Tidal Tables (Tide Information) | No | No | No | No |
| Weather Display (live data) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Navigate | Garmin Edge 1000 | Garmin Edge 810 | Garmin Edge 510 | Garmin Edge 500 |
| Follow GPS Track (Courses/Waypoints) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Markers/Waypoint Direction | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Routable/Visual Maps (like car GPS) | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Back to start | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Impromptu Round Trip Route Creation | Yes | No | No | No |
| Download courses/routes from phone to unit | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Sensors | Garmin Edge 1000 | Garmin Edge 810 | Garmin Edge 510 | Garmin Edge 500 |
| Altimeter Type | Barometric | Barometric | Barometric | Barometric |
| Compass Type | GPS | GPS | GPS | GPS |
| Optical Heart Rate Sensor internally | No | N/A | No | No |
| Heart Rate Strap Compatible | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Heart Rate Strap Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Speed/Cadence Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Footpod Capable | No | No | No | No |
| ANT+ Power Meter Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Lighting Control | Yes | Q3 2015 | Q3 2015 | No |
| ANT+ Bike Radar Integration | Yes | Q3 2015 | Q3 2015 | No |
| ANT+ Trainer Control (FE-C) | Yes | No | No | No |
| ANT+ Remote Control | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| ANT+ eBike Compatibility | No | No | No | No |
| ANT+ Gear Shifting (i.e. SRAM ETAP) | Yes | |||
| Shimano Di2 Shifting | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Bluetooth Smart HR Strap Capable | No | No | No | No |
| Bluetooth Smart Speed/Cadence Capable | No | No | No | No |
| Bluetooth Smart Footpod Capable | No | No | No | No |
| Bluetooth Smart Power Meter Capable | No | No | No | No |
| Temp Recording (internal sensor) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Temp Recording (external sensor) | No | No | No | No | Software | Garmin Edge 1000 | Garmin Edge 810 | Garmin Edge 510 | Garmin Edge 500 |
| PC Application | Garmin Express | Garmin Express | Garmin Express | Garmin Express |
| Web Application | Garmin Connect | Garmin Connect | Garmin Connect | Garmin Connect |
| Phone App | iOS/Android/Windows Phone | Garmin Connect (iOS/Android) | Garmin Connect (iOS/Android) | Garmin Connect Mobile (not direct to device though) |
| Ability to Export Settings | No | No | No | No | Purchase | Garmin Edge 1000 | Garmin Edge 810 | Garmin Edge 510 | Garmin Edge 500 |
| Amazon | Link | Link | Link | Link | DCRainmaker | Garmin Edge 1000 | Garmin Edge 810 | Garmin Edge 510 | Garmin Edge 500 |
| Review Link | Link | Link | Link | Link |
And again, remember you can always mix and match any units from the database and compare them using this link.
My thoughts on the Edge 1000, product choices:
So, what do I think about the new Edge 1000 for my riding habits?
Well, first off, it’s pretty darn pricey. But I suppose that sorta aligns to the customers who would also likely have Di2 installed on their equally as pricey bikes. There’s a big venn-diagram overlap in available cash between those groups.
The screen is definitely crisper, and the unit is far faster than past Edge units I’ve used – simply very quick to respond, and even start up only took a few seconds (all of which could certainly change by final release of course).
The incoming call and text notifications are particularly handy. Not so much because I care to text or call anyone while cycling, but simply to know if The Girl has texted me 28 times in the last hour trying to get ahold of me. Typically the texts would just build-up in my back jersey pocket until I noticed (almost never), and the calls would also go unnoticed. Perhaps every few hours I might do a quick check of my phone, but that’s not always likely. So this solves that.
Looking at the mapping/routing, while the addition of the maps is ‘nice’, it’s hardly a deal-breaker for me. I can do that for free. What I can’t easily do for free however is creating routes on the fly. When I was back in Washington DC, that was of far less interest to me, since I knew just about every route there was in the area. However, living in France now – I don’t know jack when it comes to routes. So that’s definitely useful. But, I can also get that for 1/3rd the price on the Edge Touring. The challenge there being it doesn’t have any of the ANT+ sensor support that I want.
Next, the Garmin Segments pieces isn’t terribly interesting to me personally. But, by the same token neither would have Strava Segments been (to me personally). I just don’t cycle to hit segment scores, it’s not really a triathlete-focused thing to do (where steady and even pacing is more appropriate). I do definitely understand it however, and definitely understand the appeal of it. And I think the implementation appears well thought out with being able to target ‘who’ you want to try and beat.
But I question how useful the Garmin Segments feature will be at least in the short and medium term, and whether users will ‘migrate’ from Strava Segments to Garmin Segments. After all, whether or not either company wants to admit it – it would be a migration. Most people won’t realistically track friends and segments on two different segment systems. They’ll end up on one or the other.
Next, we look at pricing. Right now, at $600 it’s the most expensive cycling computer on the market. And, best I can tell, it’s the most expensive athletic GPS device on the market.
If I were looking at really just wanting a cycling unit that did mapping, I’d probably pickup the Edge 810. It has a $100 rebate on it right now for a bit longer. If I didn’t care about mapping, I’d probably go look at the Edge 500 instead. The trusty little thing is down to $169 until Monday (temporary sale). Making it pretty much the best deal in cycling right now.
Summary:
To start, this is not a review. Not anywhere near it. It’s simply an overview of what’s new. A review will come, but likely not till May or so. Thus, things could change. New features could be announced, or I could find that stability isn’t so awesome. We’ll see.
That said, there’s a lot of interesting features today that I’m curious to see how they work in real-life out on the roads. For example, how sensitive the Segments feature is to actual location on a route, and how well it’s executed in Garmin Connect. Or, how well the uptake is on it in general.
There are also areas that I think long term could prove really fascinating – like the Di2 shifting data being recorded. But, that will ultimately take 3rd party companies supporting reading the files and making use of them. Companies like Strava, Training Peaks, and Sport Tracks, among others.
I’m interested to see if Garmin will do anything with the full Bluetooth 4.0 chipset support. Technically, they could add BT sensor support. That would make it very compelling as a ‘fully compliant’ head unit that could easily go between ANT+ sensor or Bluetooth Smart sensors, enabling consumers to decide which sensor types they’d want to use. Doing so would be a major blow to any company that developed a one-sensor-type only unit (of either standard). After all, I’m firmly in the camp of letting consumers decide which sensor type to use.
Overall, it’s definitely looking like an impressive device – especially if the company can bring all the features to market in a cohesive package that ‘just works’.
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Finally, as always, if you found this ‘first look’ interesting, you can order the Edge 1000 via Clever Training and benefit from all the usual exclusive DCR reader benefits with the CT VIP program such as a 10% discount on everything with Clever Training. In addition, as I talked about the Edge 810 is a solid alternative, especially with the current rebate through the end of May.By purchasing through Clever Training you support the site and all the reviews and questions I answer down below in the comments section. I’m currently planning a review the first week of June for the Edge 1000 – based on wrapping up some riding in the Pyrenees the last weekend of May to test out the barometric altimeter pieces.
At the end of the day, I’m an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase – so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device. The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so it’s a fair bit of work (and labor of love).
Additionally, I’ve added in all the new sensor/remote accessories from Garmin into the below as well:
| Product | Amazon | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Garmin Cadence-Only ANT+ Sensor (magnet-less) $39 | Amazon | |
 | Garmin Edge 1000 $599 | Amazon | |
| Garmin Edge 1000 Silicone Cases (Variety of colors) $14 | N/A | ||
 | Garmin Edge Remote | Amazon | The Edge remote allows you to control functions (like data pages/screens, and laps) wirelessly right from your handlebars/drops. Super handy for mountain biking where taking your hands off the bars might be a bad idea. |
| Garmin Speed & Cadence ANT+ Sensor bundle (magnet-less) $69 | Amazon | |
| Shimano SM-EWW01 Wireless Unit for Di2 $79 | Amazon |
With that – thanks for reading. As always, feel free to drop questions below and I’ll try and track down the answers. Enjoy!
Regarding the flaky Bluetooth connection, I’ve seen people with iPhones reporting the issue, but most people are not saying what their phone platform is. Do people with Android (maybe even quoting the version would help) or Windows (likewise) have the same problem? And does it depend on what is happening via Bluetooth, thus are they using BT only for live tracking, or does it drop out when a phone call or SMS or whatever comes in? And does it recover by itself, or must be manually restarted?
Problems I experienced seemed to be a result of lost phone network connection. (resulted in stopping the registration!) (iPhone, as far as important here)
And there was a period that downgrading the app helped for the bluetooth connectivity. (Android)
So there is a lot to log when finding out……
Having a human body in between isn’t favourable for BT. I noticed cycling wear with a phone pouche at the front.
Windows? Is that available? Not for my WP 7.
Monitoring phone calls: headset! And have a phone that announces who’s calling. Or a filter so only the girl 🙂 etc. come through.
First time I took my Edge 705 out cross country skiing, I was wearing my cold weather cycling gear, so I stashed it in a back pocket. When I got home, I was puzzled that most of the time the track showed no heart rate information, especially so because the few times I pulled the 705 out of my back pocket to look at, there was a number in the heart rate field. I quickly figure out what was happening, and from then on I always wore my anorak and always carried the 705 in the front pouch.
So, yeah, a lot of the complaints about bluetooth could be due to signal attenuation through the body.
My iPhone 5s kept droppong connection. The type of phone does matter because the iPhone is the main target for any device like this as it has a stable bluetooth stack that is not fragmented all over the place like Android devices.
This says that ANT+ also prefers a more clear line of sight situation. As thats the technique used here.
Glad there’s more people using the Edges for other things than cycling. I wear them around my underarm cause I like to check HR and altitudes now & then.
Too bad Garmin then says that’s no intended use whenever you have a functioning question. As if it makes any difference……
It would be interesting if the reason people are having trouble with Bluetooth and the 1000 is that they carry their phones in a back jersey pocket…
No, that makes no sense at all. Garmin expects people to put their phones in their back jersey backet and its not an issue with their other computers like the Edge 510 which don’t even use Bluetooth 4.0.
This is just Garmin’s usual shoddy quality control and product development. No big mystery or surprise there.
I just returned my 1000 to REI after having the same issues as every else.. I’m not willing to be Garmins beta tester again after it took them a year to get the Edge 510 right. My 510 isn’t totally stable either by the way as it sometimes freezes out of the blue for no apparent reason.
I’ll wait and see if Polars new computer is better and if it is I will drop Garmin like a shot. They don’t deserve my money or support.
I’ve been trying out the 1000 too. Mostly I like the unit itself (no screen locking issues – yet). Anybody tested battery life? I reckon I only got 8 hours out of my last charge (running course navigation, audible alerts, Stages PM, HRM (new Garmin) ) which is disappointing when I’m planning a 12-hour event . Will test this again. However, it did at least give me a useful (1.5 hours?) warning of low battery life. However, just about everything else is terrible. I’ve managed a few segments but it was very clunky (not tested yet) – even created my own. Only a handful exist already around Amsterdam – I think I’ve doubled them. But syncing with my iPhone 5s has been really shaky, downloading the latest Euro map has been a frustrating farce (error at Garmin servers), Garmin Connect (both new and old) are hopeless. Garmin should be ashamed but the shocking customer service I’ve had in the last year or suggests they probably aren’t
Testing the 1000 right now as well. While I appreciate the unit and the abilities, a lot of stuff seems half baked. My most pressing question is Bike Profiles? Is that included? I just read some posts further up that there is no ability to put in bike profiles. But how should I enter wheel circumference then? Is my speed meter (while I appreciate the new form factor without the mahnets) useless now or will it calibrate over GPS? (That was an option on the EDGE 800..) You guys have any tips for me? And thanks DC for the awesome coverage, looking forward to the (full) review.
For wheel circumference you can enter it in once the sensor is connected, under sensor details.
Here are my opinions (first time road bike GPS user)
Hoping for topnotch gear, bought this for 475€ in Paris when it hit retail
– only good thing this product does is immediately getting a GPS fix (less than 10 seconds even on cloudy sky);
– very very very slow; even with loaded courses, it keeps on calculating something, for a long time (it’s not the elevation profile, that’s for sure); the elevation profile only shown as a graph in Garmin Connect, not actual values (impossible to compute otherwise 🙂 ) and not at all calculated on the Edge 1000; elevation is only calculated if you input a distance and let the gear surprise you, a feature that you will rapidly consider as useless given the choices the Edge 1000 makes for you: went to Chartres with a road bike a week ago, it took me through the woods, unpaved, even if it was selected in the “to avoid” section; so as you won’t trust it you will always prefer planning you own courses; it all adds up to uselessness;
– difficult to operate without gloves :))) the screen has a field around a centimeter up and senses your finger before touching it so you might find yourselves in places in the menus you never wanted to go; or you should have a robotic finger movement approach, always at 90°…
– The wireless connection is a definite fail for oh so many reasons (works maybe one out of six times and when it does it often crashes);
– Battery life: advertised at up to 15 hours, I could only get five and a half, you do the math…
– Garmin Connect should consider fixing all bugs before adding the segments feature wich nobody is going to use (keeps on showing me I have to update from firmware 2.2 to 2.2 !!!);
– did not test ANT+, have a Suunto Ambit 2 and happy with it… I can only imagine ANT+ would drain the battery even faster…
I don’t know what “old” road bike GPS were like but for this one I would definitely pay 120€ if I had a second chance.
Question about the SM-EWW01 D-Fly. Can it be connected anywhere, or does it need to be inline with the rear derailleur. For example, I have a seat post battery (internal). Could the D-Fly be inline between the battery and the junction box? It would be nice to be able to hide it in the seat tube.
Good question. I expect to get mine any day now. Saw this on Bikerumors.com
UPDATE #1: It can be installed anywhere inline, not just at the rear derailleur. But, it’s not recommended to install it inside a tube or stem as that could create interference or limit signal transmission and negatively affect performance. More updates as we get them.
another long time reader here, and a big thankyou for all your insightful reviews. great reading!
Having held off an 810 for some time now as it seemed a doomed model, like many I had high hopes for the Edge1000 and have one on order, but reading folks experience is very worrying, not just odd bugs but borderline epic fail it seems.
DC – in light of this and another likely customer order cancellation can your Garmin contacts shed any light on Garmin’s acknowledgement of the issues and proposals and timescales to fix. It seems you may be our best hope for any meaningful response form Garmin. Many thanks.
Yes, I’ve asked for clarification on the timelines for the firmware update, and will report back once I get it.
I’d definitely agree. At this point, there’s some pretty ugly portions of the Edge 1000 experience.
what app on the phone do you use to plan a route and send it to the garmin 1000?
No such app exists. You have to create the routes ahead of time.
http://www.ridewithgps.com has an Android app and will very soon have an iPhone app.
I’m not sure what the capabilities are just yet as I have an iPhone and will not know until that app is released.
Not hopeful that you will be able to send to the 1000 though as that would take some cooperation on the part of Garmin.
I understand you had to plan the route… But can you do it on your phone? And send it to the device. Because i see in one of the pictures here that you can send the route from your phone to the device. Is it with garmin connect? Sorry if i got so many questions but i really appreciate it if you can help me. Thanks!
SM-EWW01 D-Fly. My shimano di2 transmitter just arrived. I ordered five days ago from alexscycles.com in Japan. Guess what, it no longer comes with the necessary 150 mm (6″) cable. Guys what again? shimano is back ordered in the US till July on that length! So I just ordered it from Japan! $24 for the cable and $11 for shipping. Yikes!
Ahh yes.. The same happened to me. My D Fly came today and yup, you guessed it, no cable..
I ordered the 150mm cable this morning from Alex Cycle… $36 smack-a-roos with shipping…
3 reasons why I will be returning my unit:
– the screen contrast is still as poor as the Edge 510 and 810 — while the pixel count is higher I still find the readability, especially in the shade, unacceptable. the contrast on the simpler black and white Edge 500 screen is better.
– the total ascent reading on my unit is about 20-30% below what I am getting on my two other garmin 500s. I don’t know if this is a problem with my unit or a generalized problem.
– battery life seems to be only about 100 miles.
Yes it has a lot of features but it fails on the basics IMO.
I would like to hear your thoughts on these issues because your initial preliminary review was quite positive.
thanks
Hi Robert-
RE: Screen contrast
I’m probably not the best judge, since I feel that the Edge 510/810 screen contrast is just fine, so I find the Edge 1000 also just fine.
RE: Total Ascent
Fwiw, on my ride today with about 5,000ft of climbing, the Edge 1000 along with two Edge 810’s and a Suunto Ambit2 were all within 10ft of each other. No manual setting of the altimeters, simply let it do it’s thing normally. More testing the rest of the weekend on altitude.
RE: Battery life
That’ll depend on how long it takes you to cover 100 miles. In the case of today, my battery drained a bit more than I expected. I’m going to reduce the backlight (had left it on high from taking photos), and see if that solves things.
RE: “Preliminary review was quite positive”
As I noted at the beginning, it wasn’t a review. Here was within the first section what I said: “Before we get into the details, note that I’ve had very limited time with the unit, essentially enough to walk through some of the functions for an hour or so by myself, but was not able to go out for a ride yet. That’ll happen in the following weeks. As such, keep in mind that what you see is beta screens and subject to change. And further, I don’t have any idea how well the unit will ultimately perform.”
Ultimately, I don’t believe this unit is/was ready for release, despite being released. Mostly because of the issues I see with the touch screen, as well as the Bluetooth and Di2 issues. Along with some other minor items, and ignoring the whole odometer issue.
Cheers.
With regards to BT in general (both for the 810 & 1000) ……………..
My fear is that for some unknown reason this is “unfixable”.
Why do i say this? Because how long has it been an issue on the 810 and still ……………. no fix.
I’m not sure it’s unfixable, I think it’s just really complex. The reason is that they’re using both BLE and legacy BT connections. Which means they’ve lifted the complexity bar really high.
For the features currently within the unit, I actually don’t think there’s any reason they need the legacy BT connection. But I suspect that they pulled the code from the Edge 510/810, which used legacy BT because they didn’t want to raise the bar for only BT4 devices at the time (almost 18 months ago), since there were less of them, and at the time virtually no support for BLE on Android.
I suspect that carrying that legacy BT weight alongside the BLE support concurrently is what’s causing most of their issues. If you look at devices on either side (Edge 810 for BT-only, FR620 for BLE only), I’ve had very little issues with that connectivity.
DC…..loved your preview (not a review) and bought my own Edge 1000. I learned that unlike the Edge 500/510/800/810…and previous Edge units, the 1000 has no ability to track bike profiles. I used this for my 5 bikes for maintenance records, etc. I love the automatic sensor pickup in the 1000, and wonder if you have any suggestions on how to “fake” the lack of bike profiles….until Garmin puts them back in. That seems likely given the uproar I have seen about this omission on the internet.
Thanks, Keep up the great work, and ride well.
I sure do hope they make the bike profiles an “option” because I’m really liking not having that. Just grab my bike and go and which ever sensors it picks up is the bike I’m on.
So I guess this is just a case of different strokes for different folks………
Yeah, there’s no ‘good’ way right now.
One thing you can do though is to name the activities in Garmin Connect post-ride. I do this on almost all my activities since I’m uploading from a lot of units at once. For example: “Edge 1000 – ROTOR Bike”.
This is useful because then in Garmin Connect under activity view you can simply type “ROTOR Bike” into the filter and it’ll show you all activities from that. It won’t show you a total, but it will allow you to export the CSV of the table, which then you can total.
Kinda round-about way of doing equipment tracking…
Mike, I would think it would be an automatic thing and seamless. I say that because I p[aired my 1k with 2 of my bikes tonight, and gave the power meter sensors a “plain english name” (Seven 622, C’Dale EVO). Since the 1k automatically finds the sensors you are using I would think it would just automatically choose the bike profile attached to those sensors. We will see if/how Garmin implements this.
DC, great point. As a big time Strava user I do flag my rides by bike on Strava. I do not do that as diligently on Connect, as like most people I find Strava much better (heck, I am one who still misses Motion Based) and I really only use Connect as a backup file storage place. Strava and Training Peaks are the two places I spend time looking at files, leveraging the social networking aspects of the sites, etc. On Strava though each bike does have an odometer. At any rate, I think your suggestion saves me a ton of time, as I was going to create a separate “activity Type” for each bike as a temporary work around. Now I can stick to 3 (Mountain Bike, Florida Riding (I live in Fl), Mountain Training).
Have and EDGE 1000. So far, some issues I have encountered…..
Bluetooth connects/reconnects at will. I have recieved all call/text notifications when out on a ride. Really useful.
Touchscreen locks when it fancies. Use the sleep button on the side to get it back…is there a better way?
Love the mapping. Have never used this feature on a garmin before and it really is good.
Segments – Can’t upload until the leaderboard has been completed. None of the ones I have made have been yet but I have appeared on others so looks good. Can’t see from the elevation graph where exactly on the map you are until you click on your start or end point so would be useful to have this feature.
A question …. I have uploaded a seg to the device. Does it have to be on a map route to notify me or does it notify when approaching it regardless? If that is the case what if it starts directly on a junction and the Garmin doesn’t know you’re heading in that direction? I don’t particularly want a long list of segs in my area that crop up constantly and have to turn off?
Any help would be great. Cheers
I have been running and competing for about 5 years now (in my 50’s). I have a Garmin 610. I am about to start getting into triathlons. My question is: what is the best way to keep track of all the data when you are doing all 3 sports? My 610 is awesome for running, but should I get the 910 or something else to do all 3 or the 810 or 1000 for cycling data or what? I am just a little confused about what is the best way to go about tracking my data for triathlons.
Thanks for all the responses in advance!
I am returning mine after a very frustrating ride. Garmin released this too soon. Good thing i did not sell my 800 yet.
Which model of watch did you purchase that you are you returning?
Update on my side:
Everything is working smooth.
I find it important to let people know that not everyone is having a bad experience.
Basically my setup is:
Ultegra Di2 10 speed with the new sm-eww01 to get the gears displayed on my Edge 1000.
Garmin Vector
Heart rate belt (HR-Run from my Forerunner 620).
iPhone 5S for Bluetooth (with livetracking)
I didn’t the lock screen bug that everyone is getting except once when I let the unit go into power saving mode when I paused my workout.
I was able to receive notification from calls and SMS.
My girlfriend was able to see me through livetrack without any glitch.
Honestly, this is a big step up from my Edge 800. I’m glad I bought it.
The ride I did today was 4hours and I didn’t get any issue. (touching wood)
Vincent, I do feel guilty in a way not having problems either. I have used it on seven rides over about 250 miles in the last nine days.
My setup is similar:
Ultegra Di2 but without eww01. Waiting for the cable.
New garmin remote
Stages Power meter
Scosche new arm band HR Monitor
Samsung Note 3 on Kit Cat.
Garmin Virb camera, not tested yet.
I change screens primarily with the remote.
I use Garmin connect and Live Track. My phone stays connected except during long pause. At ride end, when I save ride, it uploads to garmin automatically. Better than on my 810. Love the larger screen and better UI than the 810.
Looking forward to Di2 connectivity, just for easier battery monitoring.
Since I have an android phone I look forward to getting text messages in future releases.
I know we are in the minority here, but wonder if we are in the minority or majority overall?
Very upset initially with inability to transfer segments to unit. Tried everything imaginable. Even tried different computers with Garmin express. Synced again today and the segments transferred like magic! Only difference from my side not Garmin is I used Firefox for unrelated reason/ I believe the browser needs their specific plug in/permission to associate with Garmin Express. I used Chrome before. Or, maybe Garmin just fixed it. Either way I’m very happy now. I can now see the three created segments with its associated settings in my Edge 1000. I’ve had the 705 the 800 before the 1000.
It is my understanding that Garmin (at least those responsible for making software corrections) don’t necessarily read this forum or the normal Garmin forums. I assume that they are aware of the problems people are having, like the sudden loss of Turn by Turn notifications, etc. Does it help for us to log a report directly to Garmin, or should we assume they already know about these issues. For me, I am more concerned about software bugs than feature issues such as true bike profiles. Thanks.
Hi All-
Just as a heads up, my full in-depth review was just published here: link to dcrainmaker.com
As is usually the case, I’ll be closing the comments on the ‘First look’ post now, and asking folks instead to direct comments to the in-depth review (simply to keep things tidy). Thanks for reading!