Garmin

Edge 840 Computer

Awkward menu layout and altimeter doesn’t work

Overall, this is a good unit. I like the amount of features that it has in the battery life. But I don’t like, is the clumsy/awkward menu layout that takes time to find things. I’ve had this edge 840 for about a month now, and still have trouble navigating certain areas. Today try to do a benefit charity ride in the rain and the altimeter stopped working a few miles in. Not the end of the world as the navigation still worked. But this seems like an issue that should have been fixed in the last version and it’s kind of frustrating when you are trying track stats and plan efforts on climbs. Wish I had known about the altimeter issue before I purchased.

The device crashes

When using the map the device crashes, it shuts down and after a while it turns back on. It's very frustrating as this happens almost every time you try to look at the streets around you, making it impossibile to find your curse if you get lost because the device keeps shutting down

Overly complicated with unhelpful manual

There is no doubt that the edge 840 is feature packed but it is unnecessarily complicated to set up and too prescriptive in terms of defaulting to workouts and performance rather than having those as a choice. Yes there are useful features but basic data should be there out of the box with anything else a matter of choice.

It's a solid MTB cycling computer! It does everything I need it to reliably.

Nice computer

Nice computer with a lot of features (more than I have delved in to). It synchs easily with my iPhone via the Garmin app. The battery easily lasted for a 10 hours day ride at Leadville.

Good size and perfect tech to track my mountain bike and gravel rides.

Informative

A lot of Information to gather after a ride. Yes, it's more than I would ever really need, but it is nice to see all the metrics.

Solid Data Tracking

Been using this for a couple of years now, easy to navigate the menu, Works GREAT even in low temps (single digits). Battery life is fantastic in all temps. Some adjustments should be made to get this a 5 star. No way to auto power off (only sleep) so if you leave the unit to download your activity and forget then the battery goes dead. Older units had this feature. 2nd fault - once you enter an activity you have to lock the screen to keep sweat or rain from changing your layout. This should be automatic, seems the opposite. Last thing they should build in Bikes and Gear for you to choose in an activity rather than needing to go to the app afterwards to choose this. All in All I highly recommend Garmin Edge GPS units! these items are small inconveniences.

Great bike computer but takes a long time to figure out how to set up the screens. Definitely better battery life than some other computers out there. I like the maps.

Lots of improvements, some challenges

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

Upgraded over the Edge 530 (damaged screen). Went with the 840 with touch screen because I'd heard of the UI navigational challenges AND Garmin equipped the 840 with the same buttons as the 540 so you can use it without the touch screen as if it's a 540. The UI Is different and the defaults definitely need to be changed if you're coming from a prior Garmin. So far I mostly use the buttons but the touch screen has been helpful in shortcutting menu navigation. Screen and battery definitely improved. Haven't been to the spots where I hope the GPS improvements will be noticeable. Extra storage space on the device helpful but need to reduce maps to take advantage. Overall build seems more solid too. Hopefully holds up better to MTB wear and tear. If you're a Mac user be warned there's challenges getting Garmin Express to work, so far transitioning data from my old Edge was next to impossible so I bailed and borrowed a Windows computer to transfer the files. All good now but still no Mac access (yes, all elements updated to latest versions).