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Garmin Edge 1040 Solar — Specs & Analysis
Manufacturer specifications, compared against every other navigation & electronics in our database. We do not test gear in the field — we measure, verify, and compare.
Garmin's flagship bike computer features a solar charging lens that extends battery life up to 45 hours in GPS mode. The 3.5-inch color touchscreen displays detailed maps, turn-by-turn navigation, and ClimbPro elevation profiles. Multi-band GNSS provides accurate tracking even in dense canopy.
Who Is the Garmin Edge 1040 Solar Best For?
Serious bikepackers who want among the best on paper navigation with marathon battery life. If that describes your riding style, the Edge 1040 Solar should be at the top of your shortlist. It sits in the Navigation & Electronics category alongside 10 other products we track.
How It Compares
At 133g and $600, the Edge 1040 Solar is 78g heavier than the lightest option in this category (the Sigma ROX 11.1 EVO at 55g). The most budget-friendly option is the Garmin eTrex SE at $150.
The price-to-weight ratio comes in at $451 per 100g — a premium price point, but you're paying for quality, materials, and design that justify the investment for serious bikepackers.
What We Like
- +Solar charging extends battery life significantly
- +Multi-band GPS for accurate positioning under tree cover
- +Full mapping with turn-by-turn navigation
- +ClimbPro and training metrics for performance riders
Watch Out For
- −Expensive at $600
- −Touchscreen can be finicky with wet or gloved hands
- −Feature-rich interface has a learning curve
The Bottom Line
We haven't scored the Garmin Edge 1040 Solar, and neither has anyone else we can cite. It's here for its verified specifications and dimensions, which is what the fit tools run on — a score is an editorial judgement, and we don't hand one out until someone has a basis for it. What this page can tell you is measured: 133g, $600, and how both sit against every other navigation & electronics product we track.
Weight checked against the manufacturer on 18 August 2026 — see the source.
Specifications and dimensions come from the sources listed above. Where a page draws on first-hand riding, it says so.
How it compares
Against the 11 navigation & electronics we hold published specs for.
At 133g the Edge 1040 Solar is lighter than 2 of 10 alternatives we track, which makes it among the heaviest we track. The category median is 93g.
At $600 it undercuts 0 of 10 of them, against a median of $350. That works out at $451 per 100g — above the $368 median for navigation & electronics.
Weight and price come from published specifications. Cost per 100g is a blunt measure — it rewards light gear and says nothing about durability or whether the thing works — so treat it as one input, not a verdict.
More in Navigation & Electronics
GPS units, bike computers, and phone mounts for route finding.