Garmin Edge 1030 Test – The current top-of-the-line GPS bike computer from Garmin now in test and experience report! Garmin sends the Edge into the race at a higher price (check current price*). So not a cheap bike navi. For this, the GPS bike computer offers sophisticated navigation as well as training functions and packs these functions into a modern hardware package. In this article you will find everything about my Garmin Edge 1030 experience.
The overall package is one of the best bike navs on the market and a significant step up from its predecessor, the Garmin Edge 1000.
You’re in a hurry? Click here to go directly to the Garmin Edge 1030
- Fahrradcomputer mit 3,5 Zoll großem Display, umfassenden Navigationsfunktionen sowie Leistung- und Fahrradsicherheitsfunktionen
- Trendline Popularity Routing zeigt basierend auf Milliarden von Kilometern an Streckendaten von Garmin Connect die besten Straßen- und Geländerouten an
- Vorinstallierte Fahrradkarte für Abbiegehinweise und neue Navigationsalarme
* Werbung - Aktualisierung am 2024-04-23, Preis kann gestiegen sein, Als Amazon-Partner verdiene ich an qualifizierten Verkäufen, Bild:Amazon
✅ Two highlights in advance: The new Garmin Edge has a larger display and a longer battery life.
In this practical review you will learn all about the many details and innovations of the GPS bike computer and I will help you with the purchase decision. Is it worth upgrading from the Garmin Edge 1000? What do the innovations mean in practice? What information can be shown on the display?
You miss a detail or have a question? Let me know and feel free to drop me a comment.
Garmin Edge 1030 Highlights
What are the big features of the Garmin Edge 1030?
✅ large 3.5 inch display with high resolution
✅ Long battery life: up to 20 hours, up to 40 hours with battery pack
✅ strong navigation functions for “Tracks” (stored routes)
✅ large selection of maps for different purposes like cycling, hiking, topo (commercial and free).
✅ extensive training functions especially with Firstbeat integration
Garmin Edge 1030 bei Amazon kaufen*
Garmin Edge 1030 unboxing and scope of delivery
The GPS bike computer is available in two versions. These differ in the scope of the accessory package and I present them to you in detail in the bike navi test:
The Garmin Edge Base* variant has the following scope of supply:
- Garmin Edge 1030 bike navigator
- Aero mount (Ahead mount)
- charging cable with microUSB connector
- 2 x different rubber band holder
- safety cord, tool, quick start guide
The accessories of the Garmin Edge Bundle* are more extensive: In addition, the premium heart rate chest strap sensors for speed and cadence (both magnetless) are included here.
Good Garmin Edge 1030 experience right at the beginning: The scope of delivery of the Garmin Edge 1030 GPS bike computer is very extensive. In addition, Garmin offers other official accessories. Especially interesting is the Garmin External Battery Pack*: The practical powerbank can be easily attached below the Aero mount and doubles the battery life of the bike GPS Navi.
Hardware and memory of the Garmin Edge 1030
One piece of positive news in the Garmin Edge 1030 review: The attractive case of the GPS bike computer is black on the front and has a large white frame. The overall workmanship is robust high-quality and the bike GPS Navi lies well in the hand. So the Edge 1030 offers besides top bike navigation also best hardware.
The Garmin Edge 1030 bike navigator weighs 123 grams.
The housing has the dimensions of 5.8 x 11.4 x 1.9 cm.
Thus, the case of the 1030 is almost unchanged compared to the predecessor and adds a few grams. Given the huge increase in functionality, I can happily live with that.
The GPS bike computer is operated via the large touchscreen. In addition, there is a power button on the left side of the housing and two buttons at the bottom of the housing: These have the function round and start/stop.
How do you operate the buttons? The pressure point of all buttons is pleasant. A bit more pressure can be applied to the keys at the bottom of the case. When pressing these buttons, a second finger is then necessary for counter-holding on the case. This applies to both freehand operation and operation on one of the holders. In practice, you get used to it right away and it doesn’t bother me either.
How does the touchscreen react in water? Touchscreens often do themselves in wet conditions. If one reads in the Internet, then this was probably also with old Garmin bicycle GPS Navis the case. Here I can reassure you: Garmin has improved. In rain and wet conditions the touchscreen doesn’t get stuck and swiping between pages is still possible. Overall, the operation is top and I have only good Garmin Edge 1030 experience with it.
As befits a modern GPS bike computer the Garmin is waterproof (IPX7). The waterproofness was achieved by a firmly welded housing. The battery was firmly built into the case for this and is officially not replaceable.
With a large memory of 16 GB, the Garmin Edge 1030 offers plenty of space for additional or special map material. Which maps are available with the bike GPS Navi, I describe below in detail. Since maps are already pre-installed, not all of the memory is free: 8.17 GB of free memory is displayed by Windows Explorer.
Fortunately, the memory can be expanded by up to 32 GB via microSD – I think that’s great! This may be necessary when installing special bicycle or topo maps.
The microSD card slot is well protected by a rotating lid. Simply insert a coin or the round side of a key into the slot in the storage compartment and then the lid opens easily.
Display in the Garmin Edge 1030 test
A great novelty is the excellent display. The screen has grown to a full 3.5 inches. In addition, the screen has an even higher resolution: Now with 282 x 470 pixels.
The displayed information is well recognizable thanks to the size. This applies to data fields, the bike navi map, the elevation profile and also to all other information.
As usual from Garmin, the screen can be read excellently in any situation – this also applies to difficult situations such as in sunshine, at dusk or constantly changing conditions such as under a canopy of leaves in the forest. A brightness sensor is also built in. Thus, the backlight is automatically adjusted correctly. This feature has also been well implemented by Garmin.
Battery life – Garmin Edge 1030 experience
One of the most important things about a GPS bike navigator is the battery life.
How long can I navigate on one battery charge? When do I have to reload?
Garmin cuts a very good figure here: Despite the large screen, the Garmin Edge 1030 is supposed to last up to 20 hours. In the bike navi test, I could determine battery runtimes of 15 to 18 hours. A very good value – so the whole day bike navigation is possible! The runtime is of course influenced by factors such as the number of paired sensors and the display illumination.
There is a practical accessory for the Garmin Edge 1030 bike navigator to extend the battery life. In the test above I already mentioned it: With the Garmin Charge power pack* the bike GPS Navi is recharged in the cradle. This doubles the runtime then. The accessories are on the one hand useful and well integrated into the look of the Garmin Edge 1030.
The GPS bike navigation system is charged via MicroUSB: Either at the socket or on the road via powerbank. The MicroUSB socket is located on the underside of the housing and is well protected by a solid cover.
Sensors and connections on the Garmin Edge 1030 bike navigator
GPS bike speedometer is also advertised as a bike training computer. For controlled training, of course, plenty of sensors want to be coupled with the Garmin Edge 1030. Many cyclists will cheer: Sensors can no longer be paired only per ANT+, because the Garmin Edge 1030 supports also Bluetooth LE. That’s what I want from a modern GPS bike computer!
I have the Garmin Edge 1030 paired with a Wahoo heart rate and cadence sensor. As expected the connection worked right away.
In this category, the Garmin Edge 1030 so lets the athlete’s heart beat faster: Nothing stands in the way of intensive operation with an abundance of sensors and multiple bikes!
Please note: It seems that only one Bluetooth LE device can be connected to the GPS bike computer. When connecting more than one Bluetooth LE device, the message “Maximum number of sensors exceeded. Remove sensor and try again”. I have not tested pairing multiple ANT+ sensors. According to testimonials on the web, pairing multiple ANT+ sensors works fine.
Smartphone Connection and Connect IQ Apps
You can also pair your smartphone with the Garmin Edge 1030 via Bluetooth and use the Garmin Connect IQ app.
If desired, completed activities are uploaded directly to the Garmin Connect portal via the smartphone. From here, the activities can also be automatically sent to sports portals like Strava. The automatic data synchronization works very reliably and may be set up once in the beginning.
The smartphone connection via Bluetooth also enables the following functions:
- LiveTrack function: Share activities in real time.
- Accident notifications: Send an accident notification to previously set contacts.
- Smart Notifications: Information about SMS and calls are displayed.
- Perform a firmware update of the bike navi.
- Synchronization with the Garmin Connect Portal
various Garmin Connect IQ apps can also be used on the Garmin Edge 1030 via the smartphone. There are now a lot of them and the functionality of the GPS bike navi can be strongly expanded.
Connect IQ apps are available for popular sports portals such as Strava, komoot and Trailforks. For example, I have used the komoot Connect IQ app particularly intensively. Want to learn more about how to set up and use the komoot Connect IQ app? All the details are there for you in the big komoot review.
I was able to transfer all my routes planned on the computer and smartphone to the Garmin Edge 1030 quickly and conveniently using the komoot Connect IQ app . Of course, the offline navigation also worked reliably. Completed activities are wirelessly transmitted to Strava, komoot and co after a one-time setup.
Garmin Edge 1030 Experience – Operation and settings
The Garmin Edge 1030’s home screen is sensibly designed. What items can be set and how does that affect bike navigation? The following items are displayed on the home page:
- Navigation incl. planned routes
- Training
- Protocol
- Own statistics
For those who only need the navigation functions, navigation and log are sufficient.
The home page is sensibly laid out, but cannot be customised. It’s a shame, because the planned routes are hidden by the menu structure in the Navigation menu item. This means that more steps are required before a tour can be started. I would have liked more individuality in the Garmin Edge 1030 test.
The following main items are available in the settings:
- Activity profiles: Up to 10 activity profiles can be created here. Templates for different wheel variants are already offered
- Sensors: Here you can build a sensor pool. The procedure is described above in the Garmin Edge 1030 test. Previously paired sensors are then available in all activity profiles.
- Online functions
- Energy saving mode
- System
A swipe from top to bottom brings up the status page. This function works on almost every page. On the status page you can call up frequently used information and make settings. With a swipe gesture to the left or right, the various status pages are scrolled through.
With the Garmin Edge 1030 bike nav, the state side has been expanded to include additional features like weather, Strava functions, and more.
Navigation with Garmin Edge 1030
I’m already used to Top navigation from Garmin. How does that look with the new high-end nav? Can the bike navigation convince in the Garmin Edge 1030 test?
The Navi functions have been extended to include “Routing by popularity”. Here, frequently frequented routes, roads and paths are given a higher priority. Garmin analyzes the activities uploaded to Garmin Connect to gain the necessary information for route recommendations. A classic example of swarm intelligence 😉
So Garmin uses a variety of existing route activities and suggests particularly popular routes. As the number of activities increases, this feature should also get better in the future.
If a map update is performed, then the data for routing by popularity is also performed. Interim navigation summary: Garmin offers on the top model top navigation and I’m very excited about the Garmin Edge 1030 experience navigating and .
Overall, the Garmin Edge 1030 bike navigation never let me down in the bike navigation test. The Navi functions are absolutely top.
Comparison and difference: Current Garmin models
What are the differences between the current Garmin top-of-the-line Garmin Edge 1030 bike navi and the Garmin Edge 1000? How does the new top-of-the-line bike navi test compare?
* Werbung - Aktualisierung am 2024-04-23, Preis kann gestiegen sein, Als Amazon-Partner verdiene ich an qualifizierten Verkäufen, Bild:Amazon
There are also further innovations in the Firstbeat training functions: The Garmin Edge 1000 has five training functions on board. In the new top model Garmin Edge 1030, the training programs have grown to nine functions:
Garmin Edge 1000 Firstbeat Training Features
- VO2max fitness level
- HF-based calorie calculation
- Functional Threshold Power (FTP)
- Recreation Guide
- Lactate Threshold
Edge 1030 Firstbeat Training Features
- VO2max fitness level
- HF-based calorie calculation
- Functional Threshold Power (FTP)
- Aerobic training effect
- Anaerobic training effect
- Training load
- Training condition
- Real-time performance condition
- Quick Stress Level Test
Garmin Edge 1030 Experience and Summary
The Garmin Edge 1030 combines TOP GPS bike computer and best navigation in one device. In the bike navi test I was enthusiastic about the functions, as well as the reliability.
Thanks to the range of functions offered, the GPS bike navigator is equally recommendable for road cyclists, mountain bikers and all other cyclists. If you want top bike navigation with many extras, the Garmin Edge 1030 is the right choice.
Buy Garmin Edge 1030 – yes or no?
On the one hand, there is the high price, which can be a drawback.
On the other hand, the excellent and large display. Convincing technology and extensive functions for training and navigation. The Garmin Edge 1030 makes a top figure in almost all cycling situations. The GPS bike navigator is recommended especially for cyclists who appreciate the large display (for road bike riders, the housing may be too large).
- Fahrradcomputer mit 3,5 Zoll großem Display, umfassenden Navigationsfunktionen sowie Leistung- und Fahrradsicherheitsfunktionen
- Trendline Popularity Routing zeigt basierend auf Milliarden von Kilometern an Streckendaten von Garmin Connect die besten Straßen- und Geländerouten an
- Vorinstallierte Fahrradkarte für Abbiegehinweise und neue Navigationsalarme
* Werbung - Aktualisierung am 2024-04-23, Preis kann gestiegen sein, Als Amazon-Partner verdiene ich an qualifizierten Verkäufen, Bild:Amazon
Good
✅ Excellent large & high resolution screen
✅ very long battery life: up to 20 hours (bike navi only), up to 40 hours (with battery pack).
✅ Good track navigation (saved tracks)
✅ large selection of maps for different purposes such as cycling, hiking, topo (commercial and free).
✅ Advanced features thanks to Garmin Connect IQ Apps and Widgets
✅ Sensors can be connected with ANT+ & Bluetooth LE.
Feature-rich Garmin Connect smartphone app
✅ Extensive training functions especially with Firstbeat integration
Bad
❌ Price
Weight (123 grams) & size
Alternatives to the Garmin Edge 1030
Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM
The most direct competitor and a Garmin Edge 1030 alternative. The Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM has reduced colors and no touchscreen – but the operation is very thoughtfully implemented. Very positive is the excellent readability even in direct sunlight and the very long battery life. Komoot is also best integrated and allows convenient tour planning.
- Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM
- Wahoo Fitness
- GPS OR NAVIGATION SYSTEM
* Werbung - Aktualisierung am 2024-04-23, Preis kann gestiegen sein, Als Amazon-Partner verdiene ich an qualifizierten Verkäufen, Bild:Amazon
To the detailed Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM field test (test & experiences)
Garmin Edge 530 and Garmin Edge 830
They’re light, small and have long battery life: The Garmin Edge 530 and 830 are two powerful bike GPS computers and do just about everything right when it comes to bike navigation and workout features. Online sports portals like komoot and Strava can be connected via Garmin Connect IQ. The Edge 530 is operated entirely with the buttons and the Edge 830 has touchscreen input as well as even more extensive functions in the GPS bike navigation..
- Garmin Edge 830 bicycle navigation
* Werbung - Aktualisierung am 2024-04-23, Preis kann gestiegen sein, Als Amazon-Partner verdiene ich an qualifizierten Verkäufen, Bild:Amazon
To the detailed Garmin Edge 530 field test (test & experiences)
Sigma ROX 12.0 Sport
As a Garmin Edge 1030 alternative, the Sigma ROX 12.0 offers particularly simple and smartphone-like operation. The training functions are reduced, but the Sigma ROX 12.0 is superior in the navigation functions.
- FAHRRADNAVI: vielfältige Navigations- und Routing-Optionen, OSM-Fahrradkarten weltweit inklusive; Anbindung an komoot und Strava
- FAHRRADCOMPUTER: Anbindung an Strava, komoot, & TrainingPeaks; individuelle Workouts, 30 Trainingsansichten, beliebig viele Sportprofile, kompatibel mit gängigen Leistungsmesssystemen u. a. mit Rotor 2INpower (OCA, OCP)
- SCHNELLE DATENÜBERTRAGUNG: WIFI Schnittstelle, Synchronisierung der Trainingsdaten zum SIGMA DATA CENTER und Sigma LINK App via Sigma CLOUD, ANT+, Schnittstelle, GPS und GLONASS
* Werbung - Aktualisierung am 2024-04-23, Preis kann gestiegen sein, Als Amazon-Partner verdiene ich an qualifizierten Verkäufen, Bild:Amazon
To the detailed Sigma ROX 12.0 Sport field test (test & experiences)
What do you think of the Garmin Edge 1030? Do you have any questions? Feel free to write me your comment.
The GPS bike computer tested here doesn’t suit you?
- In the extensive Bicycle Navi Test I have all recommendable bicycle Navis clearly in the comparison.
- In the Garmin Edge comparison you will find a complete model overview of all Garmin bike computers and bike navigation devices.
I regularly update both tests. Best check out the articles now.
