[RUSA] Can Garmin 1040 Solar battery last the entire 1200k brevet without charging?

[Cheng-Hong Li]

Hello all,

I’m considering a new Garmin Edge. Garmin claims that the Edge 1040 Solar’s battery life can last up to 100 hours with solar charging. This sounds like a very attractive feature for PBP and other 1000k+ brevets. 

Has anyone used it on 1200k? Can its battery plus solar charging last the entire course without charging?  

Thanks! 

[Barankay, Iwan]

It depends. Will the sun shine? Will you cast a shadow (i.e. route going North)?

It also depends on how you use it (how many ANT devices, notifications, etc.). It also depends a bit on how many charge-discharg cycles it went through.

Garmin provided a table

https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=Q2uh2dhUjI4A05hW8t2ow8

 

I think if you interact with it a lot or have three sensors then probably not.

My advice would be to bring a small USB batter (e.g. Anker) as it can be charged whilst in use.

I would also suggest to split the 1200 route into days as big heavy routes can be a burden on battery consumption.

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[Dan Driscoll]

Cheng, 

I think the answer is maybe. Depends on the back light brightness setting, if you are using a watt meter, a HRM, other features, leave map display on, and if the sun is out. 

Many LSR members own this unit and all are impressed with battery life. 

Garmin makes a preparatory battery that mounts under the gamin and connects with it directly (no wires), by adding one of these batteries, you would likely arrive in Brest (or maybe farther) with a full 100% charge on your Garmin, you could remove the battery, leave it in a drop bag and easily make it back to the start with plenty of juice.

I used to use lip stick batteries, but had nothing but trouble with wires and the receptacles, especially in the rain. Over many years, I’ve had zero problems with my Garmin back up battery. 

The battery also has a USB port so you could charge your phone or some other device. 

I know there are pro’s and con’s to everything, but I’m sold on this combo, and have done many 1,200kms with it. 

DanD 

[Mac Vergara]

Hey Cheng-Hong! 

TL;DR, I don’t think the edge 1040 solar would last the whole 1200k on a single charge, on its own.

I’m finding configuration and weather make a big difference with the 1040 solar on how long it lasts. My setup is generally GPS on “Balanced”, backlight off during the day and “auto” at night, have speed / cadence / HR / Varia tail light attached, and gets notifications from my phone. On a 200k in the early autumn when it was warm and had sunlight during the day, it would start at 100% charge and end twelve hours later around 85% charge. On the 400k this past weekend, I had the same setup except that I set the GPS to “Best Battery Life”, the temperature dropped below 30ºF overnight, and I went full time on the ride. The 1040 started at 100% and ended at 25%. I’m pretty sure it was heavy use of backlight overnight that killed the battery since I liked to stare at how slow I was going and how many miles were left and contemplate the decisions I made in my life to get to be on a brevet overnight in the cold 😂. I don’t think  the cold was the biggest battery drain because during winter 200k’s, the device lost more battery than the warmer months, but maybe only down to 75% versus 85% over twelve hours. I think I could eke out forty hours the way I use it, but I imagine that’d be the upper limit. I’d def consider adding the garmin extra battery or other backup battery like Dan and Iwan mentioned.

Mac

[Ramsey Hanna]

They literally just released the Edge 540 and 840 and they have solar options, take up a smaller footprint, and are much cheaper.

Ramsey

[Cesar Villegas]

I have a 530 and i have done up to a 400k on it, only putting it to sleep during lunch stops, typically finishing with 10-15% battery left (about 17hrs of operation).

 At a 1000k, I forgot to charge it and it started the day with about 40% battery. That day, we rode close to 400k and i was careful to put it to sleep at every stop that was longer than 1 minute, but here is the key: Battery saver mode. At least on my 530, battery saver mode turns off the screen completely unless you are clicking thorough the buttons (changing screens). The only other time the screen would come on was automatic for cues or navigation prompts. I have to say, riding with the screen off took a few miles to get used to, but it was a nice change! No looking down at my speed or time or map, just needed to look down when it beeped at me. I finished that day with 5% battery and noticed no degradation to the gps track or any other function. Which makes it clear that the screen is by far the biggest battery drain. 

So I don't know if the 1040 or 1040Solar will make it a full 1200, but with the screen off battery saver mode, i think my 530 would very nearly be able to do it. 

[Pete Dusel]

Just to mention, a GPS, or for that matter a cue sheet is not required to navigate PBP. A handy tool for pacing, awareness, etc., but definitely not a requirement.

  The route is incredibly well marked, and staffed with volunteers.

  I've been putting up videos from PBP 19 on YouTube. I have one on navigation in the pipeline. It will be a few weeks before it gets posted.

  Nothing fancy, just the view from the handlebars. Play your choice of music in the background.

  Hopefully, these will be of use to the first time PBP rider who doesn't know what to expect.

https://www.youtube.com/@randopete3299/videos

Pete

[Joshua Haley]

True enough Pete. I'd say the signage at PBP is on par with a well run century fun ride.  I never felt lost on the course even in a sleep deprived hellish state.

Josh

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[Greg Merritt]

Just to mention, a GPS, or for that matter a cue sheet is not required to navigate PBP. A handy tool for pacing, awareness, etc., but definitely not a requirement.

  The route is incredibly well marked, and staffed with volunteers.

I have not experienced riding any other event over such a length, over new-to-me territory, in which sticking to the route was as simple a task as it was at PBP, kilometer after kilometer.

That said:

• I was once (actually) off-route, with company, by several miles; having tools and methods to make an informed decision about how to rejoin the route was helpful.
• I once suspected that I was on-route (in the middle of Brest in full daylight!), buuuut I had not encountered arrows, riders, or roadside onlookers for quite some time, and wanted to confirm that I was truly on-route; again, having some gadgetry to corroborate my trajectory was very helpful to me. (I was, indeed, very much on-route.)

-Greg

[Dan Driscoll]

Totally agree, made many a wrong turn at PBP.

On one missed turn I had a partner with me... a young man on a scooter chased us down the hill and told us to turn around and climb back up and make a left ;=)

Several times a volunteer jumped out of no where and said No No….

I’ve been on route and thought I was not, arrows spaced very far apart going into Dreux in 2019. 

DanD 

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[john 50Lombardy]

I recently bought a Garmin Power Mount for my Edge530.  Yes, it was expensive, particularly the USB cable.  But now I have power from my SON hub to my Sinewave power converter and my Garmin.  It works like a charm.  Ride all day and have 99% power to your Garmin.  Enough to ride all night (won't power unit with lights are on) and start again (if that were possible for me).  Now I have human powered lights, chargeable Garmin and phone! 

[Robert Sexton]

I have a Garmin 530 and recently experimented with 'Battery Save Mode', which turns the screen off most of the time.   

Brian Feinberg has a 'Battery Burn Rate' app which is helpful for estimating run time.   It's on the Garmin site here:  Battery burn rate

Here's my data from several multi-day and all-day rides:

530 running a route: ~20h battery life ( 400k )

530 running a route, with a Varia radar: ~15h battery life ( almost 300k ).  The Varia makes the screen come on often.

530 running a route, with a Varia, in battery save mode: ~30-40h battery life.

- Robert

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Robert Sexton

[ken jessett]

Has anyone experimented with taking an old cell phone, emptying it with all content except RidewithGPS app and using that as a stand alone navigating device? Cell phones have a much larger screen than do yahoo or Garmin and for tired eyes it will have much greater vision.

Ken. J

[Bill Gobie]

This has been done. Problems with phones are:

• Power consumption
• Overheating and shutting down in direct sunlight in warm weather
• Screen can be too bright at night even at the lowest brightness setting. (GPS devices have this problem too but since the screens are so much smaller they do less damage to your night vision.) I experimented once with an app that further dimmed the screen by placing a variably-opaque virtual layer atop all the other virtual layers. The problem was sometimes it seemed to intercept taps on the screen. Additionally, it had to be recalled to the topmost layer after I had done operations in RwGPS. All in all it added too much complication.

Bill

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[Ramsey Hanna]

A very popular ultra distance bikepacking device that’s quite inexpensive is the Garmin etrex. Uses AA batteries and just draws a line. Follow the line, finish the route, super simple. Lasts an eternity (100+ hrs) and has easily replaced batteries. 

Phone for navigation is a terrible idea, because I would argue it’s one of the last items you want to die, because you’ll need it if you break your leg and fall in a ditch in the middle of the night,

Ramsey

[ken jessett]

Not at all. I will continue to have an android phone for communication, so no problem with getting stranded following the usual leg breaking process.

My Yahoo will be used as an odometer and speed showing device - as it is now. Actually, the RWGPS folk think my plan is a great idea.😎

Once it's all in place, I'll report back.

Ken J.

[Brian Feinberg]

On the last 400k that I did, using my 1040 solar, I finished with about 45% battery remaining. I was quite pleased with that. As always everyone's mileage will differ. I was down in SoCal, so maybe more sunlight there than parts north,

and I didn't do a lot of fiddling that might have caused backlight to turn on during the night.

        Brian

[Pam Wright]

My 1040 solar did great on a 600k this past weekend, finishing with 39% and I leave the backlight on steady while riding at night.  Unlike Brian, my Garmin doubles as an entertainment and pain deflection system, so I fiddle with it non-stop for my own amusement :-)

I may experiment with a bare bones ride to test it but that's absolutely no fun for me so currently just planning a battery.

Like Brian, mine was also mostly sunshine this past wknd in North Texas, roughly 13.5hrs of daylight.  YMMV but I am still smitten with each version of my Garmins.

Pam Wright

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[Eric Peterson]

Regarding the etrex, I agree - and I've been using one since I started in 2005 for brevets.

It might be great for bikepacking, but there are a few shortcomings for brevets:

• There is no turn-by-turn navigation. 
• No data display / collection related to HR, cadence, power, etc.
• Can be difficult to follow on routes with out-and-back sections.
• Can be tricky to follow in cities where there are lots of cross-streets.
• Can be difficult to read in bright sunshine. 

So I now use it as a backup, and to show a map at a larger scale - with backlighting this is especially nice at night.

The model I'm using can go for as long as 24 hours with NiMH rechargables.

Eric

[Eric Nichols]

Last weekend I rode a 400k with the Edge 1040 Solar. Finished with 76% battery remaining after 17.5 hours (!). Settings were mid-range for battery consumption: no GLONASS satellites, backlight timer at 30s, but no aggressive battery saver screen-blanking. It was reading a power meter and, like Pam, I tend to swipe around a lot, bouncing between the upcoming elevation profile, the map, the power data, and some numeric screens. I have a habit of scanning my instruments regularly, like a pilot. The map is usually my default view, and that reportedly draws a little more power. 

The day was mostly cloudy, but with some sunny periods and some rain showers. I carried a Garmin external battery but it stayed unconnected, stowed in my bag, just in case. At the end of the ride, the Garmin reported that the solar feature added around two hours of battery life. 

All of this suggests that a 1040 Solar and a single Garmin external battery might be enough to get through a 1200k, assuming a modest amount of sunshine. A second or larger external battery, or charging during sleep stops, would be enough for the darkest 1200k.

Eric Nichols

[Mark Thomas]

Ken -

I ride a fair amount of kilometers in unfamiliar places and really, really don’t like getting lost. So my redundant setup includes a dedicated phone, as you asked about.

So I have used a dedicated phone for RwGPS (it’s an iPhone 13 mini). I download the RwGPS route to it, which downloads associated maps. Sometimes I also add the route to other mapping apps in the phone, but usually I just do that on my regular phone. On the bike, I run this phone in airplane mode and just let it read me the cues out loud. As you may know, you get three cues - after last turn, it will say something like “turn left in 8 kilometers.” As you near the next turn, it will say “turn left in a half kilometer.” At the turn, it will read the entire contents of the RwGPS cue, say “Turn left on State Route 16 at gas station” - whatever the RwGPS author has included or whatever RwGPS automatically generated when building the file.

Most of the time, I don’t make any use of the screen, but if I find myself off course or otherwise confused by routing, I’ll wake it up and scroll around. With minimal use of screen and with the use of airplane mode, I can usually get all day out of the battery up to 18 hours or so of riding. If I wanted to try to make regular use of the screen while riding, I’d almost certainly need to charge as I go.

One caution - I mount the phone on the bars. If the charging port gets wet, iOS may refuse to let me charge the phone. So I usually stash a wireless charging puck in my bike bags somewhere.

My primary visual navigation device is a Garmin GPS (currently 1040, which has exceptional battery life).

Mark

[ken jessett]

Mark,

There has been a comment about the difficulty of reading the screen, I know you say you merely listen to the cues (what accent is that in by the way - American or cultured? 😁) but at times I know from my phone when the sun is out - and when is it not around here! - it is difficult to see anything on it. How do you deal with that? I wonder if there is a method of reducing the glare.

What method do you use to attach the phone to the handlebars?

Thanks for the input, very helpful.

Ken. J