Garmin Edge 540 vs 840: This Won't Take Long...

In which our hero compares the Garmin Edge 540 with the touchscreen 840. And yeah, that pretty much sums it up...

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[robinseibel]

I moved from a 530 to an 840 and love it. The UI is way better than the previous versions. The touchscreen works well in the rain, and it makes moving to the desired screen easier and quicker. The battery life is great ( I have the non-solar version), a significant improvement over the 530's battery life. The added navigation features and search options make it perfect for multiday rides. I considered the 1030 and 1040, but I honestly didn't want a computer that big.

[turbinia]

I recently got a 540 to replace my 130 plus. It's a big improvement in capability and usability. I don't find the lack of touch screen a problem at all. I'm not sure that the touch screen would give much advantage - Once I'm riding the only interaction with the device is to change pages and the buttons are perfectly adequate for that. If I'm going to be looking at the map in any detail I'll probably be stopping and pulling out my phone anyway. Battery life is ridiculous - after a ride of several hours it was only down to about 90%, so I'm not really sure who the solar option is aimed at - people doing audax rides I guess, but I don't feel it's worth the extra cost for the average person in the UK.

[kennethdarlington]

Glad that I've bought 840. Touchscreen is so useful sometimes. As are the buttons.

[EditioCastigata]

4:16 Sorry it’s tangential, but get some skin balm with wax for that kind of damage. Lindesa, for example.

[sigfreed]

Have you considered racing in the upcoming indieVelo Grand Tour 5-day team stage race?

It has GC, Sprint, and Mountain jerseys to fight for! Would love if you joined and made a video about it!

[Embarking-on-a-new-adventure]

Hahah, still using my Garmin Edge 800 🙂

[charlieyorke]

I would love to know - what would your recommendation be between garmin and wahoo!! Have all the newer updates to the bolt made it better?

I have personally always used garmin, but would like to try the wahoo. What puts me off - is the amount of older reviews / shorts seeing long term users of garmin switching back!!

[JFomo]

I still can't decide if I want the touchscreen or not. I have a wahoo and the buttons are OK but the wahoo is very laggy hence why I want to switch over to Garmin. Shall wait for sales and see. I think 540 should suffice 🤔

[rc]

Thank you for this really helpful (and brilliantly delivered) comparison.  

With the 1050 just out now, there's a good chance the 550 and 850 will be coming out in the first half of 2025, if Garmin follows its release schedule for previous Edge models in recent years. And the 1050's feature set suggests that it's probably a good idea to wait for 550 or 850. The major highlights include a much brighter, more vibrant & more responsive display; a new user interface that, based on reviews, seems like a significant improvement; and a processor upgrade that makes the new user interface run very smoothly.

It seems likely that the 850 will have the same feature set as the 1050 but in a smaller package, and the 550 will be like the 850 but with less RAM and no touch screen. If so, both will be very compelling options in their respective price ranges. if you can squeeze another 4-8 months of use out of your current bike computer, it might be a good idea to wait for the 550/850 instead of buying a 540 or 840 now. If you don't love the 550 or 850 when they come out next year, you'll likely still have the option to buy 540 or 840 for (in the USA) $50-100 less than the new models.

[Theworldasitistoday]

Why you don't recommend the solar version?

[malvinacarabas]

Whaaat !? No review of 1050 ? You mom said " Go big, or .. something " . Forgot that ? Ha, ha

[TunaSoda]

Can you change the bike (gear) it uses for a ride without using a phone?

[glomyrgo]

The Garmin Edge 540 has only 16 GB of internal memory compared to 32 GB on the Garmin Edge 840. Due to this memory limitation, it is impossible to download the entire Europe map on the Garmin 540. This is because the Garmin Europe map is divided into three regions, and only one of them can be downloaded onto the Garmin 540 via Garmin Express due to the memory limits. This becomes annoying when your route crosses countries that belong to different map regions. In such cases, you have the map for only one country. It is possible to manually download two map regions simultaneously on the Garmin 540 by removing the database with climb information from the Garmin filesystem for one of the regions. Therefore, it is better to be prepared in advance for such cases with the Garmin 540 because Garmin Express is useless here. So, the Garmin 840 is an obvious choice in this situation.

[tplambert]

840 is really annoying in muddy conditions. Great for road cycling, but if you are a Mountainbiker the 540 is a no brainier.

[mohongzhi]

Garmin just discount 540 to the same price as the same price of 520 plus on release. Now 840 almost equal to 1040 price range, I don't know where is 840's market. Either get a 540 or a 1040 (someone might goto 1050) but just let 840 on display and nobody should ever to get one.