Edge 1030 texts other riders, offers Trendline on maps to show popular routes
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Garmin's new Edge 1030 touchscreen computer displays a wealth of metrics, including info from the new Vector 3 power-meter pedals(Image credit: Courtesy Garmin)
You can't use an Allen wrench, but the Vector 3s install with a standard pedal wrench(Image credit: Courtesy Garmin)
The Vector 3 works on Bluetooth and ANT+(Image credit: Courtesy Garmin)
But cornering clearance increase by a percent (Image credit: Courtesy Garmin)
Stack height increased a millimeter from the Vector 2(Image credit: Courtesy Garmin)
Now the Vectors have batteries inside the pedal body(Image credit: Courtesy Garmin)
The Garmin Vector 3 pedals measure left and right power — without the dangling, spindle-mounted pods of previous Vector designs(Image credit: Courtesy Garmin)
The 3.5-inch color touchscreen is Garmin's biggest yet (Image credit: Courtesy Garmin)
You can add a battery pack for another 24 hours of claimed battery life. The Edge 1030 mount transmits the current from battery pack to the computer(Image credit: Courtesy Garmin)
The Edge 1030 boasts a whopping 20 hours of battery life(Image credit: Courtesy Garmin)
The Edge 1030 can send preset messages to other riders, such as "Running late - be there soon!"(Image credit: Courtesy Garmin)
GPS giant Garmin has two new cycling products: a top-end Edge 1030 GPS computer with a 3.5-inch hi-res touchscreen and a claimed 20-hour battery life, and Vector 3 power-meter pedals that do away with the dangling pods of their predecessors.
With the $599 / £499.99 Edge 1030, Garmin addressed a few complaints like battery life some riders had of the Edge 1000, and added a few new features like Trendline, which shows popularity routing on the map based on what Garmin claims to be billions of logged ride data from Garmin Connect.
The Edge 1030 can also send prewritten messages like "I'm almost there" to other riders without you having to pull out the phone.
The Edge 1030 can send preset messages to other riders
Edge 1030 highlights
3.5-inch color touchscreen that works with gloves and in the wet
Ambient light sensors auto-adjust brightness
Claimed 20 hours of battery life, plus 24 more with battery pack attached under mount
Garmin Cycle Map gives turn-by-turn directions with sharp-curve alert
Rider-to-rider messages between Garmin 1030 users
Know where locals ride, and where your friends are
Following from Wahoo's similar live track feature on its Elemnt computers, Garmin has offered GroupTrack on its recent Edge computers that shows your riding friends on screen — provided that you and said friends all have newer Edge computers tethered to smartphones.
Once set up, GroupTrack shows your riding companions as color-coded dots on the map, which could be helpful when meeting up or getting split up on unfamiliar roads.
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What's new is Trendline Popularity Routing, where the 1030 will highlight routes used most often by cyclists. So, as you come to intersections, the 1030 will show the way most riders go.
Another new feature is rider-to-rider messaging, where you can send preset messages like "Hey, I'm running late. Be there ASAP!" As with GroupTrack, this requires both parties using smartphone-tethered computers.
Big screen, even bigger battery life
The 3.5in color touchscreen is Garmin's biggest yet
The Edge 1000 has a 3-inch screen; the Edge 1010 has a 3.5-inch screen that Garmin says is sharper than previous iterations.
Perhaps most notable is the massive battery life — a claimed 20 hours top possible running time that can be extended by an additional 24 hours when you clip a separately sold battery pack to the bottom of the 1030 mount.
Running navigation and full-screen brightness will decrease battery life, but the 1030 also has a battery-save mode where the screen goes black when not actively being used.
Preloaded apps from Strava, TrainingPeaks
While the Edge 520 and 820 can use Strava Segments for real-time tracking of your performance versus your PR, your friend's PR or the KOM/QOM, the 1030 adds the newest Strava Routes Connect IQ app that lets you navigate a route while also chasing a Strava time.
The TrainingPeaks CIQ app automatically loads each day's workout onto the computer if you are a TrainingPeaks subscriber following a training plan. This is handy if you are religiously following the plan, but you can't jump ahead or back to other workouts; only that day's workout shows up.
Garmin Vector 3 highlights
Single- (3s) and dual-sided (3) power-measuring options
No pods
Claimed +/- 1% accuracy
ANT+ and Bluetooth
Installs with standard pedal wrench, not Allen wrench
The Garmin Vector 3 pedals measure left and right power — without the dangling, spindle-mounted pods of previous Vector designs
More accuracy, more batteries
The first two generations of Garmin's Vector power-meter pedals used pods that wrapped around the pedal spindle to house 2032 coin batteries and sensors. The new Vector 3 and 3S pedals do away with the pods, and instead use LR44 and SR44 batteries inside the pedals.
This brings battery life down to a claimed 120 hours from 175, but also does away with the ugly and sometime fragile pods.
Garmin claims its $999 / £849.99 Vector 3 and $599 / £499.99 Vector 3S power meters are more precise than the Vector 2, as +/-1% instead of +/-2%.
Now the Vectors have batteries inside the pedal body
The Vector 3 and 3S also now work on Bluetooth as well as ANT+.
Stack height increased to 11.5mm from 10.5, but cornering clearance improved to 31.7 degrees from 30.6.
Claimed weight is 316g per pair of the dual-sided Vector 3 and 324g per pair of the single-sided Vector 3S.
The 3S measures power and cadence, while the Vector 3 measures power, cadence, left/right balance, seated/standing time and where on the pedal you produce power.
