The Best 2025 GPS Bike Computer Is OLD

These are the best GPS cycling computers in 2025, as tested by the expert reviewers here at BikeRadar.

If you’re looking for a new cycling computer, this is the video for you. Aside from price, there are loads of factors to consider when buying a new unit.

The GPS computer market has never been more crowded with quality options, but some just don’t live up to the hype.

00:00 Intro
00:25 Garmin Edge 1050
01:44 Garmin Edge 840 Solar
03:20 Garmin Edge 830
03:45 Garmin Edge Explore 2
04:34 Wahoo Elemnt Ace
06:33 Wahoo Elemnt Roam V2
07:37 Wahoo Elemnt Bolt V2
08:33 Hammerhead Karoo 3
10:00 Coros Dura Solar
11:25 Sigma Rox 11.1

#cycling #bike #tech #computer #gps #explore #training #fitness

TWO New Garmin Solar GPS Computers

Wahoo ELEMNT ACE Vs Garmin Edge 1050 Review

Garmin Edge 840 Solar In-depth Review

Listen to the BikeRadar Podcast
→ https://www.bikeradar.com/bikeradar-podcast/

Follow BikeRadar on our social media channels:
→ https://instagram.com/bikeradar
→ https://facebook.com/bikeradar
→ https://twitter.com/bikeradar

BikeRadar is supported by Mountain Biking UK and Cycling Plus Magazine –For more information and to subscribe please visit
→ https://bit.ly/3nMr3Rn

For more content like this see our latest subscription offer –
→ https://www.cyclingplus.com/subscribe-today/
→ https://www.mbuk.com/subscribe-today/

so you want a cycling computer that’s great there are loads of good options in 2025 but the one that you probably want isn’t even that new I’m going to take you through the options and let you know why I would or wouldn’t buy each one and let’s start with [Music] Garmin the latest Garmin Edge 1050 is garmin’s most expensive to date at $700 it’s got a few new features like a group ride function so your mates don’t get lost when you drop them and a road hazard function to point out potholes to other users but honestly this is one I’d miss most of the new features won’t actually start working properly until a bunch of new people actually start using them and to do that they need this unit while it’s so expensive you might as well just go for the 1040 most of the same features 130 quid cheaper it’s still got a massive screen if you want that and from using this over the past year and a bit I can tell you the battery life is excellent Garmin claims 35 hours with demanding use so that’s running the Dual Band GPS and a few sensors now unless you’re a pro that’s going to mean just over 2 weeks of riding between charges well it does for me anyway if you don’t live somewhere with loads of sunshine like the UK honestly I promise it’s not like this every day then I wouldn’t bother with the solar version that by the way will be a theme for the next computer too but this 1040 is really good if you want a big device with a big screen [Music] size moving on we have the edge 840 this is basically the 1040 in a smaller form factor and of the two it’s the one I prefer for Road riding it’s just a bit necer on my bars and I think the screen size is big enough for loads of data and a clear M this is the solar version which I tested and again I wouldn’t bother with it now on my video review there were a few of you mostly based in the southern states of the US I think where the sun always shines who said that the tech really really works for you and that’s great if you live somewhere where the tech is going to work and you want to spend the money then you do it it’s just for me it didn’t really provide much value anyway I love using the UI on this thing it’s fast enough to get going and navigating pages is easy I like little things like the music controls because I tend to just leave this screen on when I go for a ride these days there’s also good add-ons like I’ve got my core temperature sensor data just here it’s worth noting though this UI was really designed for touch screens I had the edge 542 but didn’t get around to reviewing it it’s really similar to this internally with just a couple of spec downgrades but the key thing is it doesn’t have a touchscreen now some of you will love that but I found the buson navigation with this UI was was quite clunky like it was an afterthought for Garmin still 350 quid for this which is a darn sight cheaper than the three we’ve just looked at and before we leave garmin’s Road performance range a quick shout out to what is still Ashland’s favorite computer and it’s our pick it’s the edge 830 this thing boasts a great screen good mapping solid battery life and a nice form factor now annoyingly this has now moved to garmin’s discontinued list so it is getting a bit tricky to find for sale online still if you can find one it’s the Garmin weed recommend that’s not to say it’s perfect these comments landed on our gear of the Year video there are definitely some issues with the 830 but there are with alltech really the Garmin Edge explore 2 is still loaded with a compelling set of features for most Riders ease of use and setup are all huge plus points too thanks to garmin’s improved interface a clear and detailed screen and dependable re-rooting The Standard Version tested here doesn’t get the power pins in the quarter turn Mount so the fact that it can’t be upgraded to use the power pack is a shame we’d really like to have seen this be a possible upgrade pathway at this price rather than forcing you to spend 90 more for the option the emission of connectivity to both Shimano di2 and RAM access Drive trains might be a snag but it’s not likely to be a deal breaker for most [Music] right on to some Wahoos now starting with the element Ace and it’s wind sensing front end now I’ve had a little bit of time on this unit and while Ash thought it was actually quite good in my opinion it just misses the mark which is annoying because I was so excited when I saw the leaked images of this yes they’ve done a great job with the touchcreen and they delivered what a lot of Wahoo fans were asking for namely a bigger and better display they’ve even made that UI super nice to use and the app is still a strong point but it was released unfinished and with too many key features yet to be launched now my opinion differs from Ash but the headwind sensor is just a big gripe for me I just don’t get who is genuinely going to find this useful if it’s windy out which today it isn’t well you can feel it nor can you analyze this data on third party apps like strawber you’ll need to do that in the Wahoo app now Wahoo says that the wind sensor could eventually be used for some drag calculations giving you a little bit of live AO data but there’s no dates set for this upgrade there are still some issues with certain units I went out with Jamie Williams from Road CC and his wouldn’t connected GPS it refused to show him any distance it disconnected from his parameter and he can’t upload a ride unless he connects it to his computer our unit is fine I have to say but it doesn’t really fill me with confidence it’s also absolutely massive with continuing compatibility issues on bike computer mounts so really there are still too many things wrong here for me to recommend it and that’s a massive [Music] shame thankfully Wahoo’s element roome and bolt V twos continue to be absolutely excellent options starting with the ram which I think size-wise kind of sits between the Garmin Edge 1040 and the 840 which I think is a nice little compromise my favorite trick that Wahoo uses is perfect Zoom which is controlled via the two buttons here hit the upper side button and you reduce the number of fields displayed and increase their size you can display just your single highest priority data item such as power if you want the lower side button has the reverse effect that makes it easy to tailor your display on the fly to see a smaller or larger selection of data fields without needing to fiddle with screen and field dimensions in the phone app this also works way better on the map Pages than Garmin Zoom buttons I really like this a lot and speaking of maps following a route is dead easy because the map is really clear but if you’re trying to select a point to route to the lack of a touchcreen makes the process well quite slow that said it’s still a brilliant device but it’s not my favorite Wahoo that is still the bolt V2 this thing does everything that most of us want it to it’s small it’s light it displays your data and then it allows you to analyze that data the battery life stands at a decent 15 hours and again routes are easy to follow I have to say I’m really Keen to see a new Bolt from Wahoo this year I’ve had a few occasional rides on it and I absolutely love it and I have to say that my friends are big fans too but and this might be controversial with wah Hooligans I’d like to see it get the touchscreen from the latest Ace I’d also like it to lose the convex buttons and the forehead lights because I want Wahoo to make the bolt with a proper edgo Edge display keep the form factor small but give me a properly sized screen do that and I think it will blow Garmin out of the water hammerhead’s latest KW is well worth a look if you use a stram access group set and you’re quite a techy person though because Shimano isn’t playing nicely with all the other children it doesn’t work brilliantly for di2 users mapping on here is excellent and hammerhead was actually the first brand to give us a climbing feature to help you Pace your efforts uphill I still really love the way Hammerheads climb program looks and works in fact I’d say I prefer it quite a bit over Gins but the one real annoyance for me of every kuu I’ve used is that it’s so slow and I don’t get why let’s side by side boot this up next to the 840 now the ram has doubled to 4 gig and the processor has nearly doubled in speed to 2 GHz so why is this thing taking so long to get going oh and that’s assuming that the unit isn’t doing one of its regular updates we’re talking every 2 weeks or so which is fine if you’re a techy person that likes seeing loads of new updates it’s just maybe not so good for the more casual user I will say though Hammerhead launched this unit fully baited so this isn’t a wahoo a situation Hammerhead is simply continuing to add stuff to what is already a great unit but apart from a few Gremlins this is a super interesting device to own basically because it keeps getting better like with Wahoo’s Ace choros were slightly silly in launching this Dura before it was really ready but now I have to say it represents a very decent option from a challenger brand the clear standout feature is the claimed battery life and everything around the runtime now carus claims a 120 hour battery life with single band GPS running but and this is a big butt this rather large forehead is a solar panel and choros says that it will give you 2 hours of battery gain for every hour you ride but as you can see the battery claims might not live up to expectations if the conditions are anything other than a hot summer’s day at launch the unit had all sorts of issues with amp plus devices power meters for example weren’t able to communicate properly with the unit so you ended up with big sections of your ride at one wattage which made all of your power data completely useless thankfully this all seems to have been sorted now navigation is good now but you’ll still need the coros app running on your phone and your phone to have a good internet connection to do any re-rooting coros is huge in the sports wearables world and I wouldn’t doubt that they’ll kill it with a V2 but this one isn’t best to avoid those of you who remember Joe knowledge will remember fondly his neck beard and his unfussy nature this is a computer for him and Riders like him who want a Sim Le system to display power speed and not much more that is only sightly true because the rocks will display all manner of data fields which you can customize through the app it’s a super compact unit and easily the lightest on test here at just 55 G and while I wouldn’t say that 170 quid is anywhere near cheap it’s certainly the most affordable of today’s test so if you’re not bothered with what is essentially a smartphone for your bike we give this thing a look so in my opinion The Edge 830 is still the GPS computer to buy in 2025 you just really can’t beat this for Value right now if you want to see Ash’s Take On The Edge 1050 versus the Wahoo Ace why not click on here