Garmin is the OG of GPS cycling computers, having forged a reputation built on reliability, metric tracking, and navigational excellence. The Edge range of the best bike computers is improving with every iteration, but mounting pressure from rival brands Wahoo and Hammerhead, as well as outliers Bryton and Coros, is eroding its positioning within the market.
With its new Edge 850, Garmin is looking to win back lost votes, but will features borrowed from the range-topping Edge 1050 really do the trick, or has the company merely attempted to over-engineer (and overprice) one of its most popular devices to stay relevant?
For the first time in years, there’s an Edge 850 inscription on the underside to help users distinguish it from other models in the range
(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)
Design details
Garmin knows how to create cycling computers with visual drama and the new Edge 850 has taken things to another level. The device features beautiful sculpted shapes, chamfered corners, bevelled edging, and is finished in a combination of textured, matte, and glossy black plastics. Closer inspection also reveals an Edge 850 inscription on the underside to help users distinguish it from other models in the range, a feature that has been missing in previous models. It all looks very refined and polished.
Like earlier generations of the Edge 800 range, it utilises a touchscreen interface and physical buttons, giving users a choice of how to operate things. There are seven buttons in total: three buttons on the left side (power at the top, scroll buttons below), two buttons on the right (return and a button to open the main menu) and a couple on each side of the USB-C charging port on the bottom (lap/back and start/stop).
At 54.6 x 92.2 x 16.8mm, it’s longer than before but also narrower and thinner in profile. This has done little to drop any lard over its forebear as the Edge 850 tips the scales at 112g (actual), 27g heavier than before. While this does represent a significant hike over the Edge 840, it does come with myriad features and a superior screen, which we will discuss below.
For context, the Hammerhead Karoo 3 weighs 125g, the Wahoo Elemnt Roam 3 is 109g, and the Coros Dura is the lightest cycling computer of the bunch, tipping the scales at 98g.
Charging is carried out via a USB-C port at the bottom of the device
(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)
Specifications
The feature list is quite…