Garmin 1030 Edge Plus
 

Bought this computer about 2 months ago. Any tips and or tricks to fully unlock its potential? I know the basics but, I feel like there is so much more capabilities that I could and might want to use. BTW - I have a 500 mile coming up in two weeks and will be using this for GPS as well as general ride info. Thanks

That might be a little difficult. Sort of like trying to tell you what to do with your smart phone or personal computer. Just get good at what you know it does and explore features as you get more comfortable with it. Ask in the Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets sub-forum if you need help with your new found feature.

Group tracking is one of the more interesting to me features that Garmin's now do. You can see where others of your group are and send messages. It was slightly useful recently when I rode ahead of my group and then I stopped for a nature break and to chat with some others at a rest stop. Then when ready to ride again, I could see how far ahead my friends were since they didn't have to stop and pee.

Yeah, that's... a somewhat broad request.

I'm aware that this could turn in to the typical 41 piss storm, but one new-to-me features that I've been enjoying with my 530 is the audible navigation cues, including street names and closing distances, when riding a course and wearing BT headphones.

Garmin has transformed cycling for me both from a data collection perspective but most importantly the on bike navigation capabilities. Numerous tours throughout North America, Europe and South East Asia it has proven invaluable. My advice is to take it one feature at a time and work through the device. Data Page setup, Live Track, Basic Navigation, Route Generation, Garmin Connect and don’t forget the installable apps some of which are in readily useful. If your budget allows I strongly recommend the Varia Radar as well.

I love this on my 530. I did a new route today - the audio cues are great. Except when I intentionally go off route and keep getting told to make a U-turn, but that's pretty much any navigation system.

Yeah, I run in to that, or something similar, every once in a while. In particular, there's this one stretch of road that Strava thinks is impassable, so when I'm creating the route that runs through there, it'll recommend a different way and won't be overridden. IRL, I just ride the way that I want to go and meet back up with the plotted route a mile or so down the line. That mile is peppered with suggestions to make u-turns and various re-routes, though - a pain in the butt if you're at a good spot in an audiobook. :lol:

I had that once a very long time ago in Strava while trying to create a route. Well maybe not quite the same but similar. I think it was because the road next to it was a one-way road yet the bike path paralleling it was two way. However I was able to create that route on RWGPS. Funny how one got it right and the other didn't. Or perhaps it's that RWGPS had time to look at some previous complaints and fixed it.

Maybe on of the things you'll want to practice is how to load a course and follow it. You can create a course from various places like RWGPS, Strava, or even Garmin. Once you get the basic idea down you'll probably want to set up some custom screens that have data like 'Distance to Next' displayed and if you want the 1030 to reroute you or not automatically if you're off course.

You can then create daily courses for your 500 miles, or probably download them if it's an organized or popular route, and load them each day to the Garmin.

It's critical how you set up the tracking page (how to follow a course). You have to have an experienced user show you the exact settings which you have to use. I can't help - I'm still using an 800, but the 1030 is really popular. Ask around.

When that happens, if you're using RWGPS, you simply switch to "Draw Lines," then once over the difficulty, switch back to Driving or Cycling. I do that a lot. So it's really simple - don't draw your course in Strava! If I did like you say, the group would fire me.

KI hate it when my 1030 starts throwing out u turns to get back to the route I just had to leave because of construction, fallen tree whatever. 1030+ is supposedly much better, and faster, at re-routing mid way through a route.

Also, try the easy route app. It’s great at generating routes quickly and generally doesn’t do stuff like that.

Activity Profile > (profile being used) > Navigation > Recalculation > off

Doesn’t that turn off the U-turn prompts for you? Although you might have to change some of the Avoidance Setup items to get it to completely shut up.

yes, it would. However, I needed it to reroute because of emergency road closure and kept on riding while it re-calculated. Probably that’s why it kept complaining.

I got my 1030 last year and its a great computer. Navigation is pretty good. If your doing a long ride get very familiar with the GPS and use it for the navigation lots before your trip so you learn all the quirks and such.

Features, you just have to play with it and find what you like. Its decently versatile and with the connect apps you can go crazy but I found keeping it simple was better for me. But everyone is different.

I've had the Edge 1030 Plus for a few weeks. For me it replaces my Edge 820, which I intend to list on eBay when I get around to it. I didn't get the bundle version, because I already have a speed sensor, cadence sensor, HRM, and remote that transferred over from the 820 easily.

Some things I've noticed, mostly good:

The battery lasts longer than the 820. I never ran the 820 down on a ride either, but the 1030 Plus lasts longer, still.

Battery burn-down is no longer displayed in Garmin Connect app on Android devices. I used to be able to see a battery drainage chart on my phone after uploading a ride. Since switching from the 820 to the 1030 plus, I don't get that graph anymore. And it really doesn't matter; the device already shows its battery level, and it lasts (according to specs and reviews) 24 to 48 hours on a charge.

Navigation and routing / recalculating is much faster than the 820.

Recalculation of routes is kinder now. I don't get the persistent U-turn beeps. Now I get to decide how I will return to the course. Along the same lines, it's nice being able to pause navigation when I willfully deviate from the course.

The display looks paler indoors than the 820, but outdoors, even riding at night, it's very visible and looks good.

The maps now include a lot more: broader geographical coverage, plus features like topographical contour lines are available. TrailForks is nice too.

The touch screen works great. On the 820 it works well enough, even with full-finger gloves. But on the 1030 Plus it is more responsive (thanks to the faster processor), more sensitive, and works better in the rain.

The mount on the back side of the GPS is a more appropriate material; less prone to wear and deforming. On my 820 I noticed one of my bike's brackets was causing a little wear on the Edge's mount point. On the 1030 Plus I can tell the plastic (or whatever it is) isn't as soft.

One of my biggest pet peeves with the 520, 520+, and 820 was that plugging in a power charger would cause the GPS to turn on. This was unnecessary, and actually caused me to discover a drained battery a couple of times. I was always having to repeat the process of plugging in the GPS, then turning it back off again. Unplugging it would turn it on again, too. With the 1030 plus, this doesn't happen anymore. I can plug it in to charge and unplug it without it turning itself on.

The screen size is nice, compared to the smaller units. Better map clarity, and better data field visibility.

The weather widget is different from the one on the 820. I haven't gotten used to it yet. I think the 820 may have a slight edge in showing more information without scrolling. But the 1030 Plus shows more information than the 820 if you scroll.

The 1030 Plus may actually be useful for things like hiking and skiing. I'm still experimenting with it for alternate uses, but it seems more versatile.