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As Garmin’s best-selling product lines, the 5 Series and 8 Series have long been the benchmarks in the mid-to-high-end cycling computer market. Whether you’re a beginner, a casual rider, a data enthusiast, or a hardcore training rider, these two lines are always safe choices.

Since the release of the 540/840, there have been almost no functional differences among the 10, 8, and 5 Series. The decision now mainly comes down to screen size and interaction method — much like choosing an iPhone. Go for the 1050 if you want a large display, the 850 for a smaller touchscreen, and the 550 if you prefer physical buttons. As a 1050 user, I could more or less predict what the 850 and 550 would look like before their official release. I was mentally prepared for shorter battery life, but still hoped the 850 might surprise me somehow.

A flagship for new riders: Garmin 1050 review

The new benchmark for pro cycling computers

Unfortunately, disappointment followed. Battery life has dropped to 12 hours, while the weight increased by nearly 30 grams compared to the 840, now reaching a hefty 113 grams — a bit heavy in the hand. The only notable hardware additions are the expected LCD screen, 64GB of internal storage, a built-in speaker and bell, and a new 5Hz GPS module.

A Step Back in Hardware

How should I put it — understandable, but disappointing.

I understand Garmin’s decision. With the decline of the semi-reflective display supply chain, and with more beginners and casual riders preferring brighter, more colorful screens, Garmin had little choice but to sacrifice battery life and switch its entire product line to LCD displays.

But as an industry leader, I still expected at least 16 hours of battery life. It’s like how this year’s iPhone Air, despite its ultra-thin design and significantly smaller battery, still managed to match the iPhone 17’s endurance by improving power efficiency — that’s what leadership should look like.

To be fair, the 850’s 12-hour battery life is sufficient for most people. Looking back at over a decade of my own cycling logs, I found only one ride exceeding 10 hours — a 200-kilometer trip.

For 99% of riders, 10 hours is more than enough. For ultra-distance cyclists, though, there are a few options: attach an external battery mount to the computer, stock up on an 840 while it’s still on clearance and use it until the 860 arrives, or simply switch to power-saving mode to stretch it to around 36 hours.

Unlike the Hammerhead, which suffers from inconsistent battery life for similar reasons, the 850’s 12-hour endurance is solid and reliable — it doesn’t fluctuate dynamically. I paired it with a power meter and heart rate strap, turned on navigation, segments, Climb Pro, and various alerts. After a 6-hour ride, the battery dropped by 51%. Based on that, the projected 12-hour runtime checks out.The biggest issue with a 12-hour battery life is that it leaves little safety margin — if you end up on an unplanned long ride, you might not have enough charge to finish.

So why did Garmin take the risk of cutting battery life in half? Besides supply chain constraints, the real reason is simple — the LCD display is just too good to resist.

The LCD screen is one of those things you have to experience to truly understand — and once you do, there’s no going back. Compared to the old semi-reflective screens, the difference is obvious to the naked eye: sharper resolution, smoother touch response, and a far more vibrant visual experience. The improvement feels as dramatic as the leap from early smartphones to the iPhone’s screen back in its day.

So why did Garmin take the risk of halving endurance? Aside from supply chain constraints, the other reason is simple: the LCD screen is just that good.

The LCD display is one of those things you don’t truly appreciate until you’ve used it — and once you do, there’s no going back. The difference from the old semi-reflective screen is obvious to the naked eye: higher resolution, faster touch response, and an overall smoother experience — much like the leap between the original iPhone and its contemporaries back in the day.

With the new display, the map page resolution has improved significantly — streets that previously required zooming in to see clearly are now visible within a much wider view. For users who rely heavily on map navigation, this is a noticeable upgrade.

That said, it’s still best to visit a bike shop and see the screen in person before deciding whether to upgrade. Aside from the display, the other notable hardware updates are the new built-in bell and 5Hz GPS. The bell might look like a gimmick at first — but once you use it, it’s genuinely practical.

Ringing a cheerful “ding ding ding” on the road works far better than shouting — a perfect example of Pavlovian reflexes in action. The fact that Wahoo and others quickly followed suit says a lot.

The 5Hz GPS is designed primarily for mountain descents, recording positional data five times per second — five times faster than standard GPS. For road cycling, it doesn’t make a huge difference. Garmin’s GPS performance is already far ahead of competitors — after using Wahoo and Hammerhead devices, you’ll realize their GPS response is a full beat slower; you’ve stopped pedaling, but the computer still shows you moving.

That’s something no other brand has quite nailed — when you stop pedaling, the speed reading drops to zero instantly. As for hardware updates, that’s about it — very routine, even a bit dull. The rest of the improvements are all on the software side, much like smartphones today, where everything depends on system updates and added features.

So, what’s new in software then? Honestly, nothing revolutionary — just some nice-to-have refinements.

Smarter Ride Guidance

Garmin first introduced the “Real-Time Stamina” feature on the previous-generation 1040, which allowed riders to dynamically monitor their current endurance and recovery levels. However, the first version only worked in aerobic zones — once you hit anaerobic effort, the reading would collapse completely. On the 850, it’s now noticeably more reliable, and you can genuinely use the data to decide whether it’s time to call a support car — or, as we’d say, summon a Huolala van.

The “Real-Time Stamina” feature also ties into Power Guidance, another tool introduced in the previous generation. It dynamically adjusts your power targets based on route difficulty and your personal performance capacity, helping you distribute your effort more efficiently — so you don’t blow up on the very first climb.

In the 850, Power Guidance now incorporates real-time stamina data, wind speed, and elevation profiles, making it especially useful for riders competing in demanding events like the Gran Fondo in Yunnan these days. That’s not a ride you can just muscle through — having structured power targets makes things a lot more manageable.

To help prevent complete burnout, the 850 also improves Smart Nutrition Alerts. Instead of relying on fixed timers, it now accounts for your current stamina, route difficulty, and environmental conditions like temperature and humidity to remind you when to drink or refuel.

Experienced cyclists know — if you feel hungry on the bike, it’s already too late. You’re likely dipping into hypoglycemia territory. Perhaps that’s why these new reminders feel a bit aggressive — sometimes it’s telling you to snack before you’ve even broken a sweat. Maybe Garmin is basing this on data from its pro athletes, who admittedly have rather extreme fueling habits that the average rider simply can’t keep up with.

More Ways to Ride Together

When the 1050 launched, Garmin made the Group Ride feature a lot more fun. What used to be a complicated team setup was simplified — now you can just enter a six-digit code on your bike computer to join a group ride. Once in, you can see everyone’s location and speed right on your screen, and even send preset messages to chat with the group.

On the 850, this feature gets another upgrade. Now, you can not only view your teammates’ speed but also their heart rate, power output, and other deeper performance metrics — especially useful for club rides and team training.

The ride leader can easily spot if someone has fallen behind or is about to bonk, and go back to help them out. The only downside is that this full version of the feature is exclusive to the 50-series devices. The 40-series can still form a group, but they won’t see the advanced data.

It’s a bit puzzling, honestly — this kind of social riding feature only gets better the more people use it. So why limit it?

I haven’t had the chance to test the group ride features with any friends who own the 850 yet — but it already seems pretty fun. To help riders avoid getting caught in the rain mid-ride, the 850 adds a weather radar map feature that displays rain clouds and wind direction directly on the device. Unfortunately, it’s not particularly well-designed. The feature isn’t integrated into the main map interface but instead buried deep in the drop-down menu. It loads slowly, and the data has a noticeable delay.

If you just want to check wind direction, it’s honestly better to add Garmin’s official Wind Direction Connect IQ data field — it’s surprisingly accurate. And if you’re looking for rainfall forecasts, in Beijing your best bet is to follow Dragon King on social media; elsewhere, you might as well just pull out your phone and check Windy.

More Advanced Training Features

You might have noticed that most of the updates — both hardware and software — seem to cater more to beginners and casual riders. So, has Garmin abandoned its pro users?

Not really. On one hand, advanced cyclists tend to rely more on professional training platforms like ICU or WKO, and they don’t need simplified training guidance. On the other hand, Garmin has quietly rolled out quite a few new training tools — they just haven’t made a big deal about them.

For instance, the latest Garmin Coach Program is now nearly on par with TrainerRoad, which I used to pay over 1,000 RMB a year for. You choose your training goal and frequency, and Garmin generates a personalized plan based on your current condition. It’s scientifically sound too — for anyone under 4 watts/kg, following this plan is absolutely enough.

There’s also the increasingly accurate training status analysis. My training this year has been pretty inconsistent, yet Garmin correctly analyzed my condition and gave me precise advice on when to rest or push harder. Even the much-criticized FTP detection now aligns almost perfectly with what ICU gives me.

The 850 also introduces two genuinely useful new training tools. One of them is gear ratio distribution analysis, which shows how long and how often you used each gear during a ride. It’s essentially Garmin’s version of SRAM’s similar feature — a nice “patch” for Shimano users.

There’s also a new feature called Time Gates, which lets you set timing checkpoints along a route — essentially segment timers that work in real time. It’s a bit like having multiple live segments, allowing you to compare your performance on each section across different rides. It’s especially useful for loop training or those “Ten Commandments” riders chasing consistent lap improvements. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get this feature to work yet. Maybe it’s because I’m using a test unit, or perhaps I haven’t found the right way to enable it — or maybe it’s another casualty of the official map limitations. Either way, I still don’t know how it performs in actual use.

Conclusion

Overall, the Garmin 850 feels more like a mid-cycle refresh — its shortcomings are obvious, but it’s still the most well-rounded head unit on the market. As an industry leader, Garmin seems a bit conservative in terms of true innovation or breakthroughs. The LCD screen upgrade undeniably improves user experience, but the significant drop in battery life is disappointing. Both hardware and software updates are modest, yet Garmin still manages to deliver the best overall execution — and with Connect IQ, any missing feature can be easily filled by third-party apps.

Garmin is increasingly resembling Apple — not just in product planning but also in its cautious, incremental innovation. It continues to lead the industry even while taking small, steady steps. You might complain about the lack of surprises, but when it’s time to buy, it’s still the safest, most reliable choice.

As the cycling tech industry enters a downturn, we may have to get used to these incremental updates. Apple has already set the precedent — two, three, or even four generations between major overhauls might become the norm. Hopefully, the next 60 series brings some real excitement. And perhaps competitors can step up their game a bit too — to push Garmin forward, and keep it from getting too comfortable on its throne.