Garmin EDGE 850 After 1000km // What’s Working (and What’s Not)

Garmin Edge 850 After Six Weeks: Summary

After six weeks and more than 1,000 km of riding, the reviewer finds the Edge 850 capable and feature-rich, but says several early software issues—especially battery life—make it a less reassuring experience than hoped. He describes it as essentially a smaller Edge 1050.

What Works Well

• It handles the reviewer’s regular needs: ride recording, power-meter data, radar testing, map-based free-ride navigation, automatic LiveTrack, phone notifications, and phone music and podcast controls.
• The screen is bright, crisp, and a standout feature. The reviewer generally likes its visibility.
• Garmin’s bell works on both the 850 and 1050. Beta firmware also adds a double-tap-on-screen shortcut to ring it, though the reviewer thinks bike-computer bonus buttons on SRAM or Shimano Di2 systems are a better place for that function.
• Connect IQ apps and data fields have been updated to support the 550 and 850. The reviewer’s three commonly used add-ons—My Bike Radar Traffic, Wind Field, and Map Dashboard—work as expected.
• Garmin opened its public beta program for the Edge 550 and 850. Users can enroll through Garmin Connect Web and opt out later.
• Beta firmware adds Garmin Share support for sharing timing gates, avoiding the USB-only sharing limitation the reviewer recalls from the Edge MTB’s launch.
• Trailforks map updates are available across compatible Edge units. The reviewer says syncing by USB through Garmin Express is the fastest update method.

Problems and Concerns

• Battery life is the main drawback. Based on roughly 50 hours of riding, the reviewer’s Edge 850 typically lasts about 11 hours with auto brightness. He experienced battery anxiety and was sometimes surprised by how little charge remained after rides.
  • Disabling Connect IQ apps and data fields produced 13.4 hours on one ride, though that was only a single test and may have depended on conditions.
  • By comparison, the Edge 1050 averaged 22 hours; the Edge 840 recorded 24.9 and 28.36 hours on two comparable rides; and the Hammerhead Karoo 3 recorded 13.56 hours on one ride.
  • The reviewer says lowering screen brightness below 40% is not workable for his riding conditions.
• The on-device estimated battery time is consistently inaccurate, according to the reviewer. He says it should be removed because it is misleading.
• With auto brightness enabled, the 850 stays noticeably brighter than the 1050 when moving between sun and shade. The reviewer suspects this contributes to battery drain. Garmin tested the ambient-light sensor with him, and it appeared to work on the bench, but the outdoor behavior remained unresolved.
• The new native weather widget is buried and inconvenient to access while riding, and it continued to crash for the reviewer—even on firmware 29.21. He says the crash affects all X50 units. He finds weather or wind Connect IQ fields more useful when displayed directly on the map.
• A screen-blinking issue, where the display went dark for a few seconds and then returned, had become less frequent with newer beta firmware. The reviewer did not see it on his latest ride, but it had been concerning.
• Secure Bluetooth power recording produced “sticky watts” with Garmin Rally power-meter pedals. Garmin was investigating the issue; the subtitle’s mention of the reviewer’s workaround is cut off.
• On beta firmware, the gear-usage summary appeared broken: tapping between ratios and gears did not show the expected gear information.
• The reviewer had the 850 and an 840 reboot spontaneously at the same time while both were running beta firmware 29.21. Both had updated maps and Connect IQ fields, which might have contributed, but he says there is not enough evidence to identify the cause.
• The latest public firmware defaults GPS/GNSS to Auto, which the reviewer says can cause auto-pausing in tunnels. He describes this as a trade-off between battery use and position logging, contrasting it with the more battery-intensive 5 Hz mode.

Price and Comparison

The reviewer notes that the 850’s higher price and reduced battery life versus the Edge 840 were major reasons for its difficult launch reception. He considers price a one-time purchase hurdle, but sees battery life as something that affects every ride. He repeatedly compares the 850’s battery performance unfavorably with both the 1050 and 840.

Verdict

The Edge 850 offers a bright screen and a broad set of useful cycling features in a smaller form factor, and the reviewer is generally happy with its capabilities. However, its roughly 11-hour typical runtime, misleading battery estimate, and unresolved software issues make it a compromised early-adopter experience. The reviewer plans to keep riding with it and watching for updates, but wants Garmin to improve battery performance and fix the outstanding bugs.

Speaker’s Perspective

The subtitles present one reviewer’s account. His overall view is positive about the device’s features and display, but notably critical of its battery life and early firmware reliability.