Edge 1030 Plus vs Edge 1030 – What’s changed

Garmin has finally announced their plus model for the Edge 1030. Like most of Garmin's models that aren't a full new generation, the Edge 1030 Plus doesn't come packed with a massive number of new features. The new features it does have though, are a great addition to this cycling computer and bring it on par with the best available on the market right now. This new iteration is readily available in Australia now.

Garmin Edge 1030 Plus | 3.5" Cycling Computer | $999 AUD | View what is included in the box on this page

What's Changed with the plus model

The Edge 1030 Plus comes pre-loaded with Garmin Cycle Maps for Australia and you gain access to other regions this time via Garmin Express.

The Edge 1030 Plus now has a battery capacity up to 24 hours under high demand usage and 48 hours on low demand. High demand usage would be classified as GPS usage for navigation and sensor usage. The low power usage is just basic GPS tracking without navigational assistance. The Edge 1030 only had capacity up to 20 hours, so this is a bit of a step up.

Another new feature is the Bike Alarm. You can set up your Edge 1030 Plus to sound an alarm and send a message to your connected smartphone if it detects motion. This sounds good in theory but practically speaking the smartphone connection distance is about line of sight anyway so if you're beyond that it won't matter anyway. Garmin did word it up as being used if you're grabbing a drink at a cafe which I can see the use case for. The alarm itself isn't a huge deterrent because of the speaker volume capacity being so low. Still, a small deterrent is still a deterrent.

Request Assistance - This is in Garmin's words a 'supplemental' safety feature. This is a little more useful than the Bike Alarm feature and can be triggered relatively easily but deliberately, which is what you want for a safety feature. If you trigger the assistance alert, the Edge will send out a pre-formatted message (written by you in advance) to your selected emergency contacts along with your GPS position. This message does rely on your smartphones connection. The Assistance feature can be triggered by holding the – button down for 5 seconds. There will be a 5-second countdown until the message is sent and you can cancel that message at any time during the countdown.

MTB Dynamics – Track details of your mountain bike ride with these metrics that follow jump count, jump distance and hang time.

Integrated Trail Forks Trail Data – with the Trail forks app you can save trail routes or browse routes nearby. These routes can be downloaded to your Edge device.

The Edge 1030 plus now has 32GB internal storage and a beefier processer. This is a good step up in terms of navigation performance. This snappy processing power is important now that the Edge 1030 Plus is button-operated and has improved touchscreen functionality.

Daily Suggested workout – Garmin has implemented a new feature that bases it's workout recommendation on your fitness level, current training load and VO2 Max.

Mapping and routing have also seen an update. The Edge 1030 plus will re-route if you ride too far from your selected route. You will be routed back to the original course, or it will adjust the current path to get you back on course.