EDIT from November 2023: I wrote this initial Garmin Edge 540 review on 23 April 2023. On the November version I just made few small text formatting fixes and edits in order to produce the Podcast .mp3 version of the article. This way anybody can listen the Podcast online, or can download it to the smartphone and listen it later offline.

The long-awaited Garmin Edge 540 is finally available Worldwide!

Ever since information about the new Garmin Edge 540 / 540 Solar / Edge 840 and the 840 Solar version of the bicycle computers was leaked on the Internet at the beginning of the month, I have been reading many posts with information about the parameters and capabilities of each of the four new models.

On April 11, as expected, Garmin officially announced the launch of the four new additions to the Edge series.

I have watched dozens of video reviews and read overviews dedicated to the four new Garmin Edge bike computers.

I've watched dozens of videos on YouTube with detailed analysis of the parameters and differences between each one of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DayWOvd6Pkc

All that time, I've been asking myself the following IMPORTANT question:

- Is it worth upgrading from the iconic Edge 530 to the new (more expensive) Edge 540 or Edge 840?

My answer now, after tinkering and testing the newly arrived Garmin Edge 540 for a few hours is:

- Oh, YES!!! ... The new Edge 540 is simply amazing! :)

 SPOILER: One of the many NEW cool things about the Edge 540 is the interface with support for BULGARIAN LANGUAGE! Here we where waiting for this feature for a very long time ... 

Finally! Well done, Garmin! :)

I don't know if the interface of the "new" Edge 1040, which was released about a year ago, supports Bulgarian language?

P.S. NO, Garmin Edge 1040 Solar is not yet available in Bulgarian language! :) I just asked a friend of mine Mitko Velchev who successfully finished recently the Isperih 300 km brevet.

P.S.2 Few days later the Bulgarian interface update was available also for the Edge 1040 via the Beta program update.

Knowing how many of my randonneur friends speak languages other than Bulgarian, I'm really happy for them!

No longer will they have to struggle with those incomprehensible Garmin devices with a ... Russian interface?!?

Ha ha ha :)

Oh, what a jerk I am! :)

 So, on March 28th, I learned that long-awaited information about Garmin Edge 540 and it's Solar version also the Edge 840 and it's Edge 840 Solar version has been leaked on the Internet!

WOW!

Immediately after hearing the news, I wrote to Mitko Velchev, very excited! - see the date of the chat in the Telegram photo on the right if you don't believe me ... :)

 And so began a week of anticipation.

Meanwhile, I read many publications on the Internet about rumors and information regarding the expected specifications and prices of each of the four new models.

One thing became clear back then.

Garmin is releasing new, more powerful bike computers, but they come with more powerful prices:

"The Edge 840 models were listed with a retail price of 449.99 USD  or367 GBP, while the 840 Solar models were listed at 549.99 USD or 448.75 GBP.

It was also reported that the new 540 will be priced at 350 USD  or 285 GBP, while the Solar charging version will be 450 USD or 367 GBP"

Lupo's thoughts from March 28:

- Hey, when can I expect the 540 SOLAR + QUALITY GPS that doesn't disappear under the trees on Shipka and so on. :) I think now is the time to sell my 530...

Meanwhile, I sold my Garmin Edge 530, which I used for two full years, to a fellow cyclist last week.

On Facebook, there was a discussion about Garmin bike computers, and I mentioned my plans to get the new 540 and that I'm selling my faithful Garmin 530 named Mando.

(You can learn why I named it Mando in this "quick" review of Garmin Edge 530 on the article here:  Garmin Edge 530 review and conclusions in brief)

Exactly 2 years ago, I bought Mando from Decathlon.

My Facebook colleague asked me only:

- Is the Garmin with documents?

- Yes, I bought it from Decathlon - I replied

- I'm buying it! - he answered.

 And so on April 11th, Garmin officially announced the release of the four new additions to the iconic Edge series of bike computers: Edge 540, also Edge 540 Solar and Edge 840 with Edge 840 Solar version.

As before, the difference between Edge 540 and 840 is in the touchscreen plus in Edge 840 there is 32 GB of memory for maps, while in 530 the size of the map is 16 GB - half the size.

The third and final difference between Garmin Edge 840 vs 540 is in the software - in 540, you cannot navigate to a specific address, and address search is missing - the same as in 530.

I actually found this limitation in navigation about a month ago during the Razovo 400 kilometers brevet.

In two years of active use almost every day of the Garmin Edge 530, I have NEVER had to use such a function! :)

Both the Garmin Edge 540 and the Edge 840 versions have a version with the ability to charge the battery from the sun - Garmin Edge 540 Solar and Edge 840 Solar.

What about the real prices?

Well, the prices... :)

On 11 of March I have searched through bike24.com and bike-discount.de, and other online stores in Europe for good prices on cycling gear.

The prices at bike24.com and on the bike-discount.de are the same:

Garmin Edge 540 is priced at 400 euros

Garmin Edge 540 Solar is priced at 500 euros

Garmin Edge 840 is priced at 500 euros

Garmin Edge 840 Solar is priced at 600 euros

The same price step of 100 euros applies to the higher-end 1040:

Garmin Edge 1040 is priced at 600 euros

Garmin Edge 1040 Solar is priced at 700 euros

BUT BEWARE! CURRENTLY THERE ARE SERIOUS DISCOUNTS FOR 1040 and 1040 Solar

It turns out that on April 22, 2023, the price of Garmin Edge 1040 and 1040 Solar are down by 100-150 euros: 

Garmin Edge 1040 is priced at 569 euros

Garmin Edge 1040 Solar is priced at 609 euros

A very good price for the 1040 has been determined! :)

I highly recommend getting the Edge 1040/1040 Solar with the discount if you have an extra 100-200 euros to spend and are considering the 840/840 Solar! ... :)

 So ... on the 11th or 12th, I started calculating where in Europe I could buy my new Garmin Edge 540.

From Europe, because it's not available here in Bulgaria ... yet.

I suppose Decathlon will be delayed by at least a few weeks in delivering the new models, at least that's what happened last year when the new 1040 Solar was released.

However, I remember from last year that the price of the new Garmin Edge 1040/1040 Solar was NOT better at Decathlon compared to the other two Bulgarian online stores with the model in stock: gps6.bg and garmin.bg

On the evening of the 12th, I almost bought my 540 from bike-discount.de because, for some unknown reason, bike24.com refused to deliver it to Bulgaria...hmm, very strange!

By the way, at the moment bike24.com still does not have delivery for the 4 new models to Bulgaria...

However, on the morning of the 13th, it turned out that the selected Garmin Edge 540, after much deliberation, is available at gps6.bg and garmin.bg!

HURRAY! :)

While browsing the gps6.bg website, a pop-up appeared on my screen with a message that they are giving me a discount code of 20 BGN valid for a limited time...

Just now, I checked the code they gave me on the 13th, the code is 2846 and it is NOT valid today! :)

It turns out that with this discount of 20 lv and payment by bank transfer, I am getting a MUCH better price for the Garmin Edge 540 compared to the prices and delivery to Bulgaria from an online store in Germany.

The final price after all the discounts is only 765 lv with VAT! :)

I filled in all the details and placed the order.

After some time, a pleasant female voice called me from the store and told me that they still do not have the 540 or 840 in stock. They are expecting them to arrive any moment.

This was the last working day before the Easter holidays.

So, after a week, that is 8 days of waiting, the same pleasant female voice informed me on the phone yesterday morning that they now have stock.

It's Friday morning... and tomorrow is Saturday... and I want my Garmin Edge 540 RIGHT NOW!!! :)

"Hurry" to load my account in the bank, made the payment through the phone, sent the payment by email, and after a while I see a response:

"Thank you, the transfer has been received, the shipment has been sent!"

HURRAY!!!

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION: Meanwhile, while watching all the detailed video reviews, analyses, and comparisons, several different people said the same thing about the Edge 540:

The new interface is great, BUT at the same time it's quite difficult for them to navigate through the menus using only the buttons on the 540.

Everyone said it was a bit difficult and confusing and that the new interface for working with the touch screen on the Edge 840 / 840 Solar was much easier.

To be honest, this made me think a little.

The decision I came to was to take and test how the interface of my new Edge 540 actually works by navigating only with the buttons.

If it really doesn't work and it's confusing I decided to return it - I have the right to return it within 14 days by law and probably take the new Edge 840.

BUT to be honest, I don't even wanted to hear about the 840! NO! :)

With my trusty Edge 530 Mando, I've gotten so used to managing with just the buttons for 2 years that I don't even want to hear about any touch screen gimmicks!

Are we men or what??? :)

On Saturday morning I was already at Speedy shipping company office at 9 a clock at the morning. :)

I took the package and opened it in my Subaru, and finally unboxed and set up my new friend, the Garmin Edge 540!

Below in the end of this initial review, I will link a 25-minute video that I recorded from the moment of the first setup through the process of initial configuration of the new Garmin Edge 540 to almost complete configuration of all parameters one by one.

For reference, I'm also posting the link to the video here: Garmin Edge 540 unboxing and INITIAL SETUP

WOW!!! ... this Garmin Edge 540 is AMAZING!

- Is it worth upgrading from the good old Edge 530 to the new (more expensive) Edge 540?

- OH, YES!!! ... ABSOLUTELY! The new Edge 540 is simply awesome! :) ;)  :)

Kudos to the hardware and software development team at Garmin!

The new interface is super pleasant, intuitive, and after two years of navigating only with the buttons on my trusty 530, I had absolutely no problem with the new interface on the 540!

Everything was intuitive, easy, and fast.

Bulgarian Language Interface

The first big surprise that NONE of the American vloggers whose videos I watched in the last few days warned me about that finally the interface has support for the BULGARIAN LANGUAGE! :)

WOW!

Route finder, the new ClimbPro! :)

Another cool thing - the new ClimbPro with the ability to display climbs on every ride, not just like before on 530 when there was a loaded GPX track.

The new climb finder is SUPER cool! :)

You can set a radius around you to search and get a list of detailed information for each climb in the area.

By clicking on the climb, a detailed graph opens up, and you can navigate to the start of the climb.

Detailed information in English is available in the official Garmin Edge documentation regarding the news in ClimbPro: ClimbPro - Tethered Versus Free Climbing

LiveTrack - Spectator Messaging

Another cool addition to the LiveTrack feature is Spectator Messaging, which I use almost constantly.

On the interface of the new Garmin Edge 540 / Edge 840 / Solar models, there is now a completely new feature called Spectator Messaging.

According to Garmin documentation, Spectator Messaging allows people to whom you have sent a link to your tracking map to send you messages directly through the map interface to your Garmin. :)

I think this is really cool, but I haven't tested it in detail yet! :)

At least on the mobile version of the tracking map, I didn't find anything new that could be used in the way described above.

Perhaps it has yet to be released, or maybe I just haven't understood something...

EDIT: I posted a bug report in the Garmin Edge 540 Beta forum, and just a few hours later, I tested it and YES! Spectator Messaging is now working!

The LiveTrack page now has the ability to send messages. :)

You can send both text messages up to 50 characters and record voice messages... WOW... :)

By the way, the LiveTrack page now also supports a Bulgarian language interface! Until recently, it didn't exist!

Thank you! :)

Multi-frequency highly accurate GPS

Yes, the MOST IMPORTANT and biggest advantage of the Garmin Edge 540 over the Edge 530 is, of course, the support for Multi-frequency highly accurate GPS, called Multi GNSS.

I have to say that overall I have NOT had any problems with the GPS quality on the Garmin Edge 530, BUT it is a fact that in the Stara Planina mountain passes under the dense forests the GPS of the 530 starts to struggle!!!

Many times already, during the different mountain brevets Super Randonnee 600 km with 10,000 m elevation gain, the GPS almost loses its signal under the trees and tells me that I am moving at 2-3 km/h, which despite the hills is NOT TRUE! :) :) :)

So far, I have not personally compared how the new Multi GNSS works, but everyone says that even under dense leafy trees and tall buildings in the city, the GPS of the 540/840 is perfect.

The size of the new Edge 540 and Edge 840

Overall, the new Edge 540 is slightly larger than the Edge 530, but NOT by much.

As for weight, the difference between them is only a few grams.

Pairing and syncing the Edge 540 with my phone was noticeably faster compared to the time it takes to do the same process with the 530.

And yes! How could I forget! :) :) :)

USB-C ... OH YES!

USB-C ... OH YES!

Bravo Garmin, after so many years, the Sun finally rises on our Street too! YES!

The Garmin Edge 540 finally has a USB-C port! :)

Additional Maps

Another important thing: I usually use only the Garmin map from BGMountains on my Edge 530 for a year and something.

You can download it for free here: Garmin map from BGMountains.

Before I uploaded this map, which is about 900 MB in size, I only had 2.4 GB free on the Garmin memory card.

After I uploaded the Garmin map from BGMountains, I only had 1.5 GB left... hmmm, not a lot!

That's only 10% of the total 16 GB available on the Garmin Edge 540.

Here's one of the differences with the Edge 840 / Edge 840 Solar, which has double the memory with 32 GB, and the Edge 1040 Solar has a whopping 64 GB...

Due to the new ClimbPro feature showing the elevations at all times, the navigation maps and DEM files used in the new Garmin Edge 540 / 840 / 1040 had to become several times larger compared to the regular maps used in older models.

That's exactly why the Edge 540's memory fills up so quickly.

The battery....

Another significant difference between the Edge 530 and the new Edge 540 is the battery life.

With the Edge 540, we have around 20 hours - at least 4 hours more.

So far, I'm super satisfied with the battery life on my reliable 530, and I have to note that after 2 years of active use, the battery life hasn't decreased at all.

And even if it did decrease, it would be with something symbolic, the battery on the 530 is definitely superb right now.

That's exactly why I didn't choose the 540 Solar :)...

Either way, on long rides with my Pips bicycle, I always bring an extra PowerBank for recharging my lights and as a backup for my phone.

Also, on long brevets, I sometimes recharge my radar and blinkers, so I don't see the point in investing another 100 euros just to have a little extra piece of solar on the already-not-very-large 540 screen.

Seeing the Solar on the BIG screen of the Edge 1040 Solar is a completely different story! - personal opinion.

But personally, I think that with the small screens of the 540 and 840 Solar, the function is more of a marketing trick to take another 100 euros... :)

ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT MUSIC!!! :)

Yes, I forgot about music! :)

In the new interface, we finally have a new Music menu added, from which you can directly control the music player on your phone from the interface of the Gamrin Edge 540!

Extremely VALUABLE personally for me.

I always ride with a Bluetooth headset in my right ear, and always listen to either interesting lectures, books, or music when I ride (especially when I'm alone).

The ability to control the player directly from the handlebar bike computer without having to fumble in my back pocket to take out my phone is SUPER VALUABLE! :)

EXCERPTS

Overall, this is everything I can think of in this initial short review of the Garmin Edge 540 and its comparison with the iconic Garmin Edge 530.

The new Edge 540 is super cool and the upgrade from 530 is 100% worth it in my opinion.

It's great that the new Garmin Edge 540 can be purchased immediately at a normal price directly from Bulgaria.

Unlike devices purchased from abroad, we still have a 2-year warranty from the official Garmin importer in Bulgaria.

This is NOT insignificant!

P.S. I'm posting the link to the video with the initial settings of the Garmin Edge 540 just in case: Garmin Edge 540 unboxing and INITIAL SETUP

P.S.2 EDIT 25.04.2023: A few days after posting this review, I sent to the GPS6.bg team - the online store from which I purchased my Garmin Edge 540 - a link to the review comparing the Garmin Edge 540 and Edge 530 and We received a 6% discount code for all readers of the Lupo's Downshifter blog! :)

The 6% discount code for all Garmin products (and other products) ordered by readers of the blog at GPS6.bg is: lupo