Garmin Edge 540 Series In-Depth Review: 17+ Things To Know!

Garmin’s Edge 540 is part of a twofer of new cycling GPS units, alongside the touchscreen-enabled Edge 840 that was concurrently launched. These two units are nearly identical in software features and functionality, while their core hardware difference is that the Edge 540 doesn’t have a touchscreen. But both units got a slate of new software and hardware features, with the most notable being a new free-style ClimbPro mode that doesn’t require that courses be loaded to get information about upcoming climbs in real-time. And on the hardware side, both models got multi-band (dual-frequency) GPS/GNSS, USB-C charging, and the option for solar panels. But alongside those headliner features, there are a literal slate of smaller features. Many (if not all) arrived on the Garmin Edge 1040 series last summer, and now have arrived here, making the Edge 540/840/1040 near identical in terms of features, and really only separated by hardware differences. And unfortunately, it’s those hardware differences that have challenged my use of the Edge 540. Specifically, the button-only configuration compared to the touchscreen-equipped Edge 840 sibling. While button-only had never been a problem for me on the Edge 530, it doesn’t feel like the new user interface layout is ready for a button-only configuration yet. But, more on that as we roll. – Added solar panels for Edge 540/840 Solar editions – Added multiband/dual-frequency GPS – Added USB-C connection for charging/sync – Made it slightly...