Hi Group,

I just did my longest ride breaking my previous record!
55.2 miles and my Garmin almost died on me.
I was worried about not being able to save my epic ride.
Does anyone know if it automatically saves the ride before the battery dies?
I had my front light blinking and my rear radar on bright, which most likely contributed to draining the battery.
I'm not sure if these devices affect the Garmin battery or not.
Does anyone know if it does?

I want to make it to Bear Mountain one day and that ride is like 63 miles.
Maybe I'll use my Strava app on my phone and my Garmin just in case the Garmin doesn't make it.

Yes, sensors and what not, that use BT/Ant will cause the unit to use the battery more, navigation also runs it down. That said, your ride was 4 hrs ?, most of the recent Edges - 540- 840-1040 etc…, will go 20 hrs. minimum, so you should have a few days. My 1040 goes 30 hrs, I have a Varia plus a speed sensor plus a DI2 connection.

I don't know what model Garmin you have, but it should save before dying. Mine has crashed and rebooted in the middle of an activity, and it only lost a little data in the the middle. Mine has also offered to go into low-power mode well before it runs out of battery. When I know I'm going on an all-day ride, I'll take a USB battery pack with me in my bar bag and recharge halfway through the ride.

Funny you should mention this, my 1040, which is many years old and has never had any issues, self powered off a few weeks ago, mid ride. I waited maybe 15 seconds and hit the power button. It re-started and was still tracking the ride. Nothing was lost, almost like I accidentally hit screen off on the power button, don’t know. Been fine since, go figure.

I have a Garmin 1000 and I wish it took
me 4 hours but it actually took me 5. I’m hoping to increase my average speed to like 15 to 20 miles per hour. I changed my tires which increased my speed a little. I think it’s mostly me and my bike are a little heavy and my leg muscles need some work as well. I lost 25 lbs so far this year and need to lose another 25 lbs. My bike weights 24 lbs which is heavy. I’m sure if it was like 8 lbs lighter it would make a big difference along with me losing weight.

The Garmin Edge 1000 had a claimed battery life of up to 15 hours at new (2014). How old is your unit? Batteries do tend to degrade over time.

Probably 6 years old

What is the rush? Do you really need a 16 pound bike? Are you trying to become a pro racer in a matter of months?

For now I’d get a small portable battery and top tube bag to top it off after a few hours while riding. Just in case. Otherwise your battery should last longer. Verify it is charged to 100%. I’ve had a charger not fully charge a 1030 I used to use and did not pay attention to the charge level when I started. Still the battery maybe going bad. Garmin may give you discount on an equivalent model if you send it back for the, to check. Or if you are handy there you may be able to replace the battery with and an aftermarket battery. Though only six years old to you it may have sat on the shelf a bit before you bought it.

Turn off your backlighting on the device. You don't really need it in the sun. Just adjust the angle of the device so that it is visible. Backlighting sucks batter power. You can also change it to only come on for a time when you are actively using it's functions.

IME, Garmin devices will save your ride up to the point its battery is almost dead. Obviously the remainder is cut off. When you charge it the ride will upload to Garmin Connect or whatever you upload to.