Garmin has added new functionality to its Edge cycling computers, which enables you to track how far you’ve ridden on your individual drivetrain components, tyres and more.
Keeping on top of your maintenance is important to ensure you’re not grinding your way through components, subjecting them to excessive wear and running yourself up an expensive maintenance bill next time your bike needs servicing.
The update to the Garmin Edge range enables you to add individual component items to each of your bike setups. For example, your Road Bike profile could include the chain, cassette, chainrings and tyres. You could also, for example, just set up a ‘drivetrain’ category if you didn’t want to go down to individual component level.
Many bike components have a limited lifespan before they need replacing. Chains, in particular, stretch with use, and start to eat into the teeth on your cassette and ultimately your chainrings, so changing your chain regularly should reduce the frequency with which you need to replace the cassette.
Chains are relatively inexpensive, but modern cassettes with 12 or more speeds are often much pricier. Although a chain checker is a cheap tool that's easy to use, many cyclists don’t own one.
With the new Edge functionality, you can set up a lifespan for each component. Each time you head out on a ride and record it with the cycling computer, it will track your ride length and add it to the total distance covered using each of the individual components.
The cycling computer then provides a screen with progress bars and alerts you when each component is nearing its theoretical maximum lifespan.
We reckon it's also potentially useful for riders of bikes with electronic shifting who, like us, forget to keep their batteries charged up and sometimes end up mid-ride on a singlespeed.
The new functionality is part of a suite of updates to Garmin’s cycling computers and smartwatches, which can be downloaded via the Garmin Express computer app or Garmin Connect phone app.
