Garmin’s new Edge Explore 2 will help cyclists find their way
With the Edge Explore 2, cyclists can keep an eye on routes while keeping the device charged from their pedalling. It looks wheelie good.
As the summer heats up (for one weekend and one weekend only), there’s no better time to get out and about on a bike. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or an everyday cyclist, tracking your ride and following a route can prove challenging. Luckily, Garmin‘s here to make things a whole lot easier with the Edge Explore 2 – the perfect accompaniment for e-bikes.
With the cycling computer, riders get tracking, navigation, stats, and extra power right from a device that fits on their bike. Rather than professional training features, the Edge Explore 2 positions itself for everyone.
All the ride stuff: What does the Edge Explore 2 do?
Garmin’s Edge Explore 2 is simple to set up, and should be ready to use straight out of the box. Once you clip in onto your bike, you can dive right into the preloaded profiles – road, off-road, and indoor. From here, you can use the tracking features to record your ride. There’s also route planning, high-contrast maps, and turn-by-turn navigation for you to find your way.
You can hook the device up to the Garmin app, and other fitness tracking apps, to load courses and sync data. With the Garmin app, you can also use GroupTrack to share your route and communicate with other cyclists from the Edge Explore 2. For extra safety, you can pair the bike computer with Garmin’s Varia cycling awareness devices. If you pair the tracker with your smartphone, you can receive notifications and alerts on the Edge.
All somewhat familiar stuff, right? Well, things start to charge up a bit if you’ve got an e-bike to strap it to. With compatible e-bikes, Edge Explore 2 users will see a dedicated screen for the e-bike’s status and battery level. Synced information, such as battery life, can be used to adjust routes, so you don’t run out of charge. It’s almost like Google Maps in an electric car.
There’s also the new Edge Power Mount to attach the Edge to your e-bike. The mount allows riders to constantly charge the cycling computer from pedalling on the e-bike, so your Edge is unlikely to run out of juice. Not only is the mount compatible with the Edge Explore 2, but also with the Edge 1040 series, Edge 1030, Edge 830 and Edge 530.
If you’re looking to nab an Edge Explore 2 for your e-biking adventures, you can get one directly from Garmin. The tracker goes for £250 as standard. Or, it’s £340 for the bundle that includes the Power Mount (which is £110 by itself). While the device itself will ship within 1-3 working days, Garmin is estimating 5-8 weeks before the Power Mount is available.
Connor Jewiss
