Garmin launches its first head unit made for mountain bikers
GPS giant Garmin announced today its first-ever computer made expressly with mountain bikers in mind. The Edge MTB differs from Garmin's other head units in several ways, chiefly that it's a bit more ruggedly designed and features a higher recording rate to better capture twisty trails.
The Edge MTB uses a transflective TFT display tucked behind a Corning Gorilla Glass screen. Seven overmolded buttons are designed for better tactile interaction on trails (like other Garmin units, it features IPX7 water protection). The multiband GPS uses a 5 Hz recording rate, which more faithfully renders switchbacks and other trail features in your ride files. Battery life is 14 hours, and up to 26 in battery saver mode.
There's the usual host of Garmin metrics, plus a few mountain bike-specific ones like map data from Trailforks, Downhill and Enduro ride profiles that help differentiate human-powered from chairlift vertical, a "Forksight" mode that offers info like trail difficulty and distance back to trailhead, and it'll track how often and how far you jump and even your hang time, because apparently steez can now be data-optimized. The unit retails for US$400 and is available now. [Garmin]
