Garmin Edge Explore 2 computer review - user friendly, well priced with a focus on the journey

A welcome antidote to the super expensive computers that do too much and cost too much for most people

Garmin Edge Explore 2 mounted on a bike
(Image credit: Simon Smythe)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

The Garmin Edge Explore 2 is ideal for most cyclists. I’ve never bothered with Strava Live Segments and if I want a structured workout I do it on Zwift. For everything else, including riding with a power meter and heart rate monitor and syncing all the data with Strava, the Explore 2 does it. At $299.99 / £249.99 at the time of writing it costs the same as the training-orientated Wahoo Elemnt Bolt yet is aimed more at mapping than training, like the more expensive Elemnt Roam. For me Garmin has got it the right way round.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Big, clear display

  • +

    Easy to set up and use

  • +

    Excellent navigation

  • +

    Data from peripheral sensors

  • +

    Enough training metrics for most people

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Only three activity profiles

  • -

    No outfront mount included

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

The Garmin Edge Explore 2 was launched last year, just a month after the new, solar-powered all-singing-all-dancing Edge 1040 was unveiled. It was almost as though Garmin worried that its flagship computer might now do a bit too much for the average cyclist as well as cost a bit too much, at a fairly eyewatering $749.99 / £629.99.

So the Edge Explore 2 is a kind of antidote. It costs less than half as much as the 1040 and it’s aimed at the rider who doesn’t need all the performance metrics or the outdoor structured workouts. There’s also no Strava Live Segments. That said, it will pair with Bluetooth and ANT+ sensors just like any of the best cycling computers, syncs everything with Garmin Connect (via Bluetooth; it doesn’t have WiFi), uploads to Strava and other training apps and gives you smart notifications, group ride messaging and incident detection - always handy.

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