Anyone who likes to go on an adventure on a bike, like us, is familiar with the phenomenon: halfway through an unfamiliar route, you want to know if there’s a café nearby, or if you have to turn around suddenly for an off-road route. With the new Garmin Edge 1060 Just ask your bike computer. The Edge 1060 has a built-in microphone and speaker, so you can navigate and access information without taking your hands off the handlebars.
Talking to your bike computer
With “Okay, Garmin,” you activate voice control. Then, for example, you say “Navigate to the nearest coffee shop” or “Report a pothole.” The Edge searches for the route, adjusts the display, or reads the requested information. The navigation instructions also sound through the speaker, as does the digital bicycle bell that lets walkers know you’re approaching on a narrow path. With the Garmin Messenger app and a paired phone, you can send and receive voice messages on the go.
Knowing what awaits you
For those who are traveling with this Garmin, the biggest innovations are in the navigation:
- Route options: different routes to your destination, compared on expected time, elevation meters and the type of bike.
- Route previews: In advance, the distance, expected duration, traffic information and reported problems along the route.
- Up Ahead: Choose what you want to find along the way, such as cafes, toilets or gas stations, and see what is nearby along your route.
- Free Flow Routing: routes with as few stops, intersections and delays as possible, so that you maintain your rhythm.
Road closures and holes in the road
Other Garmin cyclists can report road closures, and you’ll see those notifications on the road. The same applies to potholes, obstacles, and even aggressive animals. You can report a problem yourself using your voice. These features require a paired phone with the Garmin Connect app.
Out together
If you’re riding with a group, the Edge recognizes an active GroupRide nearby. You can then send messages, see each other’s live location, and receive incident notifications. That last part seems a bit cluttered, but hey, if you take that into account it will be a plus.
The battery lasts up to 20 hours in intensive use and up to 60 hours in battery-saving mode: enough for a long day in the mountains or a few days of bikepacking. If your lamp or phone is almost empty, the Edge can recharge it (reverse charging, using a suitable USB-C cable; not intended for charging while cycling).
The Edge 1060 is now available at a recommended retail price of €899.99.
Our opinion
The new navigation system certainly seems to add something: being able to see in advance what a route will require and knowing where the next café or toilet is along the way. How well the notifications about closures and potholes work depends on how many Garmin cyclists there are in an area. That does make it less so. The question is whether people will switch to the system for a feature like this. Many cyclists still use systems from the competition.
On popular roads in the Alps or the Ardennes, that will work better than on a quiet pass in Asturias. The voice control works according to Garmin in selected languages and may depend on the conditions along the way; which languages exactly, the press release does not say. That will probably be English and some other major languages. Whether it also works in the wind? We’ll just have to see.
Looking for a route to try out? In our routedatabase You can find more than 1,200 routes with GPX downloads.
Source: Garmin, press release of October 20, 2026.
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