Garmin Killer? New Wahoo content

[Scud]

Like a few people i have been a convert to Wahoo Element due to the simplicity of use and the fact that i have had 6 Garmins either have battery go or become so glitchy as to be unusable. I find the fact that Wahoo app sinks automatically with RWGPS, Komoiot and Strava and that i can make routes in one app and it synchs to Wahoo a real boon.

Only gripe has been a few of the navigation bits like no re-routing if off track.. so good news that they have sorted that with the new one....

https://www.bikeradar.com/news/wahoo-elemnt-roam/

[PaulB2]

it'll be interesting to see some comparisons with the new garmin 530 since they're the same msrp.

[Escape Goat]

Only gripe has been a few of the navigation bits like no re-routing if off track.. so good

I came from Garmin and "needed" the re routing option. Once I went Elemnt I noticed that I didn't miss it. Turning left instead of right etc is quickly sorted out with a U turn. Once I used the older Wahoo, I was more than pleased.

Great new bit of kit though.

[Scud]

To be honest i've not missed the re-route either, easy to scroll out and see where the track is and head to it..

[voodoo_simon]

New wahoo feels nice in the hand. Colour screen is good too I know where’d I be putting my money

[redefined_cycles]

To be honest i've not missed the re-route either, easy to scroll out and see where the track is and head to it..

Me too... I thank God for the day I managed to rid myself of my 3 Garmins... another thing that I missed briefly was the ability to see colour OS maps which i found useful for water sources... But again, gotten used to it and not missed it.

There was this one time on a 100 miler (or possibly a little more) recce ride my premade route was taking me to some serious off road territory (I beleive) but just zooming out and going round, the user interface handled the 10 mile detour gloriously and didnt miss a beat (or extra time)...

Bloody lovely are them there Wahoos. Hope theyve not messed it up though!!

[Scud]

Thankfully they seem to kept most features the same, just added a few bits.

i am a simple creature, and just like the fact that you turn it on and it works, and 12 hours later it will still be working and all the complicated stuff is done on your smartphone

[BigdummySteve]

The micro usb connector would be a deal breaker for me. Micro usb is the work of the devil, they all break in the end. When it’s on a cheap light or battery it’s one thing, on an expensive GPS? No thanks.

[AndyTheBikeGuy]

I'm looking at getting a Bolt as I'm currently relying on my phone, a very old 310xt with breadcrumb courses, maps and a terrible natural sense of direction.

Does anyone feel the features of the Roam worth the extra £100?

[wriggles]

The micro usb connector would be a deal breaker for me. Micro usb is the work of the devil, they all break in the end. When it’s on a cheap light or battery it’s one thing, on an expensive GPS? No thanks.

This. Good spot Steve wonder what the Garmin 530 uses?

[BigdummySteve]

Most garmin’s use mini USB, a much tougher connector. Please why can’t USB C be used?
Anything apart from micro, even a good old fashioned barrel connector would be preferable.
The amount of kit with broken micro’s I’ve junked over the years could buy be a new bike

[whitestone]

The micro usb connector would be a deal breaker for me. Micro usb is the work of the devil, they all break in the end. When it’s on a cheap light or battery it’s one thing, on an expensive GPS? No thanks.

This. Good spot Steve wonder what the Garmin 530 uses?

Garmin 510 and Oregon 600 use a mini-USB connector, the 520 uses a micro-USB. 530 is micro-USB according to DCRainmaker.

[sean_iow]

This. Good spot Steve wonder what the Garmin 530 uses?

I looked at the specs on the Garmin website and there are no details for the connector but these did catch my eye

Battery life - 24 hours (typical)
Integrated In-ride power capable - Yes

Which I take to mean it can be powered by and external source whilst in use which was the one thing I never managed to do with my 500. I've had a scan through the DC Rainmaker review and it shows charge points built in to the bottom.

"On the underside of the unit is the same quarter-turn mount as every other Garmin Edge device made in the last decade. However, it joins the Edge 1030 in having the battery charge ports, which allows you to add the Garmin Charge Battery pack to the bottom of it to extend battery life even longer (like, multiple-days crazy long)."

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/04/gar ... eview.html

[jameso]

It looks great in almost every way ... apart from relying on a phone for its functioning. If they made it bigger and reduced battery life but could make it independent of the phone I'd replace my Edge Touring tomorrow. .

[Chew]

Does anyone feel the features of the Roam worth the extra £100?

No

I have a wahoo for road riding and its a great piece of kit.
Customer service has also been great for friends who have had issues and returned them.

One of the good things about the Wahoo is you can do a lot of the complicated stuff on your phone, and then easily transfer it to the unit. The additional functionality just means you do that directly on the unit and for 99% of the time its nothing additional than you cant do with the standard model.

The other good thing is that the basemaps are clean and simple. Great for on road as they are decluttered, but offroad you need the additional detail to help you, such as theres a river ahead that will need to be crossed or theres a forest ahead which could be useful to bivi in.
They are the same, just wit a bit of colour added.

I dont think you can beat somthing which uses OS mapping for exploring offroad.

[redefined_cycles]

Sean. I can indeed confirm that it can be charged on the go whilst in use (well the Bolt can)...

Jameso. The fact that it needs an app is probably an overstatement and potentially mismarketing against their favour... The app is only needed in situations where you needs to reroute or take you somewhere using gps (and it transfers staright onto the unit via bluetooth)... You can have your routes preloaded and settings as you like them and you don't need to touch the app from start to end of a 180 miler rider (as I did on my last ride)... Only nwed to use the app if you wish to have a bit of a faff (as Escape Goat will indeed confirm)...

[redefined_cycles]

NB. It could be said that Wahoo is not like marmite and Dr Pepper

[wriggles]

The micro usb connector would be a deal breaker for me. Micro usb is the work of the devil, they all break in the end. When it’s on a cheap light or battery it’s one thing, on an expensive GPS? No thanks.

This. Good spot Steve wonder what the Garmin 530 uses?

Garmin 510 and Oregon 600 use a mini-USB connector, the 520 uses a micro-USB. 530 is micro-USB according to DCRainmaker.

Ffs why are devices still being introduced with Micro-USB. USB-C has been around a while now and is much more robust.

[PaulB2]

Ah usb-c the standard that’s a perfect fit for the bike industry in as far as it’s not very standardised. Would you like 5gb/s, 10, 20 or Thunderbolt and with or without power delivery? Good luck telling what your cable will actually support as well.

[Scud]

the Wahoo is micro-USB but the hole is set within a large slot, and the end of the charging cable fits in the slot, so cannot move about.

Jameso, the connection to your phone is the best bit (and the phone is not needed whilst you are using the head unit, it is not a "full-time connection". But it means that the Wahoo app is tied to RWGPS, Komoot, Strava and other apps, so if you plot a route in Komoot, it will appear in Wahoo app, and when head unit is switched on, it copies to Routes on head unit via Bluetooth. The .gpx file for Gravel Dash was sent this week, all i had to do was press the .gpx in the email on iphone screen and it simply asked "copy to Wahoo" and that was it, no having to link Garmin to laptop to copy .gpx across.

I love the idea of a lot of the Garmin head units, and perhaps they are clearer for navigation on some, but it is all the glitchy rubbish that comes with them that never seems to get fixed properly, i have had 6 Garmin now, all have either been glitchy or the battery has failed.

[jameso]

Sean. I can indeed confirm that it can be charged on the go whilst in use (well the Bolt can)...

Jameso. The fact that it needs an app is probably an overstatement and potentially mismarketing against their favour... The app is only needed in situations where you needs to reroute or take you somewhere using gps (and it transfers staright onto the unit via bluetooth)... You can have your routes preloaded and settings as you like them and you don't need to touch the app from start to end of a 180 miler rider (as I did on my last ride)... Only nwed to use the app if you wish to have a bit of a faff (as Escape Goat will indeed confirm)...

Thanks.. Scud had explained similar about the older Wahoo a while back as I was looking to replace a broken G 820, thing is that a GPS for me isn't about fixed route following, it's about navigation or going off-route as much as following a route and I flip between the two a fair bit. If I was going to need the phone (turned on) here and there to do what I'd want eg on a trip away using a route as a base but deviating from it often, I'd just use the phone with Komoot - been thinking that may be the way to go anyway.
I may be missing something but perhaps that's the issue here, feels like I'd need to demo one to be convinced? Basically if it doesn't work as an independent device (phone as beneficial option but not essential) then I'm yet to be convinced .. as well as aware I could be wrong!

[redefined_cycles]

Not sure where abouts your based but if its anywhere local enough to me you can borrow mine (currently up for grabs in the classifieds but can hold off seeling iy whilst it gets tested/self reviewed by yoursefl) for a few weeks. Next I'd be needing it properly is probs after Ramadhan now as gonna take a little break from this Sunday/Monday whilst fasting (well try to take a break as its what the knee is calling for)...

[redefined_cycles]

NB. Jameso. I had similar misgivings (if thays thw right word) of the Bolt. But after making a route a few times that wasn't quite as friendly to my slick tyres as I needed (wanted) it to be, and managing to reroute by just zooming out and avoiding certain tracks (shown in the map) I became finally convinced that it really is a 'onw size fits all' kind of device and it took me off route by 5 miles or 10 at a time...

Off course if you did end up borrowing it, I'd nwed it back with a signature on the side somewehre in permanenet marker

[ZeroDarkBivi]

DC Rainmaker doesn’t think so, and he knows more about these things than anybody:

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/05/wah ... eview.html