Garmin or Wahoo? Which bike computer is best?
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- Опубліковано 13 чер 2021
- We have been long time Garmin users (both a decade plus), but the latest Wahoo offerings have been intriguing and we wanted to see how they stacked up against Garmin. We decided to test out the Wahoo Roam and compare it to both the Garmin Edge 530 and Edge 830. After testing the Wahoo Roam for a few weeks, we run through what we like and dislike about both Wahoo and Garmin, and we make some decisions as to what bike computer we each plan to stick with going forward. There was a lot to discuss and compare!
(At the time, we did not have the new Wahoo Bolt (v.2) in hand just yet, so stay tuned for an update that will include this computer as well)
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I swim in the Garmin ecosystem . . . Edge 1030, Varia Headlight, Varia Radar, Varia Vision, Vector 3 pedals, S2 Smart Scale and the king of the roost . . . a Fenix 6 Sapphire. No connectivity or touch screen issues. The Edge 1030 syncs its data with the Fenix 6. Then the Fenix 6 uses that data along with it's own data to produce daily suggested rides, workouts or rest days. Collecting everything from every device, the Garmin Connect website and mobile app both track tons of data. Everything. . . from VO2 max, down to weight. It's like having a personal coach. I have definitely gone way beyond the point of return. As they say 'No way out.'
I bought a Garmin 800 at the end of 2010, this year the battery started fading and the power button rubber disintegrated. 11 years and no other issues. I bought a 530, hated the buttons, sent it back and got an 830 with touchscreen. Review in 10 years, if the Wahoo is still great I’ll give it a look.
One of the best comparison between these two units i’ve seen in yt so far so thanks for that guys. Just bought my first bike computer ever for a couple moths ago (garmin 830) and no flaws yet. Also happy that did not seen this one before i made a purchase cause otherwise it would have been way too difficult to choose between these too. :)
Thank you for watching and feedback! Enjoy that 830 👊
I thought the Wahoo at first but after looking at what's better about the Garmin and how the better stuff about the Wahoo doesn't seem as significant, I'm back thinking the Garmin is probably better. Wise choice my friend wise choice!
Best review on the internet! You guys have a great energy together! Thanks a lot for your knowledge and passion! 👏
Been considering getting a computer and this video has really helped. Great stuff guys. Plus thanks for being so good with grammar- yes, it's fewer things NOT less. As an ex language teacher, that makes me HAPPY.
Thanks for the detailed pros and cons. I am going with Wahoo now.
First time watching your channel and first time bike computer buyer. Excellent review! You guys have a great chemistry, are clearly very experienced with cycling and associated tech, and make it enjoyable. Thank you!
Thank you, and thank you for watching! 👍
I don't comment on you tube at all, but I have to make an exception here ... This is the best review of this stuff on YT! straight to the point and without unnecessary marketing bullshit. Good job & keep it up gentlemens! Greetings from Poland!
Thank you, Jacek!
You made it easy to decide! Going for the Wahoo! Thanks guys!
Super great review! Just quite upset that this video wasnt the first one that popped up for me.
Great video guys. I really cannot wait to have your Hammerhead Karoo 2 review and comparison vs. the Garmin and Wahoo.
Great video guys. It was my first time coming across your channel and you have a new subscriber. I use a Garmin and love Garmin Connect for diving deep into the data. It would be very interesting to hear a comparison on the underlying apps of Garmin and Wahoo.
Excellent review guys. Appreciate it.
Best review by far that I have seen about these bike computers. If I am going to spend that amount of money for such a small device I want to know that it will perform true to it's specifications. Thanks for pointing out the features & quirks so that we can decide which bike computer better suits our preferences. Great job guys!
Thank you!
Thanks for the video. I’ve been in the market and heavily debating which to get. Thanks again from Tokyo.
Thank you for watching, Eric! Let us know which one you decide to get! 👍
Thanks for this. My Wahoo made its way into the washing machine with the rest of my kit and now won't play with me any more. Had thought about shifting to Garmin but you really helped with the decision to stick with Wahoo.
For me a great advantage of Garmin is the integration with Xert throgh Xert workout player and Xert data fields Apps. Knowing Xert metrics such as maximum power available, time to recovery, time to exhaustion, focus, fats and carbs consumed, etc during the ride on real time is a precious information. In fact I changed from Wahoo to Garmin because of this
Thanks for the comparison. Finally giving in and getting a computer. Refrained for YEARS. But this sold me on Wahoo. I'm a Mac guy. That line did it for me.
Great details here. Excellent review!
Thank you, Matt!!
Great video guys!
Great review!
Thanks for the fantastic review fellas. I have the Roam and it is my first bike cpu. No problems so far. Connects to all my sensors and does not lose connection. My riding buddies have garmins and they love theirs. Cant go wrong with both.
Very helpful video, thanks guys
Great review guys, thanks, wish I’d watched this before buying my 530
I’ll buy it
Great info. I've been with garmin so so long just hard to switch .
Went from Garmin to Wahoo bolt 2 love it I’m sold. Used Garmin for years. Complete System with the Kickr.
Do you use a power meter? Can you tell me if your average power is accurate? I’ve used 3 different Bolts and 2 different PMs and the average power displayed during the ride and in the workout summary is low (the more coasting, the lower it is). Strava and TrainingPeaks show the correct average power once the raw data is uploaded to them. Wahoo can’t seem to average it correctly for me.
I switched to Wahoo Bolt and I like it better than my Garmin. Mainly because of user interface. It´s more friendly and has better connection. Great review, by the way.
Nice review, gents. Much appreciated...
I've tried to love the Garmin, but's tripped me 3 times to change over the years... always been happier with Wahoo, particularly for outdoor workouts!
Thanks for the feedback! Enjoy your Wahoo 👍
@@DialedCycling I have both the Wahoo element and the Garmin 530
Wahoo elemnt massivley better than the garmin. much easier to use, It does the basics much better. The garmin has 4-10 sec delay on speed , 2-4 sec delay on wattage,
Good one to test out is the LEZYNE MEGA XL.
Enjoy the video keep up the good work
Having bought a Roam and the screen developing a black spot Wahoo replaced it no problems. The replacement developed the same problem within only two months which to be fair Wahoo replaced again for free - I chose to sell that and purchase the Garmin Edge 530 which has been bulletproof.
Garmins interface is a tad more clunky BUT it won’t break - easy choice
Very useful video. As a beginning cyclist it was very helpful to decide on a bike computer.
great review, and spot on about a lot of the features on both sides, I would be interested to see how a Karoo 2 would fit into this group from your perspective.
oh and the only thing I disagreed on was the routing, I found Garmin keeps looping me back to a previous spot, while the roam reroutes beautifully when I go off course. Keep up the great work guys!
Great review - Thanks!
best of the best run through those two devices. Thanks for the video review. weldone and keep up the good work..
I wish we could have a side-by-side comparison of the Garmin vs Wahoo for each bike computer class/segment. For example compare the Garmin 530 vs Wahoo Bolt V2. Then compare the Garmin 830 vs Wahoo Elemnt Roam. Then have the Garmin 1030 Plus compared to whatever is the equivalent in Wahoo. So we can get a better understanding of how each compares, and what would be the better choice (for the price). Thanks again for your great video, and I hope you can do more bike computer comparisons in the very near future. Also please include a detailed comparison video on the Garmin Edge 1030 Plus vs Hammerhead Karoo 2! (and whatever the best that Wahoo has to offer). I would love to see the comparison! Please and Thank-you!
edge 830 now and have used garmin for 6 years. love garmin. had bolt for 3 weeks and nah. garmin is my home and heart
I had the 810, then 520, then 820. Tried the wahoo elemnt, never going back.
All garmin I had was a total #%**
@@chaiinspace2 which element?
@@MelbourneExclusive0 I have both the elemnt and the roam. I hear the 1040 is v good but I don't like touch screens when full fingered gloves, from experience with the 810 and the 820.
Nice video guys. Thanks.
guys this is such a good video! thanks so much!
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the Bolt V2!
Stay tuned... The testing is about to start :)
@@DialedCycling waiting…
@@PuneethBedre We've been actively testing them for about a month now and a video is starting to come together... stay tuned!
Great comparison. Sums up my experience on the Edge 830 pretty good. I have some sort of connectivity issue almost every ride. Even climb pro used to trick me here in Germany quite a lot. Either the climb is longer than stated or it’s not even recognized die to the (weird) metric behind.
Great composition, detailed yet fun to watch. I tend to stop in the middle of long reviews, but yours was informative and fun all the way.
Which has a better Livetrack? I use it alot when bikepacking... thanks
Great video guys. Been looking for real life experiences with wahoo and garmin rather than videos that just highlight the marketing blurb of the two.
Great work, guys!
Thank you!
This video popped up in my suggested watch and I was really hoping the comparison would have been between the bolt v2. That said, you guys covered everything important to me and done very well. I’ve been a Garmin Edge user since the early days and reluctant to switch teams due to familiarity. I did get a 530 for Father’s Day which is a really nice upgrade from the 520. A few UI changes that I’m scratching my head about but overall the screen and features are worth it. Looking forward to trying Trail Forks and the climb page once I figure out how to install them. HOWEVER, like this video mentions, I have nonstop issues uploading my rides and maintaining BT connection with Garmin and my iPhone. That’s ridiculous. After the 1st ride using the 530 I spent an hour trying to get the pairing reestablished. Finally restarted both phone and 530 and got the ride uploaded. I’ll give it another week or 2 and one more issue will jump me to the Bolt v2.
I'm having the same issues with my 530 and have also my garmin fenix. From my point of view Garmin connect just gets worser.
Everytime Garmin sends an update (latest was 8.10) then I had to delete/pair plus factory reset the whole unit just to get it to sync with my phone.
Garmin adds a bunch of features but almost always breaks the basic stuff. My guess is that a lot of the code is written in cheap labor countrys with people (QC) that themself never ever use these units.
You probably missed that big Garmin 8.0 update. That fixed the issues I had with routing. I don't have any connectivity problems with my current 830. I had with my previous 530.
Great video guys you def have a new subscriber 👍👍
Thanks, Simon!!
Wahoo has Trail Forks integration now.
Every issue you mentioned is exactly why I just bought the Roam V2 to replace my 1030. The constant sync issues, the horrible integration with Ride With GPS, the after update issues and horrible touchscreen that often takes numerous presses to activate and is completely useless in full sun. Not to mention my Fenix 5X which has been a complete piece of unreliable, garbage between syncing issues and charging issues. So much so that I don't even wear it anymore. It's funny though that I just moved and found my old Edge 705...I remember it working way better than their current lineup.
I'm a bit bummed about the smaller screen size, but the flexibility of laying out the screens and the really cool zoom feature should alleviate that. Looking forward to a much more reliable experience with Wahoo.
I've been a Garmin disciple for many years. Started cycling again and started looking at tech for my bike and have splurged on the Wahoo system - waiting for my Wahoo Kickr Snap indoor trainer and my Roam which I just ordered online this week. So glad I made a good choice. Though I do feel guilty for abandoning Garmin.😉 I never had any major complaints while using them before.
I’ve a wahoo ELEMNT bolt. Love it. Not used Garmin but I heard it does laps automatically. Wahoo reqs pressing lap button, or can set it for set distance or time.
I've used Wahoo devices for years. I've never once experienced any issues with them and they as simple to setup and use. However, I wanted to try a touch screen. Having other Garmin devices such as my Garmin Fenix 5x, I purchased the Garmin 830. After the painstaking, daunting task of setting the POS device up I used it about a dozen times before I went back to my trusty Wahoo Bolt. The Garmin 830 device did nothing but have constant issues, on almost ever ride like freeze ups, lost GPS signal, Bluetooth disconnects and/or would just power off. Garmin, replaced the head unit, but the headaches just continued with it. I went back to Wahoo for good and still issue free. Like DC Rainmaker has said on his UA-cam channel about Wahoo in comparison to Garmin, Wahoo just works. Ohhh... If anyone is looking to try out a Garmin 830, I can point towards a farm field where I left mine.
One of the funniest closing comments on UA-cam I've seen in a while.
Sell me the 830
@@musinguzimark2012 It's in a farm field. You're welcome to go by and see if it's still there.
I always lock the 830 screen and then use the Shimano buttons to change screens on my road and gravel bike and the Edge Remote on my MTB bike.
Thank. I was going to buy the Wahoo to use on my bicycle but also in my kayak as a speedometer. The Garmins were on sale and I got suckered. I bought the model just below the touch screen. I've yet to be able to use it. I turn it on and it jumps to some strange window, and it's just not worth interrupting my paddle or swim or ride to fuss with it. I intend to sit down AGAIN and go through the instructions. Frankly, the hassle is so Garmin like that I feel like I've been suckered again by Garmin. (I've owned handheld Garmin GPS devices in the past and the interface and hardware design was so bad I gave up on GPS until it was part of my iPhone. One Garmin device had expensive batteries that would last 7-8 hours. My paddles are 3-4 hours. This meant that I either had to replace the batteries every second paddle or I'd have to take a break and change them on the water. I chose to change them on the water. Step one: remove the device from it's bracket that is connected to my kayak. Step Two: pry with great difficulty open the battery compartment... $400 third trip right into the ocean. F* Garmin.
btw my iPhone has a touch screen and it's waterproof enough that it's around my neck on a lanyard. Water or sweat on the screen- a problem? I've never noticed it. (I do have to wipe my finger but it doesn't have to be bone dry so it just works).
"Hassle" Yep. I bought the GoPro version 2. I'm a nerd, I read the instructions, but sitting at my desk I could not get it to work in 45 minutes. How's that going to be on the ocean? Sent it back. Got a Kodak Sport. Last year I bought another GoPro, it has a few quirks, but it always works, and I can always get it to work. They've fixed almost everything that gets in my way. Why can't Garmin, now a monopoly, fix it's generation after generation of terrible interface??
So if I had the Wahoo, I'd be using it. Thanks. Is there anyone you dislike I could give this Garmin POS to?
And I'm a complainer so here's another one. I wanted an EMTB. I thought it would be the perfect way to get me to ride more, get up into the mountains more.... and the bike videos I saw looked terrific. But then I started hearing all the stories about how the motors and drive trains break, how unreliable they are. I held out hope for two years, I was going to spend $8000 on an EMTB, but I didn't see any sign the problems had been fixed. Instead I bought a Tesla. There's a company in Australia that has just driven an older Tesla 280,000 km - total repair bill US$3700. Not only is there no one with an equivalent experience with an EMTB (say 2500 miles) there's an endless litany of broken motors and expensive out of warranty repairs - that are at best temporary fixes.
The net result? I'm still peddling (but less frequently) my 30 years old mountain bike (but I did replace all the bearings). I don't have a GPS unit that's as useful as the one on my iPhone. I know these companies put a lot of effort into their stuff, but the bottomline is, because I didn't have pragmatic 'This works' information about the cycling I wanted to do - I'm paddling my kayak more, and driving my Tesla and not riding much. I really appreciate the information. I can see buying the Wahoo and just leaving the Garmin on the side of the road somewhere.
My Element Bolt just died, after 3 years. It was never dropped or rained on. In that time, the cover over the micro-usb port cover, broke in-half, and the cover over the power button worked its way out of however it was friction fit. These did not cause the unit to fail but makes me reluctant to even think Wahoo, right now.
Wahoo added Climb PRO. I also have a EDGE 1000, I find that the Wahoo ELMENT Roam has a much longer battery life than the Edge 1000. On some long days in the saddle, the Garmin EDGE 1000 almost runs out of juice.
This was a great review…both of you did a phenomenal job of presenting the differences. It sounds as if your primarily interested in tracking your performance, speed, distance, etc. I’m retired, from two professions fraught with potential danger (military and federal law enforcement)…I have no desire to risk dangerous situations, dealing with vehicles and drivers probably looking at a screen, rather than paying attention to the road. So, I’ve really taken an interest in “off pavement” riding, and doing long distance “gravel tour bikepacking”. I need a unit that can direct me - based on those parameters - to my destination using trails, rail trails, dirt roads, etc….Is there such a device? Again, gents, Bravo-Zulu….a value added video. While in my work, we used Garmin devices for back country navigation….im still unsure of the device for me. I guess I’ll keep researching…thank you, again!
Great review. Seriously thinking about jumping ship to Wahoo…
Thanks and go for it! This video is a little old, but we still hold our same thoughts and feelings. We are working on an updated video that will also include the new Hammerhead Karoo (v3), so stay tuned!
I got the Garmin 530 and I had never issues with it also not with updates. I have it since two years now and it works perfectly.
I have a bolt v1 which suffers from very poor gps signal in tree cover, my friends garmin seems to be spot on so going to make the move.
Been on a 700 mile cycle through Germany and Austria with a group. I used a Garmin Edge 130 for navigation and it was patchy, missing major junction turns and reporting minor curves as major turns. Usually quickly reported wrong way which was good. Wahoo users seemed very happy with their navigation.
Hammerhead Karoo 2 is also a strong contender here!
The cyclists I know have been ditching Garmin to go to Wahoo for years for the simplicity and reliability of setup and phone connection but also all the 5hitFcukery Garmin has with its updates and firmware flakiness that drives people mad. You described it and it’s real for many users. I had an 810 and and 820 that periodically drove me nuts and I gave up in the end. I’d find it hard to trust Garmin again after that bollocks. The Wahoo Roam and Bolt V2 screen clarity is much better with fewer reflections than I had with my Garmins too. Garmin seems to have gotten better with the last few models but hard to give them a chance again
When I got back into cycling a couple of years ago, I came to the bike computer decision. Garmin or wahoo. I ultimately went with Wahoo for the simple fact that you configure the pages on your phone (nice big screen) instead of having to button mash your setup on a tiny screen on the unit.
I decided to try a Wahoo thinking the grass would the greener (coming from Garmin) but I was wrong haha. After a few months I went back to my Garmin Edge 530. There were a few reasons for this that I don't feel were discussed in this comparison.
1. You can only change the screen pages on Wahoo in one direction... which, if like me, you have many different pages can be extremely annoying to go through. The Garmin, however, you can go forward and backward, so if you accidentally go past a screen you can easily just go back rather than go through ALL of them again.
2. You can't discard a ride when you finish on Wahoo... such a simple feature, I don't understand why Wahoo hasn't included this. So if there's a ride you don't wish to upload, you have no choice and have to go through ALL platforms (Strava, TrainingPeaks etc) and delete it. Whereas on Garmin you can choose to delete the ride so it doesn't upload everywhere. I use my bike computer as a backup on the trainer whilst on Zwift (just in case it crashes), and when Zwift uploads my ride I will simply discard it on my Garmin... no problems. But on the Wahoo I couldn't do this, so would get double uploads which was really annoying.
3. I can't change anything on the computer itself... it relies on my smartphone. Easy to set up and change stuff, I agree, but if I don't have my phone or my phone dies on a ride then I can't change anything on the unit. I prefer being able to do everything on the bike computer itself without too much reliance on my phone.
4. When a battery is running low (e.g. power meter, di2 etc) the Wahoo will say 'Low battery' but won't actually tell me WHAT has a low battery... so left me guessing half the time. The Garmin however, tells me exactly what is low so I can replace the battery/charge it asap.
5. The Wahoo HR monitor died twice within 6 months (I had to get warranty). My Garmin HR monitor has been solid for 5 years... (I've heard others report the same experience)
P.S. Not sure if points 1 and 2 have changed since I used a Wahoo unit (let me know if it has), but these things were annoyances that I just couldn't get past... I went back to using my Garmin Edge 530 and to be honest I feel like the software and connectivity has improved over the last 6 months. I haven't had any issues with it, uploads my rides within a minute of walking into my home (through my wifi) and everything works seamlessly. Garmin are the gold standard for a reason. :)
These are great points. Thanks for sharing
With Wahoo you don't need so many screens. You can zoom in and out of one screen. I had mine with 5 important metrics, and then time of day, temperature and totals below them, hidden when I don't need them. With simple clicks on the side buttons you show them without losing the important data fields above.
@@roilev I get you, but I like to have a seperate screen for lap data (workouts), climbing metrics and all those other metrics. Having it all on one screen doesn't really work for a lot of people.
@@nicolemitsi That's one of the good decisions on Garmin, to have specific profile with separate settings - one for racing, other for training, third for MTB. On Wahoo you can achieve similar results by having different screens for different use cases. And turn off the other screens. Having 3 screens makes scrolling easy - one click going forward, two clicks for going back.
I had multiple Garmin computers and all of them had various bugs and eventually issues requiring warranty service. Eventually I saw said I'd never use one again, bought a Wahoo and it's been rock solid for years. No Garmin again, ever.
Great review & compare.
Thank you!
I’m sticking with my Garmin Edge 1040 and Garmin Varia 715. It works for me. 🚴🏾
After using Wahoo for many years (Element then the Bolt), I made the change to the Garmin ecosystem. I've never looked back. I prefer the ecosystem since my everyday watch is a Garmin and I love the data Garmin provides. The ONLY issue I've had with Garmin is what you guys mentioned, the Strava Live Segments during MTB ride (since the trails are so close to each other).
Feature for feature, the Garmin is hands down a far superior device. I had the 130 and just recently moved up to the bolt v2 when there also was the Garmin 530 which was in the same price bracket.
I miss having Garmin connect mainly. There is so much info and freely available data which means you won’t require premium subscriptions.
The bolt v2 is good for the specific cyclist. The Garmin will serve beginners to pros.
I use an old Garmin 820 and my friend uses a wahoo elemnt bolt. We both experience quirks, weird gps advice and software glitches. I wish my Garmin had the clarity of wahoo's screen, but I also wish wahoo had the detail of the map of the 820, and many of the features (i actually like when Garmin replaces the screen with the turn directions)
For what I ride, the 820 is perfect.
820 is so SLOOOWWWW for me
Nice channel Gents!
Having used Garmin, Wahoo, and the Karoo 2, I personally prefer the Karoo 2 to all of them.
Thanks for the feedback! We have not had the opportunity to test the Karoo 2 just yet, but there sure seems to be a lot of people who speak highly about them. We will be reaching out to them to see if we can get our hands on one soon!
Great video. A lot of info. Should have seen this a few weeks ago. I bought the Stages Dash L50....$320. Have you done a review on that one?
I moved to a Wahoo Roam a year or so ago. I moved away from Garmin 810 as it kept crashing especially at the end of long rides. Found other Garmin users hsd the same issue. Also the app was not stable and had issues syncing. On the Wahoo roam sometime it has problems seeing the Wahoo tickr heart rate monitor when connected to phone at same time.
Garmin devices started having problems in 2015 when they brought out live segments, since then they have never sorted the issue out, I told them when I had the Garmin 810 , they gave me Beta software to try out, but the Garmin device would crash and switch off and you'd loose all your data, so Garmin wasn't listening and I moved over to Wahoo Element then over a year ago I crashed and damaged my Wahoo Element and Wahoo gave me 25%off my next Wahoo Bolt V2 .. never looked back... The issue Garmin have with all there devices is live segments and it's that , that's caused all the issues.... Wahoo's are by far more reliable and faultless... 😎👍🚴
Good, honest review, no bashing. Just honest opinions. Garmin user for years also. Just made the switch to Wahoo. Never going back. Why? Like you said, it just works..... Pairing sensors, piece of cake. I have a Garmin Varia radar which paired with and worked flawlessly with the Wahoo --- until I paired it with my wife's iphone. Then, the Wahoo would see it, but not connect. Bummer, here we go again. Unpaired from Wahoo, repaired (still simple process). I could see I was getting a good signal on the phone app, but no radar integration. Came home, did some research and found I could reset the Varia with an 8 second push of the power button. Unit immediately paired with Wahoo. So, I call that a Garmin fail. It got me again. I may try the experiment one more time to see if it happens again. Just one of those annoying things that since I had switched to Wahoo I have not had to experience. I do have to say, the hill thing sounds nice! It is always disheartening to get to a false summit when bike packing or touring and have another mile or two to go!
Don't get too excited about the ClimbPro feature, the other day i was on a route, a hill came and the screen popped up, halfway the hill turned into downhill and the 830 still showed a lot note to go, talk about inaccuracy
Garmin for life! I have the 1030 plus and love it. Lance, if you bike fast enough your sweat won’t hit your computer. 😉
The 1030+ is a great unit, glad you like it! Thank you as always for watching, Dove ☺️
Or I could just dehydrate myself so I stop sweating.
Awesome & Thanks :)
Well done.
I've owned the Garmin Edge 520, Edge 800 and Edge 1000. All of them locked out on me on a number of occasions. I bought the Wahoo Bolt when it was released and it never let me down once. Unfortunately I lost it out on MTB ride so I bought the Edge 530 for the MTB features. Unfortunately the device let me down on a number of occasions and I also found the whole interface clumsy to use. Too many clicks to get too what you want. It felt slow and unresponsive at times. I sold it after a few months and purchased the Wahoo Roam. It's not let me down once.
Looking for my first cycling computer you well had me sold I should get the element road, but then the battery life and external mount power for bikepacking + trailforks features for MTB trails, by the end of the video I'm thinking garmin again maybe. Very good discussion and comparison. Thanks. 👍
Touch, tough decision! Should be interesting to see what steps Wahoo takes to catch up in certain areas. Thanks for watching!
The compromises for both these units as described make me content to stick with using the Locus Map app on my phone. The compromise I have to deal with: mounting the phone to the handlebar is janky unless you have a common model phone. I don't get live segments, or climb pro, but I do get great maps, varia comparibility, routing, all my sensors, spotify, whatsapp and phone notifications.
Wahoo has been on my radar for years, but when it comes down to it, I always seem to pick Garmin since I have the most experience with their products. My Fenix 7x and Edge 1040 work flawlessly together to give me nearly every metric I'd ever want to nerd over.
We really love the Wahoo computers… Especially the Roam. However, Garmin is really good, too. For you, if it ain’t broke, it’s probably best not to fix it. 👊
I’ve used garmin for 4 or 5 years. I had the smallest one on market at the time, the edge 25. I upgraded to the 530 about a year ago and I’ve actually liked the 530 over the 25. Bigger screen, maps, elevation, etc.
2 likeable reviewers who did a great comparison.
Didn’t you expect to like the 530 over 25? I have 25 and I’m endlessly annoyed with the turn prompting not adding significant value because of the lack of an “underlying” map..
personally, i would settle for a trek radar, (that is, if they are still around). sweat could drip on the display, rain could hit it and it never changed the screen. it pretty much had all one could want, the speedometer, the odometer, a temperature display and a 24-hr clock.
I skipped through a little bit but I think (not mentioned) the Garmin is the only one you can develop for. Really nice for things like My Bike Traffic where it embeds car passes in the FIT file so you can check speeds, locations and plot on a map
True. Even the old devices are able to process third party maps from Openstreetmaps, Velomaps and other sources, which are by far more up to date than the official material. As far as i know, Wahoo doesn't support that.
Very nice review. Now that Wahoo has the new (v2) bolt that is Roam-like, it would be nice to hear your thoughts on it.
It’s in the works 😉… Thanks for watching, Chad!
Very helpful video! You mentioned that you soon will have a video about wahoo bolt v2.. Do you have it? Because I couldn't find it.
Wahoo just works!
I recently lost my Garmin Edge 530 and did think about moving on to Wahoo. I ended up getting the Edge 830 instead. Why? Trailforks integration on the Garmin, maps are MUCH easier to deal with using a touch screen, and also the Garmin ecosystem as a whole- I find the recovery metrics quite useful. I also have a Garmin Forerunner 235, which tracks my sleep and stress throughout the day, and integrates this with workout stress data to come up with how recovered I am. Don't get me wrong, there are still things that really irritate me about my Garmin, but these seem to get better with every update.
im sold with the wahoo
You've hit the nail on the head, I've been comparing Garmin and Wahoo for the last 5 years. 520, Bolt and now 830. I agree that Wahoo 'just works'. And you're the first one I know that likes the lap popup of the Garmin. It drives me crazy that it hides all important information for what seems like an eternity. You can dismiss it not if you've locked the screen. And it is too much hassle to do in the middle of a race - I just need my power, cadence and HR information! But I need to do the lap click in order to get information for the specific climb.
This is in line with the general hate against Garmin that they push useless junk to us, with no opt-out option. Like the stupid useless virtual partner. Or their mapping and routing over the track that I have imported - quite often it stresses me to do U turns, or get off the route even if I'm on track and it continues straight. There are actually two kind of direction information - one is coming from the route cues that I manually add. The other is from the mapping navigation that it insist on me.
ClimbPro sounds like a nice feature, but it is useless for me. I can't change the data fields, and I care less about elevation and grade than power and cadence. And it is just another annoying popup that blocks the important information. It would be better to integrate it in the elevation screen, coloring the elevation depending on the grade.
And none of such issues on Wahoo, 'it just works' there. But I think Wahoo are focusing 100% on road and ignoring MTB. And there are serious dealbreakers for me there - the mount doesn't support 35mm handlebars, the quad lock is rotated 90° so you can't use 3rd party mounts either. But the bigger issue is with GPS accuracy - the recordings from Wahoo are way off the course, much more than these on Garmins. When looking at other people's stravas I can guess if they used Garmin or Wahoo just by that. Garmin probably uses other sensors for accuracy aid since it tracks me correctly when going under the roads and I turn several times to get across.
But the biggest issue with Wahoo is that when it loses GPS accuracy it thinks you're off track even if you still are - and it CONSTANTLY beeps annoyingly that you're off track. And then back on. And then back off. When doing tight switchbacks in the mountains, it goes crazy and unless I turn it off, I go crazy too! The leeway should increase when the GPS accuracy goes down! And Garmin simply works there, no such issues at all! Apart from the occasional "DO U TURN" navigation prompts that I can't turn off.
Even if there wasn't the TrailForks integration, I'd still prefer the Garmin's idiocracy than Wahoo's inability to follow an offroad track.
Thanks for this comment, my experience matches exactly. I had terrible bugs/glitches with my old Garmin 800 (losing rides, etc), switched to Wahoo Bolt (now a Roam) and it's been solid, but the GPS accuracy is terrible. I've also noticed it on Strava but wasn't sure if it was just confirmation bias on my part. Have you experienced any bugs/glitches on the 830 (beyond the UX/UI problems you mentioned, I can deal with those)?
@@squiresuzuki No, 830 is rock solid. All the features work, it looks nicely tested. The battery life is greatly improved too, esp. if using the extra features (map screen, route following)
@@squiresuzuki You're a MTB rider as well, right? The accuracy on the road is good with the Wahoo, correct?
@@miguelmoreira5248 I ride road and MTB. I ended up buying a Garmin 530 and unfortunately, the Garmin 530's accuracy is noticeably better than the Wahoo Roam on the road as well, even with a clear view of the sky, and especially if going on a road through the woods. I wish it weren't the case because the Wahoo is better in almost every other way.
@@squiresuzuki strange.. where are you from? I see people commenting that wahoo is accurate on the road but not on the trails. Is it not on the road too? :/
For climbing on the Wahoo, if you have a route planned, it will show the profile of the route so you can see when hills are ahead on the map page and climbing page. But it does not have any metrics or scale or colour differentiation for steeper sections.
Nowhere near the information you get on Garmin's climb pro.
My first "computer" was a distance odometer on the front hub back in 1974. I've since used just about everything. But liked the Garmin 500, then tried the Wahoo Bolt and loved it. Since I wanted to use the Varia this year I got an Edge 1030+. Did not love it that much. As soon as Wahoo came out with the New Bolt with the color screen, I got one. I have to say it's the best cycling computer out there for staying focused on riding and not getting distracted by a screen. And the Varia works even better than with the 1030+.. NEW BOLT all day long.
The 'off course' thing with strava routes on Garmin is unbelievably frustrating. I get 'on course' then 500 meters later... Off course make a u-turn. I've wanted to throw it in the trash! 😂
I jettisoned my Garmin 520 today and picked up a Roam
Never had any issues with the Garmin (520+ and 530).
The only thing I don't like is that it is not easy to customize. (please, create an off device app to customize the device)
I think you can compare it like an Android for Garmin and iPhone for Wahoo
Used Garmin until a year ago then got a bolt. Garmin touch screen in the rain was a pain and every now and again had to factory reset. Otherwise happy. Bolt is great except….. need to use phone for any changes on wifi. The rubber button cover on the left side has popped out and is dangling there….. you can’t upload Xert workouts. Have the original bolt and it doesn’t navigate if you go off course. I understand the new one does. Still a good unit.