for a complete tech caveman ??
I would not get a Garmin then.
GPS to follow or GPS to log rides?
For logging get a simple GPS smart watch (Garmin, Polar, etc)
For following decide if needs to be on your bars or not.
If on the bars something rugged like a lower end Garmin (I'd avoid touch screens, but that's just my opinion)
Or if it's just to check routes occasionally then install maps on your phone, or use Strava live, and get it out if your pocket/bag when needed.
That's what I do. Watch for logging ride and other info on the move, phone for actual maps.
Used Garmin Edge 200 or a later 25. I also liked the 500, but the basic Garmin 200 was a decent bike computer that allows you to load a breadcrumb trail. Can only synch with a cable if that really matters.
I now like Lezyne I've had my super pro for a few months, done some trips with it and it has lots in it's favour, it's much cheaper than a Garmin, it's got good battery life, and it makes good use of your phone to upload maps and routes.
Downside is that it's data transfer with said phone is a bit slow and it's gone a bit daft at the start of a couple of rides and needed a restart.
None of them are perfect ever of course.
Wahoo is way more intuitive than Garmin. Most of the setup is on the phone app, which sounds a faff, but everyone knows how to use a smartphone, and it keeps the device itself very simple.
Not had a Garmin for over 5 years so they may have changed, but I'd say Wahoo. Just upgraded to a Roam - basically take it out the box, download the app to set up an account, scan the QR code and that's it. Create a route on Strava, it appears when you next turn in the unit. Finish a ride, it updates to Strava before you've put the bike away.
Witchcraft I tell thee!
Having just made the move from garmin to wahoo, I’d add another vote for wahoo
much cleaner interface, simper to use and set up (as mentioned, all done via the phone app), just a very tidy unit to use
sorry, should have said, it is to follow a route.
doing a winter event in Norway, we will be given a route to download to a gps.
so to follow on a bar mounted unit, in case the weather and visibility is poor.
i use OS maps on my phone at home. but rules for event are a gps.
The other issue is head unit performance in low temps then. Probably worth checking on the bearbones bikepacking forums about what setup would function best. Bob ( @whitestone off here) has done one of the bikepacking races up north, I think.
The need for chunky buttons would probably point towards an earlier Garmin.
sorry, should have said, it is to follow a route.
doing a winter event in Norway, we will be given a route to download to a gps.
so to follow on a bar mounted unit, in case the weather and visibility is poor
I'd still go for Wahoo. Navigation is similar to Garmin these days, in that they both use minimalist high contrast maps, which are a far cry from OS but tend to be exceptionally easy to follow a set route (and generally very accurate in my experience). OS maps on phone can be useful backup in the unlikely event you do lose the route.
My reasoning for Wahoo would be everything said above. Even things like zooming on the map requires several steps in my Garmin. Stuff like that is one button click on Wahoo. The default settings will also have you going round in circles with a Garmin as it continually thinks you're off route when you're not, sending you on a wild detour and taking you back to where you were a mile previously. I wouldn't want to learn about all the infuriating things Garmin do while trying to navigate my way around an event in a foreign country in the middle of winter.
I went from a Garmin Edge 200, a brilliant bike computer with a simple breadcrumb trail to an Edge Explorer 2 and regretted it. I knew I should have gone for a Wahoo unit.
Slight hijack - sorry Ton but hopefully useful for you too - if wahoo is the way forward what’s the main differences between the Roam and Bolt? I’m struggling to understand the main differences and uses between two seemingly similar units
@superstu I asked myself the same question MANY times whilst trying to decided between the two units
my understanding (or the conclusion I came to anyway)
Although both units do perform equally as well as each other
(According to any review I saw) the roam has slightly “better / upgraded” internals
roam has a slightly bigger screen
i plumped for the roam in the end for no other reason than the slightly bigger screen given an awareness that my eyes aren’t quite as good as they once were
@ton. My advice isn't which is easier but which GPS device lasts longest. Especially for a long bike tour.
I liked my Garmins, had loads of them but the final straw was when the edge 820 used to go into battery saving mode after 3 hours riding.
I bought a wahoo roam. It's battery life is amazing as it only has 8 colours. It easily last 15 hours.the newer v2 stuff is even better. (apparently)
To upload a ride using a phone, you click on the file, open in the wahoo app and send to device. Once it's on the device you can find the route on the device each day you start. Once you've done it a few times it's easy.
Then you make sure you stay on the line in the map. If you go off route it beeps at you. If you cock up, it re routes you back to your original line.
Just remember what device you do use that you will need to down load the maps to the device before you go.
My friend recently found out the hard way when he didn't have Scotland downloaded 🤣
Just remember what device you do use that you will need to down load the maps to the device before you go.
do you have to buy a map of the area you are riding in ?
Just remember what device you do use that you will need to down load the maps to the device before you go.
do you have to buy a map of the area you are riding in ?
do you have to buy a map of the area you are riding in ?
No, not on a wahoo but you do have to download it to the unit. You go to settings, select tge region and download.
I can't remember what maps you got for free on a Garmin
cheers mate.
currently got a hammerhead karoo 2 in for a review. seems a lot simpler than garmin to live with. accuracy seams better too. rerouting back to original route when encountering diversions is excellent, no "make a u turn" and minutes while the unit tries to sort itself out like my garmin does. so far i like it. no idea on cold weather performance though
I use Wahoo roam 2 - and Kmoot - bought Kmoot world maps for £20 - toured in the netherlands and Germany using it - I'm not very technical but managed this fine.
doing a winter event in Norway, we will be given a route to download to a gps.
Whichever you get, get it as soon as possible and use it as often as possible in advance so you get used to it going wrong, or having to put in a new route or point, or having to scroll to find a nearby town. I've seen friends want a GPS for an event but not put in the time to get used to it so it ends up being useless. It things like the backlight settings to get max battery life or being able to zoom out and in to get a feel for where you are. Being able to link to Komoot and having it hooked up to your phone can make life a lot easier but that only works if you are within range of a decent mobile signal.
Also, an out front mount can be really nice when trying to follow a route while riding offroad
do you have to buy a map of the area you are riding in ?
No, not on a wahoo but you do have to download it to the unit. You go to settings, select tge region and download.
I can’t remember what maps you got for free on a Garmin
theres a bit in the settings section on phone app listed as “maps” or something similar
you download the region you want in the phone app which then allows you to select routes within that region to send to the device itself so the maps are technically on your phone but the routes can be sent to the device
Another vote for Wahoo.
And just to point out, in normal use, you don't need to fire up the app.
It will sync routes from Stava/RWGPS etc, upload completed rides without the app. You only need the app for stuff such as uploading rides when away from WiFi, playing with the display layout, or if you want it to show messages and calls on the head unit or if you've set it up to send a tracking link to someone when you are riding.
I did notice that my Roam would open a big 3 day bike packing route, but to get it on my Brother's Bolt v2 we had to chop it up into separate days, it didn't seem to have the memory or processing power to deal with a multiday route.
I replaced my Garmin Edge 810 for a Wahoo Elemnt and have replaced the Wahoo with an Edge Explore. The Explore is a lot better than the 810 when using the new Garmin phone app. Both Wahoo and Garmin have their pros and cons, I wouldn't either was clearly better than the other. E.g. up there someone says zooming in and out on a wahoo is a one click job. It is on my edge explore as well, and I can pan around the map as well, something my wahoo couldnt do.
I think the app is the best thing about the wahoo. The wahoo brings up a code on the screen that you scan in the app and then it does everything for you. You dint need to search for nearby devices.
Setting the screens is done in the app too so if you want to display speed, time, cadence, ft climbed etc, just click on them in the app and they appear.
what’s the main differences between the Roam and Bolt? I’m struggling to understand the main differences and uses between two seemingly similar units
The difference between the bolt v1 and roam v1 is the size of the unit and mapping. The roam can navigate without an app by clicking on the screen and go to. It will also re route automatically while riding and bring up a blue route to get me back on track.
Coming from a Garmin to a bolt I struggled but I love the roam. No idea about v2 units
For following routes overseas we have used a Garmin etrex (the old 20 version in our case).
Simple, tough, a degree of waterproofing and uses aa batteries
I have used a Garmin Edge Explore I picked up 2nd hand (reconditioned). It's OK; took me a while to work out how to get it, Garmin Connect and Komoot to work together. Its's been fine for what I need for now with one distinct caveat...I need a much bigger screen! It's OK on the bike and better still once I got an out-front mount, but with my eyesight going the way it is, I need a bigger display! (Off to peruse Google to see if someone does a 42" cycling GPS 🤔😂)
I’ve had three Wahoos (Elemnt, Bolt mk1 and Roam mk1). All have been highly problematic: the first two caned the phone battery; the Roam crashed when going off route and then when Wahoo “fixed” the firmware it no longer rerouted at all. Plenty of other niggles, but those were the deal breakers.
Recently I bought three: the Roam, the Edge Explore 2 and the Karoo 2. It was a close call between the last two but once I’d gone back to just a single mount in the bike instead of running both units head-to-head I found that whenever I went for a ride I picked up the Hammerhead. The Explore 2 is better in some ways (most notably battery life) but the Hammerhead is easy to use and gets closer to “it just works” than any GPS I’ve used.
That said, if you’re in extreme conditions then you may want to look at something like an eTrex or other non cycling specific device, to give you more power source options etc.
I would not get a Garmin then.
I'd say if you buy their flagship model, then alongside the Hammerhead it's the closest to the "switch on and go" experience as you're likely to find, although in both cases you pay for the privilege. If you want just GPS without all the bells and whistles cycling computer functions then the Edge Explore is hard to look past.
All have been highly problematic: the first two caned the phone battery
@Bez interested in this. How did they do that? Does the gps unit need the app to be running at the same time to work?
Does the gps unit need the app to be running at the same time to work?
I think it does if you want to use the live track, or have things like text messages to your phone pop up on your head unit. Not like your phone has to be open and unlocked though, and I frequently forget to even open the phone app before I go and it Just Works.
That said I've used a Bolt v1 since 2018 and recently switched to a Roam v2, and I have (anecdotally ofc) come across none of these problems. I've used it with iPhones though, maybe Android phones behave differently?
How did they do that? Does the gps unit need the app to be running at the same time to work?
I don’t think it’s actually a problem any more, judging by my recent stint with the Roam. But one of them basically ran the phone full tilt until the battery died (you could watch the percentage ticking down and it made a very potent hand warmer—maybe that’s a good thing for a Norwegian winter ride 🙂) while the other managed to just eat battery slowly (but significantly) even when the app was closed and the GPS was off. Wahoo’s technical support weren’t very supportive, though, which put me off them somewhat. But like I say, wasn’t a problem recently—it was the total failure when going off-route that was the third strike for me. It didn’t help that when they patched it they introduced a related and very obvious bug that was almost as bad, and then never appeared to fix that one. The ownership experience with Hammerhead, or at least my experience of it, is in another league.
I'm still using an old (now discontinued) Polar V650 which whilst not having all the bells and whistles of modern units still does a decent job though the map view can be a bit tricky to see properly in bright sunlight. Easy to upload and download using Polar's website.. For just logging a route (rather than following on screen) I have a Polar M460. I think it's a great shame Polar haven't put out a replacement for the V650 but perhaps they figure others have now cornered that market.
I use a Xplova x5evo.
Maps are open source from their server.
Screen is colour and I think you can charge it from an external battery pack whilst in use. A feature I've never used.
If you want just GPS without all the bells and whistles cycling computer functions then the Edge Explore is hard to look past.
Apart from it's dire Battery life. Seriously don't get an Edge Explore if you're looking for a device to navigate by for any sort of extended period, at least not without a powerbank...
I used to get 12 hours out of my old Explore mk1. The Explore 2 is rated for up to 24 hours and from the rides that I did with it, it looked to be comfortably in line with that. (Subject to a margin of error, given I was only doing rides under 4h and the percentage reading is never super accurate.) If I was still doing massive rides these days, I’d have probably kept the Explore 2 instead of the Karoo 2.
All have been highly problematic: the first two caned the phone battery
If I'm doing a local ride I connect my phone to the wahoo and leave it. It sends out live tracking. I see text messages and calls appear on the screen.
If I'm touring my phone goes in aeroplane mode and I don't connect it. The wahoo lasts 15 hours or more following a route and recording it.
i have been offered a Garmin Etrex 30 from a mate. like new and cheap.
are they any good to just load a gpx onto and follow. i dont need mapping over here.
Etrex are good for mapping. Less good for just following a route compared to modern devices. I've ran them alongside each other on bigger rides and barely looked at the Etrex.
They do take AA batteries, but that's rarely an advantage any more with powerbanks so accessible
Loading/saving routes, you'll need access to computer via physical cable, unlike others where you'll be able to do it straight from your phone via Bluetooth.
Loved my Etrex when I first bought it, but I wouldn't buy one now.
It'll do the job but if mapping is not a priority, the newer computers are much more satisfying to use.
Riding in the dark might be a consideration too. Things like the Wahoo can run permanently back-lit with barely any reduction in battery performance.
A lot of dislike for garmin but I have a 1040 solar and i really like it. Mapping is brilliant, I rode from West Yorks into Warwickshire off-road with no wrong turns, and the new interface is very easy to use. I had a lezyne mega previous to the garmin and I much prefer the garmin. I had a Wahoo Elmnt and that was very easy to use but it broke after 2 years. I only charged the garmin 4 or 5 times over the summer. Solar really does extend the battery life. Touchscreen is good even when wet and easy to read even in bright sun. Yes it’s expensive and the amount of data etc might be a bit overwhelming but it can all be turned off.