Hi folks,

Im sure its been asked before but which is better for off the beaten track riding the Wahoo Roam or the Garmin 530. Love the simplicity of the Roam, easier to read screen and the indication lights. But as I want to use it a lot off road I wonder if the mapping is as good for MTB rides.

Advice plesae

Cheers

I’ve heard from YouTube reviews that garmin mapping is alot better.

A quick google has most people comparing the Roam to the Garmin 830 which is the touch screen version of the 530 minus some MTB specific features (trailfork integration etc).

DC Rainmaker has a comparison section of his Raom review where he does compare the Roam to both the 830, 530 and other bike computers.

Seeing as you are asking specifically for MTB I’d say the 530 maybe more what you are after.

I’ve got a 530 and I am really happy with my purchase, having never owned a Wahoo bike computer I can’t say if it’s better or worse. All that i can say is that I am happy with my purchase and it has more features that I can shake a stick at.

My only criticism is it that it beeps incessantly when I go off segment, but I am presuming that can be adjusted and the issue is with the rider not the computer.

I’ve got the roam, it was a struggle to get into it, but now i enjoy it for what it does, mapping wise it shows me all the bridleways, paths, etc in the area, so i can link together trips, i can extract the routes via my phone and review and take out bits that are useful for future.

Does it do anything better than a 530, haven’t a clue as i never used the 530, is the mapping great, probably not great, but it’s adequate, it isn’t full on OS Maps, but it does highlight the off road stuff to me, as the name says, it lets me roam about and hunt stuff out without ending up in the middle of nowhere, or not knowing there’s some type of path/bridleway i’m heading towards.