GPS tech (Garmin, Hammerhead, Wahoo, RWGPS, etc)

Budget variable - could stretch to 830 (or 1030 if necessary)

Usage - standard road riding, some 2 day trips but not super long distance, however do like some route finding / exploring so navigation info helpful (currently on gen 1 wahoo elemnt so it's not ideal).

Essentially I like the sound of the extra features Garmin offers (hill profile, extra training / recovery analysis Vs the wahoo) but I have found the wahoo to be pretty reliable and have heard horror stories about Garmin.

I'd thought 530 with no touch screen would be more reliable / easier to use on the road than the touch variants but if you can't zoom in / out of maps that seems a pretty big omission

I turn off all the extra shit Garmin has so I can't comment on that.

If you want any on the fly navigation on the device then Wahoo is out as that's all done on a phone with them.

Go play with the three units you're considering in a shop. Have a look at the map screens and make a call based on how much extra you're willing to pay for screen real estate.

All fair advice... I've never played around on a Garmin, so should have a look before I jump in.

My understanding was that the new elemnt roam gives you some navigation on the fly - that and a couple of colours are the big change from my gen 1 elemnt.

530 does have zoom in/out, but it is a bit tricky. you need first press menu (upper right button) and this brings you to zoom in/out using arrows (bottom left buttons). if you press menu again it brings you to pan left/right again with arrow buttons, one more time menu button and you can pan up/down. once you are familiar with that it works fine even with gloves on.
530 is really great, imo the best all around unit garmin ever made. i ended up having this and an outdoor device like 66ST when I need proper navigation including preloaded birds eye imagery.

Have you tried swapping day/night modes?

Yeah but i think they're almost equally bad - but I appreciate it's mainly my eyesight that's the issue. I just wish they'd let you thicken the route line a bit as well as edit the colour.

Basically the 830 display is about 50% closer to the colour definition shown in the 1000 above - which makes it easier for me to read than a 1030 at night despite the smaller size.

My 935 wrist based HR isn't great if HR changes quite a bit (i.e. cycling or 5-a-side football). It tends to be fine with steady state running (although I have seen it sometimes spend a few minutes at a time picking up my ~160spm cadence instead of my 170-180bpm HR), but even running intervals it can be all over the place as it doesn't seem to cope with big sudden swings in HR.

Here's my commute this morning for example: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/4417119790

No way was my HR that low for it, it's rarely below 150bpm on a commute and it certainly wasn't 90bpm when crossing Lambeth Bridge.

It might just be my 935 getting old though (any excuse to upgrade).

My fenix 5 can be great or shit. Depends how it feels.

If I actually care I use a chest strap now.

I think the 1000 was better, but the screen size, battery life and USB slot makes me happy with the 1030 over the 1000. Try changing colours of your track to something with more contrast, like green or gold. Something that doesn't match existing road colours (depends on what maps you use I guys).

Ah, dunno, the missus has the normal Wahoo. That's the only one I've seen.
If they can make it work like a Garmin but better I'll consider them in the future.

Got a slack notification on my garmin this morning. Have no idea how they've got connected.

Slack -> Mobile -> Garmin ?

Sometimes the notifications can be useful. If I can I don't take my mobile with me on a run/ride. The only runs I do with my mobile are run commutes, but one long training run I was doing for my first marathon (which I was gathering sponsorship for) I carried my phone for some reason. I was on the verge of giving up 25km in to a 28km training run when I got a notification from JustGiving saying that someone had made a donation, that was enough to remind me it wasn't just about me and I scraped through the last 3km of the run.

Slack, however, is absolutely not the source of useful notifications when out for a run/ride.

Ciao! Has any edge 830 owners noticed that pre created route calculation has gotten slower and slower? When 830 was new route calculation was fast, like less than a minute, but over time it has gone back to previous versions slowness.. (800, 820 slow)

Anyone got a forerunner 35 in a draw?
Before I head off to ebay.

Yeah I'm pretty sure I do actually. Been used, but functional. DM me with an offer

I picked up a Etrex 35 touch. It's a lot easier to use than the joystick version.
Decided to not bother with power meter for racing Atlas, so it will be ideal.

I still do not understand why the etrex line does not have inbuilt temperature.

I still do not understand why the etrex line does not have inbuilt temperature.

So they can sell you one of these
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-External-Temperature-Sensor-Products/dp/B0092ZMXBS

And I bought one! What a mug.

Thankfully only£10 with prime.

Sometime it get sorted in a pocket, close to body, etc. That could give incorrect temperature reading.

The temperature reading from my Forerunner 935 is near useless if it's worn on the wrist.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/4449915315

2.2 deg C that day for parkrun, watch tells me it was between 15 deg C and 11 deg C. It is heavily influenced by body temperature.

At least with a Tempe you might be able to mount it somewhere insulated from body heat.

Exactly, even cycling computer on the stem doesn’t always give 100% accurate reading.

I still do not understand why the etrex line does not have inbuilt temperature.

because they do not have a li-ion battery inside. the main purpose of that sensor is to control temperature during charging.

Out-front camera users, how's your GPS interference on the head units? With Wahoo units (I tested all 3 models) it's not good (very good interference... not good for accuracy), when the Cycliq is running. (It was way worse when I had the Mobius actioncam out on the front, partly remedied by putting some aluminum tape inside the camera. And to think that camera was made as a drone cam, it's worrying....)

I wish they made the GPS units inside the GPS units bombproof (a ground plane inside the housing would go a long way) but at least Wahoo is not doing it. How about others?

Good point. Still, you think Garmin would be smart enough to realise users find it useful for knowing the temperature for them also.

This. They include it on the Edge models, why not etrex.

"It was -3degC at last night's bivvy spot, sonofabitch!"

true, and I think it costs nothing and from software standpoint everything is already in place.
however, I find a tempe sensor zip tied underneath my stem gives me more accurate data and it reacts more quickly to temp changes. so now I actually miss the ability to connect it to the edge unit.