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

Ended up going for the Explore as it is currently down to £176 on Cycle Republic. Annoyingly the Edge 530 was down to about that previously on the Garmin site as discussed in this thread a few weeks ago, but wasn't really ready to make a purchase then. I'm so used to having my current unit on charge whilst riding that I think the battery life will be ok for me, any longer stuff I can plug it in when it starts to get low. I think the sheer amount of features on the 530 was what turned me away most. I hate having things that I don't use cluttering menus up haha.

I’ve been pretty happy with my Edge Explore. It’s nice using Komoot to plan routes and syncing them over through the app (and I believe the Garmin will sync them directly very soon). The screen is great. Sometimes it takes a few swipes to switch screen, but never too bad. Recommended.

I’ve been very impressed with the Cycle Republic service at least, ordered on Thursday evening and arrived yesterday morning, think that’s quicker than anything I ever ordered into the store previously. Happy with the garmin route import tests I’ve done so far which has been make the route in RWGPS, import that into Garmin connect and then using the phone app to transfer to the device, will maybe find a less clicking about way once I’ve played with it more. Taking it out today so will see how I get on but yeah first impressions on the touchscreen and the screen size and things are good

Having just reinstalled just the Garmin connect app on my android I have noticed it now does basic route planning between two different points on a map. Before (until a month or so ago), no matter what I tried, it only offered a round 5k route back to the starting point, which was less than helpful.

Is it me being a dunce or has something changed?

This is what I've been wanting for ages, just to follow a basic breadcrumb route synched straight from my phone. Great. Not actually tested the quality of route yet, but it's a start.

please don't shoot me if this has been discussed and answered a lot but as people experienced change and they have kit for more time their opinions may too! So, want a gps for exploring all the trails and bridleways down here in Sussex so nav3pretty important. I'll e getting cadence, speed etc dingle things too. Question is: wahoo elemnt bolt or garmin edge 520 plus? Lots or comparisons out there but I trust the brutal honesty of people on this forum.

Best wishes

Andy

I found the battery life on my 520 faded very quickly, and soon couldn't do more than 3 hours on the nav screen. No experience of the upgrade for the "plus" model, but it was enough to push me to switch to Wahoo. I went with the Roam, and am more than happy with it. Very easy set-up (I use RidewithGPS to plot routes, and these auto-sync to the computer). Battery is amazing. Did 2 x 5 hour rides using the navigation screen and recording power + HRM last week, and still have 70% remaining

I've had a wahoo elemnt (first gen) + now have a Garmin 530 and the wahoo is so much easier to use and less annoying.

To contradict @Brain-Stew though, I found the Garmin battery better - although I think it's probably a case of old Vs new device (i.e. only replaced the wahoo after 4 years use with brand new Garmin). Somewhat regret moving from wahoo...

Interesting, I gave up on my Wahoo Element last week and bought the Garmin 830. Was impossible for off the beaten track. Riding offroad/gravel was impossible with the element for me.

Excellent feedback and the wahoo looks like it may win based in simplicity! Question: should I bother with the sensor pack for speed etc. Not fussed on cadence or HR at this juncture so wondered of the GPS speed is usable opposed to having a dedicated sensor? Best Andy

ah! Right...may need to look at that then. Was it a first gen elemnt? Wondering if things have improved with the point by point guidance the wahoo has now?

No experience on the Wahoo, but friend and I both have the 530. I have a speed sensor mounted on my hub while he does not.

Do notice a slight accuracy issue when we ride under trees for a while without direct sight to sky. But the ride do seem to have the same metrics when compared in Garmin connect.

Yeah that is a fair point - I am very much a road not off-road cyclist so can't really comment on that side of things

I skipped the Garmin x20 series, as they seemed to have a lot of problems. Garmin hasn't made the 520 Plus model for quite a while now, and there are plenty still for sale despite having been very heavily discounted for a long time. I think that probably tells you everything you need to know about them. I've currently got a 530 which I've been impressed with so far. It's a bit fiddly to set up, and the button layout isn't exactly intuitive, but it's stable and the battery life is impressive.

As for the Wahoos, the original Elemnt is excellent with one massive flaw - of the four I've had (2 original purchases, 2 replacements) the altimeter has gone screwy on all of them. It just generates totally random numbers, and becomes utterly useless after a while. I think it's because the ports on the rear of the device for the barometric and temperature sensors get blocked, and there's no practical way to clear them. Apart from that they're excellent, but it's a major flaw.

The Wahoo Bolt doesn't seem to suffer from this, but the screen is very small for navigating. You can use it for navigating pre-loaded routes, and it works OK, but the lack of screen size can become an issue particularly if you have to deviate off the planned route.

For navigating, I'd go with the 530. Although I've never used a 520Plus myself, everyone I know who's got one thinks they're bobbins.

And if you're not interested in HRM, I wouldn't bother with the sensor bundle. The GPS is fine for speed/distance 99% of the time.

After a couple of rides with an Edge Explore I'm going to see if I can still return and get a 530. I thought the touchscreen would be worth it over the extra features, but it's not as good as I hoped. And battery life is really unimpressive, I can see it dropping off to unusable within a year. If they don't accept returns I'll try to flog it, payed €164 for it so should be able to sell without a significant loss.

Very interesting how experience differs between generations of the same product and different manufacturers!

Can't comment on the Element off road, but I use by Roam extensively off road and don't have any problems. I have to say that I prefer the Garmin's ability to be able to load OSM base maps on to the unit (as far as I know there isn't similar on the Wahoo), but that said I haven't found any limitations in the Wahoo basemap

What kind of battery life were you getting? I had been considering one of these before lockdown (mainly for the mapping). DC Rainmaker had given them a fairly good review. The touchscreen was one of the things that I wasn't keen on though.

I had it at 20% after a 4 hour ride, was charged to 100% and then left off or standby (can't recall to be fair) for 4 days.

My old Garmin explore was a lot better for exploring than my wahoo. The map is easier to follow and more detailed and you can use the touchscreen to see where a path goes. With the wahoo I have to use the phone if I stray out of my route. Speed sensor is pretty useless for the most part.

So, want a gps for exploring all the trails and bridleways down here in Sussex so nav3pretty important

Are you wanting to see bridleways and trails mapped on the device itself or not?

Etrex 20. Always.

I think so yes. Want to be able to pick my way through them all without having to reference my phone etc and so would want to be able to see what I'm riding on the screen in front. About to move into the Alps so am thinking there will be much the same there.

For riding pre made road routes, the wahoo is ideal. The base map itself is not great, but when you plan your ride in RWGPS or Strava, that doesn't really matter.

If you actually need to use the base map to navigate, then I wouldn't recommend the wahoo. Even though I've used one for the last 3 or 4 years and for my purposes find it much better than Garmin 520.

I'd have a look at the Garmin Edge Touring if navigation is the priority over performance data. If you just want to ramble without a route occasionally, then the big touch screen will come in handy.

So let's say i sit in the evening and plan out my route on the computer or phone using whatever mapping software I will, upload, the wahoo would happily guide me through my route (paths etc) quite happily? I appreciate I must sound like a complete spanner but I'm new to this GPS game and am being spurred on by my wife and toddler so they can follow my route when I'm out!

upload, the wahoo would happily guide me through my route (paths etc) quite happily?

In my experience; yes. If you are happy to follow a breadcrumb trail (ie arrows on the screen showing your route on the map), then the Wahoo works fine.

I bought one of the first gen Elemnts after getting tired of Garmin poor reliability, random crashes etc.

Battery life was around 12 hours when I first got it, now a few years down the line it's maybe 8-10 hours. If I am going to be out all day then I take a little battery pack and use this to recharge the wahoo at some point.