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(Another) Wahoo or Garmin? £200 to spend

Hello,

Im looking at upgrading my garmin edge 500.
Oldie, but goldie.

I have £200 odd to spend on a new computer, and i like the look of the wahoo elemnt bolt.

But im concerned about the change from garmin to wahoo, and the lack of turn by turn from strava maps? is this the case? (i have read that ridewithgps would solve this, but im unfamiliar with this, and wondered how hard it was to implement?)

I also have garmin speed & cadence sensors & a magene heart rate monitor - will these work with the wahoo?

And would an equivalent Garmin (New Edge 530 perhaps?) be any better.

I have heard on more than one occasion, once you go wahoo, you never go back?

Thanks for your time and opinions.

Ta.

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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15 comments

Avatar
Richard_pics | 3 years ago
1 like

Thank you all for your input. Ive ordered a bolt.

I waited, and now there's £25 cash back from Sigma Sports! That coupled with the £10 newsletter sign up, has saved me significant dollar dollar. wink

So thank you all. Ill feedback how i get on with it.

Cheers.

John.

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TheBillder | 3 years ago
0 likes

I have a Garmin 810, my son Wahoo Element Bolt. Garmin is better for the map and turn by turn navigation - it is usually excellent and you can ride with your usual data screen, waiting for the bleeps and map to pop up at the turns. Ironically the Wahoo scores here because it just shows the way, so if a route is badly done with minor detours at junctions etc, the Garmin tries to make you follow it exactly. The Wahoo just gives you the crumb trail.

But the Garmin pressure sensor fails in the rain (mostly sorted by rubber case) and it won't talk to my unbranded cadence sensor. The touch screen is annoying too because when you take the GPS off the bike at the café stop you have to carry it carefully. The wahoo buttons make more sense.

I agree that connecting to a computer to upload the ride is a pain, but the automatic connection via Bluetooth and phone has been the only unreliable part of the Wahoo.

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Richard_pics replied to TheBillder | 3 years ago
0 likes

Thank you for your feedback. What phone do you use to connect to the Wahoo?

 

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ibr17xvii replied to TheBillder | 3 years ago
0 likes

On the very odd occasion the my Bolt hasn't picked up the Wifi & uploaded my ride to Strava you just need to connect the device to the Wahoo app via BT & it will sync the ride. Then you can just upload it to Strava from there, literally takes seconds.

This has probably happened 2 or 3 times in the 2 years I've owned it.

Would agree about the navigation though, the breadcrumb line is OK, certainly good enough to use but not fantastic & won't reroute automatically if you go off course.

Personally I don't use the navigation a lot & if I did I would probably get the Roam which reading the reviews improves on the Bolt massively in this aspect.

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ibr17xvii | 3 years ago
0 likes

Bolt or Roam would be my choice.

Your sensors will work no problem as will your device unlike a Garmin half of the time............

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Bigmarlow | 3 years ago
0 likes

I've just bought a garmin 530 upgraded from a garmin 800 and I love the newer updated unit. 
 

not had any problems with it at all. Uploaded routes onto the device no problem and been followed with no issues. Also got mine at a good price of £179.99 a couple of weeks ago 

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cdean replied to Bigmarlow | 3 years ago
0 likes

Where did you manage to get a 530 for £179.99 from? That's a great price. 

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Bigmarlow replied to cdean | 3 years ago
0 likes

I'll see if I can find you the link if you are interested? The 830 was reduced aswell. It was from the garmin site itself but you have to follow the link as it's classed as student rate. It's currently £172.99! 

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cdean replied to Bigmarlow | 3 years ago
0 likes

Yes please!

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cdean replied to Bigmarlow | 3 years ago
0 likes

Bigmarlow wrote:

I'll see if I can find you the link if you are interested? The 830 was reduced aswell. It was from the garmin site itself but you have to follow the link as it's classed as student rate. It's currently £172.99! 

 

Yes please! That would be great, thank you.

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jaymack | 3 years ago
1 like

You're quite right about Wahoo, once you have one you'll wonder what the Garmin fuss is all about. If your sensors are Bluetooth or ANT they should pair with a new Elmnt, however if your 500 is one of those rare Garmin products that works you could just save your cash for the day it finally dies. After all your money's probably going to go further in the enivitable post virus sales than it is today.

 

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Richard_pics replied to jaymack | 3 years ago
0 likes

I can't save money! I have that spend it gene!

The 500 does work, but its let me down before, so I shadow each ride with the strava app on my phone in my pocket.

But the ease of uploading is getting on my wick (break out the laptop, upload etc) and the mapping function is what's pushing me away. Bluetooth connectivity is a must!

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jaymack replied to Richard_pics | 3 years ago
0 likes

In which case buy an Elmnt Bolt, 'ti's a great piece of kit.

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BadgerBeaver | 3 years ago
1 like

Hello,

I had the same question about 18 months ago. I went with Wahoo Elment Bolt.

I got a bundle with mine so use the Wahoo sensors.

I didn't want to go Garmin, due to the lack of support (withdrawn for "older" versions of equipment sold under the Garmin and its subsidiaries names), poor website and apps. 

Routes: I pick up routes from all sorts of sources, no issue. The Wahoo app is good with is "take me to" feature, and allows you to config your screens easily. Finally on group rides in the Alps where we had downloaded routes from Strava, those of us with Wahoos were bang on the money, whilst the Garmn guys had us doing uncertain loops of roundabouts and complaining that they were off route and needed to divert (whilst in the middle of a lonley single track mountain road).

 

Hope that helps

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huntswheelers | 3 years ago
1 like

Bryton Rider 450 for me these days..... nice unit, 32hr battery life, world maps, Bryton,Strava, RWGPS,Komoot maps sync... 3rd party import...Phone app will put turn by turn info in in one click...links to all the sensors Ant+ and BLE... links to Di2/EPS/eTap for ESS display & power meters.... has wifi too for firmware ...easy to transfer routes via the app.... also training peaks, selfloops etc if you are into training.... if you have the Garmin sensors...you'll only need the base unit......noI don't work for them or affiliated to Bryton or the UK distributor..... https://www.deporvillage.net/bryton-rider-450e-black-orange?gclid=Cj0KCQ...

 

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