Garmin or Wahoo?

secretsam

Want a GPS as a treat, would like some form of mapping, plus cadence and HRM to put on the full fake-pro look.

Can't decide between Wahoo Element Bolt vs Garmin 520/820. Being able to map and follow a route would be a big plus.

Read a few online reviews and can't decide which to go for.

All thoughts welcome.

thegreatdivide

Here we go...

photonic69

5 pages?

Vslowpace

Definitely Campag

supermurph09

SecretSam wrote:

Want a GPS as a treat, would like some form of mapping, plus cadence and HRM to put on the full fake-pro look.

Can't decide between Wahoo Element Bolt vs Garmin 520/820. Being able to map and follow a route would be a big plus.

Read a few online reviews and can't decide which to go for.

All thoughts welcome.

What do you have now? I had an Edge 500 for 4 years, it worked great, but felt a bit old hat compared to the latest devices so rather than stay with Garmin I went for the Wahoo Bolt. I've had it about 7 months, great piece of kit, so easy to setup, even the stats are pretty good too, I'd certainly recommend the Bolt. Mapping is not a high priority for me so any shortfalls it has in this area are not a concern. The LED lights are a nice touch as well.

hopkinb

I had a Garmin 200, then 500, which died recently. Bought an elemnt bolt a week ago, no problems with it yet. Chirrups away to itself quite happily, and goes mental at you if you take a wrong turning, red lights all over the place. I like it.

alex222

I have an 820. If I was buying again I would get a Wahoo.

shirley_basso

Do you know where the search function is and how it works?

galatzo

Bought a Bolt a few weeks ago and very happy with it.
Best price is Sigma for £199 - Add some tyre levers to your basket to take it over £200 and you can use the GIRO40 code to get £40 off !

meursault

I have aging Garmin Edge 800.

Also considering swapping to Wahoo. Edge has been pretty good overall, apart from usual niggles. Had to buy Polar heart rate strap as Garmins is toilet.

Undecided.

secretsam

thegreatdivide wrote:

Here we go...

Sorry

Vslowpace wrote:

Definitely Campag

Already got that

Supermurph09 wrote:

What do you have now?

Cateye Velo and a smartphone in my back pocket!

lostboysaint

Aging Edge 800, replaced an aging Edge 205. Never had issues with either.

sloppyschleckonds

OP is trolling surely

StillGoing

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

OP is trolling surely

4000 odd posts and not simply searched for such a repetitive subject?

lettingthedaysgoby

Galatzo wrote:

Bought a Bolt a few weeks ago and very happy with it.
Best price is Sigma for £199 - Add some tyre levers to your basket to take it over £200 and you can use the GIRO40 code to get £40 off !

Ooooh, thanks for that!

*gets out credit card*

dstev55

Had both Garmin and Wahoo.

Wahoo are about 5 years ahead.

MiddleRinger

Wahoo Bolt or Garmin Edge 820 will both do the job (the 520 isn't as good to follow routes on).

I prefer the mapping and drag/drop features of the 820. Bolt is cheaper.

nuclearred955

Galatzo wrote:

Bought a Bolt a few weeks ago and very happy with it.
Best price is Sigma for £199 - Add some tyre levers to your basket to take it over £200 and you can use the GIRO40 code to get £40 off !

Was going to pick one of these up from LBS tomorrow, assuming there were no deals to be had - instead I just ordered one from Sigma along with some £2 puncture patches.

Feel faintly guilty now but the sense of smugness is helping me cope.

StillGoing

MiddleRinger wrote:

Wahoo Bolt or Garmin Edge 820 will both do the job (the 520 isn't as good to follow routes on).

I prefer the mapping and drag/drop features of the 820. Bolt is cheaper.

And reliable, unlike the 820 (ex 705, 810 & 820 owner) or most Garmin products.

ayjaycee

My contribution towards PN69s prediction of 5 pages is a luddite approach. If all you want is cadence and HRM and no mapping, buy a good condition used Edge 500 from eBay and add a modern 'magnetless' cadence sensor. If necessary, stick a new battery in the computer and save £150 for other bling.

wongataa

SecretSam wrote:

Want a GPS as a treat, would like some form of mapping, plus cadence and HRM to put on the full fake-pro look.

Can't decide between Wahoo Element Bolt vs Garmin 520/820. Being able to map and follow a route would be a big plus.

Read a few online reviews and can't decide which to go for.

All thoughts welcome.

You don't want a Garmin 520 for mapping/route following. The Garmin options for that are the 520 plus, 820, 1000, 1030.

ryan_w-2

wongataa wrote:

SecretSam wrote:

Want a GPS as a treat, would like some form of mapping, plus cadence and HRM to put on the full fake-pro look.

Can't decide between Wahoo Element Bolt vs Garmin 520/820. Being able to map and follow a route would be a big plus.

Read a few online reviews and can't decide which to go for.

All thoughts welcome.

You don't want a Garmin 520 for mapping/route following. The Garmin options for that are the 520 plus, 820, 1000, 1030.

800/810...

thegreatdivide

wongataa wrote:

SecretSam wrote:

Want a GPS as a treat, would like some form of mapping, plus cadence and HRM to put on the full fake-pro look.

Can't decide between Wahoo Element Bolt vs Garmin 520/820. Being able to map and follow a route would be a big plus.

Read a few online reviews and can't decide which to go for.

All thoughts welcome.

You don't want a Garmin 520 for mapping/route following. The Garmin options for that are the 520 plus, 820, 1000, 1030.

The 520 gives turn by turn directions which is more than adequate for road cycling.

davebradswmb

Agreed, the 520 is quite adequate for following a route. The only trouble is that it is more expensive than the Bolt, harder to use, can only store a limited amount of maps, has a colour screen which is harder to read in bright sunlight and runs out of battery a lot sooner.

The Bolt doesn't do mapping either, if you really want this you need the Garmin 820 or 1000 series. However it is probably easier to plan routes on a phone than on these devices, and it is very easy to then get the route onto the Bolt (or a 520 for that matter).

Dave L

If you are not fussed about having street names on the map you can get a much larger mapping area on the Edge 520 if you get your maps from bbbike.org (https://extract.bbbike.org/)
(Use the "Garmin Onroad (ASCII) format). This site also offers the benefit of allowing you to select non rectangular areas that can further reduce the map size.
The map I currently have on mine covers the whole of Northern England and takes up just over 4 Mb. You should be able to get the whole of Britain on in this map format.

wongataa

thegreatdivide wrote:

wongataa wrote:

SecretSam wrote:

Want a GPS as a treat, would like some form of mapping, plus cadence and HRM to put on the full fake-pro look.

Can't decide between Wahoo Element Bolt vs Garmin 520/820. Being able to map and follow a route would be a big plus.

Read a few online reviews and can't decide which to go for.

All thoughts welcome.

You don't want a Garmin 520 for mapping/route following. The Garmin options for that are the 520 plus, 820, 1000, 1030.

The 520 gives turn by turn directions which is more than adequate for road cycling.

The 520 has limited map space and does not do true turn by turn directions. You need routes with course points in the correct place to have turn alerts. The Garmin 8xx & 1xxx series have true turn by turn (they generate the turn notifications) and can store much larger maps.

The Wahoos are like the 520 in navigation capability but they have worldwide mapping.

ugo.santalucia

I came to the conclusion that software update related bugs aside, generally Garmin units are pretty robust. Many people having problems with them are down to not knowing how to use them or expecting too much out of their unit.

Bike GPS are a bit less plug and play than car GPS and you need to know what you are doing... the GPX tracks you use need to be of adequate side and compatible to the unit you use.

pblakeney

wongataa wrote:

The 520 has limited map space and does not do true turn by turn directions. You need routes with course points in the correct place to have turn alerts. The Garmin 8xx & 1xxx series have true turn by turn (they generate the turn notifications) and can store much larger maps.

The Wahoos are like the 520 in navigation capability but they have worldwide mapping.

I keep reading this and don't get it at all. I use Garmin Connect to generate a course which then provides me with turn by turn directions and a map (Worldwide) for the route with no extra input required.
Maybe I just got a genius 520 by luck.

Dave L

PBlakeney wrote:

wongataa wrote:

The 520 has limited map space and does not do true turn by turn directions. You need routes with course points in the correct place to have turn alerts. The Garmin 8xx & 1xxx series have true turn by turn (they generate the turn notifications) and can store much larger maps.

The Wahoos are like the 520 in navigation capability but they have worldwide mapping.

I keep reading this and don't get it at all. I use Garmin Connect to generate a course which then provides me with turn by turn directions and a map (Worldwide) for the route with no extra input required.
Maybe I just got a genius 520 by luck.

Indeed, it must be fake news day here today or something!
It will, as metioned, guide you along a course that does not contain course (cue) points. This can be a bit hit and miss, in that a bend in the road of sufficient tightness will be flagged up as a turn. Also, it can miss actual turns in some instances, often where a couple of turns come up in quick succession.
My preferred method is to plan my routes in RidewithGPS, which allows you to add/edit/delete the turn points as required.
Both methods will guide you along a course whether you are on the map screen or not. In what sense is this "not doing turn by turn navigation"?

thegreatdivide

wongataa wrote:

The 520 has limited map space and does not do true turn by turn directions. You need routes with course points in the correct place to have turn alerts.

Rubbish. Map a route in RideWithGPS, download it as a TCX file, stick it in the New Files folder in the 520 = turn by turn directions.

secretsam

philthy3 wrote:

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

OP is trolling surely

4000 odd posts and not simply searched for such a repetitive subject?

No, I'm just lazy and want an up-to-date opinion. I've been a member since forever, so 4k posts isn't that many, plus most of those on Commuting.