Bolt v2 vs Edge 530

me-109

Thinking of replacing my trusty old Edge 500. Never use mapping and routes but (or because) all you get is basic breadcrumb and directions. That and I need to go a long way from home to be lost or unsure of the best route.
However, units have come on a lot and if I were spending money it might as well cater for the non-local rides where I'd normally go old school with some written notes and a good memory.
I was first keen on the bolt for the zoom display to help failing near vision, but the off-route and redirection didn't seem that good if I was needing mapping. So I swung to the 530, which gets slated for the UI and a glarey screen, but better mapping.
Anyone used one and switched, or made the same choice and regretted it?

me-109

Should have added, the V2 appears to have improved the mapping over V1, so having discounted the Bolt and made a decision, the more I have read/seen of the 530 the more I can't decide if this is not just user bias than anything. A bit Apple vs Android.

pblakeney

Can't comment on the Bolt but I'm happy with the 530 UI, and I have no idea where the glare issue stems from. Other opinions will no doubt be available.

redvision

The bolt 2 is having loads of teething issues which seems to be taking wahoo time to sort. Some people have been lucky and not experienced any problems, others have reported difficulties connecting to sensors, constant sensor drops, gps lag and drops, speed inaccuracies (even when using speed sensor), incorrect temperatures and rapid battery drain.

The rumours speculated that the garmin 530 was due to be refreshed this summer so unless you are desperate for a new gps it may be better to wait and see if wahoo find fixes for the bolt 2 problems, or to see if garmin do release a new model (although it's quite late in the summer for such a release now tbh)

You could also consider the karoo hammerhead 2. More expensive but seems to be quite popular and some glowing reviews following the last few updates.

molteni_man

I haven’t used the Bolt v2, but recently updated to a Garmin 530 which I have been very impressed and pleased with.
Like you ME-109 I have never bothered using maps/ routes, before, but have been using routes on the 530 to help me do some of the South Downs and King Alfreds way initially This has worked v well and I now have dropped in some New Forest gravel routes too.
The 530 is a big improvement over my old 520. Namely, battery life is excellent, everything works very swiftly- the processor is much updated I believe - things like being ready to ride etc, reliability has been great, transfer of data to Strava instant. Garmin just seem to have really got their act together with this!
Like the comments above I find the screen very easy to read - no glare issues at all.
A friend went the Wahoo route from his 520 and has been pleased with this too, so not an easy decision!

ibr17xvii

I upgraded from a Bolt v1 to v2 & am very happy that I did.

Not had any real issues apart from the temperature being massively inaccurate (which is no biggy as it was on the v1 anyway), everything else has been spot on.

The screen & the mapping are night & day compared to the v1 - the colour also makes a big difference.

All in all very happy. Loved my v1, didn’t give me any issues whatsoever & this is a definite improvement.

me-109

Thanks, but .... Gaaaaarrrrgh!!! I probably can't go wrong either way and only the few that get to use both will ever know - and even then there are probably use cases for both.

spatt77

hi, I`ve owned both Garmin and Wahoo, and I prefer wahoo but its personal choice I guess, however if you have to deal with either company Garmins customer service leaves a lot to be desired whilst Wahoo are excellent to deal with.

lochindaal

I was making the same decision recently having lost my Wahoo and was tempted to move to the Garmin as the only thing I didn't like about the Bolt was you can't move around the onscreen map, only zoom in or out. Concern on Garmin was the issues people have with it (though I suspect this is due to high volume of users) as I had an 810 in the past with no issues. Eventually went for the Hammerhead Karoo 2 for something different. Liking it so far and they do seem to respond and fix issues quickly. Can be got cheaper than list via Wiggle

molteni_man

me-109 said:

Thanks, but .... Gaaaaarrrrgh!!! I probably can't go wrong either way and only the few that get to use both will ever know - and even then there are probably use cases for both.

A further thought is to factor in the additional cost of new out front mounts. Not sure how many bikes you have and what the cost of the Wahoo ones are?
Like you say, you probably can’t go wrong with either!