What do y'all use? Garmin or Wahoo? (something else?)

Welcome, Wahooligan! I've had the Elemnt Bolt for almost 3 years and I'm very happy with it. It's rarely given me any issues; when it has, they've been minor and easy to correct. Keep up the good work Brian.

as others are saying - Garmin gives you a whole ecosystem - sometimes I use my watch, sometime the edge cycling computer, but the workouts and trainings are synced nicely either way. All ant+ sensors (power, cadence, smart trainer) and GPS work fine for me on 820, 830 and Fenix 5, no complaints so far.... even the temperature and altitude reading is ok

Having lost my ride for the 4th time i got sick of my Garmin and bought a wahoo Elemnt. I’ve NEVER looked back! Love it. ❤️🤙👍

I made the switch from Garmin to the Wahoo Bolt almost three years ago. I have absolutely no regrets. It has given me no issues so far and it is kind of nice to have what most people don't. I did have one glitch that was the result of my phone updating and I didn't catch the Wahoo had an update. Customer service was very responsive and professional.

Totally agree and I have jumped from Deathstar Garmin to the Wahooligan universe and I couldn’t be happier - zero issues, no connection problems and it just works, each time every time. That plus ease of use and formatting screens and worldwide maps made the change a no brained.

Thanks for the share! my frustration with Garmin is growing - may join the ranks soon!

I'm right with you. I made the switch about 2 years ago from the Garmin Edge 520 to Wahoo Element Bolt. And have never regretted it. I was done after constant connection issues, drop outs, poor battery life, continuous upload issues. And final straw was when I contacted Garmin support and they basically in not so nice way told me that I was causing issue and had never heard of such a thing before with their equipment or app. Since getting Wahoo straight out of the box easy setup and zero issues.

I’m just got my first bike computer, and after watching a number of you tube videos I decided to get a new element bolt.

I switched recently from garmin to wahoo. There’s no going back. I absolutely love the wahoo. It’s so easy to use and functional

I'm happy for you. I think you'll get used to it as time goes on. Thanks for the review!

I went from the Garmin 1000 to the Garmin 1030. The 1030 is waaaayyyy better than the 1000. Phone pairing is improved and no rattling buttons!

As many others (below) attest, I gave up on Garmin Head units, hoping that subsequent iterations would improve - they did not. So rather than be taken any further for a test dummy with cash fool, I jumped over to Wahoo. Currently run the Roam and the original Elemnt - no problems, no drop out, no mid ride failure or updating. The ease of use, simple pairing and incremental improvements to existing models, rather than rolling out a new model made me a Wahooligan too.

Thanks!

I have been so impressed with the Roam. All Garmin and Polar stuff out of the window. Also, using the Wahoo TicrX HRM, provides me with not only cadence but also RPM on my Roam. No extra sensor required. My 3rd Wahoo machine is the Kickr Core for Zwift. Lovely stuff. So, truly a Wahooliga.

Dumped my Garmin 1000 about a year ago and switched to elemnt, haven’t looked back. It just works seamlessly time after time. Syncs with TP, Strava and Komoot, smooth as silk.. it did freeze once after switching it on, but the reset is simultaneously holding on/off button and bottom right button, (took a google find that) but other than that, it’s been great... I love it.

I always wanted to swap as well and after the recent Garmin problems with their website, I ordered the wahoo. After two weeks of problems after problems with connections, sync with strava, sync with iPhone etc I returned the wahoo and I am back to my Garmin

Dumped my Edge 520 a year ago and switched to Wahoo Element, one of the complaint I have for 520 is for the long ride, 100, 150 miles, I always need to carry a small USB power bank and charge it at rest stop...it is such embarrassing and finally switching to Wahoo, happy ride forever!

just bought one of these, it is an upgrade from the Bryton. Gr8 video thanx

Really good video and helpful for me as I’m about to buy my first bike computer. Also your roads look so smooth!!

I switched to the ROAM about 8 months ago and have really been happy. I had the Garmin 820 with many connection issues all the time. This unit is great. Only had a week when I could not upload my rides because of a software update. I truly hate those because there is always some kind of problem. I deleted all my apps and reinstalled and the problem when away.

I just made the reverse switch. Had my Element Bolt for a few years, but due to a software bug it stopped working. It would track my entire ride except for speed and distance. Picked up a Garmin 530 as a replacement. A week after getting the 530, Wahoo released a patch that fixed my Bolt. Now I'm not sure which one I will continue to use, I like them both.

i don't have Garmin bike computer but consider getting one. But i have all those disconnection issue on garmin watch so totally relatable .... so gonna give wahoo a try

Nice! I switched last year. Pretty happy with it.

What garmin unit did you change from?

Thanks Brian for the video, even if I understood very little linguistically. Unfortunately, my English is very bad. For weeks I have been thinking about getting a Garmin 830 or a Wahoo Roam. This video and the comments in the chat have now convinced me to buy a Wahoo Roam. Greetings from Baden near Vienna, Austria.

The Wahoo Roam is so easy to use, and routing - not least if you decide to make a new route when you are out on the road(meaning routing on your phone) is awesome, I use both Strava premium and Komoot. The thing you say is upload. But it's not uploading, it's syncing.. So as soon as you safe your route on either Komoot or Strava it's in the app.. And then you can choose it. I use the Garmin Varia as well, and the advantage with Wahoo is 1: It shows a green bar in the left side to show it's on and there is no one behind you. 2: It have audio signal both when someone is approaching, and not least when there is no more cars(Garmin don't do this). And furthermore, I have not had any connection problems or manually had to connect to any of my bikes(DI2), or powermeters(Quarq) - with my Edge 1030 plus I had to manually connect to the bike I was riding. The touchscreen is not anything I miss.. I can use my Roam with gloves, and in the summer, the sweat drops(more like waterfall) don't change screen. Honestly.. I realized the more I used my edge 1030 plus, the more frustrated I got. Integration of strava is IQ app on Garmin sucks(and crashed). And fifling with GPX files is cumbersome.. Wahoo can't brew coffee or other things.. But one thing I realized with Wahoo, what they do, they do simple and flawless.. ;)

Liking the Weber kettle man.

It was also fairly simple decision to switch forme; I had a Garmin 520 that stopped pairing with my Android phone. I tried other phones and also sent Garmin $100 to swap out the 520 - - but no joy. I invested WAY too much time and effort, trying to resolve the problem before bailing. I replaced it with the Wahoo Element Bolt and have been pleased with the change in reliability. This is just my experience.

I have the Roam as well. I really like the computer. Does everything I need it to do and the Trainerroad outside workouts works great on it. If I had one gripe it would be that it's a little irritating having to cycle through all the screens to return back to the previous screen. Other than that I can't complain. Also noticed that it seemed to take a bit for it to connect to the app for you. I find personally that if I go to the setting screen on the computer that it connects much faster.

Nice one. I am about to switch as well. I’ve had to return nearly every single Garmin sports product I have had (810, 820, two running watches, numerous HR straps, cadence sensor etc) . Only product I never returned was an original 500 bike head unit.

I've been using the Garmin Edge 1030 for half a year and the only thing I can say is that it's my best companion ever for my rides...just two minor bugs due to not updating the app. Come on guys, technology has never been perfect and possibly will never be and I won't change my mind just because someone uploaded a video giving his personal experience and point of view.

I went from Garmin to Wahoo for all the same reasons. After a year with Wahoo I am a happy Wahooligan! (I still swear by my Saris H2 trainer though!)

I have for the last 6 months a Garmin 530 and works 100% perfect with my phone, hr monitor, remote control, cadence sensor...never had a issue

I´m still with Garmin but have had the same thoughts as you. On the other hand I´m a quite sure, that I´m a indoorcyclist (like it much more then outdoor riding) so I don´t need a cycle-computer anymore

I never have try Wahoo so I have no opinion about it but I have Garmin for years. I have had the 810, 820, 1000 and now I have the 1030 and never have the problems about connectivity that you say. Before used a Samsung galaxy note 8 and now with one Huawei P30 Pro. My Garmin always works perfectly. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Same here. I didn't have any super major issues with my Garmin Edge 705, it held up pretty decent considering its age. Recalculating routes took forever, but it was the battery life which made me switch to Wahoo. I needed 10+ hours on a charge and a few years ago that just wasn't possible plus I heard numerous complaints about stability issues with the then newer Garmin units(520/1000/Edge Explore). I bought the Elemnt and loved it ever since. Stellar battery life, and absolutely zero issues. I won't go back, but might upgrade to the Elemnt Roam at some point. I use Ridewithgps to create routes, works great. However, I do have the impression that the latest gen Garmin units (130/530/830) is much better, with much improved battery life.

Been running a Garmin Bike Computer since 2018. No issues what do ever. I also use a Garmin Descent Mk1 and now MK2 Again never any issues. Guessing I have been lucky b

I did the switch around two years ago to the element as frankly fed up of the mild quality and build of Garmin. Not regretted it all and the roam (now) works perfectly and just had one failure on GPS once which caused my unit to reboot and lose a ride. reported it to Wahoo and they put a fix out within a few weeks as a few reported it.

I have used Garmin for years, have used an 830 for months and a 1030 plus for little over a month. I really have had none of the issues you are mentioning, tbh I have never moved from Garmin due to how amazing and reliable it has always been for me. Wanted to try a wahoo but so far had no need for it.

I'm a newbie to bicycle GPS computers so no bias, however you're swaying me to the Wahoo, even the bolt sounds like a good piece of kit.

Thanks, Dude! Got some good added tips for using mine. Please do a show on a full Trainer Road outdoor workout on it.

You got a new subscriber just now

Interesting insight

I have a Garmin Edge 1000. No issues other than battery life when doing centuries. A few times, I had to charge the Edge 1000 during the ride.

Glad to hear you found something that you like but Garmin does make good stuff too. I switched from a Wahoo Elemnt to the Garmin 830. I think the 830 works flawlessly because I've never had a problem. I have my head unit sync'd with Varia Radar and my Di2 system. For mapping I use Ride With GPS which is far better than any other. I also use Garmin IQ for some widgits and that works fine too. I get my messages when someone txts me because the head unit is sync with the phone. The Elemnt screwed me two times with the directions while riding a course and that was enough for me to can it. It's for sale but has been sitting in the box in the closet for months now.

You don't say what Garmin unit you had. I've got both Wahoo Bolt and Garmin 1030. Use the Garmin 1030 on my road bike and have never had any issues of any kind, connections, sensors, readability outdoors. And I love the touch screen too!

I use a Garmin, I don't love it, but I'm a couple of years away from needing a new unit. Great video! And how cute is your family!

I guess I don't understand what this gets you over the Garmin. My 1030 plus has been flawless, and the integration with the Connect app, MyFitnessPal and Strava is terrific.

I have too many garmin devices to consider Wahoo. I would hate to manually manage my workout data across multiple platforms. I guess the good news is that I haven't really had any big problems with my Garmin devices. LOVE Wahoo though

Wahoo all the way, i have the bolt and loving it.

Thanks Brian, I am leaning towards the wahoo.

Hi Brian. Interesting video. Question: Where did you get the Abus helmet? I wasn't aware of them selling in the USA, except perhaps the grey market. Lastly, regarding Garmin, I know their products can sometimes have issues but I maintain a bit of loyalty to them. My niece worked for them for quite a few years then developed MS, which evolved over several years. Garmin exceeded what any other company would have done to accommodate her and assure she received the best care while she chose to continue her job. Eventually, she had to leave on disability, yet they continued to make sure the transition was as easy as possible. Garmin obviously maintains a high level of corporate ethics towards their employees, something largely unheard of in today's economy. I feel a sense of gratitude and debt to Garmin as a result. Be safe.

i made the switch 2 years ago. But my Wahoo HW was not reliable i had to replace it two times in one year. It was always affected by antistatic issues which stalled the system or destroyed the display by handling it fast. So i'm back at Garmin, my experience my Garmin HW never failed during 7 years using multiple devices. SW is another issue. :-)

I did the switch to the roam. Used it for 8months. As a mountainbiker I don’t like the roam. Navigating in the forest on singletracks, the wahoo is struggling with it. I’ll go back to the Garmin.

Plenty of comments agreeing with you. I have none - NONE - of the problems you're indicating. I've been with Garmin since 310XT and Edge 705. Have had several units and am now with an Edge 820 and a Fenix 5X. Almost everything I'd like this platform to be able to do, it does almost flawlessly. If I have any complaints then it is that routing can be improved - especially for running (but that really goes for any routing solution) and somehow the FTP test didn't work for me earlier today on the Edge 820.

I am totally with you on the feeling of being angry with Garmin. So much promise but so much suck and aggravation. I currently use a Garmin, but it sucked out of the box. Ditched the maps that came with it and it works for me now. I am more of a tourer / adventure rider, so use a Garmin ETrex. Replaceable vs rechargeable batteries are a plus for that, and don't need integration, just simple routing and tracking and it could not even do that properly. The training features of the Wahoo do entice me, as I do ride for fitness also. I was always afraid of spending big dollars on a Garmin that has those features and then have it suck like all the others - with less features - I have had . I could go on and on about my frustration with Garmin, but I will stop. Glad there is a company that gets it. Keep it up Wahoo!

"I can't forgive them (Garmin) for that" - I feel you! I spend so much money for garmin crap and I'm now super happy for years with my Whaoo Elmnt Bolt. It just does what I expect.

Hey guy's. Don't know what to choose: Edge 1030 or Elemnt Roam. Any advices???

I made the switch from Garmin to wahoo then back to the garmin. The biggest reason was navigation. The wahoo was great for everything else but I struggled with the b&w screen. I know the roam has more colours but the new 830 beats it hands down. Plus the battery life is insanely good. Connectivity is a bit hit and miss but I do still prefer the Garmin.

Everyone has their own experience, and it's rarely 100% perfect. Hope Wahoo works out for you. Nevertheless, there's plenty of people complaining online about isues with Wahoo too. I have used a Garmin Edge 510 for the last 8 years, and whilst it was buggy in the first couple years (frequent crashes when saving rides), it has been nothing but stellar since. Unfortunately it just died, and I'm really scared of getting something new after so many flawless years.

I LOVE my Wahoo Elemnt Bolt... I don't have the ROAM, But Wahoo products are AWESOME, Links seamlessly to Strava and Komoot which are the 2 apps I use

Ordered a Wahoo today after Garmin bricked my 7 year old Edge 200 via a firmware update I didn’t ask for. Garmin makes great hardware with just the most frustrating software.

So hard to find someone on KZfaq with a really honest opinion and not a paid one. And this one is no exception. You can't compare you're experience with a device released in 2014 with the one released in 2019. Absolute crap

Love my Garmins and don't think I'll ever switch. But everything I use is Garmin. Used to have the Edge Touring, now have the Edge 1000+sensors. Also use the Virb Elite camera and Venu watch. Love how they all integrate with each other and work seamlessly. All my data in one place when making ride videos etc. I'm sure the Wahoo is great, but I don't see a reason to switch for myself.

I like both Garmin and Wahoo as brands, and I agree that technical hiccups are a frustrating part of being a Garmin user, but I'd like to bring some balance to this topic. I own a Wahoo KICKR Core and Wahoo Speed and Cadence sensors. The Core has had lots of well-publicized problems, my unit included. But in a way, even more frustratingly, my Wahoo Core stopped communicating with my Wahoo Cadence sensor after about a week of using them. I looked into resolving the issue, which you would think would be easy, and it turned out to be such a world of hurt that I never bothered wasting my time with it. Eventually Wahoo added native cadence to the Core, but still. Damage done. Again I still like Wahoo, but the story here shouldn't be "Garmin is flawed, Wahoo isn't."

Do you still love it?

Garmin user without any issues here, I had the edge 520, and now 530, in my personal experience when I find somebody with problems with garmin I find user issues more often than garmin issues, all is in the manual, and the gps works better in my garmin than my friend’s wahoos.

I've had a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt for 3 years now. Still going strong, no issues at all. WAAAAAAY more reliable than Garmin.

Ive just gone the opposite way. Purchased a new roam last week and really dont like it at so have donated it to the wife. In my opinion the Wahoo has Poor screen resolution, no touch screen user interface a bit clanky, works great with my Wahoo Kickr though. Just ordered a new Garmin 830 so will see how I get on. I already have a Garmin Fenix 6 watch and thats a real beauty, so used to Garmin products.

i have the edge 530, haven't ever used routes and haven't had the problems you had. but i did have a lot of those problems with my old 510. but then one day i smashed the 510 with my trunk door :O immediately went out and bought the 530

I went the other way. My wahoo was fabulous for my road bike, but was all headache when I started to ride single track. Garmin picks up my trail rides much better and is no worse for my road rides.

I never switched I just found wahoo first after chatting to my bike chums. The Garmin device worth adding is the Varia radar which gives early warning of fast or slow approaching vehicles. The same varia signal can be picked up be several riders. Better safe than squished. Excellent integration with Komoot for ride prep both on and off road routes.

I have wanted to do this, but I actually have so many rides in my Garmin (literally hundreds of thousands of miles), tons of workouts, etc etc, that I don’t want to recreate history. Garmin has an adequate web system for me, but their devices aren’t the best. I’m on my 4th Edge 1000, all due to warranty issues (sweat under the screen, breaking them). Other option is to just use TrainerRoad, however I don’t use pay stuff so it’s limited for free use.

I too planned to switch but ended up returning to Garmin as I'm too invested in the Garmin ecosystem

We're/are those sunglasses polarized? If so that could be why the Garmin was difficult to see.

fast question, how does it work the re-routing on the Roam? I do have the BOLT but thinking about to switch to the roam for this function mainly. If you take the wrong street or direction, and you pointing for example north, does it tell you to go back to the route where you took the wrong direction or does it recalculate still pointing north? I´m using it in the forest a lot and sometime is difficult to go back to the point where i took the wrong direction. Giu

When I bought my Wahoo I was tempted to buy the Garmin instead, but then I remembered all the times my other garmin gps devices from the past let me down so I opted to go with the Elemnt instead. Glad I did. Garmin too big for their own good.

I have a Garmin 820 and a Fenix 5 watch for running as well. I get that there are people on here who have had connectivity issues, but bluetooth or ANT + is never going to be perfect. Ask any one with an indoor smart trainer using Zwift, right? I get the frustration with Garmin, my wife, who is a runner only, has gone through far too many watches and has had many issue with software, BT etc. On the other hand, I havent had too many issues with the 820 and my speed and cadence sensors. I do question the battery life on the sensors but thats not a major issue. The Varia lights work very well with the 820 and as others have said... the rear light with the car alerts on the head unit is a game changer. I will certainly consider the Wahoo when it comes time to replace the 820 but Garmin is still continuing to add features as well.

only £25 rebate here in the uk, for the Bolt and the Roam... thanks for the review looks like alot of toys inside to discover.

@Brian Davis Races Great review! Can you also tell what Garmin did you use?

I switched a few months ago....got tired of Garmin doing "garmin" things....Wahoo bolt has worked perfectly and is much easier to upload routes and such.

Love the video, where did you get the cool yellow DDC glasses from ?

I’ll probably get used to whatever I have. I used to have a wahoo hrm that used to sync with my iPhone 4S which was the shit back then. After some months it started freezing and I started losing some of my rides. So i decided to go for a Garmin Edge. I’ve been using it probably 6-8 years now. And I never had a problem with it. It’s still going strong now but once it craps out I’ll probably get one of the newer Garmin or whatever i can afford. I’m not picky.

Cateye Velo 7. Features: clock, ride time, current speed, average speed, max speed, trip distance travelled, odometer, auto start/stop, a pacer arrow (up = faster, down = slower) and a user replaceable battery of a common and easily obtainable size (CR2022). I’d like a device with the above features, plus gradient/elevation and colour mapping. However, I don’t need watts (power), hr (bpm), rpm, calories. I’ve never taken an FTP/VO2 test and never likely to, I don’t race, I just ride. So a lot of the features of the garmin/wahoo/bryton devices are superfluous and unnecessary (for me). And I always carry my iPhone SE (2016) so I’ve got mapping if I need it. Who knows, maybe one day the right Jesus-device (for me) will appear. But in the meantime I’ll keep watching every review,just in case.

did you test the compatibility of wahoo roam with strava live segments?

I've had the Elemnt Bolt for two years and it's worked perfectly. Never had a Garmin, I moved over from a wireless cateye that lost signal every time I used a headlight. I got the full sensor package in a bundle deal so the price was reasonable. Sometimes when starting a ride and pairing the unit to the phone it seems to delay, but if I just ignore it and turn off the phone screen it suddenly and always pairs. Not sure if it's a coincidence or causes something to happen.

Hi brian great video. Still using the roam?

I have wahoo element and the garmin 520 plus. Both about the same price point. The wahoo is much easier to see and the seems a bit more intuitive. The garmin has the connect app that I really like and along with my garmin watch does a great job of tracking my activities. If wahoo were to have those things it would win hands down.

I use garmin and never had the issues you mentioned

Thanks for the review! I had all the same problems with Garmin and ended up just giving up on bike computers all together (used cell phone instead). I might give Wahoo a try because it looks like they don't have the same issues as Garmin. One thing you didn't mention is just how terrible Garmin customer service is. They have been always been rude to me and it is obvious they do not care that you are having issues with the new device. After hours on the phone I would always get the same response which was to do a factory reset. I would do the reset and it wouldn't fix the problem. When I said that didn't work they had me bring it to a Garmin representative. The Garmin representative said they do not troubleshoot and to call customer service. I called customer service and they told me to do a factory reset again/bring it to a Garmin Representative. I ended up in a perpetual loop of being referred back and forth with no results so i got frustrated and gave up. Now my Garmin is an expensive paper weight.

I use an IPhone Max with Cyclemeter on my bikes. I have a nice holder for the handle bars. For what I need it’s flawless. I have Bluetooth sensors for speed and cadence on the road bike, Wahoo. On the Mountain bike I’m trying Garmin sensors, speed and cadence. Both $69 for each pair. If I do a special ride that I need directions, I could use map my ride but really, the real reason I don’t spend $600 on Garmin is they constantly update their models. Pay $600 and it’s obsolete in 6 months. I have better maps with my iPhone. Garmin and Wahoo would take 1000 years to end up with a model that is the iphone!

I just retuned my 2nd Wahoo Roam. It rebooted every time I tried to update the FW or Maps. I had the same problem on the second unit after returning the first. I tried many times to resolve this. Wahoo support will only respond once a day so the pace of trying to resolve an issue is painfully slow. I asked for my money back.

you leave near cemetery? must be very quite neighborhood

I switched from Garmin to Wahoo a year ago...got real tired of my Garmin doing..."Garmin things"...LOL

Ahem...I have NONE of the issues you list about your Garmin at the beginning of your video....so I'll stick to my trusted Edge 530 ;-)

Hi i found with the roam a problem with auto pause, its possible to customize the speed for the pause? In case from the app? And how can choose the satelite roam use? GPS, Glonaglass etc I found big problem in a ride i cant move into the map, just zoom it, and sometimes just dont like to take the phone Thx

Brian, you still on Wahoo? Thinking about a swap... about to demo a bolt v2 coming from Garmin 520.

I have a Garmin vivoactive 3 device and am on what was Strava Summit. Over the last week it seems to have almost completely malfunctioned, not connecting to GPS, therefore not recording any data apart from calories burned and heartrate. Its disappointing to get back from a ride feeling like you had done ok, possibly picked up some PR's, and then find nothing on the stupid device. I may be following your example and switching to Wahoo soon.

I have an 830 and they are vastly superior to the older units in many ways I've certainly not had any problems you mention apart from the terrible routing..It's soo bad! I'm tempted to try the Wahoo I do think using the Strava routing is not a comparison because that requires an extra subscription that many don't have.