Simple Question

[grumpydad]

Which would you pick, Garmin 530 or Wahoo Roam, that is all.

 

[Dogtrousers]

They are both very good devices, and if you pick either you will not be disappointed.

 

[vickster]

Garmin, I didn't get on with Wahoo...plenty do though

 

[fossyant]

Only Garmin as I've got other Garmins.

 

[Alex321]

I picked the roam when I bought a computer a few months ago (at the same time as my new bike).

I haven't regretted it at all.

I think the roam is more the equivalent of the 830 or even the 1030 though. I think the 530 is more similar to the bolt.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I actually made this decision last year or the year before. Here's my thinking (as far as I remember)

I looked at both in some detail, they are similar feature-wise with (IIRC) the Garmin probably edging it with some fancy features you may not want.

The Wahoo is more user friendly - not an issue for me because I've already been institutionalised by a couple of decades of owning various Garmin devices, so I'm used to their quirky interface. And I already have a Garmin connect account and so forth, so less fuss to set up.

Wahoo's user friendliness is partly due to having a very capable companion mobile phone app, so it's not so fiddly to set up.

I went for the Garmin in the end, mainly because of my Garmin-owning history, but the Wahoo looks like a very nice device.

One feature that I really like about the 530 - which I didn't expect to - is "climb pro". It scans your planned route for climbs (and normally makes a good job of it) and when you start a climb it tells you how far to go, remaining % etc and shows you a profile. Some people might find that a silly frippery but I really like it. I don't know if the Wahoo has similar.

 

[ColinJ]

This is the kind of question that my ex used to ask me!

Girlfriend: Simple Question - Which would you pick, Garmin 530 or Wahoo Roam, that is all.

ColinJ: Wahoo.

Girlfriend: Aren't you going to explain why?

ColinJ: Oh, I thought you wanted the short version! OK then, Wahoo because... (3.5 hour explanation quoting multiple reviews and explaining all of the technical issues)

Girlfriend: I have decided to buy a Cateye instead!

 

[ColinJ]

One feature that I really like about the 530 - which I didn't expect to - is "climb pro". It scans your planned route for climbs (and normally makes a good job of it) and when you start a climb it tells you how far to go, remaining % etc and shows you a profile. Some people might find that a silly frippery but I really like it. I don't know if the Wahoo has similar

That is the one feature that I have always wanted!

I am perfectly happy with my ancient Garmin devices (Edge 500 and Edge 200) but would like to know where I am on long unfamiliar climbs.

 

[Alex321]

One feature that I really like about the 530 - which I didn't expect to - is "climb pro". It scans your planned route for climbs (and normally makes a good job of it) and when you start a climb it tells you how far to go, remaining % etc and shows you a profile. Some people might find that a silly frippery but I really like it. I don't know if the Wahoo has similar.

I'm not sure just how similar it is, but the wahoo on the navigation page will show the profile of what is coming up, so you get a rough idea from that.

It also has a climbing page which similarly shows the profile, and has more field options if you have it turned on. Not sure if available fields include things like how far to go on the climb without going and turning mine on and trying to customise that page.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

One feature that I really like about the 530 - which I didn't expect to - is "climb pro". It scans your planned route for climbs (and normally makes a good job of it) and when you start a climb it tells you how far to go, remaining % etc and shows you a profile. Some people might find that a silly frippery but I really like it. I don't know if the Wahoo has similar.

I would hate having a GPS in front of me telling me how much more climbing I have to go and how steep it is. I prefer to just ride what is in front of me and pace accordingly. Most of the time it's best not to know.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I would hate having a GPS in front of me telling me how much more climbing I have to go and how steep it is. I prefer to just ride what is in front of me and pace accordingly. Most of the time it's best not to know.

As I said, some people would regard it as a silly frippery. And I'm pretty sure it's possible to turn it off (but like many Garmin wotsits, finding the right menu option to do that would be a challenge). It's certainly very easy to make it disappear and show a different screen if you don't want to see it.

I think it's great. I didn't expect to - but in use I really like it.

Where climb pro goes wrong is if you load a stupid route with lots of little climbs. It has real trouble sorting them out. This baffled it:

 

[grumpydad]

I actually made this decision last year or the year before. Here's my thinking (as far as I remember)

I looked at both in some detail, they are similar feature-wise with (IIRC) the Garmin probably edging it with some fancy features you may not want.

The Wahoo is more user friendly - not an issue for me because I've already been institutionalised by a couple of decades of owning various Garmin devices, so I'm used to their quirky interface. And I already have a Garmin connect account and so forth, so less fuss to set up.

Wahoo's user friendliness is partly due to having a very capable companion mobile phone app, so it's not so fiddly to set up.

I went for the Garmin in the end, mainly because of my Garmin-owning history, but the Wahoo looks like a very nice device.

One feature that I really like about the 530 - which I didn't expect to - is "climb pro". It scans your planned route for climbs (and normally makes a good job of it) and when you start a climb it tells you how far to go, remaining % etc and shows you a profile. Some people might find that a silly frippery but I really like it. I don't know if the Wahoo has similar.

I also come from a garmin back ground, edge 705 that refuses to turn on now and an almost antique etrex vista, I was unaware of the "climb pro" feature, sounds interesting.

 

[figbat]

I'd have the Roam as I am already into Wahoo and it has always just worked.

The Bolt doesn't have such a sophisticated 'climb pro' option, but if you have a route set you can have a topography page which shows you your current gradient and how far up a climb you are, as well as your ride climbing stats. If no route is set then it will show current gradient and your climbing stats.

 

[Dogtrousers]

My advice is - toss a coin, buy one, then after a short period you can come on here and go on about how much better the one you bought is than the other one.

 

[Willd]

Slight thread hi-jack Do these need a smart phone too for full functionality? I do have a pc / wi-fi, so not a complete luddite