I think Hammerhead will overtake Wahoo as the main contender against Garmin in the not too distant future.
Let’s see.
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The new SRAM groupset comes with a Karoo and i’d imagine some full new builds may start shipping with a computer. Being an OEM will absolutely give them marketshare.
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Nice post from Ray with more info and specs:
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As a former Bolt user who jumped to a 1050 late last year, I could see the appeal of the new Roam. I love many things about the 1050, but it’s quite big, I miss Wahoo’s buttons, and I don’t actually use about 70% of the bells & whistles on the 1050. I also still feel that Wahoo’s mapping approach (chevrons that change color to reflect gradient) is the most elegant and easy-to-read way to display a route.
The 1050 hard to beat for screen size, map detail, and flexibility due to the app ecosystem. (Ironically my favorite display on the 1050 is the MyGahoo screen, which replicates Wahoo’s font and color coding.)
The obvious elephants in the room for me on the Roam/Bolt 3 are battery life and whether the software is actually mature and ready for release.
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All time. But yeah it’s not something I take very seriously, just a nice info feature that I’d occasionally miss. I’m not a KOM chaser, but if I’m having a good day and it shows I’m ahead or close, it could cause me to push that bit harder. Just kind of a nice visual cue.
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Thanks for sharing. I had not seen this one. I looked at the data fields they display and didn’t see anything about navigation. What I’d really like is a Wahoo style navigation screen on my Garmin. Any chance you know of one?
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You mean something the replicates the Wahoo map? I don’t think that exists, as I don’t think map overlays are readily available to 3rd party app developers in the Garmin ecosystem.
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I just want the clearer visibility of positioning you get from the wahoo arrow system. I can’t believe Garmin hasn’t come up with a better way.
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Big agree, Garmin’s default dark purple route line overlaid on a blue-black heat map makes it unnecessarily hard to see a route IMHO. That said, Garmin’s maps are far superior to Wahoo’s at least the last generation (haven’t tried the Ace OS version.) Garmin can show you things like bike shops, bathrooms, convenience stores, and crucially also has Trailforks MTB trails. Just much more data-rich, which I’ve found helpful when riding in unfamiliar areas.
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I’ve been using the Bolt V1 since the beginning. It does everything I need it to (navigate and upload rides to strava) but after three weeks on the roads of Thailand it started to wear out physically. Too much UV or sunscreen, but the button cover has peeled off.
So I’m on the fence about buying a new unit and pretty set on the smaller Wahoo. What makes me unsure is how well the screen on the V3 works in the bright sun? In the review I saw on DCRainmaker it was a bit of a meh.
What do you think?
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If you’ve been happy with the V1 since launch, why not try to grab a great deal on the V2 before they’re all sold out?
I’ve been very happy with my Bolt V2. The only thing I would potentially like to have is the speaker that doubles as a bell, but that is only on the Roam V3…but both V3s have lost the LEDs and gone up in both price and weight, so I’ll happily be sticking with the V2 for a while to come.
for the same reason. The display tech has changed from bw to colour starting in V2. But the comparison between V2 and V3 is the thing I will def look into. Could be an option
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Personally I’m still on a V1 and have zero complaints… However if this one dies on me I’d go for the most recent offering as wahoo will start to not focus on updates etc for older models so makes sense to do so. I might be wrong but I thought this was the case with everything before v3?
You can change all of the colors if you’re not a fan of the default.
I’m going to do the same. Peeled off buttons have been fixed and waterproofed with silicon case. So I’m good for the moment.
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I can get the following devices at prices (in my currency, the last two estimated based on announced prices):
Karoo 3: 319
840/1040: 440 (yes, both at that price)
1050: 529
Bolt v3: 305
Roam v3: 416
I have a 5 year old Bolt v1, I don’t really need to upgrade but it feels like time to treat myself. I am honestly very likely not going to go with Garmin but I feel like the 1050 is pretty good value here.
Anyone went from a smaller unit to a bigger one? I always thought I wouldn’t want a big head unit up front but I imagine one gets used to it actually?
The Karoo 3 especially with the latest updates to the extensions seems really cool and is essentially the same price as the Bolt v3 will be, but with touchscreen and extensions.
I went Garmin 530 to 1040solar and I still find it too big. I have narrow bars, so that doesn’t help either. I purchased the 1040 solar for it’s battery life and if you don’t need that I’d actually wait for the 550 and 850 from Garmin. If you don’t want to go Garmin I personally would favor the Karoo over the Wahoo but either brand will be up there in features. It’s not like one unit is doing something ground breaking compared to the others.
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I love the bigger unit. More fields and bigger text. I’ve never really understood why people want a computer that’s harder to see, even if they can see it just fine. As long as it doesn’t interfere with my hands, the bigger the better.
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Exactly. I went from the Bolt to the Roam 2 because at 49 I was struggling to see the data without my readers, lol.
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Highly recommend StickTite lenses….changed everything for me when looking at my bike computer.
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