Wahoo Elemnt Roam 2 GPS

Equipment
21

Bolt V1 vs the Edges doesn’t really feel like a fair comparison. Of course those two in a comparison side to side (User experience put aside) is going to favour Garmin. Especially considering the age difference.

ROAM vs Edge and its more a matter of preference, but I cannot fathom why anyone would choose the Garmin ecosystem over Wahoo, especially if you’re after a performance bike computer. If you are doing transatlantic racing, sure, get the Garmin with Solar.

I would honestly borrow a Garmin from someone before switching. The ease ability of the Wahoo with the app, setup, choosing rides etc, is non-existential on the Garmin.

Also, don’t get me started on the Garmin metrics that they feed you. I believe training feedback from my friends 3 year old more than Garmin :sweat_smile:

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22

Indeed. When I first bought Fenix 7, it was okay(ish). But now that I am at the end of 3 month base with focus on extending TTE, it has gone completely haywire. Directly measurable stuff (HR, HRV, sleep patterns, etc) look still ok but predictions (recovery time, stamina, etc) are very obviously off. Still trusting VO2max prediction, it is roughly same ballpark that intervals.icu and Concept2 calculator claim. Basically I am using it only as HR monitor for Z2, backup ride recorder and for payments.

23

I was in the Wahoo ecosystem for a while (owned an OG Bolt and the Roam) and it was much simpler to use than the older Garmin computers, but I got sick of the navigation failures when I was in remote areas and bought a 1030. I was pleasantly surprised that Garmin has really upped their game as far as UI is concerned and the touchscreen makes a huge difference when setting up data fields compared to the older models that required 100 button clicks to do anything.

I see almost nothing new in this Roam (convex buttons instead of concave?) over the old one and would not spend the money to upgrade. I loved their original innovations, especially the move to phone based setup, but they haven’t done anything innovative in years and I no longer understand what Wahoos goal is as far as competitive advantage.

24

I think there are two sides to this, working as a UX Designer looking at this from my job side.

Side one
Quality over quantity, here Wahoo has chosen the former. And this is where the customer has to pick a side. Its a little like the iPhone vs Android. You want to go crazy customising things, get Android + Garmin, want stability and easy of use, but maybe miss some features? Get iPhone + Wahoo.

Side two
Its increasingly hard to come up with new things, while also maintain simplicity. Just have a look at the new iOS16 from Apple, adds a shitload of new customisation to the lock screen, but this also increases complexity as the user has now a plethora of new choices to make.

I believe that Wahoo is going to push the simplicity over complexity, and quality over quantity. And you as a user just have to pick which one fits your needs better :slight_smile:

I have the ROAM and there is no way I am spending 400 euros to upgrade, but the jump from ROAM to ROAM v2 isn’t made for me, its maybe made for those who have the older larger Elemnt, or original Bolt, or maybe haven’t jumped to Wahoo yet.

Just like I won’t be upgrading from iPhone 13 Pro to the 14 Pro. But someone with an 11 Pro might think its a worthwhile change.

With that said…
I have posted this in multiple channels now, but I think its worth posting again. I think that Wahoo is missing out on a pretty large number of users that want a bigger screen and more detailed maps/gps (GPS might be fixed now with the ROAM v2?)

If they just make the bezels a bit smaller and the screen a bit larger on the Bolt, they could remove the ROAM from the lineup and just make a larger unit to compete with 1040.

The ROAM sits a bit… in a weird place. Screen is larger than the BOLT, but not large enough to make it a computer for those who explore and want a giant battery life and big screen for maps. Yet its not small enough for those who want just a performance head unit…

Or have 3 computers in there lineup, as such:

Wahoo Explore
Wahoo Explore1920×1095 73 KB

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25

ELEMNT Explore Solar would be dream machine :stuck_out_tongue:

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26

Yes they are silly. Good thing we know that

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27

This is a great summation. I’m in the camp of owning a Roam but the changes don’t warrant an upgrade to the v2. Just upgraded my iphone XR to the 14 pro!

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28

By choosing a Garmin Edge device, users aren’t necessarily picking quantity over quality. The Garmin Edge 530/830/and now 1040/solar are quality devices.

My current Edge 830, and 520 previously, have both been reliable, stable devices and, with the 830, offer all-day battery life.

Also, if you want simplicity, that is not a reason to necessarily prefer Wahoo over the Garmin Edge series. The Edge devices can be set up with a single profile, with a small number of data fields on a single screen if that is your jam. I set up my data fields once after purchasing the 830 and haven’t customised them in the years since. Just set it up and forget about it.

In conjunction with the Roam v2 launch, Wahoo announced a new ‘Summit Segments’ feature, which is akin to Garmin’s ClimbPro, that Garmin released in April 2019.

And although Wahoo announced it as a ‘feature’, it’s not currently available on the device and will be released as part of a future firmware update.

So if choosing ‘simplicity’ means missing out on basic features that competitors have had for years, then by all means go for Wahoo.

  1. ClimbPro
  2. Incident detection
  3. On-device navigation (full address search etc…)
  4. Multiple activity profiles
  5. Third-party app integration
  6. All-day battery life
  7. Ability to scroll backwards through pages
  8. Power guide, stamina insights, heat and altitude acclimation (1040/1040 solar)
    Etc…

Have you used a Garmin Edge device recently?

If you want to ‘choose a ride’ it’s literally Navigation → Courses → Saved Courses → Go

Or, use the touchscreen to select a location on the Map and click ‘Ride’. Or, enter an address and click ‘Ride’. Fairly straightforward really.

2 Likes
29

@Dubadai is a UX designer and I agree that Wahoo it makes it simple, but Garmin hasn’t stood still. But even simpler for me was getting started in 2016 using Strava and then offline maps/routes in RideWithGPS app. Nowadays an iPhone SE2 is $429. Except on the hottest days when the phone needs to go in my jersey, its hard to beat RideWithGPS and I still see a good number of club members only using phone+Strava and no dedicated GPS computer.

The push button 530 UX is definitely old school, easy to hate on, but for me the features outweigh the UX. Some of the 530 machine learning features are great, I’ve been getting good ftp estimates and predictive fitness increases/decreases for years before TR introduced similar.

Roam2 is a decent upgrade, but like DCRainmaker or someone else said, Wahoo seems to be losing its mojo. Or they can’t make it any more simple, and are reluctant to add features. I dunno.

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30

On my BOLT V2, the top LEDs are pretty amazing. I can see them in my peripheral vision in all conditions - from bright sunny days to shadows when the backlight turns on! IMHO, perfect for racing.

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31

I have a 6 year old OG Elemnt as well…still going strong! I keep looking at upgrading and then come back down to Earth thinking why? What doesn’t it do that I want it to? Not a popular opinion haha.

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32

Agreed offroad Wahoo Navigation is very poor and the maps / navigation is poor compared to Garmin. Still a Wahoo fan though as apart from that everything just works.

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33

Interested to hear any opinions on the nav capability of the Roam.

Currently I own 3 cycle computers -

  • A years old Garmin Edge Touring - still think the Nav is pretty decent, use it for MTB riding mainly as its old and I dont mind it getting bashed, needs cable connection though
  • Wahoo Bolt V1 - probably my favourite computer in terms of UI, like buttons, monochrome screen still better than any colour screen I have seen in bright sunlight, but Nav is a let down (esp no turn by turn when using Strava routes)
  • Karoo 2 - bought as a replacement for Bolt as I wanted better maps / navigation, to me thats its USP and I use it a lot because of that, but it also has a lot of irritations - things pop up on the screen on top of other things, the “phone” type swiping to see things just doesnt work at 30mph on a bumpy road, turning up the screen enough to see it in bright sunlight and a battery that lasts all day are mutually exclusive. Its likely to get relegated to my winter bike where the screen wont be contending with decent weather.

… so I was having high hopes that the new Roam may be the best of both worlds? … also thinking maybe stretch to a 1040 and never worry about battery life again!

1 Like
34

I have the Roam v2 but honestly haven’t used it much yet. I can say that the color screen on it is just easy to read as the older monochrome screen. Navigation on it is way better than the Bolt v1 as it does have turn by turn and re-routing should you go off course. You can now navigate around on the map screen which may be useful for some but I’d probably just pull out my phone and figure things out there more quickly.
Also Outside Workouts on the Roam are awesome!!

I can say how it compares to the Karoo or Garmin for navigation but definitely a nice improvement over the Bolt v1.

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35

Just ordered a ROAM 2. Coming from a 1040 and previously a 530.

I was firmly in the Garmin ecosystem (1040, Fenix 6X, Varia Radar, HRM Dual, etc.), but I’ve had so many issues with the Edge computers. Honestly at this point, I don’t care about stamina or training effect if the head unit can’t properly record my ride or give me turn by turn directions. For a few times now, the 1040 wouldn’t give me turn by turn…it loads the course and then says “head to YYY street” which is nowhere near me. I would try stop and reloading but no go. I could use the map and follow the lines, but no turn by turn. Rebooting it would occasionally work, but you’d have to end your ride. This happened whether I used a RWGPS route or Strava Routes. And then yesterday, it would give me crazy audible alerts (like 10 quick beeps in a row) too for turns that happened a mile back.

And to add insult, it was raining yesterday…when trying to troubleshoot, the 1040 ended my ride and discarded/deleted it. I really have no idea how it happened. It could have been me accidentally hitting the touchscreen in the wrong spot, it was pouring out - but I would never try to do that. And that’s the 3rd time its happened. Although the other two times, it just split my ride and didn’t discard the first half.

So imagine my frustration - it’s raining out, 1040 isn’t giving turn by turn, it erased 25mi of my ride, it then starts giving me turn by turn for turns miles ago and then starts beeping like crazy. Time to try Wahoo.

2 Likes
36

To temper your expectations, there are issues with Wahoo computers as well.

But in my experience, these happen around software updates and reveal themselves either during loading routes/workouts into computer or syncing completed workouts to other systems (Strava, etc). Basically, before or after ride. But over past 4 years, can’t remember any issues during workout :thinking:

Well, maybe sometimes during VO2max intervals, it counts seconds slower :wink:

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37

Yesterday in my Strava feed, people with Wahoo computers:

image
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and

image

My feed is something like 50% Garmin and 50% Wahoo these days. About the same on group rides. And for the last couple of years I see more comments on Wahoo issues than Garmin issues.

My point is - sometimes its the user, and sometimes its the computer. And both Garmin and Wahoo have issues.

4 Likes