Wow, wahoo sounds great, needs a new battery after 3 years?
Simple vs techy—-Wahoo Element Bolt vs Garmin Edge 530
- Thread starter Dave Taylor
- Start date
comeon, that is like 1,000 charging cycles for me
not to mention, i only ride 5 hours 1x per year.
so it doesn't "need" it.
i'll let you know the manufacturing date when i crack it open.
rick81721
Lothar
He rarely uses it. 5 hr battery life is plenty! 😃
Dave Taylor
Rex kwan Do
Thanks. I never had battery issues with my wahoo. I even did a couple 8 hour rides using routes this year and no issues. Mine was about 3 years old.
1speed
Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
Thanks for the input, @Dave Taylor - I don't really chase KOMs, and I'm not sure if I'd do more if I had live segments (the Edge 520 Plus didn't have that feature.) To be fair to Garmin, I've never had any battery issues with any of the units I've had from them - I have a battery booster for the really long stuff I've done (24 hours+) and before I had that, I had rides where the unit lasted more than 18 hours on its own. Battery life is not a concern. It's the signal itself. That's really the only issue I have but it's huge. I've not done a single ride in the last few weeks where I didn't lose the signal a couple of times (it even happened today at Middle Run a few times.) So I'm really looking for the best option for signal strength. I've heard Wahoo has better signal, but I guess I'm asking if that's the case for those who've used both.
onetracker
Well-Known Member
So, how does trail forks work on the 530? Do trails appear on TF on the 530 like on the iphone when you are in the immediate area or do you need to share/move a route in TF from the phone to the 530 TF app?
Karate Monkey
Well-Known Member
Limited experience since I don't usually ride places where I'm staring at the map:
The trail you are on is highlighted, and depending on zoom level, intersections/nearby trails may come up, too.
The trail you are on is highlighted, and depending on zoom level, intersections/nearby trails may come up, too.
onetracker
Well-Known Member
Does this happen automatically or do you need to synch the Garmin with your phone before your ride?
Karate Monkey
Well-Known Member
I mean, my Garmin is usually sync'ed with the Connect app, but sometimes it doesn't connect. The trails that are recognized on the Trailforks network are still highlighted.
The trails that I ride most frequently seem to not be 'recognized' by Trailforks, or maybe they only highlight long trails, etc. Ex: it highlights Tiger Woods, but not 'Sherwood', even though the trail name is displayed. That's really all I can say as far as highlights go. I know the areas I ride fairly well, so only infrequently use the maps.
When I say "highlight", I mean, the bold line like if you were following directions on the Garmin.
The trails that I ride most frequently seem to not be 'recognized' by Trailforks, or maybe they only highlight long trails, etc. Ex: it highlights Tiger Woods, but not 'Sherwood', even though the trail name is displayed. That's really all I can say as far as highlights go. I know the areas I ride fairly well, so only infrequently use the maps.
When I say "highlight", I mean, the bold line like if you were following directions on the Garmin.
onetracker
Well-Known Member
Thanks. I will need to play with one. I really want to use this instead of my phone when exploring new trail systems. On my phone, as long as I have downloaded the state, I can tap the arrow and see an entire trail network and my location. Then either make my own ride or follow an existing route. I kinda want the phone experience right on the Garmin so I do not need to pull the phone out of my pocket. It is unlikely that this will be the case.
All of the Garmin devices I have owned have been a disappointment in terms of trail navigation (705, 500, 800).
All of the Garmin devices I have owned have been a disappointment in terms of trail navigation (705, 500, 800).
Karate Monkey
Well-Known Member
My experience coming up with GPS units was the old 'cellphone' style ones that hikers used. I find that the 530 is moderately more irritating to scroll on, but otherwise performs the functions it needs.
Several places I ride have trails that aren't on either official maps or Trailforks. The Garmin is useless there other than for orienteering (which is definitely doable...).
I'll be honest--I chose the 530 over the 8xx because I didn't want a touchscreen. Sweat/rain/combo kept actuating the screens during riding, and I didn't like that. The screens are also way too small for a gloved hand to be useable, so I went with the 5xx series instead. Buttons work, even in mittens.
Several places I ride have trails that aren't on either official maps or Trailforks. The Garmin is useless there other than for orienteering (which is definitely doable...).
I'll be honest--I chose the 530 over the 8xx because I didn't want a touchscreen. Sweat/rain/combo kept actuating the screens during riding, and I didn't like that. The screens are also way too small for a gloved hand to be useable, so I went with the 5xx series instead. Buttons work, even in mittens.
1speed
Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
So a quick update ... after spending way more time than is reasonable or sensible researching every facet of all major GPS units online and then still going back and forth for about a week, I finally pulled the trigger on a new GPS unit. And the winner of the least exciting sweepstakes in history was ... the Garmin Edge 830 Bundle. I won't get into all the details of the "quest" (which is a term my wife used that exactly captures what it felt like), but there are a couple things I will mention that may help anyone else looking for a new unit today.
First, as tedious as it can be, I strongly recommend doing your research before choosing your next (or first) unit. Even if you have a bias toward one ahead of time, it's worth knowing the landscape of what's out there today. The truth is, most cyclists probably can't go wrong with any of the three main companies in the game now - Garmin, Wahoo and (surprisingly to me) Hammerhead. Garmin and Wahoo are the main players, but as a late entry to my search, Hammerhead's Karoo 2 was really impressive (a huge step up from their original Karoo, it turns out.) But what you choose really should depend on what you are trying to get out of a GPS unit - do you need top level navigation? Do you need additional sensors for extra metrics, like cadence or power? Do you need options to generate new courses on the fly during a ride? Do you need live Strava segments? Stuff like that. A thorough investigation of what's out there from each company will give you that. It can feel like diving down a rabbit hole because there is a LOT of different options available, but just keep in mind what functionality you are looking for and it's all good. I'd recommend starting with pro reviewers, like DC Rainmaker or Outdoorgearlab, and then digging a little deeper into personal reviews from ordinary cyclists/bloggers. The nice thing about the latter is that the "average joe" perspective is more likely to find some simple but obscure user-experience issues that pros like Ray at DC Rainmaker might overlook because of their extensive experience that could nonetheless make or break your enjoyment.
Second, make sure any info you do use is current. Most of these are now tied to fully functional operating systems which means the unit you buy today is upgradeable - keep up with the software! If you ignore this, some options look like a rip-off because their initial functionality when they were released is nothing like what it is today. (The Garmin 1030 is an example of this.) If you are reading or watching a review from around the time of initial release, it may give you a false sense of what the unit can do today.
I'm sure there are other things to consider, but start with your research and you'll be fine. I chose the 830 because it has the right combination of options for what I need right now at a reasonable enough price. I admit I had a bias against Garmin going in because my recent signal issues left a bad taste in my mouth. But all my research suggested that all the available units I'd consider right now pretty much share the same networks: GPS (Galileo) + GLONASS. (Oddly enough, there is a very cheap unit by Brixton that offers more options - they have the Asian sat networks and others as well - but when I scratched the surface on their claims of being "the one MTB-specific option", I wasn't satisfied that was true.) Ultimately, I had narrowed my options to the 830 vs. the 1030 in Garmin's Edge series. While Wahoo has a simpler interface & app (a definite plus for me), the added time it'll take to get up to speed on the Garmin units was a offset by my prior experience with their setup, and for it I actually get what seems to be a far better navigational platform. The 830 won out over the 1030 for me because the extra functionality in the 1030 (and there is extra functionality) just wasn't necessary for my needs right now. My concerns about the touchscreen issues (like what happens if it gets wet or my fingers are sweaty) appear to be a non-issue according to multiple reviewers, which is good because I actually like the idea of a touchscreen now that I'm so used to it from my phone. So that and the added quality of navigation tools made the 830's additional price over the otherwise similar 530 a no brainer. Finally, I opted for the bundle to get the added sensors. I've never combined sensors with a GPS unit before so I've got some learning to do on that. One thing to consider that I totally forgot, though, is to decide for sure if you want those because if you have multiple bikes, you'll either need to purchase multiple sensors or swap the ones you have out when you switch bikes. The two I have - cadence and speed - cost about $50 to purchase together, so depending on how many bikes you, that can be considerable extra cost if you want separate ones for each bike.
Anyway, good luck with your choice if you're in the market. Just know there's a lot of info out there to help!
The bundle I bought from Amazon came with a silicone case (white - really Garmin?) and screen protectors, which I haven't applied yet because they're shaded and I ride enough in darker areas where I don't really want to have a darker screen if I can avoid it.
1speed
Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
Never mind folks - I think I figured it out (I didn't turn on Health Data in Strava!) Thanks anyway!
Quick question: I have a HR monitor with the new Edge 830 and I've worn it on all rides so far. It's showing up in Garmin Connect, but not when the data is transferred over to Strava. The cadence sensor does show up, but the HR data doesn't. Any idea why this would happen? Do I need to turn something on for Strava?
Kaleidopete
Well-Known Member
If anyone has experience with the Garmin 530 and Courses, I thought I might get some help here.
I tried riding a course file today, I went to Navigation, Courses, and selected the Course.
It loaded the Course and I selected Ride. Everything loaded fine. Now for my questions.
It appears when I ride this Course it won’t be recording it as my morning ride, for me to be able to post it to Strava, right? Is there a way to ride a Course and record it as your daily ride too, or no? I was sure I pushed the Start button on the lower right, but it didn’t start anything. I also noticed while riding the Course the screen shows me right on top of this Course, is there a way to zoom out a little to get a bigger picture of where you are and where you‘re going? I gave up my ride early because it felt like I did the 13 miles and saw no end in sight, and nothing was telling me how much time or miles I had done. And I didn’t know where da hell I was.
I tried riding a course file today, I went to Navigation, Courses, and selected the Course.
It loaded the Course and I selected Ride. Everything loaded fine. Now for my questions.
It appears when I ride this Course it won’t be recording it as my morning ride, for me to be able to post it to Strava, right? Is there a way to ride a Course and record it as your daily ride too, or no? I was sure I pushed the Start button on the lower right, but it didn’t start anything. I also noticed while riding the Course the screen shows me right on top of this Course, is there a way to zoom out a little to get a bigger picture of where you are and where you‘re going? I gave up my ride early because it felt like I did the 13 miles and saw no end in sight, and nothing was telling me how much time or miles I had done. And I didn’t know where da hell I was.
Thank you for your research. I bought an 830 on Saturday afternoon which I had been contemplating for a while. This kinda sealed the deal.
something happened - cause it should record.
not sure about zooming out
garmin has an ETA field and distance remaining field, but i'm not sure what screen they are on, or if they need to be added to a screen
using the screen editor - which i'm not sure about either.
so i'm not helpful.
Kaleidopete
Well-Known Member
Thanks, I'll have to do some experimenting I guess
1speed
Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
This past Sunday I crashed in Wiss when my rear tire bucked going over a tree that was laid out across some rocks (one of those sections I've ridden a million times without thinking, thus lulling myself into complacency.) I banged up my hands and knee pretty good, but the real casualty was my Garmin 830 ... RIP Garmin 830 ...
So, back down this rabbit hole I went once again Sunday evening. I read all the recent updates and reviews on everything from the Wahoo Elemnt Roam to the Karoo Hammerhead to all the Garmin options. I really did love the 830 (with one small issue, which I'll get into in a minute) but I kind of geeked out over the new 1040 Solar. But, if I'm honest with myself, I don't think there are going to be enough times in my future when I would need an over 24 hour battery life anymore to justify spending $750 (!!!!) on a GPS unit. And I was perfectly happy with most of the functionality on the 830.
But there was one part of the 830 that I just never really came around to - the touch screen feature was a bit of a PIA when in use. Basically, from April to October, I have to lock the screen on the unit because a single drop of sweat could do stuff like change my data fields or switch the view to GPS mode, etc. So one thing I read is that the previous minor differences beyond the touch-screen feature between the Edge 530 and Edge 830 have now been all but eliminated, so I thought, great - I can switch to the Edge 530 and get the same experience I had previously at a cheaper price point without having to lock and unlock the screen most of the year. So that's what I did. And of course the first thing I encountered was a giant dose of irony. For the most part, the new unit was super simple to set-up. Since I use the GarminConnect app, all of my ride profiles, external connections (like Strava), and personal info transferred directly. But the few things I did have to set up on the unit required me to relearn the button sequence, which is of course a one-off but felt like a bigger PIA than having touch screen! I'm all set now and it's so far as advertised - exactly the same as the 830 for my needs. I also took the time to add my Kickr this time around so I can use the unit instead of Zwift sometimes if I'd prefer to watch a movie while riding the trainer (as an aside, I HATE the splitscreen functionality in Zwift - why can't they figure out how to let Zwift be the smaller window? If they've already figured this out, I haven't seen it anywhere.)
So, back down this rabbit hole I went once again Sunday evening. I read all the recent updates and reviews on everything from the Wahoo Elemnt Roam to the Karoo Hammerhead to all the Garmin options. I really did love the 830 (with one small issue, which I'll get into in a minute) but I kind of geeked out over the new 1040 Solar. But, if I'm honest with myself, I don't think there are going to be enough times in my future when I would need an over 24 hour battery life anymore to justify spending $750 (!!!!) on a GPS unit. And I was perfectly happy with most of the functionality on the 830.
But there was one part of the 830 that I just never really came around to - the touch screen feature was a bit of a PIA when in use. Basically, from April to October, I have to lock the screen on the unit because a single drop of sweat could do stuff like change my data fields or switch the view to GPS mode, etc. So one thing I read is that the previous minor differences beyond the touch-screen feature between the Edge 530 and Edge 830 have now been all but eliminated, so I thought, great - I can switch to the Edge 530 and get the same experience I had previously at a cheaper price point without having to lock and unlock the screen most of the year. So that's what I did. And of course the first thing I encountered was a giant dose of irony. For the most part, the new unit was super simple to set-up. Since I use the GarminConnect app, all of my ride profiles, external connections (like Strava), and personal info transferred directly. But the few things I did have to set up on the unit required me to relearn the button sequence, which is of course a one-off but felt like a bigger PIA than having touch screen! I'm all set now and it's so far as advertised - exactly the same as the 830 for my needs. I also took the time to add my Kickr this time around so I can use the unit instead of Zwift sometimes if I'd prefer to watch a movie while riding the trainer (as an aside, I HATE the splitscreen functionality in Zwift - why can't they figure out how to let Zwift be the smaller window? If they've already figured this out, I haven't seen it anywhere.)
I've never had any of the sweat/touchscreen problems with the 830, but happy to hear that the 530 is twerking well for you... I'll add, I think the 1030/1040 are too bigly for mtb, butt wood bee grate four rode. (intentional spelling errors added to fit into a DT thread
)