I’m in the market for a computer that will primarily be used for XC marathon and gravel racing, so I am focusing on features like good routing, climb data, pacing guidance, and fueling reminders.
Are these features actually useful? Any other important features besides the basics (speed/distance/power)?
Is Garmin the only game in town that can do all this, or can Wahoo or Hammerhead? Any other brands to consider?
Any bike computer will do, they all have more than enough features.
- If your races are <12 hours, any make and model these days will do. Most head units last 15+ hours in real-world conditions.
- If you really need battery life way in excess of 15 hours, have a look at Coros Dura or Garmins 840 or 1040 solar models (i. e. not the newer 50-series devices, which have shorter battery life).
- All major brands have dedicated climb screens, fueling reminders and such.
- I’m not sure what you mean by good routing, but any head unit these days has routing. For racing where you can’t take detours, you are navigating a fixed route, so on-device routing is not used.
- What do you mean by pacing guidance? For a race, I’d pace by feel and use power as a rough yard stick or governor (e. g. to stay below a certain power especially in the beginning of the race).
- Personally, I love Wahoo’s zoom feature, which allows me to dynamically adjust a single screen depending on my needs.
- My Roam v3 has up to six data fields on the map screen, which was a big improvement over 4 on my Bolt v1. This way I have all the data fields I typically need + maps.
have the karoo 2, garmin 1040 and wahoo roam v3 (yeah i know, why?)
like the roam v3 most in almost every functionality, but if battery is really important (eg you do EXTREME long rides) I’d go garmin. Karoo had the best navigation tho…
I also recommend the Garmin Edge…you decide on model…you can use a battery bank for extreme time events/rides.