1-when you plug it in to charge the until powers on
2-when you unplug it from charging, the unit powers on.
3-the touchscreen is no sensitive enough, even on it’s most sensitive setting.
4-it is slow to respond to touchscreen inputs, this coupled with issue 3 results in thinking the until didn’t register the input and then getting 3 swipes or what ever it was you were trying to do.
5-due to issues 3 and 4 changing screens or any setting is horrendous since you can’t do it any other way than using the head unit interface.
6-did it start raining? well crap, now the touch screen wont work at all.
7-cold weather destroys batter life(all electronics seem to have this function but this is special, my wahoo will maybe loose an hour off it’s 12-15hr run time, the 820? it be amazing if it would last an hour total)
8-Navigation issues, more than once it got a mind of it’s own to what the route was.
I’m sure there is more but its been 2 years since I’ve used it(my wife started using it and brought back alot of these memories though)
I’ve had issues with imported Ride With GPS routes. i.e. when someone else has created in Ride With GPS, and then I’ve saved it myself. And then not had turn by turn.
Battery life has got me through 200km audax easy, and still had approaching 40% (iirc) after my epic Liege Bastogne Liege last year!
there’s a few annoyances with every product, Wahoo included. As mentioned Wahoo navigation and turn-by-turn is not as advanced as Garmin.
My (older) 520 had shaped base routing - I would get turn instructions with Strava routes. Like the Bolt, the 520 needed a route with embedded turn-by-turn instructions to get “better” turn instructions but the shape based turn instructions actually worked and better than not having any with Bolt. That is one reason I returned the Bolt and kept the 520.
The 530 has full routing and turn-by-turn with everything. Even WITHOUT a route loaded, I get warnings about sharp turns and it even knows the name of the paved trail I’m riding on:
Again, NO route/course loaded. That was while doing tempo intervals on a bike trail.
the 530 has 3 settings, I haven’t played with them:
Works well, when I’ve gone off-course I ignore the recalculation and simply turn around.
Some features on 530 I use all the time and enjoy:
Hydration alerts:
Fueling alerts:
Heat acclimation tracking:
Full gas interval session tracking of max power for interval vs entire ride:
Mild warnings when doing intervals and power has been frequently in red (either too low or too high):
Light network to switch my Bontrager Flare RT from flashing to steady when on a group ride (I use flashing on the ride to start)
Light network to disable lights on Varia gen1 radar and boost radar battery life beyond 7 hours
changing data fields on the device during a recovery interval, when I’m actually thinking about the ideal layout of data
Honestly the Roam, 530, and 830 are all good choices, and for the features and overall value I’m willing to go thru initial setup hassle on the 530. I’ve helped a few people setup their Garmins after a ride while having coffee. Even with phone based setup I see people asking for help setting up Bolt. Just because its phone based setup doesn’t mean somebody is going to figure it out.
I have had the bolt and now have the 530. I have been with the Garmin ecosystem since the 305 watch so my history is there. Not a deal breaker but makes it less ideal to switch.
When I did have the bolt it just worked and as long as you have a route loaded you are good to go. I got annoyed having to upload the fit file into Garmin Connect (since tapriik was down for garmin) and also at the time I wanted a Varia which did not work with the bolt.
As @bbarrera said either one would work depending on what ecosytem you use. My 530 has worked great but I did switch off auto rerouting and sharp bend alerts along with strava segments, etc. it also worked great with DI2 via screen switching etc.
RideWithGPS or Kamoot route, with embedded turn-by-turn. At least when I had the Bolt.
When I bought a Bolt and evaluated it as 520 replacement they didn’t have Varia radar support. There were probably 5 reasons I returned it, just wasn’t much of an upgrade at the time.
When I got around to looking at the 530 vs Roam it simply came down to overall value of 530 (cost & features). Really really happy with the 530.
I’d love to try the Stages M50, from DCRainmaker reviews it looks very interesting and the highest level of display customization along with easy configuration via on-device or phone or web.
Biggest mistake Stages made was coming up with their own mounting interface…as integrated bars / mounts become more common, it is almost impossible to try and get a new mounting standard.
I’d love to try a Stages computer (especially in Landscape mode), but there is no way (that I am aware of) to get it to mount to my bars or current mount (Form Mount).
Yeah, I know…none of them work for me. No interest in a top-of-stem option, nor a stem cap mount and I don’t have enough round clamp area on my HB to accommodate a mount to the side of the stem.
I use Connect IQ. Good for if you’re going to use something where there isn’t an ANT+ profile already. No real choice but to use Garmin if you want Connect IQ.
It always seem like a decent amount of Garmin hate in these threads which I think is more a reflection of them being the biggest players in the market for over a decade so there will inevitably be a large number of bad units even if the percentage is super small.
I rode with a 10 year old Garmin 800 for several years that I got for free and had seen heavy usage before me and I used for several hundred hours of riding. I only ever had a couple of issues that were not chronic and the battery life was pretty low at the end. I could still get through a 4+ hour ride but with navigation I would be cutting it very close. But still not bad for a 10 year old battery.
I now have a Forerunner 945 and an Edge 830. Both of with have been flawless. I did a 5.5 hour ride with navigation the whole time with the 830 and still had over 75% battery left. Sure the on-device set up is a little annoying and antiquated but it’s mostly a one-and-done situation. However, it also means you can change and move the data fields on the fly, during a ride, without pulling out your phone.
I love the turn-by-turn navigation. I usually do the long solo ride with one headphone in listening to podcasts or music and the 830 will cut in and give voice directions much like your phone would. So I don’t have to keep looking down at the unit, I can just keep riding until the voice cuts in with .25 mi until my next turn. The touchscreen is also miles better than the 800 was. I only had the slightest of issues with my thicker winter gloves but never anything that even required me to take the gloves off.
Though I have never used a Wahoo head unit I definitely would recommend the new Garmin units as mine has been a great experience.
I had the 820 and I completely agree with your comments… I just updated to the 830 after lots of debate, and have been pleased! All of these issues have been fixed on the 830.
The unit no longer powers on or off when plugged in (it powers on to the battery charging screen). Touchscreen is super responsive and it is very snappy.
I have yet to use it on the rain…
Have a garmin 945 and love but I am disappointed that to have a simple repair done they want 200 pound and they try and take advantage of fault to sell me another item at discount.
If they the big player maybe they could remember how they got their
Interesting how Garmin and Wahoo appeal to different people in different ways. I have my own story to share if anyone is interested.
I first owned a Bolt (since 2018) and then added an 830 last summer. Fast forward to today, and I still haven’t decided which one to sell…
I really appreaciate the Bolt for its modern, app-centric approach (good usability). And the reliability of the core features (speed, GPS, gradients) and smooth integration with the services that I use (mostly Komoot and Strava). For me, the device delivered what it promised - it just worked. Unfortunately the hardware quickly felt a bit dated (overall design and screen) which made me vulnerable to try the 830 when it came out. Also, it seems like Wahoo is lagging behind Garmin when it comes to integrating new features such as TR outdoor workouts, another reason to try Garmin.
So I bought the 830 when it came out for its modern looks and the much better screen (especially for map display). It looked like a next-gen device compared to the Bolt, and the Wahoo Roam didn’t strike me as a reasonable upgrade when it was announced. After using the 830 last summer/fall I can say that I would not have bought it had I known about the frustrations it would cause me. I really don’t care much about the armada of bugs in newly announced / nice-to-have features such as Climb Pro (which is mostly annoying to me) or incicent detection. I was mostly annoyed because many core features such as turn-by-turn routing, gradient display, GPS accuracy etc. worked very poorly compared to the “old” Wahoo Bolt. Also realiability issues (crashes/reboots). Fast forward to this spring, and many bugs have been ironed out by Garmin, but STILL I am unable to get proper turn-by-turn instructions whenever it gets a bit complicated, GPS accuracy is still kind-of-poor, many functions are laggy (gradient display…) which I just find disgraceful. Also, synchronization with Komoot is a mess compared to Wahoo one-touch sync.
Bottom line:
I want an 830 with Wahoo software on it. Sad, I know. Maybe I’ll try the Roam one of these days.
Positive note: Whichever device you choose will do most of the things you want it to do.
The Garmin has just more potential for surprises (in both directions).
