I think you nailed it - great hardware, and poor software (at least at times).
Given how amazing the screen is, I hate the map and navigating - I find the colours really blur into each other. When I am following a route I dont need lots of detail around the Map - I just want to follow a line, easily at 30 kmh…
My Wahoo V2 is best at this
But when I turn it on it can take 5 mins to get a GPS lock, which is a joke
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Here’s a better one actually outside. I’m sure the car thought I was an idiot 
As an aside, slight overcast and the screen looked great.
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When there isn’t a car coming by, does the top bar color correspond with your power relative to the prescribed power?
Great question; I don’t believe so. I will check next time I get out.
No, it mirrors bar tape and shoe colors, but only if they match. This is little known Easter egg feature 
But seriously speaking, unlikely – 149W is within 119-214W range. Would be neat, though.
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HA! Glad someone caught that.
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Still not that many detailed video reviews of the Bolt & Roam v3s on the production firmware. Anything in the works @GPLama & @dcrainmaker ?
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I’m doing a lot of ROAM 2 vs ROAM 3 head to head rides… the ROAM 2 is winning in almost every area, especially when it comes to what matters to me - map visibility, contrast, detail, etc. The difference (for me, for my riding) is somewhat shocking. The ROAM 2 maps would be considered an upgrade.
Wahoo are still releasing “Bug fixes and stability improvements.” firmware updates… so it’s a game of looping back to each of those to see if they’ve fixed/updated things like the 100% battery fudge, battery drain, DI2/AXS button programming, road contrast, correctly naming BIKE/ACTIVITY profiles, marking those activity type in the FIT file, boot time, etc etc. (read between the lines there - yes, everything Garmin does and has done for years).
tldr; I still can’t see any on-bike experience improvements with these new units. A lot of the features are stepped back. (Deep in the weeds - they’ve even trimmed back the amount of chevrons on Summit pages!?). The question will be if they’re a COROS (released a potato, still a potate), or is this release a Karoo 3 (not much of an update to the K2 for the first 12 months.. then boom app store!)
While I’m at it… loading the Wahoo App and being presented with a subscription nag to SYSTM taking up the whole screen has me flipping tables. That’s going to be a kick in the face for people who’ve just spent good money on the latest and greatest bike tech.
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Anyone have experience with through-charging a bolt V2? I know my bolt won’t make it through unbound (it didn’t in 2023). I wonder if I can get away with just plugging it into a small usb power bank.
I was thinking about upgrading to the roam v3 but this thread has me thinking otherwise. Or maybe I’ll just buy a v2.
I’ve pass through charged a Bolt v2 quite a few times and never had an issue
Thanks - sounds like the v3s still have a long way to go to be a decent upgrade option (or even a competitor to the x40s from Garmin).
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Interesting. I was forced into buying a new Roam after an OTB cracked the screen on my v2. What I like about the v3:
- 3 data fields across the top on the map screen, without adding a second line which makes the map portion smaller. I use map for 90% of my rides.
- Elevation profile touch zoom (2mi, 20mi, full) while still keeping all the data fields visible.
- Constant time and battery life on the top, much like a cell phone.
- Touch screen to go back/forth on data screens. Where previously could only page forward.
- Bell is kinda neat. I never had a bell on any of my bikes.
The ONLY downside has been the crisp map screen detail and brightness, but on the setting “Auto Max” it’s much better. I hope they can improve upon this with firmware updates, however it’s not a deal breaker. Given the choice again I would buy the v3 over the v2.
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My indecision continues.
I ended up buying the Roam 3. I got it maybe two days before unbound. I finished the 200 in 12:33 and had 37% battery left on auto-max mode with live tracking running the whole time. I was initially worried because it dropped to the 80s quickly, but then it seemed to decline more slowly throughout the event. Not sure if this was just kind of a new battery calibration phenomenon.
I would agree with the previous comments and @dcrainmaker 's observations that the screen is not nearly as bright. That being said, it was good enough in most circumstances during that event.
I did take it out on my mountain bike yesterday. I had issues with the PM dropping signal and reading incorrectly. I swapped the PM battery with no improvement. I am not sure if this was an issue with the PM or the head unit at this point.
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@jpmerz What PM?
Ugh on PM dropouts. That’s a key piece I’ve been putting lots of miles in, to see if I can recreate dropouts issues I saw back when I first got the unit (and often also on ACE), but hadn’t seen in recent weeks in newer software.
Agre with @jcolp - very interested to know which PM you’ve got connected. I’ve mostly had mine paired to either a Quarq or Favero unit on my tests).
Speedplay Power for me, which does skew things since it connects over BTLE vs ANT+ but c’est la vie. No issues.
I have a vague memory of reading about someone having woes with Stages though, but that could very well have been the Stages unit itself.
I was using the transmission xx sl quarq PM.
I haven’t ridden it yet, but I think I may have rectified the issue by holding the power button down and resetting the Wahoo. In the stand, it seems to be holding signal better now.
Before the reset, I confirmed that it was the head unit by opening the sram axs app simultaneously. I was getting readings on the app but not the Wahoo prior to the reset.
I just did an outdoor TR workout this morning. While the workout page is fine, I do miss the discreet LEDs for hitting power targets. The current layout oscillates too much IMO. It would be cool to see them emulate the LEDs at the top of the screen if you wanted it.