GPS with DIY mapping recommendations......

[matticus]

But, the effect will be dampened by the people who "buy the new thing" without ever having owned the old thing.

Oh, sure, of course
But do you think we would hear as much from them? Maybe about the same as from the satisfied old-thing owners?

 

[GoldenLamprey]

Perhaps, but Wahoo devices have been around long enough to become part of the establishment themselves. There is no big backlash from users saying they are going back to Garmin's newer devices. It does seem there is significant specific dissatisfaction with Garmin.

 

[steveindenmark]

I have no skin in this game (I'm a happy eTrex user, and they may as well not exist in the GPS WAR debates). But here's a hypothesis to yell at anyway:
A product sells in the thousands, with failure/bug rates typical of electronics. The victims grumble, the lucky stay quiet.
New product arrives, with a similar reliabilty level. All those who were unlucky with the old thing jump to buy the new thing; ON AVERAGE they will find it more reliable.

Discuss! :P

I have an Etrex 30 and it works well. The biggest downside to it is that it is a bit of a brick.

 

[iandg]

Garmin 22x for me - upgraded from many years use of a 20. The use of AA batteries is a big plus as you can just swap when on a tour if needs be (can get >20 hrs life with Lithiums)

 

[matticus]

Perhaps, but Wahoo devices have been around long enough to become part of the establishment themselves. There is no big backlash from users saying they are going back to Garmin's newer devices. It does seem there is significant specific dissatisfaction with Garmin.

Feel free to prove me wrong with sales figures, but my guess is that SIGNIFCANTLY more garmins have been sold, and probably are still in use. Until that changes, my theory holds ;-)

 

[GoldenLamprey]

And there are SIGNIFICANTLY more moans about Garmins. Anecdotally, I have never seen a straight line on a Wahoo Strava ride, or a 'my Wahoo packed up mid-ride', in the way I see with Garmins. Whether that is SIGNIFICANT, though, I couldn't say.

'Theory', in this case, is just another word for 'guess'.

 

[matticus]

'Theory', in this case, is just another word for 'guess'.

My theory doesn't require (or assume) any particular rate of failures in either product.

 

[matticus]

Wahoo have an excellent marketing team. I know a couple of lovely people that do stuff for them. I've no idea if the things are any better than the equivalent Garmin things!

 

[Blue Hills]

I have an Etrex 30 and it works well. The biggest downside to it is that it is a bit of a brick.

Whatever the tech merits v a wahoo i suspect, with the move to minimalism, this is a big reason why many cyclists wouldn't consider one. Bigger than their lights. Personally, its "brickness" appeals to me.

 

[steveindenmark]

Whatever the tech merits v a wahoo i suspect, with the move to minimalism, this is a big reason why many cyclists wouldn't consider one. Bigger than their lights. Personally, its "brickness" appeals to me.

At least there is not much chance of losing it and they work well.

 

[Blue Hills]

At least there is not much chance of losing it and they work well.

That looks like more mellowness.
Am truly confused by this yo-yoing.

 

[steveindenmark]

That looks like more mellowness.
Am truly confused by this yo-yoing.

I think its the accident 😁

 

[Richard Fairhurst]

Wahoo have an excellent marketing team. I know a couple of lovely people that do stuff for them. I've no idea if the things are any better than the equivalent Garmin things!

Can you get them to hurry along with their Cloud API, please? 😁

 

[Nebulous]

I have an old but basic Garmin 500 which still works about 9 years in. The rubber is perished, meaning I have to push the buttons with a key, and it takes forever to get a satellite fix, but it still works. I also have a Garmin 1000, which was a very expensive present. It mostly works, but when it does let me down it is on the important rides. It has lost gps on one and developed water damage on another very wet one. Although it was out of warranty with the water damage, Garmin replaced it free of charge with a reconditioned unit.

I think Garmin was the only game in town and it’s users had to suck it up.

Then we had Wahoo come along and steal Garmin’s lunch. Several acquaintances moved, the units seemed well suited for audax rides and were gaining momentum.

Garmin responded, with faster processors, better software and longer battery life. By all accounts the new 530 / 830 and now 1030+ are considerably better than anything they have done before and generally come out ahead of Wahoo in reviews.

I’m considering an upgrade, probably would have done already if it wasn’t such a strange year and I’m torn. The main problem is how much I have invested in Garmin. Not in money, but in logging my rides. Garmin connect has years of my history - a bit more then Strava, particularly the older stuff, so I’m reluctant to give it up.

Wahoo is cheaper, more straightforward and appears to just work. I like doing things on my phone. I even control my central heating from it.

However I may well end up with a 530, everything else from Garmin appears too expensive.