Wahoo Bolt or Garmin Edge 520 Plus ?

[vickster]

The Wahoo is not exactly new tech, Garmin have been at it a lot longer so they should have got it right a long time ago.

The Wahoo is fine for syncing to Strava and as a bike computer but the mapping is horrible. I can’t get my head around it at all (probably because I’m used to GPS mapping like a car or google maps)
Not some 70s black and white thing with a dotted line

My 800 crashed no more than the Elemnt but I wanted the latter for BT uploading

 

[derrick]

The Wahoo is fine for syncing to Strava and as a bike computer but the mapping is horrible. I can’t get my head around it at all (probably because I’m used to GPS mapping like a car or google maps)
Not some 70s black and white thing with a dotted line

My 800 crashed no more than the Elemnt but I wanted the latter for BT uploading

The mapping is the best part of it.

 

[vickster]

The mapping is the best part of it.

But I never know which way the dotted line is going! And the flashing lights confuse the hell out of me
The on the fly mapping is also really poor If wanting to actually avoid bridleways, footpaths and the like and stay on the roads!

 

[derrick]

But I never know which way the dotted line is going! And the flashing lights confuse the hell out of me
The on the fly mapping is also really poor If wanting to actually avoid bridleways, footpaths and the like and stay on the roads!

You need someone to show you how to set it up properly.

 

[vickster]

You need someone to show you how to set it up properly.

Quite possibly. As it doesn't come with instructions The blokes who invent these things seem to think they are intuitive for all their customers, which is a poor assumption

 

[nickAKA]

If you want/need mapping then the 530 or 830 (depending on your budget), if you're not interested in navigation then the bolt.
I personally don't see the 2 models in a straight shoot-out here; it's not really comparing eggs with eggs. The bolt is a pretty traditional GPS bike computer, probably the best of it's type, with a bit of navigation functionality thrown in half-heartedly and is (in my opinion) pretty useless at it. Garmin have more experience with satnav and have done a better job of it in the current product releases and are (excuse the pun) streets ahead of the competition in this field. Wahoo released the roam to compete with the newer Garmins but I have zero personal experience with it.
Let's be completely honest here, the navigation (particularly on the fly) tends to be hopeless in cycle satnavs regardless of who makes them.

 

[Mike_P]

The simplest way to get use to a GPS display is to use it on a route you know.

 

[Blue Hills]

What sort of riding do you intend to do with this @Lauris ?

What do you need it to do?

 

[User169]

This is dcrainmaker's comparison of Bolt vs 520 (not 520plus)

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/07/best-bike-gps-2017-garmin-wahoo.html

I got the impression the 530 is quite a bit step forward and dcrainmaker at least thinks Wahoo is falling behind (he wasn't especially impressed with the Roam).

 

[derrick]

This is dcrainmaker's comparison of Bolt vs 520 (not 520plus)

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/07/best-bike-gps-2017-garmin-wahoo.html

I got the impression the 530 is quite a bit step forward and dcrainmaker at least thinks Wahoo is falling behind (he wasn't especially impressed with the Roam).

So he likes the Garmin but these are his words.

Surely you buy a GPS for Navigation.

 

[User169]

So he likes the Garmin but these are his words.
View attachment 492977

Surely you buy a GPS for Navigation.

Er, not necessarily.

 

[Blue Hills]

So he likes the Garmin but these are his words.
View attachment 492977

Surely you buy a GPS for Navigation.

Native muscle oxygen sensors? You sure it's not one of those internet controllable sex toys?

 

[Mike_P]

£ wise the Bolt is a clear winner currently with a number of sellers offering the ones with blue or pick back casing at £149 including Wiggle and Sigma

 

[PaulSB]

But I never know which way the dotted line is going! And the flashing lights confuse the hell out of me
The on the fly mapping is also really poor If wanting to actually avoid bridleways, footpaths and the like and stay on the roads!

I would echo @derrick on this, it sounds to me as though you need someone to go through it with you. I don't feel it's a question of set up as the Wahoo is so simple to set up initially but more a question of grasping how it works.

I'm never quite sure by what is meant with "on the fly" mapping. If this involves, as I understand it, the ability to re-route, create a new route etc. while out on the bike then I'd suggest looking in more detail at the companion app would help.

One aspect of the companion app I really like is the ability to see easily, on a large screen, where one has been. If lost this is especially valuable as it's easy to spot where one went wrong. I'm happy the Wahoo doesn't automatically re-route as my Garmin used to crash 50% of the time I allowed it to do this.

For me the Wahoo is a GPS unit which performs two functions well. Firstly providing a clear map with excellent turn by turn navigation which has yet to fail me - my Garmin crashed so often it became necessary to switch off all functions bar navigation. Secondly the Wahoo gathers data and when used with the app this is very useful both while out riding and post ride.

 

[PaulSB]

Which unit is better?
I know they both offer the same thing pretty much... so perhaps looking for an answer who owns both.

The main thing is the performance... lag-free and doesn't crash or corrupt files.

For several years I used a Garmin 800, it was very poor. So poor in fact when I was selling it to a friend I told him everything I felt was wrong with, let him trial it for a month before he made a decision.

I haven't used the 520 in anger but did buy my son one several years ago, pre Wahoo, and I did like it's relative simplicity to the 800.

Without being able to offer a direct comparison I would say buy a Wahoo every time. The Wahoo's simplicity in set up, superb reliability in navigation, battery life and ease of use make it the easy winner over Garmin.

My feeling is Garmin have sat back and taken the money from cyclists for years without ever investing the profits in improved devices or software. I am far from being a software expert but the impression I've gained is Garmin initially probably had a decent device. With each upgrade, next generation, etc. more and more features have been piled on to the same basic software making it creak and groan and eventually very crash prone. My evidence for this is only that if I turned off all functions bar navigation my 800 worked well. Turn on the features I wanted to use and it would regularly crash.

The other aspect of the Wahoo which is vastly superior to Garmin is the use of an app for set up. It's simple and easy to use whereas with the Garmin I always had to get the manual out to make changes.

The Garmin 800 left me feeling this company has exploited it's position as market leader through constant product "upgrades" which it has failed to support with any radical software improvements. Ultimately I felt ripped off. I'd no longer consider any Garmin device

Wahoo on the other hand have had the advantage of starting from scratch and creating a product which does exactly what it says on the tin. It does worry me Wahoo seem to heading down the route of coloured maps etc. which are just so unecessary.