Wahoo Elemnt v Garmin Edge Explore?

Wahoo Elemnt vs Garmin Edge Explore

  • Wahoo Elemnt

    Votes: 14 73.7%
  • Garmin Edge Explore

    Votes: 5 26.3%

  • Total voters
    19
  • Poll closed .
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Polite

Über Member
I am a touring cyclist (steel frame, panniers etc) but do plenty of miles and different routes.

I'm not interested in power meters and the like but would like good navigation, smartphone connectivity and a decent battery life that doesn't rely on or drain the phone.

Which of the two would you recommend?

You can leave your thoughts, which will be warmly appreciated, or just vote.

Thank you.
 

tom73

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
Wahoo ticks all the boxers and more they just work from day one.
 

the_mikey

Legendary Member
The only minor niggle I have with the Wahoo units is they need to connect to wi-fi from time to time for updates, and they won't connect to a 5GHz wi-fi router. Otherwise they're good.
 

tom73

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
Update is via the app on your phone wahoo just connects to that via bluetooth.
That's how mine updated a few days ago.
 

the_mikey

Legendary Member
True, but you can always connect them to a phone set as a wireless hotspot.

That is exactly what I do, but I still get annoyed at having to do it!
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
Garmin Edge Explore is excellent, nice big colour screen with on device re-routing if you have to go off course.

Connects to you phone via Bluetooth and you can sync routes from Komoot or Strava quickly and easily.
 
OP
OP
Polite

Polite

Über Member
Garmin Edge Explore is excellent, nice big colour screen with on device re-routing if you have to go off course.

Connects to you phone via Bluetooth and you can sync routes from Komoot or Strava quickly and easily.
Thank you.

A friend told me that when you finish a ride the Garmin gives two options, Save or Discard, and that they have deleted long rides by pressing Discard by mistake.

I know the Wahoo only offers Save as an option.

Is the above still the case with the Garmin?
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
Thank you.

A friend told me that when you finish a ride the Garmin gives two options, Save or Discard, and that they have deleted long rides by pressing Discard by mistake.

I know the Wahoo only offers Save as an option.

Is the above still the case with the Garmin?
Yes this is the case, but if you press discard it always asks if you are sure, when you press save it doesn't. It's actually quite hard to discard a ride by accident. I've not managed it myself.
 
OP
OP
Polite

Polite

Über Member
Yes this is the case, but if you press discard it always asks if you are sure, when you press save it doesn't. It's actually quite hard to discard a ride by accident. I've not managed it myself.
Cheers.
 
Location
España
Update is via the app on your phone wahoo just connects to that via bluetooth.
That's how mine updated a few days ago.
I think there may be two aspects to this;
One is updating the app on your phone - simple using whatever wifi (or data) your phone is connected to.
Two is updating the software on your unit - not quite so simple, especially if you're not at home (have to connect specifically to the wifi you're using involving passwords etc ).

For most situations it's fine, but on long tours away from home it means that updating the unit is (slightly) more complicated. Personally, I prefer that - bugs (electronic or otherwise) are not welcome when I'm far from home^_^

I use an Elemnt btw. Other units may be different.

Other things for @Polite to consider (for touring) are;
Compatability with Dynohub charging
Specificity of cables
Customer service
Location of charging socket in relation to location on bike.
 

tom73

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
I think there may be two aspects to this;
One is updating the app on your phone - simple using whatever wifi (or data) your phone is connected to.
Two is updating the software on your unit - not quite so simple, especially if you're not at home (have to connect specifically to the wifi you're using involving passwords etc ).

For most situations it's fine, but on long tours away from home it means that updating the unit is (slightly) more complicated. Personally, I prefer that - bugs (electronic or otherwise) are not welcome when I'm far from home^_^

I use an Elemnt btw. Other units may be different.

Other things for @Polite to consider (for touring) are;
Compatability with Dynohub charging
Specificity of cables
Customer service
Location of charging socket in relation to location on bike.

I understand that the last update I did was for the unit not the app i've never had to set up the unit to work on my home wifi.
It's always updated via the app so I don't know how it's managed to do it then as it's never done a software update independently of the app. :smile:
 
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