Wahoo Roam died….what to get next?

[mikeIow]

So my Wahoo Roam V1 has died.

It served me well: bought primarily as a tool for a 19d LEJoG back in 2020, it never got me lost (well, only a little when I wasn’t paying attention), tracked my journeys, uploaded them to Strava, hooked seamlessly to the amazing Garmin Varia 515 to keep me well informed of traffic behind.
On the downsides, it was always a bit faffy to get my cycle.travel routes to download….a two-step process that wasn’t so simple.

What to replace with?
A pal rates his Bryton, but it is “only” a cycle computer to him - I want the “sat-nav” (esp cycle.travel mapping transfers) and Garmin integration.
Hammerhead came out just too late for my 2020 purchase, but looked good.

Before I dive into reviews: what are the suggestions of the hive mind here?
As a curve-ball, my latest multi-day ride was when the Wahoo died, & I had to rely on the phone alone, but that did work okay…maybe that is what I do….although I did like having a dedicated device, & I very much missed the Garmin radar warnings…

 

[teeonethousand]

I have a V1 and it is indeed everything you said. If mine died I would either get another V1 or V2. My needs are similar to yours.

 

[YMFB]

I moved from Wahoo to Garmin several years ago to get better Nav, I’ve been very pleased.

My 1030 plus is old now but when the time comes I will replace it with another Garmin.

 

[mikeIow]

How is the battery on the 1030?

I originally went Wahoo because a pal had found his Garmin was very poor on battery, & he loved his Bolt…& my Roam v1 easily lasted even a couple of 84-mile days (which at my slow pace was over 10 hours!).
Reading the v3 reviews looks good.
I guess I am curious about the other brands

 

[Binky]

My old (9years!) Bolt v1 still going strong so as and when it dies I'll probably stick with Wahoo and I've got eye on a Roam v3.

I've heard too many horror stories about Garmin issues with duff units and customer service although of course only hear the bad stuff, rarely hear about the vast majority of good ones.

For me I don't want or need touch screen, what I want is good mapping, climb features and decent battery life. Having an electronic bell is a good feature so I'll get one with that.

I'll be keen to see what you get as more head units now coming out and at competitive prices.

 

[Pblakeney]

From discussions I've had it is pretty much a toss up with both having pros and cons.
You're happy with your Yahoo so get the latest model. You want Garmin connectivity so Garmin seems the logical choice. Toss up as both work.

 

[Pblakeney]

I've heard too many horror stories about Garmin issues with duff units and customer service although of course only hear the bad stuff, rarely hear about the vast majority of good ones.

A good example of that is that my Tacx Neo 2T developed a fault after 5 years of abuse and well out of warranty. I contacted Garmin and they replaced it including postage in both directions free of charge. Good stories are out there, the net result is me being quite biased in their favour.

 

[figbat]

I have. Wahoo Bolt V1 and V2. I only got the V2 as an upgrade - the V1 is still working fine for my son. I’m sold on Wahoo stuff.

As a comparison with Garmin, a friend I ride with is a Garmin fan-boi. Over the last four years we have done several long, multi-day offroad rides with a group. When we do them he runs the route on his Garmin and I run it on my Wahoo. Many, many times we have come across situations where we had to make a decision which of the vague trails in front of us to take. Almost always my Wahoo delivered the answer before his Garmin did. Typical conversation:

The group: “Which way at this junction?”
Me: “it’s left”
Him: “are you sure?”
Me: “yes, definitely” (and I’ll just ride in the direction the Bolt has told me)
Him (some seconds after he and the group have followed me): “oh yeah, this is right”.

 

[wafter]

How has it died? Have you investigated battery replacement?

I got one for my Polar for not a whole lot of money (IIRC it was about £15-20) and fitment appears straightforward; however I've not done so yet as the original seemed to recover and remains serviceable if managed appropriately.