Wahoo Roam

[mikeIow]

Hi all,
Thought I might find more, but the search doesn't show me a lot on this unit.
Interested in a "top end" navigational cycle computer, and it appears that the Garmin 1030 and Wahoo Elemnt Roam are the top contenders right now. If anyone knows other decent units, let me know! I used a Teasi 5 years back for a while (& in particular, Lon2Par), and whilst it worked 'okay', it was a little clunky and slow at times.

I have to say i am leaning toward the Roam: I've read a few comparison reviews: many similarities, of course. Sounds like the battery on the Wahoo exceeds the Garmin by quite a bit, and the passing of data between mobile and unit sounds quite a bit easier/slicker.

Anyone used one (particularly the Roam, but happy to hear about either) on multi-day trips able to say how good they are at having maybe 10-30 days of trips stored? Or even up to a week or so. Not found a review that goes to that detail.
Thx

 

[PaulSB]

I have a Wahoo Elemnt which with the introduction of the Roam has become the mid-range model. I'm very pleased with it and would not return to a Garmin.

Only one observation for you. I found the colour screen very hard to read on my Garmin 810. The Wahoo Elemnt has a black and white screen with very good definition. You may want to consider if the Roam with a colour screen gives good definition.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Anyone used one (particularly the Roam, but happy to hear about either) on multi-day trips able to say how good they are at having maybe 10-30 days of trips stored? Or even up to a week or so. Not found a review that goes to that detail.
Thx

Recent Roam user, after my Elemnt battery failed - to be fair after 3 years of heavy use.
@PaulSB guard your Elemnt! It's discontinued!

I just did a check on my unit and I have all the maps for México, Central & South America (excl. Brazil & Venezuela).
I currently have 25 different routes on the unit, several of those are thousands of km in length and still have 1.3 GB of space on the unit.

I don't think storing routes will be an issue, and even if it was, depending on your preferred source(s) for routes there are simple workarounds by storing routes in your apps or directly on your phone.

As regards the colour display, I too was sceptical, but it's marginally better than my Elemnt - in that it highlights the likes of bridges etc. in red. On my Elemnt I'd often arrive at a junction only to find the road I wanted was above (or below) me! (Not the unit's fault - I like to wander off course).

I would have chosen the Bolt (a smaller version of the Elemnt) but it was out of stock.
While the Roam has more detailed maps I simply do not see the advantage of them. My phone is far superior.

To give an example of multi day use, I rode from NL to Ireland and back using
1 route in NL
1 route Hull - Holyhead
Made up a route in Ireland
1 route from Scotland to Hull.
Each day I'd wander off course to find a place to sleep, then next day rejoin the "big" route with no problems.

Good Luck

 

[PaulSB]

@HobbesOnTour thanks for this. Quick question is the mapping, the direction chevrons and text in black and white on the Roam? Is it just things like bridges highlighted in colour?

I shall double my guard on the Elemnt! I love it.

I see the Elemnt can be found for £229. Bargain although I only paid £200 as I had a £50 voucher offer from Evans.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

@HobbesOnTour thanks for this. Quick question is the mapping, the direction chevrons and text in black and white on the Roam? Is it just things like bridges highlighted in colour?

I shall double my guard on the Elemnt! I love it.

I see the Elemnt can be found for £229. Bargain although I only paid £200 as I had a £50 voucher offer from Evans.

Mapping is in colour, but subtle. So, for example, a lake or river or the sea will show up as blue.
Main roads, for example, are yellow while smaller roads are black.
Chevrons are black unless it is navigating you back to your route (or navigating you to the start of the route) - then they are blue.
The route behind me stays in black.
Text is black.
Bridges/flyovers have a thin, red border.

Several years ago I tried a Garmin tour with a colour screen and they overdid it with colour to the point it was almost incomprehensible. That's certainly not the case with the Roam.

It's display is better than the Elemnt but at full price I don't think it's worth it. (I got a hefty discount).
For navigation I think the Elemnt gives the best bang for the buck. Simple & reliable.
The Bolt should be the same, albeit with a smaller screen.
The Roam is expensive for what it does (especially if only for navigation). The options to navigate on the unit itself are poor, although its actual routing is fine - and this in a pretty big city).

I wouldn't be upgrading unless I had to

 

[PaulSB]

Thanks @HobbesOnTour I've no plans to upgrade and see no reason to. Very interested by the comments from user experience.

My fear for Wahoo is they will begin to chase more and more features when the superb simplicity of the Elemnt, and I imagine the Bolt, is the key benefit. To my mind Garmin's major error was to begin with some software which wasn't up to scratch initially. Every new generation of device was more complex until the software became so overloaded it disappeared up it's own backside!!

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Careful now, @PaulSB you'll be starting WW III with those inflammatory comments

I was a bit worried about the Roam but it behaves like the Elemnt, using the same app etc.
Out of the box it just works.

Its "Take me to" function is crap, though. At least on a Garmin you can search an address. The Wahoo version is vastly inferior, but has the advantage of being easily used with Komoot/RWGPS/Strava or my favourite cycle.travel. ( I should also add I'm in an unusual part of the world so that may be a factor too).

I do see people having issues (online) but that's mainly sensors etc. which is of no concern to me.

After my own poor experience with a Garmin Touring unit what sealed the deal for me was an account on CGOAB of a British cyclist arriving in Canada to cycle across the country and discovering her maps wouldn't work on her Garmin unit. (That's not something you can test in advance).
She delayed her departure for 5 days dealing with Customer Service before giving up and heading off without a working gps unit.

 

[PaulSB]

@HobbesOnTour just my genuine experience with Garmin. The issue as I see it is this. I am reasonably tech savvy and when I worked was very good at using and manipulating the software programmes available to me to my benefit BUT...........when it comes to consumer tech, software etc. I want something which works out of the box.

What I found with Garmin is the menus had no logic, functions are hidden in unexpected places etc. The consequence I feel is I probably made many mistakes in set up meaning the 810 never worked correctly for me.

I'm sure some will say the problem rested with me as the user. My view is the opposite, I'm the consumer, in both senses, and as such expect consumer electronics to work out of the box in an intuitive manner. Garmin failed at this while Wahoo hit the bullseye.

 

[mikeIow]

Thanks very much for the comments!
@HobbesOnTour - very reassuring stuff!
It would certainly be a luxury item, for sure: any discount pointers welcome!
Despite a career working in “tech”, I also really want this kind of consumer stuff to work rapidly, reliably, and with as little fuss as possible!

 

[Mark pallister]

I’ve got a roam ,upgraded from a bolt and think it’s worth it for the improved screen alone
I had many garmin o er the years ,last one was a edge 1000
just too much stuff on it I don’t need ,they are totally let down by the software,units are solid and built to last but as they get more bloated with useless gimmicks such as a take a drink reminder !
the roam was like a breath of fresh air
up and running in about 10 mins and it all just works
I don’t think that wahoo will ever match garmin for routing capabilities,garmin virtually invented it
but the roam is a close second and it works all the time
brilliant battery life and excellent connectivity
wahoo all day for me

 

[broady]

I didn't like my Roam at all and was so glad when I sold it on.
If you want the best navigation then the 1030 (the plus model is now out) is by far the best unit imo

 

[mikeIow]

I didn't like my Roam at all and was so glad when I sold it on.
If you want the best navigation then the 1030 (the plus model is now out) is by far the best unit imo

What was it you didn't like in particular about the Roam?
Conversely, what is it you think is much better with the 1030?

(particularly regarding the navigation, but any thoughts welcome!)

 

[HobbesOnTour]

@mikelow
The problem you're finding is that people have a love hate relationship with their units. That really doesn't help you if one person swears by their Garmin X and another wouldn't put it on their Mother in Law's bike

"Navigation" for bike units is vastly different to the satnav in your car.
Navigation for bike units is best thought of in two stages;
First is planning (and no unit will plan good routes - that's best left to dedicated apps or maps whether online or off).
Second is actually following the planned route. Response time, battery life, display, off route actions, recording, turn by turn directions etc.

What you should really be doing (and sorry to be so boring) is actually sitting down and having a good think about what you want your unit to do for you in the ways that you think you will use it.
When you have that list, then look at what is on offer.

For example, if you only plan your route at home then you don't need on the fly route planning (nor detailed maps, probably).

Similarly, no unit will make a bad route good. Some units may allow you to choose another route (but generally, route planning across all units is pretty poor).

If you want a free hands on introduction to the world of gps navigation look at Osmand, an app for your phone.
It does everything a bike gps does, although clunky and with a bit of a steep learning curve. It'll help figure out what is important and not.

How do you plan routes now? What do you use to follow them?

I think a lot of people who end up deeply unhappy with their units do so because they bought the wrong unit - for them.

Good luck!

 

[mikeIow]

Understood, thx.
& I get this kind of thing can be almost a religious war - I'm happy to learn from other folks views.

For my part, I would broadly expect to do all the planning either on laptop at home, or perhaps on the hoof on my mobile - I don't really expect the 'bike-nav' to do too much more than keep me on route, & if I stray from it, re-route me as smartly as possible. I'd like a decent battery life (10+ 'real-world' hours).
Right now I *feel* like a Roam is leading the pack for *me*, & I have a feeling a dedicated device makes sense....
.... although I also wonder if there could just be a good phone app - with a USB battery, that could work too.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Understood, thx.
& I get this kind of thing can be almost a religious war - I'm happy to learn from other folks views.

For my part, I would broadly expect to do all the planning either on laptop at home, or perhaps on the hoof on my mobile - I don't really expect the 'bike-nav' to do too much more than keep me on route, & if I stray from it, re-route me as smartly as possible. I'd like a decent battery life (10+ 'real-world' hours).
Right now I *feel* like a Roam is leading the pack for *me*, & I have a feeling a dedicated device makes sense....
.... although I also wonder if there could just be a good phone app - with a USB battery, that could work too.

Like I said, Osmand is a great way to get a hang of the gps world. It's been my backup navigation for years (touring).
If you use the search function you'll find previous discussions on using a phone.
For me, the phone is weakest when I need it the most - in the pouring rain. Try using a touch screen in the rain

One thing to remember about a phone as well is the ability to work offline! If your phone depends on a data signal that may be unavailable or expensive!

Honestly, if you're leaning towards a Wahoo unit, you have demonstrated nothing in your posts that rules out a Bolt (or even an Elemnt if you can find a new one).
Detailed maps on a phone are not terribly useful and Garmin appear to have better on unit navigation options (you can actually search an address - Wahoo are crap at this!)
Remember, unless you pack extra cables, you'll need a data signal to plot a route on the fly with a Wahoo.

Battery life is simply solved with a small powerbank. I regularly turn off my Wahoo unit for long breaks (I stop a lot) and on switching on it'll reboot and there is my ride, ready to continue.