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Recommendations for a computer

by bobrayner
Tue, Dec 08, 2020 08:43
9

Lately the bike computer market has been putting a lot of emphasis on things like power meter data and Strava integration. However, I'm a bit eccentric; I'm not interested in those things and I really need good navigation (ideally based on .GPX routes that I've drawn up beforehand), good offline performance, and a UI that's easy even when you're exhausted. A bike computer that can keep me on the right track when I'm in the middle of nowhere.

What are the best options these days without spending thousands*? What do all you cool people recommend?

The Lezyne Macro Plus looked like a good option on Wiggle, but this review changed my mind. So what are the alternatives?

* admittedly, I do spend thousands on my bike, but I'd rather spend it on unnecessary carbon fibre than on unnecessary computer features.

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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9 comments

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TheBillder | 4 years ago
1 like

My son has a Bolt, I have an old Garmin 810 bought used. We ride together a fair bit so can do a side by side comparison.

The Bolt is fine for following a breadcrumb trail - there have been times when it's clearer than the turn by turn on the Garmin, especially if the route is slightly inaccurate (eg overshooting junctions by a tad when drawing it or deriving from a Strava ride).

Where the Garmin (& the Roam AFAIK) win though is if you want to go off route for an explore. The Bolt map is not easy to read; colour makes things easier.

My 810 has only ever failed with water in the barometric sensor, but I also get very few punctures so clearly just lucky! Wahoo's reliability rep is a lot better.

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cyclefaster | 4 years ago
1 like

I have a Lezyne Super GPS. Price was my main reason for buying, along with finding the cheapest device with turn by turn directions. I think I paid about £70 when it was on a deal and not wanting to pay over £200 for better models. 

Initially, it was fine for recording rides, but creating routes was always a bit of a nightmare, but since the Komoot integration it has felt like a new product. Creating routes is really easy and these routes can be activated from within the Lezyne app so it's pretty straightforward.

If I was buying again, I would probably buy a wahoo, but I'm not disappointed with the Lezyne.

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bobrayner | 4 years ago
0 likes

Excellent. Wahoo it is, then. Thanks for all your insights!

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SimonAY | 4 years ago
1 like

I have a Bolt and it's fine for navigation and route planning. However a lot of people are rating the new Hammerhead Karoo as being great for navigation. They're a pig to get hold of though. Good review from everyone's favourite cycling tech expert DC Rainmaker here - https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/12/hammerhead-karoo-2-in-depth-review.h...

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melliott | 4 years ago
2 likes

I'm going to continue the Wahoo recommendations but if you can justify it, I would choose the Roam. I've had Garmins and the Bolt, and the Roam is easily the best computer I've used. Really easy to setup, excellent screen visibility, great battery life, easily syncs your routes from Strava/RwGPS/Komoot and will re-route you if you go off track.

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zeeridesbikes | 4 years ago
2 likes

I had the wahoo elemnt when it was first released. Great computer and very easy to set up and use, but I found the screen tricky for navigation due to the lack of detail. This was the case on multi day tours both in the UK and abroad.

I swapped it for the Garmin 830 and while it is a bit buggy when it comes to the phone connection, IMO the navigation is much better. I do plan my routes on RWGPS and upload them using the app rather than relying on the unit to create routes so I can't really comment on the routing capability. 
 

There are a lot of features I don't use but 'climb pro' is very useful. Google will be better explaining that than me. 

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jaymack | 4 years ago
2 likes

A Wahoo Elmnt Bolt will do the trick. There are good computers to be had for a similar price,  the Bryton range for example, but I've no personal experience of them. Don't get conned into purchasing anything from Garmin they really are as flakey as the bad customer reviews suggest. I had a couple and my Wahoo Bolt was a revelation. 

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Jetmans Dad replied to jaymack | 4 years ago
0 likes

And yet I am on my third Garmin (200, 500, 520+) and all have been utterly bulletproof and given me no trouble whatsoever. 

I remain to be convinced that the amount of bad press Garmin gets is anything other than proportional to the sheer number of Garmin devices out there. 

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HoarseMann replied to Jetmans Dad | 4 years ago
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It does depend on the Garmin device. I nearly had a ceremonial burning of my Edge Touring - it did some really weird things mid-ride. But I persevered and found out which settings were causing the problems and now it's actually pretty good.

I think a problem for Garmin is they just had too wide a product range. So to differentiate devices, they ended up dropping features for no good reason other than to make it a bit different.

For example, the Edge Touring does not have the on-device 'direct' routing option that the 810 gets - ostensibly, because you would not want the 'direct' route if touring. But in practise, this means it won't route you down an A road, even if it's a 30mph limit in a town. So to get from one side of the town to the other, rather than just cross this A road, it'll send you on a 40 mile loop! ARRRGH!!!!!

But using RideWithGPS and a .TCX route exported and plonked in the NewFiles directory, it works like a charm; turn-by-turn notifications and full mapping in colour.

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