Garmin 820 or Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT
Discussion
Having moved to a new area, I need some GPS Mapping as I keep getting lost.
I'm torn between the two devices.
Garmin 820 seems to have the better maps, actual turn by turn from an imported Strava route and it'll get you back on track if you get lost. Downsides are a buggy interface and touchscreen which can do its own thing in the wet.
Wahoo BOLT must admit had never heard of them before researching. I prefer it on the "computer" element and look but the GPS/Nav seems to let it down. You have to import routes via "Ride With GPS" and add the turning points yourself, if you go off course, it wont direct you back on, but it can auto route to a postcode if you need to get home or know of a postcode on your original planned route.
The Garmin has the nod on the maps, the BOLT is a good alternative but I think the GPS/Mapping would maybe cause me issues.
Anyone got any experience of either (or ideally both)...
Watched far too much YouTube Reviews already.
I'm torn between the two devices.
Garmin 820 seems to have the better maps, actual turn by turn from an imported Strava route and it'll get you back on track if you get lost. Downsides are a buggy interface and touchscreen which can do its own thing in the wet.
Wahoo BOLT must admit had never heard of them before researching. I prefer it on the "computer" element and look but the GPS/Nav seems to let it down. You have to import routes via "Ride With GPS" and add the turning points yourself, if you go off course, it wont direct you back on, but it can auto route to a postcode if you need to get home or know of a postcode on your original planned route.
The Garmin has the nod on the maps, the BOLT is a good alternative but I think the GPS/Mapping would maybe cause me issues.
Anyone got any experience of either (or ideally both)...
Watched far too much YouTube Reviews already.
I had a Garmin for a bit but just didnt get on with it... the nav was slow and clunky as hell. I missed more turns than I made. I swapped it for a Wahoo and havent looked back.
I tend to plan (or borrow) routes on ridewithgps and have not had to manually add cues. Its far more intuitive to use and change of route is easy on my phone which then links to the wahoo.
I tend to plan (or borrow) routes on ridewithgps and have not had to manually add cues. Its far more intuitive to use and change of route is easy on my phone which then links to the wahoo.
I'll never buy another Garmin product as long as I live. Their customer service (or complete lack thereof) is utterly appalling. Still, on the plus side, I learnt how to start a small claims court case! 
Personally, though, I just use my phone.
A case with a quad lock mount keeps it just as secure on the bars as any bike-specific device.
For journeys on roads & bike paths I use a free app called Bike Hub, which is effectively satnav for bikes. It gives you turn by turn navigation, both on screen and spoken, plus offers you choices of shortest, fastest, balanced and quietest routes. It completely changed my commute into Central London. I used to ride up CS7, breathing in all the exhaust fumes that come with it being on one of South West London's main arterial routes. Now I have a lovely back-street ride which, apart from a couple of miles in the middle (mostly Plough Lane in Wimbledon, so still hardly heaving) and the last quarter mile or so (out of 15) feels like I'm on the set of 28 Days Later, it's so quiet.
The only thing I pay for (but also use for walking) is OS Maps online. I can either plot my own routes or import GPX files on the web, then just use the app on my phone to download them and follow them. That's very much just a case of following the line on the map rather than turn by turn instructions, but at the lower speeds off road, and with fewer junctions to worry about anyway, I've never found that to be a problem.
All this is perfectly adequate for rides up to around 4 hours. After that, it's possibly worth adding a lightweight battery charger. I just duct tape one to the bars.
Personally, though, I just use my phone.
A case with a quad lock mount keeps it just as secure on the bars as any bike-specific device.
For journeys on roads & bike paths I use a free app called Bike Hub, which is effectively satnav for bikes. It gives you turn by turn navigation, both on screen and spoken, plus offers you choices of shortest, fastest, balanced and quietest routes. It completely changed my commute into Central London. I used to ride up CS7, breathing in all the exhaust fumes that come with it being on one of South West London's main arterial routes. Now I have a lovely back-street ride which, apart from a couple of miles in the middle (mostly Plough Lane in Wimbledon, so still hardly heaving) and the last quarter mile or so (out of 15) feels like I'm on the set of 28 Days Later, it's so quiet.
The only thing I pay for (but also use for walking) is OS Maps online. I can either plot my own routes or import GPX files on the web, then just use the app on my phone to download them and follow them. That's very much just a case of following the line on the map rather than turn by turn instructions, but at the lower speeds off road, and with fewer junctions to worry about anyway, I've never found that to be a problem.
All this is perfectly adequate for rides up to around 4 hours. After that, it's possibly worth adding a lightweight battery charger. I just duct tape one to the bars.
I haven't used the navigation a huge amount on the BOLT, but it's been perfectly good the times I have used it. Everything else about it, well... just works. Oh and battery life is huge, I haven't been out much at weekends recently due to the heat but I use it commute every day, probably 30-40 mins of on time a day once the auto off has kicked in, I go weeks between charges...
I've always used a Quad Lock and Strava on my iPhone previously but I now have one main issue with this method owing mainly to not knowing where I am. Due to having encrypted emails on my phone I cannot disable screen auto-lock, so the most I can ever get out of a Strava Map is 5 mins without stopping to unlock again, hence needing a dedicated bike computer. Garmin or BOLT.
Recently bought the Garmin Edge 520 explore, not too sure what the 820 gave over it to justify the price difference, but I'm finding it to be really easy to use.
Nice audible beeps when approaching a turn, to gain my attention to look at it when cycling.
I turned the touch response up as I was finding it a bit slow to change screens. Doing so seems to have sorted that issue.
Easy to transfer a Gpx route too, I use justgoride.com to plot a route and export it over.
Auto syncs my rides to strava via the garmin Connect app too.
Not sure if the offers still on but it was 45% off at wiggle. Seemed a no brained at just north of £150.
Nice audible beeps when approaching a turn, to gain my attention to look at it when cycling.
I turned the touch response up as I was finding it a bit slow to change screens. Doing so seems to have sorted that issue.
Easy to transfer a Gpx route too, I use justgoride.com to plot a route and export it over.
Auto syncs my rides to strava via the garmin Connect app too.
Not sure if the offers still on but it was 45% off at wiggle. Seemed a no brained at just north of £150.
If you've been trawling youtube chances are you'll have seen some of my 'in use' demos.
Having been hands on with most of the current crop of GPS including the 820 and Bolt my go to device is still the 820 - there really isn't much to pick between the two though (there are features i like on both).
If you plot your courses carefully then I have found that both navigate really well - my 820 got me across a 120 mile coast to coast ride without any issues. I have route recalculation turned off as the 820 can recalculate some oddities. If I miss a turn the 820 just beeps and says off course, I then look at the map and double back to the turn normally all within about 50 yards of the missed turn. You tend not to miss turns though if you have the navigation set up properly - I use the 'dist to next' field etc to keep an eye on whats coming up as well as the map and turn alerts / countdowns that get issued.
The screen can be a little picky and sometimes requires a couple of taps but i haven't had any issues with rain on mine and have been running it since launch. Mine is also picky about gloves - its fine with my garneau gloves but not so good with my gore winter gloves.
Happy to answer any questions
Pot Odds
Having been hands on with most of the current crop of GPS including the 820 and Bolt my go to device is still the 820 - there really isn't much to pick between the two though (there are features i like on both).
If you plot your courses carefully then I have found that both navigate really well - my 820 got me across a 120 mile coast to coast ride without any issues. I have route recalculation turned off as the 820 can recalculate some oddities. If I miss a turn the 820 just beeps and says off course, I then look at the map and double back to the turn normally all within about 50 yards of the missed turn. You tend not to miss turns though if you have the navigation set up properly - I use the 'dist to next' field etc to keep an eye on whats coming up as well as the map and turn alerts / countdowns that get issued.
The screen can be a little picky and sometimes requires a couple of taps but i haven't had any issues with rain on mine and have been running it since launch. Mine is also picky about gloves - its fine with my garneau gloves but not so good with my gore winter gloves.
Happy to answer any questions
Pot Odds
Get the Wahoo. Think I'd gone through 3 or 4 Garmins, seduced into thinking that the next one would last longer than its predecessor and then 3 days out of warranty, yet again being proven wrong.
Since I got the Wahoo, my nails have grown back, my hair looks stronger and people say I look visibly younger.
Just my 2p
Since I got the Wahoo, my nails have grown back, my hair looks stronger and people say I look visibly younger.
Just my 2p
I find the Bolt very simple to use for both Nav and logging rides. Essentially the Bolt unit communicates with the wahoo app on the phone and the wahoo app is linked to your other accounts so everything is automatically updated.
I use ridewithgps to create all my routes. When I want to ride one of my routes, I fire up my wahoo app on my phone and because it's linked to my RWGPS accounts all my routes are there automatically. Simply select the route and the Bolt beeps when it's downloaded (takes a second or 2) then press start my ride and I'm off with map and full turn by turn directions.
At the end of the ride the ride log is uploaded to the wahoo app which then automatically exports to Strava (and RWGPS, so it's logged there as well. It's a neat solution and very easy
I use ridewithgps to create all my routes. When I want to ride one of my routes, I fire up my wahoo app on my phone and because it's linked to my RWGPS accounts all my routes are there automatically. Simply select the route and the Bolt beeps when it's downloaded (takes a second or 2) then press start my ride and I'm off with map and full turn by turn directions.
At the end of the ride the ride log is uploaded to the wahoo app which then automatically exports to Strava (and RWGPS, so it's logged there as well. It's a neat solution and very easy
*Badger* said:
If I build routes with Ride By GPS to get the turn by turn Nav, can I then import/log via Strava?
Or is it a case of using the BOLT for Nav, but running Strava on my phone to log the ride?
I have the elemnt, so it will be the same. Strava, ride by gps and the wahoo all sync together, there's quite a few more supported. Wahoo and RBGPS both use google maps.Or is it a case of using the BOLT for Nav, but running Strava on my phone to log the ride?
I build longer rides in ride by gps, they just sync onto the wahoo, so available to use at anytime. It doesn't matter which one use choose for the ride, they will all sync at the end - either by 4G if you have linked the phone to unit by bluetooth (you can send a live tracking signal) without having to pay Strava for 'Beacon'. Or, as soon as I finish the ride at home, it connects to the WiFi on the driveway, and uploads to all.
The black text works well in all light conditions, you can backlight in night time/winter.
Personally I like that everything is customisable from your phone, rather than having to connect via a cable.
A few screen shots below, from the phone app.
Edited by bigdom on Thursday 16th August 11:23
Wahoo all the way. Recently bought a Bolt and got rid of the Edge 820 ... which proved unreliable. Had a Edge 510 which ended up with the same issues ... randomly powering off mid ride.
I don't think the touch screen is a very good idea ... as soon as it rains, you need to lock the screen on the Garmin to prevent it going ape. The Bolt is so simple to use ... hard buttons, reliable, scrolls through pages quickly and its so easy to set up.
As others have said, I wouldn't go back to Garmin. They have been the market leader but now a credible alternative has arrived, I would get a Bolt.
I don't think the touch screen is a very good idea ... as soon as it rains, you need to lock the screen on the Garmin to prevent it going ape. The Bolt is so simple to use ... hard buttons, reliable, scrolls through pages quickly and its so easy to set up.
As others have said, I wouldn't go back to Garmin. They have been the market leader but now a credible alternative has arrived, I would get a Bolt.
It seems to be pot luck whether a Garmin device is any good or not. I must have had 4 or 5 and now have a fairly basic 510 (I think, might be a 520). The unit before was utter rubbish. They may advertise route finding etc but I have always found them unusable.
Personally I would get a good bike computer and a water proof case for my phone. Realistically you are only going to use it for a short time until you get familiar with the area?
Personally I would get a good bike computer and a water proof case for my phone. Realistically you are only going to use it for a short time until you get familiar with the area?
I've got an Elemnt Bolt - it works well for me and I've not been impressed at all with other people's Garmin's that I have seen
Issues that would stop me buying a Garmin:
- poor battery life
- fiddly and non-intuitive
- unreliable (plenty of "Garmin lost my ride" posts on Strava)
- ugly mounting system
- anything above the 520 is really expensive
The article below has a lot of good info
https://intheknowcycling.com/2017/07/10/wahoo-elem...
Issues that would stop me buying a Garmin:
- poor battery life
- fiddly and non-intuitive
- unreliable (plenty of "Garmin lost my ride" posts on Strava)
- ugly mounting system
- anything above the 520 is really expensive
The article below has a lot of good info
https://intheknowcycling.com/2017/07/10/wahoo-elem...
flight147z said:
I've got an Elemnt Bolt - it works well for me and I've not been impressed at all with other people's Garmin's that I have seen
Issues that would stop me buying a Garmin:
- poor battery life
- fiddly and non-intuitive
- unreliable (plenty of "Garmin lost my ride" posts on Strava)
- ugly mounting system
- anything above the 520 is really expensive
The article below has a lot of good info
https://intheknowcycling.com/2017/07/10/wahoo-elem...
To the Garmin list of woes, you can add poor build quality, a refusal to recognise frequently reported faults as anything other than freak occurrences probably due to misuse, dreadful customer service, a refusal to repair faulty products (they'll only sell you a refurb) and an insistence on sticking to the letter of the law even when you've had three Garmin 810s fail within two weeks of the original 12 month warranty expiring, and then within a week and a month of the three month warranty on the refurb replacements expiring.Issues that would stop me buying a Garmin:
- poor battery life
- fiddly and non-intuitive
- unreliable (plenty of "Garmin lost my ride" posts on Strava)
- ugly mounting system
- anything above the 520 is really expensive
The article below has a lot of good info
https://intheknowcycling.com/2017/07/10/wahoo-elem...
They're a textbook example of why people shouldn't be allowed a monopoly on a market!
Kermit power said:
flight147z said:
I've got an Elemnt Bolt - it works well for me and I've not been impressed at all with other people's Garmin's that I have seen
Issues that would stop me buying a Garmin:
- poor battery life
- fiddly and non-intuitive
- unreliable (plenty of "Garmin lost my ride" posts on Strava)
- ugly mounting system
- anything above the 520 is really expensive
The article below has a lot of good info
https://intheknowcycling.com/2017/07/10/wahoo-elem...
To the Garmin list of woes, you can add poor build quality, a refusal to recognise frequently reported faults as anything other than freak occurrences probably due to misuse, dreadful customer service, a refusal to repair faulty products (they'll only sell you a refurb) and an insistence on sticking to the letter of the law even when you've had three Garmin 810s fail within two weeks of the original 12 month warranty expiring, and then within a week and a month of the three month warranty on the refurb replacements expiring.Issues that would stop me buying a Garmin:
- poor battery life
- fiddly and non-intuitive
- unreliable (plenty of "Garmin lost my ride" posts on Strava)
- ugly mounting system
- anything above the 520 is really expensive
The article below has a lot of good info
https://intheknowcycling.com/2017/07/10/wahoo-elem...
They're a textbook example of why people shouldn't be allowed a monopoly on a market!
To balance things out a little the mount for the Bolt isn't the best, mine appears to have worn enough that the unit rattles slightly - I'm hoping it's the mount that's worn rather than the unit. The plastic for the unit and the mount seems a bit cheap too so I don't think any of these units have good build quality considering the price paid
The Wahoo Elemnt is great, but with the Bolt they fixed most of the things I don't like about the Elemnt. Not least you can hear to Bolt beep! I would take something significant for me to go back to Garmin now. That's after owning an Edge 500 and an Edge 1000. Garmin wanted more to fix the power button on my Edge 1000 than it cost to buy the original Elemnt! I'm now hoping that Wahoo will go into multi-sport GPS watches so that when my Garmin 920XT (which has been very good it must be said) expires I can replace that too.
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