This. I've almost taken it off my bike and thrown it in the woods on multiple occasions. The 705 was awesome, and the 800 was pretty great too. Not sure what happened.
Which Garmin?
- Thread starter stevie.mtb
- Start date
This. I've almost taken it off my bike and thrown it in the woods on multiple occasions. The 705 was awesome, and the 800 was pretty great too. Not sure what happened.
1speed
Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
The only problem I've had with Garmin units (I've always used the 500 Edge series) is the elevation readings. They're terrible. I am always consistently lower than other folks I ride with who use other options (e.g., Strava app on phone, Wahoo Bolt, etc.) To be fair, Garmin units are generally pretty bulletproof and will last forever as long as you don't crack the screen and occasionally clean them. But I may try the Wahoo Bolt next time around just to see if I can get better elevation readings. I think the costs is pretty close between them for similar functionality.
One added thing - if you are looking for extended battery life beyond the 20 hours (that's pretty accurate, by the way), you can buy a battery pack that you connect to the unit itself to extend the life. I've used one for 24 hour events in the past and they work pretty well. One word of advice with those, though - if you are going to use one, get the extended out-front mounting attachment to put on your bars. The battery pack attaches to the bottom of your stem, and if you have the unit itself on the stem, it may not all fit.
One added thing - if you are looking for extended battery life beyond the 20 hours (that's pretty accurate, by the way), you can buy a battery pack that you connect to the unit itself to extend the life. I've used one for 24 hour events in the past and they work pretty well. One word of advice with those, though - if you are going to use one, get the extended out-front mounting attachment to put on your bars. The battery pack attaches to the bottom of your stem, and if you have the unit itself on the stem, it may not all fit.
Karate Monkey
Well-Known Member
Feature creep, probably.
A GPS unit (to me) needs to have commonly used metrics, device connectivity (optional, not necessary for me), and a map that can actually be used to orient yourself if you need it (8/16bit colors. More is unnecessary on such a tiny screen). Everything else is superfluous. Routing only works in fairly spread out trail systems, anyway...when you've got three trail branches within 200 feet of each other, under tree cover, the unit has no clue where you are. Everything you add (another radio to talk to ANT and Bluetooth, full color screen, super high res, wifi networking with phone, dedicated routing functions, touchscreen, happy ending) adds to the software bloat/battery drain. Same reason your phone/computer from 3 years ago worked great, and turned into a piece of crap when the new "improved" OS was released.
Just move the mount to the other side of the stem, plenty of room that way. Just saved you $20. Unless you're one of those weirdos that uses the bungee mount on a mountain bike. 😎
A 3rd player in the game?
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/02/hammerhead-karoo-cycling-gps-in-depth-review.html
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/02/hammerhead-karoo-cycling-gps-in-depth-review.html
1speed
Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
Two things:
(1) I did mount it on the bottom of the stem - it still doesn't fit (the problem is not the battery pack itself - it's the mounting straps on the rubber case that holds it. They make it impossible to fit the Garmin stem mount. At least they did for mine - but I have a short stem, too.)
(2) I am, indeed, one of those weirdos ...
Kaleidopete
Well-Known Member
That was a good review, he wouldn't buy it, but a good review.
I like the unit because it is free standing, doesn't use a phone.
You go to the website and create or upload routes in your account and then upload those to the karoo.
I'm fed up with my Garmin
reports are it is buggy, but being addresses with many incremental updates.
@SCOTTscale - you running one?
Magic
Formerly 1sh0t1b33r
I remember reading that they kind of suck. It's like putting an iPad on your bike. The bright, backlit screen had shitty battery life and it's heavy.
SCOTTscale
Active Member
I got in on one when it was first announced. So I waited like a year for it to show up. But it is really nice. It's much larger and heavier than anything else out there right now. I haven't really used it at all to figure out if mine is buggy.
I still use my Elemnt computer mostly.
I still use my Elemnt computer mostly.
rick81721
Lothar
It's larger and heavier, you have barely used it - what's nice about it?
my guess is feel and appearance.
Kaleidopete
Well-Known Member
send it to me, I'll test it for you and write a review! 😉
grilledcheeseking
Well-Known Member
A lot of this commentary on Elemnt is deeper than I care to go, but sort of interesting anyway: https://joshua0.dreamwidth.org/65779.html
goodvibe
Well-Known Member
I have the Edge 1030, the 820, and my wife has a 510. I have had almost every gps Garmin has put out and I like them, but I have had to send all of them back to Garmin, sometimes twice. I usually make the mistake of purchasing the new devices once they come out and it takes a while for Garmin to get the bugs out. They put out a beta product and test it on their consumers. That being said, I love the features on them. The battery on the 1030 lasts for days and there is a battery extension you can get for it. The maps are clear and I use both devices for navigation.
This made my head hurt, but what little I could understand was interesting. I guess the Hammerhead Karoo isn't the only Android cycling computer out there 😛
grilledcheeseking
Well-Known Member
Yea pretty much