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GPS Head unit

Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,076
5,989
borcester rhymes
hey dudes
I'm in search of a GPS head unit for my road bike (and part time on my MTB when I ride it-LOL) but I'm struggling to pick the right one. I think I can get a decent deal on the Garmin 130 plus, but everything else is pretty much at retail. I'm kind of stuck between the 530, 130, and the Wahoo Bolt. I mostly want to check speed, cadence, ride time, and eventually power, but having GPS mapping isn't a bad thing. Wahoo seems to be really user friendly but Garmin has the Connect space for all my shit to hang out.

What's good?
 
johnbryanpeters

johnbryanpeters

Hero
Sep 27, 2001
36,098
16,545
Making moss sad in New Haven, Vermont
Sandwich said:
hey dudes
I'm in search of a GPS head unit for my road bike (and part time on my MTB when I ride it-LOL) but I'm struggling to pick the right one. I think I can get a decent deal on the Garmin 130 plus, but everything else is pretty much at retail. I'm kind of stuck between the 530, 130, and the Wahoo Bolt. I mostly want to check speed, cadence, ride time, and eventually power, but having GPS mapping isn't a bad thing. Wahoo seems to be really user friendly but Garmin has the Connect space for all my shit to hang out.

What's good?
Click to expand...
I suggest a microchip.
 
Jm_

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,995
9,652
AK
Whatever you do, make sure it uses a touch screen and Li Ion batteries, those work really bad in the outdoors.
 
I Are Baboon

I Are Baboon

The Full Dopey
Aug 6, 2001
32,422
9,467
MTB New England
I have the Wahoo Bolt for the road bike and it works great. I just need it to guide me through a 100 mile route and it does that just fine, displaying all of the fancy metrics along the way (including power). You can upload the data to Garmin Connect but you need to manually import the file. Garmin is an asshole and won't support third party devices for wireless uploads.
 
amishmatt

amishmatt

Turbo Monkey
Sep 21, 2005
1,264
397
Lancaster, PA
I have a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt and really like it. It does everything you mention and just does it really well. Easy to make and sync routes you make on Strava or Ridewith GPS (still free route making).
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,076
5,989
borcester rhymes
lovebunny said:
What does a head unit do that your phone can't with the proper apps?
Click to expand...

That's a good question, and one I asked too.

The head unit will be smaller, lighter, and more durable.

The head unit's screen should be easier to read in sunlight, and is designed to be left on all the time, vs a phone which will suffer burn in over time.

The GPS has a better battery/battery life, and will likely last an entire prolonged ride vs. a phone which is likely to die after 2hr (especially an old one)

ANT+ and bluetooth connectivity. Most android phones have ANT+, but iphones don't. My old iphone is the only thing I would use for this purpose, so that limits me to bluetooth only, and I would lose the ability to see which gear I'm in on-screen (AXS functionality).

I wouldn't want to rely entirely on a single device on a ride- I want to keep my active cell phone separate from whatever I use to track my rides in case of emergency, and I wouldn't want to mount a 200g gigantic phone on my handlebars anyways, so that sort of limits me. If you have an old plastic phone with a big battery, GPS, ANT+, and you don't care about it, then the conversation gets a little more tricky.

I ended up buying a 530 mostly because that's what the LBS had in stock. So far it's OK, setup is a bit of a challenge and the buttons are shit, but I think it's going to do everything I ask and then some, so we'll see.
 
Jm_

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,995
9,652
AK
lovebunny said:
What does a head unit do that your phone can't with the proper apps?
Click to expand...
-Work for hours, in this way, usually run a LCD display that is "on" all the time, so you can reference mileage, time, etc.
-Not be exposed to damage like a 12x8 phone sticking out.
-Usually have better GPS precision using GLONAS, GPS and the Euro constellation, phones still go into triangulation modes much of the time using cell-towers.
-Interface with various sensors. The phone might, but it'll start to draw down the power faster usually.

In general, it's just a better way. The phone can be helpful for trails, strava, and some other features, but IME it's nowhere the accuracy and reliability of a dedicated unit.

Speaking of trailforks, does anyone know how to stop the auto-update feature? Like you go to use it and it decides it needs to update a bunch of maps in sketchy cell coverage and it usually fails...
 
6thElement

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,965
13,219
@Sandwich my wife has the 530, I have the 830, I recommend you get a silicone case and screen protector. I had a high speed crash after owning the 830 for a week and the silicone case definitely saved my unit.

www.ebay.com

[3-Pack] Supershieldz Tempered Glass Screen Protector for Garmin Edge 530 / 830 | eBay

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Garmin Silicone Case, For Edge 530, Bike Computer Protection, Yellow | eBay

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Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,076
5,989
borcester rhymes
canadmos said:
:brow:

Can't you just tell by pedaling?
Click to expand...
LOL yes, but it's more about being locked into bluetooth only vs. ANT/BT combo. Most sensors nowadays are dual, but if I got or get one that's ANT only, I'm SOL. In this case AXS is ANT only, but lovebuns is asking the specific question of why not a phone.
 
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