cycledogg

Looks interesting. Maybe Wahoo and Lezyne should be worried.
https://www.hammerhead.io/pages/karoo

Steve B.

I think it's $300 ? On the early buyers list, also known as Alpha testers.

I signed up but then lost interest as A) Anybody's guess when it's being released and right now all I see is a lot of self generated hype. And B), it's a bloody Androd tablet on the h-bar and is possibly a tad too big.

DrIsotope

I keep seeing people saying that the Karoo is "too big," when it's basically the exact same size as an Edge 1030. I'm personally looking forward to a bigger screen without the terrible battery life that usually goes with it. I don't see the Karoo as a competitor for the Lezyne Super GPS or the Wahoo Bolt, etc. It's aimed straight at the big units like the Garmin 1000/1030... only at the pre-order price, it costs less than an Edge 820.

The latest update says shipping begins in October, and I'm hopeful. They just changed the case (again) to make the quarter-turn mount a separate piece, not molded into the case. I'm sure there are lots of folks that wish Garmin had taken that approach.

TimothyH

I'm signed up fut have not received any email about it.

RPK79

Vaporware.

Steve B.

It's a bit wider and not as long as the G1030, I think the width makes it look fat. Just my opinion though, I found the Garmin 810 on the large side, liking the Bolt size best.

Fiery

I like the idea. The first thing I thought when I bought a Garmin last year was how easy it would be to make a far better device based on a low-ish end Android phone with a custom ROM.

Silvercivic27

The original hammerhead device was a piece of junk, so take that for what it's worth.

Steven@bikepost

I ordered two of these. Can't wait to get my hands on them.

Davideo

I see no one has posted on this subject since September... I'm still waiting for my Karoo. They claim 80% of orders will go out before the end of January. When I ordered it in June they said they'd beginning shipping "in the fall". They did indeed ship out a limited number a while back, and there were official posts from people who had gotten them, but still no real reviews besides the official ones Hammerhead wants us to see. I promise I will review it as soon as I get it! I've owned the Garmin 500, 1000, and after leaving the 1000 on the roof of my car, the Explore 1000. The 1000 was buggy when I first got it, but the firmware caught up and it was great. The Explore 1000 continues to crash on routes... usually halfway through a ride. I have high hopes for the Karoo...

DoubleTap

I ordered mine in mid-July and I haven't received it yet. I'm still trying to remain patient, but it's getting harder now that they made a firm promise of receipt by end of January and I haven't even received a shipping notice as of today, the 19th. I bought a new Garmin Edge 1030 in November, because my 1000 blew up and I couldn't wait any longer. If they don't ship by end of January I think I'll cancel. I've lost confidence in them.

aplcr0331

I see lots of people in different forums cancelling their orders. Especially after DC Rainmaker did an updated YT video for it. No ANT+ support? Interesting, but I bet the ones they ship out will have ANT+ included. The uncovered micro USB charging port seems a bit off putting too. Needs a SIM card (which is handy so you can leave your phone at home). Lots of users are getting worried, but some remain optimistic.

DrIsotope

I continue to wait. We haven't begun to even get close to the "loss of faith" point for me. Of the two previously fulfilled Kickstarters I went in on, the "fast" one took just less than a year-- and it had no electronics involved of any kind. The earlier mention of the early units not having ANT+ turned on yet isn't a dealbreaker for me-- all of my sensors are BT/ANT+, so it works either way.

They just added another blog post today, stating that they're still on track for shipping by the end of the month. Which would be great, as the battery in my 520 is down to about half of when it was new-- when doing a century, I have to turn the backlight off, and if I want to use nav, I have to bring an external battery.

I almost wish they had been less adventurous and left out the SIM. It seems like pretty much every issue/setback/delay has been related to the implementation or regulation of the cellular portion. I feel like I'm gonna have to spring for a SIM card after Hammerhead went through all of the work to get it in there.

pesty

Having looked at the software roadmap they posted, I’m losing more and more faith by the hour. Blog post didn’t help me with that either. Not long ago it was “pre orders will be delivered by end of Jan”, now it’s “will be shipped”. I understand that they are running into regulatory issues, but this is getting ridiculous. And with the government shutdown, are we looking at further delays?

The minimal support for power meters is another issue for me, and only 30 data types in the initial software release? The 45 day satisfaction guarantee seems pretty worthless when it won’t have the features I am looking for for 6 weeks to “late spring”.

Seriously seriously considering canceling. Paid in April and starting to feel a bit burned.

Steve B.

The written DCRainmaker review on the Karoo clearly shows a toggle button on a screen for Ant+. Website states Ant + as well.

Sounds like it maybe wasn’t implemented in the unit DC was playing with ?

As to release ?, I’m thinking Karoo’s ship is sailing away without them. Lot of hype early, then zip, zip and more zip out of them. At this point it’s going to have to be damned near perfect out of the box. Can’t see users wanting a half baked product while they wait for updates. Anybody buying this has waited plenty.

And as BTW, wonder if the US Government shutdown is going to screw them, as they we’re dealing with regulators, etc...

Seattle Forrest

I really want this to be a success. Not because I want one, but the head unit market needs more innovation and competition. Garmin does some really cool stuff, but might be a little bit stagnant as a whole, and all of the early hype seemed like something that would go toe-to-toe with the 1000 and force more innovation down the line. I still hope that pans out.

No ANT+ would be a deal killer for a lot of folks, I think.

The SIM card thing doesn't add any value for most people who use a bike computer. I'd rather see that go, personally.

TakingMyTime

I had signed up for their emails several months ago and have been passively watching their sales pitch and progress. I have not ordered one yet. From everything I see and read they do not seem to be as organized as one would expect. I can't say how or why, but... I don't get a really good feeling about them. With that said, I do hope they're able to prove me wrong.

f4rrest

Needs a camera.

cycledogg

Since I started this thread, I'll chime in at this point. Like others have mentioned, their promise of delivery and no ANT+ has killed my interest. Besides, Lezyne and Wahoo seem to have a good grip on the market right now. I wanna say Karoo is a day late and a dollar short. Time will tell and maybe things are not as bad as it seems for this unit.

JohnJ80

Agree. Garmin needs some competition to get them to up their game. Wahoo woke them up and caught them with their pants down (only real innovation in 2017 was tactical price cutting against Wahoo). I doubt I'd need the SIM card, I think the functionality through wifi is good enough but I can see where it would be nice.

I am pretty interested in the third step of the roadmap where they add better ways of visualizing the data. I signed up for one that should show up around March.

J.

TrojanHorse

You can replace the battery - buy a non-OEM replacement on amazon and after a little tiny-screwdriver work, you'll be back in business. Replaced my 800 battery 2 years ago after it started doing what you describe.

TakingMyTime

I'm surprised they're not injecting comments when threads like this pop-up. I would think that they would have someone who would register on all the major bicycle forums (or at least the ones where they're being spoken about) in order to keep this potential market assured that they are on top of their reputation and eager to correct any misunderstandings.

DrIsotope

Garmin put the kibosh on that with anything newer than the 810. I'm guessing the 520 and later all have hard wired batteries... like 95% of phones.

pesty

Yea, this surprised me too. Having been in on the initial shipment of the WatTeam power meter, I saw them on DC Rainmaker threads all the time responding to comments and trying to answer questions customers and potential customers had. Between getting out in front of it, admitting to their mistakes, and taking care of the customers that had already received them, they did a lot to ensure that I didn't ask for a refund, even though I thought about it several times.

Hammerhead has done none of that. I just got my email that mine is about to ship, but looking at their development roadmap and seeing some of the comments that they've posted on Facebook, and then entire conversations that they've deleted... I doubt I'll be keeping mine past 30 days even though they have a 45 day return period if they haven't put out substantial updates and improvements from what is reportedly being shipped. Given the way they've addressed things so far, I fully expect two weeks of fighting with them to get my money back. The people that cancel before shipment, easy... that just leaves units available for them to ship to others. People who want to return-refund... that's a different situation entirely.

TakingMyTime

Again, let me say that I do not have a dog in this fight. I do not plan on ordering one and I am quite happy with my Garmin 520. I hope and wish them the best of success, I really do.

These are just my personal observations and the feelings I get from what I see and read online.

The red flags for me are... 1. On their web page there is no mention about anyone on their team having any practical experience running a business. Yes, one of them has an MBA, but that is no guarantee of success in the real world. 2. A seemingly less than average understanding of marketing and manufacturing on the world stage. I do know that there are always a few gotchas that can bite you in the butt as you move forward bringing something to market. But some of the things they seem to have stumbled on seem to indicate that they should have sought out professional guidance at some stage in the game. 3. The last thing is their web site. There seems to be a lot of high quality photos of bicyclists having fun, but not enough hard facts or info relating to the actual product.