Originally Posted by
pdlamb
I browsed across the randon mailing list this weekend, and the Electronics forum here. Lots of griping about Garmin 800/1000 software stability got me remembering and thinking.
The 800 works when you break long courses/rides up into shorter (under 100 miles) segments (you can join them afterwards with fittools.com ), don't power cycle it in the middle of a recording, and maybe record to the SD card.
I power mine off my dynohub via a B&M USB-Werk which keeps it fully charged unless I leave the power cord connected when I shut it off because it turns back on when the cache battery runs out, fails to auto-shutoff because gps noise makes it think it's moving, and runs out the battery.
Unlike the Wahoo ELEMNT, it
- Emits turn-by-turn directions even when there's an incorrect or missing cue sheet entry from rwgps which likes to drop them or turn you left when there's a slight wiggle leading up to a right turn.
- Will switch from data (elapsed time, speed, power, heart rate, distance to next turn, next turn, lots is useful) screen to map 0.1 miles before a turn with a white arrow showing the correct path, then back
- Has street names on maps
- Allows panning zoomed-in maps
- Has a programmable odometer separate from lap/ride distance
- Has routing on the device to points of interest like water sources
I tried an ELEMNT because the Garmin software stinks. I returned it because it didn't accurately record data and Edge 500 level turn-by-turn was months late. It's a shame, because the hardware is great with a much more readable screen than the color Garmins.
I tried an 810, although it crashed on short rides and lost data in the first week I owned it.
Then I got a refurbished 800 which would have gone back for stability issues if I couldn't work around them. I was NOT happy when it lost its mind, crashed after 140 miles, wouldn't come back on to navigate me back on course until I used the hard reset sequence, and had me headed in random directions until I realized it wouldn't point back to the nearest point of the course until I hit "start" which it wasn't prompting me to do in spite of being configured to prompt on movement.
Wahoo choosing phone+ Strava integration as their key market differentiator looks like the correct business decision due to larger market and lower development costs, although I'd love to see them do what Garmin does except without the bugs.
Other GPS bike computers are missing significant functionality for following courses, like maps (I got lost with my 500 when I detoured to get food/water, or multiple streets came together in the same spot with poor signage), turn-by-turn navigation, cue sheet entries (some don't add that to their breadcrumb trails), etc.