Originally Posted by
DrIsotope
Navigation is, for whatever reasons, apparently very difficult to implement in a cycling computer. As soon as nav functions get added on, things start to go awry. I lived for a year with a Hammerhead Karoo, which arguably does navigation better than any other bike-specific device, and inarguably displays it better than any other. But the other failings of the software put it on par with a typical Garmin offering-- it ate rides, it randomly rebooted, it made every ride an adventure. So I was wholly willing to take less features in exchange for stability and battery life. The Bolt's "no names just lines" map is enough for me, and the barebones TBT actually works well enough to be at the very least serviceable. The Bolt has been utterly hassle-free since day one... but I might use actual nav features once a month. I think I might use TBT 2-3 times a year. If navigation features are at the top of your list, I would look at a computer geared more directly towards that. Or more likely slap a smartphone + external battery on the stem and run RWGPS on a nice enormous screen.
Well, my Lezyne Super GPS is very bare-bones, but it does work reasonably well with few occasional glitches. But it's map is even more spartan than the Bolt's, and when you are looking at the map you can see no other data. For long gravel races, I would like to be able to navigate with a map and keep an eye on my speed and distance.
One thing that the Lezyne does have going for it is enormous battery life...But it's other shortcomings (in relation to fancier computers) keep me always on the lookout.
Thanks so much for your detailed responses, DrIsotope.