mattcalifornia

I just received my Hammerhead Karoo 2 last week. Unfortunately, because of work and injury, I've only been able to go on one short ride. But I already have some questions and issues, so I thought it would be useful to start a thread for everyone to discuss.

Anyway, here are my initial questions/issues:

1. I synced it to the following sensors: Wahoo Speed Sensor; Scoshe Rhythm 24 HR monitor; Varia 515TL; and Favero Assioma power meter pedals. Everything synched up very easily and appeared to be working. However, when I'm riding, the speed and cadence do not show up on the computer. I checked the sensor pairing, and everything seemed to be fine. The cadence is especially weird because the data comes from the pedals that are generating the power numbers.

2. The ride synched automatically with Strava and Kamoot and the Hammerhead dashboard, but I cannot see any of the advanced pedaling data (pedal smoothness, torque effectiveness and left/right power breakdown). I know it recorded the data because while I was riding, if I went into the sensor menu and clicked on the pedals, it showed the numbers. I was hoping to take a look at the data and maybe even some cool looking graphs after the ride. I'm sure it's more gimmicky than useful for me, but since I have the gear, I'd at least like to see the data.

3. This is my first dedicated bike computer, but I find the interface surprisingly confusing and annoying while riding. I'm sure I just need to get used to it and maybe customize it more. Up until now, I was using my iPhone running Cyclemeter Elite. That app is much nicer than the Hammerhead, although it lacks a few features and drains battery power from your phone.

Other thoughts/comments/experiences welcome. I'm slightly underwhelmed so far, but the jury is still out.

Iride01 

You know they have a community forum at Hammerhead's support website and an un-official community forum by some other don't you?

https://support.hammerhead.io/hc/en-us/community/topics

https://karoousers.org/

mattcalifornia

thanks. I knew about the first one (which isn't great). But I wasn't aware of karoousers. I'll check it out.

Iride01 

I am not opposed to you discussing things about them here. It's just that if you are wanting to be where a large audience for hammerhead karoos are, then this forum will probably be noticed by fewer hammerhead karoo users.

Then again, maybe not. I didn't notice a lot going on there. And the official community uses a forum format I can't get used to. For similar reasons I seldom use Garmin's community forum. Though they've changed it up since the format that caused me to stop participating there.

Steve B.

Also check for a FaceBook forum. The FB Garmin 1030 and Edge forums are very active. The Garmin users forum, not so much, IME

Ed Wiser

The Hammerhead group on Facebook is active too.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2145...311/?ref=share

mattcalifornia

Thanks for the tip guys, but I deleted Facebook a few years ago

Ed Wiser

I use Facebook for user groups in my hobby. So many manufactures have moved customer engagement to Facebook.

mattcalifornia

Don't get me started on Facebook and Zuckerberg . . . . That's a discussion for some other forum.

njkayaker

That's unfortunate.

bikebikebike

Facebook is great for exchanging selfies and ride chat.

Poor for tech support and discussions in depth. Same for Hammerhead's Zendesk support "group"/ Forum.

FB's politics are abominable , but they dominate. Their format is for selling ads , not utility in support.
They assume the user's attention span is that of a newt.
The simple format of this group and of karoousers.org offers searchable, historical, indepth discussions.
FB and HH subsist on comments that are more like picture captions. Just try and search a topic there. Garmin's same prob.
The Karoousers has several years of work and resources. The Karoo needs it to achieve full potential, it's a good tool, but not plug and play.

I love this BF spot. It's not a competition and the two forums are very complementary, this spot is just more general on the bike computer topic


for @mattcalifornia , the OP

Sensor loss is a problem with all bike computers and is worse the more complex and changing the set up is. It infuriatingly comes and goes.

The Hammerhead Karoo uses the online dashboard to coordinate the device strongly. iCloud like.
They (HH) assume everybody uses Strava for analytics,
Personally, I prefer Golden Cheeta. A bit more roundabout to use , but cheaper and more open, however Strava loads directly from the device, wirelessly.

Mapping is good but RWGPS is often used as a sideloaded app. (You can sideload android , right?)

The Karoo has an awesome screen, good maps, fascinating potential with
Best Varia Radar implementation on the market.

It's the Apple of bike computers, but the Apple ll.
Garmin is the PC but the XT.

You really have to know clearly what you want with both platforms.
The phone has advantages , too. We are still not at well integrated iPhone/PAN like status, yet.

mattcalifornia

Yeah - I'm not going down the Facebook road here.

bikebikebike Thanks for your post. I don't think I experienced sensor loss. The Karoo showed that the speed sensor was connected at all times; it just didn't display the speed. And the Assioma pedals were also connected at all times.

Also, I do use the pay-level Strava (whatever it's called), but it still doesn't show all of the data.

bikebikebike

I am having the same display cut out that appears similar . I stop to see what's up, it is flagged as "Connected" but won't display and after a while restores. Sometimes shows up after I start.
Since I have been known to take my eyes off the Karoo, I am not sure what and when it is effected, but it appears to also be affected by Pause and Auto-Pause so my hunch is that it may be a power saver issue.
Sensor priority and how the device handles searching for sensors and maintaining connection may be the variable.
Some setups will stop searching if a sensor is not found or lost, and others keep looking or periodically look. I'm not sure how they do it at HH.
Again, more complex sensor setups and ones that get toggled between different bikes and trainers may add to the variables involved.
That big gorgeous screen is a power hog, and managing battery life with programming tricks affects other functions.
Apparently the setup is recorded in the FIT file, and the first thing HH support will ask for is a copy, so export one if you ask them about it so you can send it and save a few steps in their answer.
All the advanced bike computers have users that push the configuration. The more ambitious they are the more it is an issue.

jadocs

That's because the H2 currently cannot provide that function and I believe it is not a priority for the developers.

The H2 looks like a great computer with tons of capability, but in reality it is functionally underwhelming.

bikebikebike

Hammerhead exports to strava and Golden Cheetah as*.Fit files and a lot is available there, If you don't need it live.
Best is a function of your needs.

mattcalifornia

It's been a while, but I just wanted to report back on the Hammerhead. Since my original post, Hammerhead has released several over-the-air software updates, and things have improved dramatically for me. I also re-paired all my devices at some point, and that seemed to do the trick. Since then, I have not had any problems with any of my peripherals. Based on all of this, I'm changing my review from a "no, I would not recommend" to a "yes, I would definitely recommend." The software updates have also improved the visuals and interface, and I appreciate that the company is constantly trying to improve its product.

Ed Wiser

Same here live mine. The constant software updates. An listening to what users want in a bike computer was why a purchased the Karoo over the more establish bike computer brands.

bikebikebike

I still like the Karoo more than the others and am a booster for this small player in a big field.
The frequency of the changes both gives both responsiveness to needs, and exposure to new issues.
A lot of vendors just stonewall and act as if the customer feedback is just noise. HH listens pretty actively.

My impression is that all these devices are complex , and there is a race between features and reliability/usability in all the brands.
Following the Garmin boards shows the same kind of issues, seen in the Karoo.
Garmin's marketing of possibilities in features creates headaches in delivery, and stuttering starts and they have a tighter control on accessories.

Again , the clearer and more stable your needs and uses, the more satisfaction in your choices of computer.
It may be about product focus for both the vendor and user.

JohnJ80

I actually went away from the more established brands (wahoo and Garmin) and now exclusively use the Karoo. It's pretty easy to side load android apps into the Karoo and it's a special kind of cool to be able to pull up the NOAA weather radar and ride around the precipitation.

That all said, I think 2021 is going to be a pretty big year for the Karoo in terms of features. They have the most technically capable platform out there and there are some pretty big barriers to entry for the established players to follow in terms of their established code base and platforms. So, there is an opportunity here at the high end.

Steve B.

Does the Hammerhead allow any interface with RideWithGPS ? Thats my activity tracker of choice a few years now, would hate to have to change.

JohnJ80

yes. It’s pretty seamless. Pinned rides sync as do the changes. Rides completed can be automatically uploaded. Mine are automatically uploaded to Strava, Training Peaks and RWGPS all without intervention by me. I use RWGPS as my route repository for that seamless connection alone.

Collections are super cool with the Karoo. When we travel, my wife and I take our bikes. I typically will have developed a collection of routes. I share the collection with her. She pins all the routes. As I update and tweak them, all the changes are then forced to her Karoo when she causes the routes to sync. That way we’re both up to date with the same route data. Very helpful.

Seattle Forrest

I keep wanting the Karoo to succeed.

Steve B.

Yeah, me too. It seems like such a great concept, its just taken them years to get it all to where it needs to be. From what I'm readingnit seems like its become a viable alternative to a Garmin.

JohnJ80

I think it's already there. I've had both Wahoo (ELEMNT and BOLT) and Garmin (everything going back to when they started with bike computers) and I've switched completely to the Karoo. By year end, at their rate of improvement, I think it will be pretty obvious. It's probably a slight click below the 1030 now, but then again, it's $200 less so not sure that's a fair comparison. Software updates with feature upgrades are coming pretty much every 2 weeks. If navigation is important to you, I think the Karoo is clearly better. Map quality is better for sure.

Steve B.

Having watched a bunch of YT reviews, just bit the bullet and ordered one.

I had kept my old Garmin 1000 as backup in case my 1030 crapped, it never did, been 3-4 years now, may sell the 1000.