I am giving up hope on finding my list Garmin which means it might be time to shop. I have used my old 810 for years and it was a perfect fit for me. Good nav, readible maps, easy for custom workouts, etc.
I was thinking of sticking with Garmin since I am used to it and trying to decide between the 530 and 1030. I skipped the 830 since I feel like if I pay the price for an 830 just to have a touchscreen I may as well shell out a bit more for the 1030.
So question for y’all: will I miss the touchscreen if I go with the 530? Is the 1030 worth the extra money?
That being said, I know how forums work, so feel free to bring on all the reasons why I should go a completely different direction. Hammerhead, Wahoo, Lezyne, etc.
I use a wahoo ELEMNT ROAM (which I love), and don’t really see the need for a touch screen. Indeed, a friend of mine with the 1030(? I think) reports that on rainier days, the touch screen can be a bit of a hassle to use. YMMV, of course.
You should go for Wahoo…
Like Matt, if I were to buy a bike omputer, I will definetly go for Wahoo and not Garmin.
On a rainy day, touch screen is not working at all.
And if you really want that to work, prior to making it somewhat operational, you have to wipe it out first.
I’ve been personally really happy with the 530. Being a bit of a weight weenie the size of the 830 put me off. Also the premium for a touch screen on a bike computer is just not a priority personally. I had it for almost a full year now. Never had a dropped ride, data is good and constant and Garmin connect is pretty good as well. I am slightly biased as I have a Garmin chest hrm and also a Garmin smartwatch, so I appreciate they all play together well in Connect. The lack of a touch screen has never been an issue, the buttons are intuitive and quick to get where you want.
My 810 was a touchscreen and I never had issues with it, is the 1030 worse than older units? Winter gloves and in the rain I never found I struggled to use it. That being said, I do agree that if a touchscreen (and a bigger screen) is all that the 1030 has to offer over the 530 it might not be worth the extra expense.
Now for the Wahooligans: Is the Roam the Wahoo equivalent of the 530? The Roam is more expensive than the 530 - why is it better?
Now for the Wahooligans: Is the Roam the Wahoo equivalent of the 530? The Roam is more expensive than the 530 - why is it better?
The ROAM is the top of the line bike computer from Wahoo. Comparing it to the (old) Bolt, it has colour, slightly better battery life, and markedly improved navigation. It also has a larger screen. Its screen is larger than that of the 530, but of poorer quality.
In general, the hardware of the wahoo devices are less feature-packed than the Garmin. The place Wahoo shines is the excellent software experience for what it does do. The syncing of routes on the device, and publishing of rides off the device is literally seamless. No phone needed, just a wireless connection. No reliance on wahoo servers, something that causes a lot of trouble for me with my garmin watch. Also, apparently, routing is way better on the ROAM. It recovers better from going off route, and presents the information a bit better. I can’t count the number of times I’ve followed a rider with a garmin device that misses a tricky turn (say, a right then sudden left) that I knew about.
The customization, initialization and just general usage are excellent. Wahoo nails the software. The best comparison I can think of between the two is apple vs samsung - Samsung, like garmin, has more powerful hardware that (in theory) can do more, but the software experience isn’t quite there. Conversely, apple and wahoo both use the hardware they have perfectly, with excellent functionality.
Really, I don’t think it can be said one is 100% better than the other. It’s more about priorities.
For people that don’t navigate, it’s probably not a big deal, but you do, so switching between screens can be a pain. While I’m still with Garmin 810?? Explore, I’m mixed about the touchscreen. I find I’m double or triple swiping or poking a lot. Maybe 40% of the time or more. The few times I’ve been caught in the rain it’s maddening or it just goes berserk and freezes up entirely. I think I’d prefer to go back to the tactile button click of the 500 series as long as the colour screen is still available since that also helps a lot for navigating.
I moved from a 520 to an 830 because of the ability to prod the screen for maps (i have no sense of direction). I heard there were issues with the touchscreen on 810s and 820s but the 830 has been great. Sure, if it is really pouring down is has issues like any touch screen but a bit of rain it works fine. The rerouting works pretty well too e.g. if you find a road closed. However, it doesn’t seem to have options (that i found) on how it reroutes. It was very determined to take me down a 7km gravel road on my road bike the other day!
I also tend to plan my routes in Garmin Connect on my laptop then just send to device. When I turn on my 830 and it connects to wifi it just downloads the route. Seems to work pretty well.
@mrafuse I have heard that the Wahoo is a much better user experience compared to Garmins which must be why they are doing well. I will consider the Roam too.
@tabi I had the 810 lost it - it did everything I needed and always worked well enough. Getting a newer unit like the 810 would be ideal (well except maybe longer battery life)
@Oliver_Smith I had always done the same with my old Garmin. I rarely had issues getting maps/workouts on it - sometimes it would not connect to the Garmin App but I got used to the fiddling about to get it to connect.
I will order something tonight since the data nerd side of my brain is slowly dying.
I would buy the edge 530 and if it works well and you don’t miss the touchscreen then I’d keep it. If not, exchange it for 830 or 1030 (for the bigger screen).
