Superb review. Bought the bolt 2 first ever bike computer and love the ease of use. Also I don’t like those huge screens. Compact and useful is better.
Have you noticed how the GPS Accuracy data field shows a much higher number than the V1? Also the temperature reads about 4C higher than the V1 which was fairly accurate in dry shady conditions.
Looking forward to the Hammerhead Karoo review, since it’s release it’s had a load of updates, I wish they had pushed the screen all the way out and done away with the bezels on the bolt v2 , I switched back to Garmin 530 from the v1 bolt , screen looks way better on v2
I'm looking forward to busting out the Hammerhead! It's the first time I've used a fully new GPS ecosystem in a couple of years so it should be fascinating to see a new take on everything
Love it first time owning a bike computer and loading up routes is a breeze..Shame it won’t link my heart rate from my Apple Watch.Apart from that it’s frigging awesome. 👍
How does Wahoo Bolt v2 manage the re-routing? When going off course, does it send you back to the original course? Or does it re-calculate the entire route to your destination? The latter ( on my Garmin 530 ) has a tendency to shorten my route significantly.
Like the ROAM, it does a mix of both: it tries to reroute you to the route, but in a forward way, I.e. usually it won’t make you backtrack to get back on route, but will try to find a way forward that rejoins the route
What Moose said! Typically Wahoo tries to re-join the course naturally whereas Garmin 530s likes to scream "TURN AROUND YOU GODDAM IDIOT!" in a very annoying way until you do it, or find your own way back on course.
I've had the 530 tell me to go do a U-turn because it didn't like how I joined the course. "Go back, and get on exactly where I tell you to!" Can be quite confusing
What about GPS lock accuracy and lock time? What i am observing is longer than usual lock times (5-10 minutes) and accuracy not better than 10 meters, which is much worse than Bolt 1. The same for recorded tracks - sometimes quite off the real route and oversmoothed corners. Also have seen comments from many others about the same observed behaviour.
I've seen some of that chatter but it's not something I wanted to cover in this video because it'll need some more time to test. I'll run it against some other units and see how it goes.
@@JustRideAdelaide I am on my second v2 unit because of GPS lock and retention issues. Both units take the same, much LONGER, amount of time to get a lock. And tend to pause and not un-pause. Wahoo says it's a non-issue but that's not my experience thus far. Especially compared to my ELEMNT and Bolt v1.
I got a Garmin Edge 530 today and I already have a 130. The 130 is great if a little light on features. The 530 screen is a bit rubbish and fuzzy, the buttons aren’t as crisp as the 130 and it’s overly complicated. Might rerun it not sure yet. Surprised the screen isn’t good. The one of the 130 is really nice and crisp albeit monochrome.
I really like my Edge 530 and use it almost daily and although I don’t fully engulf the Garmin wellness tracking economy with a Garmin watch for sleep and other monitoring data. I have Vantage M and have been with the Polar economy since the beginning. Anyway my screen on the 530 cracked and I’m either replacing with the new Edge when it gets released or trying out some other mid level cycling computer
I've been reluctant to get bolt v2 to replace my old -but sufficient- Garmin edge 500. I couldn't find much things that justify $300. Surprisingly, a few words are shaking my opinion towards V2 or towards another Edge new device; Bolt V2; quality of life, intuitive user interface, and front buttons. Garmin: stay within Garmin ecosystem for all my sports activities, not just cycling.
My ROAM is completely useless in cities. The routes take ages to load and when they do if I go off route the unit says rerouting then crashes, says installing, then crashes, then says recovering ride. Then nothing works till I power if off for 15mins, then it works again till I go off route and it locks up again... Want to get rid of it, get a more robust phone mount because google maps always just works.
Hi! Can a user search for a point on the map and choose it on the Wahoo not using the phone? Essentially if I'm lost can it navigate me to a new point?
Quite expensive for a device that doesn't show street names or have resolution beyond a Gameboy Advance. Sounds like a great device relative to what's out there. But I think any of the phone manufacturers could disrupt the market if they saw there was enough market, which there probably isn't.
It would be very interesting to see in your next video how is the battery life compared to the 530 (the maximum capacity, for bikepacking for example) and also how is climbing page/info. About this last part, I personally don't like the climbing (climb pro or elevation page) info at Garmin 530 because they don't allow you to modify the scale . So if wahoo does allow you that, it's a game changer for me! Haha
It's 2021 so the unit wins by default because it's the newest and has USB-C. If only it was available to buy. I heard the unit takes a really long time to boot and a long time to acquire GPS signal. Can you comment on that?
Oh yeah the startup is pretty slow. I'll talk more about that in the full review. Satelite acquisition is not fast but in the ballpark of what I'd expect. Slower than some, faster than others.
Personally I much prefer the Wahoo interface and using it with smartphone makes it very easy to set up and use. But I get that not everyone feels the same, at least there are options on the market for most people!
Superb review. Bought the bolt 2 first ever bike computer and love the ease of use. Also I don’t like those huge screens. Compact and useful is better.
Can you finally zoom out and turn the map to find routes around you without having to turn your entire bike ?
Have you noticed how the GPS Accuracy data field shows a much higher number than the V1? Also the temperature reads about 4C higher than the V1 which was fairly accurate in dry shady conditions.
I love my Garmin 530. Buttons FTW!
Also been testing the Karoo... the screen is pretty next level.
Are you able to charge with a powerbank whilst riding?
Looking forward to the Hammerhead Karoo review, since it’s release it’s had a load of updates, I wish they had pushed the screen all the way out and done away with the bezels on the bolt v2 , I switched back to Garmin 530 from the v1 bolt , screen looks way better on v2
I'm looking forward to busting out the Hammerhead! It's the first time I've used a fully new GPS ecosystem in a couple of years so it should be fascinating to see a new take on everything
Love it first time owning a bike computer and loading up routes is a breeze..Shame it won’t link my heart rate from my Apple Watch.Apart from that it’s frigging awesome. 👍
How does Wahoo Bolt v2 manage the re-routing? When going off course, does it send you back to the original course? Or does it re-calculate the entire route to your destination?
The latter ( on my Garmin 530 ) has a tendency to shorten my route significantly.
Like the ROAM, it does a mix of both: it tries to reroute you to the route, but in a forward way, I.e. usually it won’t make you backtrack to get back on route, but will try to find a way forward that rejoins the route
What Moose said! Typically Wahoo tries to re-join the course naturally whereas Garmin 530s likes to scream "TURN AROUND YOU GODDAM IDIOT!" in a very annoying way until you do it, or find your own way back on course.
I've had the 530 tell me to go do a U-turn because it didn't like how I joined the course.
"Go back, and get on exactly where I tell you to!" Can be quite confusing
What about GPS lock accuracy and lock time? What i am observing is longer than usual lock times (5-10 minutes) and accuracy not better than 10 meters, which is much worse than Bolt 1. The same for recorded tracks - sometimes quite off the real route and oversmoothed corners. Also have seen comments from many others about the same observed behaviour.
I've seen some of that chatter but it's not something I wanted to cover in this video because it'll need some more time to test. I'll run it against some other units and see how it goes.
@@JustRideAdelaide I am on my second v2 unit because of GPS lock and retention issues. Both units take the same, much LONGER, amount of time to get a lock. And tend to pause and not un-pause. Wahoo says it's a non-issue but that's not my experience thus far. Especially compared to my ELEMNT and Bolt v1.
I got a Garmin Edge 530 today and I already have a 130. The 130 is great if a little light on features. The 530 screen is a bit rubbish and fuzzy, the buttons aren’t as crisp as the 130 and it’s overly complicated. Might rerun it not sure yet. Surprised the screen isn’t good. The one of the 130 is really nice and crisp albeit monochrome.
I really like my Edge 530 and use it almost daily and although I don’t fully engulf the Garmin wellness tracking economy with a Garmin watch for sleep and other monitoring data. I have Vantage M and have been with the Polar economy since the beginning.
Anyway my screen on the 530 cracked and I’m either replacing with the new Edge when it gets released or trying out some other mid level cycling computer
Nice video looking forward to a more thorough review before I pull the trigger on this unit .
How have you figured this has better battery life than the Roam? According to Wahoo, the Roam has the longer lasting battery.
Awesome video! I’m thinking of getting the same unit. Be safe! -new subscriber from Chicago 😎
I've been reluctant to get bolt v2 to replace my old -but sufficient- Garmin edge 500. I couldn't find much things that justify $300.
Surprisingly, a few words are shaking my opinion towards V2 or towards another Edge new device;
Bolt V2; quality of life, intuitive user interface, and front buttons.
Garmin: stay within Garmin ecosystem for all my sports activities, not just cycling.
Hello! Can navigation also be used for walking? I would also like to use it for trekking as well as mountain biking
Original buttons are concave or recessed. V2 buttons are convex or raised.
Hi! Great video! Can the device show wireless gear speeds screen ? Like SRAM Force or Red? Thanx!
How long do we have to wait for the Garmin comparisone? :-P
Thanks mate enjoyed the vid
When is this going to be back in stock ?? Would be nice to actually be able to buy one or know the estimated shipment date
Depends on region, but I did recently hear that the Australian distributor should have some soon.
@@JustRideAdelaide I am located in australia too let’s hope so 🤞
My ROAM is completely useless in cities. The routes take ages to load and when they do if I go off route the unit says rerouting then crashes, says installing, then crashes, then says recovering ride. Then nothing works till I power if off for 15mins, then it works again till I go off route and it locks up again... Want to get rid of it, get a more robust phone mount because google maps always just works.
Yikes man, hate to hear that sort of thing happening!
Screen looks to display actually smaller on V2 vs the OG?
Do you have a link as to where we can purchase this new Bolt?
Hi! Can a user search for a point on the map and choose it on the Wahoo not using the phone? Essentially if I'm lost can it navigate me to a new point?
Quite expensive for a device that doesn't show street names or have resolution beyond a Gameboy Advance. Sounds like a great device relative to what's out there. But I think any of the phone manufacturers could disrupt the market if they saw there was enough market, which there probably isn't.
Thanks!
If swapping from a Garmin unit, make sure you spend 30 minutes to read the manual (my mistake, I’ll live with it). 🤦♂️
I'd have thought you'd feel liberated by the lack of menus!
It would be very interesting to see in your next video how is the battery life compared to the 530 (the maximum capacity, for bikepacking for example) and also how is climbing page/info. About this last part, I personally don't like the climbing (climb pro or elevation page) info at Garmin 530 because they don't allow you to modify the scale . So if wahoo does allow you that, it's a game changer for me! Haha
I understand that v1 doesn't reroute. The v2 does.
It's 2021 so the unit wins by default because it's the newest and has USB-C. If only it was available to buy. I heard the unit takes a really long time to boot and a long time to acquire GPS signal. Can you comment on that?
Oh yeah the startup is pretty slow. I'll talk more about that in the full review. Satelite acquisition is not fast but in the ballpark of what I'd expect. Slower than some, faster than others.
I'll keep my Edge 530 I just don't like the UI and that it so heavily relies on your smartphone!
Personally I much prefer the Wahoo interface and using it with smartphone makes it very easy to set up and use.
But I get that not everyone feels the same, at least there are options on the market for most people!
does it use same mount as Wahoo Element Bolt v1?
No, this is a subtly different out-front mount. The slightly changed dimensions of the unit means a slightly adjusted mount.
meh, too little too late. where's bike profiles? route suggestions? anything new? 64 colors doesn't cut it I'm afraid
Hammerhead!
Its cool, but fck, nowhere to buy. I mean 15 weeks to wait. No way.
I just gonne wait to buy a gps untill you make a New video testing the Garmin and hammerhead. Looking forward to it.😄👌💪🚵♂️