Garmin Edge 530 vs Wahoo Elemnt Roam

[aquaratza]

This is probably dangerous, but: can anyone give me some pointers/arguments as to which one of these computers they prefer and why?

I've got the choice between them and I'm struggling to decide. They both have their pros and cons. A lot of this is personal preference, it's about what you prefer and why.

I find the Roam's display to be very sunlight readable, but it is also slower to update than the Edge (doesn't respond as quickly). The colours of the Roam's display are largely non-existent and where they do exist they're muted compared to the Edge.

 

The Roam's online tracking functionality is better: it provides cycling metrics, like HR and power, where the Edge/Connect does not.

Edited March 15, 2020 by aquaratza

[Markellis]

Hated my 530, sold it after a a few rides and went back the Roam.

 

GPS was terrible, constant dropping and rerouting.

 

Build quality was terrible, felt like it belonged in the toy isle at PicknPay.

 

Functionality and usability is much better on the Roam.

 

Wahoo just works, easy to use on the bike and easy to setup

 

I’ve owned many many Garmin bike computers over the years and won’t be rushing back after my experience with the 530 and using a Wahoo product .

 

Wahoo for me

Edited March 15, 2020 by Markellis

[aquaratza]

Thanks Markellis

 

I must admit I haven't noticed any GPS issues so far on the Edge 530 (but I've only used it on the CTCT so far).

 

Build quality on the Roam isn't great, it's one of the reasons I wanted to try the 530; the Roam's marketing was misleading (incorrect display size), the Roam's buttons are blergh and the Roam's mount was flimsy and broke easily - so I'd say the 530 wins there too.

 

But I agree that the Roam is way easier to use and *just works*.

 

Strava killed sensor functionality on their app and that caused me to get a second hand Fenix 3. It's been so good that it made me want to try other Garmin products.

[Jackal355]

don't have too much experience with the Wahoo gadgets but felt i had to chime in on the 530. Very happy with mine after the 520 witch was also great .I think the build quality is good and solid and have had no issues in over 1000km covered.Yes the Wahoo might be a bit easier to setup  through the app but its not like its difficult to setup the Garmin.....

[Kom]

Ive personally only ever used Multisport watches for the ~10yrs i've been into my cycling. I recently bought a new bike which looks way to race'y to strap my garmin fenix too (actually the aero bars wouldn't allow me to anyway) so decided to take advantage of the garmin outfront mount it comes standard with and invest in a dedicated cycle computer.

 

I hadn't yet used my device booster with vitality, so decided to use the benefit to acquire a Garmin Edge 530. Over a 4 week period of use, i definitely saw the benefit in having a dedicated computer, so the 530 was definitely a great experience for me, not ever having had something like this, but what disappointed me mostly? (This is almost everything unfortunately TL:DR i've already sold the unit to a fellow hubber).

1. The Screen - the use of small fonts, loads of white space and a really poor contrast ratio. I think garmins push to offer a colour screen has led to a compromise of a number of very logical basic needs for a cycle computer - including easy reading. They've even defaulted to leaving the backlight on almost permanently to help the situation, which it sort of does, but at the compromise of battery life.
2. The Gimmics - Climb Pro, MTB Flow and Grit, Jump Dynamics, impact Detection  the list goes on - but let me argue this in a separate thread if the feedback warrants it, but all totally useless and doesn't work as well as you'd expect. Garmin is Going Google on us ..
3. Ease of Setup - OMW - i couldn't believe how fideally it is to setup screens without the use of a touch screen. Get ready to fidget - ALOT! Whats worse is that the screens are fairly static - if you choose 7 fields, thats how its going to stay unless you've got a separate page for the regular access data.
4. Course - I cant believe how hard it is to upload a course shared through Strava or GPX to the device, and you better know how to start a course from its fidelly menu's as once you've started the ride, you cannot jump to the course for navigation afterwards.
5. Dependancy on Garmin Express - Garmin devices are not tether free, you must connect it to a laptop when you buy it to get the Africa Topographic map loaded and the initial Firmware update installed. It took me a while to figure out why i wasn't seeing the street level maps that come free with the device (Region specific only - if you travel to the EU or US, you need to buy the other maps).
6. Route Discovery - Segment explorer is totally useless, you cant navigate to the start of segments in an area you are simply looking for a route to ride in, for road you can draw a route and its auto route feature does work, but for MTB, you better do your research before riding an area you don't know. The Trails network pre-installed with the Africa TopoGraphic maps is also extremely limited to the well known trails.

There are other irritations about the device that i wont dip into, for instance auto-upload needed me to use the "upload Ride" feature a number of times. Im not convinced the device can upload to my WiFi without the phone involved, i was probably doing something wrong. The impact detection goes off all the time, heavy braking, riding trails with rock gardens etc, the jump sensor is way to sensitive, and records jumps for the simplest little bumps, the MTB grit and flow makes no practical sense for during and post ride assessment. 

 

in the end the computer is now in another hubbers hands, i wish him the best, but i can honestly say that for R6k, i'm super disappointed at what the Best-of-Garmin has surmounted to.

 

To the point of this thread, i'm now the proud owner of a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt - after a couple of rides i can only tell you that this device is a dream - it does what its designed to do extremely well and just works - whats best? I can actually read the data during a ride! If i was to write all my thoughts down, i would mirror 101% what this author said about it here.

[Kom]

As a side bonus - if anyone needs help adapting their Garmin Mount for use with the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt or Roam its really quite easy ... just rotate the detachable inner of the mount through 90deg and the wahoo will work perfectly.

 

The Wahoo actually comes with a couple of really nice mounts, 1 out front and one stem mount, but if like me you have custom out front mounts on your road and MTB, then knowing this helps! (i also needed to dremmel my one out-front a small bit to accept the tab that locks the inner into place - can send pics to anyone considering the same).

[Simon123]

Wahoo > Garmin

[Jbr]

my 530 is ****... sometimes it turns off and restarts when I hit a pothole a bit hard, now on the MTB if I land a bit rough it turns off and I can't restart until I plug it in... What a **** product for the price...

 

This is my second garmin device (I also have a fenix 5 that was already replaced under warranty) and I'll definitely not buy more garmin products in the future

Edited August 31, 2020 by Jbr

[Kom]

my 530 is ****... sometimes it turns off and restarts when I hit a pothole a bit hard, now on the MTB if I land a bit rough it turns off and I can't restart until I plug it in... What a **** product for the price...

 

This is my second garmin device (I also have a fenix 5 that was already replaced under warranty) and I'll definitely not buy more garmin products in the future

I smile when I see ads like this one https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/computers-and-gps/428616/garmin-edge-510

 

Selling a 510 for an “upgrade” to a 530 is seriously the wrong way around. I think the 510 is thee 5 series to own.

[Dexter-morgan]

I have a 530 directly from Evanscycles, have had no issues with it, non whatsoever, love the mtb jump function.

[Kom]

I have a 530 directly from Evanscycles, have had no issues with it, non whatsoever, love the mtb jump function.

Make sure you keep your eyes on the trail ahead and not the over stated jump stat gimmick garmin have invented

Edited September 22, 2020 by Kom

[sirmoun10goat]

My 830 has been flawless. And I enjoy going to a bike park and repeating a couple of jumps and seeing if I get any better.

 

Gimmick? I like it!

[aquaratza]

I almost forgot about this thread haha. My Edge 530 crashed today. This is the second time it's crashed since I bought it (it seems to be a problem with the latest firmware ver 6.20). It's pretty good at recovering from crashes. I've put around 150 rides onto the device so far (around 350 hours I'd guess).

 

The Roam I had crashed once in the time I had it, probably over a similar number of rides.

 

I've noticed some GPS location inconsistencies lately in the FIT files the 530 produces (since installing the latest firmware 6.20). The Roam has had it's fair share of bugs too.

 

I've also noticed that the Edge 530 gets very excited when you pair it with an eBike. I've been told the Roam lacks eBike support.

 

I've been using my 530 with the Varia remote, great for not having to take your hands off the handlebar to switch data pages on the computer.

 

Live tracking is blergh compared to the Wahoo devices: specifically the lack of advanced metrics for people watching (power, cadence, HR) and often Garmin Connect on my phone doesn't stop tracking after the ride has been completed.

Edited September 22, 2020 by aquaratza