Originally Posted by
puma1552
Have not had a cycling computer before, but would like to get one this year. Am looking at the usual suspects: Garmin 520, 520 Plus, and Wahoo Elemnt Bolt.
Here's where I'm at, maybe a bit odd as an old millenial:
-I do not ride with ANY app or use any ride service like Strava, Ridewithgps, Travelroad or whatever it is and hate syncing anything with anything; I get so tired of society trying to force me to integrate every aspect of my life and it's just more hassle to manage and makes my life more complicated, not simpler. I basically want a device that is self-contained and doesn't penetrate other areas of my life.
-I do not ride with speed/cadence/HR sensors, and think if I get to that point then I'll enjoy riding less because it will feel like more of a chore/job, when I'm just a recreational rider who would like to just look at basics (not even track, really) just for fun.
-In fact, I don't even - as of yet - bring my phone with me on a ride.
-I don't care about maps, I pretty much know where I'm going and am not going off on mystical journeys on my rides.
That said, there are only a couple things I really care about:
-Being able to flip through and look at metrics of my ride on the device itself after my ride, and then just delete them from the device itself; basically I need it to save all the ride metrics to the device for just a little bit, and then allow me to delete
-With one exception, that being I want the device to keep a lifetime running odometer total
Otherwise, the total feature set I'm looking for is:
-Current speed
-Max speed for a given ride
-Average speed for a given ride
-Distance traveled for a given ride
-Lifetime odometer miles
-Ride time for a given ride
-Time of day
-Total climbing elevation for a given ride (net elevation less important since it should always be 0 since I start and end in the same place)
-Color screen would be nice, but not necessary I guess
I think the Edge 520 does all this. I know from a lifetime of being alive that Garmin makes a lot of straight up junk. Google (and Wahoo converts) seems to confirm this is still the case. So I started looking at the Elemnt Bolt. Looks like it's a flat-out better product, with one glaring error - it doesn't have a lifetime odometer feature, you have to upload all your rides and add them up or whatever. I can live with the monochrome screen I guess. Setting it up with my phone is sort of a drag, but not the end of the world if it's a one and done setup.
Basically, neither are perfect, but an Apple watch isn't the solution either.
So do you buy the supposedly higher quality product with a couple glaring feature omissions for more money, or do you buy the less regarded product with all the features for less money? Should I be looking at something else in the $250 or under bracket? Garmin 520 Edge can be had for as low as $190, but the Elemnt Bolt is going to be the full-tilt $250. Probably don't really need the 520 Plus.