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I’ve Had It With Garmin

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I’ve Had It With Garmin

Old 11-21-19, 06:39 PM
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GreenAnvil
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I’ve Had It With Garmin

So my right-side vector pedal died after about 4 years. They were good when they worked, but there were constant glitches, pod replacements (2 times), timeouts, data gaps.

Syncing data up to Garmin Connect can sometimes be frustrating.

I bought a Varia radar and it’s great. But the Edge 520 plus will barely last 5hrs with the radar on.

On a recent ride I got lost twice and the Edge never told me that I had missed a turn.

I contact Garmin and find out that the cost of the pedal body is about $200-something. While I decide what to do, I go to my local REI to buy a Garmin cadence sensor so that at least I could have speed plus cadence and hr on my rides. Out of the box the sensor didn’t work. No blinking light indicating the sensor had woken up. Nada.

So after several years with Garmin I’ve decided to go with Wahoo (Elemnt Bolt + hr + sensors) and the Favero Assioma pedals. Let’s see how this goes.

Last edited by GreenAnvil; 11-21-19 at 06:45 PM.
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Old 11-21-19, 06:52 PM
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Keep that Varia - it'll still work with the Bolt and I haven't had any such battery issues with it.
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Old 11-21-19, 07:12 PM
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Originally Posted by GreenAnvil
On a recent ride I got lost twice and the Edge never told me that I had missed a turn.
I never use the map on mine (520) but if I remember correctly this model does not do turn by turn. It just shows you a "bread crumb" route. It may tell you when you're beginning a route but I don't think it will tell you when you've missed a turn.

I could be completely wrong but that is my cursory understanding.
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Old 11-21-19, 07:27 PM
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Originally Posted by TakingMyTime
I never use the map on mine (520) but if I remember correctly this model does not do turn by turn. It just shows you a "bread crumb" route. It may tell you when you're beginning a route but I don't think it will tell you when you've missed a turn.

I could be completely wrong but that is my cursory understanding.
It does turn by turn. I’ve used it. On your data screen the turn notification will pop up. But every now and then it fails to notify you of a turn in advance.

Edited to note that I’m referring to the 520 Plus head unit.

Last edited by GreenAnvil; 11-22-19 at 04:04 AM.
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Old 11-21-19, 07:51 PM
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Very impressed with the Favero Assioma pedals so far
Just get on and ride
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Old 11-21-19, 07:57 PM
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You should get the Vector pedal fixed. You'll be able to sell it for more than $200.
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Old 11-21-19, 09:43 PM
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I gave up on Garmin several years ago. My Wahoo Elemnt is rock solid.
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Old 11-22-19, 04:30 AM
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^close to joining you. have had a garmin unit the last 6 years. awkward computer/app interface. starts dropping rides with zero chance of recovery
after a while. lots of issues syncing with an iphone. on the plus side, bought the original unit and have sent it (and the 3 subsequent replacement/refurbished units back in those six years.
all replacements lasted 6 months-1 year. was only charged once-$80. the support e-mail correspondence was timely and professional and the turnaround time from shipping
old/not functioning unit to receiving replacement/refurbished unit (with corresponding e-mails) was a respectable 7-10 business days (from/to california/kansas).
so my experience with garmin is solid on the support/replacement side but mixed on the performance/longevity side. looking to buy a new cycling computer in 2020 and have just
been biding my time to let wahoo and the handful of other alternatives work out any kinks. really just using the computer to track basics like mileage, speed, altitude gained, time
elapsed and connecting to strava to upload rides. could care less about mapping or power numbers. visibility (also in rain and at night) and intuitive ease of use are key for me.
haven't shopped for a new cycling computer unit in that 6 year period and wondering if there is an obvious bang for the buck winner in the sub-$400 category?
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Old 11-22-19, 05:33 AM
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I was Team Garmin for many years, both kayaking and biking - never happy but they had no real competition. I went Team Wahoo for biking when the Elemnt came out, and have been happy - higher reliability, better battery life, easier to use. For hiking and boating, Wahoo not a factor.
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Old 11-22-19, 06:52 AM
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
You should get the Vector pedal fixed. You'll be able to sell it for more than $200.
Hmmmm... had not thought of this. Thx for the idea.
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Old 11-22-19, 06:59 AM
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Welcome to the Wahoo club.
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Old 11-22-19, 07:00 AM
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Originally Posted by ooga-booga
so my experience with garmin is solid on the support/replacement side but mixed on the performance/longevity side.
My experience has been similar. I’m at a point were I want more performance/reliability/longevity for the cost, and Garmin isn’t delivering. Wonderful when it works well, but it’s a roll of the dice.

Garmin doesn’t come cheap; at their price points there’s no excuse for their products not being more reliable.
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Old 11-22-19, 07:40 AM
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I have had my 520 for 2+ years. In that time it has frozen on me twice (back up and running after the 3 button push restart method) and I think it's lost possibly 2 rides. All in all I'm happy with my purchase. Although I wish it was flawless, for something that bounces around on my bike for hours at a time and feeds me the information I want, I'm happy.

That's not to say that something else could and might catch my eye sometime in the future... I don't see any reason to switch when I have a perfectly good 520.
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Old 11-22-19, 09:30 AM
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Have a 1030 and all is good except, recently it will not pair with my iPhone. Did the update but NG so far. With all the phone pairing with cars etc.this is lame to be this much of a hassle.
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Old 11-22-19, 10:22 AM
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I've had my 520 for over two years now. Heck I even left the 520 in my jersey pocket and tossed the jersey in to the wash. The 520 still works. I have no complaints with my Garmin products. Same goes for my Forerunner 235 watch.

On the other hand, Mrs. NoWhammies Fenix 5s just died after 6 ~ 8 months of use. She's definitely not impressed with them at the moment.
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Old 11-22-19, 11:42 AM
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It could be worse. At least you don't have a TomTom sports wearable. Great products, BTW. Some connectivity issues later on before the pullout.
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Old 11-22-19, 12:13 PM
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Amazon lowered the price on the Elemnt,(not the bolt), and I was thinking about joining the club. Only problem is that I have a LOt of bikes, and they all have Garmin mounts. Any luck fitting Wahoo on a Garmin mount?
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Old 11-22-19, 12:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Jack Tone
Amazon lowered the price on the Elemnt,(not the bolt), and I was thinking about joining the club. Only problem is that I have a LOt of bikes, and they all have Garmin mounts. Any luck fitting Wahoo on a Garmin mount?

Wahoo mounts are 90 degrees of Garmin mounts. Most 1/4 turn mounts have a replaceable plastic insert.
https://www.amazon.com/K-Edge-Wahoo-.../dp/B01FJ8UXSQ

Otherwise there are adapter inserts if your Garmin mounts do not have aforesaid inserts:
https://www.wahoofitness.com/devices...adapter-elemnt
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Old 11-22-19, 12:23 PM
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Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti
Wahoo mounts are 90 degrees of Garmin mounts. Most 1/4 turn mounts have a replaceable plastic insert.
https://www.amazon.com/K-Edge-Wahoo-.../dp/B01FJ8UXSQ

Otherwise there are adapter inserts if your Garmin mounts do not have aforesaid inserts:
https://www.wahoofitness.com/devices...adapter-elemnt
Hey, THanks!
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Old 11-23-19, 11:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti
Wahoo mounts are 90 degrees of Garmin mounts. Most 1/4 turn mounts have a replaceable plastic insert.
https://www.amazon.com/K-Edge-Wahoo-.../dp/B01FJ8UXSQ

Otherwise there are adapter inserts if your Garmin mounts do not have aforesaid inserts:
https://www.wahoofitness.com/devices...adapter-elemnt
That's awesome! I had an Edge 510 and got an Elemnt, but never took to it. But I recently got it back out and actually like it after a bit of use and customization. The screen is just super readable in all conditions. Had a K-Edge mount for my long list of Garmins I'd love to use - so ordered one of those inserts. Brilliant!

I don't have a huge problem with Garmin head units, but Wahoo's app and uplink/sync functionality is so superior. (Garmin Connect... I don't think I *ever* got that to sync with other services.) The Elemnt just syncs itself to their backend over Wifi when I get home. (Sometimes after a delay if they have service problems.)

Don't think I'd go back to Garmin until they make it Just Work.
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Old 11-24-19, 06:06 AM
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Navigation via bike computer is like 10+ years behind even a phone. Amazingly rudimentary and old fashioned.
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Old 11-24-19, 07:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Racing Dan
Navigation via bike computer is like 10+ years behind even a phone. Amazingly rudimentary and old fashioned.
It is...then again, you're dealing with embedded OS GPS products with single-core CPUs, and storage memory chips in the single-gigabytes, and RAM measured in megabytes....hardware that was "new" on desktops 20 years ago. Barest minimum hardware to do the job.. And it is all done to lower battery draw, which reduces platform size/weight, and also lowers price to make....and increases margin.

A phone can do very slick GPS routing and tracking...but you'll zap a 4Ah battery in a few hours, compared to a Garmin/Wahoo that'll do the same thing and last an entire afternoon if not most of a day on a battery cell at least 90% smaller.
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Old 11-24-19, 08:10 AM
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Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti
Wahoo mounts are 90 degrees of Garmin mounts. Most 1/4 turn mounts have a replaceable plastic insert.
https://www.amazon.com/K-Edge-Wahoo-.../dp/B01FJ8UXSQ

Otherwise there are adapter inserts if your Garmin mounts do not have aforesaid inserts:
https://www.wahoofitness.com/devices...adapter-elemnt
Just ordered one of the inserts. Thank you!
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Old 11-24-19, 08:14 AM
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Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti
It is...then again, you're dealing with embedded OS GPS products with single-core CPUs, and storage memory chips in the single-gigabytes, and RAM measured in megabytes....hardware that was "new" on desktops 20 years ago. Barest minimum hardware to do the job.. And it is all done to lower battery draw, which reduces platform size/weight, and also lowers price to make....and increases margin.

A phone can do very slick GPS routing and tracking...but you'll zap a 4Ah battery in a few hours, compared to a Garmin/Wahoo that'll do the same thing and last an entire afternoon if not most of a day on a battery cell at least 90% smaller.
I get 4+ hours with the screen on, on my Huawei P10 Lite. Thats plenty for my pourposes, and if not there always a $10 powerbank. Im betting the same phone with Garmin type reflective screen would last all day (and have better visibility).

An other use of the phone, is voice-nav if you dont care for the screen. No recommended in the city with many frequent turns, as you might get confused if there is no supporting screen. But in the countryside its very nice and no issues, and can be combined with music if you are so inclined.

Last edited by Racing Dan; 11-24-19 at 08:19 AM.
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Old 11-24-19, 10:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti
It is...then again, you're dealing with embedded OS GPS products with single-core CPUs, and storage memory chips in the single-gigabytes, and RAM measured in megabytes....hardware that was "new" on desktops 20 years ago. Barest minimum hardware to do the job.. And it is all done to lower battery draw, which reduces platform size/weight, and also lowers price to make....and increases margin.

A phone can do very slick GPS routing and tracking...but you'll zap a 4Ah battery in a few hours, compared to a Garmin/Wahoo that'll do the same thing and last an entire afternoon if not most of a day on a battery cell at least 90% smaller.
What?! You mean to tell me that there are trade-offs and that you can't have it all? Crazy talk!
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