scottydonald

Its March 2021; and looking at the release dates of the cycle computers I am pretty scared to buy a computer right now. It seems the ones I am looking at were released at the end of April 2019.

I am looking at Garmin 830, 530 and the Wahoo Roam, Bolt. I want to use with Favero Assioma pedals.

Ideally I would see data on the screen for each pedals balance etc and I am not sure if Wahoo can do that with these or not? Do I wait 6 weeks and see if anything is released?

Does anyone have experience with the pedals and the computers mentioned above?

ericcox

I use Assioma duos with a Garmin 530. You can show pedaling dynamics, including left right balance, but it does not show individual power. I'm not sure Assiomas do that anyway. On my home screen, I use 10sec power together with cadence, HR, time, distance, etc. My next screen has total kj, 3s power, average power, normalized power, and power zone (though I'm likely to get rid of this). I don't personally look at l/r balance during rides, but do look at it after rides in Garmin Connect. For me, my 530 has worked very well. I chose it over the 830 because I did not want a touchscreen, though having looked at the ease of the 830 since, I would probably consider one in the future. That said, the only time I wish the UI were easier is when I'm trying to do stuff with settings, which isn't really that often. During a ride, the buttons are fine - and I have my Di2 shifters set up so I can scroll through the screens from the hoods.

billridesbikes

Bike computers don’t iterate that fast. Garmin just went through a refresh cycle and you probably won’t see any new models for a couple of years.

I really like my Garmin 1030 with the touch screen, if you’re going to have a screen just for pedalling metrics it makes it easy to swipe back and forth.

MinnMan

My Wahoo Bolt shows the pedal power balance from my Favero Assiomas in the ride summary statistics. I suppose it can also show them during the ride, but I haven't tried and if it did, what exactly would it be measuring? The average over the last x seconds? And why would one care so much about near-instantaneous power balance?

I think most people's experience is that when they first get a dual-sided PM, they think they are going to care about power balance, but unless you have a really unusual physiological asymmetry or injury, it turns out to be a fairly boring statistic. Looking at the number once per ride is more than sufficient.

scottydonald

Yes this is how I would set it up also.

I am now leaning towards the 530 after your reply. I don't have Di2 so don't have that convenience.

ahhh ok, I assumed looking at date they might be in a 2 year cycle.

I wouldn't stretch to the 1030 as have to buy the pedals at the same time.

I edited my post but yes you have a very good point. How do you have your screen set up for use with power?

Now you have me thinking the Bolt or Roam is again the favourite!

MinnMan

It's just one of the outputs I can choose to display on any of the screens. On most screens I have it as just one of the little squares on the screen, but I have one screen set up for intervals where the power is the larger, more prominent value. But this is true for any good head unit, Wahoo, Garmin, etc.

MinnMan

Choose based on your budget and other priorities for what you want in a head unit, such as mapping and so on. Either will work with your FA pedals.

ericcox

This - both are good. If you have a chance to play with / look at examples of both, see which you prefer. Wahoo is way easier to set up using the app - the Garmin has to be setup using the device itself. I would argue navigation is better on Garmin, but even then, the Wahoo works. I like my Garmin; half my little group uses Wahoo and really likes them.

waters60

Consider what you will be using your PM pedals for. Indoor and outdoor are very different situations. Indoors PM pedals are ( for me ) a critical part of my training. Outdoors, unless you are very disciplined, power is harder to use. I keep an eye on it, often using it on long climbs to keep at or below my FTP. It seems you need to have a course you do regularly to plan your workout using power so you can track changes over time.
I use my Favero Assiomas with a Bolt. Works flawlessly.

WhyFi

No.

MinnMan

Totally agree. I seldom do intervals outdoors, but that's an exception. Other than that, the main use outside is when I'm going hard and want to know if I can sustain the power. In non-covid times, I participate in group rides where there are organized mini-races ranging from a few hundred meters to maybe 5 miles. If I'm going hard and I have some idea of the distance to come, I'll look at power to make sure I can hold that power without blowing up before the finish.

And the knowledge of what power I can put out for a given time or distance comes from my indoor work.

ericcox

This is pretty much how I use them outdoors as well - from indoor work, I know my numbers. Outdoors, I use them to monitor my effort, particularly on longer rides. I know how long I can hold certain efforts before blowing in group settings, how long I can hang at or above threshold and still make it home, etc. I don't do much structured training outdoors, however.

sfrider 

Garmins capture cycling dynamics with the Favero Assiomas, which can help you fine-tune your fit and position, and can help identify things to work on. Wahoo only captures it for 4iiiiiiii PMs. I'd go Garmin for the FA's (in fact, I did).

colnago62

A very important use of power outside is to make sure you are not going too hard on those days when training requires you to stay in zone 1 or 2. What I found when I first started using power that my easy and aerobic days were way harder than they needed to be. Once I started dialing that back, I felt like I was much more able to go really hard on those HIIT days.

scottydonald

Thank you guys for all the opinions and thoughts.

Ordered the Roam(simplicity) and the pedals today.

Appreciated all the replies.