Originally Posted by
Toespeas
the only use for a garmin or wahoo would be a hard ride or race , as far as functions go , a 30 dollar android phone can do everything you need while cycling , and if strava brought back heart rate i might be tempted to pay and use my phone to record races .
i guess dedicated computers can be a bit more accurate with gps , maybe cyclocross or MTB races would be best recorded with a watch ( a few cx racers in the pros had those watches ) , some are kind of more compact than a phone , BUT compare a 30 to 200 phone to a 100 to 400 dollar cycling computer and over all the phone wins every time . reply with any reason to choose a gps computer over a phone .
RANT : i mean does the 400 dollar wahoo roam even have a sd card slot to store and load maps and routes , i personally bought a garmin 520 because ti was in my price range, i thought it would be great for nav and routes but this thing sucks the battery only lasts 8 hours and it cant even hold 100 MBs of map data , doesn't have official functionality for map loading , i have to make separate folders and swap out my map sections just to get a map on screen and there is still no real time navigation , it cant play music or do turn by turn as well as my phone can but on my 30 dollar phone i have a full gps for free , why do these gps computers even exist , it would be beyond easy to add an SD card slot and expand storage , ok rant over , i still feel i should have spent the 150 on a new phone dedicated to my bikes
the 520 compared to the 500 has a FAIL battery life!
and Garmin really skimps on memory, I am sure it is intentional.
I used the Turn by Turn bread crumbs once on the 520, and I'll never do it again it was a day late and a dollar short. So I reverted back to the ride 3.6 miles turn L , ride 5.8 miles and turn right. cue sheets
I quit buying Garmin chest HR straps after the 4th one. Interesting enough the one that never got washed lasted the longest. So now I ride without a HR meter. $120 in HR straps... not worth it.
So I hear you!
I mean I can get an out front mounted non GPS Cateye for like $60, that is accurate as accurate as you measure your tires circumference. As for recording, a phone can do that with the screen off and it doesn't take much battery if you are not using the screen.
Garmin has some seriously lousy integrity and ethics as a business. its Always been about leaving the customers a dollar short, and wanting.... while they continue to roll out new models that continuously leave customers a dollar short. It's planned residual income. Cyclist are stupid enough to keep throwing Garmin moneythough. Of Course Garmin has one hell of a shill in their pocket pushing their products.
I am still Miffed that my 500 was fine one day, Garmin drops a 510 on the market, gives my 500 one last update, and it starts malfunctioning the very next ride. I erased it reinstalled all of the old software builds to no luck with any of them. Lesson learned if your electronic stuff works, DO NOT UPDATE!!!!!!