chaadster

In all likelihood, either unit will get the job done, so yeah, calling the decision based on looks and lower price makes sense to me. I like the styling of the Roam myself, but its large size is the main reason I’ve not upgraded from Bolt. That, and the fact that I don’t really feel the need for TbT nav or the extra sidebar of indicator lights. I’m not what I’d consider a head unit “power user,” so a lot of features go unexplored and unused by me, which is another reason I weight ease of use as heavily as I do.

Seattle Forrest

This is a good comparison on both ends: functionality vs perceived ease of setup.

chaadster

RS5 Problem solved: new Bolt with color screen and smart nav (incl. turn-by-turn) just dropped today:

https://www.wahoofitness.com/devices...aunch_Standard

jadocs

I saw that...I would be kind of upset if I spent all that money upgrading to a Roam with that muted color screen.

Robert A

For the Wahoo users who use Live Tracking, how reliable is it? Any problems with the recording terminating in the middle of the ride, or failing to record at all?

chaadster

is live tracking supposed to record where you’ve been? I thought it was just to show your current location?

Robert A

It shows were you've been, where you are, and where you're headed (if there's a route). It also provides metrics such as speed, HR, etc. Mine is completely unreliable, and I have spent the past year working with Wahoo tech support who claims my case is isolated. I have replaced the head unit three times, the phone twice, and have checked all settings and parameters.

Ti473

Well, say what you will, but Wahoo just revised the buttons on the new Bolt from concave to convex, so there must be a reason. They worked fine on the original Bolt actually with a decent clicky feel but on the Roam it seemed like I had to dig my fingernail into them to get them to register. And as for the mounts I don't have any experience with the out front, but I do have the stock aero one that comes with it and that's actually works ok, but other after market plastic mounts that I use are more flexy and exacerbate the problem. K-Edge is pricey I know but it's solid. I know, we're splitting hairs here.

WhyFi

It worked fine for me (well, for my wife, that is), but I gave her the perma-link. No experience with the one-time links.

Robert A

I use both links and it makes no difference. Out of 20 rides, maybe 15 will track. Sometimes all rides will track, sometimes three rides in a row will fail. Sometimes a ride will track and then quit mid-ride.

I've troubleshooted all settings with Wahoo support and have replaced hardware. If it's only happening to me, then there must be another app that's interfering with it.

chaadster

Ah, thanks! You prompted me to go look at the feature, and yeah, it’s a lot more than what I’d thought. I’ve sent the LiveTrack links to my wife before, bit she’s never used them, and I’ve not had any other occasion to try it, so I have no idea if it works properly.

Robert A

Copy that link over to your browser and bookmark it. Then after each ride, see if it correctly reports the ride. The last ride is always there, but anything previous is lost.

Voodoo76

A couple of rides with the Roam (replacing a Bolt) and I'm pretty happy. The biggest positives so far:

• The character sizes for data fields with the bigger screen is a plus for older eyes. This was the main reason I changed.
• As expected it works exactly the same as the Bolt, so no learning curve setting it up or operating it.

I do have one beef (this would be true for the Bolt as well). The LED's are useless in direct sunlight & there appears to be nowhere in the setup app to turn brightness up or down. I don't get it, do Wahoo developers ever ride outside during the day? The side LED's would be a nice feature for those of us using power zones ( I don't mind hand entering iLevels) but are very limited by not being visible on 2/3 of my rides.

Jack Tone 

I agree about the LED's. I bought an old Elemnt and hooked up my Varia Radar to it. Can't see the LED's in the sun, and the beep is pitiful, too.

oujeep1

I was a many many years and versions Garmin user, I got tired of the touch screen and the difficulty getting my Garmin to download to Strava, through the connect app, so I went to a Bolt about a year ago. It's better for me than Garmin, I like not having the touch screen, it's got a great battery life, I like having my HR zone illuminated at the top of the unit. I don't use nav or live tracking so can't comment on those. There are a few negatives- some things I wish you could control from the unit instead of the app, such as turn on the backlight when it gets later in the evening, give me a warning and an option to go to battery save if I forgot to charge the unit and my battery is about to die. And why does it have to have a different mount than Garmin, with the little blue disk turned 90degrees. But overall I'm happy with it wouldn't go back.

SJX426 

I moved from using my phone to the Roam. On the phone I use Ride with GPS. The connection is still there with the Roam so all my rides are saved and I have the benefits of both. I don't need to take my phone with me but do for emergencies.
I picked the Roam because of my vision. the larger screen works better for me. I have both mounts the K and the stock. I don't have a preference.
The only big issue I have is the storage of maps. As they are enhanced, the files get bigger and I have to delete maps of nearby states. I don't understand the whole map database management Wahoo set up. Living in Northern Virginia, I would like maps of DC, MD installed but have memory storage shortage.

We need pics in this thread!
P1040509 on Flickr

For those of you who are C&V people, you can use the adapter from 26 to 32 to mount your mount on Cinelli 26.4 bars.

Bob Ross

Have you already deleted all the Asia and Australasia maps? I did that when I got the unit, and so far now it seems like I never run out of storage.
In the unlikely event I ever go cycling in Australia I figure I'll be with friends and they can navigate.

SJX426 

@Bob Ross - Deleted everything and added only Virginia and DC. Everything else is gone. It is like the memory won't reset and gets smaller.

njkayaker

It appears he wants three regions (VA, MD, and DC). If he can't get MD installed, one would hope he would have tried to make room by deleting the states he doesn't need. That is, presumably, he's already tried removing the maps he doesn't need.

The Roam has 2 GB of memory (which is kind of thin). The California map is 240MB (it appears). So, there really should be enough room for the three regions he needs.

I wouldn't want to rely on other people's navigation. You could, of course, install the Australia maps temporarily for the trip.

njkayaker

The original maps were smaller. The later maps have routing info, which makes them bigger. The Roam has 2 GB, which is thin. So, the "map database management" isn't hard to understand.

The California map is 240MB (it appears). There should be enough room for the three regions (VA, MD, DC) you need. Presumably, you deleted all the maps (including those for other continents) you aren't using.

While there's less of a need for it now, for the Garmins, one can install free maps covering a custom region. Where this is still useful is getting more up-to-date maps.

surak

Annoying but the adapter will do the trick, and you only need one so I can't get too bothered by the price.

I like my Bolt a ton more than my Edge 520, it is so much easier to use. I wish I'd gotten the original Elemnt though, sometimes the text for a turn is laughably tiny. I occasionally use my 520 on a different bike just for the heck of it, and it always reminds me of the stark difference in usability.

SJX426 

Update on the map issue. I found that not all the maps had been deleted, consuming vast amounts of storage. Once they were all deleted, I have been able to start loading. Currently, I have most of the east coast states loaded without a problem.

The issue was the amount of time needed to delete all of the US maps. The system is in process of loading the North East maps now.