I'll have to do the same if they don't release something soon. My current Garmin doesn't last more than 1:30 minutes.

I've looked at Sunto, but I honestly can't figure out their products. They are like the New Balance of watches. So many models that you can't figure out which one is which

Yeah, I looked at them as well. I think I like the Suunto Vantage V (think because I’ve never seen one in person).

I’m just hesitant to buy one of the brands I don’t have experience with and aren’t as big because the only people I’ve ever seen wearing them are being paid to do so haha.

It's a funny thing....

My Forerunner 220 has been a monster watch. Always worked. I use it for running, swimming. It's had solid battery life for years (up until the last 6 months). By all accounts it's been an amazing piece of hardware.

Yet for some reason I really don't want to buy more into the Garmin ecosystem. I think it's mostly because I see how much better Wahoos is.

Yeah, seems that is the common reason for hesitation from people with Garmin. I know some people like it but it seems a lot of people that are more into the performance analysis and training plan side of things like prefer Wahoo.

I want to buy into a whole ecosystem not just piece products together that when I have an issue with something I can have one company to talk to and not multiple that will push blame to the other. In my ideal world I'd have my Elemnt Bolt head unit, Wahoo Rival watch, Tickr HR, Wahoo speed and cadence, and get rid of my Tacx Vortex Smart (which has not been a good experience for me and Tacx happens to be owned by Garmin now) to buy a Kickr of some sort.


Not saying that Garmin isn't good in any way at all but Wahoo is just so nice and clean. Wahoo kind of reminds me of Apple in the way that "it just works." Yes, I am an Apple guy in pretty much every way so I'm biased but the fact that Wahoo has such an easy UI/UX in everything draws me in that much more.

The products are the way you draw me in but the user experience is how you keep me long term. Which is why I sooooo badly wish that the Rival would be released. And ASAP.

agreed, garmin ecosystem is a big reason why I stick around. kind of like I won't switch to a Pixel cause I'm too ingrained in facetime, imessage, etc. on iOs.

Wahoo need to hurry up and buy trainingpeaks or something

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the world's still turning? >>>>>>> the world's still turning

first quarter, 2020. don't ask me how i know.

how do you know?

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80/20 Endurance Ambassador

They will have to hurry if that's true. They lost their FCC ID for the Rival and (unless they snuck another through) have not re-applied for one.

Wahoo is cleaner but it also has a lot less features. Now some of the Garmin features are junk, but some of them are actually powerful. The biggest reason I gave up on Wahoo was the dismal mapping and very limited navigation, Garmin is just way way ahead there. And also the lack of activity profiles, that was the other big one.

It's also easier to have fewer bugs when you have fewer features. But I still dealt with some annoying bugs during my Wahoo stint, like being unable to download courses anywhere other than on my home wifi, they eventually fixed it but that was really infuriating while it lasted. And the Elemnt was really buggy when it first came out, kind of a mess really, it took about a year to really get it to a pretty good level. Their main area of clear superiority is on device setup, setting up a Garmin is a cumbersome PITA, with no clear logic why you can do some setup through Garmin Connect but so much else only through the device. But once you have the Garmin set up, it's the more powerful device.

Competition is great in this space and if your needs are simple the Wahoo devices work well, and the interface is simpler and somewhat cleaner. I hope they successfully maintain a decent position in the marketplace because Garmin needs the competition.

Interesting. I had the exact opposite experience. I had a garmin 520 that was a nightmare to setup, constant issues getting a signal or uploading. The mapping didn't seem to work at all when on any sort of trail/fire road.

I got an Elemnt and it was so easy to setup and configure that I was curious what the hell Garmin was even thinking. I've had zero issues with using maps and I don't think I have yet to encounter a single bug.


Funny how peoples experiences differ.

Pretty easy to pair everything with the 520 Plus...when people say it's difficult, it seems like they're just complaining. I'll tell you what's been difficult, the Wahoo Elemnt Mini. Won't pair with the Wahoo cadence sensor that I put a brand new battery in. Good thing I got it at Performance sale for my GF...but holy hell that's annoying.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

As long as no one else used their FCC ID, they can still use it.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

haha. Funny, I could literally invert wahoo with garmin in your statement in my experience.

I wonder why it is people have such drastic experiences with the same devices. I've never had any issues with pairing anything on my wahoo. Even other garmin sensors that I use on my bike

someone posted a supposed representation of this product today, and according to my reporting it's not anything like a valid, or even close-to-ready, product. it's obviously no secret that wahoo may be developing this product, because the rumors surrounding it are enduring (as evidenced by this thread). but i stopped asking about it over a year ago, because the body language i got was always that i shouldn't hold my breath. so i stopped holding my breath. you may hold yours if you want to. but please cease from publishing representations of not-wahoo-watches that aren't coming. thanks for understanding.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I didn't publish anything. Why are you replying to me?

i think you might've replied to the post where it was published. i think 2 or 3 of you did. no harm, no foul. i excised that post, and the replies to it (yours might have been one). i'm reply to you because i think yours was the most recent post after the posts i deleted. i don't mean to pick on you specifically.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

So, there was an ebay listing a few days back that were on r/triathlon. The Seller had a bajillion good ratings but he listed it at $69.99 and had five of them. If anything it seemed like a photoshopped garmin box to me. There's no way it wasn't a fake because the last action for the Rival executed with the FCC was a request for FCCID dismissal by Wahoo's agent.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

i posted to this post, and i think i pretty much misinterpreted what you wrote. sorry about that. i'm going to try it again. to reiterate (perhaps this aligns with your sense of it) wahoo has no watch. it might have one in the future. but, according to my reporting, not in the near future.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

It's all good on my end, I understood what you were saying. The three thoughts in my head when I saw that post in r/triathlon that I referenced were: fakes, scam, or stolen property.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Seems like there's an opportunity for Wahoo to work closely with either Polar or Suunto. Both have quality multisport watches plus a cloud platform, but nothing much for cycling. (Well, Polar does still sell their old cycling computers, but not in the US apparently.) I'm too clueless on the financial aspects to speculate on stuff like mergers, but a joint marketing agreement and platform interoperability sure seem feasible.

I'm not a fan of Garmin and I also have no real problem with Garmin when viewed in comparison to other market offerings, but the Fenix has been a great watch. I would look at the latest version. Also.....always go Sapphire glass.