I've wondered in the past if Wahoo would get into the GPS watch market..

I've had an Elemnt bolt for around a year now - I'd quite like something with a bigger screen but not a brick like the original Elemnt - something in between may pique my interest...

https://forum.slowtwitch.com/...ng_soon%3F_P6534110/

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--Chris

I've been putting off getting a new headunit because I wonder if something new from either Garmin or Wahoo is imminent. I have a dinosaur pioneer ca500 which works wonderfully but it's not very modern, lacking any mapping or other smart features.

I am glad I bought the Wahoo... I let my daughter use my Garmin Edge for her first MTB race of the season, this past saturday. She lost it on the first lap. I basically permanently attached it to her sled and it still came off.

I don't have much patience so when I get cryptic emails.. I want to know immediately what is being announced.

"I'm pregnant!"
"Congrats... what's the sex?"
"It's been a week"

https://groups.google.com/...nt-users/psrKQatfbWM

Element Roam?

I really hope it's a watch. I'd just love to get all my data into a single ecosystem. And the Wahoo Element is so much better than Garmin Forerunner it's a joke.

If Wahoo does release a watch though, it really needs to be configurable without being tethered to a phone. I always bike with a phone, but rarely run with one, and from time to time need to make adjustments to the displays.

100% agree. My garmin forunner 220 is what I'm using until Wahoo releases a watch. And the 220 is on it's last legs

It's a cycling head unit: https://www.instagram.com/...rce=ig_web_copy_link

It will replace the old Elemnt supposedly. GPS Rumors also seems to think the Rival will also be launched at Sea Otter...but that has been pushed back constinuously.

https://gpsrumors.com/...o-roundup-april-2019

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Aero Kickr

New head unit to replace the Elemnt! Dammit!

Just like when I bought the Fenix 3... literally 2 weeks later, the Fenix 3 HR was released.

If you want to...

It’s April 11.

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--Chris

What a joke, new bolt colors?!


https://www.wahoofitness.com/...ters/gps-elemnt-bolt

They announced an official partnership with Lionel Sanders! He's officially sponsored now, not really that exciting but whatever

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"I swim because that's how I get to ride my bike."

Stupid hype culture, seems like they didn't get the memo from trek

I really just want them to release the green bolt Sagan has.

Please tell me this is a joke....this and the new colors thing can't be it....

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"see the world as it is not as you want it to be"

Limited edition lol.

Not sure why you guys were hoping for a watch. However, the fact that the ROAM didn't get released should make you relatively concerned about the future of any watch. Building GPS units that are reliable ain't exactly cheap.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I'm at sea otter, spending quality time with folks. Wahoo included. This company has big plans for you. And not just color options. And soon.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Have they ever made any updates or releases regarding the fact that they are illegally using open source software on that device without appropriate licensing? The device is really nice I think, but it is a clear violation of GPL.

I'm currently only in the market for a road bike. Got a head unit at Christmas, have a kicker 2017 (so I could get a Climb), bought a pioneer power meter, and my 5x is perfectly fine...so what plans could they have for the proverbial me. If they came out with a watch, it would have to be as good as the 5x but a bit cheaper honestly.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Pictures? Is Sea Otter a closed event to sharing with the public?

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____________________________________________________

sea otter is wide open. think wildflower at its zenith. and then double it. i'll snap some pics.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

maybe the ROAM?? very intrigued by the bolt but hoping some better navigation. currently have a 520 that's just about failing now so trying to deicide if I should just grab the bolt or wait a little while longer to see if something else comes out as an upgrade.

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https://www.strava.com/athletes/11645943 https://www.instagram.com/timeforicecream/

If you are bored hook up with Dustin Adams from we are one composites. Pretty much mostly carbon mountain rims but he just finished a gravel rim.

Not affiliated, just a great local business story. Here’s an article from two years ago when he started up:

https://nsmb.com/...osites-dustin-adams/

Maurice

I wouldn't expect them to announce a watch at Sea Otter. It is a bike event, why release a watch at it?

Wait! Winter is coming. And so it the ROAM.

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Toro Performance

Where are those pictures you promised Slowman? I just pre-ordered a Garmin 530 despite having a Kickr + Climb and need to know if I should have pre-buyers remorse!

beginning of next week i may have some news for you.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Next week ok.... will wait because that 530 is calling my name....crossing my fingers it isn't another color for a Bolt!!!

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"see the world as it is not as you want it to be"

whatever i might write would not be about something that is just another color.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I know...that was tongue in cheek😜

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"see the world as it is not as you want it to be"

I am super curious. This seems like it is Garmin's biggest season of major project announcements that I can remember. They announced the whole MARQ line, massive upgrades to two of their bike computers, and the rumors are at least three major sport watch announcements in a week. Wahoo will really need an awesome marketing splash to steal the thunder away from Garmin. Unless Wahoo massively surprises, I am planning to pre-order a 945 (to complement my just pre-ordered 530).

At this point, it looks like Garmin has the mid-tier and top-tier locked up in the multisport watches and that the battles are at the bottom. I am very interested to see if Wahoo is just taking on Suunto and Polar at the lower- to mid-tier or if they are taking on Garmin at the mid- to top-tier.

i see things differently. some of what i see from garmin tells me that they're behind wahoo in certain ways. they were shut out of stationary. they bought tacx. that places them less far behind wahoo. but wahoo is better than garmin at building a product ecosystem. so, i take your point. but the story is a little more complex. it's like shimano and sram. yes, shimano is bigger and better at much or most of componentry. but sram carves out interesting niches, like 1x. wahoo, for as small as it is compared to garmin, appeals to our community in specific ways that garmin doesn't.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Yeah, my comments were specifically around a multisport watch. You are hitting on those broader strategic magic quadrant measures: vision and ability to execute. Wahoo seems to be killing it in the Vision category.

Agree.

Also, for as much as I'm currently very annoyed at Garmin's (And Suunto's) pricing and positioning strategy, it might work out very well in Wahoo (or another third party)'s favor. Walking into the market with a full featured cycling, running, and triathlon watch with a long battery, great screen, mayyyyybe some music storage (pipe dream) for $399 or $349 would probably be a hit amongst their audience. It seems like Garmin has pushed more and more to getting dollars from more casual fitness enthusiasts (and their stock price is showing it's a good strategy for the company,) but those of us who want a pure sports watch are getting shunted aside and/or being forced to get into 500-750 watches just because you happen to want a long battery life or swim tracking.

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JustinDoesTriathlon

Owner, FuelRodz Endurance.

The Kickr suite is amazing as far as an ecosystem is concerned. If I had the extra dough laying about I'd buy a climb and the fan tomorrow.

But as far as bike computers are concerned and a possible watch? They're very behind. A 520 is better than anything in Wahoo's current computer inventory, that may be an opinion but I did not like the Bolt at all. I've used a Fenix 5x for almost two years and it's been great. Wahoo would have deliver something amazing at a way better price point for me to even entertain leaving the Garmin ecosystem. Sort of like how I've used a MacBook pro for 7 years and never once bought an iPhone. Whatever Wahoo may think about watches, it's gonna have to deliver above and beyond. And if they're just going to soft release a watch it will be kind of dumb.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

let's renew this conversation next week.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Bold statement. Can't wait to see what Wahoo has to show us... I'm currently waiting for the FR 945 since I've sold my 935, but I'm also open to try different things.

let's renew this conversation next week is a bold statement? (don't visit the lavender room!)

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I'm super excited to see Wahoo's vision for triathlon!

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

Any updates? The ROAM looks like a total bust, unless they cut the price by more than $100. I really like Wahoo and root for them, but the technology product management team looks like they took a 2-year vacation. I am curious to see what platform-vision stuff they have in store for us.

here's my view of the ROAM. you might see it as a bust. i don't have any quarrel with anyone who chooses a garmin, but a lot of folks prefer wahoo's compatibility, ecosystem, they prefer the companion app over garmin's analogous desktop or handheld apps.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Thanks, great review. My "bust" comment was thinking it from a product strategy point of view (one of the things I do professionally) rather than my personal preferences. I agree that the companion app is totally sweet, and I wish I would get that with my pre-ordered 530-- the initial setup is a royal PITA. I think that Wahoo will struggle to position this against either the 830 or 530 in the current marketplace. Their marketing tag line leads with "simple set up," which is their strategic differentiator. Garmin equals or betters most of the ROAM's features at $80 cheaper.

Your comments about seeing the screen are very real. I just bought a 1030 for my road bike because of its enormous screen that I can easily read. You can make the fields on that sucker the size of a billboard. Another friend of mine did the same last year.

I think it will be the Kickr and Kickr core 2019 "forget about Kickr 2018" model, to be able to help users like myself who are on their 5th warranty replacement 2018 Kickr. They have been awesome replacing it each time but I cannot imagine how much the vendor change for the 2018 has cost them.

It’s May 1....

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

Garmin 945 and Wahoo Roam both got released...Yawn.

If you don't want music or NFC payment from your watch, the Garmin 945 just adds some additional metrics to stuff on the watch I already ignore. <sigh>For instance, because Garmin won't allow wrist HR, the watch ignores all swimming from the training metrics it displays. So I ignore them, because they're wrong. </sigh>

Then, the Wahoo Roam release absolutely convinced me to upgrade from my old Garmin 800 to the new 830. The Roam does not even match the Edge 520 in features.

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I'm closer to the feathered end of the spear than the point.

Based on your article, and Ray's article, there really isn't anything that would attract me to the unit. And lordy it's huge.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

it is gargantuan. megalithic. if the elemnt is. because it's the same size.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Kind of like...why do phones keep getting bigger?

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

If you think that thing is big, check out the 1030. It is like riding with a freakin' pizza pan on the front of your bike. I do love mine, though. It is perfect on a road bike and when mapping on unfamiliar rides. It would not fit on my TT bike, so I pre-ordered the 530 for that.

what a conundrum! slowtwitchers require head units sufficiently small so as to be unreadable with more than 2 data fields showing.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Haha, TRUTH. My presbyopia friends are moving to the 1030 with three fields. It is like an iPad with the visual impairment setting switched on.

Unreadable? I display four datafields on my 520+ just fine. Granted it's on my TT Bike. But, having a screen that huge is annoying. It's like the people who want music on their Garmin. I don't want to take SMS or Phone Calls on my damned head unit. I want to ride and have the GPS be accurate.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.