It’s a bit bigger than I probably need, it does things well and there’s no touchscreen issues. If you want to do it from your handlebars, there’s a pretty darn strong chance the Edge 1030 can do it. So if you find a good deal on the Edge 1030, I’d grab that.
Note that Garmin released the Edge 1030 Plus last summer (2020), which includes a handful of new features, but many of those new features have been added to the original Edge 1030 since launch, and Garmin continues to add new features to the base Edge 1030 (even just last week).
When it comes to depth of mapping features with no price limit, there’s really no competition here – the Edge 1030/1030 Plus wins every time.
In this case, the two picks are the Garmin Edge 1030 Series & Hammerhead Karoo 2. I use the units interchangeably, and don’t have any issues with the touchscreen – but also don’t miss the Edge 830 when I’m using the Edge 530. It’s simply that for the vast majority of people, the Edge 530 has everything they need (including me). Look, there’s absolutely nothing at all wrong with the touchscreen-capable Edge 830. Finally, you’ll notice I didn’t include the Edge 830 here.
Still, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it.īoth of these units are usually about $300, though the Edge 530 is on sale for $249 right now (and 159-180EUR in Europe, which is astounding). This seems to mirror most of the comments in my post on it (even ones from the last few days). And then there’s the 5% of the time where something, often minor, doesn’t work. Like, 95% of the time everything is great. My ‘mostly’ comment earlier on with the Wahoo BOLT V2 is that it mostly works for me. Sure, it has fewer features (a lot less), but it’s also just simpler for many folks to pick up and go. There’s no fiddling with trying to get, or keep, the pairing, nor is it complicated to find features. Atop that – one of the biggest points for the Wahoo is the phone integration, which is super smooth and ‘just works’. And it supports all the sensors you’re likely to use these days, including Garmin’s Varia Radar.
Meanwhile, the Wahoo BOLT V2 added a color display this past spring, as well as full maps onboard. And of course – the biggie for the Edge 530 was that it now includes detailed routable maps for your region. Atop that, for mountain bikers, there’s a massive swath of features from trail routing to jump metrics. It’s super cool for hilly/mountainous routes. ClimbPro being one of the biggest, which automatically shows each segment of your climbs as you go through them on a course. Starting with the Edge 530 – it got a boatload of new features upon launch a few years back. For what the Wahoo BOLT lacks in features, it does make up for in simplicity and ease of use. If we were to play purely a features game, the Edge 530 would win this category no problem (or the Edge 830 if you want to pay $100 more). With that, let’s dive into it! Best All-Around Bike GPSįor this category we’ve got the Garmin Edge 530 & Wahoo BOLT (V2) And if you want to support the work I do here, consider using any of the Amazon/Competitive Cyclist/Wiggle/etc links below. So if I like a device, it’s because it’s a legit good device I want to use. Oh, one more thing, if you’re new around here note that I don’t take any money/sponsorships/whatever from any of the companies. These will all pop out pretty quickly (as in, over the next 12-18 hours). Further, I found the previous guides just got so unwieldy to make and read. The reason for this is frankly pretty simple: People don’t search for “Sports Tech Recommendations”, they search for “Best Cycling GPS”. The content is the same, just broken out into three shorter and more focused guides instead. – GPS Watch Recommendations (Running/Hiking/Triathlon/Swimming) Previously I had one giant page with every category: Running, cycling, swimming, action cameras/drones, sensors, etc… And this year is basically no different, except that I’ve split it apart into a few different guides: Now this year I’m doing things a bit differently. It’s a condensed list of my recommendations. This list isn’t here to compile every option on the market in an effort to make every manufacturer happy. My goal here being to give my specific recommendations – exactly the same recommendations I’d give to my own friends and family, based on the continual usage of most of these products in product testing and comparisons – as well as just my day-to-day riding. It’s that time of year again – the annual Sports Technology Buyer’s Guides, with this one focused specifically on the best bike computers and accessories.