Simple vs techy—-Wahoo Element Bolt vs Garmin Edge 530

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
I’ve been usung a wahoo element bolt for over two years but recently purchased an Edge 530 after starting to dislike the wahoo navigation and also the integratiin of my varia radar with the bolt(garmin must be controlling this somehow as it consttantly disconnects all of a sudden).
My real issue is that I like a bunch of the garmin features but why is it so complicated? I love the color screen, elevation pages etc but the buttons are anything but easy to push, the process to select something is a bitty needy as it’s multiple presses to select something and the software is very glitchy. Of the4 or 5 rides I have used it for theunit has frozen atleast 3 times, required reconnecting to the garmin connect app and just been a pain in the ass to upload a ride.
Steer me in the right direction...the nav kicks ass and dcrainmaker praised this unit, why am I struggling with it so much? I have spent more time fiddling with this in the last two weeks than I have in overtwo years with the wahoo.
 

terrabike01

Well-Known Member
Maybe your going too fast. User error? lol. Ive had my 530 for over a year now and had zero issues with it. Only once did it freeze up and sometimes it takes a while to connect with my phone. Otherwise no issues. You sync it with garmin express and install updates?
 

shrpshtr325

Infinite Source of Sarcasm
Team MTBNJ Halter's
ill second user error, my 1030 (different beast i know) has been pretty much flawless, there is some inherent complexity requirements to not having the touchscreen on the 530, button presses to change menus and scrolling (i tried a 520+ at one point and had to send it back because the lack of touchscreen made it cumbersome IMO)
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
Maybe your going too fast. User error? lol. Ive had my 530 for over a year now and had zero issues with it. Only once did it freeze up and sometimes it takes a while to connect with my phone. Otherwise no issues. You sync it with garmin express and install updates?
I don’t connect to my macbook so no express?
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
ill second user error, my 1030 (different beast i know) has been pretty much flawless, there is some inherent complexity requirements to not having the touchscreen on the 530, button presses to change menus and scrolling (i tried a 520+ at one point and had to send it back because the lack of touchscreen made it cumbersome IMO)
I guess the wahoo simplicity spoiled me. I don’t need a laptop to use it and the wahoo app is flawless really. I really want to like it but it just seems way too busy. My neighbor has a 530 and says he has no issues and has never connected to his laptop. My macbook air has no usb ports so how can I connect the 530 to it? It didn’t seem to want to link to anything besides my phone via bluetooth.
 

shrpshtr325

Infinite Source of Sarcasm
Team MTBNJ Halter's
i think you can update it through your phone too, i dont think iv plugged mine into the computer for anything except to full files for upload during the garmin connect outage last month. (dont need garmin express for that)

if you have apple products tho i cant help you, we are an android house over here

also WTF?!?!?!?! people are buying laptops without USB ports? htf do they neglect such a basic function and still manage to sell those overpriced bricks?
 

serviceguy

Well-Known Member
Once you setup the Bluetooth connection to the phone and/or the internet through wifi it will upload automatically. Unless Garmin gets hacked again. I’ve only used the cable connection to update the firmware and the maps, but I think last update was installed wirelessly. I can see the buttons be a less intuitive interface than the touchscreen, that’s why I ended up buying the 830, but that is the only difference between the two models.


also WTF?!?!?!?! people are buying laptops without USB ports? htf do they neglect such a basic function and still manage to sell those overpriced bricks?

Because so they can sell you another overpriced brick with all some of the ports you actually need. And claim it’s featherlight.
 
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1speed

Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
I've been considering going the other way recently - I've been a long time Garmin user (and I mean "long" time - I go back to the Motion Based days and the chunky ForeRunner.) In my experience the last few years Garmin is falling behind. The core functionality (GPS signal) is not what it used to be. I'm not sure if that's because there's some kind of interference with more and more wireless and satellite signals running into one another (I know nothing about that so I don't even know if that's possible.) But whatever the reason, I have more issues today with losing signal than I ever did with my old 510 unit from ten years ago. (The 510 was the best pure cycling GPS unit I ever had - it didn't have as many bells and whistles, but it delivered on what it did offer better than anything I've had since.) I use a 520 Plus now, and I do like the turn-by-turn functionality, but that's about the only feature this has that the 510 didn't offer that I regularly use and given the choice, I'd happily give that up to get the stronger signal again.

As far as the buttons are concerned, you'll get used to that and it won't be a nuisance - just take some time to set up how you want the whole thing to work. I don't toggle between "ride" and "race" profiles. What I did was set up two screens in one profile - one with metrics for my typical rides and the other with race metrics only (basically a scaled down version with distance, elevation and time.) Then I just toggle between those using the side arrow buttons. It saves me from having to switch between profiles.

Another thing that baffles me to this day is how moody GarminConnect can be - most of the time, my rides automatically upload (and GarminConnect is set up to then automatically send them to Strava) but at least twice a week I have to go into GarminConnect and manually force the upload. That's a weird Bluetooth bug that drives me crazy.

I have no experience with the Element series, but I've heard that most people seem to think the signal strength is better than with Garmins, which is why I'm considering that for my next unit. Sounds like that's not your experience, though.

While I don't think you're going to solve the signal problem (honestly, I really think Garmin is getting worse at that over time), I'd suggest spending a bit more time exploring the setup and features before you give up on it altogether. The nice part about Garmin is that they've been doing all this longer than most, so they have a lot of nice features that you may not even be aware of that allow you to custom fit the unit to your needs. The problem with that seems to be that Garmin is like the Android to Wahoo's Iphone: the former is packed with features that require tie investment to set up and use while the latter is first and foremost designed for ease of use.
 

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
Initial set up is a pain on the Garmin where most of it is done on the unit itself. Its easier with the Wahoo, since its mostly done on via your smartphone.
But for minor things, not sure if I want to drag out my phone all the time.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
A few months ago they had some issues (before the hack) and I am wondering if the software version is stuck on that. Sometimes the updates can be wonky. I updated my 510 for the first time in a long time after that issue in the spring.
 

rick81721

Lothar
Should have gotten the roam, better navigation than the bolt. People really buy these garmin rear radars? I'm more interested in why and what you get out of it.
 

JDurk

Well-Known Member
I found my 520 went a little crazy when I hadn't deleted activities for awhile. I try to delete all when there's about 8-10 in memory. Haven't plugged it into a PC for updates in a long time. Software updates have been working when using Garmin Connect app with the phone.
 
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Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
Should have gotten the roam, better navigation than the bolt. People really buy these garmin rear radars? I'm more interested in why and what you get out of it.
For me wanting one.... on those narrow/no shoulder roads, those freakin hybrid/electric cars surprise/scare the bejesus out of me every now and then.
Tho... not sure if its worth it.
 

jShort

2018 Fantasy Football Toilet Bowl Lead Technician
Team MTBNJ Halter's
The 530 is a pita to get used to. I’ve had it for a while and I’m just getting good at using the buttons without inadvertently hitting another by accident.

I’m probably going to try the Hammerhead 2 when it’s available. I like the idea of an Android based device and they seem like they’ve finally gotten their shit together.
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
i think you can update it through your phone too, i dont think iv plugged mine into the computer for anything except to full files for upload during the garmin connect outage last month. (dont need garmin express for that)

if you have apple products tho i cant help you, we are an android house over here

also WTF?!?!?!?! people are buying laptops without USB ports? htf do they neglect such a basic function and still manage to sell those overpriced bricks?
Apple has their own new port. I bought an adaptor now but everything should be wireless by now.
 
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