Time to try another cycling computer
 

My former cycling computer died years ago. I never replaced it and that was liberating. I don't need to have some device telling me how slow I am. Now that I have a spiffy new bike, I am thinking accessories. Wow! Cycling computers have come a long way! No more wires. No more wheel magnets.

It would be nice to track distance and elevation change. Downloading some routes would be great. A color touch screen that is a bit larger would be helpful now that I'm bordering on elderly. I'm not training for anything specific, so no need for any advanced metrics or training aids.

The Garmin Edge Explore 2 (currently on sale) seems like a good choice. Does anyone have first hand opinions? What other products would you recommend?

I have the explore 2. Battery lasts a long time. Big touch screen works in the rain. My Wahoo HR monitor works well with it. Routes, navigation, on sale? Get one. Garmin gave me some credit for an ancient 4Runner they no longer supported so I took the plunge. Happy I did.

I’ve really liked my Wahoo Bolt v2. Nice display. Long battery life. Links up to my watch easy (for HR) and downloading routes are easy as well.

Wahoo bolt

I really like my Hammerhead Karoo 2. Especially the hill climbing elevation graph that shows my position during the climb.

Bolt V2. Easy to use (except for the lower rt side button. No idea why) and read

Seems like the Explore 2 is going for $250 now, that seems like a great price and would definitely do everything that you are looking for

I'm a tech junkie that used to try allthethingz, but I calmed down about it last year. I think you have great choices now from all of them (Garmin, Wahoo, Karoo). I liked the Hammerhead and the Roam just fine, but I probably lived so long in Garmin's world that I ended up going back.

I bought the Explore 2 and love it. Very long battery, big responsive screen, etc. It lacks some of the advanced metrics that I wouldn't use, but pairs with any cycling accessory I need (my lights, radar, power meters, cadence...). For no reason whatsoever that I can tell, the Explore 2 limits you to three profiles. This is all I need, but I think it's odd that they do this when they don't on their other computers.

It's also a current model, so will get updates for quite a while. I feel like it's a great computer, and that it isn't super expensive is a nice bonus.

Edited to add that I'm also getting worse vision as I age, and the larger screen does indeed help quite a bit. On paper it doesn't seem much, but in real life it's helpful.

What’s up with radar? How does this pertain to cycling?

Rear facing radar to warn you of fast approaching vehicles. They can provide audio and visual warnings through your bike computer. Can be equipped with integrated taillights and cameras. They've become very popular among my cycling friends. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/669024/pn/010-02252-00

Greg

At that price, the Edge Explore 2 is probably a good bet.

Cross shop against the Wahoo Roam v2, but the Roam costs a bit more.

Wahoo Bolt vs Roam - basically the same, the Roam has a larger screen and few extra LED indicator lights.

Wahoo v Garmin - Wahoo does 99% of device setup through a phone app. Super easy. Garmin does a lot of device setup on the device itself - more clicking around, kinda annoying, but mostly do it once and that's that.

Garmin Edge 130 Plus. I'm anti-tech and it sold me.

+1. I'm "pro-tech," but wanted something small and (relatively) low-cost for racing. The Edge 130 Plus has nearly all the features of a larger, more expensive computer (navigation/HRM/speed-cadence sensor/power meter/rear radar/phone integration) in a small, unobtrusive package.

Greg

A wheel based sensor is still nice to have even with the fancy new computers.

GPS is still not as good as a wheel sensor for your current speed and/or getting the most accurate distance reading.

Mostly all that really effects though is the instant readout of your speed. With the sensor it will behave like you expect a bike computer to behave, just relying on the GPS you will see the speed read low under tree cover and/or jump around by big values that don't pass the sanity test as you speed up and slow down.

I just rely on the GPS when mountain biking and don't bother with a cadence sensor either. Don't really care about my speed and the fewer things on the bike to break or snag on things the better. For the road I like the sensors.

I think the easiest to use is the karoo2 since it functions like a phone with its android operating system. The screen is large and colorful and easy to read.

Second for me is the wahoo. I like the led lights for gauging efforts and it was also pretty easy to use with the phone/app as the primary interface.

Lastly is garmin, admittedly haven’t used the current 40 models but did use the previous 1030 and 530. They are my least favorite to use with a clunky os making for a less intuitive setup and general usage.

All work ok though and think you can’t really go wrong with any of the main players.