WE PUT THE WAHOO ELEMNT ROAM AND GARMIN EDGE GPS UNITS HEAD TO HEAD AND FIND…. THEY’RE BOTH REALLY GOOD… HOPEFULLY, THIS HELPS YOU DECIDE WHICH IS BEST FOR YOU!

Words and Images: James Raison.

No need to faff about, you’re here because you want to know which unit to buy or retrospectively justify what you’ve already bought.

Let’s jump in then!

HARDWARE

The hardware split couldn’t be more different. The Edge 830 is sleek and stylish while the Roam goes for function over form. Here’s what the pros and cons are of each unit.

Screen

There’s a big split with how each unit approaches the screen. So let’s break it down

Touch: The Edge 830 is a touch screen, so if you insist on prodding your GPS’s face then it’s the only option. I found the touch a mixed bag with the Edge 830. I like how it makes setup and menu navigation quicker and easier. It frequently frustrated me because it’s a small touch screen and requires precision when you’re riding. It’s also flummoxed by winter gloves because it thinks all swipes are presses and gets dirty as hell in sweaty summers.

The Wahoo uses 6 large buttons that are solid, clicky and satisfying to press. That’s all there is to it really. Button fans will prefer the Wahoo and touch screen fans will prefer the Garmin.

Optics: The ELEMNT Roam has a fantastically readable screen; vivid, contrasty, and with minimal reflectivity. My job testing a bunch of GPS units sees me photographing them a lot while riding and I noticed the ELEMNT Roam was the easiest I’ve experienced. It’s super crispy and not shiny. Plus it’s Gorilla Glass so should better resist scratching. Love it. The Garmin is the other end of the spectrum; quite dull and reflective. It really needs the backlight on most of the time to make sure it’s readable whereas the ELEMNT Roam doesn’t. Those with poor eyesight; get the ELEMNT Roam.

Case: The sleek Edge 830 and homely ELEMNT Roam are at opposite ends of the design spectrum. The Edge 830 is sleek, minimalist, and rather handsome. The ELEMNT Roam has been beaten with the ugly stick. The Roam has a larger case to screen size too, partly because of the cool LEDs, and also the buttons along the chin. Personally, I don’t care about the aesthetics of the Roam because it’s all in the name of usability and functionality. The Edge 830 is undoubtedly the better looker though.

Wrapping up the hardware:

Wahoo: Chunky, ugly, but very usable
Garmin: Sleek, classy, decent touch functionality for a small screen (when not wearing gloves) but with the compromised screen optics.

APP/PLATFORM

Wahoo and Garmin treat phone apps very differently.

Wahoo’s ELEMNT app can manage setup and most of the device features. I love smartphone setup because it speeds everything up, particularly your data pages. You can manage most of the device with the speed and convenience of your large touch screen phone. Garmin has a minimal smartphone setup integration; only pulling some of your personal data from Garmin Connect when you set it up and only saving a couple of minutes. All of the device tasks must be done on the Edge 830. Thankfully the touch screen makes it a little quicker than the button mashing on other Garmin units but it still feels weird that the market leader hasn’t done smartphone setup properly.

The ELEMNT app also stores your ride history, heart rate and power zones, manage workouts, and 3rd party integrations.

Garmin Connect is a far more comprehensive and robust fitness tracking platform than Wahoo’s offering. It’s for people wanting to monitor calorie expenditure, step counts, sleep quality, and plenty more. For cycling, there’s quite deep analysis of power data including all of the cycling dynamics so the nerds can get plenty of value out of it. I use Garmin Connect daily and love drowning in the data it harvests from my Vivoactive watch and Edge units. It’s one of the main reasons I keep going back to Garmin despite the regular review units from other brands coming in.

Garmin also has the Connect IQ app - recently removed from Garmin Connect to be its own platform - that opens up your Garmin to a substantial suite of other widgets and third-party apps. From route builders like Ride with GPS or Komoot, to Beers Earned (which does exactly what you’d think), to graphical data displays, or weather radars, the Connect IQ is quite a cool platform and everything on it is free.

Wrapping up the software offering:

Wahoo: a better app to control your bike GPS
Garmin: a better platform for all your activity and fitness tracking.

HARDWARE ECOSYSTEM

Garmin’s full hardware platform that connects to Edge units is substantial; lights, radars, power meters, and smart trainers following their acquisition of Tacx. It’s a compelling ecosystem the gear nerds. Wahoo doesn’t have quite the same offering but their industry-dominating indoor trainers is a strong reason to invest for the indoor cycling enthusiasts. In reality, though, I don’t think there’s much reason to use those other products as justification for buying either. I’ve had commenters on my YouTube channel report their Wahoo works with various Garmin products too, like the Varia radar as an example.

This one is hard to split given how much from each brand will work cross-platform.

USABILITY

I’m willing to bet the farm that most cyclists would prefer the Wahoo to use if they didn’t have pre-existing experience with Garmin. I suspect there’s some Stockholm Syndrome with the Garmin system because of how long they’ve dominated the market. They also don’t have smart phone setup which is becoming more anomalous as time goes on.

Garmin has painted itself into a corner somewhat with its deep and labyrinthine menu structures. They’ve made updates over the years, added a quick menu style drop-down for example, but there’s still that feeling of the Edge 500 generation carrying through. It seems every tweak to the menus is offset by adding more features, and the overall experience is one of complication. Surfing through the endless Garmin menus is a drag on and off the bike.

Wahoos are simpler. The ELEMNT app simplifies device management because of how much you can change without having to touch the Roam itself. Luckily the head unit is still easy to use, both easier than the Garmin, and easy in bike GPS terms. In broad terms though, bike GPS units won’t win any awards for usability. They’re just better or worse within a market segment of mediocre usability.

Wahoo: Straightforward phone app, straightforward head unit.
Garmin: Still carrying a long legacy of Garmin usability issues but with some improvements.

BATTERY LIFE

This is an easy win for the Garmin with both higher claimed battery life and much better in-use battery life during my testing.

I went away for a weekend of riding with the Edge 830 11.5 hours of saddle time with full navigation, ClimbPro, Auto backlight, and BLTE running that whole time. When I got home there was still 54% left. Outstanding. A similar bikepacking trip with all of the same features running on the Wahoo got me 7.5 hours of saddle time before I was around 4%. A drubbing from the Garmin.

That’s the real-world-heavy usage testing. Both units will last longer if you run them lean but that’s not how I use them, so not how I test them.

Garmin: better in heavy use testing
Wahoo: only ok and a little disappointing given the unit’s size.

MAPS AND NAVIGATION

I like the look of maps on both units. The Wahoo has all of the road details you need, but Garmin is much better at building the broader context of the world around you. Garmin’s maps will mark out bus stops, vineyards, forests, and bodies of water. It’s also stuffed with addresses and information of plenty of businesses and points of interests that it can draw routes to - not a feature I’m interested in the age of smartphones but some find it useful. Wahoo’s maps are still plenty good enough though, just with less bling.

Navigation is a tough one to assess head-to-head because I didn’t subject them to exactly the same tests. My thoughts then, are purely anecdotal from my usage. Both units are fine at basic navigation with enough warning and cues to show you where to go. More complex tasks like re-routing can be quite different. Garmin’s re-routing occasionally drove me insane with constant shrieks insisting that I needed to do a U-turn if it ever felt I was off course - which I frequently wasn’t. Over time I was forced to treat all re-route commands from Garmin with scepticism.

The Wahoo seemed a little better and waits a slightly longer before shouting at you and insisting you change direction. It then takes a different approach to getting you back on course; favouring re-routes that don’t involve too much turning. I did notice some strangeness in my testing where turn direction arrows were simply incorrect. So keep an eye on that map page.

Garmin: absurd detail in the maps, a little patchy when navigating.
Wahoo: solid all-round but not without quirks.

Garmin+Edge+830+Strava+Live+segments.jpg

EXTERNAL INTEGRATION

Both Garmin and Wahoo made the sound decision to integrate with Strava, Komoot, Ride With GPS, and Best Bike Split. Trailforks is available on the Garmin but not the Wahoo, and Relive integrates with the Wahoo and not Garmin.

There’s little to split the units for Strava features. Both units have quality Live Segment integration, and both use Strava routes well. The only difference is the Wahoo can’t turn individual segments on and off and syncs all segments from Strava. The Garmin does let you turn segments on and off. That’s really it.

Both generally play nice with quality external services.

THE GARMIN DEEP FEATURE DIVE

I do want to recognise that Garmin has built an impressive hoard of features that most won’t ever use but some will find add value to their devices.

Things like:

MTB Dynamics for counting your jump number, distance, and hang time.
TrailForks integration.
Grit and Flow to track difficulty and ride smoothness.
Cycling Dynamics for those who want specific tracking of dual-sided power meter data.
Shimano STEPS E-Bike connectivity.
CLIMBPRO to run you through all of the climbs on your pre-built route.

I’ve used a few of these and found them very handy, especially CLIMBPRO and Cycling Dynamics. These don’t really exist in the Wahoo platform so you’ll have to go Garmin if you really want them.

WRAPPING UP

Both the Wahoo ELEMNT Roam and Garmin Edge 830 are darn good units. Neither is perfect though and each comes with their own strengths and weaknesses. I’ve been happy using them both so don’t lose sleep over making the wrong decisions.

So what do I use? Neither. I purchased the Edge 530 because it does much of what I like about the ELEMNT Roam but for less money and with superior battery life. What would I choose if money were no object? The ELEMNT Roam. It’s more user-friendly and is better in the ways I value most day-to-day: screen quality, physical buttons, a useful app, and better route navigating.

You can check out my full reviews of the Wahoo ELEMNT Roam and Garmin Edge 830 if you want to do more research.