From Garmin to Karoo. Do they do the same?
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As a long-time Garmin user and attracted by the instagram ads of this new cyclocomputer, in black friday and seeing the 90-day trial without compromise I have started trying to make the change. Some of the things I can't do and I don't know if they will be possible in the medium term are several and for me important:
- Compatibility with Ant + Quark TyreWiz sensors (add field)
- Compatibility with Garmin Remote sensor (di2 buttons style)
- Compatibility with ant + lights (bontrager)
- Customize functions of the di2 buttons
- More customization of layout and size of fields
- Bluetooth link with mobile for notification of missed calls and SMS
- Strava Live Segments
- Some security function similar to Strava Beacon or Garmin livetrack.
- Page scrolling
- long press on a field to easily change it
- Multilanguage
The fact that the hardware does not have a speaker for audible alerts is a great failure although that without solution (garmin varies, new lap, path deviation, etc ..)
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audio is possible via bluetooth. I personally use a bone conduction headset and I actually prefer that to using a buzzer (no one but I is annoyed by the beeps, I can easily switch it off when not needed, when bored, I can switch spotify on - sideloaded on Karoo)
yeah, missing the remote a little, but mainly because I have one in a drawer here: thanks to the big screen, I have pretty much all I need on just 3 screens (1 general info, 1 map, 1 for climbs), and I spend 90% of the time on the main one anyway... I actually would rather like a feature that would automatically show the map when turns are approaching, and the climb page when climbing (yeah, I that lazy I don't even want to push a button )...
ant+ lights... did you try the bontrager remote? much much more convenient than using the garmin... not saying that support wouldn't be welcome on the Karoo, but I just love that remote (modified it so I can use it on the hoods, just like the Garmin remote)
beacon/livetrack... some users sideload 3rd party apps in order to do that. personally, Whatsapp is my go to app since all people in my riding group already use it to communicate + it allows me to send messages from Karoo in case we get separated
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In my country earphones are prohibited in cycling. We are also looking to use the audio for our security, not to go more insecure
This weekend I went out with the karoo instead of 1030 and it has been disappointing. I haven't loaded a route but I wanted to navigate to a city, isn't it possible?
Also that the fields do not have units makes at a glance only see meaningless numbers on the screen
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yes, in my country too 😉! the headset I use is bone conducting hence open ear. I would never use in ear devices on the bike or when running, even on just one ear! Actually I find these headsets even cut some of the wind noise down, hence they probably help me hearing stuff better.
navigation without a route is possible: find the place you want to navigate to on the map and long press on it, Karoo will calculate the route to go there. For the moment, Karoo needs an internet connection in order to convert addresses to GPS coordinates, hence this is only possible if you have a SIM card, or connect your unit to your phone via wifi. Navigation to addresses while offline will be implemented later
Finally, yes, the lack of units makes it a bit confusing at first. I got used to knowing which field is which rather fast, but for people who start using the unit, or use it infrequently, it probably is an issue... raise a ticket with hammerhead: they prioritize issues depending on the amount of customers requests.
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yeah, I know. I used to have to do that on my Garmin, this was a real pain (for some reason, entering addresses on the 820 was even worse...) the better screen of the Karoo makes it easier, but it's still annoying
Anyway, while we wait for Hammerhead to implement that, we can still use a SIM (or use phone as a wifi hotpoint) or sideload another app which comes with addresses offline, like OSMand for example.
I personally got a SIM and sideloaded Google Maps, just because I find it pretty great at finding places through a vague description like "café" or "boulangerie" and figuring out wether they're open or not as I often ride on sundays. Beats asking locals when they are difficult to find. -
One thing that is missing with the Karoo at this point regarding ANT+ compatibility: I would definitively like to see support for the Quarq ANT+ TyreWiz Sensors (as I have two sets of those I would love to use with the Karoo).
I also use the Garmin UT800 ANT+ front light. However, controlling them via the Karoo would only be nice to have (if at all). Since the Karoo now supports the Garmin RTL51x radar rear light, ANT+ light support is where it should be for me.
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