When will the Karoo be a Garmin killer?
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So for those of us that bought into the hype all those years ago about this new cycling computer that was going to change the world, why are we still here? I had high hopes for that Karoo and then the Karoo 2, but all these years later I am starting to look at Garmin and all of the features it has that the Karoo has promised, but has yet to implement. Or has never even been mentioned as something Karoo is working towards.
It has been years of dealing with the same crap from Hammerhead. The dashboard is a waste, you have to have another tool to do any metric analysis. I'm happy to use Strava, but then why even have the dashboard? Signals dropping from sensors mid-ride? This is the bread and butter of a cycling computer, yet Hammerhead has yet to get this right, but they have created new startup graphics several times. There have been several requests for changes in tone/volume for the beeps. If I still had 20-year-old ears I might be able to hear the different beeps. Same with the graphics, my eyes are not what they used to be, but Hammerhead doesn't appear to care about the portion of the population that doesn't hear or see as well as when we first started riding.
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Official comment
Hi All,
The Hammerhead Dashboard now has a ride review option, this was released in the recent Software Update. We will continue working on enhancing the ride review experience on the Dashboard.
Thank you for your interactive feedback and suggestions!
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@Edgar, that’s a pretty crappy attitude to have and can certainly put people off buying a Karoo, your comments are damaging to this company. I’ve seen you post a lot of negativity towards users who would love to see the Karoo improve.
I for one will not recommend anybody to purchase one with comments like that.
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Used to have a Garmin 510 (from, i guess 2015?) and to be honest I was - in general - quite happy with it, and also with Garmin Connect.
Technical I think the Karoo2 is way more advanced than my old garmin. But well... companies have not been sitting still and launched many newer devices in the past years.
But at this moment I also miss many features that I would see as required to equal the playing field. Hammerhead has still a long way to go when it comes to 'off the bike' features. mostly involving the dashboad features where it is lagging behind on the competition.
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Eh, if Garmin adds a USB-C port and fixes one or two more things, the will be back on top. If they add the USB-C over the current micro ports, I would probably switch back to the 10x0 series.
I have Garmin Edge 500 that is the best Garmin except from "working..." and finding satellites. 820 which is trash with a 2 hour battery life, 1000 which I loved until the mount broke and then the power button broken and they wanted $100 to fix it. My wife has a 1030 and the software is worse than the 1000 but at least they fixed the mount so it doesn't rattle anymore.
I tried a wahoo but I felt life that was a step backwards with the screen and functionality. My wife has a wahoo also but always uses her 1030, even though the USB port is very very picky.I would also really like the profiles to be able to save settings such and outdoor - GPS on and indoor - GPS off.
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Does it need to be?
Did Android kill iOS? Did Windows wipe out Mac? Nope and nope.
Karoo II has some great features that most of us really enjoy, and yes there are bugs and quirks that need addressing along the way. I just find talk like this a bit naff, and potentially off-putting for new users who might come into the forum before buying a device.
Why not sit tight and enjoy being part of a community that shapes the future of your GPS.
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When the marketing team comes out with statements like
'Get the most advanced, full-featured GPS cycling computer on the market.'
Then yes, I rather think it does.
This isn't coming in at an aggressive price point, it is expensive for a cycling head unit, so they should have all the features and most of the reliability that 90% of GPS head units do.
I was taken in by the marketing (to be fair, their marketing team are top notch, fair play to them) but it is missing features that my old wahoo had and I'm a bit annoyed about that.
This forum is full of people defending Hammerhead, but ultimately we've paid for something that doesn't live up to the promise. You may be happy with that, I'm not.
Most of the software updates at the moment are either flashy new bits to snare new customers, or seemingly aimed at reducing returns within 45 days (streamlined onboarding experience)
It isn't about putting new customers off, it is about honest appraisal of the things the karoo does and doesn't do, and hammerheads response (or lack thereof) to them.
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@dave penson - nicely put and spot on. Features like SmO2 have been available on Garmin and Wahoo for a long time. Now we're seeing compatability and the ability to record data from products such as Supersaipens on these devices. Karoo is lagging behind in this arena and they need to start catching up and provide new features.... Yes, bugs need to be addressed where they exisit but I'm seeing very little product advancement at the moment. I wait in anticipation for the weekly updates, only to be left dissapointed. The K2 has huge potential and I like and enjoy using the product. Hammerhead needs to start making some serious in roads with developing more sensor compatability features if it is ever going to compete or surpass what Garmin and other products already offer.
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