Garmin Edge 530 to Hammerhead Karoo 2

[@Thosewhowander]

This is the review i was looking for! Tnx

[@JMCyclingVideos]

Glad I could help!

[@kaynichole1846]

Great job! Keep up the amazing content!

[@JMCyclingVideos]

Thank you so much!

[@elizabethjamison5281]

I had both mounted to my handlebars and the Karoo 2 gave consistently higher readings for both speed and distance.

[@JMCyclingVideos]

While I haven't done a side by side, I can't say there's any discernible difference. Plus, I leave it to the other content creators like DC Rainmaker and GPLama to do that type of comparison.

[@AntonPietersen]

Just an FYI... For recovery time and FTP etc. one can sync up to Suunto, who partners with Training Peaks. Then within the Suunto app you keep track of your recovery times, fitness levels, fatigue scores etc. That's one of reasons why I got the Hammerhead Karoo 2 in the first place was because of the partnership with Suunto and Training Peaks. I've been with Suunto for close to 7 years and haven't had any issues.

[@JMCyclingVideos]

Thanks for the info! I was unaware Suunto allowed that with uploaded rides. That's a great workaround.

[@Millicente]

With them reducing the price this far I’m excited thinking about a Karoo 3 coming by next season

[@JMCyclingVideos]

I know! Has to be the reason for the drastic price reduction. I’m all about competition in the market so thinking about what the Karoo 3 will have to offer gets me just a little bit excited.

[@prodius24h]

Когда предположительно выйдет Karoo 3?

[@JMCyclingVideos]

неуверенный. Unsure. Hopefully Google translate worked well enough.

[@prodius24h]

Ок

[@zacharykuhns6060]

Did you ever consider the Garmin Edge Explore 2? I just bought the Karoo 2, but I had a hard time deciding between these two. Especially since they are the same price point right now.

[@JMCyclingVideos]

I didn’t actually. It does look to be fairly similar but I was looking to move away from the Garmin ecosystem altogether. They do look very comparable though on paper if you’re content with maintaining the Garmin system.

[@AllenStauffer]

Nice comparison - I'm curious if you're still happy with the Karoo a month later, or if you did end up missing the Garmin training metrics? I grabbed a Karoo 2 and returned it because I missed Connect and having my running (Garmin watch) and cycling (then Karoo 2) in "separate" places and not getting the Garmin insights from cycling workouts. I bought an Edge 840 to replace it, and had some ugly bugs/issues with it and sent that back planning to rebuy the Karoo and deal with not having my cycling in Connect, but the sale ended before the refund processed for the 840. 😭😅 Now I'm not sure if I try to ask them to return my return, or hope the Karoo price drops again soon, or just wait to see if something else comes out, hah.

[@JMCyclingVideos]

I'm still super happy with it. If I had to manage any sports or devices other than for cycling, I probably wouldn't have went away from Garmin, to be honest. The features and updates are nice on the Karoo, for sure, but integration of all sports and fitness activities in one location would've been more important for me. Regarding the edge 840, I'm certain that Garmin will end up fixing and patching software to make it stable if that's the route you choose.

[@dannysymons7219]

Just ordered myself a karoo 2 because the price drop, my ELEmnt (1st edition) let me down at the battery. 2.5 years old butt 1 ride -+ 3 ours it's dead.

[@JMCyclingVideos]

Unfortunate to hear about your Wahoo. 3 hours is not acceptable. I hope the Karoo 2 works well for you! I've been loving mine. No regrets at all.

[@thierrysf]

I bought a Garmin edge 530 2 months ago. It never worked (the elapsed time measurement was totally wrong, so all the stats were off). The Garmin customer service was atrocious. No contact possible either by telephone or by email during the entire month of August (it is well known that cyclists never ride in August, so they think they can get away with no customer service in summer...). In addition, the ergonomics of the edge 530 are absolutely rubbish, worthy of the 90s. The visibility of the data is poor for someone who has poor eyesight like me (screen too small, insufficient contrast). So after this disastrous experience with Garmin, I returned the product to the sender and tried the outsider that no one talks about (except in the US), the Karoo 2 from Hammerhead. It's a completely different approach, built on the Android platform. Result: screen 10 times more legible, 2020s ergonomics (touchscreen), very frequent updates. I particularly appreciate the main screen which combines map, speed, navigation and climbs as soon as there is one listed. The navigation is much more user-friendly than on the subpar Garmin screen and makes fewer errors (I have the impression that the Karoo GPS chip is more precise). In short, a real pleasure to use for under $250!!! I only see 2 small flaws: Battery life is limited by the very bright screen to around 10 hours (more than enough for me) The device is significantly heavier (+4oz) and bulkier than a Garmin edge 530, therefore less suitable for competition (again not a problem for me). If the reliability is there (it's too early to judge but it is solidly built and did not miss a beat in the rain last Sunday), it is the deal of the century compared to Garmin GPS, which in comparison look totally obsolete and way too expensive.

[@JMCyclingVideos]

Love this review. Glad it's working out for you. I've not once regretted making the switch. I love my Karoo 2 so far several months in.

[@bjornwybo4700]

The karoo runs by itselfs? Hits speeds up to 50 and distance…. ?

[@JMCyclingVideos]

Haha. That just the display it uses when setting up data fields so you can visualize it.

[@bjornwybo4700]

@@JMCyclingVideos ok, i bought the karoo2, i did not recieved it yet. I had a garmin 820, i hope its a good upgrade

[@JMCyclingVideos]

I hope it works out well for you! Since the 820 is now a few generations old, I think you’ll see a big leap forward in technology.

[@maxford27]

If you're riding with no route then decide to go somewhere specific can you input an address or location while away from wifi?

[@JMCyclingVideos]

This isn't actually something I've ever done (certainly couldn't do it on my Edge 530). But, I believe you can pick a spot on the map and route to it, but not actually enter an address. It can route and reroute with offline maps, but you can also tether it to a hotspot or have a simcard for online accessibility. Good question! That's my understanding at least. One thing that I REALLY like about Hammerhead is that they regularly update the software and incorporate new features, as opposed to Garmin who only issue updates once every 3+ months at best.

[@maxford27]

@@JMCyclingVideos you can't do that on a garmin either? Maybe I'm expecting too much out of these things.

[@JMCyclingVideos]

@@maxford27 Not with the 530 as it's not a touch screen. Maybe it's possible with the 830/840 series or 1030/1040 series. I haven't used those so I can't comment on them, but I can say that the price point on those is WAY higher than the current sale price of the Karoo 2.

[@maxford27]

@JMCyclingVideos aaah. That makes sense. Thanks for the replies. Great video BTW.

[@JMCyclingVideos]

@zacharykuhns6060 do you know if this is possible on the Edge Explore 2?

[@assortedmountainlife]

Was this graded on a non-HDR display? The exposure is very low. Viewing on a 2021 MBP 16" M1Max.

[@JMCyclingVideos]

I'm not sure what exactly the issue is. It plays fine on every program I use until it's uploaded into KZbin. Gotta be something to do with the file format. I'll have to adjust some settings.

[@assortedmountainlife]

@@JMCyclingVideos I've had the opposite problem occur where the exposure is too high after getting to KZbin. 🤷‍♂️

[@MyFishyButt]

Karoo2 doesn't support Shimano DI2

[@JMCyclingVideos]

Good to note. Not applicable to me as I run SRAM, but it could affect a lot of others.

[@Millicente]

You can add back shimano support by side loading since it’s basically an android phone. Very easy to do too

[@christopherandstephaniehil5782]

Hammerhead owned by SRAM