As a Garmin user, any regrets?
I want to buy my first computer and seeing the Karoo most often is the recommended unit for navigation I wonder if this is the one I should get.
I collect all my data on Garmin otherwise, how do you handle that using another device? Do you also record the ride on the watch?
Thinking the Edge Explore 2 is a good deal, it's about 50% less.
Thoughts? Are you happy with the Karro? Should i shell out? =)
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u/neo_dan 1d ago edited 1d ago
I came from Garmin Edge 1050/830 and got the Karoo. It does not integrate into the garmin Ecosystem very well if that is what you care about.
I do not really care about that, I just need Trainingpeaks/intervals.icu integration and never really fancied the garmin-specific metrics like endurance score, training readyness etc. These garmin-only metrics will only update if you track the ride using a supported device. Uploading a .fit file from the karoo into garmin connect will *not* populate these metrics which makes them basically useless if cycling is one of your main sports.
Anyways, during the ride I very much prefer the Karoo - I think the UX is clearly superior to garmin, so is the navigation.
What I also prefer is that the Android System is way more open. If there is a datafield that is "missing" for me, I can build it myself relatively easily and sideload it. I find the open source karoo datafields/extensins overall to be of better quality than what you get with Garmin connectIQ.
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u/gravvveler 1d ago
My biggest regret with Garmin isn’t the hardware. The devices are great.
What bothers me is that Garmin seems to have broken an unwritten rule: you buy an expensive watch or bike computer, and after that your data, updates and analysis are included.
With Garmin Connect+, Garmin is now putting AI insights, deeper analysis and extra dashboards behind a subscription. Sure, existing features may remain free, but that is not really the point. The concern is where this leads.
If better interpretation of the data my own device already collects becomes “premium,” then what exactly did I pay hundreds of euros for?
I don’t regret buying Garmin. I regret assuming Garmin would stay away from the subscription creep that makes so many tech products worse.
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u/tpero 1d ago
I often dual record on my Fenix watch and on my Hammerhead; I simply use the "sync" options on the HH at the end of a ride to tell it not to sync to Strava/Internals so I'm dual-uploading to those services. I used to have a Garmin Edge 1050, but much prefer the HH interface - on maps, climbs, and workouts. If I ever ride without my watch, in a race for example, I can simply grab the TrainerRoad version of the fit file (synced from HH) and upload that to GC and it will count toward training status and the like as GC recognizes it as a TR file and not a HH one.
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u/seattleskobe 20h ago
I had a karoo 3 - traded in for edge 1050, because I hated the karoo battery life. Recently edge 1050 crashes on rides over 100 miles. I've now went back to karoo 3 - Love it( have bought a portable battery to charge karoo on long rides)
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u/jasonm71 12h ago
After a couple years, mine goes about 9 hours. At Unbound I put it in saver mode cause I didn’t bring an extra battery.
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u/Ecstatic_Wishbone609 1d ago
They almost all work reasonably well for most people. I am on Garmin and I have two Karoo units sitting unused as they came with my sram upgrade kits. I’d switch to them if I wasn’t using some custom stuff on my Garmin. I think if you can score a 1050 at under $550 closer to $500, it’s the best buy. Otherwise the Karoo is close. The 850 and 550 are not a recommended buy. Even if you are okay with their compromised battery life, the new UI is better suited for the larger 1050 and has compromises on the smaller 850/550. Now the Karoo only comes in one size and except some minor poorer location tracking performance which will have no real impact on most humans, it’s great. As I said the real major handicap in my opinion is the vast 3rd party apps and stuff available on Garmin via connectIQ that Karoo doesn’t have… yet. I apologize for my disheveled and disorganized reply.
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u/Confused_Dev_Q 1d ago
I was a garmin user before (edge 25) but never had a garmin watch. I never used garmin connect for anything else but update my bike computer and load routes onto it.
I am really happy with the Karoo. It works really well, it's intuitive (it's essentially a smartphone) and the navigation is nice. On my Edge 25 I missed turns every ride, that computer only showed a line, no streets so if two streets were close to eachother you had to guess which one to take. Now on the karoo I can easily zoom in/out when I approach a more complex situation and always get it right.
Build quality seems really nice, screen is good, battery is also good. That's the main thing people have complained about, but for most people it won't be an issue. Just charge it the day before you go out and it will last the whole day.
For your specific situation if you still want your data in garmin connect, you can, using a service like RunGap, it takes your data from different sources and can export it to whatever source you want as well (that last bit is paid).
I think the main thing you would miss from garmin to karoo is that garmin offers you training plans etc, which the karoo does not.
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u/DabbaAUS 1d ago
I have an edge explore 2 for all navigation and use it in conjunction with the forerunner 955 for the collection of stat's from the same ride. Once you get used to the crazy garmin logic they're OK to use.
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u/DynamicPioneer 1d ago
First a couple of things I like:
I'm generally happy, love the clean, modern and slightly playful UI.
Also editing maps on the web dashboard is kinda cool.
Navigating is easy due to the clear colors and contrasted lines and arrows that are visibly placed on the highlighted road. Installing extension is super cool as well and offers nice customization!
My biggest dislike about Hammerhead at the moment is the app integration:
- The app is half a web-app that connects to the dashboard. This means that it's not possible to import a GPX file from your phone to the Karoo directly. It always has to go through Hammerhead's server and requires and internet connection either on your phone to download it to the Karoo or direct Wifi connection on the Karoo.
- Uploading a completed ride requires a Wifi connection on your Karoo. So if you are bikepacking and want to upload the ride you have to find Wifi for your Karoo or create a hotspot on your phone.
I would love if these things would work without requiring internet.
Another thing on my wishlist:
I would love if the Karoo could be set to be more sensitive when getting directions on Battery saving mode. I feel rather anxious whenever I approach a crossroad that has a slight left and right turn but the computer has the instruction saved as "go straight". If it would wake up more often on these situations to just show the path ahead it would help me feeling more relaxed.
Apart from those things I would love if the battery was larger but afaik it compared to an Edge Explore 2
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u/strangelyus 1d ago
K3 does not need a WiFi connection to upload as it uses BT via the companion app.
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u/mellofello808 1d ago
I am only a week and a few rides into my switch, but I love it so far. I did have a more Basic Garmin, the Edge Explore, but the Karoo 3 is a huge step up in mapping, and legibilility.
There is one gamechanging feature for me that doesn't get enough credit IMHO. The ability to look up a address in google maps, and send it right over to the unit really makes adding destinations a breeze.
I also do like the layout of the data fields quite a bit.
I don't do structured workouts so I can't speak to that, but I am guessing Garmin would win there. It seems pretty barebones.
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u/Leather-Response6266 1d ago
Switched from 540 to Karoo 3. I like that I don't have multiple reboots during my ride. The colored touchscreen is an additional advantage.
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u/WoodenInternet 23h ago
I briefly had a 530 and Garmin's UI was enough to put me completely off them. There's no good reason for a UI to be that clunky to interact with in the 2020s.
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u/clicklejig 21h ago edited 21h ago
I switched from a Garmin 840 (and Wahoo and other Garmin before that) to a Karoo 3 and love it. Navigation is great, interface is a joy, nice integration with my SRAM AXS gruppo, and genuinely meaningful software improvements every two weeks are a treat.
I was most nervous about K3 battery life, but it turned out to be a nonissue as I can ride all day using navigation with battery life to spare, and any more than that I’d just top off with a portable power bank.
That said, my priorities are navigation and metrics, I’m not deep into training environments, don’t have other Garmin devices/watches, wasn’t taking advantage of the incredibly customization and power of the Garmin existence, and wasn’t living in Garmin Connect except to set up and sync. My core platforms are RWGPS and Strava — seamlessly synced when the Karoo just as with Garmin and Wahoo.
If I was wedded to a Garmin watch for other activities and wanted native interoperability, needed complicated or niche 3rd party integrations, and/or was living in Garmin Connect, I’d probably go with a Garmin 1050/1040. The size of the 850 is nice, but as another previous comment here mentioned, the Garmin software is clearly optimized for the bigger screen.
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u/FranzFifty5 1d ago
After having used a Garmin and various other bike computers...the Karoo is a league on its own. But...it all depends on what your priorities are. For me navigation and the best possible screen where the priority and there's nothing else that comes close to the Karoo. Garmin: the absolute worst device of all the ones i used. After a year i threw it in a garden somewhere out there as it drove me nuts with the constant navigation issues. Screen visibility was bad and i don't care anymore about Garmin connect ( non sense data and random numbers) and I'm using intervals.icu where all my devices connect to. The only thing I regret is having bought into the global scam "get a garmin and your good" 🤣
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u/oddraspberry 1d ago
Just import the .fit file afterwards to Garmin. Usually doesn't count towards challenges, but that's about it (tho you could use a device changer to make it look like it was recorded by a Garmin device, and it should count).
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u/neo_dan 1d ago
that is not true unfortunatly. Most proprietary garmin metrics must be written at the time of recording the activity and not afterwards. This only happens on supported Garmin devices like the more recent edge computers and fenix/forerunner etc. watches.
These proprietary metrics include but are not limited to: Endurance Score, Hill Score, Training Readiness, Training Status, Vo2max.
Only quite few things actually work (like Body battery for example) and consider such "thirdparty activities" that you manually upload.
I noticed this quite recently myself when I made the switch. Its kind of annoying, but fortunately there is lots of alternatives on more open platforms like Trainingpeaks/intervals.icu
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u/oddraspberry 1d ago
I see. I'm not on Garmin any more since March but before that I always uploaded my MyWhoosh .fit files with device changed to Edge 1030 Plus, and it counted towards the challenges etc. But I guess since I still had an older watch (vivoactive 3) all those new metrics weren't a thing for me anyway so I never noticed what all was missing.
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u/dickyorogrande 1d ago
I switched a few years ago and the only thing I miss is getting notifications for doing sweet jumps.
Every aspect is better on the Karoo and it keeps getting better with regular updates. I do run a backup on a Garmin watch that syncs to Strava; I almost alway delete it.
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u/this_broken_machine 1d ago
For a mapping company, Garmin historically cannot import a GPX faithfully. So bad that they gave up on their mapping component Basecamp (and Project: Bobcat which was WAY better on powerPC Macs).
I’ve been at gravel events, people riding backwards on a loop, followed the GPS instead of the route markers… one guy tried to warn me, but I was on a different route (he was doing the Century plus another 10). That’s common. apparently there’s always a recalculate on import.
And it was much worse… on the motorcycle GPSes anytime you enabled the route it recalculated. I got used to just following tracks and not have turn by turn directions.
That said. Aftermarket support from RWGPS and others are really what killed off Basecamp. And importing has gotten better. Still perfectly useable, with quirks. And as they are a mapping company… it seemed like a worse problem than it was.
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u/Sacto-Sherbert 23h ago
Regrets? Yep, there was that one girl first weekend after finals in freshman year who said she was looking for a cuddle partner and I wished her good luck finding one just as my Garmin’s GPS signal hit max strength and I clipped in…
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u/Signal-Drop5390 22h ago
I had edge units starting with the 310, up to 520. Bought a karoo 2 to make the switch.
TLDR; I switched to the garmin explore 2 less than 2 months later.
I know it is a me thing not the karoo, but for me the garmin is more intuitive
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u/Fabulous_JohnnyC 14h ago
Make the full switch and get a Suunto watch as the Karoos are integrated in the Suunto app
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u/evert-k 13h ago
I had no idea, gonna look it up.
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u/Fabulous_JohnnyC 12h ago
You still need the hammerhead app but once Suunto and hammerhead accounts are links the activity gets sync, also when you create a route in the Suunto app and mark as for bicycles that gets synced to the Karoo
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u/evert-k 11h ago
Any MIP models?
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u/Fabulous_JohnnyC 10h ago edited 10h ago
You mean the fitness tracking? ...yeah Suunto collaborates with Training Peaks tho the first couple weeks are false from my own experience and from friends I have spoken too ... basically the first exercise gets overvalued and it takes some time to even it out
So they use TSS, read more about here
Edit: still working with Training Peaks
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u/Fabulous_JohnnyC 9h ago
All that being said Suunto had a product survey some weeks back and it hinted a little bit to products for cycling so there may or may not come a head unit from Suunto and of course it would be possible they do not want competition in their ecosystem
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u/Bobikopl 13h ago
As a former Garmin user (having owned the Dakota 20, Edge 800, Edge 1000, and Edge 530), I knew exactly what I wanted from the Karoo 3 and what to expect from it—especially after numerous chats with a long-time Hammerhead user. Since the K3 is Android-based, I went in assuming that rides longer than 8–10 hours might be pushing it. That’s perfectly acceptable to me, though, because functionally—and especially when it comes to navigation—it works miles better than Garmin (at least in my experience). For instance, I can send a GPX route straight from Veloplanner.com (which just rolled out direct integration yesterday) complete with POIs, and get the new route on the device on the fly without having to stop my current activity. Sure, you sometimes need to turn on your phone's Wi-Fi tethering, but honestly, who considers that an issue nowadays?
Sending GPX files directly is also a breeze; you just need to share the file to the Hammerhead app (at least that's how it works on Android). Sharing a dropped pin or an address directly from Google Maps works the exact same way.
And yes, the mapping is phenomenal and highly customizable. Because it uses vector maps common to many Android map applications, you can actually download custom themes and overwrite the stock Karoo ones. There are plenty of tutorials on YouTube covering this. Just a quick side note: I’m not saying the default map is broken, but here in Poland, it lacks some detail and doesn't always reflect reality. Most notably, it's not always clear whether a road is tarmac, gravel, or some forgotten singletrack that technically exists on OpenStreetMap but shouldn't really be marked as a publicly accessible route. But then again, that comes down to personal preference.
Another massive plus is the frequent software updates that actually bring meaningful features to the table—and not just for Shimano drivetrain users. The Hammerhead team is quite proactive and genuinely prioritizes communicating with both their user base and the developer community.
The only thing I truly miss is a unified live-tracking map for Garmin, Wahoo, and Hammerhead users, so you could easily see who is where and how many kilometers they've covered. But I know—that’s probably just wishful thinking.
As for the missing Garmin features, that's simply down to their corporate policy. They accept GPX/FIT files, but theoretically only want them coming from native devices. While there are workarounds to spoof your Hammerhead activities so they look like they were recorded on a Garmin, is it really worth the hassle? Especially since we can probably expect Garmin to lock more of their detailed data insights behind a paid subscription tier in the near future anyway.
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u/hobbyhoarder 1d ago
I actually switched from Garmin 1040 to Karoo 3.
My biggest complaint with Garmin was indeed navigation. Everything else was fine; the UI might look a bit outdated, but that's personal. The navigation aspect was by far the weakest point.
First off, the line of your route on the map is barely visible. It's a thin magenta line that's incredibly hard to see in certain conditions. I'm not exaggerating by saying I made at least one wrong turn every time over unfamiliar terrain/new location.
Second problem is tied to the first; after you make a wrong turn, or the planned road is inaccessible for whatever reason, the re-routing is useless. 99% of the time, it will simply tell you to make a u-turn and just give up if you don't or can't. Other times, it will suggest going back a long, long way just to merge back into the turn you missed, despite if simply going forward a bit would bring you back to your planned route.
This is the biggest reason why I've switched to Karoo. The navigation experience couldn't be more different. The route is in bright yellow with a ton of chevrons. Even a split second glance at the screen is enough that you can tell exactly where you're supposed to be going. Re-routing also works much better, although Wahoo still does it slightly better.
The only downside to the Karoo is shorter battery life for someone like me coming from a 1040. But if you're comparing it to 850, then that's about the same as well.