Wahoo looking shaky ..

[MichaelB]

After big staff layoffs and slowing development, seems that Wahoo are really up against it re their debt levels

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/wahoos ... n-payment/

[warthog1]

Wow all those trainers sold during covid and still so far in debt.
Doesn't sound good.

[redsonic]

I hope they don't take Speedplay pedals down with them

[LateStarter]

That's just great, will spur Garmin/Tacx into even lower levels of customer service and software quality.

[MichaelB]

That's just great, will spur Garmin/Tacx into even lower levels of customer service and software quality.

With you there.

My Bolt v1 is still going well albeit batt life getting shorter, but don’t see any decent option out there for the next replacement.

Garmin still seem incapable of getting a decent UI but instead add more and more ‘features’ that people rarely use.

Hope they get themselves sorted out and keep going !!!

[trailgumby]

I hope they don't take Speedplay pedals down with them

Too late. They screwed up the pedal body redesign big time. The plastic body is smaller in diameter than the metal ring, leading the cleat spring to hang up and not want to release. It's particularly nasty if you run a lot of varus wedging like I do on the left foot.

The only cure is to hit the metal ring with a Dremel and carefully grind 0.2 to 0.3mm off the ring outer diameter so it's flush with the rest of the pedal body.

[warthog1]

That's just great, will spur Garmin/Tacx into even lower levels of customer service and software quality.

With you there.

My Bolt v1 is still going well albeit batt life getting shorter, but don’t see any decent option out there for the next replacement.

Garmin still seem incapable of getting a decent UI but instead add more and more ‘features’ that people rarely use.

Hope they get themselves sorted out and keep going !!!

I have never used Wahoo so can't compare UI.
140k km on Garmin edge devices though.
Power, HR, radar, navigation.
It all works fine and I don't really see what it doesn't do or is difficult to use?
Just did a ride with navigation on, radar going and power pedals.
Got home it uploaded on wifi and it is on Strava without me needing to do anything.
Touchscreen, great battery life and reliability out of my edge 1030plus.
Don't know what it doesn't do?

[MichaelB]

....
It all works fine and I don't really see what it doesn't do or is difficult to use?
....

The UI with the Touchscreen models is better than the button ones.

I've tried but do not like the touchscreen on the 1030 I tried. With the buttons, it's the nested menu options that are painful.

An example - on the 520+ that I tested for BNA. I wanted to put a new data field on one screen, and move position of an existing. 64 button pushes later, achieved And it took several goes, as pressed the wrong button at the wrong time.

With the Wahoo, it's a 10 sec swipe & select job.

Had the 520 when it 1st came out and it was buggy at bejeesus !! 1030/1040 is too big for me (and too exxy).

The other thing I REALLY like with the Wahoo is the zooming of the fields within the screen. There are issues with the Wahoo as well, but nothing like Garmin.

Meh, each to their own

[warthog1]

I reckon the "64 button pushes later" might have been a bit of user error
Can't remember how I set mine up but I don't remember it being hard to do.
Perhaps wahoo is easier, I haven't used it.
Yeah the 1030plus is expensive but I got a Garmin refurbished one for basically half price.
Uses 3% of its battery per hour with all that stuff running and I have 10 fields displayed on the main screen and can read them all with my failing eyesight still.
Swipe L or R for a different screen.
Yes each to their own though.

[MichaelB]

I reckon the "64 button pushes later" might have been a bit of user error
...

Can guarantee that's not the case

Anyway, if Wahoo folds, the options are pretty slim !!

[warthog1]

The battery life would annoy me at 8 hours but these are supposed to be quite good if Garmin is not for you.

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/train ... er-review/

I am a bit of a Garmin fan boy I guess
Varia RTL515
Vector 3 PM pedals (×2 pair)
Edge 1030plus.
All have the functionality I need and are reliable.

[MichaelB]

The battery life would annoy me at 8 hours but these are supposed to be quite good if Garmin is not for you.

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/train ... er-review/

I am a bit of a Garmin fan boy I guess
Varia RTL515
Vector 3 PM pedals (×2 pair)
Edge 1030plus.
All have the functionality I need and are reliable.

Like the 1030, too big for me

[queequeg]

I sort of welded to the Garmin ecosystem, so it's not a simple thing to just change over. I have a few Wahoo bits and pieces, and I did have a Kickr (v2), but I swapped that for a Neo 2T during Lockdown #1 because the Kickr made too much noise and didn't have built in cadence....but the real reason I bought the Neo instead of the latest Kickr was simply $$.
I got a 25% discount from Garmin through my health insurance, so it knocked $500 of the price. My Neo went up in smoke a couple of months ago, about 4 months out of Warranty. Garmin replaced it free of charge anyway, so their service on that front can't be faulted.

The 25% discount I get really puts the Wahoo gear at a disadvantage. I am looking at the 840 or 1040 as a possible upgrade for my Audax riding. My 530 has been great for everything except navigation, which is terrible (it can't route to an address or POI on the 530). I have been a bit in the doldrums with my riding recently as I lost my mojo, so looking to reignite that and build up my fitness again.

[warthog1]

I've got a kickr core I bought purely on price.
Quiet enough and does the job.
I only use it when away at work when I couldn't ride otherwise (on call). Trainer work is a sh it alterative to real riding imo. Been on holidays for a month and have not considered doing any zwift for a moment.

My lord wahoo must've sold some trainers and head units during COVID.
I am no financial analyst but their business management had to be severely flawed it seems to me?

[MichaelB]

I think the issue re their business issue, like many, is they geared up massively in response to the Covid demand and now are over-capitalised and over stocked and too many employees for the current reduced demand as well as supplier issues.

Some companies have the extra revenue sources etc to cope, but MANY companies are struggling

[warthog1]

Fair enough. Bit of a bummer, but they sound buggered.

[blizzard]

I think the issue re their business issue, like many, is they geared up massively in response to the Covid demand and now are over-capitalised and over stocked and too many employees for the current reduced demand as well as supplier issues.

Some companies have the extra revenue sources etc to cope, but MANY companies are struggling

That's my read on the situation, geared up assuming the demand was going to last, took on a heap of debt as it cost almost nothing. Now demand has dropped and interest rates have gone up they're getting pinched from all directions.

[neild]

I think it's possibly also the fact they have lots of devices, all the smart trainers, the climb, the head wind, not too mention the computers and pedals. And I'm sure the bike cost a fair bit in R&D. I also think the ongoing sales probably isn't there. It's not like an iPhone where people turn them over every 2 years or so. I've had my Neo1 for about 4 years and see no need in replacing with anything else until it fails. There may be newer trainers out there with more bells and whistles and maybe slightly more accurate power but I don't need that.

[g-boaf]

I have an old Neo1 that was on its way out, so replaced it with a Kickr Bike, first one died at just over a month, the replacement Kickr Bike is going and has been used very heavily - it was a godsend for my recovery after the surgery last year.

I also have a Neo2 which is a backup. Prefer the Kickr - quiet and way better than messing with chains and cassettes putting bikes on a trainer.

I hope Wahoo manages to keep going.

My only Garmin stuff is Edge 1030 Plus and a Garmin HRM strap. I have a smaller non touch screen Edge stored away but I never use it, the battery capacity is rubbish and using it is the ultimate in frustration. Touch screen is so much simpler.

[AUbicycles]

As a follow up on this, Wahoo we’re about to recover and have ‘recapitalized’ and have founder Chip Hawkins back in the drivers seat.

Like most companies, the impact of Covid and indoor boom and oversupply and remnants of the supply chain irregularities suggest it will be a continuing process, but it looks good for the brand.