The Ultimate Showdown: Top 3 Cycling Computers Tested for Performance!

Are you still using your cell phone for your cycling needs? WELL, STOP. There is nothing a phone can do that will outperform a dedicated cycling computer. Dedicated cycling computers are packed full of features to help you accurately track your rides and fitness, navigate new and unfamiliar terrain, play retro video games, and much more! Our resident road crusher, The Romanian Rocket himself, Tamas Debreczeni grabbed 3 of his favorite cycling computers, the Garmin Edge MTB, Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT 3, and Hammerhead Karoo 3 to compare and contrast features in hopes that we can help you better understand their major differences are so you can choose the right cycling computer for your needs. Join us as we go over a few of the best cycling computers currently available on the market!

Timecodes
0:00 – Intro
0:34 – What do these computers have in common?
1:52 – Garmin Edge MTB
4:44 – Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT 3
7:01 – Hammerhead Karoo 3
10:13 – Outro

Products from this video:
Garmin Edge MTB: https://www.jensonusa.com/garmin-edge-mtb-mountain-bike-computer
Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT 3: https://www.jensonusa.com/wahoo-elemnt-bolt-3-gps-cycling-computer
Hammerhead Karoo: https://www.jensonusa.com/sram-hammerhead-karoo-bike-computer
All GPS and Electronics: https://www.jensonusa.com/gps-and-electronics

About Us
Jenson USA, JensonUSA.com, is one of the largest, oldest, and most trusted online bike retailers in the US. We sell everything from mountain bikes, road bikes and gravel bikes, to newest selection of eBikes and kids bikes. We not only sell and ship full and ready to ride assembled bikes, but one of the biggest selections of bike components, apparel, footwear, helmets, and everything in between. At Jenson USA, our passion for cycling sprouted back in 1994 and has since taken root and grown into a community of people devoted to living life to its fullest. We’re building a culture of people who respect each other, set the pace, and lead through service. We strive daily to better serve our customers, our fellow employees, and our community. Over the years we’ve found that happy people are hardworking people, and that the time we spend on two wheels together builds the greatest profit of all. 
 
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[Applause] I’m getting good at parking in this spot. [Music] [Music] Hi, I’m Tomas from Jensen USA. We’re here in uh sunny California in the San Hinto Mountains and today we’re going to talk about bike computers. We take testing here at Jensen USA very seriously and this was no exception. These units are so similar yet so different. One thing to note, if you’re riding with a phone on your handlebars, stop right now, take it off, and put it in your back pocket where it belongs. There is absolutely no advantage that a phone has over even the cheapest cycling computer. All these units have similar battery life, ranging between 14 and 16 hours. That’s more than I can ride in a day or two or a week. But these can be easily extended by switching the power saver mode on or switching some features off. All these units are up to date with the with their data and charging ports. They all use USBC, which seems to be the industry standard. Every single one of these units is extremely accurate. All these companies offer periodic firmware updates to keep your device up to date and add extra features. The first computer that I’m going to talk about is this little Tamagotchi here. Garmin’s newest edge computer and it’s purposebuilt for mountain biking as the name implies. Don’t get fooled by this uh small form factor. This thing is the nuclear power plant of cycling computers. The display is small but mighty. Very easy to read. The GPS on this computer is very accurate. It’s the most accurate of the three. skyscrapers, canyons, dense forest, anything that would put any other cycling computer on its knees, it’s a breeze for this unit. The five Hz recording makes it extremely accurate, especially in tight turns and switchbacks, which often occur in mountain biking. It has a couple mountain bike specific activity profiles like downhill, enduro, or trail, which basically mean you can add timing gates to your rides. It pauses automatically when you’re on a chair lift or when you’re about to put your GPS in your trunk. It comes with multiple mounting options. Some of these are mountain bike specific. When talking about Garmin cycling computers and Garmin units in general, we have to mention the Garmin Connect ecosystem. It is very complex and can be a little bit of a hassle to set up, but once you have it going, it works flawlessly. It basically connects you to your Garmin scale, your Garmin watch, your Garmin cycling computers, and it basically gives you all the excuses you need that you didn’t perform on the ride. Say you didn’t have a good sleep or you gained uh five extra pounds. The Garmin Edge MTB is my obvious choice for mountain biking, whether I’m on my enduro or crosscountry bike. I really like the way it connects to all my other Garmin devices and I really like its small form factor. The Edge MTB is for mountain bikers, for riders who are not easy on their equipment, enduro racers, and trail riders. Anyone looking for a simple yet complex unit with tons of features in a lightweight and small form factor. This is the device I use most on the road, too. To be honest, it has all the features I need on the road, and it’s rugged. If you’re looking for a mountain bike computer that you can also use on the road, this Garmin Edge MTV is the right choice for you. Next one is the Wahoo Bolt 3. Released shortly after the Ace and its bigger brother, the Rome. This is the smallest Wahoo computer in the lineup. [Music] This unit is all business. It focuses on workouts. It’s the perfect partner for your racing and training needs. It is very intuitive to use even when you’re in the last minute of your 20 minute FTP test. Yeah, that’s going to be a good one. The screen has a matte look. Reminds me of the Amazon Kindle. It is very easy to read in rain or shine. It does not have a touch screen, but I never felt the need for one. You can tell this unit was built with around these buttons which have a positive feedback. Because of these buttons is is very easy to repeat, fast forward or pause a workout. Speaking of workouts, these along with routes can be easily loaded from your uh companion app. Everything happens instantly, even customizing your data screens and data fields. The number of of colors increased from 64 to 16 million. So, data fields can be uh customized based on your zone color. New to the third generation are activity profiles, meaning you can customize your data screens based on the type of activity you’re doing. All three of these devices have this, but it’s new to the Bolt 3. Also new is the taskbar looking thing on the top which tells you the time and uh all your uh sensors that I are connected including your phone. I use my Wahoo Bolt for um interval training mostly on home roads when navigation is not a priority. If you are looking for a cycling computer that is based on training intervals and navigation come second, this unit is for you. Next up is the Hammerhead Karu 3 or the new Karu as uh Hammerhead likes us to call it. The new Hammerhead Karu is a revolutionary improvement over the previous generation. This unit complements the Stram Axis ecosystem perfectly. You can do all kinds of adjustment right from the head unit like setting up buttons pairing your power meter, your Garmin lights or any other ant plus unit. This thing is spaceship looking. Even the standard computer mount looks like Captain Kirk’s gadget. Beam me up, Scotty. While I’m not a fan of adapters in general, this one is a good one. Thanks to its low stack, it is barely noticeable when you install it on a Garmin mount. Oh, the adapter looks like a spaceship, too, by the way. The App Store, or the extension library, as Karu calls it, makes installing third party apps a breeze. Do you like to mess with your friends and pretend you’ve been waiting for a long time at the end of the trail on or on top of that mountain? You can now start playing Super Mario Brothers while you’re waiting. The new Karu is the Bentley of head units. It is beautifully crafted. The screen is bright and it is nice to touch. Don’t get fooled by this beautiful screen. Thanks to the Gorilla Glass, it’s scratch and crack resistant. The super bright display is very responsive whether it has rain, hydration mix, or sweat on it. My favorite feature on this unit is the autolap function, which allows you to create predetermined points which trigger a lap at a certain coordinate on the map. I, for example, use it to create a lap at the bottom of the climb and another lap at the top of the climb. Or you can do it for your favorite segments as well. We all know that bigger is better. I’m talking about batteries, of course. I personally cannot outride this battery. In my experience, you can probably get around 15 hours of riding time out of this battery. It depending on how many sensors you have connected, whether you’re navigating or not, or screen brightness. Climb Pro or Climbber as Hammerhead calls it automatically recognizes climbs as you approach them, even without a preloaded route. The new Hammerhead Karu is my go-to unit when riding in new places, when following a route or riding in the weekend with friends. This beautiful display really stands out. Thanks for watching. I’m sure one of these computers will cover your needs. As always, check out jensenusa.com or reach out to our gear advisors and they’ll be happy to help you out. Don’t forget to keep paddling. Long live and prosper. [Laughter] And uh yeah, just got