I use a Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM as my on the bike navigation device. Compared to the Garmin Edge 530, I feel as though the Wahoo is more intuitive and easier to use. I also like that the buttons to switch the pages are on the top of the unit. The Edge 530 has side buttons, and they can be hard to use, especially so if you use aero bars.
The lack of a touch screen means that both units work as well in the rain as the dry. The Edge 530 has a lot of features and the same operating system as the Edge 830. I feel like this OS was built for the touchscreen, and navigation via buttons was an afterthought. There’s some occasions where a long press of a button does something different to a short press, and little documentation. As well as this, some settings are hidden deep within submenus of other menus, making them hard to find. This means that there’s a steep learning curve until you can use the device comfortably. In contrast, I find the user interface of the Wahoo quite intuitive. You change many of the more complicated settings via the ELEMNT smartphone app.
Maps
Related: see Route Planning
Both units are able to sync routes from Ride with GPS and Komoot. The Edge 530 cannot do this mid ride, which can be frustrating if your plans change. The Wahoo does not have this limitation.
Whilst following a route, I feel as though the Garmin maps have too much detail and it can be overwhelming. In contrast, the Wahoo maps are not as detailed. This helps in situations when you need to make a fast decision based on a short glance at the screen. I don’t feel as though the missing detail affects me negatively.
The Wahoo only draws the route 5km ahead of your current position, whereas the Garmin renders it all. On complicated routes with crossovers and/or return legs, it’s not always obvious which way to turn on the Edge. This can lead to mistakes or a situation where you need to check a route sheet or smartphone app. To get around this, you can make separate out and back routes. You don’t have this problem on a Wahoo. However, if you make a detour that skips out over 5km of your planned route, it can be hard to rejoin.
Battery life
Where the Garmin shines is the battery life. The Edge 530 can last a good 8 hours longer than a Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM on a full charge. If that’s not long enough, you can extend this by a further 24 hours via the Garmin Charge Bank. This is excellent for longer audax rides as you don’t need to worry about keeping your unit topped up.
Problems
I’ve experienced bugs and crashes with both units, and in general I don’t record a long ride (200km+) all at once on either. It’s quite easy to stitch the files together later – something you can’t do if the unit crashes and you lose a file completely (though this is extremely rare). If you do decide to make a new file, I suggest you do this when you’ve ridden a nice round distance that you can easily remember. At some point you’ll want to know how far you’ve ridden in total, and an odd distance such as 76.7km is harder to remember (and add) than 100.0km is!
Should you encounter a bug or an issue, the Wahoo ticket system is good and I get the impression that the company wants to help you. For unofficial help, the ELEMNT Users Google Group is also a good place to ask a question. Similarly for Garmin, there is the Edge 530 Forum. You should keep in mind that both websites have more negative than positive threads. This is mostly because happy users don’t need to post. Both units are updated fairly regularly to fix any reported issues.