4 ms·

The hardware side is routinely impressive. The software and business sides leave a lot to be desired.

mtanski 10mo ago
Cane to say the same. I have a Garmin "smart" watch (with every app notification etc disabled) and I love the fact that I can do almost two weeks of exercises (ride, walk, gym) without needing to charge it. The bike computers are also solid. But sadly the UX of the software on these leaves a bunch to be desired, and I've been bitten by many software and firmware bugs in the last years... Including months for which HRM would randomly and persistently drop it's value from say whatever the real value (say 145 for argument sake) to 80.
- altcognito 10mo ago
  That’s just most heart rate monitors. Often it isn’t enough conductivity (add water before activity) or the battery is low
- iamacyborg 10mo ago
  > Including months for which HRM would randomly and persistently drop it's value from say whatever the real value (say 145 for argument sake) to 80. It’s annoying but a proper HR strap fixes all the issues associated with wrist based optical readers.
  - mtanski 10mo ago
    I know all of the wrist watches experience this issue, but this was extreme like drop from 145->80 for like 60+ min then rapidly shopt back up. Not like a small couple min blip. This was a near the top end model at the time, and after complaining Garmin support owned up that this was a firmware bug impact all sensors of that generation and it would take 2+ months to fix (took like 5). But they did send me a HRM for free and I've been using that. So I am grateful that and using it since. But for short rides (like 90 min or less) I don't always remember to think to bring the HRM. Prior to that I had two lower end Garmin watches, and despite having theoretically lower end HR sensors they did not experience such bugs or drop outs (an unexpected blip every once in a while). But I think the main point still stands, their software/firmware/UX has not moved in relation with the hardware. Next time I'm in the market I will be consider all the options. Feels like Coros and others have come a long way. Prob the biggest thing keeping me in their ecosystem is multi sport (variations of bike riding types -- I do all), hiking, strength training, erg, winter sports. But even there the list of strength exercises has not been updated in like a decade.
- wingtw 10mo ago
  Look at coros. Currently wearing Nomad - getting around a month of runtime on a charge WITH notifications enabled (not too many tho, only important ones). And UX is great too imho. (Not affiliated, just a happy customer)
dima55 10mo ago
Yeah, have they ever actually used a garmin product? The hardware and the sound effects are excellent. Everything else is barely functional.
- therobots927 10mo ago
  Doesn’t autoland count as software??
  - deleted 10mo ago
    [deleted]
kjkjadksj 10mo ago
Even the hardware is kind of stupid. They push you into basically buying a separate gps device for each and every hobby you do. It would be nice if there was one gps device that could be a bike computer, exercise watch, golf gps, etc etc. Yes, some devices have multisport mode but usually feature locked compared to the more sport specific device, and for no good reason really. I guess that would prevent them from selling you a $600 gps half a dozen times so that is why it isn’t done.
- iamacyborg 10mo ago
  You’re basically describing the Fenix/Enduro lines, albeit the screen will be a bit small to use as a proper bike computer
  - kjkjadksj 10mo ago
    I’m imagining a device where you can take off the strap bands and mount it on a garmin mount to your handlebars.
    - iamacyborg 10mo ago
      You can just strap the watch to the handlebars, no? There’s also a mode where you can extend the display from your watch to a bike computer, for instances where you’re doing a multisport activity (or just want to record on a single device). https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/06/garmins-triathlon-extended.html https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/06/garmins-triathlon-extend...
    - jakesgates 10mo ago
      Garmin bike mount for fenix watch https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1221709/ https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1221709/

Cane to say the same. I have a Garmin "smart" watch (with every app notification etc disabled) and I love the fact that I can do almost two weeks of exercises (ride, walk, gym) without needing to charge it. The bike computers are also solid. But sadly the UX of the software on these leaves a bunch to be desired, and I've been bitten by many software and firmware bugs in the last years... Including months for which HRM would randomly and persistently drop it's value from say whatever the real value (say 145 for argument sake) to 80.

altcognito 10mo ago
That’s just most heart rate monitors. Often it isn’t enough conductivity (add water before activity) or the battery is low
iamacyborg 10mo ago
> Including months for which HRM would randomly and persistently drop it's value from say whatever the real value (say 145 for argument sake) to 80. It’s annoying but a proper HR strap fixes all the issues associated with wrist based optical readers.
- mtanski 10mo ago
  I know all of the wrist watches experience this issue, but this was extreme like drop from 145->80 for like 60+ min then rapidly shopt back up. Not like a small couple min blip. This was a near the top end model at the time, and after complaining Garmin support owned up that this was a firmware bug impact all sensors of that generation and it would take 2+ months to fix (took like 5). But they did send me a HRM for free and I've been using that. So I am grateful that and using it since. But for short rides (like 90 min or less) I don't always remember to think to bring the HRM. Prior to that I had two lower end Garmin watches, and despite having theoretically lower end HR sensors they did not experience such bugs or drop outs (an unexpected blip every once in a while). But I think the main point still stands, their software/firmware/UX has not moved in relation with the hardware. Next time I'm in the market I will be consider all the options. Feels like Coros and others have come a long way. Prob the biggest thing keeping me in their ecosystem is multi sport (variations of bike riding types -- I do all), hiking, strength training, erg, winter sports. But even there the list of strength exercises has not been updated in like a decade.
wingtw 10mo ago
Look at coros. Currently wearing Nomad - getting around a month of runtime on a charge WITH notifications enabled (not too many tho, only important ones). And UX is great too imho. (Not affiliated, just a happy customer)

dima55 10mo ago

Yeah, have they ever actually used a garmin product? The hardware and the sound effects are excellent. Everything else is barely functional.

therobots927 10mo ago
Doesn’t autoland count as software??
- deleted 10mo ago
  [deleted]

kjkjadksj 10mo ago

Even the hardware is kind of stupid. They push you into basically buying a separate gps device for each and every hobby you do. It would be nice if there was one gps device that could be a bike computer, exercise watch, golf gps, etc etc. Yes, some devices have multisport mode but usually feature locked compared to the more sport specific device, and for no good reason really. I guess that would prevent them from selling you a $600 gps half a dozen times so that is why it isn’t done.

iamacyborg 10mo ago
You’re basically describing the Fenix/Enduro lines, albeit the screen will be a bit small to use as a proper bike computer
- kjkjadksj 10mo ago
  I’m imagining a device where you can take off the strap bands and mount it on a garmin mount to your handlebars.
  - iamacyborg 10mo ago
    You can just strap the watch to the handlebars, no? There’s also a mode where you can extend the display from your watch to a bike computer, for instances where you’re doing a multisport activity (or just want to record on a single device). https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/06/garmins-triathlon-extended.html https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/06/garmins-triathlon-extend...
  - jakesgates 10mo ago
    Garmin bike mount for fenix watch https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1221709/ https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1221709/