Karoo Hammerhead

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

Post Reply
addictR1
Posts: 1878
Joined: Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:11 am

by addictR1

saw the review and very intrigued..

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/05/ham ... puter.html

joined their email list and got the limited time offer for the Karoo - $299.99

anyone here took the plunge yet?

bilwit
Posts: 1526
Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2016 5:49 am
Location: Seattle, WA

by bilwit

All that weight for fancy navigation that I'll never use.. no thanks. It's like tying a brick to your handlebars.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



mentok
Posts: 577
Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2012 9:58 am

by mentok

I've pre-ordered. AU$375 delivered for something that should offer more than a Garmin 1000 or Wahoo Element, and similar to a 1030. Hoping they can stick to the revised schedule and deliver in October.

The total size is a bit off-putting coming from a 520, but I think it will be OK in practice - I thought Garmin 1000s looked ridiculous the first few times I saw them but now they look quite normal. Hard to get away from that weight though - 250g is a massive price to pay, this being weightweenies and all, and I imagine that and the width of the unit will be a deal breaker for some because that's the dimension that actually looks funny (not so much the length - it's actually shorter than a 1000).

I'm planning to retire my Lezyne SuperGPS, use my 520 for commuting and racing and use the Karoo on the weekends for training rides, adventure rides and on the turbo trainer. On the turbo I'm looking forward to bluetooth audio, Zwift control (fingers crossed they can do something with this) and I'm hoping for better visualization of training efforts. On the road I'm hoping for better integration of various comms platforms (SMS, hangouts, whatsapp, etc) and the ability to send messages while riding (or at least without getting my phone out of my pocket). Not being tethered to 1 bluetooth phone like my 520 is would be nice too.

jlok
Posts: 2400
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2015 3:30 am

by jlok

Hammerhead moved the expected delivery date for Karoo pre-orders from late August to mid-October.

see the comment at the DCR page... wish them good luck. I want the Karoo to be successful and push Garmin to improve the navigation practise.
Rikulau V9 DB Custom < BMC TM02 < Litespeed T1sl Disc < Giant Propel Advanced SL Disc 1 < Propel Adv < TCR Adv SL Disc < KTM Revelator Sky < CAAD 12 Disc < Domane S Disc < Alize < CAAD 10

User avatar
Tinea Pedis
Posts: 8615
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:08 am
Contact:

by Tinea Pedis

mentok wrote: adventure rides

With a 10hr battery life? At the size it comes it at I am flat out disappointed at the battery life. As your planned use is totally reasonable given the stated build spec - sadly the battery life isn't going to match it.

mentok
Posts: 577
Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2012 9:58 am

by mentok

Smart power management and high performance battery gives between 10-15 hour runtime depending on connected sensors and settings


I can't ride for 15hrs on my best days, i don't see it being an issue to me...

User avatar
Tinea Pedis
Posts: 8615
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:08 am
Contact:

by Tinea Pedis

I'm not making assumptions on your riding. More to the point that 'adventure' type riding (light over night camping, Audax, epic gran fondos) are both on the rise and lend themselves favourable to a unit with a large run time. 15 hours is a best case scenario, I'll stand by the battery capacity - relative to the size - being a disappointment.

Kaboom
Posts: 118
Joined: Wed Mar 22, 2017 3:53 pm

by Kaboom

Over half a pound?? They must be joking. What is the case made out of, lead? A smartphone with a 6 inch screen weighs significantly less than that while being a lot bigger...
It's a shame because I was really liking the idea, but I'll probably wait for V2 if it ever comes out.

kode54
Posts: 3748
Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 9:39 pm

by kode54

i've been keeping an eye on Garmin's latest 1000, but don't like the new look so far. the Karoo looks interesting, and published weights may come down, so i am interested in that as they get closer to delivery dates.

my Garmin 810 froze on a ride Sunday...so i'm not that pleased about the degrading performance and looking to upgrade. i've had a few incidents on the 810, but like the overall screen size. the 820 seems a bit smaller and with my degrading eyes, need something bigger, but not 1000 or 1030 big. The Karoo looks like its in-between, but still hard to say without any real units in the wild.
- Factor Ostro VAM Disc
- Factor LS Disc
- Specialized Aethos Disc
- Sturdy Ti Allroad Disc
- Guru Praemio R Disc

irishdb
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2017 10:04 pm
Location: USA

by irishdb

I recently dumped my Garmin 1000 and went with the Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt. Super happy so far. Main issues I had with the 1000 was glitchy software from time to time. Crashed on me a couple of times and the battery life was not the best. The Wahoo is super simple to setup and use. The Karoo looks interesting but I do agree it's size and weight is off putting.

- Danny

lovemyway
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2016 7:32 am

by lovemyway

I just got an email from the Hammerhead saying the early price of the Karoo is 299$ - not bad.

jmagoulas
Posts: 156
Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2016 3:00 am
Location: Connecticut USA

by jmagoulas

lovemyway wrote:I just got an email from the Hammerhead saying the early price of the Karoo is 299$ - not bad.



Received the same email. I thought to myself also not bad till I saw that it was $200 off. That means it is going to launch for $500!! Ouch....

JackRussellRacing
Posts: 243
Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2016 4:32 pm
Location: USA

by JackRussellRacing

jmagoulas wrote:
lovemyway wrote:I just got an email from the Hammerhead saying the early price of the Karoo is 299$ - not bad.



Received the same email. I thought to myself also not bad till I saw that it was $200 off. That means it is going to launch for $500!! Ouch....



I think at $500 they will be slaughtered by the market... especially as Garmin and Wahoo start down the road of price-matching. My gut feeling is the $500 retail is a teaser to get the presales loaded, but not really an actual selling price where orders will be taken.

User avatar
havana
Posts: 454
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:04 pm

by havana

After the 4th (!!) delay I decided to cancel my order today.
Editor-in-chief CycloWorld.cc - the largest database of gran fondo's and sportives in the world.

lovemyway
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2016 7:32 am

by lovemyway

havana wrote:After the 4th (!!) delay I decided to cancel my order today.


The website says
As of early September of 2017, we have completely sold out of units through the end of the year, and all orders placed now will ship in early spring of 2018.


Did anything change?

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



Post Reply