Completely agree with the comments that the main utility of the bike computer in MTB is navigation. For those who are training, it is also useful to monitor training load / type of rides (tempo, threshold, base etc) as well, especially if you ride with heart rate and power, but a lot of people don’t really care about that. I have not used the Karoo 2 specifically though if I had to buy a new computer now thats the one I would buy given the recent price drop. One thing though that I have noticed which applies to the Karoo 2, is that a decent sized screen makes ALL the difference when it comes to navigation. I used to have a Garmin edge 830. This had Trailforks baked in, and a great feature where it brings up the map when you stop. I liked the compact nature of this computer, but when it came to navigation, especially on MTB trails, the screen was just too small to really be useful. My 830 had recurrent problems so they replaced it with the bigger Edge 1030 plus which is similarly sized to the Karoo 2 and that has made all the difference. On my recent trip to the shore, I was able to find my way using Trailforks on the bike computer without having to take my phone out all the time. I also was able to program in a route taking me from Lonsdale quay to the climbing trail on Fromme, and relied on turn by turn instructions on my computer to get me there, which was super handy. Likewise, when I did big road rides in Europe, having that turn by turn guidance was super useful in preventing having to stop all the time to find my way.
June 30, 2023, 11:26 a.m. - Moritz Haager
Completely agree with the comments that the main utility of the bike computer in MTB is navigation. For those who are training, it is also useful to monitor training load / type of rides (tempo, threshold, base etc) as well, especially if you ride with heart rate and power, but a lot of people don’t really care about that. I have not used the Karoo 2 specifically though if I had to buy a new computer now thats the one I would buy given the recent price drop. One thing though that I have noticed which applies to the Karoo 2, is that a decent sized screen makes ALL the difference when it comes to navigation. I used to have a Garmin edge 830. This had Trailforks baked in, and a great feature where it brings up the map when you stop. I liked the compact nature of this computer, but when it came to navigation, especially on MTB trails, the screen was just too small to really be useful. My 830 had recurrent problems so they replaced it with the bigger Edge 1030 plus which is similarly sized to the Karoo 2 and that has made all the difference. On my recent trip to the shore, I was able to find my way using Trailforks on the bike computer without having to take my phone out all the time. I also was able to program in a route taking me from Lonsdale quay to the climbing trail on Fromme, and relied on turn by turn instructions on my computer to get me there, which was super handy. Likewise, when I did big road rides in Europe, having that turn by turn guidance was super useful in preventing having to stop all the time to find my way.