Could Hammerhead's latest Karoo be the long-awaited competitor to Garmin and Wahoo?

In the realm of GPS cycling computers, Garmin's legacy dates back to 2005 when it released the Edge 205 and 305. While these early models primarily focused on tracking basic metrics like speed, distance and time, they laid the groundwork for Garmin's dominance in the market. Over the years, various brands entered the market with head units of their own, but only Wahoo, which came on the market with the ELEMNT computer in 2016, has managed to offer any competition of note.

Enter Hammerhead. Originally a software company focused on creating software applications and platforms aimed at enhancing navigation and route planning for cyclists, Hammerhead came to market with its first Karoo computer in 2017. The Karoo, and its subsequent Karoo 2 upgrade, gained a loyal following thanks to its superior display, advanced navigation capabilities and an Apple-like commitment to software updates. 

Cycling component powerhouse SRAM acquired Hammerhead at the end of 2021 and now, Hammerhead unveils its most promising offering yet: the simply named Karoo (yes, back to its original name). But does it have the ability to sway users and challenge Garmin or Wahoo? Let's explore.

Introducing: the new Karoo

Hammerhead's third unit has taken on a slightly new shape –less square– yet the real upgrades lie within. 

Representing the brand's "pinnacle of innovation, design and performance," the Karoo is meant to serve as a true head unit, or, as the brand describes it, an "unparalleled single-point union to experience and control every aspect of your ride." From ride data and navigation to guided workouts and controlling your electronic components, lights or even your e-bike, the Karoo is meant to be your one-stop-shop. For e-bike users, the Karoo could be used instead of a bike-specific display, allowing you to keep an eye on your e-bike's motor assist level, estimated range, E-Bike motor output and battery level.

As with its predecessors, the Karoo features a smartphone-quality touch screen as well as textured side buttons so you can operate the device no matter the weather. The colorful visualizations help guide you through unknown terrain or workouts, and the multi-band technology promises pin-point accuracy on any road or faraway trail.

Its best-in-class maps and navigation includes free global maps, instant route syncing for connected accounts, and automatic climb detection with - or without - a route. There are also more customization options than this reviewer frankly knows what to do with.

And of course, Hammerhead, with its background in software, remains committed to regular software updates, promising to introduce new features and improvements to Karoo in an effort to keep the computer "at the forefront of the cycling ecosystem to make every ride better than the last." 

Brief Features Overview

The familiar:

• 3.2-inch, full-color touchscreen display that is rain and glove-friendly
• Exterior textured buttons for added usability
• Easy sync routes from the accompanying app, web-based dashboard, Strava, RideWithGPS, Komoot, and others
• Turn-by-turn directions on detailed maps anywhere in the world
• Re-routes on the fly if you go off-course without needing WiFi
• Automatically pushes completed rides to Strava, TrainingPeaks and other common apps
• Compatible with TrainingPeaks for structured, guided workouts
• Indoor smart trainer control
• ANT+ and Bluetooth sensor connectivity 
• Satellite Connectivity Multi-band (L1+L5) GNSS GPS,
• Satellite constellations GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BEIDOU
• Water resistance IP67
• Comes with its own Karoo-specific mount but quarter-turn Garmin mount adapter is available

Some new feature highlights:

• All-new companion app offers new ways to upload routes and customize the ride experience
• Claimed battery life of 15+ hours
• Charge time 30% in 30 minutes, 100% in 2.5 hours
• Reduced unit weight from 132 grams to 118 grams
• Storage upgraded to 64GB, and  paired with 4GB of RAM 
• Faster map rendering
• USB-C charging port now with a dust cover
• E-bike connectivity

Price: $474.99 USD/  €499.99 /  £449.99 / $749.99 AUD

The new companion app: an integral part

Hammerhead introduces a new companion app alongside its head unit, offering seamless integration with the Hammerhead Dashboard. This addition completes the Hammerhead ecosystem, providing users with the convenience of adding or accessing routes, workouts and past rides on the go.

A highlight of the ecosystem is its easy and lightning quick way of uploading a route or workout. Once can simply add a URL of the route you'd like to do in the app and the route will appear on your head unit seconds later (as long as your Karoo is connected).

Hammerhead also supports a useful pin function. Using Google Maps or Apple Maps, you can drop a pin to any location you'd like to go to, then share the link with your Hammerhead Companion App and, assuming your Karoo is connected, the location will be sent to Karoo, giving you the option to route to it or save it.

Finally, using the app, users can also quickly access a Live Tracking link for friends and family to monitor the ride.

The Karoo in use

I received a Karoo testing unit in advance of the launch and promptly put it to the test in the desert landscape of Morocco, where its navigation and battery life were thoroughly challenged. 

Setup: 

One aspect in which Karoo outperforms its competitors is in user-friendliness. Whether navigating the dashboard or utilizing the device itself, the interaction with Hammerhead's hardware and software is seamless and enjoyable. While one can spend hours playing with the unit's extensive customization options, the initial setup process is a breeze.

Once you've created a Hammerhead account, the Karoo will walk new users through a series of prompts. You then conncets the dashboard and/or app and device with your favorite route libraries and off you go.

The Karoo device does take some time to power up and, during the pre-launch testing period, often asked to install updates.

Design and Build Quality:

The Karoo is a sizable unit yet sports a fairly sleek design. It's a tad lighter than its predecessor and features a slightly less square shape. The exterior buttons, too, have slimmed down and are now made of a harder material that's more pleasant to use. 

The real star is, of course, the 3.2-inch screen. With its high-resolution graphics and visualizations, it truly puts Garmin and Wahoo, with their gimmicky and pixelated warm-up graphics, to shame. Of course, function trumps visual, but it's certainly Hammerhead's wow factor and is remarkably responsive, even when wearing gloves. Much like a smartphone, you can swipe up, down, left and right, pinch zoom in or out and tap. Or, conversely, just use the exterior buttons if you're not a touchscreen fan.   

The computer also carries an IP67 water and dust resistance rating, making it sweat and rain-proof. Unlike a smartphone with its notoriously fragile screens, the Karoo feels quite robust and solidly made. I wasn't worried about taking it across the rugged Morocco desert or accidentally dropping it in the grainy dirt. 

Navigation and Mapping:

Where the Karoo truly shines is in its navigation capabilities. Powered by open-source maps  and equipped with detailed turn-by-turn navigation, the device offers a seamless riding experience – even in the absolute middle of nowhere Morocco, where one couldn't tell north from south, the Karoo knew exactly where we were and never led us astray.

Plus, with its upgraded 64 GB internal storage, the Karoo can house a large number of offline maps, ensuring you stay on course and offering rerouting capabilities in areas with limited connectivity or reception.

Performance Metrics and Workouts:

While Hammerhead has garnered acclaim for its top-tier navigation, the Karoo doesn't compromise on performance either. Designed with athletes in mind, the cycling computer is the embodiment of Hammerhead's mission to "inspire and empower all people to unlock their athletic potential through cycling."

Used by elite teams like Canyon-SRAM and Bora-Hansgrohe, the Karoo boasts ANT+ and Bluetooth connectivity alongside its own GPS capabilities, enabling it to track and display a wealth of performance metrics so one can dive into every nitty-gritty detail of a ride or workout. We're talking interval tracking, target power, cadence, or heart rate numbers, heart rate reserve (HRR) percentages, live TSS scores, pedal smoothness and torque effectiveness, and many, many more. Like its successor, the Karoo 2, the Karoo seamlessly integrates with TrainingPeaks, providing structured workout guidance whether you're riding outdoors or indoors on a trainer.

Battery life:

Battery life has long been the Achilles' heel of the Karoo units. The array of processor-intensive features drain the battery faster than desired, rendering it impractical for endurance events or bikepacking trips. Given its premium price tag, users understandably expected more than the initial 7-14-hour battery life. Heeding the critique, Hammerhead has increased the battery in this new unit, claiming a battery life of 15+ hours. 

For comparison, my go-to head unit is a Garmin Edge 540 Solar, which boasts a 26-hour battery life in heavy use without solar and up to 32 hours with solar. And in real-world usage, I found Hammerhead's battery life claim to fall short. I like nothing more than spending long weekend days in the saddle on mixed-terrain adventure rides. Here, the Karoo's excellent navigation is a wonderful asset yet 9 hours in, I start getting worried about the unit running out of juice. Despite employing various power-saving tactics, such as dimming the backlight and disabling ANT+ or Bluetooth functionalities, the unit's hunger for power is voracious.  If I'd been using this unit when I tackled the 350-mile Unbound XL race, I would have had to recharge the unit twice, which is a rather distracting inconvenience. To the Karoo's merit, however, the battery does charge quite fast. Just 30 minutes of charging will boost the device back up to 30% and the full battery can be recharged in 2.5 hours.

I can't help but wonder if the Karoo simply has too many bells and whistles, and that it's fallen prey to the desire to create one master product. The myriad features demand substantial processing power, which takes a toll on battery longevity. Frankly, I probably don't use even a third of the unit's capabilities and I wonder how many consumers actively use the majority of the computer's functionality.

Value & Conclusion

The Karoo is positioned as a premium product with a superior display, navigation and user-friendliness, and that comes at a premium price. At $474.99 USD/ £449.99 / $749.99 AUD the new Karoo comes in quite a bit higher than Wahoo's offerings and on Garmin's side, only the Edge 1040 models are more expensive. It's a serious investment for serious cyclists but given Hammerhead's commitment to ongoing support and software updates, consumers are promised long-term value from their investment.

So, is Hammerhead's new Karoo the Garmin or Wahoo competitor we've been waiting for? In many respects, the answer is yes. With its advanced navigation capabilities, stunning display, comprehensive performance metrics and user-friendly interface, the Karoo has all the makings of a top-tier cycling computer. It's just the battery life that continues to give me pause. With that said, for most, a 10-14 hour battery life is more than enough and the Karoo certainly poses a credible challenge to the top computers currently on the market. For cyclists in search of a feature-rich, premium companion for their rides, the Karoo is undoubtedly worth considering.