On paper, the forthcoming Hammerhead Karoo sounds superior in many ways to the market-leading Garmin Edge and Wahoo Elemnt GPS cycling computers.
The Karoo and its companion app boast the ability to turn any Strava file from any rider into a followable route, wirelessly. The Karoo can re-route on the fly and do so with various filters like gravel, mountain or road.
It has a large, color touchscreen with a 'full-size' keyboard that works as well as a smartphone, 10-hour battery life with navigation on, and the most impressive list of connectivity options to date: WiFi, 3G GSMTM, Bluetooth and ANT+, plus GPS, Glonass, cellular triangulation and sensor data (accelerometer, compass, barometer) for positioning data.
There's just one problem: the Karoo does not yet exist as a consumer product.
Android-based cycling computer with 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth and ANT+
In development for three years, the Karoo will go on sale later this summer as a consumer-direct product, according to Hammerhead.
As of early May, Karoo has a website touting its features, free shipping and "365 + 1 days free return", but no price, nor indication of a specific on-sale date.
Hammerhead's head of brand, Brooke Summers, told BikeRadar the Karoo has a few features that set it apart.
"Karoo is an Android-brained cycling computer," Summers said, adding that the OS, the large keyboard and connectivity options add to the ease of use in setting up screens, routes and training files either on the computer itself or the app.
"You can create, edit and share routes all from the device," Summers noted. "The routing and navigation are ideal for gravel grinding, exploration rides where you're off the normal map and you really need to know where you're going."
"The Karoo can reroute with turn-by-turn navigation when you change course," Summers said.
Summers also mentioned, "Training and workout features will be added later in the year."
Karoo specs
- 184g / 6.49oz claimed (final weight might be lighter)
- 3.5in Corning Gorilla Glass color touchscreen
- 640x480p screen, 229ppi resolution
- Works with any Garmin-compatible quarter-turn mount
- Price: TBD
- Availability: TBD
Maps and Routing — turn your buddy's Strava ride into a navigable route
Karoo will work on OpenStreetMap base maps, but then Hammerhead has what it claims to be "the most comprehensive bike-specific map data", which can be customized to show terrain preferences like dirt roads, bike lanes and cycling-specific points of interest.
To follow a route, you can use an existing route from a variety of sources or create it on the device itself, or the Hammerhead website.
Many computers can give basic routing help when you upload a GPX or TCX file, such as you'd get when creating a route on RideWithGPS. What's novel about the Karoo is the ability to look at others Strava rides, then turn those into a route you can follow.
Once you select routes on the Hammerhead app or website, the Karoo will automatically update when connected to WiFi.
"No more looking at maps side by side, trying to drop points where you think your buddies went when trying to ride their route," Summers said. "Karoo has a web-app, which lets you copy and paste any Strava ride activity and import the route. For example, if I have never ridden in San Francisco, I could find someone who rides there and import any one of their past rides."
"In terms of how it navigates, imported routes can be navigated as turn by turn if they match to real map data," she said. "If they do not, we will do bread-crumb navigation. In our experience most routes can be navigated, unless riders are truly on unique single track or off-road trails."
