Cannondale Hooligan

Cannondale Hooligan 1 2008, Shimano HB-RM65 front hub, Shimano BR-M486 brakes, Schwalbe Big Apple tyres, Truvativ Stylo cranks, Crankbrothers Egg Beater 3 pedals, Race Face Deus XC Low Riser bar, Procraft 110 mm 40° stem, Fabric Scoop Race flat saddle, Shimano SG-S501 Alfine 8 gear hub, Archer Components D1x Trail electronic shifter with Micro-Adjust Remote, Sprint Power Supply and D1x Cage Mount, Topeak CageMount

Hammerhead Karoo 2 has landed

I pre-ordered the Hammerhead Karoo 2 during the last quarter of 2020, fully aware that I might be getting a device that would still require a significant amount of “continuous enhancements”. In other words, I bought into the promise of Hammerhead delivering “the world’s finest cycling computer” through software updates. Eventually.

In many ways, the Karoo 2 already is a good bike computer. In other ways, however, the Karoo 2 is far behind its competition and most definitely a work in progress. I never considered returning the device. Instead, I look forward to seeing the improvements that Hammerhead will be introducing over time. My other cycling computer is a Wahoo Elemnt Roam.

hammerhead.io

Limited battery capacity and USB-C cable

After about 3 hours of riding, I would expect the battery of my Karoo 2 to be half-empty. On at least two occasions, however, the Karoo 2 died on me with an empty battery after just over 4 hours of use. Unless you turn off the very features which, in all likelihood, made you buy the device in the first place, charging becomes an absolute necessity on longer rides. This is easier said than done, because charging the Karoo 2 while in its mount is impossible with the cable supplied in the box. There just isn’t enough space between the base of the unit and the handlebar for a conventional USB-C plug to fit into. I use a UGREEN Right Angle USB-C to -A Cable and connect the Karoo 2 to a Zendure SuperMini 5K power bank during rides.

Despite its IP67 rating, charging the Karoo 2 in wet conditions may yet damage your device.

Since the release of the Karoo 2, a number of reviews similar to this one have been published on the Internet:

“Usually on rides I’ve found it lasts around 10–11 hours with all my power meter and heart rate sensors connected up, a route loaded, and flicking between screens. Riding without a route loaded (but still with sensors) massively increases the life per charge, to around 13 hours.”
Anna Marie Hughes

After about 10 months of using the Karoo 2, I have come to the conclusion that something must be off with either my Karoo 2 or the running times reported elsewhere

I am going to leave it there.

Komoot limited to 50 planned tours, use Ride with GPS

The Hammerhead Dashboard is supposed to facilitate the integration of the Karoo 2 with services such as Strava, Ride with GPS, Komoot and others. Unfortunately, synchronisation of available routes with any of these services does not take place automatically and requires the use of either a computer or a smart phone.

With Komoot, there is an added limitation in that it is only possible to “sync your 50 most recent planned tours”. Having used other bike computers in the past, I am stunned that this should even be an issue. Komoot users with more than 50 routes to choose from end up in a loop of having to continuously mess about just to get individual routes to show up on the Karoo 2…

The solution to the problem is to ditch Komoot entirely and use Ride with GPS.

The Dashboard itself is of limited functionality. Route planning is rudimentary at best and there are next to no tools for post-ride analysis of your data. While not necessarily a disadvantage, this needs to be spelled out clearly. Integration with third party services should be flawless. Hammerhead’s focus, meanwhile, appears to lie elsewhere.

Missing auto-lap functionality

The Karoo 2 does not offer auto-lap functionality. Currently, there is no way to set reminders of any kind. Hammerhead merely say that they are “working on adding more towards the lap functionality“. This appears to be a long-standing issue with users of the Karoo 1 as well. The auto-lap feature has reportedly spent more than a year in the “development pipeline”, yet Hammerhead are not committing to a “dedicated timeline for its implementation“.

Hammerhead have introduced auto-lap as a feature in Karoo Software Build Version 1.251.1117.

Useless live tracking links

With Software Build Version 1.187.987, Hammerhead appear to be pleased that they “fixed an issue that prevented users from viewing a Live Tracking link if they weren’t logged in ahead of clicking the link.” They are missing the point. What is preventing users from viewing any link is having to register and then authenticate every time they want to access the link. Until such time that Hammerhead get rid of these short-sighted requirements, actual owners of the Karoo 2 won’t be sharing anything.

In the meantime, getting a SIM and data plan for your Karoo 2 does not appear to make a lot of sense. Unless, that is, you’re planning on inflicting Live Tracking links on friends and family…

Hammerhead no longer require registration to view Live Tracking links. This is a welcome improvement and, in conjunction with a dedicated SIM, appears to be working well.

Shand Stooshie Rohloff

Shand Stooshie Rohloff 2019 custom size, Lauf Grit SL fork, Hope Pro 4 front hub, Shimano XTR BR-M9120 brakes, WTB KOM Tough i25 27.5″ rims, WTB Horizon Road Plus TCS tubeless tyres, Middleburn RS8 X-Type cranks, Gates CDX Carbon Drive, Crankbrothers Candy 7 pedals with long spindle, Easton EC90 SL ISA seat post, Fabric Scoop Ultimate flat saddle, Truvativ Stylo T30 flatbar, Ritchey Superlogic C260 stem, Rockgeist PhotoFit triangular framebag, Hammerhead Karoo 2 computer, Exposure Sixpack front light, Lupine Rotlicht rear light, weight 11,8 kg

Pathlesspedaled interviews: Jan Heine


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“…but beyond that you just go for a ride and, you know, usually, especially when you are riding with friends, you’re talking. Not about bikes, about anything. And so you sort of forget the whole bike thing and the bike intrudes when it does things that you don’t expect. Or you never notice the bike, you say ‘man, this is a great bike’ we just rode, you know, 75 miles and not once did I think about the bike. You know, so it sort of the best bike is the one that you don’t notice. And, you know, people sometimes think because we focus so much about bikes [sic] and technology that we’re constantly thinking about bikes. But I think about my bike when I am not riding, so that I don’t have to think about it when I’m riding.”

Jan Heine

Ti flies when you’re having fun

“Nevertheless, the fact remains that the age of 40 has long since disappeared in my helmet mirror (no, I don’t use a helmet mirror, it’s just a metaphor), and while colonoscopies and mole removals may take up more of my time than I’d like, overall I’m rather enjoying pedaling down this particular stretch of road. In fact, I like to think my latest velocipedal acquisition is a perfect encapsulation of where I’m at right now.” Bike Snob NYC, through space and time, has recently given himself a trans-dimensional high five for finally aquiring that new bicycle.

bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com

Terrorists don’t scare city cyclists. We already have to deal with cars.

“If there’s one group of road users virtually immune to being cowed by a lowly act of terrorism involving a motor vehicle, it’s cyclists. We’re reminded every day—through rolled-down car windows, on too-narrow roads, via social media—that we “share” the roads with people who actively hate us and that our interests (including safety) come behind theirs. Every one of us knows what it’s like to stare death in the grille. Daily riders have all had drivers aim their cars at us as if they were about to plow us down, whether because of run-of-the-mill inattention or out-and-out road rage. This reality is priced into our decision to ride.” Eben Weiss alias Bike Snob NYC offers the urban cyclist’s perspective on the latest terrorist threat.

www.washingtonpost.com

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