Hammerhead Karoo 3 In-Depth Review: Worth the Upgrade?

SRAM & Hammerhead have just released the latest version of their GPS cycling computer, the “new Karoo”.

This unit combines much-asked-for hardware updates, with a smattering of software updates, to provide a natural evolution over the existing Karoo 2.

0:00 Quick Overview
0:42 The Name
1:51 What's New & Hardware Specs
3:18 Responsiveness & Lag Testing
4:51 New Audio Chirp Loudness Test
5:47 SIM Removal & Companion App
6:35 Rain Responsiveness Thunderstorm Test
8:11 Basic Ride Usage & Menus
11:35 Sensors & SRAM RED AXS Integration
11:47 Climbing Data Pages (Climber)
15:58 Strava Live Segments
16:50 Finishing a ride and uploading
17:30 Navigation & Mapping
20:58 GPS & Elevation Accuracy
25:04 Battery Life Burn
26:03 Final Thoughts & Recommendations

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#Karoo3 #HammerheadKaroo3

[ilikebikes]

As a belgian the K3 reference is absolutely hilarious

[stevos]

Who noticed as well that on 25:26 the battery time of the new Karoo is compared to a device called "Wahoo Roam V3"? 😁

[kestralrider]

Great video DCRM. I loved the friendly smack talk to GPL. I also learned how Petty Shimano is. Having watched them gobble up market share in the 90s when I worked in a shop, I have no sympathy for them loosing market share each year to an American company. Hopefully they are learning that consumers are looking for and expecting more than fast/smooth shifting. For better or worse, I expect we'll see fast growth of Chinese groupsets in the next decade.

[nrsgiant]

Leuk om al die bekende wegen en plekken te zien in de video. Toch ook maar de Karoo 3 aanschaffen.

[gasken]

Ray - The man with watch tan lines on BOTH wrists

[razvanhalmaciu]

Another great review! Thanks, Ray. Keep 'em coming.

[aliancemd]

2:04 the major change is actually the price, holy sh*t

[mlaw]

Ray, you are awesome! Don’t ever change. 🥭🥭

[LackofFaithify]

I actually pity whoever the person is that has a mind that saw Karoo 3, and somehow became terrified that it would be associated with that group. They must be at 110% stress at all times in their life.

[theFriebe]

@Dcrainmaker 0:30 eagerly awaiting the comparison video! Wanting to buy my first bike head unit but waiting for your review first…Great Karoo 3 review!

[kieranbarry]

i do like the ability to send a google maps location to the device via the app! Trying to find a map point on the device map is a fool's errand! It is a real shame they are not allowing the app for existing k2 users

[willo]

Thanks for review. Looks like very nice riding where you are.

[edittide]

The review I’ve been waiting for so thanks Ray.

There are some nice touches to the K3. As you note the companion App is the standout for me too. The evolutionary update and the price hike is a bit hard to swallow, but I guess as others have commented that is why the K2 will still be around.

Really looking forward to the SRAM Red review too. The integration with the K3 is neat but again nothing that gives you FOMO to spend $4500 and go all in😅

[jeffsancricca]

As long HH keeps supporting the 2, I don’t see enough to spend $500 for the upgrade. Thanks for the great review!

[ggoben]

Also I think u should mention the Karoo can display multiple strava segments at once. Say your starred an entire climb but there’s also a segment for the very top that u also starred. Garmin will ignore that top segment cause it’s still doing the entire climb segment. It can only display 1 segment a time. The Karoo will pop up a drawer for each segment and u can have multiple going at once. A great feature for sure.

[PBazuin]

Loved watching the small error you had at 20:56 while recording :P Always wondered how you went about recording a video like this, now we know :D

[mlegrand]

I'm only here for K3 Mango Mango content. I am so very very disappointed in this cycling computer talk.

[notimestop]

K2 is awesome but has trouble with elevation most of the time. There are some days the elevation is counting up on flat segments or you have 5-10% error in elevation. My workaround : use Strava data to correct Elevetion data every time - so you can compare all rides.

[Iseeyouatyouseeme]

Got the Karoo 2, switched from Garmin and I love it. Definitely gonna get the Karoo 3

[frantzs]

''Mango, mango, coconut, papaya, .. .bananananananaaa... ''. Man that is a lot of mangos.... Great review, got some info I didn't know I needed.