Wahoo is taking chunks out of Garmin’s share

DCRAINMAKER’s week-in-review usually has some interesting endurance tech stories and the latest edition was no exception. I was intrigued by the story which cited Moody’s downgrading of Wahoo’s corporate debt. If you are interested in the higher echelons of all-things-financial then that’s an excellent article. I’m more interested in the sales/marketing side of things and I’ve taken out a few gems that I personally find interesting plus got some intel from some more subjective sources which I’ll outline below.

Here are the quotes from Moody’s and S&P Global via SGB Media

Wahoo’s liquidity will be constrained over the next 12 months by Moody’s expectations of negative free cash flow of around $30-$35 million and high reliance on its $30 million revolver facility.

Wahoo has a good record of successful new product launches and it expects significant sales and earnings contribution from several new products and refreshes in late 2022.

There is also uncertainty regarding macro-economic conditions, particularly in Europe, the company’s largest market,

Additionally, the company faces intense competition from larger competitors such as Garmin and, to a lesser extent, Peloton, who are engaging in aggressive promotional activity to sell down excess channel inventory.

My Thoughts

OK let’s get the new product bit out of the way. I’ve no intel on this and respect my contracts in any case (NDAs). To any casual observer of product cycles, 2022 coincides with a refreshed Wahoo ROAM and refreshed KICKR. I think there is also something a little unexpected but not a Rival Gen 2.

I’m surprised that Europe is Wahoo’s largest market. Essentially this statement will probably mean that Germany and the UK outstrip the USA in terms of sales, with Spain, France and Italy together making a decent contribution. Wahoo definitely sells well in the  UK, you see them everywhere and, as I’ve said numerous times, everyone I cycle with uses Wahoo. But for all of that to outrank the USA I do find surprising.

My view on the strong Wahoo sales position was also bolstered by a very recent visit of mine to my local bike store (LBS) where I usually quiz some unsuspecting sales assistant on what’s happening. This particular LBS is a big one in UK terms and the sales assistant pointed out that Wahoo takes a BIG chunk out of Garmin sales of bike computers. On a separate visit to the same store, there was a big cardbox box full of ELEMNT bike computers (IIRC) and the sales rep then said that these would all be sold today and tomorrow (over the weekend). There must have been 30-50 units in there and the sales would be counter sales and nothing to do with online sales.

Again the sales assistant pointed out that people buy Wahoo because a) they just work and b) they are simple to use. I felt vindicated as I’ve said the same thing for years.

Finally, I wasn’t sure where the article’s take on ‘aggressive promotional activity’ came from. Sure there have been sales but aggressive? I wouldn’t even call them unusual. Perhaps someone can point out in the comments some deals they’ve seen in their country. You have to wonder if the excess channel inventory comment explains Garmin’s (B2B/channel) sales over the last few years ie explains its excellent financial performance over the pandemic because it is selling well to the shops but the shops are not selling as well as they might to us. Or maybe Garmin stuff just isn’t selling well (see Q1 results)

Take Out: I confidently predict that both Garmin and Wahoo will still be in business by Christmas and with some new products to show us. 😉

And, yes “Wahoo is taking chunks out of Garmin’s share” really was a pretty much verbatim, unprompted quote from my LBS.

Last Updated on 21 January 2026 by the5krunner

the5krunner

tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. ID