Garret Joyce, CEO of Wahoo, sits down to explain how a company built by athletes for athletes has become Garmin's fiercest competitor—and why the real opportunity for growth isn't in stealing customers from other bike computer makers, but in bringing 500+ million new people into cycling and endurance sports entirely. He shares lessons from leading Mercedes, Delta, and Proterra, and reveals where indoor training, AI, and the future of cycling tech are actually headed.
Key Takeaways
- The biggest competitive advantage isn't building better products than Garmin—it's staying nimble and focused. Large legacy companies are powerful but slow; Wahoo's strength is understanding athletes deeply because the team actually are athletes.
- Market expansion beats market share theft. Instead of fighting Garmin for the same 40 million hardcore cyclists, Wahoo is targeting 400-600 million aspiring athletes globally—the soccer player who cross-trains, the sedentary person who buys a Peloton, the runner who wants better conditioning.
- Destigmatize and lower friction to unlock growth. Removing gatekeeping language (power zones, cadence, heart rate zones), making setup easier, and welcoming 'dumb questions' (Why can't I flip my bike when it punctures?) is how you onboard new athletes—the exact strategy that made Peloton successful.
- Indoor training has evolved from a winter compromise to a legitimate alternative to outdoor riding. Wahoo's ecosystem (smart trainers, fans, climbing simulators, integrated wind sensors) now delivers physiological benefits comparable to outdoor training—Garret proved this by doing zero outdoor rides November–March and crushing a 125km ride outdoors afterward.
- Diversity of thought and lived experience matters more than homogeneity. Pairing someone like Ian Boswell (ex-pro cyclist) with Garret (automotive/airline executive) creates richer decision-making because they see problems differently and validate solutions across different perspectives.
- Female participation in cycling remains stuck at 20% because of compounding friction: intimidating vocabulary, poor bike fit support, exclusionary kit design, and male-dominated group culture. Solving this requires hiring more women into product design, not just good intentions.
Expert Quotes
"This is a company that's founded and built on products that are designed and developed by athletes for athletes. And that's our single greatest strength. We truly understand the psyche and mindset of an athlete."
"The rising tide lifts all boats. We're looking to bring more people into the space so that we can grow the sport as a whole because we're not playing the one-for-one game where Wahoo gains a customer at Garmin's expense."
"I think the development curve will continue to happen and that generally means that you've got to develop the hardware to support the continuous needs of the software demands."
"There's a vocabulary that is restrictive because it's intimidating. If you're trying to bring somebody new into the sport and you go straight to deeply technical components, it's overwhelming."