It’s been exactly 30 days since Wahoo started shipping their first GPS bike computer, the Wahoo ELEMNT. The unit was announced last year at Interbike in September, and while they had planned to have it in your hands by Christmas, it didn’t quite work out. No worries, they say the best things come to those who wait.
The question virtually everyone has is whether or not the ELEMNT will dethrone Garmin in the GPS bike computer world. So I set out to figure that out. Since last fall I’ve used more ELEMNT pre-beta, beta, almost-RC, and now production devices and software versions than I can shake a stick at (or a lot of sticks at). But everything you read here is based on the final version of hardware and software.
I’ve tested it on rides outdoors, indoors, in sideways rain, and hot and sunny conditions, and 5hr+ rides. I’ve used it with every type of accessory it supports, from power meters to SRAM RED eTAP shifting and BSX Muscle Oxygenation sensors. To be sure, there’s an impressive amount of functionality for a first GPS bike computer.
But the question is – is it enough functionality? Ahh yes, let’s begin.
Unboxing:
I’m going to go out and there say that the ELEMNT’s packaging design is one of the best I’ve seen in the sports tech realm in a really long time. Yes, I know you probably think I actually like doing the unboxing section – but in reality it’s one of the things I secretly hate doing. But the ELEMNT’s packaging actually made it interesting.
The box unfurls to a bike handlebar with various images of how the screen looks while riding. It’s explanatory and easy to understand.
Meanwhile, at right you can see the actual unit through the window with an overlay of how things actually look once powered on.
Upon sliding it out, you’ll find a tray with all your accessories.
Remove all those from the wheelbarrow, and you’ve got this:
To begin, you’ve got three different mounts – another first. One for on the stem, one an out-front mount, and then a triathlon bike aerobar mount (TT-bike).
Now, it’s somewhat unfortunate that the stem mount uses zip ties (as opposed to industrial bands), which kinda spoils an otherwise perfect mount threesome.
The others don’t require zip-ties though, and just use a small screw.
Beyond that you’ve got the unit itself. Here’s the front. You’ll notice two buttons on the right side, and three on top (towards the bottom). There’s also another button on the left side.
And here’s the back. On the back it has a quarter-turn mount. Said mount is *NOT* the same as the Garmin quarter-turn mount. The flap/edges are just a tiny bit wider. You can solve this with a file, or, my non-destructive advice after the picture.
Close enough that if you have the standard Garmin rubber band mounts, it fits it if you learn how to get it in the hole. Specifically that if you dip the front end into the mount first, then twist left or right slightly, the tail will follow right along into the mount. Donezo!
Note though that the orientation of the tabs is different than the Garmin Edge series (but identical to that of the Garmin Forerunner Quick Release kits). So just ensure that if you have a 3rd party out-front mount that you can rotate the baseplate 90°. Most support that these days. K-Edge also has a new mount insert as well that they’re selling now for their existing mounts.
Oh, and before I forget, the unit is charged using an included micro-USB cable. That’s the same type of cable you’d use to charge your phone (unless it’s an iPhone).
Finally, a brief word on weight and size. The ELEMNT comes in at 105g:
For comparison, the Garmin Edge 1000 is 115g, the Edge 520 is 61g, and the Polar V650 is 122g. Oh, and the Edge 810 is 98g and the Mio 505 at 130g.
Meanwhile, looking at size you’ll notice the ELEMNT certainly isn’t the slimmest kid on the block. It could probably use a few less burgers and a few more miles of riding. Chubby is an accurate way of looking at it. But it’s shorter than the Edge 1000, and less beefy than the Mio 505 series.
Also, for those coming from the existing Wahoo RFLKT/RFLKT+ (43g), you’ll see it’s substantially bigger. Of course, that unit didn’t have GPS in it and required a phone while riding.
Ok, with the comparisons out of the way, let’s dive into getting it cookin’.
Setup & Configuration:
When it comes to setup and configure of the ELEMNT unit, the vast majority of your customization will be done using the Wahoo phone app (called ELEMNT as well). There is in fact very little tweaking you can do of settings on the unit itself, with the only on-device configuration limited to editing/adding sensors, and turning on/off GPS (for indoor use). Also, you can check for firmware and route updates from the unit itself.
Now to get started you’ll download the app and then start up the ELEMNT, which gets you to this QR code:
Now, you simply scan the QR code with the phone app. This takes under a second (way under a second) to complete. And pairing is now done!
Actually, technically it’ll ask you to confirm the request – but now it’s done. This is approximately 1,328 times cleaner and more efficient than any other fitness device out there (and virtually identical to how Apple does it on the Apple Watch).
With that complete, you’re ready to configure things like data screens or preferences. One of the first things I’d do though is to setup your WiFi networks. This allows it to check for firmware updates and download routes. So go ahead and add in any networks you’d like.
Once done, tell the unit to check for a firmware update and then update if required. At the rate/pace of Wahoo’s firmware updates, there are massive differences in these updates – so it’s definitely worthwhile.
With that setup, I’ll go back in and edit my data pages. Now Wahoo has a kinda-neat/kinda-odd concept when it comes to data pages. You can configure numerous pages, but each page will have an ordered set of data metrics that you can increase or decrease in quantity later on. Said differently, you can (on the fly) go from having two data fields shown to nine data fields shown mid-ride (on a single page). It’s neat in that you can drop-off less desirable fields, but then add them back in later if you want them. It’s odd in that sometimes I just wish I could set up a set number of fields per page and not have to screw around with the extras game.
In any case, you go through a data field picker to add and order your metrics and pages, like below:
I’ll cover the whole increasing/decreasing thing in the next section on ‘Day to day Use’.
You’ve also got some ‘common’ pages (that you can enable/disable), for aspects like route following or climbing. You can tweak those slightly. Further, if you have a trainer connected, you can tweak that data page too. Overall, tons of tweakage potential.
Next, you’ll want to setup the LED lights along the top/side, in terms of what they mean. You can specify which metrics the side LED’s are tied to: Heart Rate (HR), power, and speed. Further, you can change what to use the top LED’s for. And you can tweak some sounds.
These heart rate zones can be customized within the app. Note however that there is not an option to configure power/speed/cadence zones.
This is also the same section of the app that you’d tweak your weight/height and other biographical stalking goodness.
Next, we’ve got general usage settings around alerts, basic ride settings (auto pause, auto lap, and the backlight). In general you’ll find that while the ELEMNT settings in these categories aren’t as granular as on comparable Garmin Edge series devices, they do get the ‘must have’ concepts covered.
Take for example the backlight settings. On an Edge 520 you’ve got numerous options ranging from a few seconds to a minute. On the ELEMNT, you’ve got three options: Off, 5 Seconds, or On. This is not Burger King. Correction: Burger King it is! Turns out if you select 5-seconds within the app you can then tweak the value. Boom, Whopper time!
Finally, you’ll want to setup apps to integrate with. For example the unit can automatically upload to Strava, Training Peaks, Garmin Connect, Today’s Plan, and more. What’s cool is that you can set these up via the app (and sync that way), but it’ll actually do the sync via WiFi to these directly as well. So as soon as you pull into your house/apartment/garage and click finish, it’ll upload via WiFi to these software apps.
The whole upload process generally works well, albeit perhaps a tiny bit slower than the Garmin sync process. But usually things get there within a minute or two for me (to Strava for example), using WiFi. If I use Bluetooth Smart via my phone, as soon as it syncs to the phone it only takes a couple of seconds to show up on the 3rd party platforms.
Day to Day Use:
Ok, now that we’ve got the whole thing all setup, let’s just get using the darn thing. After powering it on, you’ll be brought to a main dashboard screen. By default the GPS will be enabled, but you can turn it off by just tapping the upper left button (such as for a trainer ride).
On the main dashboard screen, it’ll be your first data page. So ‘dashboard’ is probably a bit of a misnomer, since it’s really just ‘Page 1’ of your ride screens. From here you can use any of the buttons on the unit to control what happens next. I’ve outlined them below in a handy little chart. It’s kinda self-explanatory.
What is so self-explanatory, until you’ve seen it though, is the up/down buttons. This allows you to increase or decrease the number of data fields per page, on the fly. To begin, let’s start with this main page I’ve setup. First, look at the fields I’ve configured within the ELEMNT phone app. Notice how I can change the order of them by holding them down:
Now watch on the ELEMNT itself as I go from 5 fields to 9 fields. You’ll see the fields that were lower down my list drop off. Don’t worry, it’s still recording all that data – it’s just not shown. Here’s a handy little animated GIF showing me going from 1 field to 9 fields.
Next, I can tap the ‘Page’ button to switch to another page, such as the Climbing page, which tracks your ascent/descent. Again, this is totally customizable – and you can also increase/decrease the fields per page. You’ll also note the tiny little arrow next to some fields. This shows whether I am above or below the ride average. So in the case below, my current watts (showing as 216w) is below my ride average. And my current speed (6.7MPH) is also below my ride average. The top data field I had configured at my 5-second rolling average.
Then we’ve got the map page. You can change the single metric up top. Clicking the up/down arrows increases the zoom. But we’ll get back to the map page in a moment – so hang tight.
Here’s an example of a page I created for connecting to SRAM RED eTAP. I just added a boatload of shifting gear metrics. Really, this is totally overkill, but I just wanted to demonstrate the concept.
You can create up to four additional/custom data pages, each with up to 10 pieces of information on them. Plus you’ve got some pre-set pages like the Map/Climbing/Trainer pages that you enable/disable. So 10 pages in total.
Once you’ve maxed out on data metric overkill, it’s probably wise to actually start riding. Just hit the ‘Start’ button.
Like all other bike computers, you simply hit the ‘Lap’ button to create a lap marker. You can also setup auto lap too by either time or distance.
Now is as good a time as any to talk about the buttons. In general while riding you’ll be using the right-side buttons (up/down), as well as the lap and page buttons. These are relatively easy to find in terms of you locating them (with or without gloves). However, they are a bit stiff to press, and can sometimes take a few presses to get it to take.
As far as screen clarity goes – the ELEMNT is super-crisp. I’m sure some folks will appreciate the far greater font sizes used if you decrease the number of metrics on a page. While I know some people have challenges with readability in the Edge series units in direct sunlight, I’ve really never had a problem. So for me, I don’t see a meaningful difference in terms of ‘Can I read the display’ between the two units – since they both work just fine.
To stop the unit you just press stop. That’ll basically pause it. You can then save it later on by pressing to end the ride.
Once you do that, the ride ends. You’re not brought to any sort of ‘Summary’ page of your ride when you end. It’s just sorta back to starting another ride. However, you can hit the ‘History’ button, and then view some metrics for your last ride. As with other data pages, you can press up/down to increase/decrease metrics shown.
You can also show the weekly totals as well:
Going back to the device for some mid-ride items of note, I want to chat about the LED’s. These LED’s are along the side and top of the unit. The left one is semi-customizable for showing your current zone status for power/HR/speed. Meanwhile the top one is for showing notifications/alerts. Below (blue LED’s) you can see I have it setup for power, and in this case, showing my power against the average power for the ride.
I think the concept here has potential, though it does need a bit more fleshing out and needs to allow the user a bit more customization of them.
Another feature that needs more help is the Live Tracking. Now technically this is split into two pieces. First is the ability to allow friends and family to track where you are. The unit can be configured to automatically e-mail (or a tweet) a pre-defined list of contacts anytime you start a ride. No need to do anything else extra in terms of steps, it just happens. This just requires your phone be on you – and that the ELEMNT app be open somewhere in the background.
You can also create a ‘static’ link that never changes. That’s useful because I’ve found the connection drops semi-often and when it does then the one-time tracking links are dead. So it’s almost better to share your forever-link (to close friends).
However, realistically, your friends and family will find this kinda useless. The unit only shows your current position. That’s it. No history, no track of where you’ve been. No sensor data, nor a map of your pre-loaded/planned routed. Just a dot.
In talking with Wahoo, they said that they plan to add more functionality in this area, but not till later this year.
Now in addition to the option for friends to follow you, you can also see other ELEMNT users on your actual device. Though, regrettably I lack friends with ELEMNT units here in Paris to try this out.
Last but not least is the smartphone integrated notifications. This enables you to receive text, phone call, and e-mail alerts on the ELEMNT mid-ride. You can enable/disable any of these individually via the ELEMNT phone app. While riding, the text messages will display nice and big, and are easy to read.
There’s also a ‘Do not disturb’ option too, if you want to simply mute notifications while you’re already mid-ride.
Beyond the features discussed here (and the mapping/trainer sections), things are fairly ‘clean’ forward on the ELEMNT, with ‘clean’ being a nice word for ‘basic’. Meaning, there are no functions like structured workouts, workout calendars, or training plans. You can’t create or download workouts to the unit to do, nor can you setup things like alerts (i.e. cadence/power/speed/HR), or any of the other numerous customizations you can do on a Garmin Edge unit. For many people, that’ll be just fine. In fact, for me – I rarely use those features, so in that sense it’s not a deal-breaker for me.
Mapping:
The ELEMNT includes basic mapping and routing. It does not at this time however include turn by turn navigation. What’s the difference you ask? Well, the ELEMNT is essentially like the Edge 520 today, in that it can have a basemap showing streets and your route. But it doesn’t know that you’re actually on Maple Street and that you just missed your turn and the next option is Grand Street. Instead, what both of these units do is show you the route overlaid on the streets, and you can best match what you see in real life, to what’s shown on the screen. Finally, in the case of Wahoo, they come with a global basemap that’s rather detailed and very functional. Whereas with Garmin’s Edge 520, you get a totally useless basemap, but then you can manually layer in free 3rd party maps.
In the case of Wahoo, they primarily pull route information from your accounts in 3rd party sites. So if you want to route somewhere, you’re basically going to need to use Strava or RideWithGPS to get the route to the ELEMNT. That’s because the ELEMNT will enumerate routes from those accounts.
To start, I’ve created a route for tonight’s ride on Strava, using the ‘Create a Route’ option. In my case tonight, I’m just creating a route for the first portion of the ride, and then after that I’m simply doing loops for a while. I’m using the route primarily to figure out how to get between two points most efficiently.
Then you’ll want to name it something useful so you can find it later.
Before we continue, you’ll have wanted to previously linked up Strava to the ELEMNT (see the section on ‘3rd party integration’).
Once that’s done, you need only go into the ‘Routes’ page on the ELEMNT and press sync. Though, in most cases it’ll sync automatically. It currently does this sync via WiFi (and only WiFi), so you definitely want to do this before leaving home. Wahoo says that Bluetooth Smart sync via your phone is on the way though. Note in the list below it shows which platform those routes are being pulled from (i.e. Strava & RideWithGPS).
After that you’ll go ahead and select the route from the list of routes, which will then activate it as your route to follow. Note the check box next to the route, and that it’s listed in the ‘Selected’ category up top.
From there you’re ready to ride. The map page will show you the route overlaid onto the map. Since the screen isn’t color, you’ll instead see these arrows on the route (sorta like the arrows from Mario Kart years ago).
At this point the map doesn’t display street names, though Wahoo says they are looking at some options there. You can zoom in on the map, as well as zoom out. Both are done by using the up/down buttons. Note that there’s a small scale icon at the bottom, as well as a compass up top. The scale though can be rather difficult to read, since it’s black text on more black text.
At this point it’s important to remember there is no turn by turn directions, nor are there notifications to turn. You’ve just gotta stay on the map page and keep on following.
There are however notifications if you are off-course. So if you miss a turn then the unit will flash the top LED’s RED, at which point you can figure out how you messed up.
Finally, one cool piece on the mapping front is that it will show your planned route elevation on the climbing page. You can see below my current position as I made this small climb, and the planned route elevation ahead of me.
Note that there are also no ‘back to start’ or similar functions. A route is a one-way thing in the world of ELEMNT. You’re on that train track till the end, and if you fall off of it, it’s really your problem to find your way back to that track.
Overall, the functions in navigation are fairly limited in comparison to something like the navigation focused Edge 1000 (or Edge 810). But that’s to be expected, the Edge 1000 is far more expensive. On the flip side, the navigation capabilities do fall short of the Edge 520, which is in the same ballpark. True the Edge 520 doesn’t have a globally detailed basemap, but for 99.99% of riders, you can simply load the locally detailed map at the moment of riding. Same goes for the Polar V650 as well.
I think Wahoo will get to the same level as the Edge 520, but it doesn’t sound like that’ll happen soon. Right now much of the catch-up navigation type features are planned to be added by “end of year”. Of course, it’s worthwhile noting that if you don’t often use your bike computer for mapping/routing – then none of this really matters. For me personally, simply being able to show the route is generally good enough, as most of the time I have a general idea of where I’m going on a new route and just want reassurance.
Trainer Control:
Without question, the ELEMNT does the best job out there of being a bike computer that can control a trainer. It probably stands to reason that one of the few companies that makes both bike trainers and GPS bike computers (of which PowerTap/CycleOps is the other), managed to get it right.
Sure, Garmin introduced ANT+ FE-C control last summer within the Edge 520. And that works well enough as a basic way to control your trainer. But for my particular use case (setting the wattage), the ELEMNT nails it. Of course, to begin you’ll need to scan for your trainer and then add it as a sensor. As of this writing the company only supports the Wahoo KICKR & KICKR SNAP trainers, and unfortunately FE-C support for other trainers won’t happen till next trainer season (Northern Hemisphere trainer season, aka Fall 2016).
Once that’s done, you’ll be able to customize the trainer control page that’s within the data page settings. This page will show up anytime the trainer is connected (and will otherwise disappear when you’re outside riding around).
When connected to a trainer, you’ve got the ability to do a spin-down or calibration of the unit, as well as to simply delete the unit.
You’ve also got a few modes that you can use to control the trainer. For trainer aficionados, these will likely be familiar. But let me give you a quick overview:
Erg Mode (Target Watts): Allows you to specify a given wattage level – i.e. 150w, 237w, 350w, etc….
% Resistance Mode: In this you specify in % a given resistance level – i.e. 10%, 25%, etc… Note that this isn’t grade though, just total resistance available.
Route Mode: Here you specify a saved route (from one of the ones you’ve downloaded to your unit).
Passive Mode: In this case you’ve got another app controlling the KICKR (i.e. Zwift), where the ELEMNT just chills out and records the data.
Level Mode: Simply set a resistance level, i.e. ‘Level 3’.
Now most of my time has been in simple ERG mode. It’s just what I use the most. That means that I’m simply just setting the trainer at a specific wattage, on demand. This is awesome because in the past I had to use the phone app to control the KICKR on demand (or use a structured program like TrainerRoad).
Ok, but you say: ‘Yes DCR, but the Edge 520 already has that!’. To which I respond: ‘Have you ever tried actually using it to do any form of constantly changing interval workout?’
Your response would be to either break down crying in agreement, or say ‘No, not yet’.
That’s because changing the wattage manually on the Edge 520 is like a workout for your fingers. Which is the last thing you want to be doing when you’re trying to do 30×30 intervals (i.e. alternating between 500w and 150w). Whereas on the ELEMNT, it’s beautifully designed. On your resistance page you can simply tap the middle button to shift between the three digit placements (hundreds, tens, ones), and then use up/down to change wattage.
Thus, to go from 340w to 140w takes two button presses, with the KICKR instantly responding.
About the only thing I wish I could do here is to have a dedicated lap button on the resistance page (the lap button goes away while on that page, so you have to shift to another page).
In many ways, the ELEMNT finally truly realizes the long held goal of Chip Hawkins (founder of Wahoo Fitness). See, way back when he offered to make a connected head unit for the CompuTrainer (for free), they declined, and Chip built the KICKR. The KICKR has since dominated the trainer world. Next, Wahoo had long hoped for integration to Garmin head units. That didn’t pan out, and here we have a Garmin GPS competitor. The real question is – what’s the next chapter of this story?
Sensor Support
Within the span of the four weeks since the ELEMNT’s release, the ELEMNT has arrived at being the bike computer that supports the most cycling sensor types (or any sensor types). As of this writing, it supports:
ANT+ Heart Rate sensor
ANT+ Speed-only sensor
ANT+ Cadence-only Sensor
ANT+ Speed/Cadence Combo Sensor
ANT+ Power Meter
Bluetooth Smart Heart Rate sensor
Bluetooth Smart Speed-only sensor
Bluetooth Smart Cadence-only Sensor
Bluetooth Smart Speed/Cadence Combo Sensor
Bluetooth Smart Power Meter
Shimano Di2 System (via private-ANT)
SRAM RED eTAP System (via ANT+ Gear Shifting Profile)
BSX & Moxy Muscle Oxygenation sensors (via ANT+ Muscle Oxygen Profile)
Wahoo KICKR/KICKR SNAP Trainers
Note at the moment there isn’t yet recording of the Di2/eTAP data, nor is there the ability to set your various chainring/cassettes. That’s coming though.
The above list captures the vast majority of cycling sensors out there today. If you were to boil it all down into things that the Edge series doesn’t support, it’d be:
Bluetooth Smart sensors (of all types)
SRAM RED eTAP System
BSX/Moxy Sensors (Muscle Oxygen sensors)
Then there are things that the Edge series supports that Wahoo doesn’t (yet):
Garmin Varia Radar systems
Garmin VIRB Action Camera
ANT+ Lighting Control (Garmin Varia lights)
ANT+ Remote Control
ANT+ Weight Scales
ANT+ FE-C Trainers (most electronic trainers except Wahoo trainers)
Of course, all of these things may or may not matter to you. Wahoo did note that they are looking at the ANT+ Lighting control, as well as GoPro integration – but don’t have dates for either at this time.
Ok, so that’s all nice and cute – but how the heck do you add sensors? First, you’ll tap the left button to get into the menu. At this point you can see existing sensors, as well as add a new sensor. Note that you can save numerous sensors of the same type as well.
Once you click ‘Add Sensor’, it’ll go off and start searching. This process is a bit slow, but it gets there. You can click the ‘More’ button at any time to just see a list of what else is found.
After which you can look at the type (ANT+ or Bluetooth Smart), as well as the ID of the sensor.
This is also accessible and possible to do via the app instead. You can also name them through the app (i.e. ‘Quarq Power Meter’ or ‘Cervelo P3C Cadence sensor’).
Now as I hinted at above, probably the most critical difference in terms of sensors here between the Wahoo units (including the older RFLKT+) and the Garmin units is the ability to utilize Bluetooth Smart sensors. Garmin only permits ANT+ sensors.
Of course in the grand scheme of cycling, there are only a handful of cycling-specific devices that are Bluetooth Smart only (looking at you, Polar Bluetooth Pedals), and the original Wahoo BlueSC or original RPM1 units. Beyond that, almost everything is dual (ANT+/Bluetooth Smart) these days. Of course, there are more Bluetooth Smart-only heart rate straps. But there are also numerous ANT+/Bluetooth Smart dual straps available too.
Now switching gears back to the Muscle Oxygen sensor (either BSX or Moxy) – I think it’s worthwhile noting a key near-term substantial difference here to Garmin. In the case of Garmin, they support the Muscle Oxygen sensors via their 3rd party Connect IQ platform. That all works great – except for the fact that you can’t record the data. No, really, it just disappears after you see it on the screen.
Whereas with the ELEMNT, that data is recorded to the .FIT file. So you can upload that to platforms that support it – like Sport Tracks (below). In theory this would also work if you configured Auto Sync between Garmin Connect and Sport Tracks, since Garmin Connect just passes the original .FIT file over to Sport Tracks. But for some reason the SmO2 values don’t show up when I do it that way (but for others it does work). Likely a minor quirk that’ll probably get fixed about 3 minutes after me posting this.
Perhaps someday Wahoo will also enable direct uploads to SportTracks too. Note that as of present the ELEMNT will ‘only’ allow you to use a single SmO2 sensor (i.e. just one Moxy), where some users will use one on each leg. That’s not yet possible.
3rd Party Integration:
When it comes to integration with 3rd parties, the Wahoo ELEMNT is somewhat mixed. That’s because while they support syncing to third party platforms (i.e. Strava, Training Peaks, etc…), there’s no method at this time for 3rd parties to run apps directly on the ELEMNT (like Connect IQ on Garmin devices, or even the Wahoo RFLKT/RFLKT+).
On the 3rd party platforms side of things, you’ll setup the accounts you want to sync to via the ‘Profile’ options within the app. This allows you to ‘link’ various 3rd party platforms to the device.
This is notable because while yes, it’s linking them to the app, it’s also linking the ELEMNT device to be able to accomplish the same sync process wirelessly via WiFi (without your phone).
As of this this writing, you can sync your workout files to the following services:
Apple Health
RideWithGPS
Strava
TrainingPeaks
Today’s Plan
MapMyFitness
Garmin Connect
This list is a bit shorter than the regular Wahoo Fitness app, which also supports platforms like Dropbox, RunKeeper, Cycling Analytics, 2Peak, Nike+, and others. Of course, some of these are likely lesser used in the cycling world – so they probably weren’t a higher priority.
Configuration though of any from the supported list only takes a moment to complete. It’s a standard authorization prompt from that site via the ELEMNT phone app, and then you’re good to go.
In my case, I enabled the option for ‘Auto Sync’, which means the workouts will automatically be sent to all of my configured platforms upon saving the workout. I’d recommend doing the same as it just makes life easy. On average, I’ve found it shows up (on something like Strava) within a couple minutes.
Note that if you want to get it to platforms that Wahoo doesn’t yet support, you can use the Garmin Connect trick. Which is to say you can sync it to Garmin Connect, and then from there to a platform Wahoo doesn’t yet have (for example, SportTracks).
Also worthwhile mentioning is that at present the unit doesn’t have Strava Live Segment integration yet, as was rolled out on Garmin Edge devices last year. However, Wahoo says they plan to have it soon, likely before the end of May.
Finally, the second half of integration here is the routing integration. I talked about that earlier in the ‘Mapping’ section – but just to recap, you can pull routes from Strava and RideWithGPS. Anything you’ve saved on those routes will show up on the device. Though as noted that currently requires WiFi sync for the ELEMNT itself. So if you don’t have that handy (such as traveling without the ability to create a MiFi hotspot on your phone), then you’re kinda hosed. Wahoo says an update is coming though to allow you to sync routes via Bluetooth Smart on your phone too.
Bugs & Quirks:
To say the ELEMNT is perfect would be far from the truth. It’s basically a teenager. In that it mostly works fairly well and does what it’s told. But sometimes it just gets all hard-headed and totally ignores you.
Further, it lacks the finesse of a post-graduate student or older adult. But for most people it’ll get the job done.
Wahoo has made tremendous strides over the last month in terms of fixing bugs. Further, they’ve taken to tracking down bugs seen by users on my previous preview post, as well as the quickly growing Wahoo ELEMNT user group forum. The forum is great in that they respond quickly and can validate whether something is being worked on. Of course, keep in mind that most bugs aren’t seen by everyone, nor do they impact everyone.
Here’s a handful of what I see in the ‘bug’ camp on the *latest* firmware:
– Occasional oddities with WiFi: For example, I had saved WiFi networks, and today while writing this, the ELEMNT pretended it couldn’t find any WiFi networks. Yet, it used those very WiFi networks just two days ago to upload workouts.
– Occasional Bluetooth Smart sensor oddities: Primarily around the BT pedals. The fix is to just use the ANT+ side (dual transmitting). I can’t really blame Wahoo here entirely. The BT power meter landscape is a protocol compliance mess/nightmare. One only need to ask *any* vendor in that space and everyone will readily agree. Ironically, everyone is kinda fighting everyone, getting nobody anywhere.
– Battery life: While this may not be a true bug per se, it should be noted that while Wahoo states a battery life of 17 hours, I don’t think that’s realistic. For example, my 2hr 15min ride (no-backlight) yesterday resulted in a battery drop from 74% to 37%. As such I don’t see how they’d make it to 17 hours. But 8-9 hours is more likely. Other readers have noted similar battery levels.
– Phone Pairing Failed Messages: If I had a nickel for every time I received this message, I’d be able to buy at least a few Chipotle Burritos by now. Most times the message is harmless and can be dismissed, but if it happens during a ride, then live tracking dies.
– Notifications stopped working: This was working for me on iOS, but in the latest release it stopped working. Wahoo says they are tracking down why this occurred.
Note that bugs are things that are ‘broken in a way that wasn’t intended’. Which, as any software engineer will tell you is very different than ‘by design’. Meaning, a feature missing isn’t truly a bug. An annoyance or gap – yes, but not a bug. So there are definitely gaps that folks have noted that Wahoo needs to address (and in many cases have). Here’s a handful of examples:
– Live Tracking is Lame: Merely showing a dot, without any track history or sensor data (or ideally planned route) is pretty close to useless. Btw, those are also the words of both The Girl (my wife) and my coach. At least show me where I’ve been. Wahoo says they plan to improve this by the end of the year.
– Customization is limited: We’ll see areas such as heart rate zones, but not power/speed/cadence zones. We don’t have the ability to setup alerts (like high/low cadence/HR/power/etc…) either. It’s just lots of little things.
– Lack of ability to set crank length: At this point you cannot configure crank length for units like the PowerTap P1 pedals (though, you can do that in the PowerTap app).
– Just a lot of little things not yet implemented: Many of them are silly stuff – like being unable to delete a route off the unit. And some are items that may significantly impact some (like lack of power zones or route/turn notifications), might not at all impact a different group of people. In some ways, there are countless numbers of these. It’s hard for me to differentiate what some people find is ‘OMG I HATE WAHOO HOW DID THEY MISS THIS!?!?!?’ to ‘Shrug, who cares?’, since I find people have dramatically different expectations on many minor features.
Hopefully though, we’ll see these addressed quickly. Note again that I didn’t cover all the bugs that have since been fixed. I’d say the first week or two were pretty rough, but the latest update about 10 days ago dramatically cleaned things up.
Product Comparison:
I’ve added the Wahoo ELEMNT into the product comparison tool. This allows you to compare it against other products I’ve reviewed and see how it matches in terms of the various features. In the case of below, I’ve put together a few of the comparable units together on a single chart. So in this case I added the Garmin Edge 520, Edge 1000 & Polar M450. The Edge 520 is comparably priced, whereas the Polar M450 is quite a bit cheaper. And the Edge 1000 is much more expensive. But they cover some distinct feature areas, and are really the only mid/high-end bike computers I’d recommend today anyway. But again, you can mix and match your own comparison charts here.
| Function/Feature | Wahoo ELEMNT | Polar M450 | Garmin Edge 520 | Garmin Edge 1000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copyright DC Rainmaker - Updated April 9th, 2021 @ 10:27 am New Window | ||||
| Price | $329 | $169 | $229 | $599 |
| Product Announcement Date | Sept 15th, 2015 | June 4th, 2015 | July 1st, 2015 | Apr 9, 2014 |
| Actual Availability/Shipping Date | March 1st, 2016 | July 2015 | July 31st, 2015 | May 2014 |
| GPS Recording Functionality | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Data Transfer | Bluetooth Smart, WiFi, USB | USB/Bluetooth Smart | USB & Bluetooth Smart | USB, Bluetooth, WiFi |
| Waterproofing | IPX7 | IPX7 | IPX7 | IPX7 |
| Battery Life (GPS) | 17 Hours | 12-17 Hours | 15 hours | 15 hours |
| Recording Interval | 1-Second | 1-second | 1-Second or Smart | 1-Second or Smart |
| Alerts | Sound/Visual/LED's | Audio/Visual | Audio/Visual | Sound/Visual |
| Backlight Greatness | Great | Great | Great | Great |
| Ability to download custom apps to unit/device | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Acts as daily activity monitor (steps, etc...) | N/A | No | No | No | Music | Wahoo ELEMNT | Polar M450 | Garmin Edge 520 | Garmin Edge 1000 |
| Can control phone music | No | No | No | No |
| Has music storage and playback | No | No | No | No | Connectivity | Wahoo ELEMNT | Polar M450 | Garmin Edge 520 | Garmin Edge 1000 |
| Bluetooth Smart to Phone Uploading | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Phone Notifications to unit (i.e. texts/calls/etc...) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Live Tracking (streaming location to website) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Group tracking | Yes | No | Yes | |
| Emergency/SOS Message Notification (from watch to contacts) | No | No | Yes | No |
| Built-in cellular chip (no phone required) | No | No | No | No | Cycling | Wahoo ELEMNT | Polar M450 | Garmin Edge 520 | Garmin Edge 1000 |
| Designed for cycling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power Meter Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power Meter Configuration/Calibration Options | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power Meter TSS/NP/IF | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Speed/Cadence Sensor Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Strava segments live on device | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Crash detection | No | Yes | No | Running | Wahoo ELEMNT | Polar M450 | Garmin Edge 520 | Garmin Edge 1000 |
| Designed for running | No | No | N/A | No |
| VO2Max Estimation | N/A | (For Cycling, yes) | (CYCLING YES THOUGH) | (CYCLING YES THOUGH) |
| Recovery Advisor | N/A | (For Cycling, yes) | (CYCLING YES THOUGH) | (CYCLING YES THOUGH) | Swimming | Wahoo ELEMNT | Polar M450 | Garmin Edge 520 | Garmin Edge 1000 |
| Designed for swimming | N/A | No | N/A | N/A | Triathlon | Wahoo ELEMNT | Polar M450 | Garmin Edge 520 | Garmin Edge 1000 |
| Designed for triathlon | No | No | N/A | No | Workouts | Wahoo ELEMNT | Polar M450 | Garmin Edge 520 | Garmin Edge 1000 |
| Create/Follow custom workouts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| On-unit interval Feature | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Training Calendar Functionality | Sorta | Sorta | Yes | Yes | Functions | Wahoo ELEMNT | Polar M450 | Garmin Edge 520 | Garmin Edge 1000 |
| Auto Start/Stop | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Virtual Partner Feature | No | Sorta | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual Racer Feature | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Records PR's - Personal Records (diff than history) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tidal Tables (Tide Information) | N/A | No | N/A | No |
| Weather Display (live data) | No | No | Yes | Yes | Navigate | Wahoo ELEMNT | Polar M450 | Garmin Edge 520 | Garmin Edge 1000 |
| Follow GPS Track (Courses/Waypoints) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Markers/Waypoint Direction | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Routable/Visual Maps (like car GPS) | Yes | No | Yes for maps (but not routable) | Yes |
| Back to start | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Impromptu Round Trip Route Creation | NO (BUT CAN CREATE ONE-WAY ROUTES FROM PHONE APP) | No | No | Yes |
| Download courses/routes from phone to unit | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Sensors | Wahoo ELEMNT | Polar M450 | Garmin Edge 520 | Garmin Edge 1000 |
| Altimeter Type | Barometric | Barometric | Barometric | Barometric |
| Compass Type | Magnetic | GPS | GPS | |
| Optical Heart Rate Sensor internally | N/A | No | N/A | No |
| Heart Rate Strap Compatible | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Heart Rate Strap Capable | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Speed/Cadence Capable | Yes | No | YEs | Yes |
| ANT+ Footpod Capable | No | No | No | No |
| ANT+ Power Meter Capable | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Lighting Control | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Bike Radar Integration | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Trainer Control (FE-C) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Remote Control | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ eBike Compatibility | No | No | No | No |
| ANT+ Gear Shifting (i.e. SRAM ETAP) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Shimano Di2 Shifting | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth Smart HR Strap Capable | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Bluetooth Smart Speed/Cadence Capable | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Bluetooth Smart Footpod Capable | No | No | No | No |
| Bluetooth Smart Power Meter Capable | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Temp Recording (internal sensor) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Temp Recording (external sensor) | No | No | No | No | Software | Wahoo ELEMNT | Polar M450 | Garmin Edge 520 | Garmin Edge 1000 |
| PC Application | N/A | PC/Mac | Garmin Express | Garmin Express |
| Web Application | N/A | Polar Flow | Garmin Connect | Garmin Connect |
| Phone App | iOS/Android | iOS/Android | iOS/Android/Windows Phone | iOS/Android/Windows Phone |
| Ability to Export Settings | No | No | No | No | Purchase | Wahoo ELEMNT | Polar M450 | Garmin Edge 520 | Garmin Edge 1000 |
| Amazon | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| Competitive Cyclist | Link | DCRainmaker | Wahoo ELEMNT | Polar M450 | Garmin Edge 520 | Garmin Edge 1000 |
| Review Link | Link | Link | Link | Link |
Again, remember you can mix and match your own comparison charts here using the product comparison tool.
Things That Have Changed:
Every once in a while when I review a product that is changing at a very high rate of speed, I’ll add a small section at the end where I can quickly stash updates and notes without having to dig through the entire review and re-tweak a lot of words.
The ELEMNT falls into this category of having vast quantities of features changing on a frequent basis – every few weeks. New features, bugs resolved (hopefully), etc…
Now Wahoo tracks all of this in a single firmware update page located here. So, you can easily skip to that and see what’s changed since the review. But over time I’ll add in some of the ‘highlights’ below in this section. Sound good? Good.
[This space reserved for future awesomeness]
Note that this review is written primarily on the basis of public firmware version WF39-221, which was/is current as of March 31st, 2016. While I have been using numerous firmware versions prior to that, any opinions/statements are based on that latest firmware version. Said differently – if something was fixed prior to this review being published, I’m not going to whack them over the head for it.
Summary:
As you can see, Wahoo’s first GPS entrant is impressive in terms of how much they’ve managed to squeeze in on an initial release. And, things are continually changing. In fact, sometime later today you’ll see another firmware update addressing a handful of items. I believe that’s the 3rd or 4th one this month.
Of course – that doesn’t mean it’s as advanced (yet) as an Edge 520. It’s simply not. But the reality is that for many riders, these advanced features won’t actually matter. That’s because there are features that Garmin doesn’t have (today or anytime soon), such as Bluetooth Smart sensor support or loading of routes from 3rd parties, that will sway folks to the ELEMNT instead. Or, it could be the slightly crisper ELEMNT screen or simply the fact that Wahoo is mind-bogglingly active in a public form with tracking down bug reports and getting them addressed in days. While Garmin is active in a handful of their own forums, it seems rare that they engage with users there to track down bugs and address them.
On the flip side – if you’re looking for some of the advanced routing/mapping features, then the ELEMNT really isn’t the best solution for the price today. Same goes if you want functions like interval workouts, structured workouts, better live tracking, or a slew of different alerting/zones pieces. Or, if you just want a smaller unit like the Edge 520.
For me personally – most of those ancillary features aren’t usually what I use day to day (or even semi-frequently) – so that’s not so much the show-stopper. In fact, as-is today I prefer the base riding experience in the ELEMNT to that of the Edge. But, it’s really the form factor of the ELEMNT that’s the hiccup for me, it’s just simply a bigger unit than I prefer. Give me something similar in size to the Edge 520, and I’d probably jump ship tomorrow. But size is personal, so to each their own.
With that – thanks for reading!
Found This Post Useful? Support The Site!
Hopefully you found this review useful. At the end of the day, I’m an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase – so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device. The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so it’s a fair bit of work (and labor of love). As you probably noticed by looking below, I also take time to answer all the questions posted in the comments – and there’s quite a bit of detail in there as well.
If you're shopping for the Wahoo ELEMNT or any other accessory items, please consider using the affiliate links below! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but your purchases help support this website a lot. Even more, if you shop with TPC (The Pro's Closet), you'll save $40 on purchases over $200 with coupon code DCRAIN40! The Pro's Closet has been a long-time partner of the site here - including sponsoring videos like my cargo bike race, as well as just being an awesome Colorado-based company full of good humans. Check them out with the links below and the DCRAIN40 coupon!
And finally, here’s a handy list of accessories that work well with this unit (and some that I showed in the review). Given the unit pairs with ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart sensors, you can use just about anything though.
Barfly 4 Prime Out-Front Aluminum Mount
I love out-front mounts. Both Barfly and K-Edge make good ones. I primarily use the aluminum ones though, because this mount comes with a GoPro (and light/Di2) adapter on the bottom. So I can mount a GoPro up front and have the footage be rock solid.
The Garmin Varia radar alerts you to cars coming up behind you, well before you see them. It's awesome for quieter roads (country roads/mountains), especially on longer rides. It's less useful for city riding. The RVR315 skips the light.
The Varia radar has become incredibly popular in the last year, with most bike GPS companies supporting it (Wahoo, Stages, Hammerhead, Garmin, and more soon). It notifies you of overtaking traffic. While useless for cities, it's amazing for quieter country roads.
Wahoo RPM Sensor
This dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart sensor will transmit cadence not only to your bike computer/watch, but also 3rd party apps like Zwift, TrainerRoad, and more.
Wahoo SPEED Sensor
Speed sensors are primarily useful for offroad usage. I don't find much of a need for one while road-cycling, but for mountain bike trails they can help alleviate speed/distance issues with poor GPS reception in dense trees.
The Wahoo TICKR is their baseline dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart chest strap that includes basic broadcasting of heart rate data to apps. If you don't care about all the fancy features of the TICKR X, this is one of the best straps out there. The 'just works' factor is high.
The TICKR FIT is Wahoo's optical HR sensor band, and overall it's a pretty solid no-frills offering. It broadcasts dual ANT+/BLE with a claimed 30 hours of battery life. It doesn't have any other features beyond that. Simple and straightforward.
Wahoo TICKR X (2020 Edition)
The TICKR X is Wahoo's top-end chest strap that not only does dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart (with two Bluetooth Smart channels), but also Running Dynamics, running pace, storage of workouts when you don't have a watch/phone, and even music control and laps.
And of course – you can always sign-up to be a DCR Supporter! That gets you an ad-free DCR, access to the DCR Quarantine Corner video series packed with behind the scenes tidbits...and it also makes you awesome. And being awesome is what it’s all about!
Thanks for reading! And as always, feel free to post comments or questions in the comments section below, I’ll be happy to try and answer them as quickly as possible. And lastly, if you felt this review was useful – I always appreciate feedback in the comments below. Thanks!
I’ve had an ELEMNT for about a week now and I like your analogy with a teenager.
It isn’t mature yet, but if you are prepared to stick with it, it may grow up into something fully functional.
I thought this would be the case so while the current product is overpriced for what it does, I’m prepared to stick with it for 6-12 months of software updates and if it doesn’t grow up, there is always Garmin…
As it is, the ELEMNT is perfectly usable for what I am using it for.
Personally, I really like the big screen size because of its legibility and the chunky buttons are easy to use with gloves. My ageing eyes struggle with Garmin colour screens in bright sunlight and I’m not keen on their touch screens either.
Never had any problems in using Garmin in very sunny days and different angles to the sun, always could i see the screen. Also, never had any problems with the touch screen either even with gloves.
For reference, the Wahoo team is very active in the Google group : link to groups.google.com
Thanks Ray.
Since I know Wahoo reads the comments here –
Wahoo, I _want_badly_ to give you my money but i need the following items resolved first –
– Reliable connections to wifi and my phone
– Live Tracking needs to provide more info (this is so my wife knows i’m okay)
Please nail these items and I’ll drop Garmin like a bad habit.
same here
Yes, me too, since The Wife/Girl is in 1984 mode when I’m riding.
And:
– More Smart trainer support besides Wahoo’s. I want to use it to control my Tacx Bushido Smart.
– Interval training
No real dealbreakers, those two. Indoors I could stil use the iPHon/Cyclemeter app/RFLKT+ trio.
One possible dealbreaker: battery life.
I only do 5+hr rides on an organized tour. The organization sets direction markers everywhere, so I don’t need mapping and therefore my iPhone’s 5.5″ display.
When set off, I wouldn’t be surprised that GPS+Cyclemeter app will drain my phone’s battery in 6/7 hours.
Really strange and somewhat disappointing that a dedicated computer with small B/W screen doesn’t do much better.
My edge 1000 barely gets 5 hours. No nav
Excuse me? That’s way worse than the ELEMNT. Or is yours ageing?
Only 5 hours on the Edge 1000? Any chance backlight is set to 100% & Stays on?
Otherwise, definitely not the norm. And, if you can, I’d hit them up ASAP, because EU 2-year warranty will expire somewhat soon (if you bought at launch).
Thanks for this.
No, the backlight is on the standard auto setting. Wi-Fi off while travelling and normally Bluetooth off.
I realise that the battery is on the pretty low side of things – But on the other hand, when I say it lasts five hours, I mean that I get low battery warnings and there is about 10% left at five hours. Not very satisfactory but it hasn’t actually closed down on me so far and I have to say I would personally find it difficult to do more than five hours steady cycling. Also, I don’t want to lose the unit for a few weeks while some company decides to do an investigation, so I’ll probably let it go.
If you follow the link under my name, you’ll find that consumer conflict is what I do day in day out and I think I would rather pass when it comes to my personal life!
No doubt, the down-time is a pain. But Garmin can do a credit-card guaranteed swap. So basically they send you out a brand new unit and then as long as you send your unit back in eventually*, then they don’t charge it.
*It’s a surprisingly long time, as I found out once.
Thanks. That’s interesting. Now you have me thinking.
Where would I find the best support number?
It’d be best to call the local support country, since that’s the one that would ship it to you. So if in France, then: link to garmin.com
I frequently ride double centuries which almost always exceed my Garmin’s battery life. It’s pretty straightforward to use an external battery mounted to your stem that doubles or triples your Garmin’s battery life. Anker makes some great products that are quite inexpensive. Many of the units have more than one USB output, which makes it easy to also recharge headlights / taillights / phones while riding.
I got 3:52 out of the Edge 1000. Yes, backlight was on. Turning that off increased battery life with 1 hour. Still, way too short for my rides, so I returned it.
I’ll echo the outstanding support and platform openness.
We contacted Wahoo about direct SportTracks integration via Twitter and within 24h the teams were exchanging tech details with a plan to get this added in 2-3 weeks.
Contrast to the best “major” – Epson Runsense that took 6 months, and the worst Polar which involved an 18 month exchange of failed comittments and eventually them dropping the ball completely and falling off the face of the planet. Garmin was somewhere in the middle.
Wahoo has the thirst. THE THIRST! And we love it.
Aaron that is great news. I wish wahoo support was the same. i have had some good and mostly bad responses. Taking too long to respond. Maybe that is why they are good on the new products is this tech drive. Wish they had all departments working the same ethos.
vinnychoff
If it comes down to size being a major factor, then many of us in the 40+ age category, who are not already in the Garmin family, may opt for the larger, crisper display on this unit.
Thanks again for your thoroughly excellently done review.
I’ve noticed they remove the profiles (as in group of pages).
Any idea why? will they be back?
Thanks for the review DC… I’ve had my ELEMNT for a few weeks now and have decided to return it and wait until it matures (and buy it again). I was upgrading from a Garmin Edge Touring. The ELEMNT has the potential to be a game-changer in the cycle computer market, it really does. But as it stands, with the current state of the SW (my experience: WiFi dropouts, sensor issues, unreliable syncing, and a few more bugs), I was forced to carry both my old Garmin and the ELEMNT. I was hoping that I’d only need the ELEMNT, but the Garmin, however old, just worked.
That being said, I’ve got to hand it to Wahoo personnel, they have been attentive and sincerely are eager to improve the ELEMNT.
For those considering it now: please note that you’re essentially beta testers from firmware update to firmware update. I’m looking forward to looking back 6-12 months from now and reassessing the ELEMNT. By then hopefully the basic convenience and day to day features (ie. Wifi, autosync, etc) will have been fixed.
As I said before, this thing is head and shoulders more in line with what most of us expect from our electronic devices: Pretty, Slick, Easy to use, and load and loads of potential for improvement. THAT SCREEN!!!! 🙂
Thx Ray for this review.
Sadly you didn’t talk that much about the display and it’s clarity compared to garmin products?! Or did I miss it?
For me it will be the decision between Edge 1000 vs. Wahoo Elemnt (in Germany you will get them for the same price).
I find it very sharp, though, at the same time I don’t have any issues reading the Edge 520/1000 either. I think some folks will prefer the ELEMNT’s screen due to the larger display size (i.e. text size). But I personally don’t have any troubles reading either unit.
In sun, I didn’t notice any issues either.
Thx.
And what about real battery life? How would you compare the garmin 1000/520 to the Elemnt?! Looks like the Garmin is way better, when I read your reviews… Right?
I think preferences for screen type is another item that will vary from person to person.
I think the ELEMNT will be quite appealing for “cyclists of a certain age” whose eyesight isn’t what it used to be (and I’m in that category…)
I believe I will get about 12.5-13 hours out of a full charge, no leds, no backlight which is not needed in any event, using speed, cadence and hr sensors
Ray, great stuff as always. Minor nitpick (yes my pet peeve again): “Though, regrettably I lack friends with ELEMNTS’s here in Paris to try this out.” should be “Though, regrettably I lack friends with ELEMNTs here in Paris to try this out.” That darned apostrophe again…
Here – this may assist you to understand what you are going through.
link to mhreference.org
Hope this help’s.
Ha!
But even in this digital day and age, there is no reason to dispense with correct grammar and punctuation…
Do you feel superior yet? Unfortunately, its not really about that.
Nice review Ray.
One thing I didn’t see addressed is the concept of different bike/ride profiles, and the available sensors for each. The data I want to see on a mtb ride is massively different than what I need to see on a road ride. And the array of sensors across mtb/CX/road bikes are different as well. My #1 field on the road bike is power related, which I don’t have on my mtb. So setting field precedence is a non-starter there. Garmin does a decent job of this with both bike profiles as well separate pages for different ride types.
Since you can create multiple pages, you could achieve this in that way.
Think of a page as a profile.
And as like the new Garmins, there is no sensor profiles anymore. Instead you just save all your sensors to it, and it picks up the ones being used.
Yeah, that’s kind of a pain in the butt then. I’ve got multiple bike specific pages for each activity. Normal view, a couple of lap views (current and previous), a current averages page, and a few other variations depending on the bike. I’d reach the 10 page limit before I even got to my fixie.
Glad I waited for your review before buying. Wanted it to replace ageing Edge 800 with dodgy battery but too many features missing/not ready yet for me (got to judge on what’s available now not what’s promised for the future).
Don’t really want to buy an Edge 810 (knowing my luck they’d release a replacement the day after I buy one) so guess I give up navigation and get a Edge 520 or get a Edge 100 despite not liking the size.
Instead of buying a new Garmin, contact them and you should be able to exchange your old one for a refurb for $100. I did this last year when my 800 quit communicating via the USB cable. Which is a reason that I’d really like a device that uploads via wifi. Looks like battery life and the size of the device are less than ideal on this wahoo.
Good idea! Exchanging for a refurb’d 800 is probably the best solution for me as although newer units have some features I’d like (wireless syncing, sensor pools) they are more nice to have than essentials and the 800 caters for my needs (main things missing for me from Elemnt are turn by turn nav, high/low power alerts, workouts).
Nice to see some proper competition for a Garmin who have been KOM for far too long.
Any features which this new unit might lack are amply compensated by Wahoo’s enthusiastic and customer facing approach which Garmin has been steadfastly lacking in over a long period of time.
Maybe Wahoo’s approach will finally dislodge Garmin from their customer-disloyal entrenched attitude.
I think that the new unit is a definite possible next purchase – depending on what Garmin come up for their next edge 1000 replacement.
What I would really like to see with the Wahoo unit would be a touchscreen – which I suppose is not possible because it is a hardware matter, and a remote control – which might be possible through firmware and which is an extremely useful feature of the Garmin edge series.
In fact, the present lack of a remote control is the only thing which might make me pause before getting a wahoo unit instead of another Garmin
I actually like the ELEMNT buttons – they are chunky enough to use easily with gloves while I struggled to use touchscreen Garmins with gloves.
I agree that a remote would be a nice addition. Apparently Di2 buttons can already be used as remote controls for the ELEMNT but I don’t have Di2…
It will be interesting to see if Wahoo come up with their own product or if they can support existing remotes (Garmin, Bontrager…?)
Great review. Isn’t there mount larger than that of the Edge units? One my of my biggest grips with wahoo is no firmware details anywhere. I understand that not all require a detailed blog, but just the changes alone would be nice or even minimal information.
Looking forward to the changes to this unit for now I will stick to my RFLKT+ (hopefully those updates keep coming too) and maybe consider a deal on a 1000.
Release notes are available on the site:
link to support.wahoofitness.com
How did you locate that. if you go to link to support.wahoofitness.com or even link to support.wahoofitness.com that link isn’t listed.
So again no easy way for me to select any of their items receiving updates and say “what did they change?”
Thanks for this link though.
link to support.wahoofitness.com
It was in the review. 😉
Actually, they’ve also listed it in a few places on social media too over the last week or so. I’ve confirmed with them that it’ll be a cumulative page, so that link will remain valid/static with new updates added to the same page.
Been waiting for this review since the ELEMNT showed up in the wild. I’m still really torn between the Wahoo and the 520. The clevertraining DCR discount might actually be the tipping point for me.
Good review Ray but I was hoping for more about the accuracy of the data. The Wahoo users group has had many comments around this area regarding accuracy issues with not only the acquisition of data but the export of it as well. Can you comment on this? It is hard to get behind a device that gives you data that you cannot count on.
Thanks
Yup, I’ll add a section on data charts here. I was running dual-units for connecting to various sensors (i.e. one ELEMNT + Edge 520), so I’m able to show comparisons between them.
Ray – do you have an update to the data accuracy charts you were going to post? I’m interested in the ELEMNT,but have seen issues with accuracy of power data on the head unit vs. app vs. GoldenCheetah.
Any insight you can provide on accuracy vs. benchmark 520 would be helpful.
Thanks!
Oops, totally forgot to paste those in. Actually wrote them all up on an airplane a month ago. Crap!
Will get them pasted in here tonight. Sorry about that, and thanks for the reminder.
No need to apologize! You are quite busy and doing us a service. 🙂
I am so close to deciding on this over the 520..hopefully return to start is on the to-do list. Glad to see structured workouts and FE-C trainer control on the to-do among a few other items.
Are any shops carrying both this and the 520? Would be nice to play with them in person before making a decision.
…oh and I am also concerned about the ACTUAL battery life. Curious how it really stacks up vs the actual life of the 520.
Yup, I talk about battery life in the Bugs & Quirks section: link to dcrainmaker.com
whoops glazed over that..so it seems that having the B&W screen really isnt much of an aid in battery life vs the 520 color screen. In the comments on the 520 overview it seems people are all over the place battery life wise.. Can you turn bluetooth and wifi off on the elemnt? Didnt notice if you can in the review.. I would think that may help..seems like it does with the 520 (plus backlight). Would be nice to save as much power as possible when doing multi-day bike touring so you dont have to worry about charging as much since its not easy..
WiFi is only enabled when you’ve told it to do something (i.e. ending a ride, or uploading a route). So that’s sorta a non-issue.
BT is enabled when sensors or the phone is connected. But realistically it’s not a big driver of battery life. Typically the biggest drivers of battery life are GPS and backlight (along with the screen).
Thanks for another great review. One question, what are those buttons on either side of your stem?
They order Chipotle burritos on demand. Left one for carnitas, right one for chips & beer on the side.
Guess the left one has more wear on it then? 😛
I’m an equal opportunity button pusher. It’s totally valid to press both buttons at once. After all, that’s how you shift into the big ring. 🙂
The ones that say “SRAM”? Those’d be SRAM “blip” buttons for their electronic/wifi “eTap” shifting system.
Ray,
Minor typo on the text on the picture explaining what each button does – 2nd picture in Daily Use. You have “Down/Decrease Metics” – note missing “r” in “Metrics”.
Great review overall
Grr…that’s a @#$@# to fix (since of course I didn’t save it, done in MSPAINT). Thanks, will update in a bit. 🙁
379€ for the Elemnt vs 384€ for Garmin Edge 1000.. I think the elemnt is far too expensive for what it delivers. At least in Germany..
As I read more reviews on mid to high end bike computers, I’m struggling to see the benefits of switching to a $450+ (CDN) bike computer vs my Samsung ANT+ and BLE capable phone.
Considering I have a wide array of apps to chose from, Wahoo Fitness which is by far the best in my humble opinion, along with the versatility and customization each of them offer, I see little to no value in dropping extra coin on a device that still relies on me carrying my phone during rides to exploit certain features that my phone does anyhow, ie livetracking, text and email alerts.
One could argue size and weight. However, most of us rarely leave for a ride without our phone so weight is not an issue. As for size, unless you’re a pro rider, if the aerodynamic drag of my phone mounted on its slim bike mount vs the Elemnt makes that much of difference, I would be very surprised.
So in the end, another fantastic review but still nothing I see built into this device that makes me feel compelled to lay down some heavy dollars for what my phone is more than capable of doing.
While I fully agree with you that an android-based mobile phone that is ANT+ capable is extremely hard to beat in terms of cycling computer capabilities (I use Ipbike which blows all of the major players out of the water in terms of capabilities & customization, e.g. estimated gearing for everyone, even without electronic shifting), one major drawback is/can be battery life. I know for sure i won’t be able to ride for more than 5 hours with my screen on all the time.
I use a Sony Z3 compact with IPbike.
In airplane mode and backlight set to 50% I use 6-8% battery per hour.
I was looking at the Elemnt as I wanted something with physical buttons as it is hard to use the touch screen with gloves on. However with the user reported battery life I think I will give it a miss for now.
I’ll give IpBike a try. A close second for me is Bicycle Power Meter. Support at Innovative App Designs was great at analyzing my ride data to help correct the Aero Drag Coefficient settings. I’d be interested to see how it stacks up against PowerPod in a ride comparison.
Battery life is a weakness of any battery powered electronic. Based on Ray’s numbers, I tend to agree with the masses that the Elemnt fell short in this department and is in need of a fix. Considering the 37 % drop over 2 hours 15 minutes, I think Ray was even generous with his 8-9 hour estimate. I think it’s more in the range of 6 hours, and that’s with no backlight… ouch!
For rides longer then 4+ hrs, I have a 2800 mAh small cylindrical battery pack that I velcro attach to my stem which effectively doubles my operating time. More than enough run time to say the least.
I do agree with you San. as for Koen’s concern, 20 gr external battery will do the job.
i am not sure how many sensors can be paired with a smartphone?
Ray, what’s missing from this review (unless I missed it) and one of Wahoo’s big selling points, is how the visibility of the screen compares to units such as the Edge 520 and other units. Is it really a big advantage and worth missing out on the benefits of having a color screen?
I talk about it within the ‘Day to Day’ use section.
It’s a tough one to demonstrate impartially (beyond the 100+ photos already), because I’d otherwise be trying to ‘fake’ photos to show good/bad reflections. And typically, that’s more of a camera issue than a eyesight issue.
Of course you do… I should have known that if something was missing it was my reading comprehension at fault, not your detailed reviewing. So it sounds like it’s a wash as far as you’re concerned then. Thanks!
Thanks so much, Ray, and apologies for all the F5 on your server while waiting for this review!
Does Wahoo have such a thing as a published roadmap for their future software updates, or has this information all been collated from various forum response?
I requested specific features timelines from them, which I sprinkled throughout the review. Perhaps I’ll consolidate them into a table and put it in the ‘Things That Have Changed’ section.
Great review as always Ray. Was wondering if a review on any of the Lezyne gps computers were on the cards or is there not enough interest in them?
What is the line-up order in your top view comparison picture?
Battery life is the fatal flaw for me. I like the charge it whenever battery of my Garmin.
“Said mount is *NOT* the same as” … you left out the rest, which I believe you meant to say Garmin’s quarter-turn mount.
Also, ther’es a typo in link to media.dcrainmaker.com for “metics”
Thanks, fixed. Though, will be updating picture soon. I didn’t bother to save the text overlays, so need to re-do from scratch.
I think im going to ditch TACX/Garmin as my turbo setup and buy Kickr/Element – looks like they nailed it!!! Garmin for on road use only as its more compact and i dont like a big unit….
; You can tell the unit is not ready but that didn’t stop wahoo to sell it at full price; not a great start and their forum looks as bad as the garmin forum…
disappointing for sure!
Displays Di2/Ant+ gear data, does it not record it? Does the Garmin 520 record Di2 gear data. It sure woukd be great to be able to analyse this post ride.
Correct, not yet. It sounds like that’s on the short-term radar.
Today the Edge series does record it, however, Garmin Connect doesn’t display it. Instead you can use Di2Stats.com to display it. I believe Sport Tracks also shows it.
Just contacted Wahoo support about the timeline to add Di2 recording to the Elemnt. They said it was not on their feature roadmap, but it was a good idea and they woukd send it as a feature request to the developers… Ugh!
Hi Mike,
It looks like there might have been some confusion, Di2/eTap recording is currently in beta, I don’t have a release date yet but it will be in one of the next few releases.
Hi Ray could you go thru the process of calibrating a power meter. Ive got my stages linked but wasn’t able to get the calibration number to show.
(On a train at moment, so doing from memory)
If you hit the upper left button and then highlight your power meter in the senors list, you should see the lower left button change to ‘Calib’. After that it’ll ask you to confirm you’re in position to do so (so in the case of the Stages, ensure the crank arm is pointed vertically, either up or down). After that it returns the calibration value.
I validated it still works on the latest firmware this morning, via a PowerTap G3.
I’ve been unable to get any calibration done for my new PowerTap P1 pedals, either using the ELMNT or via the PowerTap iPhone App. Nor have I been able to properly set the crank arm length. Any advice on how to do this? My power readings don’t seem to make any sense!
I had trouble connecting to the P1s, unrelated to the ELEMNT. The iPhone connection is a bit unreliable if multiple Bluetooth devices are nearby. Try turning off all other devices (laptops, cycle computers etc) and then open the app on the iPhone. Also, make sure the batteries in the P1s are not running low.
Is it possible to use the ELMNT for Brevets? I have a Garmin 500, 920XT und i can`t use them while charging! Would like to use a Powerbank
mirko
Yep, the USB is on the underside and can charge while in use, you would need to use either the out front or aero bar mounts.
I can confirm that charging via a dynamo and B&M Luxus U worked perfectly for me.
You can charge the Garmin Edge 500 while recording your ride on the bike. You need a particular type of USB cable. That cable will not signal to the 500 that the 500 is connected to a computer; it will just convey the electrical charging from your portable battery. I don’t recall the name of the cable type, but I think Google would be your friend.
Here’s a discussion on how to use the Garmin Edge 500 for brevets and other very long rides: link to bikeforums.net . The posts talk about both homemade and commercial (~$20) on-the-go chargers for the 500, so you can use the 500 while charging on the bike.
While loads of folks have smart phones, it seems a bit shortsighted to only be able to do detailed device setup via smartphone.
Shurg??
That sounds like something a zombie diner waitress would call me when asking for my order. “What can I get for ya shurg?”
No deep strava integration 🙁 no workouts. I mean garmin is atrocious in this department (if we take trainerroad app as comparison). Had so much hope in something new but this one looks like little better looking 820 🙁
Ray,
Was thinking you may want to update your chart for Garmin Devices to state Windows Phone also, since they released that App recently.
I noticed in the review they have a 5s power average. Is there an option for 3s as on my current Edge I use 3s as well as 30s
Climbing page can you adjust the scale on the fly (x and y axis).
On the review, you noted also it does the basic controls for the KICKR as well as allow you to ride virtual routes but am I correct that your review states it can’t do preprogram workout (like trainer road intervals).
The options are, 3s, 5s, 20s, 30s, 1min, 5min, 20min, 30min, 60min
Thanks Wahoo Murray.
Any word on scaling on the climbing page?
The map has a fixed scale, 200m/ft from top to bottom, 2km/miles left to right,
Hey Ray,
In the product comparison chart, you have a category for ABILITY TO DOWNLOAD CUSTOM APPS TO UNIT/DEVICE showing that none of the units support this. Am I not doing this on the Edge 1000 when I add apps to it or is this referencing something else?
Great review as always…your commitment and energy are a boon to all of us.
Nah, just hadn’t updated the database from a few weeks ago. All updated! Thanks!
It looks interesting. Shame they haven’t introduced their own equivalent of Connect IQ or suunto Apps.
In the comparison table, I think you forgot the word “Bluetooth” on “HEART RATE STRAP COMPATIBLE”
Phone connectors are now starting to use USB Type C (my Nexus phone uses this). So it is no longer just micro-USB or iPhone.
In the table I break out compatibility as:
Heart Rate Strap (Yes/No)
ANT+ Heart Rate Straps (Yes/No)
Bluetooth Smart Heart Rate Straps (Yes/No)
ANT+ sensors are in a big section, then Bluetooth Smart sensors. Then some random sensors.
Or did I mis-understand?
Either way – good point in the future about Type-C.
Hi Ray,
That was some intereseting reading, thnx!
I have a Tacx Bushido Smart. Besides an indoor trainer, it’s also a BTLE power meter. You said that Bluetooth Smart Power Meter Capable = YES.
Does this mean that Wattage from the Tacx is recorded to ELEMNT even though only Wahoo Kickr trainers are supported as a complete trainer?
Any planning for support for BTLE smart trainers like the Bushido?
Correct. It would mean that you’d be able to read power/speed/cadence from the Tacx unit.
Later this year, once they add FE-C support, you’d be able to control the Tacx Bushido Smart (any ‘Smart’ branded unit from them).
I don’t expect them to support BLE control of units that otherwise have FE-C, since honestly there’s no legit standard there (on BLE) beyond each company roughly copying each other with some tweaks (thus breaking the concept of a standard).
“Later this year, once they add FE-C support, you’d be able to control the Tacx Bushido Smart (any ‘Smart’ branded unit from them).”
Is it supported now? I would love to have this feature. Also, would like to know if it can be connected in conjunction while using Zwift. Thanks.
Just checked. Sounds like it’s not going to happen till summer (North American summer).
ok. Thanks for the reply.
I know that couple months ago you mentioned that there hasn’t been enough interest about the Lezyne computers, but I would appreciate it if you could do a review since I think the interest has increased somewhat!
Great review, Ray. Just got mine, but disappointed that the out-front mount is only for 31.8 mm handlebars. There are still a lot of 26.0 mm bars out there (like mine) and for $330.00 it doesn’t seem that hard to make a mount that would fit both.
A few turns of electrical tape around your bar under the mount solves that problem.
Yup, or, even just a thin piece of rubber too.
That’s what I ended up doing — just didn’t think I’d be headed to the junk drawer as the first step in mounting my $300 device on my fairly standard bike.
what the official words about Battery life bug？
Unfortunately the “Phone Pairing Failed Messages” are not unique to the ELEMNT – I get them ALL the time on my Edge 510 & Vivoactive. Garmin’s bluetooth implementation is very unreliable & unpredictable!!
Ray will the ELEMNT be able to do a static calibration for garmin vector pedals? Thanks for the excellent review
Yes, it can do a zero-offset, which is what you’re looking for. It does not have the ability to set crank lengths however.
Great post about a Garmin Edge challenger. I hope that Garmin awakes and works more serious on the list of bugs of the Edge 520/1000 firmware.
… I hope the Garmin awakes and engages more seriously with its customer-base.
Most modern companies wouldn’t need reminding about this.
I bought the RFLKT+ and it was the worst buy ever, never connecting to phone or slow, a bit to finicky setting up screens and not many updates to solve issues, I gave up in the end and bought a Garmin 520, so easy, up and running in seconds, don’t have to mess around with phone. The Kickr is good though.
Thanks for the review!
When reading this review, I don’t really see any advantage over my Sony z3 compact. It has
-Ant+ support
-Bt smart support
-gps
-Very sophisticated routing
– Integration with Strava, garmin etc.
-Large screen
-Waterproof
– Etc.
Battery life seems to be more or less comparable and enough for me.
The smartphone is even 100 euro cheaper than the elemnt.
Why should I buy the elemnt or garmin 1000?
Big thanks!
You forget the costs for a good mount and protection against falling.
After a crash I’ll cry harder over a broken phone than over a broken computer. The ELEMNT will have less damage, BTW, due to it’s compact build.
I have thought about this and the Z3 is a good opiton but what app will you use to see. Speed, Power, HR. Splits etc whilst on the bike?
Nice idea michael.
Anybody already use this combo?! And what about the GPS issues the Z3 Compact has at the moment… Doesn’t look that good.
Mac Buddy,
I never had any issues with the GPS. Neither on my bike nor when using it for navigation in my car.
Same here, no issues with the gps on the z3.
I’m genuinely interested, what are the reported issues?
If this ends up supporting the Varia Radar I’ll buy it. Sick of Garmin. Brought a 520 as an “upgrade” from the 510 and it’s a bug ridden mess.
So, the 520 is as buggy as the ELEMNT, but the difference is faster upgrades and updates for a much younger gagdet?
Big pro for ELEMNT.
I’ll be honest, I just don’t hear folks with Edge 520 bug problems. Really, given the vast quantities of units out there, it’s probably one of the more stable products.
In most cases, when I hear of folks with issues with it, it’s because of:
A) Connect IQ related (i.e. an app they loaded)
B) OpenStreet Maps related (some 3rd party map they added)
Or, not an issue, but:
C) Some variant of not liking a particular Strava leaderboard setting.
Beyond that, I run 3-4 of them concurrently on every ride and they’re pretty much flawless for me.
The review is spot on Ray.
I’m really missing turn-by-turn, but other than that I’m 100% happy with the Elemnt. Murray and co are rolling out upgrades / fixes every few days, in my use so far it’s been stable and does exactly what it says it does. Following a route is fine, recording of data is fine and the display is excellent.
I agree with Ray on the form factor, it really does look chunky. Then again, it also looks like it’s built to last.
I still find it odd that my Mio 505 that I purchased 2 years ago, still beats this for features hands down.
Does the Mio 505 do turn-by-turn directions or just a track to follow?
It does both Steve. It does POI, routes made in 3rd party apps, postcodes, point on map, return to home etc. Ive never had a problem with it, makes the maps on the Elemnt look like a 1980’s video game.
Does power, individual profiles, phone alerts, music control, wifi, sync to Strava etc almost everything a Garmin 1000 does.
Ive never understood why it wasnt more popular. Sure its a bit chunky, but ive dropped mine several times and still going strong.
I’d agree Mio was ahead of their time. Unfortunately internal struggles within the company really kept it from taking off (both business and technical). Had they played their cards right, I think they had a legit chance at taking a huge chunk out of Garmin’s cycling biz.
Alas, those opportunities have passed by.
I had a Mio 505, and the hardware was great, it had a nicely laid out UI and a great feature set including trainer control. However, there were loads of bugs (BT S/C sensors doubling the distance (or way more, I once had a 17000 mile ride), sensors would disconnect all the time, the battery life was woeful. And mine kept crashing during rides, missing sections all the time.
Ultimately the lack of updates and support killed it. And when updates did arrive, they were minor had different issues to the previous version that made them no more usable. I returned mine and bought an Edge 1000. It’s not perfect, but it hasn’t put a foot wrong so far.
But there is a lack of competition in the market place so I’m very interested to see what happens with the ELEMNT. I don’t think there is a better company in terms of customer communication and reacting to the market than Wahoo, and they are much speedier in providing updates than anyone else in my experience.
Sounds like you had a dodgy Mio, mines been perfect since day one, no crashes, no sensor dropouts, nothing. Maybe you didnt upgrade it properly?
Battery life isnt great but could easily get a 100 mile ride in.
– Live Tracking is Lame :
Can you setup the ELEMNT so send an email when you stop or start cycling?
I had an accident last year. My wife noticed that the “stop” mail wasn’t followed by a “(re)start” mail. She then called me to find out about my crash with ambulance sirens ringing in the background.
So, very handy besides mails on time/distance intervals.
It’s only upon start.
So only on start? And opening the static link always returns the updated/current position?
This needs improving. Cyclemeter allows you to set any kind of trigger you want: time, distance interval, start, restart, stop, done. Even thresholds of power, heart rate etc.
Ray, I’ve been waiting for a new Edge 8xx ever since my 800 kicked the bucket last year (to forestall the “you can send it to Garmin”: it already had a replacement – non-Garmin – battery and was so broke – everything but smoking – that I chucked it before I could even think about sending it back). I want turn-by-turn navigation, but am trying to remember/analyze just how much I did/will use that, given that I also have a phone. To help me get a better understanding of how the ELEMNT handles routes, I have a couple questions: is the off-route notification auditory as well as visual? can it pull routes from Garmin Connect? can you manually move the map so you can look around (I didn’t see if you said the ELEMNT has a touchscreen, but you may have addressed it)? Does it seem feasible, given the hardware and such, that they could integrate turn-by-turn at a later date? for the love of God, when will Garmin release a new 8xx series? Do you find that being b/w makes the map harder to use?
I don’t think I ever used the POI database on the Edge 800 to find something and ride to it, but it did save a group of us from taking an unplanned detour on a century once, plus I like to seek out new routes and have the GPS guide me on said route. Right now I’m using my Fenix 3 as my data capture device, but I’d like to have a dedicated bike computer again (#uppermiddleclassproblems). I’m just not sure I can continue to wait for Garmin to do whatever it’s going to do…
Off-route indication is audible and visible with the LEDs.
You can’t move the map around. With three buttons on front and two on the right side that seems reasonable – middle button toggle between zoom and movement, left/right and up/down pan.
Integrating basic turn-by-turn (“turns” are .tcx entries that display when you reach the coordinates, with software hopefully being smart enough to insert them some distance before turns) like the Edge 500/510/520 would be trivial. I don’t see why they couldn’t do Edge 800/810/1000 style turn-by-turn where it knows what street you’re on (from the full OSM maps), what street your route turns on to, and be smart even if it’s a .gpx which can’t have cue sheet entries.
The map is easy to see, perhaps less cluttered than a color map, but doesn’t yet show street names.
We’ve ridden hundreds of times with our GPS bike computers (all Polar products, including the V650, M400 and M450). They major annoyance we’ve encountered is a sensor dropping off and not recording – often due to the sensor battery getting low, or sometimes sensors need to be re-paired due to a firmware update. We’ve found the V650 is the preferable device because it has an easier-to-see display of status at the “start” screen: including indicating if the GPS is locked on, the bike # you chose to ride, and the sensors are active and paired.
I did not see a good indication on the display of system status in your photos. Does the Elemnt display provide comprehensive status of GPS, bike selected and sensor pairing at the “Start” screen? Or would you need to dig into menus to determine if you are A-OK and ready to go?
I have been using the Elemnt for 2 weeks now and I have been liking it. I do find the display to be far more vibrant than my Edge 510. My 510 is also plagued with issues when it comes to connectivity. It drops sensors and getting the unit to sync my ride is an all afternoon event.
The Elemmnt has some growing to do. I find that basic functions work well. For my riding I typically only care about speed, cadence, HR,and power. I don’t use mapping/tracking functions so as long as I get these 4 I am happy. So far the data seems accurate (within reason) as I can compare a common ride that I will knock out during the lunch hour. The Elemnts data is consistent with the 510. The only issue I ran into today, and I am assuming it is an issue, is that my power profile was not typical for my lunch ride. It leads me to suspect that I had the power sensor dropping periodically, but I am not sure.
I am looking forward to see where they take the device. I put my Garmin away 2 weeks ago and do not regret it (and hopefully won’t). By my estimates I am getting about 10-11 hours of battery life. I will do more testing for my own sanity, but that seems to be where it will fall. That is also consistent with my Garmin so can’t complain.
Great review, Ray – thanks as always. I’d just about worn out the trackpad clicking “refresh” waiting for this.
Wahoo Murray – I’m in NZ, and champing at the bit to get an Elemnt to use both for controlling my Kickr as our winter approaches, and to replace my Edge 800 for my winter long rides. Any idea when I’m going to be able to order from the AU site? It’s getting frustrating to say the least and I’m in need of a new bike computer.
It’s not like the Edge 520 or even Edge 500 (6.5 years older) when it comes to navigation.
You don’t get notifications for .tcx entries, don’t get distance to the next one on the map screen, and have no screen showing distance to the next few where intermediate entries (straight on South Main Street when your were riding on North Main Street).
Navigation requires eyeballing the computer screen which is what many of us are trying to get away from.
You can’t even note the name of the next turn on the map and visually identify it because that’s missing street names.
Together with some display (5 second power high) and recording (replacing zero values with a ramp from 0 to the next measurement) issues that have supposedly been resolved I sent mine back before the 30 day return period lapsed and reluctantly bought an Edge 810.
I had higher expectations, and I’ll readily admit I’m not as patient as most buyers. I didn’t want to be a beta tester, and returned mine as well. Purchased a Garmin Edge 520 and I’m happy.
Honestly, I’d have been happier if it had the ELEMNT Display and the iPhone Setup features, but out of the box, it worked flawlessly, recorded all my data, connected to sensors, and automatically uploaded my rides, no mess no fuss.
I’m sure the Wahoo folks will get things right, there’s HUGE potential for the ELEMNT, the device just isn’t up to snuff at the moment.
I bought an Elemnt as i love the Kickr Snap, Tickr, and S/C Sensor that I own. Plus who doesn’t love to check out new tech, that is why we are all here…
However, after using the Elemnt for a few weeks and learning/reading more about its limitations I think I’ll be parting ways. I bought the Garmin 1000 just a few days ago to compare with the notion I’d return the Element.
For me…the routing capabilities are just too important not to have. For example, just two weeks ago I found myself on a badly planned route without a bike computer (this was before the Elemnt) in the backwoods of Vermont. A few wrong turns landed my very upset wife and I on unpaved, muddy roads, on our road bikes in 30 degree weather, 15 miles from our cabin. My iPhone battery rapidly was dying due to the cold weather. I don’t think the Elemnt would have easily got me out of that bind given no street names, no route to home feature, no turn by turn directions, or on-the-fly routing. I’m pretty confident the Garmin 1000 would have made the situation better or avoided landing me on those types of roads in the first place.
So I bought the Garmin 1000. After a few days of non-stop tinkering/riding I’m pretty sure that I’m more satisfied with it over the Elemnt. For me the Map quality and “Where to?” routing is worth the extra $150 over the Elemnt. When I’m on vacation and don’t know the area, and want to find a route that’s worth it all day! Also, real time Strava Segments right now, who knows how long it will take the Elemnt to get this??? They had months of delays on shipping, who is to say that will be as quick on all the updates they promise??
Another thing that prompted me going out to get the Edge 1000 was when I noticed you couldn’t delete a imported route…Come on, how did the programmer not think to code a delete feature. Seems sloppy, however I’m sure they will fix that soon.
There are some things I liked about the Elemnt that the Garmin 1000 doesn’t seem capable of. First, its really crappy that you cannot wirelessly sync a Strava Course to Garmin 1000. It obviously uploads rides just fine but it cannot import Strava routes? This is very easy to do on the Elemnt. On the Garmin you’re forced to USB transfer the GPX file. On Elemnt it automatically appears (with wifi). Since I don’t have a laptop and use the iPad when traveling, i can see this being a bit problematic. It basically forces you to plan on the fly routes either directly on the headunit, before your trip or via Garmin Connect as thats the only way to wireless sync routes. I can get over that after all thats why you buy the Edge bc it has routing on the head unit.
Another great feature of the Elemnt is the Kickr controls and being able to easily “re-ride” a route on your trainer. However…thats not that important to me. I can use wahoo Fitness app, TrainerRoad on my iPad/iPhone or Skurga to re-ride rides. I dont need a head-unit to do that for me when my iPhone or PC does it perfectly fine.
Also, I really like how the Elemnt shows you the upcoming elevation when your climbing a hill, so you know how much longer you have to judge how hard you should push yourself. I haven’t figured out a way to see upcoming elevation on the Garmin.
Maybe in a year I’ll re-buy the Elemnt but for now, I’m sticking with the Garmin 1000
– Is ELEMNT GPS-only or GPS+GLONASS?
– Shouldn’t the Edge 520 feature list include FTP & VO2max estimation for cycling?
I read “somewhere” that both GPS and GLONASS are implemented.
link to cyclist.co.uk
But this is not Wahoo itself saying it.
Neat trick from google group site, slightly clip corners of garmin mount on one side and the mount works like a charm
Hi Ray,
Can you comment how long the post-ride data upload takes via Bluetooth LE? The wifi option is great if you’re finishing your ride at home, but sometimes you want to check your strava data in the middle of nowhere post-race before you get home.
Right now its about 1-2min/hr with a full load of sensors (speed, cadence, power), about the same time it takes to order a coffee. This should come down much lower in a update in the near future.
Workouts also sync in the background if you have your iPhone in your back pocket during the ride, in this case the workout is nearly always synced to your phone by the time you can pull it out of your pocket.
Hi Ray, in case you haven’t noticed yet, I used my ELEMNT for the first time yesterday and I experienced a bug between the App and the device.
I tried to set up the 20′ average power on the App to show up on the “training” page and what showed up on the ELEMNT was the 30′ av. power. Actually the two are messed up. If you want the 20′ average, you have to select the 30′ and vice versa.
Otherwise, and considering the recent intro, I’d consider the riding experience great with the ELEMNT. The screen legibility is so much better than the Garmin’s (for my eyes) and the data reduction/augmentation field function so convenient.
I would have expected a more reactive (quicker) change of the visual graph for gear selection. There is a 2″ lag between the shifting and the displayed info on the screen, not a big deal but a lil annoying.
Then, the ride didn’t sync automatically when I stopped, and I can’t figure out to make it visible on Strava, despite having set up the right WiFi network and authorized the info sharing between The ELEMNT and the Strava app.
Thanks a lot for your complete review, and I’ll continue to make my gear purchases to make sure you get some compensation from your partners. This is the least we can do if we consider how much time, money and peace of mind you save us.
All the very best
There’s a pretty active community of users here:
link to groups.google.com
They’re reporting bugs and suggesting features. I also experienced auto syncing issues, and it turns out there’s a WiFI bug where the ELEMNT often forgets the WiFi password.
Great review, very tempted to get me an ELEMNT.
Can anyone tell me…..
With the HR monitor attached, does the unit give you an Average HR over the ride, as well as the instantaneous readout etc ?
Thx
Yes
While the ELEMNT is my first proper computer I do agree the navigation functions could be improved.
If you’re following a route then it’s fine. But yesterday for example I was half-way around the planned route and I decided to head directly home instead. Ideally I’d fire up my phone and either tell the ELEMNT app to plot me a route for home I could plot it myself and transfer it to the unit, but I can’t do that so instead I was back to the old looking at a map every couple of junctions.
Being able to plot a route on your phone is important just because you’re not always going to be sat in front of a PC at home when you decide you want to go somewhere.
Strava is showing lower numbers than my numbers on the device and training peaks. For example my race yesterday strava uploaded 227 avg watts 276 weighted avg and max watts at 1224. Trainingpeaks uploaded 250, 296, 1254 respectively.
Anyone have an idea what is causing this?
The review/comments are pretty critical IMHO – just want to chime in to say I’m loving my ELEMNT for the following reasons:
• readable screen. I can’t read a map on a Edge1000 in bright sunlight with sunglasses on unless I put the backlight to 40-50%, which brings battery down to 6hrs max.
• big fat metrics. The 2-9 metrics scroll while riding is just awesome.
• good Ux. All options you (or at least I) need to access during a ride are accessible with a few pushes – no endless menus to scroll through.
• Simple map that my brain can process when going fast and being exhausted (I would even argue a color map takes longer to process and is not suitable for a 0.1s glance). No weird orientation-changing zooming into the next turn with a 0.5s blank screen just when you are looking.
• Strava route sync. This one doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Being able to create a route, hit sync and ride is so much better than download-drag-to-device-oops-one-more-route-change-have-to-do-it-all-over-again. Or can Garmins do this now as well?
• The whole setup process – I know you can get a Garmin to almost do exactly what you want, but I just don’t really enjoy spending 2 hrs on the couch with it that much.
• Live tracking of other riders – didn’t know this was in until I saw a friend appearing. This is going to be fun.
• The battery reminders on your phone. Well implemented (‘Battery level is OK – charge if you plan for a long ride’)
• Full map installed.
Stuff that I am missing:
• Interval training. Not big one and I guess one that can be easily added down the road.
• Strava segment racing. Definitely room here to improve over Garmin (although it is pretty cool there already)
Other points:
• Battery life – approx 10% / hour with live tracking and sensors enabled.
• Issues – I had one crash/reboot and once a map that disappeared, forcing me to reboot the device. Other than that no problems.
That’s it, I’m in ??
Tako I am with you and have the elemnt a few weeks.
I like the display increase reduce and custom. Compared to my mates with garmin could not see in sunshine and missed a turning, is frustrated with slow process of getting maps on his device.
Maps are easy with strava, I have saved and synced so quickly to my elemnt.
Battery is good but needs some improvements wahoo please. I charged on a Friday, cycled Saturday, Sunday and on return was at %4 while uploading. I did not know it was so low and forgot about charging. If a indicator had shown up say %50 or %20 eg. I would know to take a portable battery with me or charge before I go.
I have suffered from some of the bugs, failed to sync, find wifi, lost a route half way even though when i got home it uploaded all ok, crash data was sent to wahoo so hope they sort those out soon.
I found any issues is to get out of the app on the phone, Then when back in it seems to work again.
Overall very pleased and looking forward to each software upgrade. I have helped sell a few through my comments on videos I have done and comments to friends on rides. Ray thanks for your review which helped me but it in the first place! vinnychoff
I have had the ELEMNT for almost a full month, and I’ve decided to return the device. Here are some quick pros and cons based on my own experience – daily commute (10mi) as well as a few longer rides (25mi+).
+
1) Multiple mounts, which helps for multiple bikes.
2) Customizable pages, which helps emphasize what you prefer.
3) Wifi connections and automatic uploading to Strava and other sites.
4) Very clear and crisp display which can also minimize or maximize the data shown.
–
1) The data is measurably different from data collected by other devices and apps.
2) The routes and mapping services are not as helpful or functional as I’d like.
3) The device dropped out while riding multiple times, routes were dropped, etc.
4) A significant delay connecting to GPS to begin the ride, though this may be all devices.
Can anyone say what the capacity (mAh) of the battery is? It would be useful to know how much battery power is required on extended tours.
1750mAh
Wahoo Murray,
I hear you can’t show Power as % of your FTP, is that coming in the near future? It’s much easier to see % of FTP (avg/s) (known zones) than the Wattage (avg/s).
Thanks.
Hi Klaus,
Yeah agree, % of FTP is a good one, we have had a few users ask for it and will getting it added.
That worries me Murray, 1750mah battery compared to the 1000mah of the G810., and yet similar run times. Would necessitate nearly twice as much external battery power needed on a very long endurance ride, particularly with the inability to power down and restart.
oooh, glad I read this.
Even though it’s small thing, it’s the main thing I use on my Garmin.
So a deal breaker.
Was about to drop the $$ but decided a last minute update on user reviews.
@Wahoo Murray
Is there a roadmap of upcoming features?
What makes me doubt is missing navigation, f.e. when I have to make a detour because of a roadblock or when I go riding in a direction and at some point I want to go home.
Thanks for the excellent, in-depth review which must have taken ages to do – still have your day job 😉
I’ve been considering various bike computers and been interested in the Elemnt for a few months. Your post gives an in depth comparison point and is much appreciated!
How much are these in the States or in France? Cos in the UK they’re £279 vs £190ish for the Edge 520 and £230ish for the Edge 810. That’s insane given the feature set and definitely not on par with the equivalent Garmins. I just can’t imagine how it’s going to gain traction over here?
$330 vs about $280-$300 for the Garmin 520
‘Value’ is subjective
The Garmin 520 may be ‘cheaper’, but that’s no use if you can’t see it, or it’s unreliable.
Maybe early days for the ELEMNT, but it’s so readable and easy to navigate, and the Wahoo team appear far more proactive than Garmin have ever been, so I have every confidence that it’l prove a valuable tool for me, and those of us that jump in.
Mine arrives tomorrow ?
I appreciate that – for example, on Garmins, not being able to sync routes wirelessly is a non-starter for me. In the US, the Elemnt would be a no-brainer because of the way it’s priced, but here, it’s a lot more difficult, and I’m just confused by that.
TIm for me its to weigh up the pros and cons. It is brand new and already some features are better, the leds, the display, the way maps sync up.
Against is brand new, software updates and bugs likely,
How do you work out the difference to the garmin and the elemnt?
vinnychoff
It’s just a difference in pricing between the two continents that I’m concerned about. In the US, it’s roughly in line with the 520 which seems reasonable. In Europe, it’s in line with the 1000. And that concerns me, because I would dearly love Garmin to have some proper competition.
Tim,
Well – buy the ELEMNT and support Wahoo, and give them the support they need to be able to dethrone Garmin.
Simples.
As much as some of you like dislike Garmin, the competition just can’t match what they have to offer. With the addition of Connect IQ, the 520 and 1000 are in a completely different leagues now.
The ELEMNT in all it’s graces, is not measuring up to even what it promises to do. It still can’t match the 500 (at the moment). When all the issues and bugs are squashed in the firmware, I’m sure the ELEMNT will be a great addition. For now, IMO, it’s still in alpha.
I’ve used my Elemnt for 4 or 5 rides now and it’s not crashed once. It’s already infinitely superior to my Garmin 810 in that regard, which would crash or freeze regularly.
The Garmin device was bad, the customer support was even worse. They denied there was a problem (I found dozens of reports on the internet of the exact same problem, and found several people who had contacted Garmin, it was all over Garmin’s own forum too). They did offer me replacement device, which is good, but it had exactly the same problem. In the end customer support told me it was my fault (for using OSM maps on the device).
I don’t care what features a device has, if the device is unreliable and the company has poor customer service then I’m not interested. Reliability and usability are the two biggest features that the Elemnt has over my Garmin 810.
Sure, the Elemnt lacks some features I would like (mainly TBT directions), but it is (so far) reliable and the display is excellent in sunshine even when wearing sunglasses. The effort they go to to communicate with customers is also exceptional.
As an aside, as a software developer myself I am very impressed with their update cadence, getting out weekly releases that are stable and upgrade smoothly is a pretty impressive thing to do.
I’m sorry you had the problems with your 810. However, it was your choice to use 3rd party maps. Even though some OSM maps work just fine on the 810. I said some as it really depends on the source of your maps and how the maps was compiled. Some OSM map objects have to be converted properly for the Garmin to understand or you’ll get crashes. Like for instance on Roundabouts and Ramps….
It’s not fair for you to place the blame on or expect support from Garmin for using 3rd party maps. That was your choice and there are always risks.
The ELEMNT should never been released too soon. It would have been better for all to have a delay for several more months to have it’s features and firmware up to snuff. Better that to having their reputation ruined.
Competent engineers don’t write software which crashes on malformed or unexpected external input.
The Elemnt was released with a good set of features and is already a very good device. It records data accurately, it uploads data very quickly to Strava and RideWithGps. The maps are very easy to follow with a pre-planned route and “off course” indicators. It’s already a solid device, I see no reason why they should delay releasing it at this stage so long as they are clear about the features it supports.
What problems have you had with it that lead you to conclude it is not fit to use?
Unless it was done on purpose….
GARMIN [What they really are thinking]:”Hey, so your using OSM maps, eh? We’re not sorry for the crashes you are having… It’s YOUR fault as you shoulda BOUGHT ours instead!!” 😉
Casual Reminder: Garmin actually uses OSM in some of their devices (Edge 1000, Touring, etc…).
Even OSM folks will admit there are rougher spots in their maps. Still, on the whole it’s what I use and almost always without issue.
I bought an ELEMNT and tried using it with a PowerTap SL+ and Garmin GSC10 which are among the most common devices around.
1. When exporting .FIT files it replaced 0 power samples with a ramp between 0 and the next value. Speed samples were also affected. That made it useless for recording, tracking TSS, and differentiating between time riding and stopped to see where I’m losing ground on long rides. Supposedly this has been fixed.
2. It over-reported 5 second power so it was useless for intervals. Supposedly this has been fixed.
3. Unlike Wahoo’s marketing materials including their website images the map lacked street names which could be used to decide when to turn upon encountering a corresponding road-side sign so it was almost useless for navigation if I didn’t want to glue my eyes to the screen like I do 10+ hours a day five days a week.
This would be a non-issue if basic turn-by-turn from .tcx course files was implemented in Q1 2016 as previously scheduled.
4. The map is useless for routing because when zoomed out it doesn’t display the “minor” roads used for cycling, and there’s no way to pan from your current position.
So I returned it and bought a refurbished Edge 810. That went from 89 to 47% battery within 2.5 hours (with charge time suggesting that was real, not a reporting issue), “stuck” on the last GPS generated turn info instead of proceeding to the next way point, got confused on out-and-back courses where my Edge 500 was fine, and powered off by itself when I reached the end of my first ride then stopped it.
That’s going back for a refurbished Edge 800 which people have found more reliable.
On a positive note, I’ll come out $120 ahead of where I’d have been if the ELEMNT worked for me; although I’d have preferred its more readable screen and software not made by Garmin.
Ray I hope you can help me or point me in the right direction. I bought the elemnt with heart rate and rpm bundle.
I am happy with the elemnt even though there have been a few bugs and crashes seen. It has worked every time so far. The heart strap also.
My frustration is with the rpm, I had a case open with wahoo and expected great customer service from reading the reviews. Since I have had the case open from day one, I took out the battery, re-seated, checked it updated firmware on all devices etc. Carried out all the suggestions. Then through my own checks with a meter found the brand new rpm supplied by wahoo had a faulty battery at 2.9v. This was over 3v with a new duracell fitted. I thought the rpm would work ok now that I had found the issue.
No luck as
It still fluctuates wildly, I can be cycling on the trainer or I can be outside on a smooth road. The cadence varies so much. I can get as low as 49 and as high as 169.
I would have expected in the first part for wahoo to apologize sending out a rpm with a duff battery or refund the price of a battery. I have lost faith in this device as I have had it from new and still do not have faith in the use of this device. With any change of pedaling it does not seem to catch up or has wild high and lows.
I asked for a RMA to be raised a week back and have not heard anything since. I am now wondering where this good customer support is. For me it would be good if they could send either the magnet model, or a rpm that works better than this one. A prepaid envelope would be nice as I am based in the UK. I understand from reading the notes that it cant be handed in to a local dealer to send in for free.
When I have bought any items I am always looking for good customer support. To me this matters so much but so far, if I have to pay to send a faulty item back to the US, the delays with their response on cases, costs of sending. I am feeling lost Ray.
Vincenzo, so from what I read, you’re losing faith in Wahoo just because they sent you a bad battery??? Is it really worth it to cause such a stink for a $2 battery? That really doesn’t make sense. Yes, they should have sent you a good one, and yes, they maybe should have replied to you but they are a small company and I’m sure working like crazy to get out the next updates to fix the bugs we’ve all been raising. I used my RPM Cadence for the first time yesterday and it worked flawlessly. I placed it on my shoe and compared it to my bike’s cadence readings and it basically always matched (within reason). So, I have no problem putting my faith in their sensors. As for Wahoo, give them some grace and they will get back to you.
Merlin thanks for reading my gripe. I guess I am upset with the battery but that was three weeks after emails with triying lots of different things. I have had issues with the rpm from day one, not powering up, loosing connection, wild fluctuations with the cadence.
I thought with the company that their customer service was great but I checked the battery with a good meter and was shocked to see that i have been sent a rpm with a duff battery. this was new direct from wahoo. Then there was no reply once i found the issue. thought it was fixed and I am still getting fluctuations. I am worried why they are stalling. If it is faulty then why dont they send out a new rpm, let me return the old one. That to me would be great service.
You are right though it started with a $2 battery. Should wahoo have a stock check or quality control? I am interested now to see if i have made a bad choice in the rpm. either the magnet or another device might be more accurate. I have been searching on Rays site to see if i can compare or find out if this is the best device to use for cadence. Merlin thanks I am sorry for my gripe, i hope they do turn up their customer service or quality of products.
Just a thought –
The RPM wakes up on movement.
I would imagine there is a lot of movement while in transit. Thus, the device would be searching for a connection the entire time in transit. Thus, it could use up quite a bit of battery in that time.
Dan thank one of the issues is that when you stop peddling it can then jump to over 140 cadence or even silly figures over 200. This to me is a design fault. If the cadence stops is it not a simple issue to ignore the last stroke? also it takes several times of turning before it comes back on again. The install instructions are very minimal. Have a look at the wahoo site. I am surprised no mention of where on the crank it should be placed etc.
Vincenzo
I really think you’ve got a defective unit. What your describing (well, all of it), isn’t normal.
Ray thanks for your help. I am waiting on wahoo to set up a rma. Its been a week since I have updated the ticket.
Vincenzo
€ 379,-/449,- (Bundle) Elemnt vs. Edge 1000 € 379,-/439,- (Bundle) in Germany
In Holland:
G520: € 280
G810: € 320
ELEMNT: € 380
G1000: €430
The ELMNT is quite expensive considering **current** featureset. Yet, reading the above there seems to be consensus about Wahoo’s enthusiasm in product development and responsiveness to customer feedback. They need to be if they want to be a serious competitor against Garmin which seem to be bit of a lazy market leader?.
I am still in some doubt, but I have confidence in Wahoo. I like the company and their good products. So. I have their sensorsets for years now. I think I’ll go for the ELEMNT instead of G520.
BTW: why is everybody ignoring the G810 and only comparing with the G520 and G1000?
My 2cts. on comparing price & features:
• a big (the biggest?) factor on the price are the parts used. The ELEMENT has Wifi, both BTLE and ANT+, more memory (full map), which puts it in the Edge 1000 league component wise (plus a bit more for the LEDS and magnetic compass). I wouldn’t be surprised if the B&W screen used is actually more expensive than the color screen in the Edge 1000. Obviously, you should decide whether these features are worth the extra cost for you.
If you compare a Garmin or Wahoo with any Android or iPhone it is hugely overpriced component and feature wise. But it is a fit-for-purpose device built for a niche market. That is even more true for the Wahoo: it is for the subset of cyclists with a device who want (or understand they need 🙂 ) a B&W screen.
I wouldn’t mind though if the prices would go down. Hopefully competition will do this – but not so fast that the Wahoo ELEMNT gets eliminated.
• if you want to make a buying decision right now you should make an educated guess on what the feature set will be in a few months. My guess is that the features I am missing (segment racing, interval training and some route related metrics like ETA, distance remaining) will be there at some point.
And, importantly, you should ask yourself not only ‘how many of the features I need’ are covered, but how well does this device cover my most important requirements.
• I am guessing the ELEMNT will never have re-routing and turn-by-turn instructions (except for the static turn-by-turn it already should support) – or at least not for long. Routing and turn-by-turn is complex and very hard to do right – totally different from displaying a route on a map and alerting when you move off the map. Garmin had years of experience and a routing engine from their other devices and still didn’t get it right (at the least the last time I tried, about 9 months ago): the E1000 often gets confused when you join a route halfway (e.g. after stopping for lunch), it prefers routes over major throughways or even highways, has slow transitions to the turn instruction screen resulting in a blank screen just when you need to make a decision. In fact I would argue that Mio is the only one who got this kind of right: fairly good ‘surpise me’ feature, clear (re) routing instructions. But then their device loses out on other points (still I would advise it to users who ride Strava should offer that in their app!). 2) No instructions, or only very limited like a beep if a turn is coming up after a long interval of going straight. The only times I really need instructions is when I am on a very complex crossing of bicycle lanes, roundabouts etc and I wonder whether any software will get it right fast enough at that point. Garmin certainly doesn’t 3) Some very rudimentary ‘back to my route’ and ‘back home’ routing, for when I have no cell phone coverage and don’t care if the route is nice or not.
Part of my message got deleted:
…. But then their device loses out on other points (still I would advise it to users who want good routing, ride < 5hrs and don't mind the weight/looks).
My dream routing solution woul be 1) Plan routes online or in a good app (Strava should offer a good 'Surprise me' option in their app!). 2) No instructions, or only very limited like a beep if a turn is coming up after a long interval of going straight. The only times I really need instructions is when I am on a very complex crossing of bicycle lanes, roundabouts etc and I wonder whether any software will get it right fast enough at that point. Garmin certainly doesn’t 3) Some very rudimentary ‘back to my route’ and ‘back home’ routing, for when I have no cell phone coverage and don’t care if the route is nice or not.
Reply
Thx for the good posting!
“Will never have rerouting”? Assumption based on … what?
Wahoo does some kind of agile development strategy. Feature rich enough for 80% of the riders and along the road in the coming months more features will be available. The routing features and interval workouts are on the roadmap, but for later in this year.
This kind of roadmap is normal in app development, for example.
It’s a guess – based on how complex I think routing can be (check out some of the Strava dev blogs on that topic). But it is also a wish – hoping that they spend their development resources on really good features I use a lot instead of complex time consuming features that I might use only once a year (or at least initially).
I feel (as you can tell from my other posts) that both turn-by-turn and rerouting are over-valued features on a cycling device. Not because they are not useful, but because so far it has been proven to be really hard to be done right.
The only use case I can think of for myself where I would want on device routing is the ‘Ugh I’m toast, get me back to the start ASAP’ in an area without coverage – in which case an off the shelve open source routing like Graphhopper (which RideWithGPS uses I think) is fine, since I just want the shortest route.
For other cases I would prefer if the device would ask Strava or another even better routing API for a popular route instead, or I would use my phone to plan the route (where I have color, touch screen etc.)
“both turn-by-turn and rerouting are over-valued features on a cycling device” / “really hard to be done right”
Agree. Do it good at once or don’t do it. If I take a wrong turn on a trip and the ELEMNT does some flashing (which is miplemented) I cycle back tot the track line on the map. Works for my now with my smartphone and Cyclemeter. Will buy the ELEMNT in two months.
TbT/rerouting are good nice to haves, but not a necessity.
I think software optimization to get more out of the battery is far more important.
I wonder, if the Elemnt could use f.e. Strava to create the ‘back home’ function, what they have to do is create a new route from your current position to your home and sync that with the Elemnt. Strava could figure out the ‘popular’ biking routes.
To bad, for Strava it’s not possible API-wise, just checked it.
link to strava.github.io
“Routes are manually-created paths made up of sections called legs. Currently it is only possible to create routes using the Routebuilder web interface.”
Why reinvent the wheel. Google has a robust routing API for cycling routes that will only get better every year as billions of users around the world rely on it. And Google is a massive compay that isn’t going away in my lifetime, unlike Strava, which can go *poof* as VC funds get tired of them losing money.
There would be a fee to Wahoo, but it’s trivial to roll this into some kind of subscription for a few bucks a year, or just bake it into the product price.
If google can supply routing for half a billion android and iPhones, it can route for a few thousand ELEMNTs.
However Google uses Google maps. ELEMNT uses Open Street Maps.
I’d have thought there may be potential issues using a route created on one map on a different map that may be similar, but is not the same.
I’m also guessing that licensing Google maps isn’t as straightforward as the open source OSM maps.
“… has a robust routing API for cycling routes that will only get better every year as billions of users around the world rely on it …”
But Google doesn’t have the heat map data of a very specific group of users that it can use to create popular routes, nor does it have the segments to prefer/include. The routes Strava proposes in the route planner are in my experience superior to what Google comes up with (although even Strava suffers from pollution due to mountain bikers (or, of course, due to road cyclists for the MTB routes) and commuters).
Google favors routes with bicycle lanes, which makes sense – but In The Netherlands (this might be very specific to us) those are the major busy roads you actually want to avoid when planning a nice route.
And that’s a key distinction. There’s a huge difference between:
A) Routing for bike commuting (what Google does well)
B) Routing for sport/speed (what Strava does best)
The live track on this may be simple, but it’s basically all I’m after!
I recently upgraded to the Edge 520 from my 500, primarily for the bluetooth functionality, and it’s extremely poor!
The 520 advertises that is shows “Smartphone Notifications” whereas this should probably be “dumbphone notifications”, as it’s only calls and SMS, no WhatsApp.
Also, it really annoys me that I’ve got to send a link every time I want people to be able to live-track me! The permanent link from the ELEMNT looks perfect!
All I want is the ability for my wife to quickly login and check that I’m not dead (ie the dot is still moving).
For this functionality alone, I’m seriously considering selling my 520 and purchasing a ELEMNT.
On the ELEMNT it is phone+SMS (and iMessage) only FAIK. Would love WhatsApp as well, but I am guessing this is a limitation of iOS, as I haven’t seen any other device do this.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could customize the permanent tracking link, i.e. wahooligans/track/myname or something like that.
Why do you want WhatsApp notification??!!! I just don’t understand this current trend of wanting to be constantly connected to social media. The whole point of going for a bike ride is to be free and get away from all that, whats the point if everyone and their dog can get hold of you?
Sure, i understand the safety aspect of Live tracking, but texts, calls and whatsApp? i mean, what possible can you do when 40 miles from home on a ride if someone texts you that the dog has ate the cat?!
Its at this point i always remember the quote ‘People have lost the art of doing nothing’. if you want to be connected 24/7, even while riding a bike, then why don’t you just turbo in the front room, that way you can get texts, get calls, answer the home phone, put the tv on, play on the Playstation, look at the fish tank, tell the kids off, listen to the Mrs moan about her clothes and cycle.
A WhatsApp group is actually a pretty useful way to keep in touch with a group of people, whether a cycling club out for a club run or a group of friends.
So, for example, sending a notification that arrangements for a ride have changed when people are on the way to the start, finding out where people are if you are joining part way or letting people know what looked like a simple mechanical is actually more complex….
I’m not saying it is the most important requirement but there isn’t a reason to dismiss it out of hand.
But isn’t that more for communicating before a ride? That is the only moment I need WhatsApp or SMS: before a ride. When you have met up, I’d think you’ll communicate by screaming and gestures instead of Whatsapping on the bike???
Your chances on surviving a ride are pretty slim in that situation.
I have my iPhone set to ‘ Do not disturb’ while riding and only my wife’s call come through. If she calls, something is really up. To me SMS, WhatsApp or whatever is used for non-immediate response. So those can wait after the ride is finished.
That doesn’t negate the requirement for WhatsApp notifications, it just means there should be a simple on/off switch for the notifications as well!
As I said, this would be waaaaaaaay down my list of priorities for the ELEMNT but I can see that some people may find it useful.
My ELEMNT arrived, and am very pleased with the ease of setup via iPhone etc, and the Customisation of each page. Very good.
Also feels very well made, and the clarity of the screen is very good indeed, and zoomability is a real asset with my sight.
Can anyone tell me pls – is the Battery ok to charge/top up and ‘any point’, or is it like an iPhone and ideally needs charging from 0% ?
Chris I charge mine up trying to drain it down although the odd times I will top it up so that it is one hundred percent. i have done two days by mistake and had enough battery last with four percent left after upload. i have also heard bad life of the battery life. I thought that new batterys do not mind top up. hopefully wahoo can reply to us here
vinnychoff
It has been a long time since any rechargeable battery benefitted from being fully discharged before being charged – in fact, Li-Ion batteries can actually be damaged if they are discharged to too low of a state of charge, you are better off topping them off when convenient.
Great Review, thanks!
I’m just wondering if the Elemnt can show the HR-Data provided by the Polar V800?
Currently I’m searching for a bike computer that can show the data that my V800 is recording, especially the HR Data and the data from my Stages PM (and maybe some BT/ANT+ combined speed sensor in the future). Is the Elemnt the only one that can show me these information or is there any cheaper device? Some kind of RFLKT for Polar V800 with additional ANT+ Sensor connectivity.
I don’t need gps navigation, recording of data and so on.
Do you have any hints?
Hmm, I haven’t checked that. And just got to the airport with neither the V800 or the ELEMNT. Perhaps someone else is able to validate.
Sorry!
Nils if you are local to me in Croydon Uk you can try it out on my elemnt and road test it.
Vince
Hi Vince
thx for your nice offer! I’m living in Germany so it’s way to far to try it on my own.
The Wahoo-Support-Team wasn’t able to answer this question either. Well, maybe Ray can check it once he is back at home. 🙂
Hi Ray,
I was able to test an Elemnt yesterday. Right now the Elemnt is not able to read the heart rate data in addition to the V800. The option “HR visibe to other device” on the V800 allows the Polar H7 to send out an additional BT broadcast HR signal but the Elemnt is only able to read the sensor in Pairing Mode which is not available while it is paired to the V800. To bad.
Bummer, though, kinda expected I suppose. The V800 re-broadcast trick seems to be a Polar-only thing. 🙁
The Elemnt arrived at my local bike shop last week. I discovered my Rflkt had died yesterday. I found a very good deal for the Garmin 810 which was tempting. So I had to choose. I am practically a Wahoo fanboy. I have had almost every device produced by them except the Kickr. After reading all the comments here I thought I might be taking a risk with the Elemnt.
In my decision making I valued the fact that the Elemnt is a newer product with an enthusiastic support team so there will be frequent updates. Missing features will appear soon enough. Mind you, I may never use them. I wear glasses and am at an age where being able to read clean adjustable type is an absolute necessity. Touch screen and colour aren’t essential for me. I also know the local areas where I ride so fancy mapping isn’t required.
I chose the Elemnt and am very happy I did. Easy to set up, easy to use, easy to read, easy to connect and easy to share. I use a basic set up so for my purposes I’d give the Elemnt a 10/10. If you are a user of the basic functionality then this is a really good device. I’ll be telling my friends about it.
I’ve had the Elemnt about 3 weeks and am pretty satisfied with it. It’s certainly immature, but most of its foibles seem to be things that firmware updates can address as opposed to fundamental design limitations.
I’m trying to determine whether or not the unit can be paired with more than one installation of the app, e.g. on home and work phones for example. I’m unconvinced.
The zoom in/out thing I am find particularly useful, especially when interval training. There are times when I just want to note certain things and not others, so dropping those things off the screen can be super useful. I didn’t think it would be that big a deal but it is for me.
Configuring via an app is 240,000,000,000 times better than the old Edge 800 UI – which was like windows 3.1. I much prefer it.
One of the significant things for me, which you could argue is not related to the Elemnt per se, is the fact that I was able to sell my four-year-old Edge 800 for 60% of the cost of the Elemnt. At that discount it’s an absolute steal.
Well, my ELEMNT did its first ride on Sunday, with no issues, no dropouts, and it auto-paused and re-started without hitch, so all in all, I’m happy.
My needs for the device are perhaps less demanding than many, in that I dont ‘need’ mapping etc, but based on this first use, here’s a few Plus’s & Minus’s I found.
Plus:
Clarity & Zoomability – perfect, really really readable & useable. Delighted.
Easy to setup, easy to install, and easy to work. REAaaallllly easy.
Customisation. – cant tell you how easy it is to amend the readable data on each screen, to YOUR preference.
Minus’s:
Perhaps this can be easily changed – but it would be useful if Temperature could be C or F if poss, rather than just F – ??
Map – as I mentioned, its not hugely important for me, but the Map isnt that great, or perhaps as readable/useable as maybe Garmin’s color mapping, – where I can see that its perhaps easier to deduce quiet side roads & the like far easier than on the ELEMNT.
For me though, IF I ever really need a more detailed map, I’d simply fire up Google Maps on my iPhone….
History. – My unit Sync’d when back, and has my ride stored on the App, but only seems to show the basic data, ie Miles/Time & Average, the Route Map, & HR, Cadence & Speed…… – why not also Climbing stats too ?
or is that somewhere I havent yet seen/noticed ?
Perhaps I havent found the info yet ? It was perfectly visible during the ride.
Overall, very pleased, although for me, the ability to view my Heart rate’s Peaks & Trough’s is still under debate !
Hi. Just received my Elemnt and very happy so far. I’ve noticed that I don’t have maps on my unit. It might be that South Africa is ot important in world terms, but you did say that the unit comes with the world pre-loaded. Is this a bug that you are looking at?
Anybody have any luck conducting a spin down calibration of the Kinetic InRide with the ELEMNT? I’ve added the InRide as a sensor and readings can be seen on the page, but every time I go to the Sensors page and attempt a spin down I get an unsuccessful message. The spin down works correctly with the InRide iPhone app.
Wonder if the iOS notifications been fixed. I own a Cateye & when this feature is disabled with the latest iOS (ver 9.3), I was about to sell it & get a Wahoo Reflect. But seems this is an iOS issue.
Does anyone know if the Elemnt does Left and Right Power %? or is it just an overall power measurement?
It gives a % of left right balance. So 50% means you’re perfectly balanced. 60% means you’re favouring left over right. That’s how I understand the metric.
Curious about the ELEMNT controlling the KICKR when re-riding a ride. Are the changes in slope smooth and accurate or abrupt all over the place.
Also will allowing customized workouts/intervals be something in future updates?
I was considering the Elemnt as it appeared to be less fussy than Garmin and indeed, I still think that is the case. However, the limited navigation is a deal breaker for me. Hopefully, navigation will be something Wahoo addresses alongside other essential ride data customisation.
does anyone know how to get the mac address of the device. one of my wifi hotspot requires me to enter the mac address of the device in order to log in
Raymond, the easiest way is to log the ELEMNT on to a wifi router that you have admin access to – eg your home router? There will likely be a list of attached devices, with their MAC addresses.
Cheers, Alan.
Will the Elemnt show cadence taken from the accelerometers in the Wahoo TICKR X HR monitor? So far only the Wahoo App does this.
Yes, it does. I paired my TICKR X to the Elemnt. I made it a point not to pair my cadence sensor, since it was paired with Cyclemeter. I was surprised when the Elemnt showed cadence, and it took me a while to figure out why. It was due to being paired with the TICKR X.
well that may have just sold me right there..one less thing I need to buy for my bike! Sweet!
I’ve used the elemnt over the past month and it has worked well for me. Thanks. I’m now in Japan planning my rides for the next week. I’m able to load my routes but there is no base map loaded. All I have is the route on dots and no base street/road maps. Can you let me know how I can download that on the elemnt?
Sorry the ELEMNT doesn’t come pre-loaded with maps for Asia, We have an update coming out really soon to let you manage (download/update/delete) maps on ELEMNT.
Almost sold… Does anyone know if the IOS app for set up is VoiceOver accessible?
Second, When trying to reride routes on the KICKR, is it possible to select the routes using the phone app?
It should work well with Voice Over, I know we have several users that use it and haven’t had any bugs reported for a while. Our developers to test for it as well.
You can’t select the route from the iOS app yet, but it’s on our short term todo list.
Thanks
I would like to point out that you may have an error in your table. The M450 actually does have an internal temp sensor. It records the temperature over the ride, and it can be examined in the Polar Flow Website after the ride. The current temperature can also be seen during the ride on the M450 if you have configured it to show current temperature. Anyways…. Not super important. Just thought I would point that out.
My ELEMNT arrived yesterday. None of the mentioned problems occurred:
Installation went great.
Wifi found (only 2.4GHz, no 5GHz).
Every sensor found.
Wheel circumference edited from S/C sensor menu.
But one little thing. When inserting it in my K-Edge out-front mount, it fits, but too loose. It doesn’t really lock with a click. Seems the opposite of what I read in the article.
So I’ll use the one in the package for now.
K-Edge won’t supply the ELEMNT inserts anymore, so a complete new one has to be bought???? What a rip-off.
All Strava maps imported.
Hi!
Asked Wahoo: The ELEMNT uses both GPS and GLONASS for positioning.
So accuracy should not be an issue with these two combined with the barometric altimeter.
Jordi, the K-Edge mounts can be modified very easily to make them click and lock with the ELEMNT. Take a look at Eric’s post here..
link to groups.google.com
I use a K-Edge stem mount with the puck slightly filed as Eric suggests, and it not only works with the ELEMNT but is still fine for my Garmin 810 (though I’ve stopped using it now because I’m using the soon-to-be-released beta and it’s a big improvement).
Cheers, Alan.
Hi Alan,
But strangely I have exact the opposite. My standard K-Edge mount’s insert (which works perfectly with the RFLKT+) seems to be too wide for the ELEMNT.
It fits inside, but it never really clicks secure. With minimum effort I can rotate it round an dround and round. So, it clicks out way too easily.
Weird.
Does it support different bike profiles like the Garmin edge series?
I plan to purchase this device due to the fact that Garmin’s software (primarily the web based Garmin Connect and Mac version of Garmin Express) are utterly terrible. I cannot even count the hours that I have spent syncing and re-uploading and re-downloading content time and time again struggling to make it work.
Garmin, for such a large company which has been very dominant, makes some utterly non user-friendly equipment. I cannot wait to switch to Wahoo – I have some of their other equipment (HRM, speed/cadence sensor) and it just works compared with the constant faffing required with Garmin.
Sean I agree with Garmin which most of my cycling friends have. I am having slow times with uploading my wahoo elemnt up to strava and could not sync up some maps which were important to me before going on holiday to Mallorca. I am hoping that wahoo keep on top of these bugs and improve the software.
vinnychoff
I take it the honeymoons over with Wahoo then Vinny.
Andy true honeymoon period is over. Today update the android elemnt app on my phone and it deleted the history. If the app works well and restore my history all good. If not then oh dear.
Good to see update and bug fixes as I am an early adopter I expect some bumps.
If wahoo support me and all the other users then the marriage will be a good one
Yes! Update available!
ELEMNT WF38-420 / iOS 1.2.4 (60) / Android 1.2.0.12 – 4th May 2016
Focusing on improving the ELEMNT’s mapping, workout recording, syncing and sharing, the ELEMNT WF38-420 (and companion app) release includes the following core updates:
FIT on the Fly (New & improved method for transferring ride data to the app/cloud) Allows for exceptionally faster and more reliable data syncing.
Map Management – Add/remove world maps to the ELEMNT’s built-in memory.
Map Rotation – Allowing riders to orient the map according to the direction they are currently traveling as well as the current North-facing setting, users can now toggle between the two via the ELEMNT companion app.
Map Style Improvements – The map page will now keep trails/local roads displayed on the screen for an additional two zoom levels.
Improved Tracking – More data points will improve the accuracy of ‘bread-crumb’ navigation.
But where’s the Turn by Turn directions they promised with all the marketing jump way back in September of last year???
Does it do turn by turn yet?
There’s no turn by turn yet, meaning its navigation capabilities are eclipsed by the 6 year old Garmin Edge 500 at half the cost and double the battery life.
(unless you want to ride with your eyeballs glued to a computer screen like you do 50 hours a week at your day job).
Kind of ironic then that I was out for a ride the other weekend and with my ELEMNT, I was able to point twice out to the ride leader with a Garmin that he’d taken the wrong turn.
I’ve never found TBT on the Garmin reliable and turn guidance on the Garmin can be distinctly unreliable then add to that the greater legibility of the ELEMNT screen, I’ve found the ELEMNT a distinct improvement for navigating compared to my Garmin Edge Touring Plus, even without TBT on the ELEMNT.
Totally agree, Mike. In spite of endless fiddling with the settings, I’ve never had even one ride with a course on my 810 where the thing has told me I’m off course or way off course. So I turned off TBT and just overlaid the course on the map to follow. That was OK, but is only the same approach as the ELEMNT, and the ELEMNT has the big advantages of a much clearer screen, much longer battery life (even with a batch of sensors attached I get about 12+ hours), and much simpler route uploading. I don’t find it necessary to glue my eyes to the screen at all, just an occasional glance and not any more often than I glance at the display just to see data. Even without TBT, I’ve found the ELEMNT better.
I carried out the software update and was pleased with the ride upload speed. Now it is much quicker. The tracking from facebook works well. A new battery indicator which is helpful.
The only thing is that for the first time I lost a ride, had no data and when I was on a long ride, I zoomed out trying to use the maps to get a bearing to where we wanted to go. Shortly after the screen locked up but it kept tracking the route. I did not realise and had to shut it down. It managed to log the route and i had to start it again. Not sure if this is a bug or the device not able to work with the amount of data. Good to see improvements and a little rocky on the way forward. I guess as we are newbies this is expected.
vinnychoff
The Polar V650 is the Polar unit that should have been used in the features comparison. The V650 is highly configurable and, while slightly larger than the Wahoo ELEMNT, is probably superior to the Wahoo and the Garmin 1000 in most respects.
Hmm…how is the V650 superior to the ELEMNT or Edge 1000? Or said differently, what features does it have that either of the other two don’t?
Looking to upgrade from my fenix 2 cycling setup. I have the garmin bike speed & cadence sensor. Will this work with the elemnt, or will I need get the wahoo rpm and cadence sensor if I end up getting the elemnt?
Tim I would recommend that you keep the garmin speed and cadence sensor. I have had the rpm and heart strap. Alt hough the heart rate strap works ok. The rpm has been nothing but problems. I have had a new one sent to me and again the cadence varies so much. It is not accurate at all, the batteries are hard to fit and constant need to adjust the taps tp make sure the batterys seal. I am sorry but it has not worked out for me.
vinnychoff
Hi, I don’t have any experience with the Garmin speed/cadence sensor but I have the Wahoo combined unit and have never had issues from the day I installed it (or changed the battery and have had it about 15 months). You need to make sure the distances between the speed sensor magnet and unit or unit and crank magnet for cadence is small though or it won’t read.
Does it have/will it have recovery time feature and FTP feature found on Garmin520? I really don’t care aboutcStrava but want a computer that will grow with me once I add a power meter and add structured workouts to my training.
No, neither.
One feature I miss on the ELEMNT is the ability to auto lap based on a starting point. This is helpful when riding on a velodrome to count laps and compare times of each lap. Do you think this is coming?
Pete
Soonish.
I really want to buy the ELEMNT but so far Wahoo Fitness App on my iPhone with RFLKT is king. It solves the whole battery issue right away. Once the mapping option has matured I will look at it again. If on top training on KICKR and cycling outdoor are seamlessly connected by the ELEMNT with full data / allerts then you’ll have a winner.
Has anybody tried to use CycleOps Powercal?
It only recognises it as power meter and ignores the HRM element (pun half intended).
I have seen different looking versions on Internet and is wondering if it is related to my version or all other Powercals are also affected?
I have a ticket raised and hopefully will be resolved in the next firmware release.
I don’t particularly fancy the notion of having to buy another gadget (wrist mounted HRM) when I have all the functionality already.
Hi Frank,
The BTLE version works now but the ANT+ version will only connect as either a power meter or a heart rate monitor, not both. We have fixed the issue and it will be in a release in the next 2-3 weeks.
That is very good news. Thanks for the update!
Hi Murray,
I was told by the support rep there was the same issue with the phone app.
Do you know if that would be resolved as well?
Thanks
Frank – did this get sorted yet? Can you see and pair both now?
Hi Carl, no idea.
Unfortunately I am away from home, also at the moment riding once in 10 days is luxury.
Planning to go for a ride this weekend so will try to see if there is new firmware out therefore see how the pairing will work.
Fingers crossed as at the moment I would rather not have to buy a power meter.
In any event I will post my findings once there is something to share.
Kind regards
Francisco
That would be a no.
I don’t remember if the previous firmware recognised the HRM component at all.
Now it says it sees HRM, but does add the Power only, a bit difficult to describe what I saw.
In the list of sensors there is no HRM nor of course data.
Tried twice, deleting the sensor in between.
Fail
Thanks Frank.
Until this is sorted out, I’ll have to stick with my Edge 1000. I can’t be missing either of these and like you, I don’t want to have to buy another sensor!
Hi Murray, did this get sorted in the end? Can the device now see both the power and HRM sensor?
Can any current owners give me an idea as to how much data appears on Garmin connect after all the synching has taken place? I’ll assume route details are there but does all of the speed, cadence, HR, power, altitude etc. all come across too?
all data flows over to garmin connect, hr, power, cadence, speed..r
Thanks for the great review, you helped me makeup my mind.Wahoo for me
Is it possible to load a .gpx file
1) from my MAC
2) from any URL
Or is it only possible to load routes from “ridewithgps.com” and “strava.com”?
To download routes from “ridewithgps.com”: Is a paid subscription necessary? Or is the free signup sufficient to load routes to Elemnt?
Hugo if you have the new software on the elemnt yes. You can do all of those. I have only used strava so far though.
regards vinnychoff
Now that the ELEMNT has TBT from RideWithGPS only, can the unit pull routes through using only the FREE version of RwGPS? or do you need to pay their subscription which would then defeat the object…
Need to get away from my 810 but no convinced that ELEMNT is ready yet.
No need for a subscription, just tested it yesterday. Added 2 new routes on my iPad, using the free RwGPS, synced fine.
Hey Murray..when will these be available at REI? I have a gift card thats waiting to be used to buy one 🙂
Wondering about MTB routes, I have a need this fall for a gps route I have to follow for a race.
Anyone load a MTB route and see what the breadcrumb trail looks like. Needing just to know if I am on or off course, and at a trail intersection what direction I need to go.
Not expecting the trails to be in the map, though that would be a great addition to be able to add.
Other than that it looks like it checks off many wants for what I do.
If this is poor for my needs any suggestions?
The trails are on the map. I just took a trip out to New Mexico and road in the Middle of the desert. They trail was there. I have travelled to many places around the country and the trail maps are almost always there. Only one very new trails was not and it should be added in future updates.
Another pic so you can get an idea of where I was.
Great! thanks for the info. Looks like the elemnt may be the device for me
Jonathan,
What’s happening? Any update on intervals on the Elemnt?
I suppose I’ll see you next week here in WS, right? Let’s grill at my house and/or grab a beer!
JH
As long as you are wearing a little bit more than that.
Dang, guess I missed ya. Lemme know when you are up this way again.
-BTW, wore slightly more than that for the races… slightly.
Does the vector Gormin power meter pedals pair with elemnt?
When I view this article on my iPhone 6 iOS 9.3.1 in the mobile version there are only about a dozen comments (the most recent). But in the desktop version (still on my iPhone) I see all the comments. I don’t see any way to load more comments either.
Is this on purpose or a bug?
And then once I posted that comment (from the mobile site on my iPhone), the page reloaded and it showed me many or all of the older posts, but not the newer ones it had previously shown, including my post. I had to switch to the desktop site to confirm that my post went live. That’s really weird.
Has anyone else noticed that the Elemnt Companion App is draining their iPhone battery? I have Background App refresh turned off, both for the Elemnt App itself and for the phone generally, and the app is still using 70% of my battery in last 24 hours through Background Activity (I haven’t opened the app in this time).
What is the app doing in the background and is this something wahoo are going to fix?
Paul, I’m a beta tester for Wahoo, and I’m struggling with this issue because its hard to demonstrate consistently. Wahoo say its not a known problem and that the Apple settings Battery page gives wrong data for the ELEMNT (it always shows much higher than it should apparently). But on occasion since I’ve had the ELEMNT app loaded I see the same kind of drain as you (with my old iPhone and my new one). But whenever I jot down time and battery levels to test it, I don’t get the drain. Its odd. But without firm data I can’t really press Wahoo. If you can show this more consistently, I’d send the data to support at Wahoo, because so far all reports on this issue are anecdotal and hard to reproduce with any consistency. Thanks, Alan.
Thanks Alan. I’m not sure if I believe Wahoo’s claim here – whether or not the data is wrong in the Battery page, my battery is definitely draining much quicker with the app on my phone. I will see what I can come up with to send to Wahoo.
Paul
Does anyone have any experience with this and GPS accuracy for mountain biking? The Garmin units are absolutely terrible in tight and twisty single track as well as under canopy often 25-30% less miles logged. The iPhone is far superior in these situations. Any one have experience with this?
My mileage looked pretty similar to my friend’s this past weekend (fri/sat/sun only..forgot my charger and used a sunnto GPS watch monday) doing 3 mtn rides (mixed open and forested area)..not much switchback stuff but some narrow gullies. I think my auto-pause was more aggressive than his garmin so I came in slightly less than him on most rides. I havent compared with an iphone though..I would assume a GPS unit is more accurate than a phone. My suunto came in slightly less mileage wise on monday vs is garmin as well. link to strava.com
One thing for sure is I like the Elemnt interface/config setup wayyyy more than garmin so they got my money for that. Ray did an article on GPS accuracy a while back link to dcrainmaker.com it really seems like a wash…
Thanks for the response, Roy. I read that article when it was first posted, thanks for the reminder. I just re-read it. I’d definitely love to see it updated to more modern devices. I think things seem to get worse every year. I have a Forerunner 910, Forerunner 920XT, Edge 520, iPhone 5, and iPhone 6. If I run them all at the same time (strava as the app of choice on the phones) the 6 consistently logs the longest distance, followed by the 5, 520, 910, and finally in distant last, the 920 (which abysmal). What I don’t know is which one is actually the most accurate… only where they compare to each other. On trails, I generally run the 520 and the 6, while most of my friends just run Strava on a 5 or 6. On a typical loop that we do which is logged at 40 miles on the phones, give or take a tenth or so, the 520 will show anywhere from 32 to 36 miles. The fact that it varies so much leads me to believe that the 520 is the problem, not the phones because the phones always hit right about 40 miles, whereas the 520 will be a different distance every time. Not once has the 520 ever come close to phones, not has it logged the same distance twice. I’m tempted to try to see if I can hack the 520 to poll every half second and see if that would provide a longer final distance or if the phone apps are seriously over-estimating the actual number.
For the most accurate distance and speed on a MTB you should use a (calibrated) wheel based speed sensor. nothing beats that.
Erik I agree as with garmin and wahoo elemnt, I have seen so many different readings even though both devices are on the same route.
Some times the simpler things are the best.
I also noticed our elevation totals were pretty different..really thinking the autopause differences might be the main culprit.
Yes, Garmin Edge is terrible at elevation. There’s a pancake flat 50 mile loop we do that should have about 300′ of gain and the 520 regularly shows somewhere in the 1,200′ – 1,600′. It’ comical. The phones seems to get it right… or at least closer to reality.
Erik & Vincenzo – Do either of you have a recommendation? Would adding the Garmin Speed and Cadence sensor solve the issue? If not, do you know of one that syncs to a computer in some fashion? Thanks!
Erik – I picked up the Garmin Speed pod for the wheel hub and calibrated it manually with an exact measurement from my front wheel. It has made the 520 much more accurate. Thanks for the suggestion!
I’ll be giving the ELEMNT a shot for one specific reason: BT Smart recording. I use a Stages power meter and I’ve found the ANT+ connection to be pretty awful at times while the BT data is always rock solid. The ELEMNT will be a cheaper way to get reliable power data during a race compared to upgrading my power meter…
Adam,
Did you ever give it a shot? I’m having issues with my Stages and the Garmin 800. Consistent drops. Stages customer service are telling me to move the Garmin unit to the stem (not in the outfront position) which should help the connection between the two.
Thanks
A comment and a question for Wahoo:
I recently switched from a garmin 510 to the Elemnt earlier this week and overall I’m happy. I’m both a roadie and a MTBer in Michigan which means very tight, canopy covered single track. On my local home course, I was not able to pick up the main trail’s loop on strava, and in fact, I actually picked up the segment I created with my Garmin years back called “my garmin sucks” Mayburry loop, which I created back then because for some reason everyone else’s garmin would trigger the main loop but mine would not. Despite hitting the same trail, the distance was shorter. I eventually found that my garmin was set to smart recording and standard GPS (not Glonos (sp?)). When I corrected my settings to the proper GPS band and 1 second recording, I would once again trigger the main trail.
Now for my question, how often is the thing recording data points, and can you modify the resolution. The second question is, seeing that it uses a verity of GPS signals (according to an above Wahoo post) is there a way to lock it to Glonos?
I’ll wait to see what custom workouts looks like, assuming it’s still in the pipeline. If it is, please, please, please make it so you can customise on phone/ tablet/ laptop and send – customising workouts on my 800 is a huge pain.
Turn by turn navi was added in the most recent update!! (along with a few other things..impressive feature rollout frequency!) Hopefully I can get mine updated on crappy hotel wifi to try it out 🙂
Very stoked on the addition of Turn By Turn. So far it’s been pretty nice. Still need to get some more riding in with TBT enabled.
I purchased an ELEMNT based on Ray’s original review. It works well with my PowerTap P1 pedals, though it did not recognize them on a few rides (had to stop and re-pair) and yesterday it stopped showing power and cadence about 1.5 hours into a 2.5 hour ride. EXTREMELY frustrating as it was a group training workout that is important to my training schedule. But I started carrying my Garmin with me as a back-up on all rides, so I turned it on and it picked the P1s up immediately and recorded the rest of the ride. So now I have 2 head units on all road rides — the ELEMNT which is much preferred when it works, and the Garmin which is reliable and works every time.
I also have a bike with an SRM. When I try to pair them, ELEMNT does “Searching” for 7-10 minutes, then says “Save Power?” to which I respond “Yes”, but then it’s just “N/A” for power and cadence after that. The ELEMNT has never worked with my SRM. My SRM works with the PowerControl 7, with my Garmin, and with the ANT+ dongle that I use for Zwift. So it’s not the SRM. This has been going on for months. I’m in touch with the Wahoo software engineering team and trying beta firmware, but no progress.
Who else has an SRM? Did you ELEMNT pair right away? or are you having trouble?
Hi Jim,
About your PM dropouts: so you have the lastest firmware installed? 42 something? A log of People had powermeter dropouts before,but that Firmware fixed those issues for the majority of them. Latest firmware also allows now to set cranksize from element app. Be sure to forget and repair all your sensors with the new firmware,since it makes some changes deep down in the antenna firmware.
I have this exact issue, has you managed to get it working?
Hi, today was my first ride with my P1 pedals + Elemnt.
1- Power readings seemed ok, no drops.
2- Noticed that Elemnt doesn’t shows battery level in % for the P1 pedals, simply says GOOD…. Any comments on this?
3- Didn’t see the option to set the crank arm size, how to do it?
4- Noticed that cadence readings differs a lot from garmin units…. Same ride garmin marks 80 while element 72
With the latest software my ELEMNT loses Power readings for both a SRM and Stages Gen2. It happens intermittently sometimes for seconds, sometimes for minutes and sometimes for ever unless I Forget and Add again. Wahoo told me it was a BT problem but the latest fix didn’t help and I have since daicovered that both PMs are connecting via ANT+. Before the latest SW update the data fields showed n/a when connection was lost but since the update they just show — This is a big problem for me and really the response from Wahoo has been pretty inadequate. I love the product but the inconsistency is driving me back towards Garmin. Anybody else had similar issues.
Hmm, odd, sounds a lot like this issue here: link to groups.google.com (which was solved recently)
It may be worthwhile to comment on that thread see if it is related or not.
Thanks Ray. Will do. Have just read the thread and it does seem to be the same issue. The recent SW update was hoped to fix it but clearly has not. Very frustrating.
Just a quick question…
I know my Elemnt syncs rides with Strava via WIFI,
but I just noticed after riding to work that my mornings ride is now on Strava?
No idea how it happened as I am not synced to any WIFI network here (pretty sure there isn’t even any WIFI).
Did it sync via bluetooth with my phone or something?
It will have synced by BT to the app on your phone, then using your phone network to get to Strava. Its pretty fast with 3G or 4G 🙂
Cheers, Alan.
Any news on the strava live segments feature?
Thanks,
Ed
Ed I am also looking forward to this feature. I had my phone on and it was talking to me as i tried each segment. Giving me feedback on where i was improving. Great add on.
regards Vincenzo
Can someone share personal experience with RwGPS Basic and Premium plans? Does it add value to Wahoo Elemnt navigation? (noticed there are no audio notification when using the TBT navigation)
Currently have a Cycleops Joule GPS which I feel is similar to the Garmin 500 series. Would the Wahoo Elemnt be a viable upgrade or should I consider a Garmin 800 series instead? Thanks.
Get a refurbished Edge 800 so you avoid the 810 crashes. That’s what I got after returning my 810, which I got after returning my ELEMNT.
The 800 gets you
– A next turn field
– Distance to next course point and turn fields
– A switch to the map screen with a beep 0.1 miles before a turn with a white arrow showing which turn to take, then another beep at the turn.
– Maps that pan
– Maps with street names
– Navigation to Points Of Interest including drinking water
With the ELEMNT you
– Don’t have the distance fields
– Only get a pop-up without the switch to the map screen
– Maps where cycling roads are invisible when zoomed out, without the ability to pan to see where they go
– No street names
The 800 still has bugs which won’t be fixed – you need to split long rides with navigation into pieces to avoid crashes and join them afterwards with sites like gotoes.org.
I’ll probably try an ELEMNT again after it’s closer to feature parity and reports of recording problems die down.
I stood before the same decision and I decided for the E(lemnt). I had a look at the 810 of a colleague, and I still own a Garmin eTrex 30 for comparison. I also had a quick look at the Edge 520, but the ridiculously small space on that one for maps (<60MB, yes MEGA byte) made this a no-brainer, what are Garmin thinking!?
Here are the reasons why I took the Element over the Edge 810:
*Edge 810 is outdated, 800 even more so. And to make matters worse: it is old and still buggy, that alone is killer for me (see Drew's reply: having to stitch the activities together post workout is a absolute no go for me, I have better things to do than waste my time with such stuff). If Garmin cannot fix their Software in several years this says almost everything. I had similar bad experiences wth the eTrex 30, where Firmware updates often made matters worse.
With the E I just finish the activity, and it automatically uploads to my training logs (I use Garmin connect for my personal log, Strava to socialize and RideWithGPS to plan my routes). This alone is so much more convenient, you need no laptop, no USB connection in any way, it just works. I love it!
Granted, you cannot really plan upcoming route on the E, but for that I prefer my iPhone anyway, big sharp display where I can pan and zoom lightning fast. On an edge 810 panning and zooming is not actually enjoyable.
Getting maps onto a Garmin device is horrible. I use OSM since they are free and much more detailed regarding MTB trails compared to anything else in my area. It always took me hours of very frustrating fiddling to get the OSM maps onto my eTrex. First time was interesting to make it work, since I am a little nerd, but the next time it was just annoying, and since a year or so I gave up on this topic, so no map updates for my eTrex anymore.
The E on the other hand: OSM maps included, no need to think about it, it just works 🙂
Regarding routing on the E: It can only do preplanned routes, but those can be followed very easily. If I am in unknown terrain I prefer the map with the chevrons that are very easy to follow since they are showing very well which way to go. With my eTrex it was very often confusing when my route would cross itself, or go in loops. With the Elemnt since one of the later updates this just works perfectly. Also TurnByTurn is working very well for me.
And if you need to replay on the fly there is currently a workaround (but you need cell coverage): use Easy Route for iOS, create a Route and copy it to the Element app, then connect the Elemnt to a Wifi (eg iPhone hotspot), and voila: the route is on the E and off you go. This way you can put any gpx track onto the E that you want. Without a computer. Try that with a Garmin: good luck!
Disclaimer: I don't have a power meter, those still seem to give problems to some (not all), but there seems to be a bugfix coming soon for this. I have zero problems with my Elemnt, and use a Wahoo RPM and a Tickr or sometimes my Vivoactive HR in broadcasting mode for HR, when I forgot my Tickr
It does do street names if you create the route in RidewithGPS, so that advice is wrong.
hi Ray
can you take a route NOT created on Ridwithgps and load it to the wahoo for turn by turn directions by uploading it to RWGPS opening it and then saving it as a RWGPS map? this issue is that i am doing an organized ride and i am not sure how the make the file–should i save it as a TCX file or a GPX file? Hopefully that makes sense!
thanks
Yes, you can upload a TCX or GPX file not created on RwGPS to RwGPS and then sync the route to the ELEMNT.
A GPX file generally doesn’t contain turn-by-turn directions.
A TCX file may contain turn-by-turn directions however this depends on the application used to create the route. For example, a TCX route created by Strava won’t contain turn-by-turn directions.
However, you can use RwGPS to add turn-by-turn directions if you have a GPX file or if the TCX file doesn’t contain turn-by-turn directions.
To do this, you upload either the GPX or TCX route to RwGPS then edit the route. The Edit menu in RwGPS has an option “Prepare for tracing”. You then “trace” the route meaning you manually click along the route on the map and RwGPS will add the turn-by-turn directions such as “Turn Left on Baker St” or “Turn Right on Oxford St”. You can also add your own manual course points for things like as water, food or rest stops.
The route can then be synced with the ELEMNT and it will contain turn-by-turn directions.
There is a video in the Help section of RwGPS showing how to do this.
Hope this helps!
Thanks. Really appreciate he help.
Wonder if anyone else is running into this problem, and/pr is this normal… I’m using the ELEMNT with the KICKR as a blind-accessible training tool.
If I turn on the ELEMNT first, then try to use another IOS app like Wahoo Fitness or iMobile intervals, the KICKR won’t sync with the app; if I turn on the app first and then the ELEMNT, the apps work but the ELEMNT doesn’t record any speed/distance/power data. It is my understanding from Wahoo that the ELEMNT should go into a “passive” KICKR mode allowing an app to control resistance, but it seems like mine just isn’t pairing with the ELEMNT.
Is there a way to get both platforms to sync at the same time? My ideal is to be able to record workout data on the ELEMNT when using IOS apps for control, and to be able to use the apps to hear via VoiceOver realtime ride metrics when using the ELEMNT to ride simulated routes.
Thanks
My biggest issue with Wahoo products (and this is systemic with all of them) is that they assert BTLE on all of the devices and the phone app, even when you don’t intend to use them with Bluetooth AT ALL.
The Tickr-X for example (HORRIBLE device that works less than 5% of the time) drains a fresh battery in less than 2 hours on a single ride, because it’s broadcasting both ANT+ to the head unit, AND sending polling beacons out for Bluetooth connectivity at the same time.
I’ve had mine about a month, and in 20 rides, it’s worked for 2 of those rides. The remaining rides, it either never connects to my ANT+ computer at all or connects for the first few hundred feet, then drops out for the rest of the ride, only to pick back up at the very end of the ride again. It’s really an unpredictable, unreliable device and I can’t recommend it to anyone.
The mobile app REQUIRES you to enable Bluetooth just to query the ANT+ capabilities on the device, or check its firmware revision. There’s no way to disable it.
Their bike computers appear to suffer the same flaw, and that means roughly 60% less battery life than other ANT+-only head units that have the same sensors and capabilities.
My confidence and trust in their ability to produce a working, ANT+ device that does not intend to work using BTLE, is very low.
I have none of those problems you speak of. I have had the tickr x since october and only replaced the battery once. It has worked great! I just got the Elemnt in July and can get multiple rides on one charge with it. I dont usually pair it with my phone while riding (drains my phone battery but havent noticed much more drain on the elemnt). No issues with both devices together too. Also use it with a wahoo speed sensor too and no problems there.
Id say replace your batteries, update your firmware, make sure you arent leaving the backlight and other points battery drains on..These devices have been more reliable than my friends rocking garmin stuff.
typo-had the elemnt since may.
There is no way to update the firmware on the TICKR-X, so any bugs/issues found, is going to be a replacement/refurb/RMA.
I’ve tried 1/2 dozen new, Duracell, blister-pack batteries in the TICKR-X, and it doesn’t make a difference. You can see the LARGE sections of dropout in my Strava rides, it’s just a flaky, unreliable device. I’m sitting here in my office wearing it right now watching Pulsometer monitor my heart rate using it, and it’s dropping in and out while I’m sitting here relatively motionless. It took 17 minutes to “find” the TICKR-X over ANT+. My Sigma HRM takes under 1 second, by comparison.
I don’t own the ELEMNT, just doing some reading on it, and the reviews are pretty lukewarm, compared to other devices in the same class/category.
Sounds like you need to contact wahoo and warranty it. I have had ZERO issues..I have used it with my elemnt, the wahoo app, and a suunto ambit. Their customer support is pretty awesome…I thought I updated a firmware once before with the wahoo utility app but I dont remember 100% since I have had it for so long.
I really like the elemnt so far too..frequent updates with some nice added functionality in every update. The crisp screen and customer support were the big selling points to me. Garmin doesnt do frequent updates and has crappy support.
So…to begin, as a general rule of thumb I usually try and correct statements folks make when they’re just way out of left field incorrect. And pretty much everything noted above is technically incorrect.
Thus to recap on the corrections front:
Stated: TICKR-X Drains a Fresh Battery in under two hours
I rode with a TICKR-X yesterday for 3.5 hours, it survived. Then I rode with it again today for an hour. Still alive. All of this ignores all my other rides/runs with it. That’s because it’s designed to last about a year at 1hr a day.
Stated: Dual broadcasting of ANT+ & Polling Beacons via Bluetooth kills battery
There’s no such thing as polling beacons on Bluetooth Smart with the TICKR-X. It doesn’t use beacons. Doesn’t exist. Instead, the unit dual-transmits your HR on ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart using the HR device profiles for both standards. This has no appreciable impact of battery (under 1%) based on current chipsets. It’s also completely common for sensors these days, and is something that Wahoo actually pioneered (which benefits all consumers by not locking them into a given technology).
Stated: The mobile app requires you to enable BT just to query ANT+ or check firmware version, there’s no way to disable it.
That’s because it’s always transmitting your HR dual ANT+/BLE. Further, there’s no other way to update the firmware except via Bluetooth Smart. You can’t update the TICKR-X firmware via ANT+. Thus, Bluetooth Smart.
Stated: Their bike computer suffers the ‘same flaw’ being unable to disable it, and thus it means 60% battery life than other head units due to dual transmission.
No, not really. It has less battery life because of the screen they selected the battery capacity they stuck in it. That’s all. Also, it doesn’t actually have really that much different actual battery life than other units on the market. It’s actual battery life is pretty much comparable these days to similiar sized units.
Stated: “There is no way to update the firmware on the TICKR-X, so any bugs/issues found, is going to be a replacement/refurb/RMA.”
Ignoring the fact that you contradict yourself above, it’s also incorrect. To prove it, I just updated the firmware on my TICKR-X (I hadn’t done it in a heck of a long time). Took less than 45 seconds start to finish, using my mobile phone.
Stated: “I’ve tried 1/2 dozen new, Duracell, blister-pack batteries in the TICKR-X, and it doesn’t make a difference. You can see the LARGE sections of dropout in my Strava rides, it’s just a flaky, unreliable device. I’m sitting here in my office wearing it right now watching Pulsometer monitor my heart rate using it, and it’s dropping in and out while I’m sitting here relatively motionless. It took 17 minutes to “find” the TICKR-X over ANT+. My Sigma HRM takes under 1 second, by comparison.”
I’m curious – at no point did it occur to you to ring out to Wahoo support to see if perhaps your unit is simply defective? All it sounds like is that it has a battery short. I’ve lost count of the nubmer of reports from all companies (Polar, Garmin, Wahoo, etc…) where sensors have battery shorts and burn through coin cells like no tomorrow. This seems pretty easily solvable.
Stated: “I don’t own the ELEMNT, just doing some reading on it, and the reviews are pretty lukewarm, compared to other devices in the same class/category.”
So to clarify, you’ve posted a bunch of 100% incorrect and unrelated stuff about the TICKR-X on a product review for the ELEMNT, but haven’t actually touched or seen an ELEMNT?
—
I’m happy to have folks offer opinions on devices (including ones that are contrary to mine). It’s a cornerstone of why the comments are so deep and useful here.
But statements have to be backed up with facts. Simply swinging by randomly asserting of bunch of incorrect stuff, no matter how good or bad a product is, just isn’t the name of the game.
Sigh. Just because your device happens to work as expected, does not mean that ALL devices work in that manner.
I can, however, confirm that the “Wahoo Utility” app on iOS and the same app on Android behave VERY differently. To whit: The Android version can only query the version of the firmware using BTLE (a flaw in implementation, as this can easily be done over ANT+ as most Power Meters and other ANT+ devices do), but even with Bluetooth enabled on the host device, only iOS actually queries upstream and permits updating the firmware.
It takes (on average) 17 minutes for the device to be discovered by anything that can query it over ANT+ (I don’t have any BTLE servers in my infra to scan for it). It would either drain the battery quickly, or “time out” and go to sleep, and the only way to wake it back up is to disconnnect one snap of the chest strap and reconnect it.
Once I fired up “Wahoo Utility” on my iPad, it immediately presesnted an upgrade notification for new firmware, bringing me from 1.5.22 to 1.7.5, the connection remained steady for 1h39m before it timed out and went to sleep (necessitating the unsnap/snap method).
If I didn’t have an iOS device, I wouldn’t have even known there was a firmware update, or that it could possibly have addressed many of the issues I’ve described above. I can’t find a ChangeLog for what the deltas were between 1.5.22 and 1.7.5, but I would like to see what else was changed.
To your other comment about increased battery drain, there are numerous studies out there describing this drain, both on the host (iBeacon/BLE drain), but also on the client. I’m sure you can dig them up. A single protocol is always going to be more energy efficient than broadcasting twice for every event using two protocols.
In any case, feel free to delete my unrelated comments here, we’ve gone off-track.
Hi David,
I personally believe your attitude will lead you nowhere, I would even go as far as to question your agenda.
Concerning ble/ant+ devices: why did you ever buy the tickrX if you do not need BLE?
I can only speak of my experience,and I only have a standard Tickr as well as a Wahoo Cadence Sensor. both are transmitting dual, and the impact on battery live is not noticeable for me. I own both for more than a year now and am still on the first battery. But I like to have both signals, any+ for my Garmin devices, and BLE for my iPhone or ELEMNT.
Speaking of the Elemnt: I actually own one and am very happy,also about battery life,which is >10h for me,never had a need to go any longer. You always claim to know everything(even if proven wrong;),so it should not be too hard for you to find out the energy consumption of a gps chipset, a display with background lighting and a dual BLE/Ant+ chipset (compared to a single one). This will help you in future discussions to keep things in perspective without ridiculing yourself.
Some more corrections:
A) Android can update the strap just fine using the Wahoo Utility or Wahoo Fitness app (again, Android). It even says it updates firmware the first line of the description of the app. It’s really the only the only thing the app does (and why it was originally created years ago).
B) There’s no updating of most of the communication stack chipsets these days over ANT+, rather, dual ANT+/BLE chipset companies like Nordic Semiconductor and Texas Instruments provide OTA loaders via BLE, which is why companies like Wahoo and others do it over BLE. If they did it over ANT+, they’d have to roll their own for no real benefit since virtually all smartphones made in the last 4-5 years can use BLE just fine.
C) It takes my TICKR-X about 1-2 seconds before its seen by any ANT+ devices that I’ve tried. Edge 820, FR735XT, Zwift, TrainerRoad, Edge 520, and countless others I’ve used – all of which in the last 24 hours. It doesn’t take 17 minutes unless something is wrong with your device.
D) RE battery drain – please cite/provide the study that’s applicable to BLE sport/fitness sensors. The way BLE fitness sensors are designed is for dual-stack communication. There are minor efficiencies gained for single-sided as I noted above, but it’s virtually un-seen in the grand scheme of things. Also, as per B above, it’s how you update the firmware since that’s how the chipsets work.
Again, I really encourage you to contact Wahoo support and simply get it swapped out.
>Stated: Dual broadcasting of ANT+ & Polling Beacons via Bluetooth kills battery
I’ll jump in here and give a bit of background how BLE works.
I am a Bluetooth engineer working with BLE. Using silicon from a vendor that supports both BLE and Ant+
A BLE peripheral role device advertises is presence with an advert, inviting central role (phone, head unit etc) devices to connect.
A BLE beacon is a type of BLE advert, popularised by Apples iBeacon that contains location context information and is usually not connectable, in other words it just broadcasts.
Ant+ can use the same silicon and the same radio that BLE uses, both stacks can run on the same hardware at the same time.
I dont see dual Ant+ and BLE “killing” battery life at all. There most likely would be some sacrifice to be made in terms of power consumption as the radio that handles BLE and Ant+ maybe on for more of the time as it alternates between transmitting/receiving the two protocols but the overall radio on time is still pretty small, probably a few ms in every second. many many months is still perfectly feasible from a 2032 coincell.
Got to say i love this device. Not one problem so far. My question is concerning ridewithgps. I used to be able to upload routes and prepare them for tracing. This feature now appears greyed out. Is anyone else having this problem? It looks like it may now be a payed for option.
RwGPS subscription levels are here and I think route tracing is part of “Advanced Route Planning” which is part of the paid-for Basic and Premium subscriptions but not the free Starter level.
link to ridewithgps.com
In your comparison chart, for the Polar M450, you put “SORTA” for a few of the categories/features. Could you explain a little of what you meant here? Thanks for another great write up!
Ray, Great review as always.
A few questions for users of the Elemnt and Powertap P1’s.
I’m only on day 2 with my Elemnt so my experience is very limited.
Day 1- I didn’t have any issues with pairing my phone or pedals (or Wahoo HRM Tickr X- which I love and doesn’t have any battery issues, or Wahoo Blue SC). I initially saw Powertap ANT, Powertap (Left) and Powertap (right). I paired the left and right and decided to ignore the ANT+ sensor since everything I have is BT. I went for a ride and all was good.
Day 2- I installed iOS 9.3.5 (not sure if it’s related or not). When I powered my Elemnt later, I received a message that my phone didn’t pair. I went into the settings and saw the power taps were gone. I tried to re-add and only the Powertap ANT+ comes up now.
Questions are:
Anyone else see this?
Anyone else having issues since installing 9.3.5?
What sensor name(s) do others use?
Wahoo support said the Powertap ANT+ sensor is actually BT. They also say the ANT+ instance is recommended.
Thanks!
I’ll have to defer to others in terms of why it’s flopped over.
That said, Wahoo has long stated that for the P1’s, they prefer folks use the ANT+ side of the house vs Bluetooth. That’s somewhat of a tacit admission that the BT standards for dual-unit power meters are…sketchy…at best. Kinda like Elmers glue and string type sketchy. In theory it works, but in practice it can be rough. Whereas the ANT+ side of the house for these variants of units just works.
I always just use it on the ANT+ side. There’s no difference in resulting data, battery usage, etc…
Ray, just took my ELEMNT on its first ride – mixed road and mountain biking. Compared to my Ambit3 the ELEMNT seems have done terrible on GPS accuracy. I didn’t see your previously mentioned data accuracy so sorry if I missed it. I rode about 12 miles to the trails, then about 14 on the trails (including two loops on the singletrack), and 12 back. Even on the two singletrack loops the Ambit3 was almost identical both times, whereas the ELEMNT’s two tracks vary drastically. I’ve come to really trust my Ambit3 in all conditions for accuracy. It’s usually only .2 miles short of a wheel sensor at worst. But when I finished this ride the ELEMNT was over a mile short of the Ambit3. It really appears the tree cover threw the ELEMNT for a loop… what kind of accuracy issues are you seeing with the ELEMNT compared to Garmin, Suunto, Polar, or whatever?
Does anyone know where I can find a complete list of data fields; specifically I’m looking for HR and Power Zones? I have a feeling neither are supported, but am not totally sure – assuming neither are then do Wahoo have forums etc where users can discuss / suggest features?
There aren’t any official forums but there is an unofficial forum at:
link to groups.google.com
The release notes for ELEMNT software list fields that have been added but I don’t know if there is a list anywhere of all current fields supported.
Thanks!
Thanks for the review. I’m getting persistent drops between my Garmin 510 and Stages (currently working with Stages support to see if we can fix). If I lose patience my Garmin I may switch over to Wahoo. I compete in Time Trials and I have very specific fields on my display. Only 4 fields: 3 Sec Power, Lap avg power, cadence, and distance. Can the elemnt be set up to only show these 4 fields? Many thanks.
All these fields exist on the ELEMNT and you can configure the page so it only shows these four (although personally I’ve never used them as I don’t have a power meter, cadence sensor or do laps!)
I’ve looked high and low on the internet but maybe my googling skills aren’t up to par. How do I use the Elemnt to do the zero offset with my power meter? Anyone?
Element on, paired to phone, sensor(s) paired.
On the Element companion app, there is a selection for sensors, then you should see the sensors you have paired, selected your power meter, and it should say “calib” on the screen or one of the bottom 3 buttons-can’t remember which-but it’s there…hope that helps
Anything new on the GoPro Control?
I’m also interested to know if you have an updated overall review. A LOT seems to have changed since March/April. Have you continued to use/test an Elemnt over the last several months?
Torn between this and a 520.
I’ll probably look to port various sections into the review, likely whenever they release FE-C integration. For example, I’ve written about Strava integration and better turn by turn integration since:
link to dcrainmaker.com
link to dcrainmaker.com
In general, I use the unit about every other week for various things.
I’ve recently bought the Elemnt and am very pleased with it, but I need to add the ability to monitor power. What power meter do people recommend to use as it seems to be something that the more i read about, the less clear I become about what to buy.
Thanks!
DCRainmaker is releasing his annual power meter buyers guide any day now.
Thanks for the heads up Brent, will hang off for that.
Scottish Mike I am with you in trying to find a power meter to suit and cost. DCR has a lot of information and its down to you. In the sense of what to go for, pedals, crank arm, cranks, wheel etc. Hope you find something
Vinny
As far as monitoring power, a BUNCH of fields are available for tha on the Elemntt, many of which I understand were added around a month ago. FWIW, I’m testing out an Element, I own a Stages PM. They seem to work together fine.
Back to monitoring, I don’t know how and don’t want to know how to analyze it to the level of DC, but I’ve done a brief meatball test or 2 and the Elemnt and my Garmin 510 seem to report power reasonably close to one another.
Quick (I hope) question: How does one use this during a race (traithlon/duathlon, specifically)? Do I have to push any buttons in T1 to start the unit recording or can I start it before the start of the race and will it automatically begin recording once the bike begins to move? Thanks.
If you have auto pause enabled you can start it as you are walking up to the line…then it will autopause and not start until you actually start the race. Thats what I usually do..sometimes I just hit the start button right at the start too if im a bit further back from the line.
First problem. Trying to connect the E to my e-tap is proving to be a nightmare. Sometimes it picks up the sensors, sometimes it shows all shifters batteries OK, sometimes two or three out of the four batteries are displayed. The gear indicator sometimes shows no selected gears, sometimes it shows gears but doesn’t change display when a different gear is selected.
I’ve deleted and added etap dozens of times and still not working properly. Anyone else getting this?
Can users kindly provide some guidance to battery life? Does navigation reduce battery life? What about the backlight, is it automatic like Garmins or do you have to select it? How much does using the backlight reduce battery life? Thanks in advance for any help.
as you say i have updated the back light. Also the battery life is not good for me. I did the mallorca 312 and cycled to the event at around six in the morning. At around 1600 in the afternoon the elemnt died. This was while riding one of the sportives that i wanted so much to record. my phone battery was stil good. i put strava on my phone and carried on.
I have managed to get a hours record with 30 percent battery life. I am not sure with the gps how this affects the life of the battery.
Vinnychoff
Ten hours is the lowest battery life I’ve seen. Some other reviews have said 12-14 hours. That’s why I asked about the role of the backlight and navigation. Perhaps there are other battery consuming features which have a large impact and explain the wide ranging experiences with battery life?
I thought, you’re positive about the Element. So you’re having battery issues? My Elemnt is much better than the Edge 1000 concerning Battery life.
Strange.
DCR your advice is needed please…..
I have used the Elemtn since its re-release in March 2016 but somewhat getting frustrated with the lack of meaningful progress.
To put everything into context, I am a recreational rider, but take my riding and training very seriously. I use a power meter and have a weekly plan, and monitor my progress by taking regular LT tests using a BSX Insight.
What disappoints me with the Elemnt is it does not seem to be directed towards users like me and not sure it ever will be and wanted your advice on that. What I mean is that it is 6 months since its re-release and we still have the following issues:
* No customisable workouts
* NP per lap is not working
* Strava segments are NOT point-to-pointm but rather a pointless average progression through the segment
* di2 gears are still shown in a bar chart, with option on gear ratio
and the list goes on and on.
Do not get me wrong. In what it does, it does excellently and I guess that i why I am disappointed as I wanted the rest to be done too. Is this realistic, or is this as far as Wahoo can take it? Maybe are we looking at release of a Elemtn 2, making all of us Elemtn users beta paying customers beta testers??????
Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.
One of those items is not like the other- I would think that Di2 gear display problems (or even not having them at all) would have no effect on your training or riding, I had them on my Pioneer computer and other than them being a curiosity I never looked at them. I eventually deleted that screen because it was just a screen to skip when rotating through screens. I guess I never have much question about when gear I am in and I am certainly not going to push buttons on the computer to find out when I can just look down. The other items I can understand.
David I would respectfully disagree.
The Di2 gear display is very important in structured workouts. For example when you need to follow a specific wattage and cadence and you are training on a road loop its quite important to know what the ideal gear is to hit the target. For example 14-36 on the ‘front straight’ and 21-36 on ‘back straight’. At this point I have to count lines on the bar chart 😉
I’m sorry but this makes no sense to me. People did structured workouts for decades before Di2 displays. It’s pretty simple- you shift gears until the cadence is where you want it at the target wattage. My experience is that you pretty quickly get a feel for wattage and cadence and know pretty closely what gear you need to be in for a specific target wattage on a given terrain. Also, the gear combination changes from day to day even on the same course because of changes in wind speed and direction. I guess I don’t see how a gear display helps. It is a case of trial and error gear shifting. Usually you can guess within a gear or two of where you need to be and then you correct in the first 10 seconds of the interval until it is optimum. I don’t see where a gear display would help. I guess I can’t see this as a must have feature.
Thanks for the review and all the info. I also have eTap but I do not see the same fields you have setup. I only see Current gear (visual) and Current gear.
Not sure if this matters but I am pairing with an Android phone.
Also what is VAM under climbing.
Thank you,
Lou
No need to reply. I have my answers. The screen shots that were in the original post have been removed by an Elemnt update.
VAM = average climbing speed. VAM is a measurement of your climbing rate expressed as how many vertical meters you will climb in one hour.
Does anyone know if there is feature parity between the iOS and Android app?
Looking at the ELEMNT to replace RFLKT+.
Unfortunately the same features are not available on RFLKT+ on Android, in comparison to iOS, via Wahoo Fitness App, hence my question.
Cheers
Liam
Mine works fine as long as I am by myself, in a group ride or race it drops powermeter signal and sometimes takes over a minute to reacquire. Have sent them a couple of files. Hope they fix it. I had to switch back to a Garmin to race
Trying to set up my new elemnt ,
My homes wifi password is 13 digits/letters
The elemnt seems to only accept 12
Any clues ?
Cheers
The Wahoo Elemnt Mini must be coming out soon. See FCC link for photos link to fccid.io
So what is the latest on this given any updates they did? Better than a Garmin 520 yet?
One thing I notice on the 520 is that when you turn, it does not update your rotation until the GPS track catches up, because it has no magnetic compass like the Wahoo or an iPhone. Street riders may not care, but on tight MTB trails with lots of places and options to turn, it is easy to not know which trailhead to take.
I think the Wahoo Elemnt Mini will be more suited to MTB. The size of the original Elemnt is a little to big to be at home on a MTB. I have done lots (1200mi-ish) of navigation with the Elemnt and it works really well. All of the navigation was on roads but I rarely missed turns. I agree it is more difficult to navigate on trails but its always going to be difficult to navigate on trails.
Hi!
I think I know the answer already, but did want to double check.
Is there anyway to fit an ELEMNT on a barfly 2.0 road mount. I did see the adapters from Barfly, but these are for Barfly 4.0.
So far have only managed to mount at a 90 deg offset.
Cheers
Liam
Hi Ray,
After reading your review, I see there is no mention of the AUTOMATIC BACKLIGHT feature which Elemnt doesn´t have in contrast to the Garmins. I think it´s a must-have feature for a lot of people including me. I bought the Elemnt thinking it was a given and got that surprise! really annoyed,
Anyways great review,
Hardly a must have feature surely? It takes all of two button presses to activate the backlight.
My Garmin 520 doesn’t have automatic backlight.
Yes it does, check on settings and display I think,
I can’t see it anywhere on the official garmin 520 set-up guide. Could be missing it though.
There is no auto backlight. You can manually set the backlight from 0-100%.
Today I tried it on 0% and was surprised that it looked fine. I only used 5% power with it on 1:10 minutes. GLONASS was on. One second recording on. I was not showing a map on this ride.
link to www8.garmin.com
Some units do actually have auto backlight (I believe the Edge 820 does off-hand).
What the other Garmin units have though is automatic display inversion. So basically they switch from black text on white background to white text on black background (so it doesn’t look like a spotlight). That functionality is non-relevant in the case of the ELEMNT, since the display tech is a bit different.
In daylight there have been a few times where the elemnt is better than the garmin.
vinnychoff
I think the Elemnt display looks great in daylight. I also like how it has a compass to rotate the display without the lag of GPS heading. I picked the 520 because the Elemnt was not a fully baked product yet. Next year the new smaller one may be the thing to get.
Thanks for clarifying,
You´re right, it´s not an auto-backlight feature on edge 520, but it reverses colors depending day/night.
Bottom line, it´s an automatic function you don´t need to worry about during a ride or even beginning a ride, just turn device on and forget about it. With Elemnt, as I can see, need to press some buttons.
Hope the ELEMNT can update this feature (as optional) on the future, to turn backlight on/off depending if it´s day/night.
Have a good one!
But this is no more useful than the display on the elemnt..You can see the display very clearly in daylight without any inverse option. So why does the elemnt need an update whereas the 520 doesn’t? The inverted display on the 520 isn’t any use in the dark. That’s what the backlight is for.
Of course the inverted display it´s usefull on the dark, that´s the whole point, also it has some backlight. Usually I get out early in the morning when it´s still dark, and it´s a very useful feature, and when the sun starts rising and the day gets clearer, it switches automatically to regular display.
Anyways will see how it goes with ELEMNT,
An inverted display is not to help you see in the dark. I think you are confusing inversion and backlighting. I have garmin watches with inverted displays but these are for helping to make out the display in differing daylight conditions not night-time. The only thing that makes a display visible in the dark is a backlight not an inverted screen.
You do need to worry about it on the 520. The battery life is limited enough on longer rides (over 3-4 hours) with the map on such that you need to manually turn down or off the backlight. You then need to turn it on or up in certain conditions. An auto setting would be nice but it has no light sensor.
Hi Ray, thank you for this great review.
Any chance to see a new Elemnt unit in 2017? for exemple at the CES in Januarr?
Thank you!
Charles
I am not Ray, but there is probably a new smaller version coming out.
thanks!
Hi. A couple of questions about Elemnt mapping: can it work in North Up mode, or just Head Up; can the map be updated?
There was a question somewhere about Centigrade as opposed to Fahrenheit. Can the Elemnt display purely in metric (km, m, C)?
One of the things stopping me from switching from a 520 to an Elemnt is the lack of Varia Radar support. Any sign of that happening?
Thanks for the review,
Paul F
Yes you can set the map to display either North up or heads up. The maps are updated regularly, I believe quarterly. Data can be displayed in metric. Indeed, mine is set to metric (km, m, C).
Just to add, maps can be set to direction of travel or north up but if the map is zoomed out beyond a certain scale, it will always be north up.
Also scale of units can be set individually, so distance miles and temperature deg. C for example.
The latest firmware update (December 14, WF42-1219) now allows auto rotate for maps at any zoom level.
With varia radar supporting public ant+ radar profiles now, what is stopping the elemnt from supporting it?
When I have a power meter (in this case a quarq) and the Kicker connected to the element simutaneously, and I set the target power of 200w for the workout in ERG mode, does the Element head unit 1) record the Kicker power or the Quarq output? and 2) does it adjust the resistance according to the Kicker power or the Quarq power.
I was told by WAHOO support to “drop” my PM sensor from the E when using it with the Kickr.
So, with the Galileo system somewhat operational now, do we know if the GPS chipset in the ELEMNT is Galileo-ready? And will we get to have somwehat accurate altitude in the future? Or is the license cost prohobitive?
Hi Ray, I own the unit and am generally satisfied – but I just learned it only records mileage via gps (not speed, so trainer workouts don’t ‘count’) but even so there is no odometer function – ie no cumulative record of miles clocked on the road. Were you aware of this (or am i the only one in the dark) – seems like a major deficiency to me and I have mentioned as much to Wahoo – I am an otherwise loyal customer of theirs – most simple bike computers have an odometer – is this lack common to other gps brands?
my element fully records trainer rides with my wahoo snap
Agree it records the trainer sessions but doesn’t record the virtual mileage
should have added I have a snap also – if you have a way of recording mileage, hope you’ll share it
not sure I understand, elemnt records hr, cadence, speed, miles, power ect from the snap and fully transfers data to strava.
Yes it works great on the road – and I can get mileage (for some reason this wasnt working for a while – perhaps because I had gps turned “on”.) However there is no cumulative – ie odometer – function – not a dealbreaker – I like my unit very much but this seems a major miss. Any way you know to get this?
Since MANY changes and updates to the Elemnt have occurred since the initial review, is a followup review anticipated?
I just received an Elemnt, and after hours of trying to make it work I’ve decided to send it back. I really wanted to replace my Garmin with something new. I am probably doing Wahoo an injustice by not spending more time on it (that would be later because it is after hours for their support team). I missed my workout tonight because I thought I could set it up in about 1/2 hour. But, I really don’t need another gadget or piece of software that may or may not work when I jump on the bike (i.e. Stages and TrainerRoad). There are alternatives out there that “just works”. You almost forget you have them because they require no attention after initial setup (at least for me…i.e. Power2Max and Zwift).
Last update for the Elemnt was Dec. 14? A month later they send me a unit that needs an update. Well, their app to update the Elemnt needs an update itself or fix to allow this. Jeez.
I am paying Wahoo to be a part of their Research and Development process. When you get a new product and run into a glitch, you try various things to work around it. The product is new to you so it take time trying to figure these things out. Before you know it (after many glitches) you realize hours have gone by so you can report it to the company you paid money to.
Makes me appreciate the work DC Rainmaker does and what he has to deal with.
Anyway, I’ve had it with fiddling with gadgets and software that need special attention. There are companies out there that use the right materials to begin with and make minimal software updates because they do it right the first time.
Sorry for the venting…
Hi RC,
What was your problem specifically?
MY Element was Plug and play to setup,basically turn it on, configure WiFi,check for updates,setup the sensors and display page and go. not more than an hour. Got mine in June and am very happy with it, never had a single issue.
The first problem was configuring the wifi through the app. At first it presented me with the 2.4 and 5 ghz wifi that I have. Later it would only show 2.4. When trying to connect, the app would just hang – “connecting”. The only way to get out was to skip the wifi. But then it says there is an update. So I try that, and it checks for a wifi connection and then proceeds with downloading the update. Again it just hangs and never completes any download. So I skip this also and try to customize the pages. Keep getting errors when I try to change the fields. Some take and others keep giving me an error message. Then it says that I can’t make any changes while updating. The updating process has been going on for over an hour.
When I have an experience such as this with a brand new product that I paid over $300 for, I consider it defective or negligent of the company that would send me this. I have done my share of programing software from the bottom up. If what I wrote needed the many updates that I see that this product has needed, then it is time for me to find another profession. I’m frustrated by the amateurish attempts by many companies putting out “beta” versions for their customers to help sort out the bugs.
I mention Stages earlier. I have lost count of the many times I have had to return for defects. Some for defective materials and others for bad firmwares. I also have a Power2Max that I installed I think 4 years ago. Absolutely no problems, and zero firmware updates. TrainerRoad is another product I have had problems with. I remember being frustrated with their buggy program about 6 months ago. Then I got hurt and couldn’t ride for months but kept my subscription. When I resume using TRR, I find that it has more problems and see that they want to push beta versions on to their paying customers to iron out the bugs. So when I want to use the trainer with TRR, I expect to spend time figuring out what is wrong before I can start riding.
I can see how this competitive business can force a company to stay ahead by getting their product to market quickly, but they also have to put in the testing and put together a team of competent software programmers. In the present environment, I will stay away from companies that frequently needs to update to fix bugs or puts out “beta” versions because all that means is that they can’t get their act together and put out a decent product.
I have been using Garmin products for over 20 years. They were never responsive to user needs, so I came to dislike them. But you know what, their products have persisted over many years. These new companies worry more about being responsive to users and their PR than the quality of the products they are selling. They always want to survey you for the quality of their customer service and NOT the actual products.
Thanks Philip for getting me going again on my rant…
I agree with you on the customer service side. There needs to be focus on the product and its function. Companies need to make the product better. I have had quite a few issues with the wahoo cadence which also opened my eyes to the staff. I think if wahoo concentrate on both the customer service and the function they can win more sales.
vinnychoff
Well, I owe Wahoo an apology. All the problems I was having stemmed from not being able to download and update the Elemnt. My ISP was not allowing the download although the internet was working otherwise. The update did fix the rest of the glitches I was experiencing. So I am happy that the Elemnt might be replacing my Garmin.
But my rant still stands for all the frustrations I’ve had with other sub-par products. Unfortunately I let it all boil over yesterday.
Had mine for over 6 mos – no issues with functionality (still hoping for odometer function) for Wahoo support is very good and responsive (you may want to call during bus hrs – I think you will agree) – Unlike Garmin, with whom I have had some less than orgasmic support experiences with their automotive GPS units. Wahoo if anything exceeds what you would expect in tweaking and updating the unit – so expect frequent software updates – again unlike Garmin – g stands for glacial. Return it if you like – Garmin is a known and dependable option. I dibn’t honestly think the Elemnt deserves a “subpar” ranking.
I bought an ELEMNT when it came out last year, but have had persistent difficulty with the grade that gets reported on the computer. Multiple calls to tech support led to several resets. At one point, we found a spec of dust in one of the 8 holes on the back (where it gets the air pressure for the altitude, I suppose). I cleared that and it seemed to improve things initially, but then I wasn’t as convinced (although tech support thought that closed the matter). It still seems much less accurate than the Garmin 810 that it replaced.
Any advice here? They don’t think there’s a hardware issue and kept promising a software improvement – I haven’t seen any change since I stopped fighting this last summer.
If you are talking about the grade%, correct if I’m mistaken but I was under the impression that it is calculated from GPS data, and not so much barometric pressure. It that is so, not all units are created equal with regards to GPS accuracy. If both units you use have real-time gps accuracy information, you could see if that is making the difference. Some units do better than others when the sky is obstructed by such things as tree cover, hillsides, clouds, even your own body when you ride out of the saddle.
My Garmin died unfortunately. Seems like they use a barometric approach with a slower refresh than Garmin, but that still doesn’t excuse the inaccuracy. I’m consistently 20% lower than Strava (which uses a GPS approach).
Lower in total feet climbed, that is. I bought the ELEMNT based on your great review – really appreciate the careful work you do.
Just wondering if this is a common complaint that Wahoo has committed to work on or if I need to go back to them as an individual technical issue.
My wife is still frustrated by the lack of a track in their Live Tracking – they still only provide a ‘current location’ dot rather than showing where I’ve been. This was a promised update last year too without apparent progress.
Strava is notoriously inaccurate regarding total elevation when using the “corrected elevation” feature (GPS-database based).
Also–if you use Strava with an iPhone, it ignores the barometer, and uses a GPS database. It will also do this if you use any device without a barometer.
In many areas, this can result in doubling or tripling your climbing data. Their database is old, an will give you credit for climbing over ridges where there’s a road cut or tunnel, etc.
My experience with the ELEMNT altimeter has been very good, and consistent with data from an Edge 500, various watches and RWGPS data.
The Strava ‘corrected elevation’ does seem exaggerated, but it’s all I’ve got these days. I’ve actually had terrible luck with the ELEMNT altimeter – the grade has never been accurate and often says 0% when I’m on steep hills. I worked with tech support for a few months, but they eventually gave up. I’m waiting for this unit to die to try something else.
The grade displayed is always the grade you were riding a while ago, as the unit takes multiple samples to filter out noise.
I’m not saying there’s nothing wrong with your ELEMNT–there may be. Just be aware that there is significant lag as there is no way to accurately measure grade instantaneously.
Perhaps you should request a replacement.
Feature requests:
* Navigation guidance to start of route
* Navigation guidance to start of strava segment.
* Map/Navigation guidance of strava segment itself.
* Integration with trainerroad.
Anybody know if this is on the roadmap to be implemented?
Anyone know if Wahoo is coming out with a new ELEMNT unit this year? I have seen comments mentioning a “MINI” but I have been unable to find any information out there. Thanks!
Hey Ray:
In Route & Ride History the ELEMNT controls the KICKR to automatically change resistance to match the elevation profile of your route. If I’m riding an IRL route I’ve uploaded, does the Elemnt give any visual indicator that the terrain is going to change? For example, I’m riding a flat segment and then approaching a 5% hill — does the Elemnt give me any kind of cue that it’s going to change the resistance pretty significantly in a few seconds?
Re: the ELEMNT GPS computer. Curious to know if you were able to compare reliability of GPS signal between the ELEMNT, and any Garmin that has the GLONASS satellite feature. While a bit of a batter killer, I find that GLONASS, when on, links up w/my Edge 1000 faster, and seems to lose the signal less frequently, such as when in the woods. Getting frustrated w/my 2 year old Edge 1k that repeatedly logs rides into the future and then won’t upload to Strava (& yes, following the steps to remove the gmaptz.img file fixes it for a little while, but always returns)
link to forums.garmin.com
I have the same frustrations with my Garmin 1k. You need to wait a while before setting off
Have any folks here been able to successfully mount their ELEMNT to a BTA setup? All the ones out there seem to only work with Garmins.
Have any folks here been able to successfully mount their ELEMNT onto a aero bar based hydration setup? All the ones out there seem to only work with Garmins.
i had an elemnt mounted on a speedfil z4 bottle cage. you simply use a standard garmin mount, but turned 90 degrees. I also trimmed the opening of the garmin mount a tiny bit as the elemnt mounting tabs must be a tiny bit wider. that is a great setup to use a standard bottle, or you can then utilize a speedfil a2 bottle that has the straw like other hydration systems.
So you are looking at the ELEMNT sideways?
no, not sideways. the device lines up straight because the speedfil allows the ability to turn the garmin mount 90 degrees. the mounting tabs on the garmin edge devices point to the left and ride sides of device. the elemnt’s tabs point to the top and bottom of the device (same as a garmin 910 or 920xt gps watch when using the quick release kit).
Hi Ray
Are you reviewing the new Elemnt Bolt soon?
link to youtu.be
I would specifically like to know if they have improved the Grade calculation with the new Bolt – my original ELEMNT still gives wacky results after repeated attempts to improve things with Tech Support.
I didn’t see any issues on grade calculations – they seemed both steady and correct to me during my rides.
Just chatted w/a Wahoo rep re: the BOLT (& presumably the answers would be the same for the ELEMNT). I asked if one could shut off GLONASS satellites and use US only, as the use of GLONASS is a known battery drain for Garmins. Answer was: GLONASS is their satellite system, so to save battery, one would need to turn off maps and thereby lose any recording of the route. From my Garmin 1000 experiences, a full charge won’t last the whole Leadville MTB 100 – in fact, mine died at the turnaround point when GLONASS was enabled. I’ve since ridden the same event twice with the same Garmin 1000 WITHOUT GLONASS, and I had plenty of battery by the end of the event (11:33 & 10:05, respectively). I sure wouldn’t want to lose any history of a long endurance event like this unexpectedly. Sure, disable the LED’s, backlight, threshold alarms, possibly even BLUETOOTH if only using ANT+.
Perhaps an experiment & real results that can advise on how to get the most battery life on a given charge while giving up the least functionality, across the most popular units, if there isn’t already something like this here.
Cheers!
So I bought an Elemnt but can I find the Dropbox integration, NO, I cannot…on my app I only see Starva, Sports Tracks, RWGps etc etc – no Dropbox link. The app is upto date, I dont believe the Elemnt is out of date. Do I need to take another step somewhere that I have missed?
thanks in advance
ummm–did you try scrolling down to see the rest of the accounts you could link to?
Because Dropbox is very much there! 😉
I would be the *first* to admit to being stupid, but nope I scrolled and nothing doing. the list includes (in order)
– BestBikeSplit
– Komoot
– Map My Fitness
– Sport Tracks
– Strava
– Training Peaks
– Ride With GPS
– Today’s Plan
and um, that’s it. I’ve updated the app and updated the dropbox app on my phone…weird…
So. I am not going mad. Dropbox is not in my menu options.
This just in from Wahoo support..
“Thank you for reaching out to us! It appears the DropBox sharing options was removed in a recent firmware update. I have reached out to the developers regarding bringing this feature back (read – messaged them 8 times in ALL CAPS DEMANDING THEY BRING BACK DROPBOX). In the meantime, you can email a ride from your history to yourself and then save that into a dropbox.
I am sorry for the inconvenience.”
Not ideal but at least I’m not mad.
Weird–I’m assuming they mean a recent companion app update–as I don’t understand how a firmware version would affect linked accounts.
Also weird, because I’m running the most recent iOS companion app and it shows up. Must be that you’re on an Android device and for some reason they temporarily dropped it.
Ah, THAT does make some sense. I’m on Android and yes, other people may still be seeing it in iOS..its is weird. I was hoping it would output a plain GPX file, but its fit file, so I’m kind of wondering quie what I can do with those!
The .fit file is the best standard for ride data, IMO. It will contain all the data from your ride (HR/power, etc) as it was designed for this purpose. While GPX can store this data–it doesn’t necessarily do it in its base format.
You can import .fit into Strava, Training Peaks, Golden Cheetah, Garmin Connect, etc. It’s easy enough to get a GPX back out of any of these applications.
thanks – I didn’t realise it was the best option – will give it a go!
Are you able to set up different bike profile and activity profiles on the elemnt as per what you can do with Garmin?
I have separate bike profiles with different power meter sensors on each bike and activity profiles for interval, race etc…can this be done at the same on the elemnt?
for anyone in the states, the element is not shipping out from Wahoo until 4/5/17.
guessing back order from good press…
Also, i’m gravitating over from garmin devices (800 and 1000) as they just don’t hold up for my application, (marathon mtb). hoping to have better luck with the element and looking forward to stretching the 15 hour charge….
ride strong..
Thanks DC for this review. Very detail orientated and practical explanation.
I am new to Cycling but looking to get myself to doing some really training. I saw online that the edge 1000 bundle is available for usd 499 as is the elemnt bundle. In this case which one would you recommend?
The Edge 1000 is somewhat of a different beast that the ELEMNT. It’s off in it’s own category in terms of mapping and flexibility for in-ride mapping.
Thanks for the quick reply. Can I read it as if I can get it at that price bundle I should just go for it?
It’s not a bad price, but I’d look at whether or not you want/need all those features. That’s honestly the biggest thing.
It’s an awesome unit, but for some it might be overkill.
Ah ok… cool… now i get the point you were trying to make… btw, just recently stumbled on your site and it is truly awesome… love it.
I recently took the plunge and bought an Elemnt having previously had the Garmin Edge 800. As far as I’m concerned the difference between the two is night and day, the Elemnt is so much better.
I was getting sick of the Edge 800 stopping turn-by turn navigation part way through a ride, I’d be riding along thinking I haven’t had a turn instruction for a while only to find I was hopelessly off-course. Either that or I’d turn a ride I’d previously ridden into a course (therefore is was nothing to do with web site errors) and part way through the ride on a straight road with no turns it would go mad saying I was off-course only to say it had found the course a few hundred yards later.
I found something that annoyed me with the Edge 800 that was also present on the Elemnt which was if you selected imperial miles and feet for distance and elevation then it would also use Fahrenheit, not centigrade for temperature, which are the common units of measurement in the UK. Anyway, I emailed Wahoo and three weeks later this has been corrected in the latest firmware update. I absolutely love this device.
I have been using the Elemnt for a few weeks now and mostly it has been running well, power button is just a bit hard to push but not a show stopper. One thing that has cropped up in the last week or two is the temperature not displaying for the first part of the ride, this doesn’t always happen, sometimes it takes a minute or two to appear, other times a few miles but most of the time it is there from the start. I have contacted Wahoo regarding this, their response times are excellent I should add. When the ride is finished and temperature has been displaying well during that ride the temperature will often go back to n/a, almost triggered by the ride ending? just wondered if anyone else had experienced similar. May just be that my unit is faulty but hopefully something that can be resolved in firmware.
Bought an ELEMNT a few months ago. Up until now it has been working fine for commuting duties on my ‘cross paired to a TICKR and an RPM Cadence sensor, but last week I went to Mallorca for a cycling holiday and obviously brought my nicest bike. Aside from myself wearing the TICKR this bike is equipped with an RPM Speed sensor, a Stages power meter (2nd generation) and Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 9070 groupset with SM-EWW01 D-Fly wireless unit. Every component has their latest available firmware installed and signal strength appears good.
At the beginning of every ride (seven of them) I frequently experienced a total loss of sensor connectivity. All datafields relying on external sensors would display N/A until the sensors were eventually reconnected some 10-30 seconds later (heartrate normally returning first, power/cadence significantly later). Often (but not always) speed and grade datafields would also display N/A, which I’d interpret as the unit no longer processing GPS data either. After a while (30-60 minutes) the connection seems to stabilize as I no longer noticed the dropouts occuring as frequently or at all.
Clearly there is some form of issue with the ELEMNT, either with the software in general or my particular instance of the hardware. Even in the event that one of my sensors is potentially faulty and spews out garbage data this should never be able to bring down the entire ELEMNT communications stack. Is anyone else experiencing similar issues?
Now that the Bolt is released which has a much nicer form factor, is there any sign of a style refresh for the elemnt which lets face it now looks a little clunky?
Hi, how do you set the crank length for P1’s on the wahoo?
I am sure the question has been asked in either this discussion or the power tap P1 but with so many comments its impossible to find hence my post.
Within the Companion App, you’ll configure it on the sensors page for the P1 sensor.
sorry for being dumb but all I see on the companion app is an option to change wheel circumference?
Hi Ray,
I don’t know if you look at comments for reviews that you wrote over a year ago, but I thought I’d give it a try.
Has your opinion changed over the past year of using this ELEMNT (that assumes, of course, that you are still using this device)? Specifically, relative to the Edge 520?
I’m just so sick of fighting Garmin’s software, that I’d really like to move to someone else.
Keep up the great work! Your reviews are so useful!
Thanks!
It has. It’s probably best to look at my Wahoo BOLT review, as that’s up to date on all the latest features.
The ELEMNT and BOLT have identical software.
The only downside to the original ELEMNT is simply that I think it’s kinda Fugly (too clunky) – which is why I like the BOLT so much. But beyond that I’m really impressed with what Wahoo has done on the software front.
Hi,
With the stages power meter I have so many problems with signal loss, even if I followed the recommendations (1 sec rec, bt off) it looks like the ant + has lot of difficulties with the edge 1000 on the aerobar.
The wahoo gets the power from stages with bt, do you think this can improve the signal quality and reliability? Why doesn’t garmin allow to pair to stages by bt?
Thansk for help
I have the Bolt connected to my Stages via ANT+, since the BT is connected to my V800. I have no issues at all, the Bolt shows 2 to 3 (of 4) connection bars when mounted in front.
Thanks, I’ll give it a try and we see if it’s GARMIN problem or STAGES problem.
I’m guessing that garmin and stages aren’t properly collaborating but silently fighting. Even on the forerunner 920 there is no way it even connects to stages.
Lorenzo
Really nice review!
I have one question about conectivity: Is it compatible with Suunto bike sensor and HR? I would prefer to buy only the device..
It’s complicated.
There’s a new Suunto bike sensor that has Bluetooth Smart (as with newer Suunto HR sensors with Bluetooth Smart). Those it’ll work with just fine.
But the older sensors that are Suunto ANT, are not ANT+ – and thus not compatible. They use a private-ANT version. With the exception of the running footpod, Suunto never made an ANT+ only sensor.
I’ve had my Elemnt for three months now and I’ve had my first real problem. It was a big one, but it’s all sorted now. I’m posting this in case it helps anyone else.
I was checking everything through before setting off on a big ride when I found my phone was no longer paired with the device. I tried everything I could think of but I couldn’t find how to get the device to display the barcode with which to pair the two together. The Wahoo website didn’t help so I found out how to force a reset by pressing the power button for 10 seconds. I did this once and it didn’t help. Then it auto updated the firmware and after switching it back on it still wasn’t paired to my phone so I pressed the power button again for 10 seconds.
Then the device wouldn’t power up at all. That was on a Saturday and I thought I’d bricked the device.
I had to wait until Monday to be able to call Wahoo Technical support who told be to charge it for at least 4 hours then try it again. They also told me if you power on the device, then press the power button for the second time it will bring up a menu from which you can show the barcode to re-pair the device. (Why this isn’t on their webpage I don’t know but it works).
Thankfully after charging for around two hours it powered on and I’ve re-paired it to my phone.
It was fully charged before I got into this mess so I don’t quite understand why a re-charge fixed it but I’m grateful it worked. However, re-finding the barcode after initial power on/setup should be on the Wahoo Support website but it isn’t.
WF is offering $80 trade-in on an Elemnt (not Bolt) for your old Computer for July – so I bought one. Check their website for rules and exclusions, fine print, etc., before you buy.
Oddy, the Elemnt was BO’d by Amazon to 6th now extended to 24th, so I bought from WF direct. Hopefully they actually have stock. My old Garmin Edge 800 is heading for that great resting place (wherever that is…). Presumably the Elemnt will go out of production and cease updates at some point. Any news on that?
I wouldn’t expect any changes to support. It’s the same software as the BOLT, so basically they sim-ship releases.
Hello.
Could be possible for next updates, to change the direction of display, from vertical to horizontal (like garmin 1000)?
Thanks in advance.
I have a new Bolt, love it….My first rides i compared it with the old Garmin 520. I use the feature Auto Pause. I see finally in my ride a 10% difference in results of average speed. Are they calculating differently the auto pause. Is there a way to set it up differently in the Wahoo. Would be nice because Wahoo is showing lower average speeds.
I am without hurry looking for EDGE 705 replacement and recently on ebay.uk can find new units for less than 200 pounds. But all of them have no warranty. Any idea why is that? On Wahoo website they have event written that they do not service units “from ebay” – wthell??
I would only buy from a local dealer or online dealer that has the best customer service. as you see there, if any thing goes wrong. where do you get it sorted?
Thanks for your great reviews. I wanted to point out that the ELEMNT _does_ have turn-by-turn directions if you create your route with RideWithGPS instead of Strava, per:
link to youtube.com
Hey Rainmaker is there any update to this? I’m specifically wondering about battery life. I have heard reviews on both ends of the spectrum from “it barely gets 3-4 hours” to “it lasts 12 hours with some battery life left”. Have the constant updates from Wahoo done anything to help with battery life since your initial review?
I haven’t updated this review, though my BOLT review is much fresher and the software is virtually identical.
As for battery life left – if someone is only getting 3-4 hours – then frankly something is wrong with the unit. End of story. 🙂
So you are saying that with the new updates the elemnt battery life would be equal or close to that of the bolt?
I’m saying I’ve never heard of anyone only getting four hours of battery life. There were definitely optimizations around battery life over time, but I haven’t done any 12+ hr rides lately though.
I did a ~9hr ride recently without issue on my elemnt. Had HR and speed sensors connected too. I dont recall how much % was left after but it was double digits at least.
I did an 300km ride, which took 11 hours, plus 2 hours rest, didn’t have any Strava segments active, backlight off, LED’s off, BT connection to my iPhone on and had 5% battery life left. I opened the Elemnt app 3 or 4 times (I believe it syncs which the unit then). No routing or anything done.
“No routing or anything done.”
And that’s how you started off with a 60KM planned ride and ended up with a 300KM ride. Next time, turn on routing. 😉
ROTFLMAO!!
Regarding battery life….
If this helps, I rode for 3 hrs 20 mins today with full navigation and my phone paired, the back light was on for the default setting of 5 seconds on every time you press a button to change screens, WiFi was probably on but not connected to any network.
When I finished the ride it connected to my home WiFi and synced my ride and I had 68% battery life remaining.
I’m really, realy happy with this device.
Hey Ray. Was hoping to hear about an Elemnt 2.0 at eurobike, but haven’t seen or heard anything. Not sold on the smaller Bolt. Amazon just chopped $30 off which could be end of season discount, or signs of a new Elemnt in the wings. I will wait for Interbike I guess unless I am misreading Amazon discounts. Love your work as always
No, I wouldn’t expect anything there anytime soon.
Hey Ray,
Wanted to see if you have had any problems with this device having hiccups and dropping rides? I just had my Garmin Edge 810 lose half of a 72 mile ride in italy when it randomly shut itself down (with 35% battery remaining). Looking at potentially abandoning Garmin to find something which is more reliable and has better tech support. Curious about your long term experience.
Dan
Dan is it an older device or is the battery old. I had a similair issue wiht a mobile phone. The battery was causing this issue.
Vinnychoff
Anyone know what the firmware update that I got today is?
Listed here, and readme for yesterdays newest firmware as well (mostly maps):
link to support.wahoofitness.com
On my elemnt unit, I am logged into an American (?) wahoo cloud Account. But living in Sweden, whenever I try to access anything wahoo (to bry stuff or to uppdatera FTP etc) I am redircted to a eu.wahoofitness.com domain with a separate login&pwc. Wahoo, what’s the thinking here? How are fellow European riders dealing with this?
I wanted to but a new HR strap after my tickr x gave in (sweat?) after 3 years. Since I never go for a ride without my phone and/or my Elemnt, no real point in goding beyond the simpler tickr, now, is there? The memory and the running analytics, I never used it anyway?
Peter, it is better to buy local from a shop as if some thing goes wrong. Then you have to pay shipping. DC mentions this also in his reviews. Hope it helps you.
vinnychoff
Big fan! Have been using your reviews for over 5 years now…glad to support you.
Is there any way for me to get my own structured workout onto the Elemnt? Trainingpeaks account is connected, and syncs, but only workouts _made_ inside trainingpeaks workout builder.
Trainingpeaks blog shared three ‘Holiday Spirit’ workouts just yesterday [https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/3-trainer-workouts-to-beat-the-holiday-madness/] and lets me download them… but how do i add them to my own training schedule (and then sync to the wahoo Elemnt – that step works already)
thanks,
Peter
Or, as I suspect, this feature is deliberetely separated to enable the coach edition of ‘same’ software suite? One should not be allowed to be one’s own coach (to this extent).
Hi Dc, thanks for your site. I recommended today someone view your reviews on cycle trainers. I wonder if you or anyone has updated to the latest software for the elemnt. There is also a maps update. I have updated and now the bepro pedals i have are not showing cadence but power is. I also tried to update the maps but it says no room. Do i ahve to delete my exisiting maps to update? Seems a unusual way as most updates do not need this?
Thanks in advance
vinnychoff
Not sure if you want me to put this in the bepro pedals review but linked with my wahoo elemnt i can see power but no battery life. Also today the cadence has stopped working. I went to the bepro site and they have this site that lists devices that are compatible? I cant see the wahoo there? Do you use this site DC? link to thisisant.com
vinnychoff
Since that site (thisisant.com) doesn’t even list the Elemnt or Bolt as existing bicycle computers, I’d say its content is dubious at best…
Thisisant.com’s product directory is actually pretty solid, and pretty much the most trusted source on ‘true’ compatibility.
But why do I use the term ‘true’? Well, because thisisant.com is showing you only certified devices. The certification cost for ANT+ devices is pretty much trivial, at least in comparison to doing a full certification on BLE.
You’ll see the vast majority of sensors certified there (including Wahoo ones), but why not their ELEMNT’s? Well, without asking Wahoo, i can’t know for certain – but my guess is that there’s some little quirk which would cause a certification test fail. Heck, Garmin’s had periods where even their own flagship Edge devices weren’t listed because of some quirks in how products handled accessories.
Off the top of my head, we know Wahoo has some quirks with crank length settings on some pedal based power meters, and while I haven’t looked at the full tests in recent history, my guess is that would cause a failure.
As an aside, all other Wahoo products to appear as certified.
My Wahoo ELEMNT still won’t pair with my SRM. My Garmin pairs with it. My ANT+ dongle for Zwift pairs with it. Of course, the SRM Power Control pairs with it. I’m been pinging Wahoo since purchasing it in March, 2016. They’ve created beta firmware several times, but no success. My ELEMNT recently stopped charging the battery when plugged in and they replaced it within a few days, so I am EXTREMELY happy about that. But I purchased the ELEMNT to be my one-and-only head unit and it still doesn’t work on two of my bikes. An incredible product that is also incredibly disappointing in one critical area.
I don’t see where this has been commented on yet, I read through a ton of the comments but did not find anything, Has anyone been out in the freezing cold and had the display fade out on their Elemnt? The temperatures have turned below freezing here and the other day about 30 minutes into the ride I had a barely visible to no visible information displayed on the screen. I am testing this again right now as I write this comment because it is only 12 F outside but I want to do a New Years Day group ride and the temps are only going into the single digits. But I need to know if this computer is malfunctioning or is this a common thing with the display on bike computers. I’ve never seen it happen before.
I’d say it may be more a battery issue than the display. Many devices show the battery levels are diminished in the cold, but then recover without charging once warmed up.
Is it an older unit and how does the battery perform generally?
I gave Wahoo the ultimate opportunity, as I be their first time customer to a cycling computer, to assist me. But Wahoo only be delaying of a “customer service.” Sure, the phone answering said someone will be with me in a couple of minutes, as that decently resulted. But after I told my reason for calling. navigation. I was not given an answer. Rather, I was hung-up on — on the first call. Generally, that proves a customer service rep who has no knowledge. On later attempted call: I got someone; as I knew to be lucked out. I asked how “Wahoo” attracts “first-time customers.” With c.s. reps who don’t have no answer to a customer’s question. As I been a Garmin owner; for any product customer service I consulted — none outdid the customer service quality/knowledge of “Garmin.” And I REALLY had my mind to purchase a Wahoo, due to product problem on my Garmin. But now “Wahoo”, via their “customer service” — seems to have sent ME back to “Garmin.” Because Wahoo’s “customer service” won’t “connect to me.”
Is GARMIN Service really good? I am struggle, at least, in my part of the world to get an answer, not necessary useful one, from GARMIN. My Garmin Edge 1000 is dependable until recently and Garmin Repair Centre has refused to fix my Edge 1000.
Hence, I am strongly considering to purchase Wahoo Element but it has been out since 2016. Does anyone have any idea, if and when will Wahoo introduce the new or replacement for Element?
Hi Ray,
I was wondering was there any follow up on the additional sensors becoming compatible with this device such as the Garmin Varia rear light. I have recently purchased the Elemnt but would like a rear sensor light as safety is of upmost importance. I know See.Sense have lights but that means attaching my phone to the stem and there is enough items there already. Any help on this would be great.
I haven’t heard of anything there unfortunately.
Ray,
The varia has been out for 3 years and its time for Garmin to open this up for compatibility with other head units in the interest of rider safety.
But it has been opened up. It was actually opened up from day 1 in beta, and then as of 15 months ago, as a final profile: link to thisisant.com
Said differently: This is 100% on Wahoo to implement.
I was not aware of it being released. In that case kudos to Garmin and boo on wahoo for not working on it.
I am not understanding the compass type. I thought all GPS is done with satellites. The compass type says magnetic for the Wahoo. Is that less accurate?
GPS will tell you latitude and longitude (and less accurately, altitude). A compass is to tell you orientation (which direction you are facing).
This may be a stupid question but can you use the Element with Golden Cheetah? I have a Garmin Edge 800 and with that I just drag and drop the files when the Edge is connected to my laptop. Can I still do that with the Element or does it have to be via bluetooth or wifi?
Easily. Just sync to Dropbox and import the files from Dropbox directly to Golden Cheetah. No need to directly connect it to your computer.
Thanks Nils, was gonna be a deal breaker if not!
Wayne
For anyone in the UK thinking of buying, there’s a cashback offer just opened – link to wahoo-promotions.com – £50 back. May apply other areas – I don’t know.
[Quote]Paul left a new comment on Wahoo ELEMNT GPS Bike Computer In-Depth Review:
For anyone in the UK thinking of buying, there’s a cashback offer just opened – link to wahoo-promotions.com – £50 back. May apply other areas – I don’t know.
To read it or reply follow the link:
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Ooh, that’s a Top Tip; thanks!
Have any of you used the Bolt to control a Garmin VIRB XE? If so, is it stable?
I just bought the ELEMNT. I really like it but the one area I’m disappointed in is the lack of sharing with Garmin Connect. On your picture in the review on sharing it shows the icon for Garmin Connect but my device does not have it and apparently it is not an option. There is a manual way of transferring the ride data but I’ll pass. Regardless I’m keeping the ELEMNT. Great review!
At the time this was written three years ago the sync to Garmin Connect worked. Garmin ceased support, so this is not a Wahoo problem but is a Garmin problem.
Hi all,
Latest wahoo Elmnt firmware update (of June 3) made connection to Favero Assioma Duo power pedals die. I can see them in the assioma app, with BT connection om iPhone 7 iOS 11.4, the pedals are at the latest (same) firmware. Post update Elmnt does not see them like it did prior to firmware upgrade. Anyone else having this issue? Elmnt firmware specifically said to have resolved Assioma issues w r t power averages and more… Wahoo at fault?
How long doe’s it take for the battery to get to full charge?
I normally leave mine plugged in and check later. It seems to be a slow charger? Does that help you? or is there a specific reason you want to know why?
vinnychoff
Hello,
This is a two year old unit. Is there a new ELEMNT coming out soon? What’s the release cycle?
Thanks in advance.
Alex there is the bolt? Have you looked on the market to see what is available?
Vinny
Here’s my review of Wahoo Elemnt. Misleading. Recently I noticed that the distance at the end of my rides wasn’t matching what the other people in my groups were getting. Once last week the ride uploaded to Stava didn’t even show most of the route I did on the map. The elevation on the display is never displayed correctly. The temperature doesn’t report the correct temps outside. I can’t count on this computer recently and I think it’s only a year old and starting to fail. I will have my new Garmin Edge Exlpore in a few days.
Charles, welcome to bike computers but this happens to Garmins and I guess many others. When I go out in our cycle group there are many different readings even though we have done the same route. As with any devices if they are not in specification or something is out of true. This happens. If you choose the Garmin route, I hope it works out for you.
Vinny
A couple of quick things:
A) If distance doesn’t match – does the distance slowly change over the course of the ride? If so, that might indicate a wheel size sensor is set incorrectly.
B) What’s the rough distance difference? How much off on how many miles/KM?
C) Strava not showing correct map is odd. Was it missing the last chunk of sensor data too (like HR/cadence)? That might indicate the unit got stopped from a recording standpoint.
The Elemnt has been doing different things. The first time I saw an error last week, I uploaded my ride to Strava. The Elemnt end of ride stats window showed 20 miles roughly but the Strava upload showed only 8 miles and that I finished far away from where I started which was not possible because I did ride back to the starting point. I didn’t really pay attention to the rides the few days after that but what I uploaded to Strava did show full looped routes. Yesterday the uploaded ride showed the full loop and 18 miles, then my Buddy said that ride was 22 miles not 18. I questioned this so I did a route creator and made a copy of the route we did which indeed was 22 miles. I know there is a margin of error reported between different types of devices, cell phones, and cheap little bike computers, but it it was never more than one mile in the past. Now mine is doing very strange things. It is 16 months old and just out of warranty so I went ahead and bought the Garmin Explore based on your recent review. I’ll have it by the end of the week. One question I do have is I use the Wahoo Blue SC with the Element. Why doesn’t the Elemnt use GPS distance if the sensor were not working. I think the Garmin 705 I had would use both sensor and internal gps and get it right if I remember. There are other things like the gradients that don’t reports accurately and the temperature has never worked right. I just feel that if this is a high end bike computer Wahoo should have done a better job.
Are you using a speed magnet on the back wheel or GPS for distance – if a speed magnet you have to go in and ensure the tire size is correct. It makes a big difference in speed and distance. As for elevation, I have been on rides with two garmins, one of each they always seem to be different – sometimes by a lot.
With the “set up senors” in the Elemnt there is the Automatic option. Why wouldn’t that work? You can select tire sizes, for instance mine should be 700 x 25C but if you measure that tire with a caliper it is not 25C it is closer to 27C which is not an option. Automatic should be the GPS measurement taken from the route. It should still not be 4 miles off my actual distance of 22 miles for that route. Is automatic only a selection if there is no remote sensor? If so shouldn’t that be explained somewhere? Why have it in the Set up sensors options. This is confusing because my remote sensor is the Speed and Cadence Blue SC. If one or the other isn’t working there is 0 in the data field, even when Automatic is set on speed should have a value displayed.