Today Wahoo announced a new color edition of their popular Wahoo BOLT GPS bike computer, called ‘Stealth’, which is black. No, this isn’t a successor of the existing Wahoo BOLT, just simply a new colored case. It’s a pattern Wahoo has actually done almost every spring since announcement. Two years ago there was the red and yellow variants. Then last year was the blue and pink variants. And this year, orange is the new black. Err…wait, black is the new black.
However, it’s not all form over function. The company is also releasing ANT+ LEV support, which in English means e-bike support for those bikes that support the ANT+ LEV standard. So things like the Specialized Turbo Levo, and some Giant e-bikes. Oh, and that’s going to all other ELEMNT/BOLT/ROAM computers too.
Finally, while technically not having anything to do with this launch, last week Specialized quietly pushed out an update that now offloads the GPS tasks from the phone to Wahoo, thus saving battery life on your phone. Here, let’s dive into all the details.
The Stealth BOLT:
This is frankly a pretty straightforward section. Mostly, you just wanna see pictures of the new BOLT, which, is totally understandable. Here ya go, some pictures of the box:
And then, some pictures of the box opened. Like a bad striptease:
Also, the box notes this:
I’d note this.
Next, pictures of the unit next to the box:
In my hands:
And finally, on my actual bike:
Speaking of which, this isn’t just all photos. I actually went for a ride with it yesterday. Yup, out into the glorious sun, warmth, and still weather of the Netherlands. Oh, wait. It was sorta cold, windy, and definitely not sunny.
In any event, GPS tracks and all that worked exactly as expected. No issues there, it matched perfectly with the Stages Dash L50, Garmin Edge 830, and Apple Watch Series 5. All the same.
Again – it’s the same as any other BOLT, just stealthy black. Or something like that.
Finally, as part of this, the new retail price of the BOLT is $229USD. It doesn’t matter which color you have. And, the units are in-stock today as well.
E-Bike Support:
As part of today’s announcement, the Wahoo BOLT now supports the ANT+ LEV standard, which is what some e-bike companies use to transmit data over ANT+ to cycling head units. Data includes remaining battery, e-bike power mode (e.g. eco, sport, turbo, etc…), charge count, and miles. All of this data is now displayed on the Wahoo BOLT, as well as the Wahoo ELEMNT and ROAM (via firmware update today).
At present, the Specialized Turbo Levo supports this, as well as “select Giant e-Bike models”, with ‘select’ being the key part here. Ironically enough, we just bought a new Giant e-Bike last week, though, despite all of my poking and prodding, it doesn’t seem to pair up to the BOLT (or the Giant E-Bike app, or a Garmin that supports e-Bikes).
[According to Giant’s site, this model actually should support/work just fine, though clearly I’m either not doing something right following Giant’s near non-existent instructions for it, or Giant’s site is wrong. In one spot it says “all 2019 e-bikes support the RideControl app”, yet in another it says you need the RideControl One. Either way, no pretty photos for you.]
Still, despite not having pretty photos of my own, Wahoo has included some screenshots of what it does look like if you have the right bike paired up to it:
And here’s what it looks like within the sensor menu:
I’ll be honest, I’m sure there’s a market here – but I’m just not sure how big a market it really is for this specific feature in a Wahoo GPS head unit. In other words, high performance GPS bike computers (versus more simplistic bike computers).
[Just to be clear: Obviously e-bikes are popular, we just bought one last week, and we already have another e-cargo bike. No debating that.]
The reason I say that is that Garmin has had ANT+ LEV (E-Bike) integration in their head units for years. Like, more years than I can possibly count. And you know how many people have asked me about it in post comments or YouTube videos? Approximately zero.
Actually, I think it’s literally zero.
Ever.
I literally have googled more questions myself trying to get this to work, then ever asked of me. Maybe most people just give up, like me.
Some people have asked about the Specialized Turbo Levo, mostly cause I did a post (and video) about it when it came out. But almost all those questions (years ago) were about the then CIQ app, or the crazy cost of the bike.
Still, I’m sure it’s valuable for someone. I just wonder what other features might have been more valuable for everyone.
Specialized ANGi Update:
Finally, a quick note that Specialized and Wahoo have tightened their ANGi integrations a bit more in the last week. As you may remember, ANGi is the Specialized helmet sensor that detects a crash and notifies your peeps. Also, the app integration does live tracking and ride alerts and stuffs. I talk about all that in my previous post. However, the past week has brought some notable updates.
First up, is that last week Specialized released the Android app for ANGi that supports the Wahoo integrations. Previously, it did not. So, if you’re an Android dude or dudette, and also a Specialized ANGi dude or dudette, you’re in luck.
And then more interestingly – last week on iOS they introduced GPS offloading from the Specialized ANGi app to the Wahoo BOLT/ROAM/ELEMNT. As you may remember, the ANGi app was basically doing double-duty on GPS. The app itself was pulling from the GPS on your phone (thus burning battery), while also connected to the Wahoo GPS bike computer for notices. That meant that you basically had two things doing GPS with no tangible benefit. Now however, with the latest version of the iOS app, the Specialized ANGi app will utilize GPS from Wahoo (since it has to do it anyway). This will save your phone a boatload of battery life.
Specialized says that their Android app will be updated this month to do the same.
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With that – go forth and be Stealth on your e-bike and red ANGi helmet. Nobody will see ya coming!
Thanks for reading!
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Hopefully you found this review/post 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 BOLT 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.
Here's a few other variants or sibling products that are worth considering:
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.
On Sale!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.
On Sale!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.
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.
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!
Exciting times!!!
Any hints of a new Elemnt unit… other than color cases?
Looks like something is comming since Elemnt is now taken down from wahoo websites as a existing model
I do not think there is something new coming real soon. For the US market one has to register the devices with the FCC. The ROAM popped up there 2 months before it was announced. As of right now there is no new registration for Wahoo there. Just pulled the trigger for a BOLT replacing my Lezyne …
When companies show up in the FCC before their launch date, it means someone at said company screwed up.
Companies can (and always do) hide their FCC listing until a predefined ‘disclosure’ date. What happened in Wahoo’s case (as often does, though oddly almost every time for Wahoo), is that companies put all the paperwork in, and then the product announce date slips. And then it slips again. And then 5 months later they forgot about the paperwork they submitted and some random Tuesday morning everyone at said company craps themselves. Roughly.
Having just ordered a Cannondale Supersix Evo E, I’m definitely interested in gps unit e support. Particularly as the ebikemotion system has no display other than on your phone. However it’s my out front gps (garmin) unit that I’m looking at as I ride, not my phone!
Still no word on ANT+ light support? Gah.
A feature some of us actually care about!
Exactly!! Still waiting for this feature on Wahoo…
Having had it for years on my Garmin, and having had ant+ lights for years, I have it turned off. It’s just not worth it
Now that my Bolt can provide GPS to the ANGi, I may seriously look into getting one. But, alas, I’ll have to wait for the Android update.
Great photo of your child looking at the Big Bike she wants to ride. . . Need to frame that one. Regards, Dan
The Stealth E-Bike support is of use to professional riders,
notably Team Ineos nee Sky. The DS likes to know battery
levels on the climbs, reported thru encrypted Wahoo Stealth
Cloud app to the team car. You didn’t think Stealth referred to the
colourway did you ?
I did not believe the bolt previously had the 3 right side LED lights, or am I mistaken?
I think that’s an image of the Roam. Would make sense, as the BOLT doesn’t have a colour screen either :}.
Interesting that in AU, the Bolt drops in price and the 530 goes up. I think you mentioned this on the FIT file podcast.
In June 2019 Garmin deliberately disabled support for Edge 510 to Android bluetooth synching which was petty and nasty. “DEVICE_NOT_SUPPORTED” Yep, I guess you showed me. Thanks Garmin.
Given this poor behaviour, I’m inclined to support Wahoo and the price helps too.
I’ve never heard of Garmin disabling connectivity via Bluetooth. That’s super weird. Did you contact support?
Love the Bolt!
But too bad that Wahoo is still unable to fix the average power calculation on these units.
For instance, yesterday I did 2h24m10s ride.
Wahoo app and Bolt calculate the average power for the ride at 201W, and 1395kJ, which is obviously wrong. (Basic math says… 201W x 8650s = 1738kJ)
But if I export this exact same .fit file to Strava, TrainingPeaks, Golden Cheetah or any other platform, the calculated average power for the ride is 210W, and kJoules 1816, which is correct.
Interestingly the normalized power is calculated at 224W on Wahoo and all other platforms.
I have reported that issue to Wahoo support a few times, and they say everything is OK, and this is because of “sampling rate”… I guess somebody at Wahoo has really tough time understanding what “average” actually means.
The drop in price of the Wahoo is such a great timing. Hopefully it will be reflected in the dutch stores soon.
Thanks for the heads up!
I have BOLT 3 years now and loved it, BUT
in my opinion it will be a huge mistake to buy it at the moment, new hugely improved Garmin Edge 530 is the way to go now.
For those interested in Strava LIVE Segments be aware that Bolt does NOT sync with DOWNhill segments – Garmin does sync.
The Downhill segments not appearing on the Bolt was a shock to me (I was about to buy one) but then I realized that part of the ‘buggy’ behaviour my Garmin 520 was displaying (selectively showing Strava Live Segments) was actually this! I just double-checked and all the segments that now (they were last summer) aren’t appearing are downhill and there is a warning I never noticed if you look at the segment on your computer “Downhill segments are not eligible for segment goals”. So Garmin has disabled them as well. Lesson here is if you’re Garmin/Wahoo is functioning properly – stop updating it!
Please take this as (your first?) request to learn about ANT+ LEV with Garmin. I have a 2019 Giant Road E which has become, unexpectedly, about the only bike I ride now, both on and off road as my conventional bikes collect dust. As a Garmin Edge user since 2007 (Edge 305) to the present and having followed your blog for years, and as I ride with two Garmins all the time (1030 & 830), I love both cycling and Garmin technology. So does Giant really have ANT+ chip in their controllers? I love the Yamaha engine, and the more I read and look, the more I feel I got the best e-bike available for my needs at the current time, but I really would love to have that integration to Garmin in my perfect e-bike machine (actually perfect would be to have data from engine displayed on Garmin AND to have Di2 integration to control the engine levels AND to have dual front chainrings). As far as I now know, there is no engine in the world that has all this. Anyway, if you have any ability to figure out whether Giant e-bikes actually have ANT+ and how to integrate it to Garmin, I would love to know. I know I may be the only person in the world that is interested in this, but I am certainly interested.
I love Rondehoep.
Hi Ray,
I was just listening to the latest podcast and the story about the LEV protocol.
While you might be right for your own community, there is a HUGE amount of mountainbike riders converting to ebikes. Many of them already use Garmin products and Wahoo is finally joining this exciting new category.
Just a different view angle: adding DI2 battery level adds a small feature to existing customer base.
Adding eBike protocol enables all units to be used on an all new customer base.
eRoad is certainly in it’s early days but has big potential as well.
Touring customers are likely to use either on board computers or phones.
Time to join the off road community :) Certainly not an easy one from NL …
In case you happen to be in Switzerland, we’d love to have you over for a chat in our Specialized Turbo Innovation Center in Cham. 30min south of Zurich.
small example: link to emtbforums.com
Love your site, love your podcasts!
Best Regards,
Jan Talavasek
Director Turbo Technology
http://www.Specialized.com
Glad to see Wahoo support e-bikes. With Deloitte’s recent projection of 120 million e-bikes to be sold world-wide over the next 3 years, the landscape for cycling will change dramatically.
For years, we have collected all our riding data, to track miles, calories, etc. We are not part of the “Strava-crowd” and use the Elemnt more like the “steps-counting”, physical-activity-monitoring crowd. Integrating the Wahoo GPS smart bike computers with ebikes can open a different market segment to Wahoo, should they explore it.
For some time, we’ve been able to connect our Wahoo Elemnts to our LvH Bullitt cargo bike with Shimano E8000, but only the Di2 shifting shows gear selection. No power, cadence or speed from the bike’s system.
With no bluetooth or Ant+, our R+M ebikes with Gen 2 Bosch CX cannot connect to the Elemnt at all, and it would be great if all of our ebikes could show data from the bike’s e-assist system. Particularly, to provide “corrected” power and calorie data. That is with and without the bike’s e-assist added in. Bosch is starting to design in the ability to connect to sensors (such as an HRM) on newer systems, but they are not (yet) as adept at it as Wahoo.
none
Does it bother anyone that all of the Elemnt Bolt marketing photos show a crisp white screen background, but the actual device has a cheap unappealing LCD green coloured background?
Its the sole reason pushing me towards the Edge 130, after having returned my Edge 530 due to the massive bugs.
Hey DCR–thank you for your review(s) you’ve really helped my buying process.
I have the same Canyon Stem as you and wanted to mount my bolt to it–what mount are you using in the photo of it on your stem? The stem mount in the box wasn’t flat enough for my stem and would be an awkward fit.
Note: There’s a problem that several users have had with respect to Bolt maintaining connections via BT since the update. I’ve had mine for years, and am now getting constant drops w/r/t power, and it will not maintain BT connection to the iphone to send texts, etc to the screen.
It’snot the PM because it works fine in zwift connecting thru the phone.
There are several discussions of this problem on the google groups page.
I would not recommend buying this unit right now. It’s a complete crapshoot.
Will my iPhone 5sstill work with my Wahoo Tickr please.
Here in Canada, we are getting screwed once again: the Stealth edition is 20$CAD more expensive than the “regular” edition.
Bolt is ‘Out of Stock’ everywhere.
Hi,
how can i delete the training data from the Wahoo Element Bolt. I hope someone can help me.
Thanks
Hello,
Can you confirm if the Heart Rate Monitor H10 (Polar) works and is compatible with this Elemnt Bolt (Wahoo)?
Thanks
Yes, no issues there.
Hi,
Question about ebike integration with a Wahoo Roam. You mentioned in your article that data transmitted from Ebike to Wahoo includes ‘miles’. Doesnt the distance come from Wahoo GPS? Or does the ebike overwrite that?
Also is there a way for Wahoo to show rider power or is it motor power which is shown?
Thank you so much.
Oh no. My Bolt just die. Bad timing…
@DCR Any news about a Bolt (or roam) successor? Would you buy a used one until there will be a new device?
Thx
Andreas
Same question from my side. Bolt is about to die. Sensors start to drop and some more issues. Any rumors about a new bolt? It has been on the market for a while now