New Wahoo Elemnt Bolt computer

[b3pkay]

Is it necessary to have your smartphone on/with you during rides in order for Wahoo units to record data? I can't think of a time in so many years that I haven't had my iphone with me, but the idea of being tethered to it is a tiny bit of a turn off.

[justaute]

Originally Posted by b3pkay

Is it necessary to have your smartphone on/with you during rides in order for Wahoo units to record data? I can't think of a time in so many years that I haven't had my iphone with me, but the idea of being tethered to it is a tiny bit of a turn off.

No. It has its own GPS.

[skrhone]

Good write up...Thanks
I'll have to find a retailer that carries it to touch it

[benb]

Originally Posted by old fat man

Software updates have been consistent so far. I'd wager to guess Wahoo has released more software updates in the short life of the Elemnt than Garmin has ever released in the 8+ year life of the 500.

The Wahoo works great without cell service. Same as Garmin, it needs cell service for email/txt notifications, live tracking, and I guess for mid ride route building.

It's been a while. My concern was that in the future it could become orphaned. The Garmin allows near complete configuration on device. The Wahoos have to be paired with a cell phone to do some of the configuration/features.

Wahoo releases GPS version Y and you have X. They stop actively supporting X, but it keeps working with Wahoo iPhone program version 1.0. Version Y uses the new Wahoo iPhone program version 2.0. Apple releases iOS 13 and it requires some big changes, Wahoo doesn't make those changes for version 1.0 of the app. You get a new iPhone, now you can't control your Wahoo X cause it's companion app is gone.

Same exact thing could happen with Garmin Connect.. but a higher % of the features don't require Garmin Connect, and the obsolescence issue is lessened because you can use a PC to talk to the device, and PCs don't do the forced obsolescence thing nearly as fast or in as draconian a fashion as iPhone/Android do.

I've actually had so many updates for my Edge 1000 they are annoying!

I've actually got an ancient Garmin eTrex I could pick up and use as a cycle computer and for navigation in a pinch if I wanted to. It hasn't gotten an update in years, but it will work fine cause it's not dependent on another device to fully work. The Edge devices are mostly the same.. they work fine as is. The smartphone features are extra "nice to haves" as opposed to "it doesn't work without the smartphone."

[adampaiva]

Originally Posted by ptourkin

Most common complaints are touch screen and battery life. This is representative: http://inrng.com/2017/02/garmin-820-edge-review/

FWIW with my 820 I haven't had issues with the touch screen being overly sensitive and once I set it up so that the screen goes to sleep in between directions (or pressing a button), the battery life has been good.

Its far from perfect though.

[tjk23]

Just wondering if anyone has had any trouble with speed sensor indoor. I rode on the trainer this morning and it kept auto pausing. After 30 minutes of riding it showed an average speed of 11 mph. The average kept dropping even though it was registering 18-20 mph for the ride.

[parallelfish]

Originally Posted by tjk23

Just wondering if anyone has had any trouble with speed sensor indoor. I rode on the trainer this morning and it kept auto pausing. After 30 minutes of riding it showed an average speed of 11 mph. The average kept dropping even though it was registering 18-20 mph for the ride.

Which speed sensor?

[tjk23]

Using the newer Garmin theeraps around the wheel hub.

[berserk87]

I haven't used a speed sensor with my Bolt. I'm not seeing that there is a need for what I'm doing - is there a benefit to using a sensor? Rumor has it that there can be a lag in registering speed without one but I've not seen this happen.

[tjk23]

Only have the sensor for riding indoors on the trainer.

[berserk87]

Originally Posted by tjk23

Only have the sensor for riding indoors on the trainer.

Ah - I get it now - I was thinking about the lack of physical displacement on the trainer. So you can measure power but not "speed" without a sensor.