Wahoo Elemnt

[ANAO]

I know this has been out for a little while now, but for those of you using high-tech navigating GPS units, what are your thoughts? Apparently, they just released an update that allows for turn-by-turn navigation, similar to the Garmin 800, which makes it pretty attractive to me. That, plus the simplicity of the thing, plus seeing your buddies on your screen...

http://www.bicycling.com/sites/bicycling.com/files/articles/2015/09/wahoo-996.jpg

[R3awak3n]

the only reason I went for the garmin 1000 instead of the elemnt was because of the turn by turn, if that feature was added I would have very much considered the elemnt. Apparently the screen is really nice and all the reviews I read (and it was a lot of them) were very positive. Also the awesome thing with wahoo is that they really support their products, they will be updating this thing for a while.

That said, the garmin 1000 is amazing, I am really happy with mine. It is miles ahead of the garmin 800 imho but its more expensive than the elemnt, barelly if you get a great deal on one (I got mine for $350 new and for that price I would probably get the 1000 over the elemnt just because of the touch screen)

[ANAO]

http://support.wahoofitness.com/hc/en-us/articles/217285397-ELEMNT-Software-Updates

They did a firmware update on 6/7, and then this one on 6/15. I am seriously tempted to leave my 520, just for the warm feeling you get by knowing somebody cares about you more than they do what's for dinner.

ELEMNT WF42-628 - 15TH JUNE 2016

Routes/Maps
Added support for Turn by Turn navigation (RideWithGPS only)
Improvements to Route following especially out and back routes
Added support for up to 6 data fields on map workout page
After selecting a route it now goes straight back to the map view
Added a new "Selected" route view with full cue sheet if available
Added ability to sort routes by date, proximity and starred
Fixed issue of deleted routes not clearing from ELEMNT
Workout
Added notification if moving but have not started a workout
Added support powering off your ELEMNT mid-workout
Added option to delete workout if under time/distance thresholds
Scroll through workout history on ELEMNT
Configuration
Added support for mixed units. e.g distance miles, temp deg C, elevation in metres
Added support for connecting to hidden Wifi networks (using SSID/password)
Added support for manually switching between known Wifi networks with companion app
Added support for showing SSIDs longer than 16 characters
Added low storage warning
Sensor Support
Added support for configuring gear ratios (from companion app)
Improved support for PowerTap P1 and Polar Look power meters
Added support for PowerCal
Fixed issue of Normalized Power spikes
Added clock drift compensation for sensor device clocks
Fixed issue with sensor info in FIT file all having manufacturer set to Wahoo
Added support for a single front gear (Shifting profile)
UI/UX Tweaks
Optimized power calibration by skipping "prepare" page
Fixed menu selection not visible when backing out of menus
Fixed issue with P1 battery status showing incorrect labels
Remove battery status for KICKR devices
Added firmware information to sensor info page
Fixed issue with battery information not updating if status page is open
I am sure I must have missed something
Other bug fixes and enhancements ;-)

IOS 1.3.0 (74) - 15TH JUNE 2016

Make sure you update your ELEMNT, most of the goodness comes from the update above!
New - Add up to 6 fields on the map page.
New - You can now have mixed units. e.g distance miles, temp deg C, elevation in metres.
New - You can now update your firmware for Wahoo sensors within companion app.
New - Configure Electronic gears.
New - You can now delete routes.
New - Upload to Dropbox (from companion only).
New - Can now connect to a hidden WiFi network.
New - Delete workouts - workouts deleted on companion or ELEMNT are deleted everywhere.
Fixed - Crash on customize pages.
Fixed - Can now set crank length & wheel size for sensors.
Fixed - Numerous other bug fixes.

[ANAO]

For anybody interested, mine was just dropped off by my BBQ yesterday, and I will be putting it through the paces tomorrow. Initial thoughts:

Ease of use is waaaaay better than Garmin 520
Screen readability is waaaaay better than Garmin 520
UI is fantastic - waaaaay better than Garmin 520
It's bigger than Garmin 520
The buttons have a nice tactile feel - harder to miss than Garmin 520

[makoti]

Please follow up. I'm interested in this. Thanks!

[eBAUMANN]

Love the screen, setup, and UI...it's bigger than an 800 series as well ain't it?

[ANAO]

Love the screen, setup, and UI...it's bigger than an 800 series as well ain't it?

Unless my eyes deceive me, looks to have a slightly larger screen and slightly smaller body? Or maybe same size? Grabbed from DCRainmaker:

http://media.dcrainmaker.com/images/2016/03/IMG_8276_thumb.jpg

I'm going to pick up a whip from Brooklyn tomorrow and, while he's only 4 miles away, it will be a great opportunity to test the unit.

[ptourkin]

Does anyone know where to see a list of the available data fields on the Elemnt? My friend is looking for a device that has a "max cadence" field for track. So far, the only one that I know is my SRM PC8 and that isn't a reasonably priced option.

[ANAO]

Max Cadence is available.

There are 15 categories each containing 2-10 subcategories of possible fields.

Would you like me to list them out?

Cadence options are:

Cadence
Avg Cadence (Workout)
Avg Cadence (Lap)
Max Cadence (Workout)
Max Cadence (Lap)

FYI if it wasn't here....I bet you could request it and they would work it in in a few months!

[makoti]

Anao,

Do you have a PM? BLE or ANT+? I'll be interested in if you get dropouts.

[ANAO]

Anao,

Do you have a PM? BLE or ANT+? I'll be interested in if you get dropouts.

I have a quarq, but it won't be on a bike until this winter - sorry! I have a spare powertap sitting at home but I need to convert it to 11 speed and my training is mostly done for this season, so... (read: I'm too lazy to convert).

What are "dropouts"?

[ptourkin]

Max Cadence is available.

There are 15 categories each containing 2-10 subcategories of possible fields.

Would you like me to list them out?

Cadence options are:

Cadence
Avg Cadence (Workout)
Avg Cadence (Lap)
Max Cadence (Workout)
Max Cadence (Lap)

FYI if it wasn't here....I bet you could request it and they would work it in in a few months!

That's what we needed to know. Thanks!

[Sierra]

Wow. These feature text, email, phone alert capability (I just read).

Just what we need in addition to all the distracted drivers out there--distracted cyclists.

[Nooch]

Eli,

I haven't looked at this (since, let's be honest, I'm way out of the loop) but does this run independent of a cell phone? I remember there was a wahoo display that just linked up to the cell and pulled all the gps data and such off of that...

(hope the little one is well!)

[ANAO]

Eli,

I haven't looked at this (since, let's be honest, I'm way out of the loop) but does this run independent of a cell phone? I remember there was a wahoo display that just linked up to the cell and pulled all the gps data and such off of that...

(hope the little one is well!)

You need your phone for initial setup and any changes you want to make to the unit.

Also, you will want to enable bluetooth post ride to reap the benefits of auto-upload (otherwise, I think? you can just plug in and pull the ride manually).

With that said, the only reason why you would need your phone whilst riding is to:

1. Allow phone/text alerts on the screen (which are HUGE, btw - the pixels on this screen are phenomenal)
2. Allow live tracking (which is not so strong yet, but I hear they are working to have that updated by the end of the winter)

Does that answer it?

She's great. Adorable, healthy, tall - what more can you ask for?

[justaute]

I have a quarq, but it won't be on a bike until this winter - sorry! I have a spare powertap sitting at home but I need to convert it to 11 speed and my training is mostly done for this season, so... (read: I'm too lazy to convert).

What are "dropouts"?

There have been data/signal "dropout" issues for users who run power-meter. Wahoo is working on it with a group of beta testers. I don't have a PM, so no dropout issues so far.

[rzthomas]

I have one. Real big fan of it, especially now that the PM sensor drop outs have been fixed.

Things I really like:


Display is super easy to read in all conditions and the "collapsing" method of showing and hiding data while riding is clever and it works.
Locks on to a satellite in seconds, whereas my Garmin 500 would struggle sometimes to get a signal, even in open areas.
Firmware updates are fixing the (IMO, minor) problems and opening up new feature sets. Wahoo is super-responsive to feedback and to support tickets, unlike Garmin.

Changing menus using the phone is easy and takes just seconds.


The only thing I don't quite like with it are that sometimes the updates don't go through, but that's probably an issue of my home wi-fi network than anything else.

[SpeedyChix]

Encouraging experiences shared here.
Would any of you go to this from a Garmin 800

[makoti]

I have one. Real big fan of it, especially now that the PM sensor drop outs have been fixed.

Things I really like:


Display is super easy to read in all conditions and the "collapsing" method of showing and hiding data while riding is clever and it works.
Locks on to a satellite in seconds, whereas my Garmin 500 would struggle sometimes to get a signal, even in open areas.
Firmware updates are fixing the (IMO, minor) problems and opening up new feature sets. Wahoo is super-responsive to feedback and to support tickets, unlike Garmin.

Changing menus using the phone is easy and takes just seconds.


The only thing I don't quite like with it are that sometimes the updates don't go through, but that's probably an issue of my home wi-fi network than anything else.

So one thing I've read about is how nice it is to do any update through your phone. Is that the ONLY way to access this thing? My Kickr updates with my phone, too, and that is less than stellar. You can plug it into your computer, and access it like a drive?

[eBAUMANN]

Unless my eyes deceive me, looks to have a slightly larger screen and slightly smaller body? Or maybe same size? Grabbed from DCRainmaker:

http://media.dcrainmaker.com/images/2016/03/IMG_8276_thumb.jpg

I'm going to pick up a whip from Brooklyn tomorrow and, while he's only 4 miles away, it will be a great opportunity to test the unit.

Looks to be about the same size (the bottom of the units are not aligned), maybe the elemnt is slight wider but with a lower profile mount.

They used their own mounting interface as well right? This is kinda annoying as I have probably....7(?) 3rd party garmin mounts that I would have to replace to make the switch, making the cost-of-conversion much higher.

I think its a cool unit that certainly has some great things going for it, just hard to justify the switch from say, an 810, which does pretty much everything I want in a gps unit...although mine was completely useless for locating a huge park in the middle of Montreal and DID freeze and delete the last ride i did on it...

I do like its integration with the kickr though...maybe ill have to give it a try this coming winter.

[makoti]

They used their own mounting interface as well right? This is kinda annoying as I have probably....7(?) 3rd party garmin mounts that I would have to replace to make the switch, making the cost-of-conversion much higher.

There seems to be a way around this, either by sliding in the top of the clamp first, then the rest or filing down a small bit of plastic. DCRainmaker's review talks about it. The mount is also 90deg off the Garmin, so it mounts sideways unless you can rotate your mount.

[ANAO]

Looks to be about the same size (the bottom of the units are not aligned), maybe the elemnt is slight wider but with a lower profile mount.

They used their own mounting interface as well right? This is kinda annoying as I have probably....7(?) 3rd party garmin mounts that I would have to replace to make the switch, making the cost-of-conversion much higher.

I think its a cool unit that certainly has some great things going for it, just hard to justify the switch from say, an 810, which does pretty much everything I want in a gps unit...although mine was completely useless for locating a huge park in the middle of Montreal and DID freeze and delete the last ride i did on it...

I do like its integration with the kickr though...maybe ill have to give it a try this coming winter.

There is actually a promotion going on right now where they send you a free k-edge out front mount (in electric blue).

Add that to the 2 others in the box and you're halfway there.

[ANAO]

Okay, just got back from ride number 1.

I purposely tried to avoid the pre-recorded route, to see what effect the lights/beep would have on me. I WAS in Brooklyn, and maybe it was loud..but none. I didn't even notice without looking down.

At high noon, this display is fantastic. So crisp. I received a call while riding, luckily, so had the chance to test out the in-call feature - but I didn't even notice it. I reached for the brakes/phone long before I even thought about the lights or screen notification. And no, I never heard a beep.

So far, no complaints.

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t34.0-12/13595479_1142911199114732_1842196796_n.jpg?oh=2a53 4e0ff0778c3064e8dc91a931ed42&oe=578031ED
https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t34.0-12/13608027_1142911235781395_857468501_n.jpg?oh=04c81 d26106cce6923520abf1645dbaa&oe=577F006D

[eBAUMANN]

the combination of the wahoo and the "no garmin no rules" sticker is entertaining to me ;)

I've always wondered what the "garmin rules" are anyways...

[ANAO]

the combination of the wahoo and the "no garmin no rules" sticker is entertaining to me ;)

I've always wondered what the "garmin rules" are anyways...

I just picked up the bike from Chris - SSCX. Made more sense than the Hot Tubes, sadly. I was looking forward to riding that one!

I'll probably leave the sticker on because, hey - Wahoo ain't Garmin.

[suissecheese]

Hmm, will have to watch this thread as I was looking toward one of the higher end Garmin's in the future, but have been tempted by what yahoo is doing for a bit now. Was even considering the rflkt as a lightweight option cause I will probably end up carrying my phone most rides anyways.

[ANAO]

Now that the 820's out: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-comparison-calculator?type=watch&ids=46993%2C62362%2C49932#results

Looks to be about 25% more expensive. I like my Elemnt.

[sfscott]

Does anyone know if the new Garmin radar, and for SandG, the head-up display work with the Elemnt?

I really like the idea of configuring the Elemnt on a phone, but the 820 from Garmin looks like a great device....even if I have the 810 and don't need the 820 :confused: