Your timing is fortunate. DC Rainmaker just put up a comaprison of the Edge vs the ELEMNT

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/07/best-bike-gps-2017-garmin-wahoo.html

I poked around this issue for a month before buying the Elemnt. The most significant difference to me was the Elemnt's ability to "scale" the display. By hitting a button you can make the display gradually larger or smaller. When I hit my late 40's I had to start wearing reading glasses so little itty bitty #'s are now a nogo.

There's a sale going on right now where Wahoo will refund $80(?) of the purchase price to you if you send them your old GPS enabled bike computer.

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"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart

I just picked up an Elemnt Bolt. Keep your eyes in the ST classifies, as there are some new ones in box occasionally at a discount.

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I just bought a bolt. Went back and forth between Bolt, 520, and 820.

Updated live tracking on Bolt was what sold it for me. DCrainmaker had an article on it and for me being able to easily have my wife see where I'm at was a big plus.

Looked at full size Elemnt with the $80 off but it was just too giant for me. So stuck with smaller Bolt.

I picked up the Elemnt at the beginning fo the season, the biggest draw for me was razor sharp/scalable data fields and easy real time setup via your smart phone. I previously had a Garmin 510 that was showing its age and I'm very happy overall with the Elemnt.

I've had the "full size" Elemnt since January and it's been brilliant.

It's never frozen, syncs easily to my phone (Android), picks up my Stages 6800 power-meter even when out front.

It comes with an aero-bar mount, but I've not tried it so cannot comment on it's usability.

As mentioned, the live tracking was updated last week and it's now MUCH better (or so my wife says). DCR has also done a post on this updated feature.

It's a bit bigger than most Garmin units, but it's very robust and the battery life is excellent. It's also very easy to read in all conditions, unless you go into a tunnel and forget to turn the backlight on.

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Race Calendar 2017:
5th August - Norseman

I've got the Bolt (came from a 500) and love it. It's very easy to work compared to the Garmin products. Most everything is done via the app and is super quick.

I have used the Elemnt for one year. It has been flawless. Far superior usability and reliability vs. all Garmin bike computers I have used.

That was useful. Thanks.

I'd be worried that my fiancee would realise how little time I spend actually training, and how much monstering coffee.

As others have said, the BOLT seems rock solid. I find it very easy to use and very easy to read. (The display really is amazing.) Best part for me is automatic WiFi uploads to Strava. Most of the time I ride from my house, so the ride ends right outside my garage (and in range of my home WiFi). By the time I unclip, remove my helmet/glasses/gloves, stash the bike on a rack, and come inside, the workout's already uploaded. It happens automatically with no action on my part.

Having said that, if you want to save some money, the Lezyne computers are also pretty good.

anyone else curious if Wahoo will ever make a GPS running watch?
I feel like they would integrate the 2 worlds better than Garmin currently does

I just bought a BOLT on Monday, ended up using their extra 10% off on accesories (not the BOLT sadly), to get the whole package but with the Tickr Run instead of the regular Tickr for less then $17 more then their pre-packaged deal.

Reading this post has me really looking forward to getting this computer. I wonder how well the GPS tracker will work during a race? If it works well, you just carry the head unit with you from the bike until the finish, you save $35 or so everytime from renting an official tracker (for those that like more accurate location for friends/family).

I thought about that too recently. It would make sense to add it as they have the Bluetooth Tickr heart rate strap. Maybe they are gauging the success of their bike computers as a way to determine if a run watch would be worth it.

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Wouldn't that necessitate carrying your phone and the Elemnt for the whole bike and run?

I dont know, havent gotten mine yet. I thought since it was GPS enabled, you didnt NEED the phone to ping a location and you would only need it to get directions.....maybe i am wrong?

I will test after I get it figured out and respond back.

I'm sure the Bolt is great, but in terms of nearly instant post-ride upload via either wifi or via Bluetooth connection to my phone, my Garmin already does exactly what you describe.

Live tracking only works when the Elemnt is connected to your phone.

Your phone needs to be switched on, and the application open for it to work.

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Race Calendar 2017:
5th August - Norseman

Not that it necessarily helps, but a new flavor of the ELEMNT is coming very soon. I'm not sure what else I'm allowed to say at this time.

Watch the Wahoo website August 1.

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Travis Rassat
Vector Cycle Works
Noblesville, IN
BikeFit Instructor | FMS | F.I.S.T. | IBFI
Toughman Triathlon Series Ambassador

Ha, you probably already said too much! Makes sense given the recent incentive on the ELEMNT. Given that the E & Bolt share the same electronics, I'm guessing it's a slimmed down version of the E. It is a bit porky, would be nice to have a the same size screen in a significantly smaller case.

Overall I like my E but it isn't perfect either.

I previously had a Garmin 910 which I used as a bike computer with the quick release, so a bit of an unfair comparison. But my biggest gripe with the 910 was that about once a month or so I'd lose a workout, it would get corrupted or something and fail to download to Garmin Express, which is the only way to get files off it. Give that's probably the most basic requirement for a head unit, I thought I'd go with something else. I'm pleased to say that in a year of using the E I haven't lost a single file.

In general the software seems more user friendly than my old 910, which had some brain dead decisions such as combining the backlight button with the power button, which wouldn't be so bad if it didn't lack a confirmation dialog for powering down, nothing like accidentally turning your unit off in the middle of a workout. The configuration with the phone app is really just so much easier than configuring on the unit itself. However, that ease only goes so far. I have about three different use scenarios for my E, road biking, road biking with navigation, and mountain biking. I wish they'd introduce some sort of simple profiles to make it easier to quickly swap the configuration. My workaround is to create different data pages for the scenarios and turn them on and off with the phone app, but for instance you can only have one map data page so I have to go in and change the fields on that page which is definitely getting fiddly.

My other big reason for getting the E was for navigating courses. In general it works well. The black and white maps do have their limitations in that they don't show topographical features, and they don't show street names. You also can't pan maps, only zoom in and out, and when you zoom out you lose the detail. This recently became an issue when construction blocked a course I was following, and it was hard for me to figure out an alternative by zooming out. The phone app can do that but this was just a detour and I just wanted to quickly figure it out and keep riding.

The other beef I have with the E is that the beeps are way too quiet but I gather they've fixed this with the Bolt.

I've never used a Garmon 520 or 820 so hard to compare, despite my issues my overall impression of this unit is a positive one, like anything it has its strengths and weaknesses.