Anyone have a comparison to a garmin 520?
Yep. They nailed it with the bolt. I have the 520 as well that just sits in a box and only comes out in testing.
Best Bike Computer 2017 Edge 520 vs. Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT
Best Bike Computer 2017 Edge 520 vs. Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT
I read this, Dc doesn’t really give an opinion so I wanted some real world users
I like the Bolt and my Garmin 520 doesn’t get much use anymore. Few things I like about the Bolt:
- Customization all done on the iPhone app.
- Zoom into fields
- Maps and navigation
Things I don’t like:
- Plastic feel and look
- Takes longer to boot up
- Takes longer to connect to all devices. So it might take few seconds more to find my power meter. Sometimes I will start the bike segment and the Bolt is still looking for my power meter. Where the Garmin 520 instantly connect to all devices.
- No Strava segments unless you have a premium Strava account if it’s something you care about. I personally don’t but also got used to seeing them when I used my Garmin.
- Currently only support Wahoo KICKR and SNAP. You can connect to other trainers but you won’t be able to control resistance like in the 520. They should be adding support to other trainers sometime this year via a firmware update.
Other than that, the Bolt is my main bike computer right now.
I can’t compare to 520 as I don’t have one. But have been in Garmin ecosphere since my first GPS sports device ever. Have had 200, 500, 510, 910, 920, and Vivoactive.
I’ve had my Bolt for only a month or so but in my opinion it’s the best device I’ve owned. I love the smartphone interface to set up the unit and adjust settings.
I love the maps. I thought a B&W screen might be difficult but its actually super easy to read and follow routes, etc.
I love the tracking feature (really my wife loves it, but happy wife = happy life). Super easy for her to see where I’m at and when I will be home as she can see progress on a route.
I love that it does Bluetooth smart which none of the Garmin do.
My only gripe is that ANT+ control of trainers is limited to the Kickr (I have a Hammer). But the infrastructure is there for it to expand so hopefully an update will ameliorate it.
Overall it’s been a solid purchase. I wish Wahoo would make a Tri watch of this caliber.
Altitude sensor in Wahoo elemnt devices is terrible. I have 2 Wahoo computers and both have very inaccurate altitude readings.
What makes it worse is the there is no consistency in the errors. It just randomly gives wrong data…
Sam
Another Wahoo Elemnt issue is there incompatibility with some SRM v6 powermeters (doesn’t pair, doesn’t show data if it pairs). Garmin doesn’t have that issue.
Sam
I think we can expect 3rd party control of trainers in the future with a firmware update.
As for the watch, I spoke them before about this, don’t see it happening.
That’s what I figured. Just a software issue on the trainer control. At least the infrastructure is there.
And I agree about the watch. A pipe dream. But none the less I think they’d do an awesome job.
Altitude sensor in Wahoo elemnt devices is terrible. I have 2 Wahoo computers and both have very inaccurate altitude readings.
What makes it worse is the there is no consistency in the errors. It just randomly gives wrong data…
Sam
Maybe n=1, but my experience is exactly the opposite. Extremely accurate and consistent altimeter results for me. Far better than the previous Edge 500 and 510 I’ve owned, or the 910xt. I’ve also ridden in some rain, but nothing too bad in the last 4 months, but have never experienced that “drop off” that sometimes happens during funky weather and elevation suddenly changes by 200 feet. I’ve never had to do elevation correction at all with the Bolt, where I had to do it a few times with Garmin products during rainy weather.
I have both a Bolt and a 520 and the 520 hasn’t been used in months. The Bolt is much better in every way. It’s way easier to set up and use the data fields, way more user friendly, has its own wifi so I don’t need to connect it to my phone to download rides – they just download automatically as I pull into my garage. (They will download through your phone as well but I turn that off to save my phone battery.) It comes with a pretty decent map of the world so when I travel to other countries the city streets are just there. Its navigation is light years better than the Garmin, which is barely functional. It automatically syncs routes with RidewithGPS/Strava so they just appear on it. You don’t have to do anything. Etc. Etc. The only thing that’s better about the 520 is GPS accuracy. The Bolt’s accuracy is better than older Garmins, but not as good as the 520 under heavy tree cover.
Also, I’ve had perfect altimeter readings from the Bolt except once in an absolute deluge hailstorm where the road was a river and I could barely see 10 feet in front of me. I think the little holes to the barometer get plugged with water in a heavy rainstorm and then it stops working. Same thing happens to the 520.
+1
Control of Wahoo Kickr and ease of integrating Best Bike split so you can ride any course is phenemonal
.
I have an Element (not Bolt). Compared to my Garmin devices it’s head and shoulders above them in just about every possible way.
It ticks all the big marks from a functionality standpoint. But beyond that it’s just an incredibly well thought out device. Everything from the way the data fields are displayed to the variety of ways it is “smart.”
Someone above mentioned having it’s own WIFI. That’s a feature I didn’t know I needed until I had it. My ride is synced before I even get my bike in the garage as I arrive at my house. My wife can look where I’m at in my ride and save the “ETA?” text.
The moment they make a running watch; My Garmin Forerunner will be on ebay
. My wife can look where I’m at in my ride and save the “ETA?”
Doesn’t garmin have live track also? And strava segments?
. My wife can look where I’m at in my ride and save the “ETA?”
Doesn’t garmin have live track also? And strava segments?
It does, but the devil seems to be in the details. The garmin version (for me) was finnicky and dropped out a lot. The Wahoo one just works without me even having to do anything.
I turn the live feed of the Strava segments off but when I had them I found the sycing and management of them on the Wahoo to be a lot easier also.
It comes with a pretty decent map of the world so when I travel to other countries the city streets are just there. Its navigation is light years better than the Garmin, which is barely functional. It automatically syncs routes with RidewithGPS/Strava so they just appear on it. You don’t have to do anything. Etc. Etc.
I’d have to disagree there. The mapping on the Elemnt/BOLT is very different to what Garmin implement, and it comes with a LOT of caveats. Sure it works… and will suit 99% of people. That’s fine. And I’ve got both the Element and the BOLT in my collection. There’s a lot more going on under the hood than not having to do anything… as for Garmin being barely functional? Dropping a GPX into a folder, done. Here’s a dive into getting the same functionally on the Elemnt/Bolt:
Words and video here: https://gplama.blogspot.com.au/2017/08/wahoo-elemnt-elemnt-bolt-gps-navigation.html
tldr; Route navigation and turn-by-turn are effectively two different things. To enable Turn-By-Turn route navigation on the Wahoo Elemnt/Bolt GPS cycling computer you need to sync routes that include cue sheets from a third party service that includes these pre-defined cue sheets when exporting/syncing. Currently only RideWithGPS and Komoot does this. Strava does not. The Elemnt has no ability to re-route on the fly. “Take Me To…” on the Elemnt phone app will give Turn-By-Turn on a route it chooses to your required destination.