Originally Posted by
voyager1
Good Day Bike Friends,
I am looking at getting a Wahoo bike computer, specifically the Bolt. Here is what I am wanting it to do:
1. Good measurement of distance. I am right now just using the Strava app on my iPhone. It is reasonable compared to a mapping program like Ride With GPS when I map out a ride on the computer. Usually the difference is within a third of mile which I think is pretty good for a free app.
2. I am looking for something that has good live tracking in case my wife needs to see where I am at. Right now she uses the Find My Friends app, which is okay. But I want something better and that could be used with the Strava Beacon function.
3. I want something that doesn't drop rides. I have lost whole rides because Strava on my phone loses connectivity or the app just poops out or whatever.
For me getting reliable distances covered and not dropping whole sections of rides is the most important... with the live tracking second. If the head unit would display when I am starting a Strava segment that would be great.
I am "training" to ride some 100Ks this year, but I only care if I covered a segment faster in terms of time... or if I covered a route faster in terms of time. I really don't look at average speed. I don't go at segments every time either, just sometimes I put a little bit of effort in.
So with all that written. I only need the head unit right? I don't use a power meter or a HRM . I understand that there are "sensors" but those don't actually impact how far you went right? I mean the Wahoo is a GPS so it is connected to the satellites right?
And before anyone replies, yes I have looked at DC Rainmaker's website and GP Lama's YouTube, probably the two gurus of bike computers. But frankly they give so much information in their very in-depth reviews I am a bit overwhelmed.
The Bolt/Elemnt will work great for this. However, I do think that *all* of the bike computer tracking capabilities sort of add an additional level of complexity to this that compromises their use. Find my Friends actually works pretty well. There are any number of other tracking apps that work well too. RoadID has one that actually will do "stationary alert" for you like if you had a crash or breakdown.
The problem, as I see it, with the bike computer tracking capability is that it depends on your phone anyhow. That means you add another level of things to go wrong because if you have a problem with the computer to phone connection, then you lose the tracking. Since it's a bluetooth connection, it's going to have all the idiosyncrasies of that plus if you move too far away from the bike, you'll also lose the connection. So if your wife wants to know where you are, then do it though the phone and keep the phone on your person. For what it's worth, Find My Friends works very well and also has a minimal to zero impact on battery life on the phone.
RoadID app is available on both Apple App store and Google Play.
FWIW, if you are concerned with accuracy in distance on the head unit, then you should get a speed sensor. Here's a good article that explains it.
https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear...s-lies-to-you/
Otherwise, you can upload to Strava and tell it to correct the distance.
J.