Viking55803

I'm moving from a Garmin Edge 500 after a couple of years of use. I decided to take a chance on a new product from Wahoo since the Wahoo Tickr is the only heart monitor I've used that ALWAYS works perfectly. I got the Elemnt today and it literally took only minutes to set up, pair with my iPhone (in seconds), pair with my sensors (in seconds) including a garmin speed sensor. I absolutely love being able to set up my data fields on my phone instead of trying to navigate on the tiny Garmin screen - I have half of a thumb (amputation) which adds to the frustration. The screen is sensational!

When you consider the product in its features, it seems obvious to me that Wahoo understands the frustrations I've had with cycle computers. I absolutely do not want a touch screen bike computer! PLease give me buttons! I'm an old person and like great big numbers on my screen and don't need ALL the data fields ALL the time! It's a pain to have to bring my bike computer to my home computer to upload data. All of these are perfectly addressed by the Elemnt.

I may find issues once I get on the road (or trainer - it snowed 4 inches last night and the wind chill is about 4 degree F. this morning!) but so far I am totally impressed with this new product.

Gary

chaadster

I hear you, Viking, and it's the utterly archaic user interface on Garmin E500 which I'm itching to dump. If ELEMNT had turn-by-turn nav, it'd be a no-brainer for me, but as it sits, it's a bit too large and just doesn't do for me anything I want beyond what the E500 provides (in it's awkward way).

I'm also hopeful that ELEMNT will straighten out some of the BT issues I have with BlueSC, owing to them being in the same family, however, I suspect, as DCRainmaker reviews have pointed out, that it's more BT as a platform which is problematic than the hardware, so I guess that'll be a bust, too.

Lots of good stuff going for ELEMNT, but I just need a little more to pull me off the fence.

dr_lha

What phone are you using chaadster? I've got BlueSCs on three bikes and they all work flawlessly, barring the occasional getting kicked out of alignment. I'm using an iPhone 6, and previously a 5. Never had any issues at all with it.

JohnJ80

That's my experience too. iPhones 5 and 6 have been awesome Bluetooth platforms and zero issues with any BT comms to Wahoo products including BlueSC on 3 bikes.

Interesting review on EMEMNT from dcrainmaker.
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/03/wahoo-elemnt-gps-bike-computer-in-depth-review.html

Viking55803

I just have to add that the LED lights on the edge of the Elemnt are very cool. You can program them to light up around average speed or average heart rate (there may be other options) but when you are riding the lights, which are very bright, show you if you are currently above or below the average for the ride. They light up with different colors. I had it set to average speed and I got one, two, or three lights above the average depending on whether I was going 1, 2, or 3 mph over the average. Same for below average, except are amber in color.

The synching and other functions work perfectly for me. I've give it a 4 out 5 stars compared with 3 for the Garmin.

chaadster

IP6, and after troubleshooting with Wahoo (incl. Utility app), got it to run a but started acting poorly again shortly thereafter.

BigC_82

Any other users who use this with an update

largefarva

There's a lot more discussion of the Elemnt here:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!fo...o-elemnt-users

I'm thinking that Wahoo is going to be doing another software update to the Elemnt soon. At least I'm hoping they are because I need to see the connectivity problems with sensors fixed before I make a purchase. I can deal without turn-by-turn and notification issues, etc but I absolutely need to have a bike computer do the most basic things that it's built for (collecting data from sensors and then reporting that data to Strava, Garmin Connect, etc). $300 or so is going to be spent to replace my 6 year old Edge 500. I'm hoping that it goes towards the Elemnt but it might end up going back to Garmin (bleh) Edge 520 if Wahoo can't fix these issues in the next couple-few weeks.

Peter2290

They are definitely in the testing phase for a new update. One of the guys at my LBS has been a beta tester for the ELEMNT for a few months and he has a newer software version on his ELEMNT then the one I have on mine (he even offered to load the alpha/beta update onto mine lol). Not exactly sure when it's gonna hit but it's definitely out there and being tested right now.

The most annoying thing I've been having problems with is the ELEMNT app on my android phone. Every time I open it a notification pops up about a successful upload and even when I clear it it keeps re-appearing and it's really annoying. I also can't look at my previous rides because when I click on them it can't load the data for some reason.

Other than that the ELEMNT has been pretty good so far (definitely not perfect though). I came from a Cateye Strada Wireless so this is a big upgrade for me. The screen is awesome and being able to add/remove data fields easily is great as well. I actually love the mapping even though there's no turn-by-turn yet. To me it's very easy to see which roads to take on the map even though they aren't labeled at all because the map is so detailed/clear. The battery definitely isn't as good as they rated but I don't have a problem since I really only go on day rides and it's plenty good enough for that.

I also got the bundle with the TICKR and RPM Speed/Cadence sensors and they've been mostly fine. No problems with the TICKR or Cadence but I did have the Speed sensor drop out for a bit on a ride (I just switched to GPS speed for the rest of the ride and it went fine). Hopefully they next update or two fixes some of the sensor problems people are reporting.

I did notice that when using the speed sensor it takes about 3-4 seconds for auto-pause to kick on at stoplights and such, which is annoying to me. When I was on GPS speed for that one ride I noticed the auto-pause was much more response and quicker to engage.

So overall it's been good but there are definitely still a few bugs to work out. I'm not really worried because the Wahoo team seems to be very receptive and aware of the issues and they've been great at dealing with the community and addressing the problems so far.

KBentley57

I just replaced my failing edge 500 with this over the 520, and so far it seems nice. I haven't had to go through any of the issues since launch I suppose, but there's one thing that I can't seem to find - displaying the power zone. I don't get how something like this could be overlooked. It's possible that I'm missing the setting, but I've looked over and over. I can see the HR zone as a display option, but I like to show which power zone I'm in, it's easier than remembering "stay around 400W".

KBentley57

Just to follow up, I asked Wahoo's support about the power zone display, and the response was

<quote>
Hi! Right now that isn't possible but it's going to come in an update here soon. It'll also add where you can have the LEDs correspond with your power zone as well! We're pushing one to the app right now but it's just minor bug fixes. That'll come across at the end of the month.
</quote>

chaadster

Dang, if you can stay around 400w, the only thing you have to remember is to pick up your trophy!

KBentley57

400W was for the forums folk, of course. In real life you can switch that to 175

KBentley57

Just as an update, I've got to say that I'm pretty disappointed. The Elemnt drops power meters / sensors like it's going out of style. I haven't been able to complete almost a single ride without power dropouts, or the powermeter just flat out not displaying at all. Here are some threads on google groups for the curious: https://goo.gl/kR3D1B , https://goo.gl/ljGUdw . Word is that they've narrowed the problem down to the wireless chip (duh), and that they're waiting on a firmware fix from their vendor. So, before we get a firmware update, they'll need to get a firmware, test, etc.. It's looking like a long process. If you're using power, I'd get the 520 at this point. I'm thinking about returning mine while I can, for the 520. A computer that can't measure power is a paper-weight.

Drew Eckhardt 

There are occasional issues like crashes navigating around round-abouts, and there are fundamental problems.

Over-reporting 5 second power by 20% and replacing zero power samples with a ramp to the next non-zero value were fundamental problems.

Most new computers also build on older models' functionality.

Non-beta ELEMNT firmware still lacks basic navigation features present in the six year old Garmin Edge 500, like distance to the next turn and a pop-up plus beep indicating it's time. That was scheduled for Q1 2016.

largefarva

Exactly what I was thinking as well. It's the main reason I went with the 520, and honestly I couldn't be any happier. I keep an eye on the Elemnt google forum, but it's mainly because it's like a train wreck that I just can't help but watch. I'm so glad I'm not dealing with those frustrations that a lot of people are experiencing with the Elemnt. I would be super pissed if I had bought it and it rendered my power meter I just bought a few months ago worthless. The 520 has been a pleasant surprise for me so far. I love it.

KBentley57

New firmware update pushed out last night, supposedly this one will fix the sensor dropouts / phone pairing issues. Will report back after tonight's ride. Fingers crossed!

chaadster

Thank you. I'm reading along with interest.

JohnJ80

Me too. I like the way the ELEMNT looks.

J.

noglider 

Yeah, my mind is bending towards this thing. It has started to make sense.

JohnJ80

Yes. The "zoom" to add/reduce fields on the fly and the only show fields that have sensors working are really great UI ideas. The other piece I like is the instant upload thru wifi.

The downsides are no street names (not a huge deal if you have your phone with you) and no turn by turn directions. In truth, turn by turn (to me) is much less of a deal to me now that I've thought about it. I do use the breadcrumb track route indicator but I really don't need the turn by turn - and it's a big hassle if you want to deviate from the route.

J.

KBentley57

Went on a 2 hour ride tonight, had the Power meter and Speed/Cadence sensors attached as ant+, my Wahoo TICKR HR strap as BTLE, and my phone paired with bluetooth. Didn't have any sensor drops this time! It's too early to call, but it looks like they may have resolved the dropout issue.

JohnJ80

I thought this was true from some of the reading I've done, but is it true in practice with current software? Can anyone confirm this?

This would be really helpful to me. I have three bikes I ride all the time. All of them have a speed sensor (gamin hub ANT+), two have the Wahoo RPM cadence sensor and the third has a Stages power meter. Would be great if the displays adapted to the sensor set when I move it from bike to bike.

J.

dr_lha

This is indeed how it works.

KBentley57

Another big update rolled out last night. Haven't had a chance to try it yet.