Wahoo Elemnt Bolt Bike Computer

I had been in the market for a bike computer for a couple months, and while looking around I found that I wasn't exactly thrilled with the offerings on the market. Most people recommend Garmin, who have a pretty strong hold over the market, but honestly paying over $300 for a head unit that was 2 years old wasn't really appealing. The other option that caught my eye was the Lezyne Super Enhanced GPS. This was initially appealing due to a really good feature set at good price point. I decided to pass on this unit after coming across more negative reviews than I was comfortable with.

Enter the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt.

Basically the headset is the same as the Wahoo Elemnt (I know, awesome naming scheme) just a bit smaller. For those of you currently running a Garmin, from what I've read, the Bolt is similarly specced to to the edge 520 but does not have a color screen. A selling point to the Element is that you don't need to futz around with the computer to set it up. There are a couple of settings that you can change from the unit itself, but other than that most if the setup is handled through a smartphone companion app. The interface is slick and super intuitive. Initial setup took me about 5-10 minutes to browse through all the options and to pick what I wanted to track. After setup, you don't need to use your phone for anything, but I have used it to push a Strava route to the unit at the trail head, which was pretty cool.

The unit has a row of LEDs that run across the top, and you can set them up to get a quick glance at additional information. I personally use them for heart rate monitoring and use it as to quickly check what zone I'm in. I can't remember everything else you can do with them, but I'm pretty sure they can be used as a navigation aide, or to monitor your performance on a Strava segment.

Another feature, is that you can set it up to send a tracking link to a list of contacts. I have this set up, and it automagically sends my wife an email as soon as my ride starts. Unfortunately, the functionality is a little bare bones, and when she clicks the link all she sees is a dot on a map showing my location at the time the link was clicked. Still, she finds it useful.

I've been running the unit for 3 weeks and have been pleased so far. While not perfect, I think it hits the sweet spot for price & performance.

Pros

-It's priced at $250 which at the time I bought it was cheaper than the Garmin Edge 520 for a comparable feature set.
-Screen is really sharp and easy to read.
-Battery life has been as advertised, and has lasted 12+ hours without a charge with the back-light on.
-Navigation appears perfectly serviceable. I've only had to use it once, but didn't have any issues with it.
-Battery life is excellent

Cons

-The elemnt app seems pretty battery intensive and kills my cell battery
- It would be nice if the ride tracking link had a little more detail, and I would like to have another notification sent when the ride ends

 

Nice review.
I have the Garmin Edge 705. I really like it other then Navigation through the features is a bit confusing. I have bought two used off Craigs List for just over $100 bucks. Often people don't know what they have. Last one was from the daughter of a dad who was a mountain biker but unfortunately past away. It was practically new in the box and had been sitting in a closet for 5 years. Bought a new battery and has been awesome.
I too am not into phone Apps. I like to keep my bike stuff separate from my daily life. This is the second positive report on this product. One to keep in mind for my next upgrade, thanks for taking the time!

 

Good review.

Like @Mikie above, I've been using the Garmin 705 since 2009. It finally started to die last month. I too didn't want to spend $4-500 for a Garmin 800. So I got the 520. Paid $239 for it. So far has done everything the 705 could do. Set up was a little more time consuming, but that wa more because I wanted it to look exactly like the 705.

 

Thanks for putting that up... I've had a 510 for about 4 years, and it's been a love/hate relationship. There are days I swear it's possessed by demons. I'm not sure how much longer it will hang in there, but I would definitely consider something other than a Garmin next time around.

I went to the Wahoo site and compared this to the larger model, expecting to find it stripped of features. The only difference I see, though, is the single row of lights and it's 40 grams lighter. Pretty nice that it isn't a stripped down shell. I've seen @StrandLeper 's Elemnt in person and was impressed by the screen quality alone. Much crisper and easier to read than the comparable Garmin...

On the website, it shows text messages on the screen. Is that how it works in real life? That would be a feature to win me over. I can't stand stopping to find the phone and check messages.

 

Yeah, it pushes texts and phone calls to the screen. Even though I would love to not have to worry about answering my phone on rides, there are times when I'm on call for work and can't really afford to miss a call, so it's definitely nice to see everything without having to dig for my phone. The screen is pretty small, so there's not a whole lot of text that comes across, but I do like seeing who it's from & whether or not I need to respond right away. I also like that it includes the option to dismiss incoming calls & start a do not disturb timer (since people like to blow me up when I'm sucking wind on climbs).

 

Decided to go with something other than Garmin.


So far, I'm liking it, but only 2 rides in.
The screen is cool. Just black and white. Very visible, even in direct sun, wearing polarized lenses. My 800 would look like it turned itself off.
Definitely smaller and lighter

 

BING? (Because It's Not Garmin)

I like the N/A rather than zero for the speed. Pretty much sums up every one of my rides.

 

Love my Bolt, like my Garmin 520

 

Look at me showing up to 2018 fashionanably late. I picked one up today at the local outdoor enthusiast's co-op. The included bar mount doesn't seem to fit my modern 35mm bars and the stem mount doesn't seem to work with my 40mm stem. How's everyone mounting this thing now-a-days?

 

Let me know what you think of it. I've been looking at wahoo bolt, it's on sale and seriously thinking of pulling the trigger.
And your mounting question is oh so important! I think @Faust29 has a wahoo, maybe he'll chime in.

 

Easy set-up so far. I do believe he has one and his is on the included out front mount. Maybe I need to try again. But, I think I've also seen people with the unit mounted on their top tube-which I think might be a good spot.

I'd been thinking about one for a long time. My roadie friend told me just to get one. "You won't regret it," he said.

 

The mount is basically a Garmin mount turned sideways... So any Garmin mount with an inner plate that can be unscrewed and rotated 90 degrees will work.
I was running (Amazon) stem cap mounts for years, but with my neck issues, I recently bought out front mounts... KOM Cycling works with 35mm bars, which is what I have.

As far as the unit itself, it has worked more consistently than my old Garmin. The software is just a lot less buggy. No connection issues with the phone, no starting my ride 20 miles in the ocean, no losing signal in the rainy back woods of Oregon...

 

If you want to try this one, you can have it... The only reason I stopped using it is because of the neck. I wanted to get the GPS further out front so it was easier to see.

it probably only has eight or nine thousand miles on it.

 

So what you're saying is, it's almost new.

 

Top cap mount for me....

 

I have one of those in the drawer, too! I could never get used to it being that far back.

 

Do you think the tether cord is a worthwhile addition?

 

Any device I have on the bars is tethered. Ever since the lost GoPro incident of 2016. The wife insists.

 

That's not really an answer to the question, but is an action based on your experience. I'll take it as a " better safe than sorry"

The sad part is that a computer makes the bike more electrical.

 

That thought had crossed my mind too.

One thing that’s stuck in my mind forever. A non-cyclist friend of mine came over when I first got my Guerilla Gravity and said “WTF is this, Robo-Cop’s bike!?!”

 

OK, I pulled the trigger on the Bolt V2. Was going to order from Wahoo last night, and about to check out when I noticed 3-5 day delivery...wait a sec...lets check Amazon.
There is a Wahoo fitness section on Amazon, so ordered it apparently from Wahoo at 9pm. I was up early today and it was delivered at 5:30 am. set it up and hit the trail at 8am.
After the first Mtb ride the amount of data without connecting any sensors is impressive, and there is a lot to go through on the learning curve so probably even more. Looks like I'm diving head first into this Rabbit Hole....I think the bunnies will enjoy the company.

First ride with it this morning and yeah....the mount for Mtb bars isn't the best. So @UPSed what cap mount do you have? didn't see one on the wahoo site.

 

I have the K-EDGE Wahoo Gravity Cap.
https://k-edge.com/shop/computer-mounts/wahoo-mounts/wahoo-gravity-cap/
On my Niner, I ran their K-EDGE Wahoo Fixed Stem Mount.
https://k-edge.com/shop/computer-mounts/wahoo-mounts/wahoo-stem-mount/

 

I like Bar Fly..

https://barflybike.com/products/bar-fly-4-mtb

Not a cap mount but sits right back over the top. Little more flexible. Can move it around a little bit if need be.

That K-edge cap mount looks pretty nice though.

 

Ordered the K-Edge fixed mount stem at Worldwide Cyclery. With the July4 sale and my $20 gift card cost a whopping $5.94 with delivery.
Now that's a deal.

 

Nice! My Niner had a 60mm stem, so that one worked perfectly. I tried it on the Ranger, but with a 40mm stem, it stuck out too far past the handlebars.

 

The EVO has a 40 or 50mm stem, but there's about 10mm of spacers above the stem so thought the cap mount would be way too far above the stem. We shall see how it goes!

Using the out front mount on the Lauf worked perfectly for a road ride to the beach yesterday. And it being Aero kept the resistance down and made me faster too.

 

I actually had the steerer cut on my Ranger so the top cap mount works perfectly. On my Lauf, I have the handlebar mount and it looks aesthetically correct.

 

So received the tether, and was going to put on. Realized that the Allen wrench needed is tiny, nothing on my multi tool that small. So pulled out the wrench set, was careful as it's a small screw. Well, , never felt any resistance when tightening it. Seems like other items that were posted on here its metal in plastic and it stripped out the TINY plastic threads.
Kinda pissed me off, just a tad. So, do I return the Element and get a new one? Or add a touch of super glue and screw it in? which may never come out again.
My opinion is is should have been labeled "Caution, this is a delicate part!"

oh my first world problems!

 

I stripped the same part... Probably 3 years ago. I have a rubber cover for the unit that has the tether attached.

 

Once I thought about it, the little screw would not give me confidence if the unit came loose while mtb. I'll glue it or go with the cover.