Wahoo Elemnt

had pretty much the same experience.

My Garmin finally died so got on the wahoo hype.

First impressions are great, much easier to set up than a Garmin- the companion app works perfectly to get your services like strava and training peaks linked up.

Can't remember how I did it on Garmin but I'm sure it was much more difficult

companion app for setting page data fields- easier than fiddling with unit 👍🏼

World Maps out the box - Garmin 520 I had to preload and if I wanted to go anywhere other than my home town would require syncing a different map file 👍🏼

Ability to load strava / map my ride routes straight from unit 👍🏼

Route actually tells you which direction you should be headed on a route. On Garmin if you had a route that ever crossed you wouldn't know which way to turn 👍🏼

Small one but text notifications work- on garmin you had to have two Bluetooth connections from phone to garmin and the text notification link always broke and had to be re-linked 👍🏼

can you add POI on a course in wahoo?

No, just follow Ludwig into someone's back yard.

https://youtu.be/MchWI3sLUQo

I'm pondering replacing my Garmin 800 with a Wahoo. Not had any great issues with the 800 and not really suffered issues with it crashing like others but it always takes me a while to remember how to use it, work out if I need a track or route, plug it into the PC to upload/download, etc.

Not sure if it's worth the cash given it's convenience more than anything but I'm tempted.

I've read the DC Rainmaker review but wondering how people actually find it, particularly for routing. A few questions if anyone can help me out.

How is the black and white screen compared to the colour on Garmin 800, just as legible?
What are the maps on the unit, OpenStreetMap or some custom maps? How good are they at identifying different types of routes (e.g. off-road, cycle friendly, highway) or is that irrelevant because routing is all done on the phone?
Is it possible to do any routing without the phone. Can the unit navigate you back to a saved destination or similar?
Similarly, is it possible to navigate somewhere (even just a saved address) if your phone doesn't have reception. Fairly large chunks of the Lakes don't have reception which would make that a bit of an arse.
How does on-the-fly routing actually work if you want to ride to a destination? On the unit, on the Wahoo app, on the Ride With GPS app, etc. Do you have a range of routes (fast, quiet, etc) or just what you're given? Does it always give you turn-by-turn, is it easy to follow?
Do you need premium accounts for Ride With GPS, Komoot (buying the maps on there were fairly pricey I seem to remember), etc

Cheers

Just bought one of these after losing my Garmin 820. Looking forward to playing with it/not swearing at a touchscreen.

I've just ordered a Wahoo to replace my old Garmin 800.

Also read the dcrainmaker review, and I'd note that he reviewed the Element way back when it was just released and so didn't really touch upon anything that the software does now... just basic stuff.

If you're willing to wait for a review I'll be doing the Dunwich Dynamo using the Element in a few weeks time as it's a route I can't really get lost on (follow the red lights!) yet it's a good test for the Wahoo because of distance, battery, route waypoint number, etc.

Looking to sell the 800 boss?

Yes... what's a fair price for the bundle including cadence sensor, etc? Got the bike, HR straps and 2nd HR monitor, etc.

Hmm, classified on here look to be around £90 up to £100.

Ebay prices can go quite a bit higher, particularly if you separate out the sensors. Sold my 800 on there after 'upgrading' to an 810 and got way more than I expected.

Further experiences with my Bolt - it's all working pretty well. Used it on a 300km audax at the weekend. The mapping did get slightly confused at one point - it was a complicated route with various loops and on exiting a building it got a bit disorientated and I ended up having to reload the route a couple of times. However unlike Garmins it didn't crash spectacularly.
I just used it on the maps page the whole time because I'm too cheap to buy a paid for RWGPS account.
On the overnight section I kept the backlight on the whole time and was surprised to find it didn't deplete the battery that quickly - very approximately seems to lose about 10% an hour.

eBay seems to suggest £100 for head unit and not much else up to £150 for head unit in good condition with only speed sensors. Going to £175 for good condition, with all sensors.

I'll probably go to eBay after updating all mapping and stuff so that it's super easy for someone to get started.

Cheers, I'm not in much of a rush so can wait for a review. The DC Rainmaker one seems to start off by saying the software is considerably different to the earlier incarnation but then not giving that much detail on the new software.

I hadn't actually considered what I could get for selling the 800, that makes it somewhat more tempting.

I'm after a functioning HRM if you fancy parting with your spare (assuming it'll work with my Wahoo)

I'm considering making the switch from Garmin to Wahoo as well ...

I crashed this week and the impact smashed the screen of my Edge 1000. Talked to Garmin and they'll do a me replacement unit for £72, but it'll take 2 weeks to come. Before the Edge 1000 I had an Edge 810 and hated it (constant crashes during navigation on long rides). I complained very loudly and they upgraded me to an Edge 1000 for free. I like the maps on the Edge 1000 and it's never crashed on me, but I don't think Garmins are at all user friendly, so I'm considering a switch now it seems other companies are making decent GPS units. I'm thinking of getting the replacement 1000 for £72 and then putting it up for sale on eBay. That should hopefully fund most of the price of an ELEMNT bolt.

Can anyone confirm the ELEMNT Bolt will work with my existing Garmin mounts and speed/cadence sensors? One of my bikes is a Canyon with an H11 aero cockpit and an integrated Garmin mount, so I wouldn't be able to use one of ELEMNT's own mounts on that bike.

In terms of navigation, at the moment I tend to create routes on Strava (I like using heatmaps etc), export to GPX, and then add to my Garmin. I do want to have turn by turn navigation, so it sounds like I'd need to switch to building my routes on ridewithgps? Is there no way to export from Strava and then import to ridewithgps for existing routes I have?

Actual TBT navigation (cues) from Strava GPX is problematic on Wahoo. I actually wonder how 1000 is able to do it.

As far as my research has shown, the Garmin speed and cadence sensors will work, but the Garmin mounts will need the 'puck' to be turned 90 degrees and modified very slightly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pP-Mdkiri0

Does turn by turn work at all on Strava routes? I heard you just have to stay on the map screen and it will notify if you go off the route, but there's no option to re route to get back on track. Is that about right?

I don't think so - that's why I don't understand how a 1000 is able to do it.

Yes, LEDs flash if you go off route but there is no TBT at all on a strava route. I don't really mind having it on the map screen most of the time.

You can hide other screens that are not of interest to minimise the time spent scrolling through screens to get to and from the one you want and then back to the map.

RideWithGPS is your best bet for TBT.

Do you need the subscription or will free do?

I have subscription, but not sure it the same in free.

Free works fine for tbt.