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[Closed] Wahoo Elemnt Bolt

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I have absolutely no need for a Bolt but have a strong urge to order one anyway.

Currently have an Edge 800 and its just a bit clunky and half the data fields only update when they feel like and are blank the rest of the time.

At my level of riding (deeply unfit and slow) I could probably get by with one of those old mile counter things that you stuck on your fork and a little nodule flicked a cog round as the wheel spun round but that is entirely beside the point...


 
Posted : 18/06/2017 5:59 pm
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I've been using mine properly over the last week. Absolute bliss. Upload routes to it via strava. Once sensors have been connected then they'll do it by themselves from then on. Can easily change the fields on each page including the maps page. The mapping is very clear. Battery life is mega. The email live map tracking thing works a treat for the gf.

Very happy with mine and seems a lot simpler and better than friends garmins.


 
Posted : 18/06/2017 6:13 pm
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Is anyone using Wahoo's own cadence and speed modules?

If so how accurate are you finding them. Seen a fair few grumbles that the cadence on in particular is affected by things like bumpy roads and gives spurious readings.


 
Posted : 18/06/2017 6:20 pm
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I'm happy with mine too, it just works!
Easy to link to Strava and RidewithGPS and it copies the routes easily when connected to wifi.
Impressed!


 
Posted : 18/06/2017 10:13 pm
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Set mine up and a few rides in. Seriously impressed with it, far better than my previous Garmins.

QQ for users. It's connected to my iPhone but can I connect to my iPad at the same time?
I can't find a way to get the QR code up on the screen again.


 
Posted : 23/06/2017 9:28 am
 Bez
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I'm going to be a dissenting voice here: having done two rides so far with my new Bolt, I really like some aspects of it but I really dislike some others. But then a) I only care about navigation and basic info like time and distance, not about any fitness stuff, and b) I'm a properly fussy git.

Having sold my Edge 800 to get the Wahoo I've now picked up an Edge Touring to experiment with fixing two of the things I previously haven't liked about Garmins, and I'm now going to have to decide which one to keep. They both have their pros and cons.

QQ for users. It's connected to my iPhone but can I connect to my iPad at the same time?
I can't find a way to get the QR code up on the screen again.

I think you have to go to the "forget phone" option on the Wahoo, then pair it with the new device. Realistically that makes it impractical to use with two devices. Which is a problem for me, because the iOS app has one massive bug on my iPhone 5S and the Android app has a different massive bug on my Moto G3, so to get the Bolt set up I've so far needed to use both devices.


 
Posted : 23/06/2017 9:50 am
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What aspects of the Bolt do you dislike. Always worth feeding back to Wahoo as they are pretty hot on improving via firmware.


 
Posted : 23/06/2017 10:10 am
 Bez
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I've got it half-written as a mini review which I might stick on the blog at some point. There are a bunch of things that are mostly minor but which add up to being a little underwhelmed. The one that I'd pick out as the worst one for me, personally, is the fact that if you're using a route you can't have "north up" map orientation. This really kills my ability to mentally visualise where I am in the grand scheme of things, especially in conjunction with a couple of other aspects of how it renders the map, route and track.

The bugs I have with the apps are major (the iOS app is unresponsive to the point of being unusable, with up to 20 seconds of locking up every time I touch the screen, and it kills the battery, seemingly including background activity; while the Android app won't see my RideWithGPS routes) but I've not seen anyone else report them so I'm guessing I'm just unlucky there.

That said, in comparison to the Garmins I do love the clarity of the screen (and the clarity of the typography and map), the battery life, the ability to get routes on there wirelessly (even though, if I were writing the app, I'd do it slightly differently), and I would love the app if it worked. Anyone who isn't fussy about the navigation aspect and doesn't suffer the app issues will be very happy with the Elemnt.

I tweeted Wahoo about the iOS app but got no reply. Was going to email them about the "north up" thing but couldn't seem to log in to the website using my Wahoo account so got a bit frustrated and found something else to do instead.


 
Posted : 23/06/2017 10:47 am
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You can have map north. Just go into the settings and switch off 'map always rotates ' or similar. Job done.

In fact map always north is its default setting so you must have changed it at some point!


 
Posted : 23/06/2017 11:23 am
 Bez
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First thing I do with any device like this is go through every single option in the menus ๐Ÿ˜‰

The north up mode only works when there's no active route. If you have an active route it's always direction-of-travel up regardless of what you set the option to.


 
Posted : 23/06/2017 12:13 pm
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Got one a few weeks back, my first go at bike GPS. I have used Strava a tiny bit and MapMyRide but more for recording but wanted a navigation things too.

Love the battery life, the black and white screen is fine and easy to see in the sun ( with and without polarized glasses ).

You have to build a route in ridewithgps.com to get the navigation beeps and bits to work, otherwise you just follow the map ( which was fine ). Uploading routes is easy, once you make it on the site, you sync the Bolt and its ready there waiting.

Mounts wise you get a stem on ( zip ties ) and an out front one.

Screens are configurable and its easy to move between different screens. You can add and size the displays using the mobile phone app ( which is used for lots of the set up ).

I like it, been used a handful of times, but no issues ( getting lost etc ) yet :-).


 
Posted : 23/06/2017 12:51 pm
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The north up mode only works when there's no active route. If you have an active route it's always direction-of-travel up regardless of what you set the option to.

Hmm, not what a review on YouTube showed but I've not tired it myself so can't comment.

Definitely worth dropping an email to Wahoo about.


 
Posted : 23/06/2017 3:29 pm
 Bez
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Got a link to the video? I don't think I've missed anything, because the explanatory text below the "always point the map in the direction of travel" option rather implies that it's always like that when using a route, but if I'm wrong I'll be happy ๐Ÿ™‚


 
Posted : 23/06/2017 3:38 pm
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First few minutes of this vid shows him struggling with a route as the map view won't rotate.


 
Posted : 23/06/2017 4:05 pm
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Originally my Bolt was paired to a 5s and I didn't notice any delay in the response of the app. If anything it was surprisingly quick. I could change the fields on the app and the Bolt would have updated before I looked at it. I would agree that it did seem to drain the battery, although the battery on my 5s was slowly failing.


 
Posted : 23/06/2017 4:31 pm
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Got a link to the video? I don't think I've missed anything, because the explanatory text below the "always point the map in the direction of travel" option rather implies that it's always like that when using a route, but if I'm wrong I'll be happy

You haven't missed anything, you are correct, you cannot have north up when following a route. It is raised on the [url= https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/wahoo-elemnt-users ]Elemnt Google Group[/url] it was something I thought I couldn't live without and I've actually totally got used to it.

I have zero issues with the Elemnt (Bolt in my case). Been using it a few months now and it's been brilliant. I don't miss my Garmin 1000 one bit, and that's after using Garmins for about 10 years. I no longer need to be an apologist for Garmin's faults just because I own one...


 
Posted : 23/06/2017 5:39 pm
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Thanks for clearing up re always north with routes.

Daft question - why would you what it to always point north. My brain couldn't cope with that!


 
Posted : 23/06/2017 6:18 pm
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Daft question - why would you what it to always point north.

For me I guess I'm just used to it and helps me to get my bearings if I am heading over to somewhere. If you know you want to get somewhere "west", well, head over to the left on the screen... Also easier for on-the-fly headwind avoidance ๐Ÿ˜‰

As I say though, I've actually got used to it! YMMV


 
Posted : 23/06/2017 6:39 pm
 Bez
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Daft question - why would you what it to always point north. My brain couldn't cope with that!

Because if I've planned a route, every second I've spent looking at that route it's been north up. The roads around it have been displayed north up. Every time I look at a map it's north up. When I get my phone out to look at a diversion it's north up. I can visualise everything easily if it's north up because everything is north up. I can look at the tiny screen and know exactly where the current section fits into a long route, but only if it's north up.

Everyone's different ๐Ÿ˜‰ Just seems odd to enforce only one way of working when using a route.


 
Posted : 23/06/2017 6:58 pm
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