Hi everyone.
I have recently got myself back on my bicycle after a winter spent focusing on running - with the weather being so atrocious I hadn't opened my bike storage in about 6 months until the middle of May!
I am now in the market for a bike computer which will be used for road navigation and tracking metrics (speed, time, distance etc). Currently I've got a wired (!) catseye which works on a magnet on a spoke, and my phone in my jersey pocket recording to strava.
All things being equal, are the Wahoo Elemnt and Elemnt Bolt the same computer but in different sizes? I note there is a cashback offer on the larger Elemnt at the moment which brings it to the same price as the Bolt.
Has anyone used both and could provide an insight into their use ability differences?
Would it be worth getting the Elemnt at the same price as the Bolt? Note, I don't have a power meter so won't be using a power metric for training - I'm cycling to have fun, keep fit, and see the countryside.
Searching through the forums I've done a lot of reading on both Wahoo computers individually, but not much comparing the 2 side by side.
I've tried going a cheaper route (phone attached to handlebars running strava and Google maps, but the battery life is getting hammered and the screen dims quite a lot), and would prefer to keep battery life for if I need it later.
Thanks for any feedback 🙂
I did some reading up on this a while back, the main differences are simply the size of the screen and the additional LED indicators on the full-size Elemnt. The functionality is the same, but the screen is larger and easier to read on the bigger version, which seems most apparent using maps.
On the other hand, the Bolt looks neater and sleeker, weighs slightly less and - anecdotally - has louder alerts. So essentially it seems to be down to cosmetics and how easy it is to read the screen. My take was that if I was going to be using it much for navigation, the larger one was going to be easier to use, but I haven't actually bought on yet.
I’ve got the element and went for it due to the bigger screen and the extra side leds.
Other than that I think it’s got 2hrs more battery time than the bolt.
Its a nice computer and the leds are a very nice touch as they are used for navigation giving you an indication of your next turn and for pacing of speed.
I won a Bolt in a Cycling Weekly competition, and it's amazing - lightyears ahead of the Edge 500 I had at the time.
If I was spending my own money I'd get the Elemnt though - clearer screen, I'm a stone overweight at least, a few grammes and watts are nothing.
I decided on the Bolt after reading about both. The Bolt's been great and I have no regrets at all.
Thanks for your input - seems like the camp is split! I'm not a weight weeny (I can stand to lose about 10kg before seriously considering getting lighter bike components) so I'll give the larger Elemnt a shot and see how I get on.
I've been through the same thing recently and I had all but ruled out Garmin, however there is a new model - the Edge 130 which looks exactly what I'm looking for.
Just FYI. Some reports about the durability of the bolt have put me off.
