Review Summary
To say I enjoyed riding with and using the Wahoo ELEMNT would be a massive understatement, it is a seriously impressive GPS bike computer that’s packed with features but is still user friendly and easy to set up. Forgetting about all of the technology packed in because that’s all covered in the sections above, the ELEMNT just feels right to use and it felt that way after only one or two rides. The user experience from setup to riding is first class with the ELEMNT.
The things that stood out with the ELEMNT were the app, the zoom in/out feature, the accuracy and the lack of dropouts with sensors and the ability to use both ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart. The screen was easy to read and the buttons logical in their layout. I liked the overall size of the unit which was surprising because when I first used the ELEMNT I thought that would be a negative after using smaller form factor units for years.
My only real complaint and where I would mark the ELEMNT down a little would be the slightly boxy look, but that’s user preference. Likewise some will find the mapping not up to the standard of a Garmin 1000. I don’t really use map functions a lot but it would be a fair point. The lack of a colour touchscreen will be a factor for some but I have only ever seen one touchscreen done right on a bike computer so again, it’s not an issue for me.
The Wahoo ELEMNT is priced only slightly above an Edge 520 and quite a bit lower than the 1000 or where the new Edge 820 will be so there are no real complaints with the pricing, technically the Garmin Edge 520 is more advanced but then the ELEMNT does other things better.
After a couple of weeks riding the Wahoo ELEMNT I could hardly fault it at all, I loved it and if you’re thinking of getting one then I highly recommend the Wahoo ELEMNT.
Thanks to Wahoo for sending me out a demo unit to test.