Experiences of Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt vs Garmin 520?

doozerie

Luxman wrote: »

I discovered a problem over the last couple of spins with the bolt. I have it mounted on the aero mount and today thought I could hear a rattle, since the saddle bag is full of bits that are not 'squashed' in to stop the moving around on rough roads, I thought the rattle originated here. However curiosity got the better of me and when I got home I did some checking and noticed the bolt does move when mounted. A quick google did highlight it as a problem for others too. The plastic mount appears to wear away from the twisting action creating the gap.

The alternative mount (K edge) which is metal is shockingly expensive.:-(

Are you sure it's the mount that is wearing, and not the tabs on the Bolt itself? I only ask because I've read online reports of people whose tabs wore down and they ended up having to buy an entire replacement back for the Bolt.

Hopefully those are anomalies and it really is "just" the mount that is worn in your case (which is pretty poor on the part of the product quality but at least far cheaper and easier to sort out). I have wondered whether them supplying a fixing screw with their "aero mount" is a reflection of their expectation that the interface between Bolt and mount degrades over time, I guess I'll find out eventually.

The K-Edge Race Mount, which seems the closest equivalent to the Wahoo aero mount, can be found for around 55euro online if you look around. Still very pricey but by comparison it's over £65 sterling from amazon.co.uk.

I've always viewed the K-Edge mounts as more expensive than I can really justify but having had a Garmin 705 take a header from a "value for money" mount before (and lost its glass screen), and reading of people who've had the likes of a Garmin 1000 hit the ground and break, I've reassessed what I consider to be value for money. I've still not bought a K-Edge (I was on the verge of doing so when I bought the Bolt with its bundled aero mount) but the next time I do buy a mount it'll likely be a K-Edge - nothing is guaranteed of course, but I'd expect it to be less likely to eject the couple of hundred euro worth of device I clip into it.

Alek

I only ask because I've read online reports of people whose tabs wore down and they ended up having to buy an entire replacement back for the Bolt.

This almost happened to me when I tried to force the Bolt into a un-modified Garmin mount. There are marks on the unit, but thankfully I've spotted this quickly enough and not tried further. After shaving 0.5mm from the Garmin mount it works like a charm now.

Luxman

doozerie wrote: »

Are you sure it's the mount that is wearing, and not the tabs on the Bolt itself? I only ask because I've read online reports of people whose tabs wore down and they ended up having to buy an entire replacement back for the Bolt.

Hopefully those are anomalies and it really is "just" the mount that is worn in your case (which is pretty poor on the part of the product quality but at least far cheaper and easier to sort out). I have wondered whether them supplying a fixing screw with their "aero mount" is a reflection of their expectation that the interface between Bolt and mount degrades over time, I guess I'll find out eventually.

The K-Edge Race Mount, which seems the closest equivalent to the Wahoo aero mount, can be found for around 55euro online if you look around. Still very pricey but by comparison it's over £65 sterling from amazon.co.uk.

I've always viewed the K-Edge mounts as more expensive than I can really justify but having had a Garmin 705 take a header from a "value for money" mount before (and lost its glass screen), and reading of people who've had the likes of a Garmin 1000 hit the ground and break, I've reassessed what I consider to be value for money. I've still not bought a K-Edge (I was on the verge of doing so when I bought the Bolt with its bundled aero mount) but the next time I do buy a mount it'll likely be a K-Edge - nothing is guaranteed of course, but I'd expect it to be less likely to eject the couple of hundred euro worth of device I clip into it.

I think you might be right. Heres the latest update.

I contacted Wahoo support and explained the issue, they responded (after consulting with their warranty dept) and will be sending me a new Bolt (and mount). I was fairly 'moany and demanding' in my correspondence with them (ie only 6 months old, substandard, wanted K-edge replacement instead (which they sell on their website, etc etc). They took my address and told me to cough up for a K-edge if I wanted or take the standard mount. I am unsure of the logistics of the return yet. But the upshot is I believe they think the tabs may wear down. I should have tested this theory (which I did after the support call to them) on the stem mount in the box, and yep, there is a small amount of movement.

Will the new Bolt be any better? I don't know, I am not overflowing with confidence. Will a K-Edge mount stop it? Doubt it to be honest. I am awaiting on Mr Postie now and will report back

The Ging and I

Both the 520 and the bolt arrived this week and Im doing a 400k on friday night....
If I can get them up and running.
GARMIN: I don't like the 520 after using an 800. I find the buttons fiddley after the touch screen 800. Garmin also changed the charging lead - why ? It means an adjustment to my dynamo charging system but no big deal. Another negative point is there are no places to insert microcards/maps- a useful feature I have used a lot.
Wahoo: Very fiddly using a phone to set it up but got there eventually. Only problem is with ride with gps.
I can download the route from Openrunner to RWGPS but it will only allow me to save it as a ride. I need it as a route to ride the event.
Any suggestions welcome.

The Ging and I

I have the RWGPS issue sorted with a LITTLE help from a friendly cyclist !

Macy0161

I had a few rattles on the new bike, but didn't think to put them down to the bolt - the 6 week check up seemed to fix the rattles, but in the mean time I had ponied up for the cycliq duo mount so haven't been using the bolt aero mount. I have the stem mount on the mtb, and haven't noticed issues.

Just to update on the flap issue - seems to stay put if I make extra sure it's fully in/ run a finger along it with a bit of pressure.

Luxman

Update: After some faffing about with the logistics (returning the Bolt via DPD and them shipping a new one), I received and setup the new one. Seems sturdy on the original aero mount but only time will tell if its a design fault. Not an unpleasant experience dealing with them but unnecessary after 6 months use. I shall bide my time.

doozerie

This is a brief summary of some of the apps/services that Wahoo ELEMNT integrates with, might be a helpful starting point for those wondering about specific features: http://blog.wahoofitness.com/6-must-apps-sync-elemnt/

The Ging and I

Had a brevet on so I took Bolt and G800. The Garmins being nurotic at the best of times I broke the route into 3x 200s. It froze solid at 138k. Bolt worked great until the whole way with entire 600 loaded in. It was easy to read in bright sun even with my cycling glasses on.
If you want a GPS that gets you there - get a Wahoo !
If you want an 800 I know someone selling one ....

Cionn

Apologies if this is the wrong place to post, I have a Garmin 820 (so presuming just a touchscreen version of the 520, so hoping this is relevant), I have noticed that there are some new "data views" when editing the activity profiles, when selecting 6 data points I was presented with a 6a and 6b option, the new one (I think it is new) gives you the option for one large field, one medium field and four small fields. My screen look more like the wahoo units now. I am v happy with this development, really clear for me on a cycle. I am not sure if this is due to firmware update, I am on version 9.1.

Macy0161

More of a ridewithGPS question, but relevant as I'm only really using it for the Bolt... I was trying to sync it with myfitnesspal, and noticed there is Garmin Connect syncing. Anyone know if this is just one way (i.e. from Garmin Connect to Ride With GPS), or will rides go from the bolt to ridewithgps to connect (and then hopefully on to myfitnesspal)?

Edit - Maybe the Wahoo Fitness App is the way, with syncs with ridewithgps, myfitnesspal etc, will try and test over the weekend.

Macy0161

Tested the syncing with the Wahoo Fitness App on this morning's commute. It didn't to even the bolt app, never mind to Connect or My Fitness Pal! Ended up doing drop box upload to Connect browser version, which does seem to have worked (and pushed it on to my fitness pal).

Is there a way to do this upload in the Connect app? I can only see the option on web, and I think I did quite a lot of digging before TrainerRoad did automatic syncing.

Plastik

Had to contact Wahoo recently re a problem with the screen on my Bolt and they simply replaced the unit with a brand new one, including all mounts etc. Completely painless and only took about 10days all in. Super efficient customer service, easy to deal with, have definitely bought some goodwill and good words from me.

Hopelessone1

hello all,
looking for some help regarding elemnt bolt. did a ride last week that didnt load to strava and when i try to upload it , the message comes up on phone that it cannot share until workout is ended and to connect to device and end current workout . any ideas how to do this ?? it has uploaded all my rides since just not this one . thanks for any help

doozerie

I've been using the Bolt for about 4 months now and in that time I've been mostly happy with it but I've had some issues too.

The phone app has crashed a couple of times, the Bolt itself recently went haywire when recording speed and cadence and lost those details for an entire lap of a race (it recorded elevation no problem, so this might point at some issue between the Bolt and my Garmin speed and cadence sensor), and today it refused to upload my race file to Dropbox (having successfully uploaded it to Training Peaks, and having successfully uploaded my warmup file to both Training Peaks and Dropbox).

None of these issues has been a major problem, though that last one was particularly annoying as I tried to figure out how to kick it into behaving properly, but they simply highlight the fact that it's not the magic wand for Garmin woes as Wahoo marketing, and perhaps some of thy hype too, would have you believe.

Truth is, of course, that there doesn't seem to exist a magic wand in this area. It's a matter of choosing your poison, Garmin or Wahoo or something else. They all have their pros and cons so it's a matter of choosing based on the features that are most important to you.

Luxman

I recently had the “oh f@&€” moment when I found the bolt in the washing machine. It’s not praise for the bolt itself but could apply to any device but the best nugget of info that rescued it (in my opinion) is not trying to power the thing up straight away as batteries and water will more than likely kill it. I popped it in the oven at 50deg for 30 mins. Left it on the window in the sun for a few days. Into the hot press for another while. In general didn’t touch it for 4 days. I had already researched the replacement in that time but when I did power it up it worked perfectly. This might help someone in the future

monkeyslayer

Love my wahoo etc etc but its started to rattle in its out front mount and become kinda loose in its seat, pretty annoying that i'll have to introduce some bluetac or something

Luxman

monkeyslayer wrote: »

Love my wahoo etc etc but its started to rattle in its out front mount and become kinda loose in its seat, pretty annoying that i'll have to introduce some bluetac or something

Have had limited success with bluetak. K edge mount seems to be an expensive solution but have not invested yet. It doesn’t rattle on stem mount only the aero one

Plastik

I cut a few small squares of electrical tape and stuck it to the OF mount under where the Bolt sits. Worked a treat.

CramCycle

Only issue I have is I was away on holiday and about half the rides I done have not loaded up or refuse to load up. They were on the device and I was able to copy them over manually, so not to bad. Out with another guy for a few spins and he went the 520 route and I the Bolt route, after talking to him for a few minutes, I am happy I made the right choice. We both had 500s before and seemed to agree about them but he said the issues with the 520 were irritating, not enough to ditch it but still more than he expected.

brownian

Bolt aftersales:

My bolt took a notion during the summer, to fill the screen with black. It sort of 'bled' from the corner of the screen, and in the course of a day, it filled the screen with 'ink'. I guess some liquid crystal thing must have broken. I hadn't dropped it or banged it...I just fitted it one morning, and the next thing it started to 'bleed'

Anyway, some weeks later (back from bike tour) I mailed Elemnt about it. They said 'send us the unit' and despatched a courier. Next day, bolt was gone, and Element confirmed they had shipped a new unit to me (due shortly).

So, when they break down, they stand over their product.

Incidentally, I bought a new one in the meantime (weeks of riding to go, no nav device)...it synched much faster, linked to phone much faster and was generally smoother than my first one. Creating a route on the phone app and pushing it to the unit is now reliably a couple of minutes work (depending of course on your route), and requires no computer more than a phone. Turn by turn remains excellent...if only they allowed you scroll on the map, it'd be the ideal device!

Rhetoricman

Have had my ELEMNT Bolt all season. Find it great. No issues with setting it up or downloading to my Wahoo ELEMNT app or Strava. Bought the cadence and distance and HR bundle and later added a power meter. All syncing so far. Never had a Garmin so can’t compare.

AxleAddict

The only thing I miss from my Garmin 520 (which the ELEMNT Bolt currently doesn't have) is the ability to configure a 'startup' message - i.e. a message that is displayed on the screen whilst the device is starting up - useful for displaying an email address or contact telephone number if you happen to misplace the device (no guarantee you'll get it back, but certainly wouldn't harm your chances). Mind you, the process on the Garmin to do this (i.e. connect it to a PC via USB and place a specially named file in a specific location) is hardly straightforward - but at least it exists. Pretty sure others have submitted this as a feature request to Wahoo - can't see why it couldn't be easily added via a software update - I live in hope!

Apart from that, I've never looked back since I ditched my Garmin for the ELEMNT Bolt.

Macy0161

Any Bolt owners having any issues with importing their .fit files to Garmin Connect? Normally it's straight forward from dropbox, but I can't get last weekends ride to import. I keep getting "an error" occured. Before I start looking at the .fit file, anyone else having issues?

brownian

More Bolt aftersales good and bad....my first bolt got a weird ink-blot thing under the screen (see my earlier post on this). While I had to buy a new one (I was in France on a longish tour), Wahoo picked up the dodgy one and sent me a new one without fuss.

Sadly, the one I bought in France is now acting up - adding odd grey lines on the screen. Still usable, but deffo not very confidence-inspiring, and not as it should be. Started this weekend. So I mailed the nice people in Wahoo Support again, explaining that I didn't want to send themthe device, as I needed it for forthcoming audaxes, where a decent nav device is essential.

To be fair, they are now sending me a new device; once I have it set up, they will arrange to collect the old one (don't know why they bother; I can only imagine they ditch them). Anyway, I'm quite impressed that they do a replacement without even seeing the broken device 'in the flesh'...all they wanted was a scan of my original purchase receipt.

It turns out (google sez) that Bolt screens are not the best in the world, and that my issues are not unknown. Shame, as the phone interface, the screen customisation and the turn-by-turn are all pretty great. So long as the customer service is this good, I'll stick with them...tho I am wondering if the original Elemnt might not be more robust, screen-wise. If this third one goes bad, I'll ask Wahoo to swap it for an Elemnt...

Leroy42

So, aftwr reading DC Rainmakers review and this thread, am I right in thinking that there really is nothing much to choose between them?

What you gain in screen clarity you lose in mapping or dual bikes or whatever.

So it all depends on the exact thing you want.

Tl:dr. They are both great at their core purpose and whichever you choose will be great.

Or is there something I am missing?

Leroy42

So, aftwr reading DC Rainmakers review and this thread, am I right in thinking that there really is nothing much to choose between them?

What you gain in screen clarity you lose in mapping or dual bikes or whatever.

So it all depends on the exact thing you want.

Tl:dr. They are both great at their core purpose and whichever you choose will be great.

Or is there something I am missing?

Weepsie

Pretty much.

Biggest gripes with Garmin's are the updates nearly always cause an issue, and sometimes all the bells and whistles don't actually function.

Garmin 1030 is brilliant but can be a pita sometimes

Macy0161

Leroy42 wrote: »

Tl:dr. They are both great at their core purpose and whichever you choose will be great.

Or is there something I am missing?

Battery Life on the Garmin is what steered me towards the bolt. They both claim similar, but the user reviews of the 520 I read said with turn by turn, full suite of sensors, it was only getting 5 or so hours. According to Rainmaker, the 520 plus enhanced the navigation, but there was no change in claimed battery life.

The Dying Cow, with turn by turn navigation, power meter, hrm, speed sensor on. Overall time around just under 9 (I didn't turn off at controls) and moving time of just under 8, the bolt was still showing 37% battery when I plugged it in to recharge.

The only thing I don't like is the non automatic upload to Connect, which I use as my repository. Generally, a manual import has worked no bother, but as above Garmin change things and things fall over - I'm pretty sure it is a Connect issue, as I've had issues with TrainerRoad, and syncing with MyFitnessPal in the last week or so too.

If I was going Garmin, I'd be stretching for the 1030, which at least has a external battery pack option. If Navigation on long rides is important to you, which it may not be!

brownian

+1 on the bolt battery. Does last for all day rides. I'll be using mine on Saturday for the Dying Light.