Wahoo ELEMNT (Roam and Bolt v2) on Specialized e-bikes (Garmin Edge compared)

[Stefan Mikes]

Thanks, I did pay for Blevo and guess that's the way for non mastermind Levos. A bit overwhelming to setup but I'll dig a little deeper. Thanks for the info

bob

BLEvo is just a miraculous app for non-MasterMind e-bikes. (It's a pity Specialized has encrypted the MasterMind Bluetooth channel, rendering BLEvo useless there).
Any questions? Please ask. I will be delighted to be of help!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Here's my current setup.

At this moment, the Remote Control (O-Synce) and HR monitor are not connected, and the ride has not started yet, hence some empty data fields.

 

[steelgtr]

Here's my current setup.
View attachment 143562
At this moment, the Remote Control (O-Synce) and HR monitor are not connected, and the ride has not started yet, hence some empty data fields.

Thank you! Can you help me get my display to look like that? (I'm android if it matters) I have too many fields (small) showing.

thx

bob

ps: it did show range!!

 

[dynamic]

"Break a thermometer, you will have no fever"

*snickers* Yeah. Garmin has been working fine since that input went away. No issues. Knowing what I know now, I would just disconnect the e-bike connection if using garmin with it. Crazy how much better behaved garmin is now.

 

[steelgtr]

*snickers* Yeah. Garmin has been working fine since that input went away. No issues. Knowing what I know now, I would just disconnect the e-bike connection if using garmin with it. Crazy how much better behaved garmin is now.

Sorry, since what happened?

 

[dynamic]

Sorry, since what happened?

I got a bike with no e-bike protocol. Nearly all the garmin stupidity stopped. It used to interrupt my ride every 30 seconds with messages you must dismiss. And would force re-navigate stuff. It was crazy.

Garmin 1040 solar was pleasant on todays ride. Very nice.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Garmin or Wahoo work for anybody else except you, Dynamic

 

[Allan47.7339]

The Garmin 1040 is very new with a lot of new features. I use it for navigation on group rides and there are some navigation settings you have to change just as on the 1030's. I have the navigation reroute functions set to off or ask. Otherwise any disruption in the GPS it would reroute. Default is auto. The ebike warning that the route is too long seems to be triggered by temporary loss of gps signal due to underpasses or other obstructions. The recent update seems to allow the notification to be dismissed. I would prefer to be able to turn that feature off but that is something for the Garmin forum. I am sure Wahoo and Hammerhead are working on their new features to be added too.

 

[dynamic]

The ebike warning that the route is too long seems to be triggered by temporary loss of gps signal due to underpasses or other obstructions.

Or if you go off the route onto a road it doesn’t know and can’t re-route (or trail). Or if your planned route from say RWGPS isn’t exactly where the actual route is. Until ebike went away garmin spent 90% of the time with that stupid message on the screen. There is a plethora of other bugs I could ignore.

Wahoo is way better in this aspect. But it’s other stuff is a bit weak. Hill climbing was meh (I got the new version for a short bit), no light network, it’s a bit goofy in ux (you do get used to this). But if I wanted to track my rides and didn’t care about features, wahoo wins easily.

If the features you want actually work on the garmin, get that.

My 2 cents.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A Moment of Fear

I went on a short ride with my Vado SL yesterday, and when I pressed the On/Off button on my Wahoo Roam v2, the logo of "wahoo" appeared, and the device looked like it got stuck on that first screen. When I pressed and held the main button for > 10 seconds (Forced Reboot), the screen went blank, and the Wahoo appeared dead. Well, I started the BLEvo app on my phone for the ride recording and did the shopping.

Meanwhile, my thoughts were: "I'm setting off for an ultramarathon gravel race in a week. What if my Wahoo is dead? Quickly buy yet another Wahoo? Or a Garmin? No... that would be stupid!" and the like.

Upon returning home, I was doing many things to my Wahoo. Trying to charge it more (no visual signs on the screen), depressing the main switch for a long time etc. Eventually, the "wahoo" logo appeared again and got stuck there. Well, the last advice I could google was "If anything else fails, leave the unit be until it dies, recharge, and try again". I left the Wahoo with the logo on the screen for a longer time. After perhaps a quarter, the device went alive and it is functioning properly now.

I do not know what actually happened. In case of a software update, there are clear signs such as orange LEDs blinking, messages popping onto the screen etc. Nothing like that the last time! I think it was rather an unusual behaviour of the device and I do not need -- I think -- be worried. Friends are telling me their Garmins do strange things at times, too.

In the worst case, I'm borrowing a Garmin from my brother!

 

[Vamos]

My Wahoo did the same thing this week. I have not been able to get it to reboot and I am giving it time for the battery to drain. I wonder if it was not caused by an update. If I have to replace it I think that a Garmin might the smarter choice, Wahoo has been having financial difficulties lately.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I have not been able to get it to reboot and I am giving it time for the battery to drain.

Give it yet another try: just try to turn it on and if the "wahoo" logo stays there, let it wait for some time. It should eventually start normally.

If I have to replace it I think that a Garmin might the smarter choice, Wahoo has been having financial difficulties lately.

If you heard a friend of mine using a new Garmin Edge, you would possibly reconsider your opinion. Garmin has been his first bike GPS computer, and when he saw my Roam v2, he got really excited:

• 'How small it is!'
• 'What a gorgeous not glossy screen!'
• 'Nice screen colours!'
• 'Extremely clean map and course look, far more elegant than it is in my Garmin!'
• 'I'm having difficulty using the Garmin touchscreen in rough terrain; these buttons in Wahoo look convincing!'
• 'So you are telling me you can start a new course while your ride is being recorded?!'

I really think the Wahoo issues are only temporary. When I think I should replace computer mounts on my two e-bikes (one of the mounts is a Redshift Computer Mount connected to the Redshift Shock Stop stem) and then configure the Garmin from the device (instead of the app) then I say 'Oh, no!' Especially as Garmin still does not recognize the Range Extender of my Vado SL for Battery% while Wahoo reports the level of each battery independently.

Wahoo ELEMNT Terminates Your Ride Recording After 6 Hours of Being Switched Off

Let us assume you set the Auto Shutdown to Off and then set off for a long ride. After arriving to your half-way destination you decided to switch the Wahoo off to save the battery. If your stay is shorter than 6 hours, switching the Wahoo on again will (slowly) restore your ride recording so you can press the Start (or Resume) button on the device and continue the recording. If your stay had, however, been longer than 6 hours (such as an overnight stay), then turning the device on makes your current recording terminated (but saved to the memory), and pressing Start will begin a new recording.

Important for multi-day trip riders and for the commuters! If you want to have your entire recording, set the Wahoo ELEMNT Auto Shutdown off, and power the operating device from a powerbank or a charger as long as you are not riding!

 

[Vamos]

Stefan,
I like the Wahoo and their system, in fact I suggested that you look at the Wahoo a few years ago. I read about Wahoo's financial problems on DC Rainmaker and they do not seem in significant. Illustrative point of what happens when companies are bought and sold is what has happened between Hammerhead and Shimano, also covered nicely by Rainmaker. Hopefully my Wahoo will reboot when I recharge it.
Ray

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A Wahoo Pro Tip

If you set off for an ultramarathon or long touring with your Wahoo, and have planned the route in Komoot, set the route plan as "Bike Touring (e-bike)" in Komoot. If you set the ride type as (for instance) "Gravel" then Komoot won't generate turn-by-turn cues. Wahoo itself can provide automatic cues only up to 200 km.