I was really tempted to buy one of these, but hard freaking pass after watching Ray’s video.
@dcrainmaker “The most unbaked bike computer to date”…which is saying something given that Coros Dura had a pretty firm grip on that title.
Over 1/2 lbs for a bike computer??? LOL…pass.
Pretty disappointed overall…so many cool features that I would really like (if executed properly)
I would say the Wahoo ACE has more of a solid base in some critical areas - mapping, routing, rerouting and climbs than the COROS DURA did at launch or even now. It’s… everything else that is problematic.
It also doesn’t help that things are moving into the Wahoo app away from the ELEMNT app, so that also has to concurrently be done - you’re not just implementing features in ACE but also the app.
Wahoo seems to have a history of releasing these units a bit early in life and fixing along the way, but this seems to set that bar even lower and is surprisingly disappointing from a company on the rebound. I get the timing since they likely want to be part of holiday gift season. But they missed the “big ones” by a day and now have a product that appears nearly unfit for purpose at this time. Even if/when they fix some of the issues, the size, battery life and visibility items seem likely to remain. Hard to see this gaining traction anytime soon, which is a real shame and missed opportunity.
I was excited for this launch, but after reading DCR and Escape’s reviews I’m at the very least keeping my money for now. Key reasons:
It would appear it’s freaking huge. Beyond just being big and clunky, none of my bikes have round handlebars, and it seems like it won’t work with most current out-front mounts. New mounts may be on the way, but why buy a computer I can’t actually put on a bike right now? EC also mentions the Wahoo mount doesn’t have a GoPro mount underneath because the combined weight would be too much. I use that spot to mount lights, so if that’s a no-go I’m out.
Lots of features seem half-baked currently. The digital bell seems great, but doesn’t work in map mode and you can’t program it to be activated by a remote button. Elevation doesn’t work right. The app interface seems incomplete. Long list here.
It seems like the aero sensor doesn’t actually do anything very useful, at least for now. (EC’s review goes into this in depth.) I assume that thing is a major contributor to the large size and weight, and unless/until a firmware update makes it a useful feature I can’t see paying extra and lugging around a brick for no obvious benefit.
All in all I’m rather disappointed. I hope Wahoo is working on a Bolt/Roam update that improves their screens and includes elements of this UI but is smaller, lighter, lacks an aero sensor and costs less.
I am disappointed that Wahoo didn’t live up to my expectations with this computer.
I watched the GCN video “The Story of Wahoo” recently.
It portrayed the company very positively (of course) and Chip came across well.
I thought that bringing in Gareth Joyce as CEO earlier in the year would turn out to be a very good thing for the company.
Those things combined to give me high hopes that Wahoo would bring a fantastic computer to the market this time. I am disappointed that isn’t how it turned out.
Other than battery life falling well short of the advertised length the other big issues are seemingly software? So I anticipate they will be addressed in the next several months. With that being said this is not a great look for the Ace.
With that being said I definitely went from buying on release day to wait and see.
I have an ACE, so if anyone has any questions I can try to answer them.
Yeah, but the current software release is actually a step backwards…for example, no Strava Live segments, even though other Wahoo units have had this feature for years. Other examples abound.
As @mcneese.chad noted, Wahoo has a history of updating new releases, but sweet baby jesus, did they miss the boat with this release.
He’s saying (in the note that pops up in the corner of the screen), that it’s Wahoo’s most unbaked computer to date. Which is a whole different thing, obviously.
For me another major issues is just the physical size. It’s substantially bigger than a 1040/1050, notably thick, weighs more than two Roams or more than an iPhone. It’s almost half a pound! Mounting tabs on the back are still plastic, so I’d worry about it breaking off if using it for MTB or rough gravel.
As I said above I assume the aero sensor is a contributor to this size, and at least for now it doesn’t seem like it actually does anything useful. 
I keep losing track: is this forum now pro or anti Strava? 
Not having feature parity with its current, cheaper head units is bad. But I am going to put on my Wahoo apologist hat for a second and say that the OS running on the Ace appears to be a completely new compared to that of the Bolt and Roam so from a technical stand point baking in already existing features is not neccesarily just porting them.
I think in six months this bike computer will be really solid but agree that this release seemed rushed.
The OS itself is Android, just like previous units. The application that we see has indeed been updated/changed.
Was worried I would want one. But the Wahoo suitcACE is not for me.
I loved my element V1 at the time
The UI was so much better than Garmin at the time…now it’s a hard pass
I dont think Wahoo have the budget to take on Garmin in wearables (computers and watch - which they are killing) and hardware (trainers, bike and treadmill). Thats way too much product sprawl
I think the claimed batter life vs reality is unforgivable - Garmin are really good at hitting their numbers and giving you different scenarios. So for a 1050 is 20 hrs in demanding use cases
Wahoo are claiming its 30 hrs in marketing - whereas reality is that appears to be without the backlight on, and its actually only 10hrs
200% exaggeration of battery life is pretty shocking
Tbf, it sounds like it’s already pretty darn solid!
*Is it a two person lift to install it?
*Do you need a counterweight on the back to stop you doing an endo?
*Was it really far away when you decided to buy it?
@dcrainmaker noted that with his pre-existing Wahoo amount that the Ace rubbed across the handlebar when installing it. Does the same happen to you?
Among the general unbakedness that’s not a surprise these days with new Wahoo products, I’m pretty dissapointed that they’re not giving cda data. Given the leaks I was hoping this product would spark a new era of aerosensors on mainstream devices.
@kevistraining Yes! 
@patricksudol Yes. It doesn’t quite fit the existing stuff. I’m using an out front mount + Garmin adapter and with a bit of a nudge can get it into place. It’s not enough to totally hold it in though, I had a crash and the ACE went flying on concrete. Didn’t damage it though.
I think that if this is more of a Beta in terms of the promise versus reality, there should be a fair upgrade program to incentivize existing customers to make the jump. I’d be open to it, but I have no reason to go now when I can wait until next summer’s sales and confirm for sure the new things work.