Wonders of Wahoo: new Elmnt Bolt issues (bike computer)

Equipment
#1

EDIT: Komoot sync wasn’t broken after all. Komoot changed policies, now requiring you to buy the region the whole route is in (previously could sync without that region officially bought).

Chapter #2451 in the book of “why I won’t buy Wahoo anymore”. I already wrote about my bike computer crashing midride (literally freezing), not being able to sync, and other issues.

This is not a flamebait. This just goes on to show how the QA issues keep stacking up, I am wondering whether I am alone in this or whether other people experience the same thing.

I now have FOUR new issues that just occurred in the last 5-6 rides… but consistently:

  1. First, only speed was all over the place… even when peddling at a rate that feels consistent, my speedo goes between 15KM and 40-50KM intermittently quite often. This also happens when riding consistently, so it is not Wahoo smoothing the curve or something (I think). And this never happened before, it was always more or less accurate… when I start peddling speed goes up, when I stop speed goes down.

  2. It is now happening with power as well. This must thus be regardless of the sensors (I have wahoo cadence or gps for speed, my 4iiii for power). Yesterday, sweetspot session 2 hours. Targer was 190-200 watt. When riding consistently, my 3 AND 5s power readings were in between 120 and 240 watts.

  3. EDIT: Komoot sync wasn’t broken after all. Turns out since a couple of months, you can only sync with komoot if you unlocked the region the route is in. I did two centuries in the same area last summer and it worked fine. Now it didn’t. After I bought the “World Pack”, the route immediately showed up. So this is neither Komoot nor Wahoo to blame, I just wasn’t aware of this.

  4. After updating, my iPhone couldn’t connect to may Elmnt Bolt anymore. I had to unpair and repair on both sides.

I have all my batteries charged, checked the batteries, calibrated my power meter, had a full iPhone battery, newest software updates etc etc. I always make sure of that.

What is going on at Wahoo? Or can their QA only handle one product at a time, now shifting resources to the new Kickr to make sure the fiasco with the previous one doesn’t happen again?

Also: what are the BEST head units you can buy? Regardless of price…

#2

Have you contacted Wahoo Support about this? It sounds like you may just have a buggy unit, maybe it needs a factory reset, or just a new replacement unit.

If by ‘best’ you mean “I won’t ever have an issue with it” then I don’t think there will be. If you go searching on the internet you can find long threads of people who have had issues with Garmin, Wahoo, Karoo, and the rest of them. Sometimes it’s just luck of the draw whether the unit you get is faulty. Or maybe you just did a very specific thing to the unit that triggered some weird bug. I really enjoy my Garmin 830 and have had very few issues with it. But other’s had a couple bad Garmin units and have sworn off Garmin and now will only buy Wahoo. I’ve also heard the opposite. People I’ve talked to really like their Karoo’s also but its a relatively new company that is constantly adding features and that alone can make a unit a bit more prone to bugs.

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#3

I am very happy with my garmin edge 830 , no experience with wahoo ! i had an edge 1030 which had speed issues ( got a new one which i sold and got the 830 )

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#4

I had similar issues so got an 830. It’s next level compared to any wahoo and it works perfectly. Rides upload via wifi without the phone and power averages are now correct.

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#5

Interesting, i have a Bolt and never, never, never had one single issue with it. In fact I wish any other electronic device would be so dependable like the bolt which I am actually using on a daily basis.

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#6

I have a Bolt since December 2018 and never had a serious issue. I had to unpair and re-link the unit with my iPhone twice and some annoyance here and there, but everything normally got fixed in a short time. The few times I contacted Wahoo’s customer service I received a response quite quickly. If I could go back in time I think I’d buy it again.

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#7

I’ve had issues with both Wahoo and Garmin units over the years - fewer with Wahoo it has to be said. The major difference is customer support - Wahoo’s is excellent - fast, responsive, argument-free. Garmin, on the other hand…

That’s why I buy Wahoo these days. If problems arise (as they will with all devices) I know they will get sorted quickly.

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#8

Just wondering if having cadence from your wahoo sensor might be problematic as the 4iiii power meter will also be trying to send cadence data won’t it? I run 4iiii on the roadie and have taken the wahoo sensor off - running Garmin 530 so might be moot

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#9

I’ve had an Element Roam since May this year and hardly had a problem. Very occasionally it doesn’t pick up speed at the start of a ride, but turning off and on always solves the problem. My only real gripe is you don’t get a low battery warning, but overall i’m very happy with it and would absolutely buy again. I also had no issues with the Garmin I had before, but i find the Wahoo much more intuitive and easy to use.

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#10

Sorry to hear you’re having such problems.
I’ve been using a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt for several months with only one problem. It was frozen, i.e. non-responsive at the start of one of my outside rides. After the ride I learned through Wahoo Support to hold the power button down for 10 seconds. That solved the problem.
Other than that one instance, it has been very reliable and accurate.

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#11

Yeah so in all honesty, I never reached out to Wahoo customer support. Will do that.

But in addition, some of you suggest I may have a faulty unit. I don’t believe that. I think it’s software – these issues come and go. That would be weird if it’s a hardware issue.

Also, yeah, I heard Garmin customer support can be quite problematic, so perhaps as “lesser” product paired with better customer support may be better than the reverse.

Wasn’t there this startup that introduced their 2nd iteration of their bike computer recentely? That also seems enticing, however, that company is relatively new (sorry, I don’t have the details or remember brand name).

@Antc yeah seems a good idea to only use 4iiii… perhaps both may conflict and give different readings or something.

@RecoveryRide the ROAM is not the BOLT… likewise, people said they didn’t have issues with “their KICKR CORE” but they were talking about the 2017 or 2018 model I believe.

#12

True, my mistake, though your post was (I thought) also more generally about ‘not buying Wahoo’ (the brand).

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#13

I’ve never had a problem with Garmin or Wahoo customer support. Maybe six months ago I started seeing Strava rides with “Wahoo crashed during ride” or something like that. Not a lot, but it happens.

Hammerhead Karoo is the startup https://www.hammerhead.io

Stages makes what looks like a really interesting bike computer https://stagescycling.com/us/dash-gps-cycling-computer/ I’d buy the Stages and try it, but my Garmin 530 is working so well its hard to get motivated even with 30% off sale that ends today.

#14

Wahoo bolt. 20k miles and never dropped a ride.

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#15

Guess I’m just old school, but I’m not a big fan of pointing fingers / complaining on the internet BEFORE I even contacted the manufacturer and give them a chance to explain / fix the issue.

And yes, even companies with the best QA in the world will have a defective unit once in a while. There is no way to test all units under all circumstances for an extended time (well, or you have to pay for that and the units would cost way way more).

To me - and that’s why I’m happy to ‘defend’ Wahoo here a little bit - it’s most important how companies react when I have an issue. And my experience with the Wahoo customer service was excellent. Additionally, when I have a lot of third parties involved (4iii PM, komoot, iPhone) I would be hesitant to assign one party straight away all the blame.

Btw, happy Element Bolt, Wahoo speed sensor, 4iii PM, and komoot user here. Works like a charm for me, hope you get your issues sorted out. Regarding komoot, you can sort the rides on the Element by date, maybe that helps already for that issue.

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#16

That’s the weird thing – that doesn’t work. It literally shows a random bunch of earlier rides. It just started doing that all out of a sudden. New rides also no longer appear, nor at the bottom or top of the list, whatever I do.

EDIT: Now, you have to but the whole region. So this wasn’t on Wahoo, this was on Komoot who changed (I guess) their policies. Last summer did two centuries in the same area and didn’t have the “World pack”. Now that I bought the world pack, route showed up instantaneously.

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