Wahoo Upgrades Its GPS Cycling Computer With Improved Navigation and Color Screen
The Takeaway: The style of Wahoo’s Elemnt Bolt with a bigger and better screen and improved navigation functions.
The Elemnt Roam is Wahoo's latest GPS cycling computer.
At $380, it’s the brand’s most expensive computer to date.
Similar to Wahoo’s Elemnt Bolt, but with larger color screen and new functions.
New in-device functions permit routing without use of smartphone companion app.
Ambient light sensor automatically adjusts backlight and LED brightness.
The new Wahoo Elemnt Roam is Wahoo’s latest GPS cycling computer. Though it has new navigation features and a new color screen, the Roam is, at its microprocessor heart an Elemnt.
That means easy setup and customization from Wahoo’s companion Elemnt app; compatibility with both ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart sensors (including FE-C trainers, Pioneer's power meters, and muscle-oxygen sensors); third-party integration (Best Bike Split, Ride With GPS, MTB Project, Strava); live tracking (other Elemnt users and preselected contacts), routes, navigation, and turn-by-turn directions. Elemnt computers also offer structured workout guidance and subscribers to Training Peaks and Today's Plan can sync plans to their device.
Wahoo Elemnt Roam
Price: $380
Weight: 94.4 grams
Battery life (claimed): 17 hours
Screen size: 36mm by 59mm; 68.58 mm (diagonal)
Sensor compatibility: ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart
New Navigation Features
The Roam's most significant update is its improved navigation functions.
The overarching theme is Wahoo’s engineers made it possible to perform certain navigation functions from the device itself, without the use of the companion smartphone app.
These functions include navigating to locations stored on the device, using pan and zoom on the device to find and select a location, reversing a route to return to the start, and directions from your current location to the beginning of the chosen route.
And the Roam will automatically reroute the rider if they turn off an active course-Wahoo’s previous computers alerted the rider if they deviated, but did not automatically them back to the selected course.
Improved Color Screen
“Color screen” carries a clear mental image. That perception is not what you see when you use the Elemnt Roam. Color is very sparingly used-so much that the Roam mostly looks like a monochrome device.
A bit of color shows up on the map screen to designate some landmarks, and in some workout features like the heart rate and power graphs. The colors are muted but do stand out against the rest of the display’s grays and blacks.
The screen has a slightly matte which helps glare, and Wahoo positioned the screen closer to the surface of the (Gorilla) glass, which makes it clearer and more readable, especially at an angle.
Similar to the original Elemnt, the Roam utilizes Wahoo's Quicklook color LED lights on the left side, and top edge of the screen-the Bolt only had the top LED row. The LEDs to the left of the screen can be configured to indicate speed, power or heart rate zone, while the top LEDs function as alert lights, and scroll to aid turns during navigation.
The Roam also includes an ambient light sensor, which automatically adjusts the brightness of the screen’s backlight and the units LEDs.
Bolt Form, Elemnt Size
The Roam looks like Wahoo’s Elemnt Bolt but has the screen and overall size of the brand’s original Elemnt computer.
Claimed battery life is the same as the Elemnt, 17 hours (a Bolt has 15 hours), and it weighs about the same as the Elemnt too, though it’s over 30 grams heavier than the Bolt.
Price wise, at $380, the Roam is significantly more expensive than the $250 Bolt and the $300 Elemnt.
The Competition
Garmin recently launched its new Edge 530 GPS cycling computer. This $299 device is the successor to the excellent Edge 520. The 530 looks to have the same functions as the Roam: a color screen, ANT+ and Bluetooth sensor compatibility, navigation, and more. Plus the 530 has and five hours more battery life.
The Roam does offer much easier setup and customization (thanks to Wahoo’s smartphone app), better overall third-party integration, free worldwide map downloads, and the Element’s signature quick zoom function, which lets a rider increase or decrease the number of data fields on the screen on the fly. When the number of fields decreases, the size of the remaining fields get larger. This feature is particularly helpful if your near-distance vision isn’t great.
Frankly, both devices are excellent, and there are arguments in favor of both. But the Roam might have a slight advantage overall because of it’s more user-friendly, customizable, and adaptable.
Ride Impressions
The Roam’s core features and functionality are identical to the original Elemnt and the Elemnt Bolt. Which is a good thing, because they're excellent computers, and the most user friendly to use-the easiest to set up, easiest to customize, and easiest to take advantage of the full feature set.
The screen updates are very nice, particularly the anti-glare screen, which makes the computer easier to read in more conditions, and the automatic backlight control is helpful when you're experiencing changing ambient light.
The colors are sparingly used, and subtle. But they're used effectively, as a way to quickly convey, or draw attention to, a bit of information, and not merely to make the display look prettier. But that means for many rides, and for basic operation, the Roam's screen is effectively black and white. It’s not until you dig into navigation or training features that you begin to see color.
The new built-in navigation features work as advertised, and quite well. I was able to store locations to the Roam, use pan and zoom on the device to find a road or intersection, or select a route with a start a few miles away, and get fast and accurate turn-by-turn directions (on bike-friendly routes) to them without needing to pull out my phone.
The Roam's reroute function is particularly useful: it’s fast, and, based on my testing, makes good choices-taking me on a slightly longer route to get back on my planned route and avoid a very fast and busy state highway, for example. Wahoo’s side zoom buttons-which offer an easy way to zoom in and out of the map-are particularly handy when navigating unfamiliar areas and dealing with reroutes.
I've never been a fan of Wahoo's LEDs for the simple fact that they're not bright enough to see during daylight, especially if you're wearing sunglasses. That hasn't changed on the Roam. I couldn't see LEDs on the left side-I had them set up to indicate heart rate-during sunny rides. The white LEDs on the top were slightly more visible, but only just.
Overall, I think this feature isn’t effective nor is it very practical. They’re another way to convey the information on the Elemnt’s screen, and the information on the screen is easier to read than dim LEDs. I’d rather Wahoo removed them and used the recovered the space to make a smaller case or a larger screen.
LEDs aside, the new Roam is an impressive device. It’s an Elemnt, which is already a great device with a fantastic feature set. The Roam builds on that great base and adds useful and welcome updates and an excellent new screen.
('You Might Also Like',)
