Test of the Wahoo Elment Bolt V2 meter

The Wahoo Element Bolt V2 is intended to be the replacement for the Bolt, which allowed the American brand to make a name for itself in the field of counters. Because if Wahoo is now a leader in the field ofindoor, understand the connected home trainer, they also know how to compete very well with Garmin in the field of GPS counters.

By David Polveroni – Photos: ©3bikes.fr

Le test, for a month, today focuses on the Wahoo Element Bolt V2, recent winner of the Ronde Van Vlanderen with a certain Mathieu Van der Poel.

When unpacking, you will find with this one:
– 2 supports (stem and front)
– 1 USB C cable
– The quick start guide and the counter, obviously.

Presentation  

Its format takes up the characteristics of the Bolt V1, with dimensions of 4,7 x 7,7 x 3,1 cm., a smaller format than the Roam, the second model from Wahoo. A format that I would describe as ideal, neither too small to be easy to read nor too big to feel like you have a tablet on your handlebars. At 70 g, naked, it remains light, even if weight is not the primary criterion for a meter.

The main difference with the old model is the screen., this is the first thing that jumps out at you. Its size has changed very little, 2,2 inches, or 5,5 cm diagonally. For comparison, the competitor Garmin has 2,6 inches, and 6,6 cm.

But adding colors (64!) gives a more nice and more easy in reading the data as we will see a little further on in the description. In addition to the colors, the screen has a high contrast, which enhances good readability., even without backlighting in order to save battery…

Finally, this one is equipped with a window Gorilla Glass which ensures good solidity and limits scratches. In reality, this is also what we have observed: it imposes solidity and no scratches are to be reported after these 6 weeks of test and yet I deliberately mistreated him. It is like new after 3500 km.

As for the screen, we are here on a non-touch model, with an improvement in the buttons compared to the previous range., but also in relation to the Roam (the highest model in the Wahoo range), which suggests that it too should benefit from a new version soon...

Buttons have their advantagestage : scrolling through pages, a basic thing, but which can sometimes quickly become complicated with the rain or with gloves in winter, is therefore mastered and improved on the Bolt V2. The first one had the tendency to be a little hard, which is modified now.

In terms of charging, I regret that we switched to a USB-C cable and not USB. And yes, you need - again - one more cable to carry. But this allows for faster charging of the meter.

Settings 

To set the counter, It is mandatory to go through the Wahoo Elemnt smartphone application. After scanning the QRcode and registering the device, you can then configure the screens.

It is possible to set the number of screens desired, with nine data on each of them. Each screen can be zoomable. This is a Wahoo feature, with the right buttons (or satellite buttons on the handles, integrated on the new Shimano 12 and Sram groups, and with the EWU111 on the Shimano 11)), you can at any time reduce the number of data on the screen, to concentrate moretagand on some, which will have been previously classified in order of priority.

There is also a map, very good, like on the Roam. The maps are preloaded and there is nothing to purchase. On the map screen, you can display four data, compared to two on the Bolt, and the altimetric profile of the current outing or the programmed route.

The sensors are linked via the meter and then configured with the application. Most Bluetooth and ANT+ sensors are supported, including satellite buttons from Shimano or Sram.

=> SEE AS ​​WELL : Buy the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt V2 computer for €269,99

On Route 

Once you press the central button, the output is launched and you just have to ride! The auto pause can be activated or not. You can program training sessions via the Trainingpeaks platform, free of charge, in a fairly simple way once you get the hang of it.

We really liked this training tracking feature. It's quite fun with the visualization of intervals in real time. The color also allows you to clearly visualize the work areas for those with well-defined plans. For others too, by the way! The power, heart rate, but also the slope since the last update, have color codes. This means that the more the data increases, the more alarming the colors are! Gray... Blue... Green... Yellow... Red...

This new slope update brings us closer to Garmin's Climb Pro functionality which remains, in my opinion, one step ahead in terms of navigation thanks to this widget : know in how much time the next ascent begins and its percentagetagand his profile is a big bonus.

Wahoo has done a good job on this and now we can visualize the upcoming profile in real time., a little less precise therefore than Climb Pro, but it gives a good idea of ​​the terrain on which we are moving.

Note that a function live track is possible, but we (and other users too) have had many setbacks and random operation episodically and haphazardly for no reason.

The track tracking is rather well designed on a clear and clean map.. Arrows guide you as well as text at each intersection and recalculate a route if necessary. Routes are automatically loaded over wifi once they have been created on a third-party application, Strava, Komoot or any GPX file by transferring it to the Elemnt application.

In fact it works well, or almost... If you don't want to leave / stop the route or have more information in the section otherwise several times the counter has frozen and rebooted mid-release. The recovery of the release worked fine so no consequences but it's really annoying when it happens. Something Wahoo is still working on.

You can activate LEDs on the top of the screen which can represent HR, Watts, speed and which, like on the screen, change color depending on the intensity. But we strongly advise against using it, not so that your friends can see where you are by taking a look, but the battery will be much better optimized. Just like the backlight which is largely sufficient… on OFF! Thus, we can do about 12 hours depending on the sensors used.

Also quite an important point, The V2, like all Wahoo meters, has a barometric sensor, insensitive to humidity unlike its competitor.  No more crazy altitude data in bad weather...

The Strava Segment Live feature is more advanced than Garmin in my opinion.. The page itself allows you to better situate yourself in relation to the current effort. A good estimate of the time that we will achieve as the effort progresses and with your times on each of the favorite segments once completed. On return, the transfer is done automatically on the Elemnt application, then on the connected platforms for those who are. It is easy to configure and well explained.

Overall the Elemnt Bolt is very pleasant to ride.. Daily use is quite simple and it fulfills all the functions required for cycling, whether for monitoring training, navigation or reading essential information. Halfway between the Edge 530 and the 830, offered at a price of €299, It is surely one of the best quality/option/price ratios on the market. For those who already have the first version, the upgrade to the 2nd is of little interest, except to give a new look to your field of vision!

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