Wahoo unveiled its latest high-tech GPS computer this winter: the Wahoo Elemnt Ace. Designed for demanding cyclists looking for clear displays and precise navigation, it offers some innovative features while remaining less complex to understand than the latest Garmin Edge 1050 for example. Its dimensions and high weight can however be a hindrance to use in competition. Here is our opinion after a test more than a month.
By Guillaume Judas – Photos: ©3bikes.fr / ©Wahoo
The Wahoo Elemnt Ace stands out with its sleek design and its XXL 3,8-inch touchscreen, the largest ever offered by the brand.. This display uses cutting-edge transflective TFT technology, ensuring optimal visibility even in bright sunlight. With 16 million colors, readability is exceptional. The meter offers seamless navigation tracking and data visualization that is almost unprecedented.
This device directly competes with the Garmin Edge 1050 et Hammerhead Karoo in this area, and it is even a little bigger. The Elemnt Ace also benefits from 64 GB of storage as well as 2 GB of RAM. Which is more than enough to store a map of the entire world in memory.
With dimensions of 126mm x 71mm x 24mm, The Element Ace is big, very big. It takes up a lot of space on the driver's station.tage. And it is heavy, at 208g, breaking records here too. These dimensions and high weight can even pose problems with the usual meter supports intended for certain monobloc and/or aerodynamic handlebars.
The Elemnt Ace comes with a sturdy aluminium round handlebar mount and is quite heavy itself at 61g. For comparison, the Garmin Edge 1050 measures 118,5mm x 60mm x 16mm, and weighs 160g. The Wahoo Element Roam, the brand's previous top-of-the-range product, did not exceed 100 g.
On the sides of The Elemnt Ace has the usual buttons of the brand even if the meter benefits from a touch screen. We find the three buttons aligned at the bottom of the screen, a power button on the left side and two buttons on the right side. In order not to disturb users of previous Wahoo meters too much, and to offer several handling options. For my part, I continue to appreciate these "physical" keys, very practical to operate with gloves.
It should also be noted that compared to the Elemnt Bolt and Elemnt Roam, the brand's two other models, The Wahoo Elemnt Ace loses both rows of LED lights to the left and top of the counter, replaced by scrolling chevrons at the top of the screen when a turn is approaching, in guidance mode. An evolution that did not seem significant to me, even if it undoubtedly facilitates the enlargement of the screen.
=> Buy the Wahoo Elemnt Ace GPS/Meter
Modern and innovative features
The Elemnt Ace isn't just a GPS meter. It's a real control center. It is symptomatic of all the advances made in recent years to support and encourage progress. Here are some of its key features:
Advanced Navigation : Inspired by automotive navigation systems, the Elemnt Ace provides turn-by-turn voice instructions, reducing visual distractions and ensuring a safer ride. Detailed mapping and regular updates via the Wahoo app ensure accurate navigation.
With a powerful dual-band GPS, it offers very high performance in the field, whether for tracking a track or in the case of a route recalculation. Routes can be imported directly from Strava or another compatible application. It is even possible to mark an arrival point on the screen map, and then let yourself be guided.
The map page still takes advantage of the two buttons on the side of the meter to zoom in and out, as on the Elemnt Bolt and Elemnt Roam. But a pinch-to-zoom function on the touchscreen is available by pressing the screen lock button.
Built-in wind sensor : the Wahoo Elemnt Ace integrates an innovative function, the wind sensor Wahoo Wind Dynamics which measures air resistance in real time, providing cyclists with data on the impact of wind on their performance. This information theoretically allows them to optimize their racing position and strategy.
The display of this data is optional and customizable on the menu pages. It is also possible to simply analyze the data a posteriori on the meter or app after exiting.
Bell integrated into the meter : thanks to its speakers, the Wahoo Elemnt Ace offers a function bell as is the case with the new Garmin Edge 1050. Simply double-tap the bottom of the computer's touchscreen to activate the bell, alerting other road users route or paths of your presence.
Note that to date, however, the bell cannot be activated by the hidden buttons on the Shimano Di2 or Sram AXS handles.
Connectivity and synchronization : Compatible with Bluetooth, ANT+, and Wi-Fi, the Elemnt Ace syncs effortlessly with a wide range of sensors and apps like Strava, Komoot, and the Wahoo ecosystem.
The computer is compatible with Shimano Di2 and Sram AXS systems, allowing the display of the battery status of the derailleurs, the gear position and the changing of the computer pages by pressing the hidden buttons on the handles.
Autonomy : Advertised with up to 30 hours of battery life, this meter is designed for the longest rides, without requiring frequent recharging. The USB-C port makes fast, universal charging easy.
However, with several sensors connected (power, heart rate, rear radar and Di2 system) and without sleep mode, I rather noticed an autonomy around 15 to 17 hours. This is enough for a big week of training without recharging, but not exceptional in the case of use over very long distances.
=> Buy the Wahoo Elemnt Ace GPS/Meter
An undeniable practical side
The Wahoo Elemnt Ace is designed to provide an intuitive and seamless user experience. Its touch screen is added to the physical buttons, allowing precise interaction even with gloves or in the rain.. During my period of test (in the middle of winter), I only used the device outdoors with gloves, more or less thick. And I did not notice any scrolling problems with the touch screen, even in the rain.
On the other hand, on the map in navigation mode, it seemed rather complicated to me to be able to press the (too small) screen lock icons or the compass to block the map with the North facing up while driving.
The organization of the different menus can be customized according to your preferences using the Wahoo smartphone application. This makes it easy to choose which elements to display on the counter and on each page (up to 11 data), their size (thanks to the large screen size) and their order of importance. All this without spending long minutes digging into the counter settings.
The interface is designed to be intuitive, with a dashboard Ready-To-Ride which saves time at the start of each outing. Even if the meter takes a little while to turn on (allow several tens of seconds before it starts route of the device), the screen clearly indicates which sensors are connected and their battery life level at a glance in a ring around each sensor's icon.
For my part, I have testI've ridden the Elemnt Ace with a Suunto heart rate sensor, a Shimano Di2 11- or 12-speed drivetrain, as well as a Garmin Varia radar and Garmin Rally power meter pedals, without experiencing any connection or transmission issues.
Dual-band GPS performs well when acquiring a signal, most of the time very quickly when leaving the house. Same thing after going under a tunnel, where the Element Ace recovers the signal in a few dozen meters at the exit. Impossible to tell the difference with the Garmin Edge 1050 from this point of view, even if the latter uses the signals of all the global satellite navigation systems.
=> Buy the Wahoo Elemnt Ace GPS/Meter
Essential functions
Beyond user-friendly and highly precise mapping and high-performance GPS, The Wahoo Elemnt Ace offers all the features that are essential for training tracking. This includes support for external sensors, a plethora of data to display or not, or to analyze at the end of the ride.
The device also offers plan or training session tracking, via the Wahoo app. The Elemnt Ace takes over the training from Training Peaks, TrainerRoad and Wahoo System. When following a guided session, the implementation is good and easy to read outdoors thanks to the color code, or even better indoors on a home trainer thanks to the size of the screen, so large that it is difficult to miss instructions.
The Elemnt Ace of course takes over the function Summit Freeride already seen on the Elemnt Roam, which brings a real plus to the use of the meter, especially in unfamiliar terrain, in order to manage your effort well. The display of the profile of the slope approached is here even clearer thanks to the size of the screen.
The Element Ace remains, however, less complete than Garmin's high-end devices., by not offering functions such as VO2 max estimation, Stamina, dehydration assessment, recovery time or several social interactions as is the case with the Garmin Edge 1050 and Edge 840. Functions that are not always useful for everyone, and which can ultimately sometimes complicate the use of the device.
Note that in addition to a handling and a rather intuitive use for someone like me who is not particularly geek, I have not noticed no bugs or planstagand of the meter being released during this big month of test.
=> Buy the Wahoo Elemnt Ace GPS/Meter
A really useful wind sensor?
One of the main selling points of the Wahoo Elemnt Ace is its integrated wind sensor. A real innovation on paper for this type of device. The sensor is designed to measure the effects of air resistance in real time by taking into account wind speed while you are riding. A colored background behind the wind speed number tells you if you are in a wind speed situation. Boost (your speed is favored by a tailwind or a slipstream), Dear (speed is slowed by a headwind) or neutral.
According to Wahoo, the sensor's accuracy is sensitive to the angle of mytage of the Elemnt Ace on its support. The brand recommends if possible to position the meter parallel to the ground, or at most with an angle of + 10 degrees.
In concrete terms, the box dedicated to the sensor on your menu page displays a different color depending on whether the system detects a favorable wind (light green or dark green), neutral (light blue), or contrary (orange or red). It also indicates a wind speed in km/h, but which should be compared with your actual travel speed to estimate the impact of the wind on your performance. If the air speed is greater than the travel speed, you have a headwind. If it is lower, you either have a tailwind or you benefit from a suction.
Real-time sensor data also clearly shows an effective reduction in wind speed of around 25% when you stand directly in the wheel of a companion. route, and more than 50% in the wheels of a group. This will not surprise experienced cyclists, but can actually teach a lot in terms of strategy to new riders.
And that's it. I haven't been able to get any further information from this feature. So the question of its usefulness seriously arises, and whether it should be a deciding factor in choosing the Elemnt Ace.
The fact remains that overall, even if it is still imperfect, This wind sensor promises many developments and features to come via updates, which could usher in a new era of performance optimization. Especially if Wahoo is able to turn it into a sensor capable of measuring aerodynamic drag.
=> Buy the Wahoo Elemnt Ace GPS/Meter
Tough, but attractive
The Wahoo Elemnt Ace impresses with its size and weight. And not always in a good way, because it is almost as imposing as a smartphone. Obviously, this is not the kind of device to favor in competition, or even for fans of mytagminimalist bikes. Some love its XXL screen, others dislike it.testint.
However, For cyclists looking for a tool that combines all the latest technologies to enhance their navigation experience and performance tracking, the Wahoo Elemnt Ace is an option to seriously consider..
With its giant screen, integrated wind sensor and advanced navigation features, it is a must-have companion route attractive. If the extended display is surprising at first, you quickly get used to it, to the point of having trouble doing without it. And for intensive use, I appreciated the simplicity of its interface, its reliability and the absence of bugs. Only its autonomy is a little disappointing, or at least below Wahoo's promises.
With a retail price of €599,99, the Elemnt Ace is at the top of the range of GPS bike computers, which should be compared with the €749 Garmin Edge 1050 which has a few more functions..
The meter/GPS WAHOO ELEMNT ACE in short… The pros: screen size, display, colors, readability, GPS accuracy, navigation, interface, doorbell, speaker Physical dimensions: 125 x 70 x 20 mm - Screen : touch, 16 million colors – Screen size: 3.8 inches (96,7 mm) diagonal – Screen resolution (width by height): 480 720 pixels x – GPS: dual band – Sensors: barometric altimeter, accelerometer, ambient light sensor, compass, gyroscope, dynamic wind pressure sensor, audio speaker -Battery Type : lithium-ion, rechargeable – Battery life: up to 30 hours – Charging method: usb-c cable – Base map: preloaded world maps, additional maps can be downloaded using Wi-Fi – Internal memory: Go 64 – Random access memory (RAM): Go 2 – Degree of water resistance: IPX7 (1 m for 30 minutes) – Connectivity: Bluetooth® 5.0, ANT+®, Wi-Fi® : Smartphone Compatibility: iPhone®, Android ™ - Weight : 208 g - Price: € 599,99 - Contact : wahoofitness.com |
