Wahoo ELEMNT Companion

I bought the Wahoo Element on a whim, simply because I wanted to get a different computer for my backup bike and didn’t want to pay too much and a few friends told me Wahoos were good. Well, this computer is probably the best purchase I’ve made and I’m considering switching it to my main bike and replace my Garmin 530. The setup was absolutely the easiest and super intuitive. I was also able to buy a speed, as well as a cadence sensor from another company and that too took minutes. I was also able to pair it with my Garmin HR monitor. What else could I ask for? About the only advantage the Garmin has is color and it’s not like the color on a Garmin is HD! I can see everything clearly and the menus are fantastic to run through. I’ve had my Garmin for 2 years and I still can’t run through it as easily as I do on the Wahoo. The buttons are well placed and the case isn’t so clunky. My only legitimate complaint is that I had to buy the lanyard separately and getting the right one was a hassle. The Garmin does come with the lanyard. Other than those minor issues, I would recommend that anyone who wants to get a fantastic computer and just throw it on the bike and get a ton of features, get a Wahoo.

The wahoo element device is a wonderful precise companion to riding. I have enjoyed using it outdoors as well as indoors it pairs with the wahoo heart rate monitor, cadence and speed sensors without incident. I would highly recommend the device. As far as a company and the customer service, this is the worst I’ve ever experienced. Wahoo uses fake refunds to entice people to purchase their device at full retail price. They promised a refund which entices the purchase but never deliver the refund. Wahoo company uses manipulative restrictive conditions to reject any attempt at receiving the rebate that is promised. When speaking with customer service representatives they are insensitive to any attempts to make good the wrong of rejecting the rebate. Even threats of buying a competitor’s product only receive “go ahead they’re more expensive” as a reply. When trying to appeal to their reasonableness the responses “whatever do what you think you need to do.”

Sometimes it records my ride. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it pairs up right away. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it gives me a snapshot of my ride at the end. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it sends the map link to my emergency contact. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes I get a black screen telling me the ride is starting only for the screen to stay like that for 3-5 minutes at a time and not starting. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes my app and computer tell me I rode the exact amount of miles. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it stays connected through the whole ride. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes I have to start it multiple times during my ride. Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I get the map of my route. Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes it tells me everything - Tickr, cadence and speedometer - are all connected and ready to go and synched with my phone, but when I end my ride, none of the information uploaded to the app. That’s been my whole experience with Wahoo. It does what it wants when it wants. I have addressed this with Wahoo already. They were kind enough to send me a new computer after I told them all of the steps I took to troubleshoot the problems several times, to include deleting and reinstalling the app and factory resetting it three times. The new computer is giving me the same issues as the last one. Only had the old one for a little over a year and the new one for a few weeks. I just can’t with this inconsistencies anymore. Time to move on to a more reliable apparatus.