Road Fan

Yesterday I ventured out for the second time in about a year and first time solo in a long time. It the actual first time with Mrs Road Fan, who's climbing fitness was far better than mine. I have to do a bunch of rides on my own to improve climbing, get re-acclimated, and just sort out my fits. I went out yesterday about 5 miles, typical Ann Arbor hills but with my new 46/30 and 13/34 2x7 gearing installed, which makes them livable as I just get moving again. Now I think I want to record these little rides and the longer ones. I have a Wahoo Element but never really learned to use it. I used to use Map My Ride, but it does not seem to be friendly with Wahoo. Is Ride With GPS better with Wahoo? Who does this kind of simple ride mapping and tracking, and what is the easiest way to get going?

I mainly want to put the rides on a good quality map, measure distance, record time, and see grade. I don't want to write down numbers in a notebook. As time goes on I might want to do Training Peaks or something for some more disciplined analysis and to add a little structure to training. If I could use this collected data, I think that would be good.

TakingMyTime

Follow these instructions... It appears they have an app that will record and present all the data your interested in.

https://support.wahoofitness.com/hc/...ave-a-Workout-

Iride01 

When I want to send a ride to RWGPS to look at, I manually select it and upload it through my computer. However I don't think your Wahoo Element allows for a manual connection directly to the device via a USB cable, so you are pretty much stuck with having to use a phone app.

Garmin and probably some other devices let you use the USB to communicate ride data and stuff directly to your computer. So you might consider that ability if you decide to look for something else.

Otherwise, have you gone through RWGPS's help for the Wahoo Element? https://ridewithgps.com/help/wahoo-elemnt

SammyJ 

CycleMeter, without sensors, you get map, speed, distance, with sensors you get cadence, heart rate, and the customer support is second to none. It is the BEST app for cycling

John_V 

With any of the Wahoo computers (except the Mini) you set up a WiFi connection to your home network using the companion app. Once done, you don't need anything connected to the bike computer to upload rides to Strava, RWGPS, and several other selected sites. Once your bike computer is within WiFi range, turn it on and it uploads the rides to the selected sites automatically. Downloading routes from selected sites, such as RWGPS, can also be done from within the device without the need to be connected to a phone or home computer.

John_V 

Online instructions for your Elemnt are located here: Instructions for Elemnt GPS Bike Computers. I'm assuming that you have the companion app on your phone and paired to the device or you wouldn't be able to see anything other than a scan code on your Elemnt. The Elemnt is really pretty simple to use. You can use the default screens or customize them any way you want. The choice is yours. When your ride is complete, it will send the route map and ride data to your companion app automatically so you can see how you did. It can also send the route map and ride data to 3rd party sites such as Strava or RWGPS, among others, if you have an account with those sites..

BlazingPedals

Get a free Strava account. That way I can follow you.You probably don't want to see my rides, though.

ride_furthur

I just use my Garmin Vivoactive 3 which is synced with Strava. I can use the same device for tracking rides, runs and paddling.

Classtime 

Strava quit recording HR a while back. Now, on rides where I am tracking HR, I record with Whahoo and touch one button to upload to Strava where everything else has been recorded since my OHSs 9 years ago.

BlazingPedals

You mean your Garmin stopped recording HR? I have an Edge 500 and a Garmin watch. I wish both had more battery life, but they work OK. And yes Strava still records HR - if the data is available.

Classtime 

I used to strap on my HR monitor, hit the record button in Strava on my iPhone, and head out on my ride. When I got back, and hit end, everything was there. Then a few.months ago, HR stopped being recorded by Strava. Now, if I want to re ord HR data on a ride, I ride with Whahoo and then upload the ride data to Strava. Strava said they had trouble doing the HR thing and handed it off to Whahoo and others.

So you can ride and Record HR with Whahoo or Garmin and then upload to Strava but Strava used to do it without them.

Road Fan

For the esteemed colleague who sent me a like, thank you, because that reminded me of this thread and where to find it! For all the rest, especially Blazing, perhaps with some tips I'll be able to keep up with you for a km on the downhill, but no, I will not be intimidated by your times! Having ridden OHR with you (well .... we started it together! then I think I caught you later by cheating on rest stops or something, lol!), I know what to expect!

I think I'll try Free Strava first.

Anyone have experience with the upgraded versions of the Wahoo Elemnt hardware? I want to put something simpler (than the full Elemnt) but still useful on Mrs. Road Fan's bike, too. She doesn't really care about biometrics, but she will get a kick out of navi and knowing how far she went. We're so typical - she is nervous if she doesn't know where we are and have been, and I'm oblivious and just enjoying the ride or drive as long as I have a vague clue or two about how to get home or back to the car or whatever our base is at the moment.

John_V 

Not sure what you mean by "upgraded versions of the Wahoo Elemnt Hardware?" Are you referring to sensors or the Bolt and Roam computers, which are in the Elemnt line of computers?

Road Fan

I have an elemnt bought three or more years ago. Lately I looked at their site and I see several new models. When I bought mine there was an Elemnt and a Bolt, plus sensors. Newer than those.

John_V 

The only newer computer in the Wahoo line is the Roam. Wahoo has actually dropped the Elemnt and the Mini from their line so your choices with Wahoo are the Roam or the Bolt. I have a Bolt, which uses the same firmware as the Elemnt. They have added quite a few new features to their firmware, including compatibility with Garmin Varia Radars. This is a big upgrade if you do a lot of road specific riding. I don't seem to feel safe any more when riding on roads without my radar. They have also added a few new heart rate monitors to their line but the newer models are more runner specific than cycling specific. No major changes in their speed/cadence sensors.

Besides the price tag between the Roam and the Bolt, the major difference is the larger color screen. I think the screen on the Roam is the same size as it is on the Elemnt and the battery life is the same as well. The minor differences between the two are (from the Wahoo website) related to navigation:

Get Me Started (route to starting point): Roam = On-device, Bolt = No
Back On Track (on-demand rerouting): Roam = On-device, Bolt = No
Route To Start (shortest route): Roam = On-device, Bolt = No
Take Me To (on-demand route generation): Roam = On-device, Bolt = Via ELEMNT Companion App
Retrace Route (breadcrumb trails): Roam = On-device, Bolt = Via ELEMNT Companion App
Saved Locations: Roam = On-device, Bolt = Via ELEMNT Companion App

So there's really only three routing things that the Roam does that the Bolt doesn't.

bruce19

This is why I'm on Strava.

BlazingPedals

RF, what name will you use on Strava? Road Fan seems to be available, which means either you haven't registered or you're using something else.

Road Fan

Hi, haven't started yet, several other projects going on here at the same time .

Hondo Gravel

I use an old fashion notebook with a pencil. Doing that for 25 years and it is accurate. I think