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Elemnt Bolt - turn locations wrong

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Elemnt Bolt - turn locations wrong

Old 09-10-19, 06:49 AM
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billyymc
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Elemnt Bolt - turn locations wrong

So I've been using an Elemnt Bolt for a month or so without any issues.

But this past weekend (Sunday Sept 8), during a long ride, it consistently thought I was missing my turns. So at every turn I'd get a notification (the turn-by-turn) which was fine, then about 50 to 70 yards prior to the turn the Bolt would start flashing red indicating it thought I had missed my turn. It did this at every single turn, and seemed consistent about the distance at which it decided I should have turned.

Once I made my turn it signaled I was back on track (flashing green).

I haven't tried it since then but will later. Is this a relatively normal occurrence with a GPS - it just gets a little off for a particular ride?
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Old 09-10-19, 08:14 AM
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Originally Posted by billyymc
So I've been using an Elemnt Bolt for a month or so without any issues.

But this past weekend (Sunday Sept 8), during a long ride, it consistently thought I was missing my turns. So at every turn I'd get a notification (the turn-by-turn) which was fine, then about 50 to 70 yards prior to the turn the Bolt would start flashing red indicating it thought I had missed my turn. It did this at every single turn, and seemed consistent about the distance at which it decided I should have turned.

Once I made my turn it signaled I was back on track (flashing green).

I haven't tried it since then but will later. Is this a relatively normal occurrence with a GPS - it just gets a little off for a particular ride?
Take a closer look at how your routes were created. If you use RWGPS you really need to zoom in and make sure it doesn’t auto populate a leg incorrectly which is not readily apparent while zoomed out while you are drawing lines.
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Old 09-10-19, 08:21 AM
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Originally Posted by jadocs
Take a closer look at how your routes were created. If you use RWGPS you really need to zoom in and make sure it doesn’t auto populate a leg incorrectly which is not readily apparent while zoomed out while you are drawing lines.
Nope, it didn't do that. This was a rural route - not other places to turn. Plus I rode part of the route a couple days before and had no issues with the GPS.
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Old 09-18-19, 07:44 AM
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I did the NYC Century just last week and my Bolt was also doing that. I figured it was just that the route wasn't drawn correctly, maybe using the highway instead of the bike lane adjacent to it. I had to turn off the sounds as it did it so much. My partner said I sounded like a video game on a bike. So after the ride I created another ride myself using RWGPS and was careful to make sure that I was on the bike lanes. Same thing happened. It was constantly flashing red and then back to green, and not only around the turns. My guess here is that there was an update that tightened the off-track warning. It really doesn't need to be that tight though. I have no idea what the threshold is, but maybe it should be user adjustable, or maybe it already is but we just don't know about it. Is it 10', 25', 50' or what? And yet when I look at my ride afterwards it looks like I'm tracking right with my drawn route, except where I purposely deviated.

Another issue is that city GPS is notoriously spotty. The GPS sensor built into the Bolt probably isn't the strongest due to power requirements. On a rural route that shouldn't be an issue.

I'm going to check if Wahoo has a message board somewhere to bring it up. I know they have a Facebook group for the Kickr.
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Old 09-20-19, 01:25 PM
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Just to add to this: on my last gravel ride, I downloaded the map file from RidewithGPS. The Bolt displayed the route on its map correctly. However, its cue sheet seemed off. The turn by turn directions were definitely wrong. I would get the turn notification a couple minutes after I arrived at the turn. This was within about 50 miles of a major metro area, so I didn't think that GPS was an issue. On a previous gravel ride in a small town, I got correct turn by turn notifications. I suspect it was an issue with RWGPS or with the way the ride organizer drew the map.
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Old 09-21-19, 05:04 AM
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Originally Posted by zacster
I did the NYC Century just last week and my Bolt was also doing that. I figured it was just that the route wasn't drawn correctly, maybe using the highway instead of the bike lane adjacent to it. I had to turn off the sounds as it did it so much. My partner said I sounded like a video game on a bike. So after the ride I created another ride myself using RWGPS and was careful to make sure that I was on the bike lanes. Same thing happened. It was constantly flashing red and then back to green, and not only around the turns. My guess here is that there was an update that tightened the off-track warning. It really doesn't need to be that tight though. I have no idea what the threshold is, but maybe it should be user adjustable, or maybe it already is but we just don't know about it. Is it 10', 25', 50' or what? And yet when I look at my ride afterwards it looks like I'm tracking right with my drawn route, except where I purposely deviated.

Another issue is that city GPS is notoriously spotty. The GPS sensor built into the Bolt probably isn't the strongest due to power requirements. On a rural route that shouldn't be an issue.

I'm going to check if Wahoo has a message board somewhere to bring it up. I know they have a Facebook group for the Kickr.
Did you ever get any more insight on this? Mine still seems to be off...I'm ready to send it back and try a Garmin. It was working perfectly for the first several rides and now every single turn it thinks I should turn way befor the turn.
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Old 09-21-19, 05:13 AM
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is the inaccuracy more than 30 meters? Do you have Glasnost turned on?
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Old 09-21-19, 07:20 AM
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Originally Posted by unterhausen
is the inaccuracy more than 30 meters? Do you have Glasnost turned on?
yes, and I don't knwo what Glasnost is!

If the inaccuracy varied - ie. - not always before the turn but sometimes after - it would make more sense to me. It's always about 70 yards before the turn.

Edit to add - just found this issue in a Wahoo Google group - seems like it's a known issue, reported to teh company and being worked.

Last edited by billyymc; 09-21-19 at 07:28 AM.
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Old 09-21-19, 08:07 AM
  #9  
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Originally Posted by billyymc
yes, and I don't knwo what Glasnost is!

If the inaccuracy varied - ie. - not always before the turn but sometimes after - it would make more sense to me. It's always about 70 yards before the turn.

Edit to add - just found this issue in a Wahoo Google group - seems like it's a known issue, reported to teh company and being worked.
Is there a link to the group? I'd like to take a look. I didn't find anything myself but I didn't look very hard either.
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Old 09-21-19, 08:13 AM
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Originally Posted by billyymc
yes, and I don't knwo what Glasnost is!

If the inaccuracy varied - ie. - not always before the turn but sometimes after - it would make more sense to me. It's always about 70 yards before the turn.

Edit to add - just found this issue in a Wahoo Google group - seems like it's a known issue, reported to teh company and being worked.
Just saw this on the Bolt firmware update page:

ELEMNT WR48-6025 - 20 September, 2019
  • Improved off-route notifications


Maybe they fixed it yesterday.
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Old 09-21-19, 08:57 AM
  #11  
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Originally Posted by zacster
Just saw this on the Bolt firmware update page:

ELEMNT WR48-6025 - 20 September, 2019
  • Improved off-route notifications


Maybe they fixed it yesterday.

I just updated mine. Doing a ride in the morning so I'll post back here on the results. It worked fine up until a couple weeks ago.

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!fo...o-elemnt-users
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Old 09-21-19, 01:17 PM
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Originally Posted by billyymc
yes, and I don't knwo what Glasnost is!
it's a leftover word in my memory that's not related to position. i meant Glonass

good thing they seem to have found the problem
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Old 09-21-19, 03:10 PM
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I took mine for a spin, doing the same ride where I first noticed the issue. It worked just fine, no more off-route warnings except when I really went off route, so maybe they have this all fixed.

I don't use the TBT much anyway, just when I'm doing a group ride where they publish the route on RWGPS. I otherwise know my way around and don't need it, nor do I ever stick to my original planned route. There is always a new pizza joint, bar, sight, park, new companion, or something that takes me off the trail.
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Old 09-23-19, 03:49 AM
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zacster - I took my wahoo out yesterday and it worked fine, back to normal. I can't imagine how Wahoo screwed it up so badly with their last update!

I love the TBT - it's why I bought the unit actually. Lately I've been doing a lot of gravel rides, one recent one of 111 miles and 11,000 feet of climbing, and some of them have pretty complex routes. Very thankful the TBT is working correctly again.
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Old 09-23-19, 07:04 AM
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If you go through the Elemnt Firmware Update History, the big update came on April 15th, and they've basically been fixing stuff ever since. They've only added three functional elements since then, everything else, repairs to whatever they broke. I use TBT quite sparingly, so I never noticed any issues. I did notice that I just updated mine for the 3rd time this month.

I spent a year with a Hammerhead Karoo, which had the best hardware on the market, and software written by people who apparently don't know how to make anything work. Updates would utterly break the unit-- it would forget how to use sensors, randomly reboot, TBT would go absolutely berserk. The software battery management still hasn't been sorted out-- I would have one ride at 6% use per hour, and a couple days later it would use 30% per hour. The Wahoo is incomparably stable.
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Old 09-23-19, 07:48 AM
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Originally Posted by DrIsotope
If you go through the Elemnt Firmware Update History, the big update came on April 15th, and they've basically been fixing stuff ever since. They've only added three functional elements since then, everything else, repairs to whatever they broke. I use TBT quite sparingly, so I never noticed any issues. I did notice that I just updated mine for the 3rd time this month.

I spent a year with a Hammerhead Karoo, which had the best hardware on the market, and software written by people who apparently don't know how to make anything work. Updates would utterly break the unit-- it would forget how to use sensors, randomly reboot, TBT would go absolutely berserk. The software battery management still hasn't been sorted out-- I would have one ride at 6% use per hour, and a couple days later it would use 30% per hour. The Wahoo is incomparably stable.
Thanks DrI. All I know is I did a ride with the Bolt on Friday Sept 6. It worked fine, recognizing my turn locations as it always had. Then two days later I did another ride - the first 25 miles of which were the exact same route I did two days prior, and it had a problem recognizing that I wasn't yet at my turn, as well as thinking i was off-route in many places where there was not turn.

All good now.
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Old 10-13-19, 08:42 AM
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How do you guys like the bolt? I'll be buying a computer before next season. This is my first gps computer. I have been comparing the bolt and the roam. Either will far exceed my needs. I ride alot of the same routes and try to get 100 miles a week but due to work it's just not always possible. Mainly I want the capability to upload to my strava account and to be able to load maps for group rides. I feel the bolt bundle will be more than sufficient but am really attracted to the larger color screen of the roam. I'm 46 and my eyes are getting tired. I'll take all the help I can get.
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Old 10-13-19, 08:45 AM
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I bought my Bolt right when the Roam was announced. A color screen on a bike GPS is an absolute extravagance, and is not needed, IMO. The Bolt will do what you need, and at ~10 hours a week, the battery will last a week and a half.
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Old 10-13-19, 09:56 AM
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Originally Posted by DrIsotope
I bought my Bolt right when the Roam was announced. A color screen on a bike GPS is an absolute extravagance, and is not needed, IMO. The Bolt will do what you need, and at ~10 hours a week, the battery will last a week and a half.
Having used a Bolt as well as Garmins, I can state I much prefer color over B&W. Roads, rivers, parks? Etc.... are easier to visualize in color. Never going back to b&w
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Old 10-13-19, 02:27 PM
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I spent a year with a Hammerhead Karoo, which has unparalleled screen quality-- the best color screen on the GPS market. I switched to the Bolt and am never going back. For me, a breadcrumb trail is enough, and it doesn't need to be in color for me to use it. So long as the software is stable, the appearance is secondary at best. The Bolt has the added bonus of using the LEDs for upcoming turn indication. I use that more than anything else.
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Old 10-13-19, 07:49 PM
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I've had this sort of thing happen on my Lezyne computer. While the turn-by-turn instructions were off, the map was correct...So I just leave it set to the map page, if I am having this problem on an unfamiliar route.
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Old 10-14-19, 04:59 AM
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Originally Posted by DrIsotope
I spent a year with a Hammerhead Karoo, which has unparalleled screen quality-- the best color screen on the GPS market. I switched to the Bolt and am never going back. For me, a breadcrumb trail is enough, and it doesn't need to be in color for me to use it. So long as the software is stable, the appearance is secondary at best. The Bolt has the added bonus of using the LEDs for upcoming turn indication. I use that more than anything else.
How does the led indicate turns? Never having used one that sounds like a nice feature to have while riding?
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Old 10-14-19, 07:06 AM
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The Bolt has a row of LEDs above the screen. During TBT navigation, when you get ~100m from your turn, the Bolt makes an audio cue, and the LEDs start flashing in the direction of your turn. It's neat.

Now I'm not trying to oversell how Wahoo does navigation on the Elemnt/Bolt-- it's fairly bare bones, but for me it's easy to follow. For full featured nav you're going to want a more navigation-oriented unit, like a Karoo or an Edge 1030. Both of those are significantly more expensive than the Bolt (the 1030 is more than double) and come with their own issues, mostly battery related. The Bolt works flawlessly as an everyday bike computer, does serviceable navigation in either breadcrumb or TBT, and has a ~15 hour battery. I maintain that it's the best unit at the pricepoint.
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Old 10-14-19, 07:45 AM
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Originally Posted by DrIsotope
The Bolt has a row of LEDs above the screen. During TBT navigation, when you get ~100m from your turn, the Bolt makes an audio cue, and the LEDs start flashing in the direction of your turn. It's neat.

Now I'm not trying to oversell how Wahoo does navigation on the Elemnt/Bolt-- it's fairly bare bones, but for me it's easy to follow. For full featured nav you're going to want a more navigation-oriented unit, like a Karoo or an Edge 1030. Both of those are significantly more expensive than the Bolt (the 1030 is more than double) and come with their own issues, mostly battery related. The Bolt works flawlessly as an everyday bike computer, does serviceable navigation in either breadcrumb or TBT, and has a ~15 hour battery. I maintain that it's the best unit at the pricepoint.
One of the improvements (that you admittedly pay good money for) on the 1030 is much better battery life. In theory upwards of 20 hrs when just tracking, no navigating. I’ve seen this. That’s somewhat better than a Wahoo and better than most of the other Garmins.

Of course Garmin then went and fixed a few things in OS 8 and in doing so dropped the battery life down to 12-15.

Sigh.

EDIT; and went to 10% use on a 2 hr. ride today, no navigating, a speed sensor and Di2 connection, so back to the rated life, go figure

Last edited by Steve B.; 10-14-19 at 03:15 PM.
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Old 10-14-19, 01:53 PM
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Seems like the bolt has really good features. Obviously way more that I will need or use.
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