Heath
Maximum Pace
- Dec 13, 2014
- 527
- 455
Well, I finally got the time to sit myself down and write a very lengthy review of the Wahoo Elemnt cycling computer that I've been staring at endlessly amidst my rides over the past 4 months.
By the way, I haven't written this to say that you should buy the Elemnt. It's just my spiel of the situation I currently see.
So here goes, you have to consider both cases, and please do bear with me through this very, very lengthy review.
Case A: A car navigation company makes a plethora of GPS cycling computers over many years, doesn't listen to its customers when they complain about glitches with the product, and sponsors a few pro cycling teams for promotional purposes to push their product.
Case B: A group of cyclists/triathletes get together to form a company and make their first GPS cycling computer. It's very beta, and thwart with issues, but their core concern is sorting the product out, because after all, they want it to work properly for themselves out on the road, too. They respond to support tickets within days, and are active daily with their beta testers on a certain Google chat forum: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/wahoo-elemnt-users . The staff and even the company CEO chime into the chat regularly. They have, in effect, made all cyclists who use their product beta testers, but more importantly, they listen to them. They are minor sponsors of a big pro team because they are already pros and don't need to wank their product up. Their cycling computer is by no means perfect, but I reckon they are cutting their way to a game changing product.
The future will tell the tale.
By the way, from all reports the Garmin 520 is a damn good product. I have witnessed it navigating very well indeed. We need some more reviews on that in here.
By the way, I haven't written this to say that you should buy the Elemnt. It's just my spiel of the situation I currently see.
So here goes, you have to consider both cases, and please do bear with me through this very, very lengthy review.
Case A: A car navigation company makes a plethora of GPS cycling computers over many years, doesn't listen to its customers when they complain about glitches with the product, and sponsors a few pro cycling teams for promotional purposes to push their product.
Case B: A group of cyclists/triathletes get together to form a company and make their first GPS cycling computer. It's very beta, and thwart with issues, but their core concern is sorting the product out, because after all, they want it to work properly for themselves out on the road, too. They respond to support tickets within days, and are active daily with their beta testers on a certain Google chat forum: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/wahoo-elemnt-users . The staff and even the company CEO chime into the chat regularly. They have, in effect, made all cyclists who use their product beta testers, but more importantly, they listen to them. They are minor sponsors of a big pro team because they are already pros and don't need to wank their product up. Their cycling computer is by no means perfect, but I reckon they are cutting their way to a game changing product.
The future will tell the tale.
By the way, from all reports the Garmin 520 is a damn good product. I have witnessed it navigating very well indeed. We need some more reviews on that in here.