# Wahoo Elemnt Bolt vs. Roam for bikepacking



## platplaas (Jul 6, 2020)

I am looking for a no-nonsense GPS for bikepacking trips.

In the past I've used an iPhone with a battery charging stick, but this only works when I can charge the phone / backup battery overnight.

In the most basic case: I could probably make do with a paper map and some or another minimalist GPS to give me lat lng coordinates.

I've also been looking into the Elemnt Bolt and Roam and I'm a bit uncertain about how the GPS / way-finding works and how exactly they differ. I'm hoping someone can help me understand their respective characteristics:

- The bolt seems to have basic mapping which is synced from the companion phone app. Do these synced maps still work if the phone loses power? i.e. can you still switch routes, start/stop a route, and do basic navigation without the phone (assuming the map has already been transferred to the device)? Is there enough storage on the device to store routes for several days?

- The roam has a nicer screen, but that alone doesn't seem worth the extra cost for my use-case. It boasts additional route-finding capabilities like returning to / finding the start of a route, or rejoining a route after a deviation. I'm inclined to think that I do not need this functionality - anyone else doing OK with the bolt only?

- At the end of the day I'd almost prefer not to have turn-by-turn navigation, though it would be nice if the device can record where I've been. I basically just want a line showing where the route goes and a marker of some sort showing where I am currently located. I am perfectly happy figuring out my location and turns from the map. I find I prefer this when navigating e.g. with Komoot on my iPhone as it can be annoying when the app constantly tells me I've deviated from a route or when the app tries to recalculate a route.

Any recommendations or thoughts? Other devices to consider?

Thanks!


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## MikeR91 (Aug 6, 2014)

I have an original ELEMNT, that just started giving me issues, and I ordered a BOLT to replace it. I haven't fully tested this, but my understanding is that the capabilities are the same between the two. 

The device will hold a number of routes. Easily days worth. I only ever removed synced routes to make it occasionally easier to scroll through them. Once they have been synced from the phone, they are on the device to use. The only routing option you have from the device itself, other than loading those routes, is to retrace your ride. If you want to do anything else, you need the app. If you have the app, you've got a lot of options.

Typical usage for me is to either grab a route on MTB Project or create one in Ride With GPS, and then sync it to the device. The maps are good enough for navigating streets and trails. Turn by turn on the streets works well, but I'm usually avoiding streets, so I'm more likely to be following a breadcrumb trail. A nicer screen, like the one on the ROAM, would be great, but I wasn't willing to pay for it. 

I comparison shopped to Garmin a few years ago when I bought the ELEMNT (and I replaced a Garmin at that time) and Wahoo had much better mapping for the bike computers in that price range. Much better. I'm not sure if that is still true, but I really liked my original ELEMNT so when it started to flake out, I figured I would get another one. 

Sent from my Pixel C using Tapatalk


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## twodogsfighting (May 10, 2015)

If the bolts maps are anything like the original elemnt, theyre a bit crap to be honest. very little detail.

I got a stages dash m50 because the maps and screen looked good, but it's slow as **** to lock on to gps and adding routes is painful at best. the android companion app plain just doesnt work and they don't tell you it needs a paid subscription for their web app to get any real use out of it either. It's going back for a refund for that alone.


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## platplaas (Jul 6, 2020)

Thanks for the comments.

If I simply want to see where I am on a map when not actually following a route, is it possible to get a rough idea for where I am geographically if using the Bolt?

e.g. some sort of point marker showing where I am and some sort of roads or geographic features on a map so that I can orient myself and which direction to head in?


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## Catmandoo (Dec 20, 2018)

Wahoo maps are very road centric in my opinion, is why I use a Garmin, as they allow you to add different maps to the device. I use the Garmin topo maps, but you can load free OSM version of topo. That's a ton more useful when navigating. 

In general, you can use a pre-programmed route and send it to the device, then deviate as desired by choosing to stop the navigation. I've had success with the assorted maps on RideWithGPS for some off-road gravel riding, they have multiple map types. Wahoo uses RWGPS as the base map for navigating, not sure if any of the topo maps display on the device as they do on a Garmin. 

The best use of the GPS is to show you on an on-screen map, where you are. You can then use a paper map to see the assorted trails/roads in an area and choose a route from that. The device is also then tracking where you've been, so if you take a wrong turn you can backtrack successfully, as the route shows up on the recorded track.


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## H0WL (Jan 17, 2007)

Bikepacking.com review:

WAHOO ELEMNT ROAM REVIEW (VIDEO), AFTER 5,000+ MILES

_After well over 5,000 miles of use, Neil reviews the Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM in his latest video. In addition, find a second video tutorial on how to quickly load our routes from your phone directly to the ROAM&#8230;_


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