Wahoo Elemnt Ace review: Struggling to keep pace

The Wahoo Elemnt Ace is the latest cycling GPS computer from Wahoo. Sporting the largest screen ever seen on a cycling computer, it aims to bring the fight to Garmin and Hammerhead whose Edge 1050 and Karoo 3 respectively have had the premium end of the market sewn up in 2024. Alongside the huge screen, the Elemnt Ace claims a 30 hour battery life and a wind sensor to hopefully edge out the competition.

I’ve put nearly 500km on the device, riding my local routes and gravel in far flung corners of Scotland testing everything from navigation to training tools to see if the Elemnt Ace deserves pride of place on your handlebars. Spoiler alert, it doesn't at the moment but with software updates it could become a powerhouse.

Wahoo Elemnt Ace review

Price and availability

The Wahoo Elemnt Ace costs £549/ $599.99/ AU$999.95 and is available now from Wahoo UK, Wahoo US, and Wahoo AU.

Design and build quality

Measuring 3.8”, the Wahoo Elemnt Ace's display is wider and a touch taller than the Edge 1050 and considerably larger than the 3.2” on the Karoo 3. I found the screen to be quite disappointing, though. Peak brightness is noticeably less than that of the Garmin or Karoo 3, which makes it tricky to see in anything but bright sun. I also found it to be the least responsive of the three, something which was very noticeable, having driven a Karooo 3 daily for the past six months.

The overall size of the device is also huge It’s considerably larger than the Karoo 3 and Edge 1050 and feels it, too; the Elemnt Ace weighs 208g. For context, the Karoo 3 weighs 118g, and the Edge 1050 is 161g. The size and weight will likely cause some issues for those with integrated computer mounts; I found even the metal mount that came in the box occasionally slipped when riding over rough terrain.

Wahoo opted to retain its traditional button layout, so you can still navigate the device with gloves on, which is very welcome. The line of LEDs across the top of the screen has gone, though. These could display navigation prompts or a visual indication of power and heart rate zones.

Wind Sensor

One of the most interesting features of the device is the inclusion of a wind sensor, something that has never been seen before. There was much speculation about what the data could be used for pre launch, could this be the start of affordable aero data, could riders see with aerodynamic drag (CDa) in real time?

Unfortunately, no. The wind sensor feeds data into Wahoo’s Wind Dynamics metric, which essentially tells you whether you're riding into a headwind or tailwind and how drafting will affect you. Aside from usually being well aware of whether I'm riding into a headwind or when I’m drafting, the way the data is presented baffles me.

The Elemnt Ace measures the airspeed vs groundspeed to determine the effect of the wind; however, this effect is not displayed as clearly as I think it should be, as it shows the raw figure for airspeed against a coloured backdrop that ranges from blue to red via green to indicate ‘AirBoost or AirDrag” as Wahoo put it. I would much prefer the data field to display the windspeed relative to my speed to determine the speed of the wind.

For example, if I’m riding at 35kph and the windspeed is 25kph, I want the computer to tell me I’ve got a 10kph tailwind rather than having to work it out in my head. Instead, the Elemnt Ace displays a colour that relates to a wide window of airspeed. This then still boils down to the fact that if the headwind is strong enough, then I’ll certainly be aware of it.

If Wahoo can bring some additional functionality, such as measuring wind direction and overlaying this onto your active route to indicate when you'll have a headwind, then I can see this being a very useful feature, but currently, it’s a bit of a gimmick.

Mapping

Having grumbled and moaned about the whopping size of the Elemnt Ace, the mapping and navigation does make up for it. The maps look beautiful, they’re colourful and packed with detail without being overwhelming. The shape of the screen is wider than the Karoo 3 and Edge 1050 so theres more peripheral vision on the map which does make a difference. Navigation is excellent too, with chevrons marking the route which also makes it easier to work out which way the route is going if it crosses over for example. The chevrons also change colour to indicate climbs and how severe they are which is a nice touch. Load up a route and you can choose between a map and cue sheet. Turn by turn navigation on the map is rich with information such as road names and distance to turn. It's also possible to display different layers on the map such as points of interest, road names and custom waypoints.

However it’s at this point things start to fall apart. Again. It’s currently not possible to sort routes on the device, they appear to be default sorted by date added which isn’t the worst way to sort but why is alphabetical or distance or elevation not an option to sort by?

The Elemnt Ace offers on device routing and you can add saved locations to quickly and easily generate routes to regularly visited locations.=, but it’s not possible to give these places custom names like ‘home’ or ‘cafe’, instead it uses the road name as the title. It’s not a deal breaker but why can’t I rename them?

The Elemnt Ace can pull routes from a number of sources such as Strava, Komoot, Ride with GPS and many others, as well as from the Wahoo App but more on that shortly. The device can connect to WiFi so automatically syncs with your route platform of choice which I found to work quickly and reliably.

App Dependency

Both Hammerhead and Garmin offer a companion app that makes loading routes onto their respective devices much easier, along with a host of other features. However, I’ve found the Elemnt Ace to be overly dependent on the Wahoo App. On-device settings and customisation are limited, and the app is needed to change data fields and settings, which I found to be infuriating.

On a few occasions, I rode along and wondered how much climbing remained on my route, what temperature it was or when the sunset was. I could delve into the settings and add the relevant data field in a few taps on a Garmin or Hammerhead device. On the Elemnt Ace, I had to pull out my phone, open the Wahoo app, confirm the device was connected via Bluetooth and then add the data field. Why do I need to use my phone? Just let me do it on the device!

The Bell

One of my favourite features on the Elemnt Ace is the bell. It’s so simple and yes I know garmin has had this feature but it’s something that's genuinely really useful.

Bugs and glitches

As one might expect with any new piece of technology, there will always be teething issues, but the Elemnt Ace feels like it’s still in late-stage testing.

There are a raft of software updates scheduled for early 2025, which will introduce Strava Live Segments and LiveTrack, as well as UI and UX tweaks to enhance the overall experience.

One thing that really irritated me was the elevation page, which has an elevation chart. On the front of the box, this shows the entire route, but on the device, there is no way to show the elevation of the full route; instead, it's restricted to 2km. It’s a small thing, but to me, it shows that Wahoo has rushed this device to market.

I had a few issues with sensor pairing. Unless the sensor was powered on before switching the Elemnt Ace on, it simply wouldn't connect. I also found that it would only connect to a maximum of two sensors most of the time. I can’t confirm whether this was caused by the sensors not being switched on when the device was booted, but it was frustrating nonetheless.

Verdict

On paper, the Elemnt Ace is the ultimate cycling computer: it offers mighty battery life, a huge screen, and excellent navigation. Delve a little deeper and spend some time riding with the device, and that perception shifts. In my opinion, it’s too big.

The front of the device is almost level with the hoods. The screen isn't as responsive or bright as the competition's, the wind sensor is little more than a gimmick, and parts of the software feel half-finished.

Excellent mapping and navigation go part way to clawing back some brownie points, but unfortunately, not enough. Until Wahoo refines the Elemnt Ace with software updates, I’d steer clear.

Also consider

The Hammerhead Karoo 3 is my personal favourite of the latest generation of cycling computers. At £449, it has a beautiful screen and a smaller form factor, and I’ve found it just works when I need it. For those embedded in the Garmin ecosystem, the Edge 1050 is hard to beat for features, and if you need ultimate battery life, then the Edge 1040 Solar is unparalleled with 30 hours of battery life, up to 90 hours in battery saver mode.