Wahoo hunts on Garmin land with the Elemnt Ace GPS computer ⋆ Vojo

After having carved out a place of choice in the segment of versatile and compact GPS meters, Wahoo is now tackling a new area which was until now the preserve of Garmin: large format meters. The brand is today presenting the Elemnt Ace, here is everything you need to know about it:

Let's start with the simplest: dimensions. The Elemnt Ace measures 12.6 x 7.1 cm and is 2.4 cm thick, accommodates 6 buttons as well as a 3.8″ color and touch screen (480 x 720 pixels) and officially weighs 208 g . We weighed the model shown in these photos at precisely 209.5g. Inside, the memory offers 64 GB of storage and the battery 30 hours of autonomy, data that we have not yet been able to verify.

To give some elements of comparison, the Elemnt Roam in the catalog for several years is 9.05 x 5.95 cm with a 2.7″ color screen, 32 GB storage, 17 hours of battery life, all for 94 g on the scale. It's also a little larger (or bulky, depending) in all directions and heavier than the Garmin 1040 and 1050, the direct target of this Elemnt Ace.

If the weight is in favor of Garmin, the price is however to the advantage of Wahoo: the Elemnt Ace is priced at €599.99 with a screen similar to that of the Garmin 1050, which costs €150 more.

Still in the main features section, the Wahoo Elemnt Ace displays everything you would expect from a high-end product: Wifi connection, Bluetooth 5.0 and ANT+, USB-C port, dual-band GPS for better precision or even a IPX7 protection rating (protected against the effects of temporary immersion up to 1 m pendant 30 min).

The two brands go hand in hand on the technical level, the difference (and the choice) will be made at the level of functionalities and, in this area, the Elemnt Ace brings some new features.

First, Wahoo has updated its Summit function which allows you to display a detailed profile of the climbs on your route. From now on, there is no need to load a route beforehand: the function becomes Summit Freeride and automatically recognizes the climbs that arise, like the competition.

Likewise, the screen (3.8″ or 96.7 mm, the largest on the market) becomes tactile to facilitate navigation in the menus (also possible with the 6 buttons around the screen, three below and three on the sides) or exploring the map. On the navigation side, voice guidance and live position sharing are among the new features offered by Wahoo on the Elemnt Ace.

Historically a strong point of Wahoo products, the ease of use and ergonomics of the menus will have been further improved with a new version of the “Ready-To-Ride” home screen which allows you to quickly start an activity by centralizing all important data: battery level of the different sensors or components (heart rate, power, electrical transmission, etc.), type of activity, route or even pre-recorded training session.

As always with Wahoo, the Elemnt Ace works in tandem with the Elemnt smartphone app for any tasks that require a little more time or organization like system setup, route planning or training sessions. training… It is therefore possible to do everything in advance without having the meter in your hands and to synchronize everything just before leaving.

Finally, a new addition to the market is hidden at the front of the case: a pressure sensor which allows the air resistance to be measured directly, and therefore its evolution during the outing. The brand calls it “Wahoo Wind Dynamics” and displays the influence of the wind directly on the screen, thanks to a color code: rather green if you are helped, whether by sheltering in someone's wheel or thanks to a tailwind, rather orange or even red if we are slowed down… or nothing at all if the balance is balanced and there is simply no wind at that moment. In the output analysis page, an entire tab is dedicated to this functionality to go over it in more detail.

More information: wahoofitness.com