Wahoo provides two strong biking computer systems: the $300 Elemnt Bolt, a modern, small, aerodynamic unit designed for racing; and the bigger Elemnt Roam, concerning the measurement of a pack of Marlboros, that’s designed for way-finding. The Roam had been in the marketplace for 3 years when it was up to date in October 2022. I’ve been testing this new model. 

The latest iteration of the Roam, which appears to be like precisely like its older sibling, provides dual-frequency GPS. The oversimplified clarification: twin frequency permits the GPS unit to function on two frequency bands as an alternative of 1. Single-frequency GPS gadgets supply accuracy inside 15 toes. Dual-frequency GPS gadgets supply accuracy inside centimeters. 

Where can this make a distinction? Say you’re bikepacking on poorly maintained singletrack by an aspen forest within the Rockies. With single-frequency GPS, objects like towering bushes can block or confuse the sign, which may create route inaccuracies, which may get you misplaced. That won’t be an enormous deal in an city setting the place you’ll be able to cease on the native espresso store to ask for instructions. But within the wilderness, getting off observe by 15 toes would possibly imply making an important error. 

With the strengthened twin sign, turn-by-turn navigation prompts for all maps of any file sorts—both preloaded or uploaded through apps like Strava, Komoot, or Ride with GPS—are spot-on correct. Should you one way or the other make a incorrect flip, there’s a rerouting characteristic that can rapidly get you again on observe. If you’re actually misplaced, the “breadcrumb” characteristic navigates you again to your start line even when the gadget is offline. 

Also new:  “The Summit,” color-coded gradients within the grade information discipline and elevation chart when using a third-party route or Strava phase. No surprise that Forest Service mountain street appeared ruthless and infinite: You can now see that it had a 13 p.c grade.

I appreciated the Roam’s easy-to-read display screen, which makes use of an ambient mild sensor to auto-adjust the LED backlighting. Instead of a touchscreen, there are three backside buttons that allow you to scroll between personalized screens like the primary map, close by Strava segments to deal with, and the house dashboard. That dashboard consists of miles per hour, miles ridden, clock, trip time, coronary heart fee (when paired with a coronary heart fee monitor), revolutions per minute (when paired with an influence meter), and common miles per hour. By pushing the button on the decrease proper, you’ll be able to zoom in or out on the dashboard, a wonderful characteristic for ageing eyes. 

Battery life is 17 hours on the newly upgraded Roam, roughly the identical as on the previous mannequin. That degree of stamina pales compared to the Garmin 1040 Solar, however the Wahoo continues to be a strong alternative for any endeavor below that point restrict. With an expanded 32 GB of reminiscence, there’s extra room to avoid wasting favourite routes, detailed maps of recent locations, as much as 5 structured exercises from Wahoo, in addition to deliberate exercises from accomplice apps like TrainerRoad, Training Peaks, and Today’s Plan.

One of my co-testers discovered the included handlebar clamp too hefty, with the Roam locking right into a plastic body nearly as large because the gadget itself. The laptop is unlikely to interrupt or slip out of place whereas using, however the prolonged plastic bracket feels prefer it might snap in half in a crash.