*Photo courtesy of Wahoo Fitness

Wahoo Fitness - The Brand

What started as a hobby project creating cycling-focused sensors that were compatible with iPhones in 2009 quickly evolved into being one of the major players in cycling tech. What began as a small company making Bluetooth and ANT+ speed/cadence sensors and HR monitors expanded to making an industry leading smart trainers, cycling computers, and acquiring brands like Speedplay pedals. 

Timed appropriately, Wahoo also purchased indoor training ride software companies in 2020, just as the momentum of indoor trainer apps was exploding. Most recently, the brand has even launched into running tech - bringing their indoor training expertise to one of the most innovative treadmill updates in a long while. 

Today, however, we're here to talk about their current cycling computer lineup. We'll talk about what the pros and cons are for each model and why a rider might pick one model over the other depending on their ride style. 

The Lineup:

Elemnt Bolt 3 vs Roam 3 vs ACE

All three computers share the same software and display performance. They'll all also connect to the Wahoo app, Wahoo speed & cadence sensors, as well as Wahoo KICKR smart trainers. If you upload your rides to any third-party apps like Strava, TrainerRoad, Ride with GPS, etc...

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TL;DR: Wahoo Bike Computer Comparison (Elemnt Bolt 3 vs Roam 3 vs ACE)

• Wahoo Elemnt Bolt 3 – Best for racers and riders who want a minimally sized, lightweight, button-controlled bike computer with core training metrics and up to 20 hours of battery life.
• Wahoo Elemnt Roam 3 – The best value for most riders, offering a larger touchscreen display, improved navigation, audio alerts, and up to 25 hours of battery life.
• Wahoo Elemnt ACE – The most advanced Wahoo bike computer, built for long-distance and adventure riding with the largest screen, up to 30 hours of battery life, and wind sensor data.

Wahoo Elemnt spec comparison:

Wahoo Elemnt size comparison:

Wahoo Elemnt Bolt 3

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We'll start with the smallest, lightest, and least expensive, the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt 3. Sure, it's the least expensive computer in the Wahoo lineup, but regardless of your budget, it still might be the best choice for you. If you're looking for ride and training metrics in the slimmest and lightest package, the Bolt 3 is your jam. Looking at you, racers. 20 hours of battery life is plenty for most riders. Unless you're doing massive tours or races like Unbound XL, you should be good. The lack of touch screen may also be a perk for some. Thick gloves, sweaty hands, and rainy weather, are just a few examples of times touch screens don't necessarily work as intended. If you want confident controls in all conditions - the Bolt 3 wins again. 

If you need bigger battery, bigger screen, and easier map navigation check out the Roam 3 or ACE below. 

Wahoo Elemnt Roam 3

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The Wahoo Elemnt Roam 3 sits in the middle of the lineup. Personally, I've found this is often where you get the best bang for your buck (think SRAM Force, Shimano Ultegra). The Wahoo Elemnt Roam 3 is a small jump in price over the Elemnt Bolt 3 but brings quite a bit more to the table. The Roam 3 is slighter larger, which gives you a bigger display (great for mapping), a touch screen, 5hrs average more of battery life, and audio prompts from the head unit. 

With the Elemnt Roam 3 getting a bigger screen it makes more sense to have touch screen capability to easily navigate the map. If you're going on long adventures and exploring new areas, this benefit plus the longer battery life will quickly justify the $115 jump from the Roam 3. 

Wahoo Elemnt Ace 

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The top-shelf, premium, creme-de-la-creme of Wahoo Elemnt bike computers - the Wahoo Elemnt ACE. The ACE packs the most features into Wahoo's largest cycling computer. The large unit allows Wahoo to deliver the best battery life in the range (up to 30hrs per charge) as well as the easiest to read and use touch screen display. All great things. The only potential down side to the size is if you're concerned about weight and aerodynamics. 

For perspective, the Elemnt ACE is roughly the size of an iPhone 10 - about an inch shorter and a hair narrower than the iPhone 17. 

Along with extended battery life and the upgrades highlighted in the Elemnt Roam 3, the ACE also features a wind sensor to incorporate wind resistance into your training metrics. This is getting a bit into the weeds for training metrics, but for the athlete wanting to see how much their watts were influenced by wind - the Elemnt ACE will deliver. 

For most riders, the big upgrades in the ACE are the larger screen and extended battery life. It's $160 more than the Elemnt Roam 3 ($275 more than Elemnt Bolt 3).

Which Wahoo Elemnt bike computer is best for you? 

When you divvy the cost to upgrade over hundreds of rides and thousands of miles it's not hard to justify the price jump to either the Roam 3 or the ACE. However, if you simply want your computer to show you metrics in as minimal of a package as possible, you can save a few bucks and get more of what you're after with the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt 3. 

For the ultimate explorers needing maximum battery life and easiest to use navigation, splurge for the Wahoo Elemnt ACE.

If you want a plenty large, easy to navigate touchscreen, audio speaker alerts, and great battery life, but don't need quite as much as the Elemnt ACE, the Wahoo Elemnt Roam 3 delivers an incredible value for the price. 

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