Gravel Grinder News: Wahoo Announces Elemnt Ace GPS

Note: Information and images used in this post were provided by Wahoo Fitness.

Wahoo Fitness' new Elemnt ACE GPS.

 In perhaps one of the most recent "worst kept secrets" in cycling, today Wahoo Fitness officially announces their newest GPS device for cycling called Elemnt ACE. 

This new GPS device features several new features never before seen on any Wahoo GPS device. It also features the largest screen size in cycling GPS devices currently available. Added to this is a new cloud-based connectivity and we have a lot to go over here with this new device. 

Features:

 Let's dive right in here with a bullet point list of the Elemnt ACE features. 

• A super-sized, Best-In-Class Screen: that will be largest in category, with best-in-class TFT screen to enable better visibility for navigation and data visualization

• Up to 30+ hour Battery Life: this will keep riders connected and informed from start to finish.

•  CATEGORY FIRST - Integrated Wind Sensor: introducing Wahoo Wind Dynamics™ (WWD) to measure the effects of air resistance in real time and post ride, to quantify how wind and drafting are impacting your ride and measure one of cycling’s most critical forces

• Improved User Experience: new touchscreen to complement buttons for ease of use, plus brand new modern operating system to make it easier than ever to control your ride, and a premium aluminum mount included 

• Enhanced Navigation: improved mapping features and turn by turn audio navigation to allow riders to navigate with confidence and ease.

•  Easier, More intuitive Setup and Sync via the Wahoo App: new cloud-based sync, for a seamless, simple and intuitive user experience where all of a user’s data is stored in Wahoo’s cloud as a single, always backed up source

 

Navigating with the new Elemnt ACE will be enhanced by a high-contrast color palette screen with swiping capabilities to get to a different screen more quickly. This could enhance safety and should allow users to keep their eyes on the road/trail more. Interestingly, Wahoo takes a page from automobile navigation with the new Elemnt ACE and will now have voice commands for navigation cues. The press release did not indicate whether this can be disabled if it is not wanted, or if different voices could be selected. It might be a bit comical in events if several Wahoo Elemnt Ace users came upon a turn at about the same time. "Turn Left!", heard multiple times simultaneously might be quite the cacophonous mess!

The screen is made from a transflective thin-film transmitter (TFT) and measures an impressive 3.8"/3:2 aspect ratio. Wahoo claims the high DPI screen has anti-reflective, anti-glare properties making it easier to see in many outdoor conditions. 

Wahoo claims "up to 30 hours battery life" but this will have to be verified in real-world use. For a comparison, a Wahoo Elemnt ROAM has a claimed 17 hour battery life, so that 30 hours is almost double that! 

The Wahoo Elemnt ACE has these front-facing ports for the wind sensor - a first in a cycling GPS device.

Wahoo has incorporated a wind sensor into the Element ACE which is a category first. Wahoo leverages this data by giving the rider real-time information on what Wahoo calls "AeroBoost" and "AeroDrag" giving the rider insight into how tail winds and headwinds affect performance. You can also measure the effects of drafting with this feature. After the ride, data showing the rider how wind affected performance can be accessed. Wahoo calls this "Wahoo Wind Dynamics". 

Understanding how winds affect performance could lead riders to being more efficient with regard to power output which would result in better performance, theoretically. 

The touch-screen is being leveraged to make rider user experience easier and less complicated. Buttons are still here for those who wish to use them as well. Wahoo says that their touch screen will work with or without touch-screen compatible gloves, so that is a nice feature.  Wahoo claims the touch-screen will even work with moisture present as well. 

The Wahoo Elemnt ACE comes with a premium quality aluminum mount, a tether, and will retail for US$599.99, CA$849.99, EU€599.99, UK£549.99, AU$999.95 and JP¥9,900.

Comments: That's a lot there and it is an interesting update from Wahoo on their range of GPS devices. I have a Wahoo Elemnt ROAM and I have enjoyed using it. So, this is an opportunity for me to answer a question: Would you get this new Elemnt ACE or stick with your Elemnt ROAM?  

From the standpoint of user experience, I would like a touch-screen, if it was easy to use in reality. I would like the extended battery range, especially for peace of mind in doing longer rides. Just having that "headroom" in battery life might be a good thing in those cases. The screen being larger is also a good thing for me because having to look multiple times and keep an eye on the gravel road is a bit of a pain. Maybe the larger screen would make this less of an issue? 

Navigation has been enhanced, they say? This would be of interest to me, although I would like to know if I could turn off the voice and just have a beep and a visual cue on the screen. If the voice nav feature is always on during navigation I would find that annoying. Especially if I don't like the voice tone. But I don't have detailed enough info to know what the deal is there yet. 

The wind stuff may not be of interest if it is not of much use unless you pair that data with a power meter. 

So, I'm interested, but the Elemnt ROAM is no slouch, so I think my answer now is that I'd wait and see before jumping. What about you? let me know in the comments. Is this new GPS device worth the six hundred bucks or is it just gimmicky nonsense?