The BEST Way to Setup Your Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt Data Fields (with Power)

[@WaltDoesBikes]

What about you? Any data fields that you've found to be important that I didn't include here? Let me know below!

[@nicoliam492]

instaBlaster.

[@WaltDoesBikes]

@@nicoliam492 care to elaborate?

[@roborovski008]

how do you setup your data screen for a crit race ? thank you.

[@doubledark2]

I recently purchased a second hand Elemnt Bolt; how on earth do i set it up so it displays my real time heart rate? ( I have the Wahoo heart rate chest strap). Thanks

[@WaltDoesBikes]

@@doubledark2 Hey! Heart Rate is definitely one of my main page metrics. I’m not exactly sure where I navigate to it in here. Have you sync’d it via Bluetooth or Ant+ in the app under sensors?

[@Tris-yr6xy]

im getting my bolt v1 today, and this is the only video I have found that really shows how the setup works on the wahoo app, thanks a lot!!!!

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Stoked it helped

[@Steo240sx]

I didn’t know my bolt had all those setting haha good stuff man👍🏼

[@WaltDoesBikes]

It's pretty crazy, man! Easy to get lost in the back end of the Bolt. I don't even remember how it came setup out of the box anymore because I've spent so much time tweaking it. I don't know that I can be convinced to use any of those other fields though 😆

[@kavikdog]

thank you Brother...I sat through this video and set it up like you have it...my coach asks for NP so I included this. Thanks again very helpful. RIDE ON!

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Dude, so glad I could help! Funny enough, Wahoo's latest update erased all my data fields and screens yesterday and I had to sit through my own video to get everything back how I had it. 😆 Glad it was easy enough to include NP. 🤙

[@kavikdog]

@@WaltDoesBikes yes! updated Wahoo 2 days a go...same thing happened to me. I appreciate your video be well brother.

[@calendar9497]

Great Video, just did a new setup for me Bolt v2 and it was a great orientation to lean on to :) thanks m8

[@WaltDoesBikes]

No problem! A lot of people are using this OG version as a way to structure their V2 pages so I’m glad to learn it’s still applicable! 🤘🏼

[@andrewlabat9963]

Thanks for all the info. I live in a pretty flat area so my first page is pretty straight forward info, but it let's me know when I get the chance to travel.

[@WaltDoesBikes]

No problem! Glad I could help. The climbing page for me is probably my least used unless I hit some sustained stuff but in SD that’s pretty rare, also. Happy cruisin’ 🤘🏼

[@jag1870]

Awesome video and clear explanations. Thank you sir!

[@WaltDoesBikes]

No problemo! Might even be time for an update with the V2 😊

[@teabelly1565]

Since getting my Bolt 2 last week I have spent hours on line looking for a decent page setup video, loads of video's but nothing specific. Fortunately I eventually came across this'Walt Does Bikes video, brillent full and clear step by step instructions. Many thanks and best wishes from the UK

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Thank you so much for the kind words! I know this is the OG ELEMNT Bolt but I’m happy to help. Appreciate you watching, cheers from the US and happy riding my friend. ✌🏼

[@nsxdon]

same here...

[@WaltDoesBikes]

@@nsxdon thank you! Glad I could make it happen for ya 🤘🏼happy riding

[@carrieramirez3577]

So dang helpful! Thanks for sharing this

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Happy to help!

[@craighamilton1299]

Thanks for this, well done. I've been looking for this kind of advice for the V2 that I just bought and its difficult to find - cheers.

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Glad to help. There are a couple minor differences these days (Race Page and TT Page) but for the most part this is tried and true. Thanks for watchin’!

[@JoshGee887]

Appreciate the vid! Now my page won’t change every live segment!

[@WaltDoesBikes]

That was one major thing that drove me nuts. Happy to help 🤘🏼

[@carlostirado6273]

What heart sensor do you use?

[@martinw6881]

Great help, thanks.

[@okletsgo9135]

Hey, I set up my wahoo bundle earlier today and picking up a beautiful road bike tomorrow! I have a question for you about something you touched on towards the end here. Why wouldn't you want the wahoo to switch over to the strata segment page when an impending segment is approaching, in order to see where you're at in the segment, etc. Or did I miss understand something? Thanks!

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Thanks for watching and super stoked to hear you snagged the WAHOO, you’ll love it. You can have it switch to live segments, but it’s really likely it’s going to start bothering you because it will distract from the important data of your ride. Unless you are targeting a PR on that particular segment you’ll want to remain on your main page so you can see all the fields available there. Switching back to your main page after countless segments end gets really annoying. Even then, the main page will show the segment duration at the bottom while you’re in it if you set it the way I show in the video which is just enough info. Hope that answers your question! You can always try both ways and see which you prefer. However, when you have quite a few segments starred on a route and you’re just out cruising it’ll drive ya nuts.

[@richardkelly4934]

Excellent video Walt! I do have a problem. I am 68 years old and, according to my medical team, I am light years ahead of your average 68 year old in terms of fitness. Is it possible to adjust the heart rate zones on the Elemnt Bolt? Thanks again for a great video!

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Hahah good to hear you’re in great health, Richard! Go to the ELEMNT app, click on profile, you can scroll down until you get to HR Zones and input your max and RHR and it should calculate the new zones for you. ✌🏼

[@LevAsaf]

great explanation 🏆🏆 thank asaf

[@Rannex99]

Thank you for this!. by the way, i have a question, did you include zero? in cadence and power?

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Mmmm not sure 100% what you’re meaning. Are you talking about when it’s extrapolated by the actual program itself?

[@DeltaInsanity]

You can see at 14:45, it's left at the default which is to not include zeroes in average cadence, but to include them in average power.

[@jrtarmac2497]

Hey Walt. Why is my wahoo ELEMNT bolt v2 recording false elevation on flat roads? Elevation %’s go crazy positive and negative increasing my elevation?

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Yo, Arturo! Depends on a few things. Sometimes the WAHOO can be using GPS but usually elevation is based on barometric reading if I’m not mistaken (atmospheric pressure). That can get a little whacky when you’re near large bodies of water, maybe that’s it? Other than that, sounds glitchy, I don’t personally have crazy % kicks or anything but sometimes my elevations will be a little strange (usually near a lake or the ocean).

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Hopefully that helps! Sorry I can’t tell ya more

[@jrtarmac2497]

Thank you For your time , I do ride and live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Also I’m New to this cycling. Again thank you.

[@WaltDoesBikes]

@@jrtarmac2497 welcome to cycling! It truly is such a great sport and community. The community will be glad to have you and if you ever need help, recommendations, bike related info feel free to reach out. Happy cruisin’!

[@joselarrarte6964]

I just installed my powerbox yesterday and I have a Wahoo. My power was 104, 190, 220, etc. All over the place. What should I focus on in regards of power?

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Hey Jose! Congrats on the power meter. What are your goals? Did you setup your power fields to be the Avg 3s field or the instant power? Instant power fluctuates a lot more than the 3s. There’s a lot that these fluctuations depend on however. Power will naturally fluctuate based on undulations in the road, if you hit a slight down hill you’ll like subconsciously ease up on the pedals. To keep it consistent I typically try and focus what the pressure feels like on my foot when pedaling. This works better when pushing threshold or higher power numbers for me. If you check out my Strava, look at the analysis on some of my rides, even some of my interval work bounced just over and just under my target wattage, that’s natural. Eventually you’ll get better at maintaining that dead band + or - a few % and then when you look back at the data, or when looking at your lap page (as I have it setup here) you’ll see your average power for the interval. This is why people enjoy doing intervals on a steady hill with a steady gradient. Makes life much easier to maintain target wattage. Hope that helps! If you want to chat more or want some photos of what my power profiles look like over the course of a workout feel free to DM me on Instagram and I can share that stuff with you! Thanks for watching and have fun with the power meter, it’s a game changer! 🤙🏼

[@smesarz]

Great video! I would rather use the Normailzed power instead of the average in the training page, but the rest are cool

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Interesting point! Why do you prefer the NP number?

[@smesarz]

@@WaltDoesBikes mainly because with the NP is calculated the IF and the TSS. But also because it represents better the efforts than the avg. The typical example is that if you do one hour at 200w or half hour at 100w and half hour at 300w, the average are the same but not the effort and in the NP this is taken in count. I'm not an expert at all but this is what I understand about it 🤣

[@WaltDoesBikes]

@@smesarz That’s all understandable. So you’re using it more to gauge your overall effort and understand how hard the workout has been (TSS and IF) over just understanding what the baseline effort is without the peaks and valleys? Of course, with a steady effort the deviation between the two is limited and in a crit per se, I see dramatic swings in my Avg Power and NP numbers (makes sense because of surges and accelerations). I guess for me I’m just used to my baseline being average and am able to gauge my efforts pretty well based on that, however, NP might be more valuable if I were to get used to seeing that number rather. Appreciate the insight! Always fun to have conversation and nerd out a little on the data. 😆

[@richardooooo9767]

Do you need both the speed sensor and power sensor to get those two stats to show up? Or will the Bolt just estimate for you? I'm thinking of getting the Bolt with the Power meter, assuming that speed will be estimated (or calculated based on internal bolt sensors)

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Hey Eric, good question. I don’t actually use a speed sensor with my Bolt. I just have power data coming from my Assioma Power Pedals. The speed I use is the internal GPS speed from the Bolt. It might not be perfectly accurate but I can’t imagine it really matters all that much or that it deviates from “true speed” by more than a couple % points. I’ve never noticed any problem with the GPS speed myself.

[@cycling_rob]

Hi Eric. I would definetely recommend the additional speed sensor. It makes the speed much more accurate! But I was wondering if a Power Meter (like the SRAM AXS Spider) would replace an additional cadence sensor. Do someone know this? Thanks Rob

[@WaltDoesBikes]

@@cycling_rob I would argue against the speed sensor. Do you really care if your speed is off by 5% even? If you have power and other key data it’s just an extra gadget attached to your bike. I get cadence from my Assioma Power pedals, also. Your crank power meter would typically be able to offer that data field. I used an NGEco Crank Spider Meter prior to the pedals and used cadence from that as well.

[@cycling_rob]

@@WaltDoesBikes .. don't get me wrong. Its not the accuracy of the speed overall but I noticed without the speed sensor installed the shown speed on the wahoo tends to jump up and down in dependency of GPS or whatever ... so with the sensor installed it was more steady and smooth .. Cadence .. sounds good! I will give it a try! Happy riding! Rob

[@WaltDoesBikes]

@@cycling_rob that’s interesting! I haven’t had that problem myself but it’s always good to hear others’ feedback. Let me know how the cadence works for you! Same and enjoy 🤙🏼

[@joespek]

Thanks

[@JitinMisra]

Can you change your average power to higher than 3 seconds , like, 5 seconds or even. 10 seconds?

[@WaltDoesBikes]

You can but I’d argue that it doesn’t adjust quick enough to be indicative of the power you’re actually doing. 3s seems to be the sweet spot

[@stevenrimmer2606]

Hi i have just got a wahoo element roam will this setup working on that . Because I looking for the heart ❤ rate zones when riding

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Hey Steven! This should work no problem. However, I will defer to DC Rainmaker for this one as the ROAM has a few additional features that might be worth checking out. If you’re up for some light reading he goes into the data pages (they look the same as the BOLT) in this article: www.google.com/amp/s/www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/05/wahoo-element-roam-cycling-gps-in-depth-review.html/amp Let me know if you have any more questions! Thanks for watching. 🤙🏼

[@stevenrimmer2606]

@@WaltDoesBikes thank you for the help

[@victor1102]

Hey Walt what's your opinion on Normalized Power? Found it any insightful?

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Hey Victor! Thanks for watching. Personally I look at NP after races and efforts to understand how efficient I was. I know some coaches really like you to consider NP for various reasons but I don’t have much experience with that. For me, if I look at my NP and it’s 310 and my actual raw average was 220 I know I wasn’t very efficient. Of course, that’s an extreme example. I try and get that ratio as close to 1.0 as feasible but I find it fluctuates with course type, etc. I will say though NP tells a more complete story of the ride than your average. I just don’t really use it in my day to day. Hope that answers the question!

[@victor1102]

@@WaltDoesBikes Thanks so much for your reply and quality content, cheers!

[@WaltDoesBikes]

No problemo! Take it easy 😊

[@lorellaborotto3728]

Hi! Si better wahoo elmnt bolt or garmin 530?Thanks

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Honestly I’ve never personally used Garmin products so I can’t really offer an unbiased opinion. I can say, though I’m very happy with my Wahoo overall

[@lorellaborotto3728]

@@WaltDoesBikes thanks

[@NVYOUTUBE01]

I still can't understand the differences between the lap and workout page configuration. What different data they provide?? Please explain. Thanks

[@WaltDoesBikes]

The lap page has a couple different fields. Primarily, the lap shows you “lap duration” and “lap number”. This page is ideal for interval workouts. I.e. the workout page shows you the entire duration of the workout say 1 hour. Whereas, the lap duration might be for a prescribed interval of 300W at 5:00 duration. Hopefully that makes sense?

[@NVYOUTUBE01]

@@WaltDoesBikes so do we have to manually press the lap once done or the lap distance can be pre determined and configured before ???

[@WaltDoesBikes]

@@NVKZbin01 I’m pretty sure you can set it to like 5 minute laps but it has to be a consistent interval. Otherwise, I usually just press it manually because intervals are usually different for recovery interval and “on” interval. An alternative, though, could be to preload a prescribed workout if you have something like TrainerRoad or a data file through the app. Maybe I’ll do a follow up video with that process.

[@NVYOUTUBE01]

@@WaltDoesBikes thanks for the info 👍🙏😀

[@WaltDoesBikes]

@@NVKZbin01 no problem! Hope it helps.

[@chih6297]

I almost throw away my monitor by thingking my srceen got some bad pixels 1:40

[@maxnikiforov9401]

Emailing Wahoo to create a data field that rates how pro you look on a scale of 1-10. Priorities.🤣

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Dude. This would take over for the Power number at the top for sure. Although, you might think it’s broken when it’s always reading 10 😏

[@maxnikiforov9401]

@@WaltDoesBikes if you get 10/10 you get a 🔥 and the screen will say "Faux Praux". @Wahoo Fitness send money 😂

[@WaltDoesBikes]

You should join their marketing team

[@coripierre-auguste6326]

Great job at explaining this. The name labels that Wahoo uses is way more complicated than they need to be. You helped me a lot. 👍🏾

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Great to hear and thanks so much for watching! Glad I could help. I know I was confused the first time I set it up, hence the video idea 😊 happy cruising! 🤙🏼

[@jjflash30]

Great video! Very comprehensive, clear, and easy to follow. Very helpful. Thanks for making and sharing.

[@vincentslusser9205]

Most Awesome video. Setting mine up on 5/3/2021. Thanks.

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Very cool! Thanks for watching and I hope this helped 😊

[@ronaldgreen8753]

Thank you! Best explanation I've found!

[@dimpro]

If you have dual leg power system, can it show you on screen avg power 3sec for each leg? Nice and helpful video, thanks!

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Hey Dimitris! Thanks for watching. I do believe that the data is crunched on the back end and then displayed real time via the same fields (it’s just more accurate). I haven’t personally seen a field that displays power balance or individual power. Let me check out my settings and see if it’s available. I am on single sided Assioma pedals for context.

[@WaltDoesBikes]

I did some additional research. Under the Power fields all I saw for the actual power reading (wattage) was the same fields that Im using with one sided power. However, just below the power fields there are Averages at multiple time intervals of your L/R balance. So you’d almost have to have both fields and intuitively marry the data in your head. I think your idea is more about equal power output on individual sides, correct? If that’s the case, you’d be able to figure out round about your power output on each side using your L/R Average 3s Balance combined with your Average 3s Power. Hope that helps!

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Feel free to reach out on IG @daltontberry and I can DM you the screen shot of the L/R Rolling Average 3s field you’d want to use. Have a great day!

[@kno1181]

Hi! Is it possible to add (as one of four possible) filed with elevation profile on MAP page? Or elevation profile can be added only in climbing page?

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Hi there! Thanks for tuning in. I have to say, I'm not totally sure about this one. I think that, since the elevation profile takes up so much real estate on the screen that it wouldn't really make sense on the Map page. I feel like I may have seen it done before though, so I could be wrong. I'll have a look next time I'm out for a cruise and see if the setting is available in the page editor. I do believe though that there are more limited options for those fields on the Map page. Sorry if that's not helpful!

[@TimGalloway942]

Awesome video, man. This was very helpful for me !

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Awesome! Glad I could help, Tim. 🤘🏼

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Side point here: I’m about to construct a race page that is slightly different (shows average speed) so that if I’m riding the break I know what speed we need to be beating to keep the field away. Of course, this is strictly hypothetical, we will see if it works!

[@sachavez100]

Super vid. I've been wondering how do make these changes for years!

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Yo! Thank you. Glad I could help. I still use this video myself when I have to correct my own pages hahah. Happy riding 🤘🏼

[@t.hartig4570]

Hi Walt, how did you setup the dark color sheme on the whoo App? I can't find the settings on my Android Device...

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Hey, Thomas! Unfortunately I believe the dark color scheme comes from my iPhone 11 settings. I have dark mode on on the phone so everything is dark mode, thus all apps automatically change to that as well. I’ve actually become immune to it but when I see a bright screen I’m like ‘AHH! My eyes’. Let me peek at my other settings and see if there is some way to do it in app. Thanks for watching by the way! Much appreciated ✌🏼

[@WaltDoesBikes]

I’ve confirmed it’s the iPhone setting making all my apps dark. If I knew anything about the Android platform I’d be more helpful.

[@ElFamosoArt]

So only put avg power (3 sec) on the pages if we have a power meter??

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Correct! Otherwise you’ll have no reading there. I’d suggest speed in its place unless you prefer HR for zone training. Depends on your goals. Hope that helps!

[@ElFamosoArt]

@@WaltDoesBikes thank you bro!

[@WaltDoesBikes]

@@ElFamosoArt no problem, have fun out there!

[@ferjeouichaker]

Great little cyclocomputer.

[@WaltDoesBikes]

The absolute best!

[@caspervondj4508]

great video Thanks man.

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Glad it helped! Thanks for watching 🤘🏼

[@saadburbank]

Hi, for those without power meters how would one go about using speed as a workout indicator please? Also, what is your opinion on using HR in such a situation? Thanks

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Hi there! If you watch a bit further, you would follow the same steps to add any metric but in the place of ‘Avg Power (3s)’ you would go to the Speed category and select Speed as your metric instead. I talked about setting it up with speed in the video. Hopefully that helps!

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Also if you are doing Zone training and don’t have Power, my opinion is that HR would be a reasonable option particularly for lower zones. HR is somewhat ineffective for short punchy efforts like 30/30s or 40/20s because your heart takes a second to respond

[@saadburbank]

@@WaltDoesBikes sorry my question was unclear. I did see how to add speed as a data field from your video, but in practical terms how could someone use it for training purposes? Especially when you consider the variety in terrain (hills etc), weather (headwinds, tailwinds) and so on. Or would it be that one would aims for a certain average speed around a given course, and over time improves upon it? Thank you again

[@WaltDoesBikes]

@@saadburbank gotcha! No worries I totally misunderstood. When first starting on the bike I never really did much structured training. Essentially I did the latter of what you suggested. Trying to improve speed over a particular loop. The tough part is highly variable conditions even on the most consistent of loops. I would highly recommend HR Zone training over speed if you have that ability. But take advantage of the beginner gains and just ride hard and try and get faster (if that’s your situation). Once you decide it’s time for some structure HR is a reasonable substitute! Keep in mind I’m no coach or training expert and still dialing all this in myself. I’m just speaking from personal experience and everyone’s different. Hope that answers the question 😎🤙🏼

[@andreacolaianni6305]

I would focus on HR as the only things that are stable against the weather change (speed would change if you have tail wind VS front). Before PowerM I would do interval to my max HR and recover untill 80% of my HR and do it again. Whe you improve the time you can recover should be more and more short.

[@bobinjc]

Thank you!

[@WaltDoesBikes]

No problem! Thanks to you for watching and supporting the little guys

[@bobinjc]

@@WaltDoesBikes No problem, just remember, little guys become big guys. Keep up the good work.

[@NoBrakes23]

I loved my Bolt when I first got it, but they forced a live segment update a year or so ago, and now I can't turn off live segments. So I get my fields set up the way that I want and then 2 minutes later some segment I don't care about rips me out of the data fields I want and the head unit chimes at me mockingly. If I want to see that stuff, I have to cycle pages and readjust zoom. Maddening. "Oh you wanted to monitor HR while climbing? Too bad, fatty. You only get to see worthless information." (Wahoo CSRs have been zero help.)

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Wait that’s so strange. Even with the most updated version of the firmware I don’t have this same issue. I do wonder if it’s a unit specific issue? I turned off the page switch for live segments. They only appear on the Home Screen as a small banner at the bottom and then go away when the segment is complete. Haven’t had the page switching issue. That’s a serious bummer. Wth

[@AREMPEE]

So I recently added a quarq power meter on my crank and paired it to my Wahoo Bolt V2. I have the power meter show on the very top of the screen but, the whole 42 miles and 3 hours ride today it just was showing N/A the whole time. How do I fix this? I have a Sram AXS group sets and the data also didn’t show up on the Sram app.

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Seems like a pairing issue overall. When you open the app does it pair properly? One thing I’ve sometimes done for other apps is disconnect completely from the Power Meter (in your case Quarq) and then reconnect via Bluetooth to the Wahoo app and then it shows up on the bolt. Not sure that helps but personally I’ve never had issues with the Assioma

[@AREMPEE]

@@WaltDoesBikes the first time I paired it, it paired flawlessly so I thought everything was connected fine, but somehow it was showing NA the whole ride. I will try it again. Thanks!

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Best of luck! Sorry I can’t help more

[@AREMPEE]

@@WaltDoesBikes it’s all good. Thanks tho

[@vofpof1529]

Yeah yeah yeah very interesting, but why didn't you take out your guitar and play "smells like teen spirit" ? 🤟: )

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Hahaha love it. I was busy writing ‘My Girl’ in my head, you couldn’t tell? Also, still had to grow some stubble back. 😆

[@kevinhanna6112]

anybody notice that the power metrics on smartphone are unreadable ?

[@WaltDoesBikes]

Are you referring to the video? Or are you looking at your power metrics after a ride within the app?