{"id":34770,"date":"2020-08-24T17:17:56","date_gmt":"2020-08-25T00:17:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/averagejoecyclist.com\/?p=34770"},"modified":"2023-11-04T21:44:56","modified_gmt":"2023-11-05T04:44:56","slug":"wahoo-elemnt-bolt-vs-garmin-edge-130-plus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/averagejoecyclist.com\/wahoo-elemnt-bolt-vs-garmin-edge-130-plus\/","title":{"rendered":"Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt vs Garmin Edge 130 Plus Bike Computers: In-Depth Comparison, with Videos"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

This post, with videos and a features chart, is an in-depth comparison of the Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt vs Garmin Edge 130 Plus. The Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt is a little more expensive than the brand new Garmin Edge 130 Plus (usually around $30 more). And the Garmin Edge 130 Plus is hailed by many as one of the best possible bang-for-your-buck bike computers you could possibly find. For example, Cycling News<\/em> says that the “feature-packed Garmin Edge 130 Plus contains everything<\/a> you would ever want from a cycling computer.” So, it might seem to be a no-brainer to buy the Garmin Edge 130 Plus. But first, spend a few minutes checking out what the Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt offers for the extra dollars. We hope this post will help you to make the best decision for your own personal cycling needs!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Chart Comparing the Features of the Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt vs Garmin Edge 130 Plus<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
<\/td>
\"\"<\/a>
Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/th>
\"\"<\/a>
Garmin Edge 130 Plus<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Prices:<\/td>Best Price on Amazon Right Now: <\/td>Best Price on Amazon Right Now: <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Size of screen<\/td>2.9\" x 1.8\" x 0.87\" (74.6 mm x 47.3 mm x 22.1 mm)<\/td>1.1\" x 1.4\" x 0.63\" (27.0 mm x 36.0 mm x 16 mm)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Screen color<\/td>Color, and sharp and crystal clear. The color makes it much easier to see the bike paths on maps. And when you are cycling, the power zones are highlighted in appropriate colors to make it easy to see what power zone you are in<\/td>Black and white, but sharp and crystal clear<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Diagonal screen size<\/td>2.2\" (56 mm)<\/td>1.8\u2033 (45.0 mm)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weight<\/td>2.2 oz (62 g)<\/td>1.2 oz (33 g)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Waterproof rating<\/td>IPX 7<\/td>IPX 7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Touchscreen or button control?<\/td>Button<\/td>Button<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Does it have a row of 7 LED lights to give you at-a-glance information?<\/td>Yes<\/td>No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Battery Life<\/td>Up to 15 hours<\/td>Up to 12 hours<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Charging<\/td>USB-C<\/td>Micro USB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>
\"\"<\/a>
Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>
\"\"<\/a>
Garmin Edge 130 Plus<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Prices:<\/td>Best Price on Amazon Right Now: <\/td>Best Price on Amazon Right Now: <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MAPS AND NAVIGATION<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Satellite Systems:<\/td>GPS\/GLONASS\/BEIDOU\/ Galileo\/QZSS<\/td>GPS\/GLONASS\/Galileo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Base maps?<\/td>Pre-installed world-wide base maps<\/td>No, so you are limited to courses that you download<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Can you add maps?<\/td>Yes<\/td>No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Address search (input address and it will plot a route)? AKA On-Device Course Creator<\/td>Yes<\/td>No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Routes<\/td>Unlimited<\/td>15<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Waypoints<\/td>Unlimited<\/td>100<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Turn-by-turn navigation with street names in cues?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes, but very basic, breadcrumb-style navigation only. And only for downloaded courses, e.g. from Garmin Route Creator or Komoot<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Take me to feature?<\/td>Yes, the \"Take me to\" feature lets you use the map on the unit to select a destination, and the unit will then generate a route for you, and give you turn-by-turn directions to get there. You can also choose a place from your saved places to do the same<\/td>No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Recalculate route on the device?<\/td>Yes<\/td>No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Calculate route back to start?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Create a route on the unit?<\/td>Yes<\/td>No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>
\"\"<\/a>
Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>
\"\"<\/a>
Garmin Edge 130 Plus<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Prices:<\/td>Best Price on Amazon Right Now: <\/td>Best Price on Amazon Right Now: <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CONNECTED FEATURES<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Can you program it with a smart phone?<\/td>Yes, and it is easy and fun!<\/td>No; you use buttons and menus and sub-menus on the unit to program it<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
How easy is it to program?<\/td>Much easier to program, because you can do it on your smart phone, using the excellent Wahoo app<\/td>Quite a complicated menu system, which you have to control with 7 buttons on the unit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Smart notifications?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weather on the unit<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Garmin Connect compatible? <\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Connect IQ\u2122 compatible?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Automatically syncs your rides?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ANT+ and Bluetooth (to connect your devices?<\/td>Yes; also WiFi<\/td>Yes; but no WiFi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Compatible with Vector\u2122 power meters<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Power meter compatible (displays power data from compatible 3rd party ANT+\u2122-enabled power meters)?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Live Track Incident detection (so someone is automatically notified if you have an accident)?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes (new enhanced version). BUT it will only work if you have your Smart phone with you, as this unit does not have WiFi, only Bluetooth & ANT+<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LEV\/ebike compatibility via ANT+?<\/td>Yes<\/td>No, but coming very soon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Compatible with heart rate monitors, plus speed and cadence sensors?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ANT+ shifting?<\/td>Yes<\/td>No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shimano Di2 electronic shifting integration?<\/td>Yes<\/td>No
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Barometric altimeter (to detect altitude)?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Accelerometer (to detect incidents)?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Compatible with Garmin Varia?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>
\"\"<\/a>
Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>
\"\"<\/a>
Garmin Edge 130 Plus<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Prices:<\/td>Best Price on Amazon Right Now: <\/td>Best Price on Amazon Right Now: <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TRAINING FEATURES<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Customizable data pages?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Auto Pause\u00ae (pauses and resumes timer based on speed): <\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Auto Scroll (cycles through data pages during a ride)?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Calories burned based on heart rate?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Download structured workouts to the unit, so you can follow them on your bike?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Courses (compete against previous activities)?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Virtual Partner (so you can compete against a digital cyclist)?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes, but only within a course<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
VO2 Max estimate? (the maximum amount of oxygen a person can utilize during intense exercise)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FTP tracking? (Functional Threshold Power is the average power that a rider can produce over the course of an hour)<\/td>Yes<\/td>No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Recovery time?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Time in heart rate training zone?<\/td>Yes<\/td>No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ClimpPro (new feature that shows you graphically the grades ahead)?<\/td>No<\/td>Yes, but only if you have preloaded the route<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Download Strava Live Segments to the unit?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>
\"\"<\/a>
Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>
\"\"<\/a>
Garmin Edge 130 Plus<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Prices:<\/td>Best Price on Amazon Right Now: <\/td>Best Price on Amazon Right Now: <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MOUNTAIN BIKE METRICS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Grit rating (how tough is the route)?<\/td>No<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Flow rating (how well did you ride the route)?<\/td>No<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hang time (how long were you in the air when jumping, how far did you go)?<\/td>No<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Related Post: Wahoo TICKR Heart Rate Monitor \u2013 Our Review<\/a><\/h3>\r\n

Contents of Post<\/h2>\r\n