Wahoo Announces BOLT 2021 Update

Navigation, Color Screen and much more space!

Posted on May 25, 2021 in News & Updates

Roughly four years after the original, Wahoo announced an update on the ELEMNT BOLT. The new BOLT is available immediately if you order directly from Wahoo. It looks very much similar to the previous BOLT, but there are some tweaks to it, the front buttons are a bit more accessible and are now concave instead of convex.

To see how the new BOLT matches up to the ROAM, click here to read my BOLT vs ROAM post!

What’s new

64 color screen
UI updates and tweaks
Smart Navigation
16gb storage
ambient light sensor
USB-C
slightly bigger and heavier

Color screen

So the new BOLT now has a color screen. Still nothing like OLED or whatever, but a massive upgrade from the black/white greyscale of the previous version. And it shows Wahoo has made excellent use of these colors. The ROAM already had a some eight colors, and the new BOLT now goes to 64. I feel like it’s 1992 all over again and I’m booting my EGA screen for the first time. The viewing angle of this screen is great though. You can really see from the pictures:

Great viewing angle on the screen. So you competition can have a look at your metrics ;-)

UI updates and tweaks

Wahoo is showing that it’s making smart use of the new color options. So on top of the LEDS at the top, you’ll see colors in your data pages. If a value is low, it will turn blue, if high it will turn red. A simple quick attention draw, on top of the LEDS at the top. Then there’s the smaller UI tweaks, where the function labels of the buttons look just a dat nicer.

Smart Navigation

This is a feature you know from the ROAM. With smart navigation you can basically roam around. The BOLT will reroute you to end up back to the course you want to ride, or just adjust the directions to get you where you want to go. And all this on the BOLT itself, so you can leave your phone at home. Technically.

Increased Storage

While we’re not traveling much, the increased storage of the BOLT allows for more maps to be stored on it and in more detail. It also has elevation information included. And in the future maybe even more detailed maps. It only makes sense to add data to the existing maps if you have this, in terms of Smart Navigation this is probably needed to make sure you’re not sent on a highway to get home.

Light sensor

Ambient light sensors are great. I believe they are often an undervalued addition. Adding a light sensor allows the BOLT to adjust it’s brightness so you’re not blinded when it gets darker.

What’s not new?

Well, a lot stayed pretty much the same. The battery still lasts 15 hours, except it’s now USB-C. I just want to see DC Rainmakers response to this. So the battery changed a bit, but with the color screen, it didn’t impact the battery life. The exterior is pretty much the same too. Still LEDS on top, but the addition of a tiny hole for the light sensor.

You will still be able to adjust your data pages on your phone and use the zoom in/zoom out on those pages.

More pictures

Price

The new BOLT did get a price bump as the MRSP is no longer $229/€219 but $289/€279. Which is, well. Not a super hard sell. The original BOLT was $249 when it launched. So, if you add four years of inflation at say.. 3%, the price should be about $280 anyway, so it’s really not that big of a price increase. With all releases I expect the BOLT to be out of stock quickly so if you want one, act quickly and buy the new BOLT directly from Wahoo.