Wahoo ELEMNT Roam (New Generation) Review: A Thoughtful Upgrade

Introduction

It has been over three years since Wahoo launched the original ELEMNT Roam, its largest and most capable bike computer. The new generation, which some call the Roam 2 but Wahoo simply calls the new ELEMNT Roam, follows the company’s familiar playbook: keep what works and improve on it. This update brings increased storage, more colors on the display, dual-band GPS, and a handful of other refinements. It is more of an update than a reinvention, but a genuinely useful one.

Hardware and Buttons

It is nearly impossible to tell the new Roam apart from the original at a glance. The biggest external change is the set of raised buttons, replacing the concave buttons on the original. The old concave design tended to collect sweat in those little pockets, and the new raised buttons eliminate that entirely. They are also slightly larger and feel a bit clickier than before.

The new buttons also work noticeably better with thick winter gloves, which could be a challenge on the original Roam. Wahoo has also repositioned the power/menu button slightly higher, which almost entirely eliminates accidental double presses when using two fingers on the power or up buttons. On the bottom of the unit, USB-C charging replaces the old micro USB.

Display and Daily Use

The 2.7 inch display is unchanged in size, but colors jump from eight to 64, and the panel offers higher contrast. The original Roam was already easy to read outdoors, and the new version is better still, especially in direct sunlight.

The extra colors show up in navigation prompts, subtle map shading, and color-coded indicators for power and heart rate zones, which are among the most satisfying uses of the richer palette. Beeps are noticeably louder than on the original as well.

The core Wahoo experience carries over: Perfect View Zoom lets you show up to 11 data fields on a page and zoom in based on priority order, and side and top quick-look LEDs can indicate things like zones. The unit is IPX7 water resistant and held up fine in heavy rain.

Battery Life

Wahoo claims up to 17 hours, and that figure holds up. On one ride paired with a heart rate monitor and left on the main data page the entire time, it landed right at 17 hours. With a route loaded and the map page used for most of a ride alongside two external sensors, battery drain was slightly higher, but still solid.

GPS Accuracy in the Real World

The new Roam adopts dual-band multi-band GNSS technology, which uses two satellite frequencies at the same time for better accuracy. This matters most around tall buildings, tall rock faces, and heavy overhead tree cover where satellite signals get unreliable. Dual-band typically consumes more battery, yet Wahoo has retained the same 17 hour battery life despite the more accurate chipset.

On a road ride of roughly 50k, total distance matched other dual-band devices closely, and the track detail on straights and corners was largely in line, with only slight drift on a handful of corners. A mountain bike ride with abundant switchbacks and tree cover was a tougher test. Total distance again tracked close to the other dual-band devices, while the original Roam was noticeably farther off. In wooded sections the new Roam stayed in line with the other devices, though on a few very tight switchbacks on the descent it ran slightly wide. Nothing dramatic, but worth knowing.

Storage, Maps, and New Software Features

Storage doubles from 16 GB to 32 GB, which means nearly all worldwide maps can be loaded on the device at once. Wahoo says out-of-the-box coverage is around 90 to 95 percent worldwide, a big change from the original where you had to pick and choose regions carefully.

Several new software features are rolling out, and many are not exclusive to the new Roam:

• Wahoo system workouts can now be done outdoors: add a workout to your calendar in the system app, and it appears on the ELEMNT device as long as both apps share the same account. This also comes to previous generation devices such as the BOLT V2.
• A backup and restore feature saves settings like data fields and data screens to the cloud, so they can be restored after a reset. Again, this extends to older ELEMNT devices.
• SuperSapiens integration for continuous glucose monitoring is rolling out as well.
• Summit segments for climbs will break out individual climbs from a loaded route, popping up automatically as you approach a climb with an elevation profile, your position on the climb, color-coded grade sections, vertical and horizontal distance remaining, grade, and an estimated finish time. It is a welcome answer to similar climb features from other brands and will also come to the BOLT V2 and the original Roam.
• Public ride sharing will let you share a route directly from the ELEMNT app, useful for group rides where the route was not shared in advance.

Navigation itself remains a strength, with easy-to-use high-contrast maps and chevrons showing direction of travel, made better still by the new display.

Buying Advice

The price has not increased much from the original Roam at launch, yet you get increased storage, a better display, and dual-band satellite systems. The open question is whether those features are compelling enough for an original Roam owner to upgrade. For most, probably not on hardware alone, especially since several headline software features are coming to previous generation devices.

If you are coming from an older or smaller unit, or buying a first large-format bike computer, the new Roam is an easy recommendation. Wahoo’s habit of backporting new software features to existing devices remains one of its best qualities, and it keeps owners happy over the long term.

Conclusion

The new ELEMNT Roam is a nice, considered update rather than a brand-new device. Better buttons, USB-C, a brighter and more colorful display, doubled storage with near-global maps, and dual-band GPS at essentially the same launch price add up to a strong option for riders who want a large, capable, easy-to-live-with bike computer.