Some products just make sense. Wahoo Fitness hasn't been afraid to go their own way, in search of innovation, features, and expanding their product range. At first glance the ELEMNT MINI is an advanced bike computer with tremendously flexible and inexhaustible screen page options. It comes with Wahoo's excellent hub mounted dual-band speed/distance sensor. The 41mm x 58.4mm screen is easy to read and interact with via two tactile, easy push buttons at the bottom of the face. The unit is powered by the coin type CR2450 battery, with which Wahoo claims about 250 hours of use before it needs to be changed. All pretty straightforward so far?

Great. It gets much better. The ELEMNT MINI offers two modes: Phone-free, and Phone. In the former, the unit is pretty much a really sweet bike computer with a great user interface. You can get your ride summary at the completion of your ride. In Phone mode you are wirelessly connected to your smartphone via Bluetooth Smart using the Wahoo Companion App and now your MINI becomes supercharged in that it employs the GPS and resources of the phone for location, altitude, etc. The app pushes notifications of texts and calls to the screen of the MINI. Your entire ride is tracked and melded with sensor data, which can be connected to the phone or the head unit (based on services available). You have Live Track, which via the app and the Live Track web portal others can monitor your location. Via the app you can upload and share your ride data with a single push of a button to Strava, Ride With GPS, Training Peaks and more.

There are a couple of key things you need to know. First, in Phone-free mode, Wahoo stridently recommends you only use their dual-band speed, cadence sensors, and their heart rate monitor. Some other manufacturer's units may pair, but not deliver accurate information. Others simply won't pair. Given that Wahoo includes their speed sensor with the ELEMNT MINI, you have the basics. And their dual-band ANT+/Bluetooth Smart sensors are overall among the best on the market. Second, in Phone mode you can connect other sensors directly to the phone via the Companion App, but the MINI does not support power meter use in either mode, nor any ANT+ radar or lighting systems, and it won't show maps or turn by turn directions. So there are limitations and great positives as well.... Read More