From there, with the ELEMNT unit switched on and Bluetooth pairing enabled, you’re faced with the app’s setup screen, along with tabs for your profile and your rides. The latter two function and display information as you might expect, but the setup screen is where the ‘fun’ begins.
The phone app becomes the settings menu for the ELEMNT, allowing to customise pages, add new ones, include Strava Live Segments (which, by the way, causes the ELEMNT to have a veritable party on your bars, offering encouragement and flashing its LEDs as you make progress through the segment), the built-in map and various pieces of workout data, including a nicely laid out climbing page.
Each page can take up to ten data sets, and are arranged in order of importance on the phone screen, which is then represented on the ELEMNT when you come to ride with it.
As a result, and thanks to dual Bluetooth and ANT+ technology, the ELEMNT unit is capable of pairing to all your cycling data collectors, including power meters, and is truly a rival in these stakes to Garmin’s flagship devices.
On the road, the monochrome screen is simple and easy to read – just as well with all the data you can have displayed at any one time – although the map is graphically a little simple. It can make following a trace line a little tricky because it doesn’t stand out very easily, but the device now offers turn-by-turn navigation when synced to routes created on mapping service Ride With GPS.
Setting this up is simple; like with other accounts, all you have to do is link your account and all routes you’ve created are easily visible following an automatic sync through the app. And, as long as you select a route sourced from Ride With GPS, you’ll get those turn-by-turn instructions, as well as pulsing LEDs to signify the alert and upcoming turn.
You can also load up GPX tracks from the likes of Strava no problem, you just won’t get the turn-by-turn navigation at this point and need to rely solely on paying attention to the chevroned markers displayed on the map.
