Guide

How to load a GPX onto a Wahoo ELEMNT

Ten minutes. Three paths, one limit worth knowing before you ride.

How a route reaches an ELEMNT depends on the model. The newer computers, the ACE, BOLT 3 and ROAM 3, take a file through the Wahoo app. Older ELEMNT, BOLT and ROAM units still use the ELEMNT app, the USB cable or a cloud account. Pick the path for your model and the rest is the same.

Path 1: the Wahoo app (ACE, BOLT 3, ROAM 3)

1. Put the GPX file on your phone, or open it directly from mail or a download.
2. Open the file with the Wahoo app. In the app you can also go to Explore, then My Collection, My Routes and choose Import a file.
3. Tap Send to ELEMNT and let the device finish loading before you switch it off.

Wahoo documents this path for the ACE, BOLT 3 and ROAM 3. On those units the computer draws the elevation profile, the breadcrumb trail and the turn alerts from its own map and elevation data, so a current regional map is part of a working route.

Path 2: USB or MTP

On older ELEMNT units, plugging the device in mounts it as a drive and you drop the GPX into the routes folder. That still works and is the fastest way to load several files at once.

On the ACE, BOLT 3 and ROAM 3, USB access is off by default and works over MTP, not plain mass storage. Switch it on in the Wahoo app under Devices and the device's settings. A route copied that way lives on the device only: the app does not list it, back it up or manage it.

Path 3: Strava, Komoot or RideWithGPS

Authorise the account in the app and its routes sync over Wi-Fi, in bulk, or one at a time over Bluetooth. It is the least clicking if your route already lives in one of those tools.

The catch is which routes carry turn prompts. On the ELEMNT and BOLT v1, Strava routes arrive with no turn-by-turn at all. Those units only get cues from RideWithGPS or Komoot routes, or from Take Me To. On the newer computers the picture is better, but a file that carries its own cue points is the only version you control.

The 200 km turn-cue limit

Wahoo's route support page says the ROAM v1, ROAM v2 and BOLT v2 auto-generate turn cues only up to 200 km (about 120 miles) for a route file that has no embedded cues. Take Me To routing is capped at 100 km.

Why a long route loads slowly

Riders report that a whole multi-day tour, the NC500 or a 1,000 km line for example, takes a long time to load even when the device accepts it. Wahoo publishes no hard GPX point cap for the ELEMNT, so the file will usually go in. It is the wait that bites. Splitting the tour into one file per day is the fix riders use, and it keeps the device fast in camp when all you want is tomorrow's line.

A wrong elevation profile

• On the ACE, BOLT 3 and ROAM 3, update the regional map, then delete the route and sync it again. The profile comes from onboard map data, so a stale map can produce a wrong one.
• If the GPX itself has missing or noisy elevation, repair or resample it in a GPX editor before import. Do not assume the device will correct it.
• Current elevation on the ride comes mainly from the barometric altimeter with GPS correction. Raw GPS elevation alone can be off by a long way.

What to check before you ride

• Open the route on the device and confirm the distance and the first few cues.
• Check the day's start point and the first cue, not only the drawn line.
• Keep the GPX on your phone as a fallback if the sync fails in camp.
• Load tomorrow's file the night before, not at the trailhead.