WAHOO ELEMNT RIVAL ADDS STRYD COMPATABILITY
When triathletes think of Wahoo, the company’s lineup of smart trainers likely comes to mind. That’s a fair reaction, as the team at the Atlanta-based fitness company has made a name for itself thanks to their many trainers. In 2020, though, Wahoo officially ventured into the world of wearables with the release of its first smartwatch, the Elemnt Rival. Wahoo recently released an update for the Rival (which is the first of several that are expected to follow in 2022), and it comes with a couple of new features, the most notable of which being Wahoo’s integration with Stryd, the company behind the running power meter. That’s right—the Wahoo Elemnt Rival can now pair with your Stryd pod, meaning that you’ll get even more information and statistics with every step you take while on the run.
The Wahoo Elemnt Rival
Wahoo’s mission when it comes to bike computers and multisport watches, is wholly centred around simplicity. A watch can be brimming with features, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to use. In a lot of cases, a long list of bells and whistles leads to a lack of user-friendliness in watches, and that can be incredibly frustrating, especially when you’re trying to get your watch to work at the start of a swim, ride, run or any other training session.
With the Elemnt Rival, you won’t be having any poolside or mid-run temper tantrums as you try to figure out how it works. Simplicity was the goal for the Wahoo team, and that’s exactly what you’ll get with the Elemnt Rival, all while providing the many features that every triathlete wants in a watch.
The Rival will of course track your swims, rides and runs (plus a number of other workouts and activities), and it does so with great precision. Whether you’re in the pool or on the road, you can be sure that the stats you’re
seeing on your wrist are accurate.
Reading this, you may think, “Well I sure hope the watch is accurate,” but the thing is, that’s not always a given. Sure, you pay for accuracy with every watch you buy, but that isn’t always guaranteed with some brands and wearables out there. There are few things more annoying in the world of triathlon than finishing a workout and knowing how far you went, only to see that your watch miscalculated the distance you travelled.
The Elemnt Rival is also equipped with built-in workouts designed by the Wahoo Sports Science team, so even if you don’t have a training plan prepared on any given day, you’ll be in good hands with a coach on your wrist. If you choose to use this feature, your watch can sync with TrainingPeaks and update your calendar with upcoming workouts, meaning you will not only have a workout to do in the moment, but a permanent record of it logged with the rest of your training.
If you don’t load your swims, rides and runs to TrainingPeaks, your workout history will still be saved in the Elemnt app. This app allows you to sync your watch to your phone, create a Wahoo profile, and keep track of your many statistics, from total mileage to power output and so much more.
When it comes to racing, a great feature included in the Rival is its Touchless Transition. As the name suggests, it helps the watch to switch from sport to sport (including transitions) mid-race without needing you to press any buttons.
Finally, it would be wrong not to mention the Elemnt Rival’s battery life. The watch will give you 14 days in smart watch mode (meaning when it’s not in use for training) and up to 24 hours of continuous GPS or heart rate mode. Even if you go over a week without charging it and find that your Rival is at nine per cent power just before you start a workout, you’ll be able to make it through to the finish line before it dies thanks to its tremendous battery.
The Stryd Pod
Everyone knows what to expect in a watch, but you may be wondering what the Stryd pod is all about. It’s a small sensor that fastens onto your shoe and connects to your Elemnt Rival and phone. Once you’ve paired it with both devices, you can adjust your watch settings to show your power readings alongside heart rate, pace and many other stats.
The pod is easy to attach to your shoe—simply clip it onto your laces and you’re good to go. It’s extremely light (it only weighs eight grams), so you won’t even notice it’s there. In fact, for the first few runs with the Stryd pod, you’ll probably find yourself regularly checking to make sure you haven’t lost it along the way, as you truly cannot feel it on top of your shoe. (Don’t worry—it may feel like there’s nothing there, but if you fasten the pod correctly, it won’t fall off.)
Like Wahoo, Stryd has an app to download to your phone. There, you’ll be able to see all the metrics from your runs (which, as previously mentioned, will also be available on the Elemnt app). The Stryd pod is labelled as a power meter, but that’s far from all it measures. In addition to power, you’ll see metrics such as leg spring stiffness (how stiff your leg’s tendons and muscles are), ground time (how long your foot remains in contact with the ground), cadence and more.
Why should you care about power?
If you use a power meter on your bike, you know how much of a game-changer one machine can be in training and racing. Much like with cycling power meters, when you add a Stryd pod to your list of training aides and monitors, you’ll open a world of opportunity with so many more metrics.
When you first add power to your training, you’ll likely find yourself looking at your watch a couple of times every minute to see what you’re pushing. After a while, however, you’ll get a feel for your average levels. It was probably the same with pace or heart rate when you first started training with a GPS watch or heart rate monitor—at first, you were constantly checking to see how quickly you were running or how fast your heart was beating, but you eventually got into a flow and knew how certain training zones felt.
At the end of the day, power is an important metric to consider in training because it’s another piece of data to look at that can help you become the best runner possible. Anyone can grit their teeth and trudge through a run, but to improve, you need to work on your form and your running economy. The Stryd pod and Wahoo Elemnt Rival are working together to help you do just that, and you’ll become a better runner—and triathlete—thanks to this integration.