Garmin Edge 850 vs Wahoo Elemnt Ace: Which Bike Computer Should Triathletes Buy?

The Garmin Edge 850 and Wahoo Elemnt Ace sit at similar price points but solve slightly different problems. The Edge 850 packs flagship Garmin features into a genuinely compact body; the Elemnt Ace is built around a bigger screen and a wind sensor aimed squarely at long-course racers. Here’s how they compare for triathlon.

Spec Comparison

  • Screen: Edge 850 — 2.7in colour touchscreen with physical buttons on all four sides. Elemnt Ace — 3.8in colour display, noticeably larger and easier to read at race speed.
  • Battery life: Edge 850 — up to 36 hours GPS (battery saver mode). Elemnt Ace — more than 30 hours in GPS mode.
  • Mapping and navigation: Edge 850 — preloaded Garmin Cycle Map with Trailforks integration, live weather with wind direction and rain radar. Elemnt Ace — sharp turn-by-turn navigation plus a built-in barometric sensor that reports live wind speed and direction as you ride.
  • Ecosystem: Edge 850 — Garmin Connect, Garmin Pay contactless payment, training readiness and HRV status when paired with a compatible Garmin watch. Elemnt Ace — syncs with TrainingPeaks, Wahoo SYSTM, Strava and Garmin Connect, so it plays nicely even if your watch is a Garmin.
  • Safety: Edge 850 — incident detection with emergency alerts.
  • UK price: Edge 850 — £469.99. Elemnt Ace — RRP £549.99, sold out at Tredz.

Garmin Edge 850: Best For

The Edge 850 is the pick if you’re already inside the Garmin ecosystem — a Forerunner or Fenix watch, Garmin Connect training logs — and want a compact computer that doesn’t dominate your cockpit. It suits Olympic-distance and 70.3 racers who want flagship features (readiness scores, contactless payment for aid-station-adjacent convenience, detailed mapping) without the bulk of a full-size unit.

Check Garmin Edge 850 price on Tredz

Wahoo Elemnt Ace: Best For

The Elemnt Ace’s larger screen and integrated wind sensor make it a strong match for full-distance IRONMAN racing, where you’re staring at the same display for five-plus hours and real-time wind data actually changes how you pace an exposed bike leg. It’s also the more neutral choice if your existing devices are a mix of brands — its syncing is broader than Garmin’s own.

Verdict

Neither is a wrong answer. Buy the Edge 850 for a smaller, lighter unit with the deepest Garmin integration; buy the Elemnt Ace for the biggest screen and the most useful long-course-specific feature — live wind data — plus a genuinely cross-platform sync story.

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