Against a market dominated by Garmin, Wahoo will start shipping pre-ordered units of its Elemnt GPS cycling computer within the next week. The schedule calls for it to be widely available to at-once buyers sometime in March.

While Garmin is preeminent in the bike computer industry, Wahoo is ready to shake up the market, which will only benefit consumers.

What is refreshing about the Elemnt (and typical for Wahoo products) is the open platform and integration, allowing the Elemnt to work with nearly every brand of sensor or device, and 3rd party software platforms as well. And as part of the two-way smartphone integration, it allows you to customize screens via an easy-to-use smartphone app, receive messages from your smartphone, use the live tracking feature, and upload rides through your smart phone or WiFi. Wahoo's most recent demo video highlights many of the key features, including the pairing process.

Like most bike computers, the customizable screen on the Elemnt will display all the usual cycling metrics (power, cadence, distance, etc.) along with some other metrics from 3rd party devices such as Sm02 from the BSX Insight. Further, in keeping with its ecosystem of indoor training, the Elemnt can control the resistance and desired wattage, and simulate routes while using the Wahoo KICKR or KICKR SNAP.

Similar to the popular Wahoo App, the Elemnt allows for automatic uploads to numerous 3rd party sites such as Strava, TrainingPeaks and Garmin Connect, and Wahoo continues to work with newcomers such as Today's Plan.

The Elemnt is selling for $329, slightly more than the Edge 520, but also included with the Elemnt are three computer mounts (stem, in front, and aerobar mount). We'll be publishing for Slowtwitchers a bike computer showdown featuring the Garmin Edge 520, the Polar V650, and the Elemnt in the near future.