BikeOtter: the >Wahoo< bike computer companion that skips the cloud

BikeOtter is an iPhone and Android companion app for bike computers. It supports Wahoo ELEMNT units today, with Garmin Edge in beta and Coros and Hammerhead planned. It connects to the head unit directly over Bluetooth instead of going through the maker’s cloud, and uses that link to put water stops, other riders and warnings on the bike computer’s own screen.

Every bike computer is really two products. The unit on the bars is usually very good. The app on the phone is how routes get onto it, how rides come off it, and how anyone at home knows where the rider is; it is used before and after every ride. For many riders, that app feels like an afterthought: a settings screen and a sync button in front of the maker’s cloud.

BikeOtter is written by Jonas Acker, who also developed BikeControl: Virtual Shifting. He started from a short list of things he wanted on his own rides: live tracking that says when he will be back, group rides that work whichever bike computer each rider has, a warning after a forgotten pause, radar and off-route warnings he can hear, the weather before he leaves and, most of all, water stops on the route itself. The phone talks to the head unit directly over Bluetooth, and nothing goes through a server on the way.

How BikeOtter works

TL;DR: BikeOtter pairs with an ELEMNT the same way Wahoo’s own app does, then exchanges data with the unit over Bluetooth in both directions. Routes and stops reach the unit in seconds, with no Wi-Fi, no cloud sync and no mobile signal needed.

The link carries these to the unit:

• Routes, with their stops as real points of interest.
• Messages on the unit’s screen.
• Other riders’ positions on its map.
• Phone notifications.

It brings these back from the unit:

• Live position and ride state.
• The unit’s battery level and paired sensors.
• The route currently loaded.
• The ride files themselves.

The unit is never asked to fetch anything from the internet, which is why route sending works with no mobile signal.

On Garmin, the same approach runs over Garmin’s own device link, and it is in beta. On an Edge 540, pairing, route sending, find-my-device and notifications are confirmed on hardware, and the Edge reports its position. Heart rate, power and cadence come in through a small BikeOtter Live data field from the Connect IQ store. BikeOtter’s Garmin page lists what works on which Edge.

What only BikeOtter does

Jonas Acker says no bike computer maker’s app, and no other phone app, offers the following features today.

Stops on the unit’s map

Water, cafes and bakeries along the route go to the ELEMNT as real points of interest, drawn on its map rather than buried in a turn list.

Group rides across brands

Everyone joins from one link on their phone, and one map shows the whole group, with gaps between riders along the route. On an ELEMNT, the other riders also appear on the unit’s own map.

Race mode

Race mode, which is rolling out now, runs a race among friends on a loop. It counts laps against a start and finish line on the route, shows lap times on each racer’s head unit, reports gaps such as “Anna is 140 m ahead”, and cuts off the warm-up before the ride goes to Strava.

Live tracking with a real arrival time

Followers see the rider on a map with an arrival time that accounts for the climbs still ahead. They can also send a message straight to the rider’s head unit.

The forgotten-pause alert

If a rider pauses for a drink and rides off without resuming, they get a message on the ELEMNT’s screen. BikeOtter spots real progress along the loaded route while the unit is paused.

Custom messages on the unit’s screen

Rules such as rain ahead, a steep climb coming, a heart rate zone, or a reminder to reapply sunscreen appear as text on the head unit.

Spoken and audible warnings

A rear radar connected to BikeOtter plays a rising tone in the rider’s headphones as a car closes in. Going off route and any rule alert can be spoken too.

The usual route, picked up mid-ride

When a ride starts without a route, BikeOtter recognises which saved route the rider is on and offers to put it on the unit with one tap.

Reading the unit back

BikeOtter can read which route is loaded on the ELEMNT, even one sent from Komoot, and save it as a file.

A ride rescued from the live track

If the unit loses a ride, the phone’s copy of the live track can be turned back into a ride file.

Before the ride

BikeOtter shows the forecast along the route at the rider’s pace, with suggestions for what to wear, what food and water to bring, and a tyre pressure for the route.

Every feature, with screenshots, is in the BikeOtter feature book.

Worked example: a Saturday loop with water on it

The ride is a 110 km summer loop with two friends joining, one of them on a Garmin Edge.

The evening before

The route is planned in the app, or imported from Strava or a GPX file. BikeOtter lists the drinking water, cafes and bakeries along the route in the order the rider reaches them, and the rider ticks the ones they want. The Before you ride screen puts the forecast along the route at the rider’s pace: rain after 14:00 in the valley and a headwind on the last 30 km. From that, it suggests what to wear and what to bring.

At the start

The route goes to the ELEMNT over Bluetooth, and the ticked stops go with it.

On the unit, the stops appear as proper points of interest on the map, with water drops for fountains and a cup for the cafe.

 

The rider starts a group ride, and the two friends join from one link on their phones. Everyone sees the whole group on one map, with the gaps between riders along the route, and on the ELEMNT the other riders appear on the unit’s own map. At home, a live link shows the rider with an arrival time that accounts for the climbs still ahead, and a message typed there appears on the head unit.

 

 

Out on the road

• A radar connected to BikeOtter turns an approaching car into a rising tone in the rider’s headphones.
• A wrong turn gets a spoken warning and a message on the head unit.
• Rain arriving earlier than forecast becomes a line of text on the ELEMNT’s screen.

At the second water stop, the rider pauses the unit, refills and rides off without pressing resume. Left alone, the unit records nothing for the next hour and never mentions it. BikeOtter watches progress along the loaded route while the unit is paused, and after 250 metres of real riding it writes a message to the ELEMNT’s screen saying the ride is still paused.

After the ride

The ride file comes off the unit over Bluetooth, goes to Strava automatically, and can be turned into a route to ride again.

Built by one rider, tested on the road

BikeOtter is built by one developer in Germany who rides with it. Radar warnings, live tracking, group rides and a unit busy recording can only really be tested outside, so that is where most of the testing happens. It is also where most of the ideas come from, and a change is often tried on the same ride it was thought of.

When something goes wrong, riders send the app’s diagnostic log from the in-app support chat, and Jonas uses the same button on himself from the side of the road. Riders vote on what comes next on a public wishlist, and a good part of the feature list above started there.

Limitations

• BikeOtter sits alongside Wahoo’s own ELEMNT app and does not replace it. Firmware updates, sensor pairing and the unit’s settings stay in the official app.
• Garmin support is in beta. Route sending and position work on an Edge 540, but other Edge models and some features, such as downloading rides from a Garmin, are not yet confirmed on hardware.
• Coros and Hammerhead support is planned but not available yet.
• Other riders don’t yet show on the map for the newest ELEMNT generation. The phone app and the live page show everyone either way.
• Radar warnings come through the phone’s headphones, so they only work while BikeOtter is running during the ride.

Price

These features are free, with no account needed:

• Sending routes and GPX files to the unit over Bluetooth.
• Downloading rides, with automatic Strava upload.
• Live tracking, and joining group rides and races.
• Ride alerts and phone notifications on the head unit.
• The route library.

BikeOtter Plus pays for the parts that cost money to run every month: routing, map and point-of-interest servers, weather and rain radar data, offline map downloads, and the servers behind hosted group rides. It covers these features:

• The route planner and address search.
• Stops along the route.
• Weather along the route and rain radar.
• Offline maps.
• Hosting group rides and races, and letting followers message the rider.
• Building custom alert rules.
• Settings backup.

Plus costs €2.49 a month, €19.99 a year with the first 14 days free, or €49.99 once with no renewal. You can try most Plus features a few times for free without signing up. The app stores show the local price, and details are on the pricing page.

BikeOtter is on the App Store and Google Play. Features, device compatibility and a browser demo are at bikeotter.app, and the story behind the app is on the developer’s blog in Why I built BikeOtter.

Quick answers

Which Wahoo ELEMNT models work with BikeOtter?
BikeOtter is tested on ELEMNT BOLT v3, and riders have confirmed most features on ROAM v1. ACE, BOLT v1 and v2, and ROAM v2 and v3 are expected to work but haven’t been tested yet, and results from the app’s built-in self-test feed the compatibility table on bikeotter.app/wahoo.

Does BikeOtter need the Wahoo cloud or a Wahoo account?
No, it does not. Routes, stops, and ride files go directly between the phone and the unit over Bluetooth.

Does BikeOtter work without mobile signal?
Sending routes and downloading rides work without signal. You can download maps and stops for a route beforehand with Plus, but live tracking and weather require a connection.

Does BikeOtter work on iPhone and Android?
Yes, BikeOtter is available for both iPhone and Android.

Can BikeOtter be tried without a bike computer?
Yes, the browser demo at bikeotter.app/demo runs the app with sample routes and rides. It needs no install and no account.

Related reading

• Blocks: an AI-native training platform for endurance athletes
• IntervalCoach Race Recon: training and fuelling from a GPX file
• Back My Run: GPS-triggered voice notes for race day

Author: Jonas Acker, developer of BikeOtter, edited by the5krunner.

Last Updated on 30 September 2026 by the5krunner