Wahoo cycling head units - Poor GPS performance with a camera (Cyliq, insta, etc)
I wanted to see if anyone has experienced GPS performance issues with cameras or other devices mounted under their Wahoo head unit?
There are numerous posts on this here and in other forums — it seems like a common issue, but I haven't found a clear resolution or a definitive answer on root cause.
The question: has anyone established whether the issue lies with the Wahoo devices (poor shielding, h/w faults, etc.) or the camera devices (EMI, shielding, etc.)?
My situation and testing:
In my setup I have a Cycliq Fly12 Sport camera mounted under a Wahoo Element Roam v2. I am using a third party KOM Mount. With the Cycliq camera turned on I see a noticeable decrease in the Roam's GPS performance.
General symptoms:
- Very slow satellite lock at the start of the ride with the camera on
- Slow to re-establish satellite lock after adverse conditions (tunnels, buildings, etc.) — drops GPS lock for an extended period
- Occasional GPS dropout, though these are rarer
I exported a couple of FIT files and ran some analysis in AI on the GPS accuracy field. It does show a clear difference, though I should note these rides are not directly comparable — one was a shorter, slower ride; the other was a longer, harder effort. I plan to repeat this in a more controlled environment next week.
GPS Accuracy Field
| Metric | Ride 1 – No Camera | Ride 2 – With Camera |
|---|---|---|
| Mean accuracy | 1.41 m | 2.45 m |
| Median accuracy | 1 m | 2 m |
| Max accuracy | 17 m | 19 m |
| Std deviation | 1.46 m | 1.99 m |
| Points ≤3m | 96.9% | 88.1% |
| Points ≤5m | 98.0% | 93.8% |
| Missing GPS lock | 0 / 3,041 records | 75 / 7,582 records |
Notes:
- u/GPLama tested this in his Fly12 Sport review and found it less of a problem than previous models
- I've been going back and forth with Cycliq support. Their advice was to let the ROAM establish GPS lock before powering the camera on, ensure the devices are a "few centimetres away", and that they have no control over Wahoo's hardware. they initially sent a canned responses, this combined with their advice suggests this is a known and recurring issue.
Professionally i work in IT operations. Although it is not a severe issue - i cant unsee it