Bryton Rider 50 GPS Review:

Bryton Up Your Ride !

(Stagg Cycles Sponsored Top A1 Cyclist Daniel Kirwan reviews the Bryton Rider 50 GPS ) 

Review: Bryton Rider 50, GPS cycling computer. Available from Stagg Cycles, Lucan.  

When the gang at Stagg Cycles offered me the opportunity to test the Bryton Rider 50, I jumped at the chance! To date I’ve been using the Polar CS600, which for the first year or so of its life served me well before it started to give real trouble. I’m sure my Polar wasn’t the first cycling computer to give trouble and it probably won’t be the last! Due to the CS600’s failings I was firmly in the market for a new computer.

The market for cycling computers today is packed with great options and there are great computers out there that measure every aspect of your training from basics like ride time and speed to the more advanced features of heart rate and power. Luckily for me I was getting to test a top of the range GPS cycling computer. That is the first thing you notice about the Bryton rider 50; it is packed with absolutely everything you need and possibly more.

Setting the unit up on the bike was quick and very straight forward, a few cable ties, a bit of common sense and away you go.

The design of the Bryton makes it a very attractive product. It is not too bulky and has a nice splash of colour in the blue detail around the computer. The screen size is a huge 3.5cm x 4.3cm - compared to what I’ve been used to up until now, this allows for clear display of ride information and makes the computer really easy to use.

The display is of course customisable. While riding I could flick between three display screens. The first two screens showed my ride information; there are a total of 33 options to fill the 10 data fields available. I doubt they could possibly have thought of more! I tried to keep it simple going for a pretty predictable display showing speed, avg. speed, cadence, distance and heart rate on the main screen and backed up by % gradient, avg. HR, ride time and calories on the second screen. The third screen contained the GPS element. Admittedly I did not find myself using the maps and GPS too much (riding in a group and on trusted routes meant I didn’t have to worry about getting lost too much) but that said I can see how the Maps and GPS could be a great tool for someone looking for something new in their training.

Some of my fellow club mates more interested in finding leg-breaking climbs in the mountains than playing it safe were very interested in what the Bryton could offer in this regard.  The maps were always very clear and the computer has a nifty little joystick for zooming in and out. Another feature of the GPS is that routes can be loaded on to the computer, so there really is no excuse for getting lost and trying to explain to your nearest and dearest why you were gone for 6 hours on a Sunday… actually, probably best keep that feature a secret! The device has a massive memory of 4 GB, to 2GB of internal and then 2GB from an SD card giving plenty of room for storing maps and routes. 

The Bryton Rider 50 also has the bonus of having a great battery life, usually lasting somewhere in the region of 10 – 11 hours. The re-charging of the battery couldn’t have been simpler; either plug it into the wall or into the computer as uploading information from the unit. This brings me nicely on to the next point. The Bryton uploads to a personal account at brytonsport.com via Bryton Bridge, software downloaded and stored on your computer. I have to say that I found this element of the Bryton package a little tricky to begin with. I think that Bryton had a few bugs to iron out of their system when I first started using the Rider 50 about 2 months ago but since that time everything seems to have been debugged and now runs smoothly. Once I figured out my way around the Bryton page I was able to analyse my training in great detail.

In comparison to other GPS units on the market the Bryton Rider 50 does extremely well. I was initially taken aback by the retail price of € 350 but having checked out the Garmin 705, which is similar in features to the Rider 50, it turns out to be great value. Prices for the Garmin can vary but typically you save €100 euro, this comparison is based on the price of both devices coming as a bundle (including heart rate strap and necessary cycling accessories). The Rider 50 is great value, if not one of the best value devices out there. For people worried about whether or not the Bryton works with their power meter, the Rider 50 is ANT+ enabled, so no worries there either.

SO after thorough testing; 2 months on the highways and byways of Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, the odd encounter with one of the numerous pot-holes covering our great roads and through typically delightful Irish weather the Bryton Rider 50 gets a thumbs up. I’m so sure about it I’m putting it on my letter for Santa!

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