Bryton Rider 50 gps/computer

evo3ben

Anyone any info on these? Have read a few reviews bu would like to know from owners out there. Seems a good price.

evo3ben

Have been doing quite a bit of looking around at reviews etc regarding the Bryton Ride 50 and in all honesty its not looking good at the moment.
The spec is great as well as the price and the fact it uses Open Street Maps doesnt really bother me as its still quite a good map source and quickly growing.
The main huge problem is that it cant use GPX files. In fact you cant download any routes or maps from any site like google earth! You have to use the Bryton Sport site :roll:
If you are not bothered about downloading routes from other 3rd party sources then this should be ok for you.
You can still create routes via the Bryton site and if there is a route you have found on the net you could copy it.

Some reviews really rave about this device comparing it to the edge 705 saying that it is better mainly because of the larger screen and the price. But, the 705 is now as cheap as £205 for basic model and you can now load Open Street Maps onto the 705 and its free mapping. Other reviews have slatted it saying that navigation is slow, the screen pixels are poor especially when you zoom in.
I still have not ruled the Bryton out yet and would love to hear from any owners on here as to how they are getting on with it

evo3ben

The obvious choices i have found along with the Bryton are:

Garmin Edge 800:

Pro's: Touch screen, handle bar mount is solid, OS mapping and generally the newest and best computer, trainer and navigation on the market. Has good file options so able to use 3rd party software and able to download other peoples routes.
Con's: New so still has software problems and the price £360 for trail bundle!!

Garmin Edge 705:

Pro's: Has been around for a while so hopefully software problems not so common anymore. Garmin site for downloading other peoples routes. Great for training. Can now download OSM (open street map) which is evolving day by day and now at a good level. Much better than garmin maps. Cost £205 (lowest found on net)

Bryton Ride 50

Pro's: Cost £170!! Large screen same size as edge 800. Water proof up to 1 metre. Comes with OSM (open street map) for whole of Europe and able to download to unit a coutry at a time as you need them. Looks nice, good display and robust. Bar mount solid compared to edge 705. Use google maps via the Bryton site to make routes.

Con's: New on the scene so still has software problems but firmware updates are always coming out. Cant use GPX files so cant download other peoples routes form 3rd party sites like garmin. Will need to find a file converter. Mind you, you could just copy the route anyway! Not many people have these yet so not alot of info on forums or net. Community needs to grow. Not sure if there is a uk base to call if problems. Will need to email.


These are what i can think of at the moment.

camerauk

What about the Dakota or Oregon units
I have the Dakota 20 it's a great bit of kit

evo3ben

Both are a great bit of kit but the ones above are my choice for what i need for training and mapping combined. I have narrowed it down to these three. The Dakota 20 has good mapping but not the training facility i would like.

camerauk

Yes your right no training but I don't need that
The Garmin 800 does seem very good although people have been having problems with the software but think it's sorted now
I have had a look at the Bryton Sport site and it will be ok for planning routes on raods but not easy to plan off road routes as no OS mapping

evo3ben

OS mapping is great and our ideal mapping source but, the open street map mapping is coming along really well. www.openstreetmap.org if you go to cannock chase (for example) and zoom in you can even see follow the dog and monkey trail!! All my local trails are on the OSM mapping so would not be too much of a problem (i think lol). The OS mapping is still much more advanced and detailed but always will be compared to anything else.

Anonymous

evo3ben wrote:

www.openstreetmap.org if you go to cannock chase (for example) and zoom in you can even see follow the dog and monkey trail!!

On my Navman CAR sat-nav, you can clearly see Coed y Brenin's Red Bull Route.
Try as I might, I simply cannot force it to tell me to drive down it though

evo3ben

All i ment by stating that detail at Cannock via Open Street Maps is that its no longer as basic as used to be and more detailed that some think (it will only get better). OS is great but it can not be edited by mountain bikers for there specific needs but OSM can

robdaykin

I bought a Bryten 50 about a week ago in a certain online vendor's sale for 20% off.

Having had 5 Edge 305s in the last 3 years, when the fifth one broke, I decided to give up on Garmin, despite them having replaced each broken one so far.

The unit seems to be little different in external build quality to the Garmin, time will tell if the buttons also break after a while. The weather seal on the USB port is superior, and the micro SD slot is well embedded and firmly covered. The unit is quite thick, and looks bulky, but isn'theavy. The mount that came with it uses elastics and has been on 3 bikes so far while I wait for permanent mounts for each bike (on back order). Has not come off so far even off road.

Works with my existing Garmin GSC 10 units, and HR strap. In fact it works with one GSC10 that the 305 has been intermittent with of late.

battery life seems ok. It's been on and off for about 6 hours so far, and is still reporting full charge, so not too bad.

As for the software, after registering and updating the software I had a mess around, and sent Bryton an email with quite a few bugs or feature requests. I had an answer within 24 hours, which was prompt, and althoughthe answers were not 100% perfect were at least satisfactory. Some of my points are now in as feature requests (support for 4 bikes or more, automatic profile selection based on sensor id, option on website to set bike profile, allow personalization of dashboard graphs)

The website allows upload of files, but needless to say, it seems to be down at this minute so I can't tell you which (edit (it's back!) GPX//KML/KMZ definitely). There is now a download button for GPX files for a specific ride on the site.

I'm not keen on my ride data being held on the net, but you can back the unit up locally, and so you're not 100% dependent on their website for storage. They are looking at the offline option, but it's not on their schedule yet. Mac support is Q2 provisionally.

All in all, the software is a a work in progress, and they are actively working on it. I am curious to see how long the developments continue, and whether they can surpass Garmin. If they are open to user requests and willing to work, then they're on the way.

Given that I'd had enough with Garmin, and I'm a software engineer by profession, then I'm perhaps inclined to be tolerant of someone who responds to customer mails promptly, and is not dismissive of their comments.

My real test though is whether it still works in a year's time. I'll let you know.

Rob

evo3ben

Hi Rob, thanks very much for the lengthy report! Im looking to get one this week and i know it sounds a bit strange, i do like the work in progress stuff and being able to help make product progress.
I too can get it cheaper than on net which has also added to the positives of getting one.
Would be great to start a thread up on here for Bryton owners so problems can be sorted and routes shared 8)

Once again, thanks very much

robdaykin

no problem.

One other thing that I really like, you can calibrate the barometer. In fact they're really keen on it. Which scores big style over Garmin, both for the feature and the attitude.

Good idea, Garmin posts seem quite frequent. Maybe we can get a non discipline specific section on the forum going for GPS, computers, power meters and stuff that roadies, commuters, mountain bikers and so on can post. ANy admins listening?

chris1001

I am also the owner of the Bryton 50, I find it to be excellent in that you can plot your routes using something like 'ridewithgps.com', save the route as a GPX file then use the Bryton website to download the GPX route data to the device. You can save a list of POI's to navigate to 'on route' if you find you have extra time and fancy a diversion. The hardware works fine, and having access to maps covering the whole of Europe is a bonus. Only found two minor drawbacks - which I'll log with Bryton and hope they get round to improving on. The first is the zoom level, you can zoom into the map far enough for most cycling journeys in the UK, but try following the route thorough a city like Seville, so many narrow roads that just get obscured by the arrow pointer, needs to be able to zoom in further. The 2nd gripe is the map accuracy, 99.9% of the lanes near where I live are shown on the map, but one lane isn’t, its just totally missing from the map, strange as its longer and wider than many that are displayed! The road doesnt appear on 'openstreetmap.org' , dont suppose that if anyone (or me) were to edit the openstreet map it would have any effect on the map thats downloaded to the Bryton50? However, that said, there is an easy work around to help you navigate down any roads that aren’t shown. - just plot the route on any route planning website (or even the Bryton site) as you would normally, download the route to the device, and although the road is still missing, the highlighted route line is shown and can be followed without the device thinking you're in the middle of a field.

hard-rider

What is the screen like in the sun light and is it clear with polarised sun glasses?

chris1001

Clear in bright sunlight, but not tried it with polarised glasses yet. Tried editing the "currentmap.xmp" file in the map folder to get more zoom but just get a message telling me to zoom back out when I set it to maximum zoom. Updated the openstreetmap last night to include the missing lane I mentioned, but dont know how the updated online map can be saved and exported to the Bryton50 yet.

evo3ben

My Bryton Rider 50 turned up at Friday from Wiggle. Top service from Wiggle again!

Not had the chance to use it out yet but have been playing around with it and the Bryton Sport site.
First impression are very good Nice small compact unit and very light in weight. It looks smart and robust but time will tell as to how it fairs to knocks and bashes etc.
The unit came with the UK open street maps loaded on it already plus a couple of cd's with maps of Europe which is an added bonus. Also it comes with two bike mounts, one for bars and one for stem. I cant use the stem mount as my stem is too short. Not bothered about that though as is same for other stuff as well. Bar mount seems to hold well but once again time will tell.
One thing i have noticed about the Bryton community is that Bryton listen to there customers and if they agree to what they hear then they use firmware updates to update the units 8)
The main issue with the Rider 50 was down loading GPX files to the unit. Bryton have resolved this. Its slightly different way of doing it but it works! To test this i found a route on the Garmin connet site and saved the file to my computer rather than to device. You then log onto you Bryton Sport site and upload the GPX file from your computer. Once the file is on your Bryton Sport account you can download it to your Rider 50 8)

The one thing they could have improved is the screen resolution. The screen is bigger than the edge 705 screen but the pixels are the same so its not 100% clear. In all honesty, it doesnt bother me as its still good and works as it should.

The only question i have so far is, 'Can you update your Open Street Map version that is on the Rider 5o to accomodate new additions to the map'?

We could use this thread for Bryton Rider 30/50 owners for support and ideas until Bryton get there forum up and running? 8)

chris1001

Contacted Bryton about updating the maps and downloading any updated maps onto the Bryton 50. I'm slightly concerned that if I've discovered one road missing withing a day or two, how many other out there are missing from openstreetmap.org? Will post their reply when I receive it. I tend to avoid A roads where possible and stick to quieter B roads, or better still C, D & unclassified roads - there is a good chance that some of these roads may be missing from the map.

evo3ben

I am hoping that there response will be that they will update the mapping regularly via firmware upgrades. Open Street Map is always being updated by people so would make sense really. Definately interested to hear there response

evo3ben

Some handy links if anyone needs them.

Reviews
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=657146
http://www.midlandtrailquests.co.uk/bik ... der-50.php
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... -11-44495/

Handy sites
http://corp.brytonsport.com/
http://www.brytonsport.com
http://www.facebook.com/BrytonGPSCyclin ... ers?v=wall
www.bryton.co.nz

Maps
http://www.openstreetmap.org/
http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/
http://maps.google.com/

CommandoBoy

I know these arent really for walking but i took mine up scarfell pikey the other day and it wasnt displaying the footpaths or anything?

Does anyone know a way around this?

chris1001

Yes, buy the Garmin 800 with 1:50,000 OS maps. After having no response from Bryton and finding more and more minor roads missing I have sent it back. Pity really as its got a very nice user interface.

dodgy

Not sure if anyone has mentioned yet http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/g ... ment-29674

evo3ben

chris1001 wrote:

Yes, buy the Garmin 800 with 1:50,000 OS maps. After having no response from Bryton and finding more and more minor roads missing I have sent it back. Pity really as its got a very nice user interface.

Real shame they have not got back to you. Did you try the NZ forums?

The Garmin 800 is a briliant device but i would use it for mountain biking and due to the screen cracking problem its had from alot of owners, the price you pay for it just isnt good until Garmin resolve the problem thus the reason why i didnt get it.
Best advice i could give you is make sure it doesnt get dirty including dust from out on the trail and keep it covered.

evo3ben

dodgy wrote:

Not sure if anyone has mentioned yet http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/g ... ment-29674

Sounds like a lengthy process of which would not be resolved too soon. They seem to be more concerned about the Rider 30 and not the Rider 50 so shouldnt really affect Rider 50 owners.
Seems to me that Garmin are a little upset they have a bit of competition now and are too use to being the leaders of GPS bike computers over the years. Im sure it will be resolved between them anyhow.

chris1001

I think Garmin could learn from Bryton regarding the screen layout and general display of ride information, I found the whole thing very easy to use and configure without having to constantly refer to the manual. The website was easy to use, no problems downloading GPX files. In comparison I've found the Garmin site to be a bit of a minefield, some quite useful applications and utilities, but located all over the place, and mostly discovered via links from other forums. If the Bryton could be upgraded with the Garmin style maps, or OS maps then it would be a brilliant device. I only took a quick glance at the NZ forums, hopefully those members will push Bryton to get their act together with the mapping, I wish them luck.

evo3ben

Have been using the Bryton Rider 50 now for 3 weeks and am very impressed. I have created routes and followed them, navigated other peoples routes that i downloaded from other sites and have had no problems at all 8)
Battery life is very good having to charge after 14 hours of riding plus god knows how long playing around with it.

hard-rider

The main issue for me is the fact that you are unable to load other maps on it. Living in the Algarve the Openstreet maps isn't very detailed and none of the off road tracks are shown. It would be nice if they allow OS style maps to be loaded or even being able to download the googlemap tiles for an area onto it would be useful.

Paulroth

Bought a Bryton Rider 50 3 weeks ago from Wiggle and the bike mount broke on just my 3rd ride - a smooth road ride. Descending a col, the stem mount suddenly snapped. Specifically, the toggle that slides into the back of the Rider 50 just snapped off and the unit skidded along the asphalt.
Fortunately, no following traffic so the unit was not crushed by a car and I was able to recover the unit - which still seems to work OK. But with the stem mount now out of action, had to put the navigation unit in a back pocket and continue.

Have now returned the unit to Wiggle for replacement as the bounce down the road following the mounting breakage has left several scars on the unit.

Has anyone else had a problem with the Bryton Rider bike mount ?

I went onto the Bryton website in New Zealand and there is a news item about replacing bike mounts due to breakage. Also sounds like the new mounts being released from March 2011 are a version 3 redesign. Unclear what version the mount is on mine that Wiggle shipped in March 2011...

http://www.bryton.co.nz/rider-50-mounts-replacement

As am based in Europe (France) - have not seen a similar replacement offer on the European websites for Bryton. Sounds like this may be a potential weak point, but very positive that Bryton are addressing via a redesigned mount. Hoping this redesign will also resolve this issue.

Otherwise, am impressed with how the Bryton Rider 50 functions. Website and Route planning very good and post ride tracking excellent.
Frankly though, am still wondering if this is just a gadget or has real utility.
After only 3 rides, was still getting used to so much data available on the handlebars - Maps & Stats etc.... which can be a real distraction versus just getting on with riding. As I typically know where I am going, the navigation has limited utility during a ride, so the computer functions are of more interest during a ride.

Once I get a replacement, does anyone have advice on a 'safety strap' so that if the mount breaks again, the unit does not dive-bomb the asphalt ? Putting a rubber band around it would just obscure the screen (which is the whole point of having the device).
Any other ideas ?

Paul