Mio Cyclo - any users out there?

luv2ride

I tried one of these on Saturday:
http://eu.mio.com/cyclo/info-300.php

Seemed fine to me and have them pretty cheap online (£207 for the basic 300, £247quid for the 305 HC which comes with HR and cadence sensor). Had a couple of wrong turns and took me down a few country lanes when using the surprise me function, but all in all a robust device which showed me routes in my area which I'd never tried before (and will definitely do again).

Training info seems basic but I've never felt the need to plot stats for every ride, just want to see general improvement in average speeds on routes, get HR readings speed and distance and not get lost! 8)

I'm really undecided so thought I'd ask if there are any users out there for their thoughts and possible recommendations?

think the offers expire tonight so replies appreciated!

cheers

luv2ride

the offer is still on:
http://www.satnav-discounts.co.uk/tomto ... prices.htm

any owners want to share their experiences, or recommendations? tempted to press the 'buy' button tonight....

greentea

Yep im one, had it for 2 months and i have the Mio Cyclo 305 HC. Its a better unit than the basic Mio.

So far its been superb and does pretty much what the Garmin 800 does. The Surprise Me function works well, and from experience of using a Garmin they both have small faults with regards mapping but not enough to put you off or work out on the road. But mainly the maps are good just to have in case you need them

You can upload all route data and download other peoples routes they have uploaded and you can also plot your own routes. The software is ok but could do with being a bit better but again, its not a deal breaker.

There are tons of measurements on the screen, battery life is really good, easily getting 10hrs plus from a charge.

Screen is bright, easy to use on the move and the heart belt and cadence works fine.

Ive read a couple of negative reviews of the basic system but can honestly say ive experienced no problems.

For the money i would say they are hard to beat and everything you need out on the road.

Any other questions just ask.

luv2ride

thanks Greentea. Good to hear a positive user experience, as I'd only picked up rather negative reviews on the web. I did test the "basic" 300 model and thought it was pretty good but to be honest I only tried one 40 mile "surprise me" route and I was concentrating on riding! It succesfully got me home with turn by turn directions which was the main thing i wanted to test. However, that meant I didn't muck around with the screens much (kept it on on map view) so can't really remember what info it displayed on the different screens. Are those screen customisable at all?

Also I thought the screen was a bit dim but have a feeling it was on a battery save mode which presumably dims it after a few seconds or minutes - can this be changed or do you have the touch the screen to return it to normal brightness?

And finally, I take it there are no ways to "race" against yourself on a previously plotted route? if it has that function it sounds ideal for me. I'm torn between this and the Bryton 40/50 unit at the moment as both seem to be available at heathly discount s at the moment!

cheers

many thanks in advance....

greentea

Luv2ride wrote:

thanks Greentea. Good to hear a positive user experience, as I'd only picked up rather negative reviews on the web. I did test the "basic" 300 model and thought it was pretty good but to be honest I only tried one 40 mile "surprise me" route and I was concentrating on riding! It succesfully got me home with turn by turn directions which was the main thing i wanted to test. However, that meant I didn't muck around with the screens much (kept it on on map view) so can't really remember what info it displayed on the different screens. Are those screen customisable at all?

Also I thought the screen was a bit dim but have a feeling it was on a battery save mode which presumably dims it after a few seconds or minutes - can this be changed or do you have the touch the screen to return it to normal brightness?

And finally, I take it there are no ways to "race" against yourself on a previously plotted route? if it has that function it sounds ideal for me. I'm torn between this and the Bryton 40/50 unit at the moment as both seem to be available at heathly discount s at the moment!

cheers

many thanks in advance....

No problem. Will answer what i can
1. Yes the screens are totally customisable. Even down to the map screen ie: you can have 2 options on that if you wish, otherwise you can flip between an 8 page section, then another 8 page section, then another 6 section then the map etc, so in effect you can have loads of data and just flip between each page. You change the set-up via Preferences.

2. Yes you can set the screen to dim over a set period, usual fare of 30 secnds, 2 mins, 30 mins...never, that sort of thing. Also brightness is fully adjustable. Ive got mine on two-thirds and it doesnt seem to drain the battery anymore than normal. Ive done two 30 mile rides with it and the battery is two thirds full still.

3. There is a Workout option but i havent used it at all yet, but from what i have seen you can plot a Surprise Me route or set Distance, Speed or Calories. Then you ride out, so depending on what you set, lets say speed and average say 12mph, you have to stick to it and it monitors wether you are under, over the set limit. So you could set distance at 20miles at 15mph and it will say you should do that in 1hr 10mins ( or whatever it works out ) and then you go out and it obviously gives you a rollicking if you dont achieve it. So you are racing against yourself from that point of view. You could for example have a favourite route and set the target speed then next time up the speed a bit and try to beat it.

You can record all routes and then re-select them and use them for guidance, and then compare that route against your previous etc. so thats another way if you want.

Ive seen a couple of negative reviews and all i can think is they didnt try it out properly, or werent cyclists and didnt understand it because its nothing like the unit ive got. Also on one of the sites the comments section backed me up, ive heard many people are satisfied.
Its like all tech, its never 100%, for all the Garmin Edge users out there just go to their forums and see the amount of people complaining about all various things.

Hope this helps, again feel free to ask.

greentea

Forgot to add heres a list of screen option data you can select.

Active time
Altitude
Arrival time
Average actual speed
Average cadence
Average heart rate
Cadence
Calories
Calories to go
Distance
Distance next turn
Distance to go
Distance to start
Gps speed
Grade
Heading
Heart rate
Max altitude
Max cadence
Max heart rate
Max speed
Minimum speed
Min heart rate
Remaining distance
Remaining time
Sensor speed
Sunrise
Sunset
Time next turn
Time of day
Time to go
Total ascent
Total descent
Training time

Phew!

luv2ride

Thanks for the detailed response! I think mio need to check their marketing because you've described a far more capable unit than their own website does. I reckon they are partly marketing this is a "simplified" gps for leisure cyclists when clearly it is capable of a whole lot more. Very interesting to hear about the customisation options for the various screens as well as, again, I had assumed it wouldn't have much flexibility by way of changing what data the screens display if it was intended to be a simplified device.

Slightly gutted now as I ended up ordering a Bryton Rider 50t last night after exhaustive research, as that seemed the more customisable device (and I liked the PC interface, which is probably very similar to the MioShare, or Cycleshare site).

I might try and track down a mio cyclo again to have a closer look before I open the Bryton box!!!

greentea

Luv2ride wrote:

Thanks for the detailed response! I think mio need to check their marketing because you've described a far more capable unit than their own website does. I reckon they are partly marketing this is a "simplified" gps for leisure cyclists when clearly it is capable of a whole lot more. Very interesting to hear about the customisation options for the various screens as well as, again, I had assumed it wouldn't have much flexibility by way of changing what data the screens display if it was intended to be a simplified device.

Slightly gutted now as I ended up ordering a Bryton Rider 50t last night after exhaustive research, as that seemed the more customisable device (and I liked the PC interface, which is probably very similar to the MioShare, or Cycleshare site).

I might try and track down a mio cyclo again to have a closer look before I open the Bryton box!!!

No problem. I looked at the Bryton Rider 50T as well but opted for the Mio in the end as it seemed easier to use on the road, though the 50T is a good unit.

I think you are right that Mio are selling it as a good, basic cycle gps, but in all honesty when i fired it up and saw the options i thought the biggest problem was not having enough screen space! Because part of me wanted them all on, its hard choosing but at least you can scroll to see more.

Good luck with the Bryton.

meursault

One advantage Garmin has, is direct upload to Strava. I think this will be a selling point for me.

I currently use a win phone that uploads to endomondo, as there is no support for win phones on Strava and no plans to in the future. I then upload the gpx file to strava. Sounds worse than it is.

I assume there will be no strava support for either Bryton or Mio.

StillGoing

The fact that two people contribute to the Mio discussion demonstrates which is the most popular device. Go to any forum about cars, gadgets or whatever and there will be countless posts complaining. Users who have no problems with their device aren't going to go on forums declaring how good the device is every time. Garmin sell millions of units each year the vast majority of which have no problems.

greentea

philthy3 wrote:

The fact that two people contribute to the Mio discussion demonstrates which is the most popular device. Go to any forum about cars, gadgets or whatever and there will be countless posts complaining. Users who have no problems with their device aren't going to go on forums declaring how good the device is every time. Garmin sell millions of units each year the vast majority of which have no problems.

You tend to get this sort of response from Garmin users, its almost like they have to defend their purchase. But what they always forget is that Garmin units have been out for over 5 years in one way or another, whereas the Mio has been out two months.

Likewise i can use your same argument against you, as you say millions of people have Garmin units, many of them happy and there will always be a lot of people with complaints due to the number sold ( as you point out). But my question to you would be this then, if thats the case then why havent Garmin fixed these problems given that they have been around longer and b. have sold millions of units? Surely they should have fixed all problems by now then?

See it works both ways.

Im happy with my Mio and i hope youre happy with your purchase.

End of convo for me.

StillGoing

You tried to support your view that the Mio is the better device by highlighting that some Garmin users have experienced faults with their device. It is quite correct that someone should pick you up on the fact that any product provider that deals in the commodities that Garmin deal in will have customers who experience faults with their device. What that company do about it is what matters and in the vast number of issues, Garmin resolves any warranty issues without problem. My experience with Garmin couldn't be better with them exchanging a unit for a replacement when it was out of warranty simply because it was their firmware upgrade that has caused the device to fail. There is nothing wrong with a Garmin device and your post merely suggests you have a personal beef with them or are trying to justify to yourself why you bought a Mio instead. Garmin are the big fish in the wireless cycling gps pond for good reason and Bryton are bigger than Mio. They don't achieve that success by being crap with the product or support otherwise people wouldn't buy them.

I'm glad you're happy with your Mio device and good luck with it, but it isn't without issues itself if we're going to use internet forums as a means to demonstrate a devices worth.

gabriel959 wrote:

daviesee wrote:

Gladiator wrote:

For the same price as the Garmin you can buy a Mio Cyclo 300 and it comes with full mapping instead of that breadcrumb sh*t.

Google it.

I Googled it. The reviews conclududed that it was sh*t.

+1

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/gps/1293 ... -cyclo-300

http://www.computeractive.co.uk/ca/revi ... 300-review

rolf_f

Luv2ride wrote:

Slightly gutted now as I ended up ordering a Bryton Rider 50t last night after exhaustive research, as that seemed the more customisable device (and I liked the PC interface, which is probably very similar to the MioShare, or Cycleshare site).

The 50 certainly is very customisable.

Actually, one of my favourite features is the auto lighting mode. You can set is so it automatically goes into night time mode at a particular time (set automatically by the GPS time) - so towards dusk the screen changes from black on grey to orange on black. It's pretty cool in a James Bond sort of way!

It's early days for this sort of technology so all the units are going to have pros and cons (and I do like the sound of the Mio "surprise me" function) but as long as the unit basically does what you need it to then you'll be fine!

luv2ride

Hi Rolf F
A quick Bryton question if I may? Can you have speed, cadence and miles left to go on the map screen, or do you either have just the map screen or data screens (and manually switch between them as needed)? The Mio seems to have all this data in the four corners of main map screen, and to be fair I reckon this would be the function I'd use most. Also I recall that the Mio automatically zoomed in at junctions, and gave an audible warning (beep) when junctions or turns we're approaching. Does the Bryton also have this capability?

Like the idea of the automated night view screen, especially now the nights are drawing in! My Bryton was dispatched today, so should be here tomorrow. Might think twice about unboxing though if you can't get some additional data on the map screen....
cheers

meursault

Rolf F wrote:

Luv2ride wrote:

Slightly gutted now as I ended up ordering a Bryton Rider 50t last night after exhaustive research, as that seemed the more customisable device (and I liked the PC interface, which is probably very similar to the MioShare, or Cycleshare site).

The 50 certainly is very customisable.

Actually, one of my favourite features is the auto lighting mode. You can set is so it automatically goes into night time mode at a particular time (set automatically by the GPS time) - so towards dusk the screen changes from black on grey to orange on black. It's pretty cool in a James Bond sort of way!

It's early days for this sort of technology so all the units are going to have pros and cons (and I do like the sound of the Mio "surprise me" function) but as long as the unit basically does what you need it to then you'll be fine!

Also like the sound of this feature, as you say, early days though, I bet it sends you on all kinds of unsuitable routes.

rolf_f

Luv2ride wrote:

Hi Rolf F
A quick Bryton question if I may? Can you have speed, cadence and miles left to go on the map screen, or do you either have just the map screen or data screens (and manually switch between them as needed)? The Mio seems to have all this data in the four corners of main map screen, and to be fair I reckon this would be the function I'd use most. Also I recall that the Mio automatically zoomed in at junctions, and gave an audible warning (beep) when junctions or turns we're approaching. Does the Bryton also have this capability?

Like the idea of the automated night view screen, especially now the nights are drawing in! My Bryton was dispatched today, so should be here tomorrow. Might think twice about unboxing though if you can't get some additional data on the map screen....
cheers

You can set a couple of parameters on both the map and profile screen - so you would be able to have two out of the three. Probably you don't need miles to go as you'll have an idea of that anyway. So there are three normal screens which you can set up to 6 parameters each on plus the profile and map screen which each allow two more. So in theory you can have 22 different parameters on display. You can set the unit to auto rotate through each of the screens but I'd probably get annoyed by that!

On my profile screen currently I have speed and slope and the map has distance to next waypoint and distance to next turning (that's a neat way to ensure that you can ignore any junctions that you don't need).

I don't think there is an auto zoom at junctions (I haven't used the 50 for a bit and the software gets updated a lot so I maybe out of date) but it does give beeps before waypoints. In practice, I generally find that a fixed zoom is fine - the last thing I want is an auto zoom if the scale is right anyway. There is also a red line that can be shown that is a straight line to the next waypoint from where you are now. So if you are careful about how you place the waypoints the navigation can be very easy - for example the red line will be heading off to the right if your next waypoint is to the right.

luv2ride

Thanks Rolf F, that's really helpful. I managed to look at the PDF manuals for both devices last night, but for the Bryton it didn't provide the detail that you have just done! Good to know you you can get data on the map screen, and there's an audible warning on approaching a way point, both of which were important to me.

I did find that on my test ride with the Mio, which ended up taking me a little further than I originally intended (LBS put in a surprise me route selection of 45 miles and I was expecting to do a 20 or 30 mile ride), that I found it useful knowing how far I had left to go and see the miles tick off in front of me - I was also on a limited time pass at home so needed to get back to the shop pretty quickly. in that event I found that seeing the data in front of me on the map screen gave me a real boost. This was mainly because the route was unfamiliar to me, so really had no other way of easily seeing my progress without changing screens (admittedlynthe map was zoomed in) However, if you can visually chart your progress on the map easily enough I take your point that maybe its not necessary to have 'miles to go' data on the map screen. Also I agree the auto zoom might get annoying, although did seem neat on the test ride.

Having a dilemma now as got the Bryton at a good price, the Mio offer at Halfords has now expired and the Bryton works out a good 60 quid cheaper than my LBS could do it for :oops:

cattytown

Hi, I have just got one of these (305HC) as part of my return to cycling. Overall does the job for less than an 800.

The surprise me is nice, but there seem to be a couple of snags worth knowing. From home it only gets to 33% then fails. Mio support suggested trying from somewhere else. I suspect the issue is that I live at the bottom of a long cul de sac, so it worked out one route, but could not easily see any other options. It also does not re-use routes, so if you want a short half hour ride, it will quickly exhaust options.

I also feel the screen could be a little brighter - in sunshine it isn't easy to read, but that's not that big a deal in the UK!

BTW, if buying from Halfords, register a credit card at quidco for an extra 4% cashback.

Paul.

luv2ride

Paul. Thanks for the tips. Especially the quidco option for Halfords. Unfortunately they were doing it at 20% off up until yesterday but that offer seems to have gone (did attempt to purchase online last week actually but there was a problem with their checkout so the process wouldn't complete - might try and see if they might honour the old price. worth a punt).

Must admit when I tried the Mio I started from the LBS, not home, and I also live on an estate with various cul de sacs so might get a similar issue as you've described. That said I reckon I'll more than likely select previous routes from the history if I'm going out for a short evening blast, hence wanting the 'training buddy' type option. The Bryton appears to cover this option well.

The Bryton arrived this morning, so just unboxed it to have a quick look but there is no battery life so can't see the default screens to compare. Initial impression is that the screen size is pretty small compared with the Mio, but the unit itself seems very well made indeed. With the smaller screen my concern is that once I put a couple of additional data fields on the map screen on the Bryton there is little space for the map itself, two data fields would look to take up roughly half the room. The Mio seems to make great use of the map screen 'real estate' using two small and almost transparent tiles to display different, user confirgurable data. The 'next turn' arrows and 'distance to turning' info also seems to be unobtrusively displayed at the top of the Mio screen...

Other issue with the Bryton is that it seems that you need to choose either cadence or sensor speed as it can't do both. Ideally I wanted both so I could still use the computer on the turbo trainer! Perhaps I should forget the fancy versions, and just go basic GPS and keep the Cateye V3 for hr and cadence - both road bikes have the sensors already fitted.

Right now I'm leaning towards the Mio at this point based on the ease of use (touchscreen), clarity of the map screen with additional data, and being to run a separate speed and cadence sensor. One day,I'm sure the perfect do it all device will come along (how long before someone says "it has and it's called a Garmin"?!) :roll:

StillGoing

You've said it yourself though I fail to see what the raised eyes is for? For the price of the Mio HC you could get an 800 if you shop around and with HRM and cadence sensor. Just download the OS map for free.

rolf_f

Luv2ride wrote:

The Bryton arrived this morning, so just unboxed it to have a quick look but there is no battery life so can't see the default screens to compare. Initial impression is that the screen size is pretty small compared with the Mio, but the unit itself seems very well made indeed. With the smaller screen my concern is that once I put a couple of additional data fields on the map screen on the Bryton there is little space for the map itself, two data fields would look to take up roughly half the room. The Mio seems to make great use of the map screen 'real estate' using two small and almost transparent tiles to display different, user confirgurable data. The 'next turn' arrows and 'distance to turning' info also seems to be unobtrusively displayed at the top of the Mio screen...

Other issue with the Bryton is that it seems that you need to choose either cadence or sensor speed as it can't do both. Ideally I wanted both so I could still use the computer on the turbo trainer! Perhaps I should forget the fancy versions, and just go basic GPS and keep the Cateye V3 for hr and cadence - both road bikes have the sensors already fitted.

The data fields take about a third of the room on the Bryton 50 screen and you can do speed and cadence - but you need a Garmin sensor at the moment if you want to do both with a single sensor - you'd need two Bryton sensors as they don't yet do the sort with the little swingy arm.

luv2ride

Hi Rolf F. Just so that I'm clear, are you saying that having 2 x data fields on the map screen would take up one third of the available screen, or are you saying the data fields take up about one third of the screen each?

Hadn't appreciated you could use Garmin accessories with it, so might go basic 50 then add a Garmin cadence and speed sensor later on maybe.

Sorry, one more question. Do you know if the Bryton 50 comes with EU maps or just GB?

cheers

rolf_f

If you look at the pic you can see that the screen is divided into six. I have the top third for my two additional fields as shown with the map taking up the bottom two thirds (it the four spaces below).

I'm not 100% sure on the maps as mine was supplied by Bryton SA with the SA maps pre selected which wasn't much use to me! I just use the base maps which cover UK - they are a bit simple but they are clear as long as you stay on road. I think the higher res Navteq maps supplied do cover Europe but don't quote me on that! OSM maps are expected soon which should be the ideal solution.

luv2ride

Rolf F. Excellent. Thats clarified all I needed. Gonna return the 50t and get the cheaper 50e version on the basis I can stay using the Cateye V3 for hR and cadence on my road bikes but can get a dual Garmin sensor at some point in the future if I think it's worth it. Job done....

thojj

I hope this is in the right place but Last year I won a mio cyclo 100 in a bike radar comp.I have used it 11 times and now can get no GPS fix or any information how to remedy this.Any help please.

scottytaz

hi just been looking at the mio 305 but was wondering can i download a gpx file onto the mio to follow any help much appreciated

paulhinchliffe

Hello,
New to bike radar, bought a mio cyclo 305 on wednesday and used it yesterday and it worked well apart from the crashing when i paused it and tried to resume. It has an option for speed sensor but its always on 0 even when wheel is spinning. Anyone got any ideas as to why?

Paul

Downward

You need the speed sensor close to the spoke magnet for it to pick it up.

Downward

Update due in October for the Mio 305.

Also you can upload to strava automatically when you upload to mioshare.

All working great 2 months in.