Garmin verses Bryton

jagx400

After my century ride to Skegness I realised I would benefit from a gps with full mapping, I currently use the edge 500. I am thinking of selling it and buying a Bryton Rider 50. Has anyone got experience of both of these units. I couldn't justify the high price of the Garmin units

Just Cannondales

No idea what the Bryton is like but I wouldnot be without me Garmin 800 now.

You can plot a route on you 500 and follow that without any mapping. Worth a try.


Rich...

luv2ride

I recently bought a Bryton 50 Rider:
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/t ... dence.html
I really like it, seems robust and reliable so far and the BrytonBridge software isn't too bad when you get used to it. if anything more functions than I'd probably ever use and reasonably customisable screens. Great value.

mcjimbob

I have the Bryton Rider 50 as well.

It does everything the Edge 500 does. The maps on it are acceptable but it wasn't the main reason I bought the unit. You can pick one up for not much more than the Edge 500, but the device has features more in common with the 705.

I've had best results creating a route on the Bryton website and uploading to the device from there. Over the summer, we cycled through Scotland and I uploaded routes that I had built on ridewithgps and had some issues with the routing.

As far as using the mapping without uploading a route, it could be better. I find the zooming and panning interface poor, easy to lose your place on the map. Perhaps due to the maps (I believe you can now get OS mapping), perhaps due to the screen size.

As mentioned below, the Edge 500 will give you basic directions though, if that is all you are after.

The software for the Bryton can be a bit touch and go but they are improving it all the time. The latest update has finally added support for exporting the file from the device without using the brytonsport website (which can be a bit temperamental). Sounds like a basic feature, but will make a difference.

gsk82

I've just bought a Bryton 35 and can't find any info on personalised heart rate zones. Is this possible to set up or will i have to remember the zones myself?

rolf_f

gsk82 wrote:

I've just bought a Bryton 35 and can't find any info on personalised heart rate zones. Is this possible to set up or will i have to remember the zones myself?

You can set those up on Bryton Bridge and download them to the device. Then you can set the unit to show which zone you are currently in.

Bobbinogs

I have the Rider 20 and been left distinctly underwhelmed by it. The quality is just not there. It does not stand up to rain very well (!), the Bryton bridge s/w is flakey at best and the unit has now reset itself half a dozen times which means that I have had to resync the cadence and heart sensor units, etc. Getting the thing to sync with the laptop requires a black art of what s/w to restart, what to connect and in what order, etc.

When I moan about all this faffing about at the club to fellow riders using Garmins, they have all commented that they haven't had these kind of problems with Garmin units. I have invested in extra sensors and holders so changing to another product, even if I did manage to get a refund from the seller, would leave me out of pocket. Ho hum.

I love all the tracking and data, etc., but figure that those (new to me) fantastic features are just fogging what would be deemed to be a very poor purchase otherwise.

declan1

I've ordered a Rider 35 from Evans. £75 which was the same price as the 20! It's been dispatched so hopefully here soon - it's now discontinued on their site so I think I got the last one!

rolf_f

Bobbinogs wrote:

I have the Rider 20 and been left distinctly underwhelmed by it. The quality is just not there. It does not stand up to rain very well (!), the Bryton bridge s/w is flakey at best and the unit has now reset itself half a dozen times which means that I have had to resync the cadence and heart sensor units, etc. Getting the thing to sync with the laptop requires a black art of what s/w to restart, what to connect and in what order, etc.

When I moan about all this faffing about at the club to fellow riders using Garmins, they have all commented that they haven't had these kind of problems with Garmin units. I have invested in extra sensors and holders so changing to another product, even if I did manage to get a refund from the seller, would leave me out of pocket. Ho hum.

I love all the tracking and data, etc., but figure that those (new to me) fantastic features are just fogging what would be deemed to be a very poor purchase otherwise.

You'd hopefully do better to moan at Bryton or the UK suppliers. I have a 40 which is really a bigger version of the 20 and it has been fine. You have a dud unit so get it replaced. Garmin owners tend to complain more that the breadcrumb trail doesn't work on the 500 or that the screen cracks on the 800 - go on to the Garmin forums and you'll find no end of moaning. Probably your colleagues are just lucky. None of these units are exactly glitch free - it's early days technology.

I'd say that Bryton Bridge is actually flakey at worst rather than best. It does have quirks (I discovered one ride from Sunday had lost all its time data - I just re-uploaded it. Would have been annoying if I'd already deleted the file but I hadn't. And that's the only time I think that has happened in probably 1000 rides) but most of the time it works pretty well. Probably not as polished as the Garmin software but perfectly functional.

riggsy81

just got myself the Bryton 35 for £55

they seem to be a really good piece of kit and for the price you cant grumble, as per previous comments the software interface is being updated all the time and is coming along nicely.