Bryton or Garmin?

mitchgixer6

Hi all.

OK after trying my el cheapo Aldi HRM today I've decided that I need the read out on my computer. It's too distracting having to check my wrist for the reading.

I have the option of a 2nd hand Garmin 500 or a brand new Bryton 20 for similar price. Any advice on which one to go for? Head says Garmin as it's probably a better unit, but heart says Bryton as it's a nice compact unit, similar to my Cateye strada slim which I'd be keeping if I could get BPM on there.

Help please!

rolf_f

I think you have it right on the head vs heart thing. Much as I like Bryton units, the poor support is disappointing. I'll probably replace my failed Bryton 50 with a Garmin 800 rather than a Bryton 60 but I'll feel sad about that. But if I have to replace my Bryton 40 I'd still get another of those rather than a Garmin 500.

I do like the Bryton 20 though. It is quirky and simple and that's nice. And, as you say, very small which is also nice. You have three options with the 20. The quirkiest is the original 20 which looks like the display was devised using a scatter gun. Thoroughly random and unlike any other Bryton unit for no reason but it does work. The 20+ made everything more sensible and more boring and the 21 adds a barometer.

What you don't get with the Bryton 20 is the breadcrumb trail mapping but if you don't need that then it's just added complexity.

The alternative is just to mount your Aldi unit onto the bars with a watch mount if it's just the HRM issue you want to solve.

mitchgixer6

Thanks very much for the input. It would be the basic Bryton 20 (with chest strap) that I can get as it's currently on sale and within my budget. I have 2 Cateye units to sell so they would be funding the majority of the purchase. The display on the Bryton puts me off a little and is definatley less customisable than the Garmin.

I did think about mounting the Aldi unit on the bars but I don't have room for it on my winter bike. Wouldn't look quite right on the race bike either, vain I know!

swj1

I have owned the Garmin 800, Bryton 60 and the Mio 505 and the Mio is my favourite by some way. Wifi sync is so much easier than trying to get the Garmin to connect to my Mac and the Bryton's cpu is woefully slow.

One problem with the Mio thought is battery life will only last around 7 hours....

mitchgixer6

Thanks again. That's one I haven't heard of, I'll check it out.

rolf_f

swj1 wrote:

the Bryton's cpu is woefully slow.

In what way? Not noticed any problems with mine though I don't have a 60. No problems with the 20 in that respect. Nor in battery life - it's usually back to full charge by the time I have uploaded to Bryton Bridge and Strava and checked the forums. My Bryton 40 lasted me from Leeds to Haywards Heath - it was switched on for 22 hours and it only reached the 1/3rd battery life indicator towards the end of the journey. That was without the navigation switched on which does make a difference. I'd hope swj1's Mio would do rather better with the mapping screen switched off. 7 hours is woeful.

Anonymous

I have no experience of a Bryton so maybe I am unqualified to comment.

I just cannot help feeling that if you went to Aldi to waste your money on a HRM then you are potentially going down a similar road with the Bryton.

How much is the Bryton? £80? Is the HRM going back to Aldi or in the bin?
A brand new Edge 500 can be had for £122 so wouldn't it have been better to have just got one of those in the first place?

I think comparing a new device with a used one is a bit silly.
Compare the devices imagining they were the same price new. Its the device you will be using for years, not the memory of a small extra expense.
If you have a problem with buying a used one then don't buy a used one.

You will get plenty of people that have a Bryton defending them, but then again people defend the HRM that you are about to throw in the bin

rolf_f

Carbonator wrote:

I have no experience of a Bryton so maybe I am unqualified to comment.

It's one thing to be unqualified to comment on a thread based on lack of product knowledge but something else to be unqualified to comment because you couldn't be bothered to read the thread properly! The OPs problem with the Aldi HRM is that the unit it talks to is a watch. He has made no comment on whether or not the unit is actually in any way poor quality. So what has that got to do with the decision to go for a conventional bike mounted GPS computer? Have you tried using a watch computer on a bike? It doesn't seem like a terrible idea until you actually want to look at the data whilst on the move when you realise it is impossible to do so safely. Doesn't matter whether the watch is made by Aldi, Bryton or Garmin, all will be equally crap for the task.

Nobody but you said anything about throwing stuff in the bin.

Anonymous

He, for whatever reason, still brought a unit that was unsuitable.
Its probably getting binned, even if not literally going into a bin.

I used my Forerunner on my bike for years. It was the battery life that got it replaced in the end, not its usability.
Admittedly I should have got the Edge 500 a lot sooner though.

The Forerunner I have has a proper virtual partner feature, so in some ways is better than the
Edge 500.

The OP should just get a Forerunner mount (about £8) for his bike and strap his watch to it if he is happy with the device/s he has.
He would be much better off getting the Garmin though IMO/IME.

I have never used a HRM either, but thinking the Garmin premium (soft) one is going to be a lot nicer than their standard one, and a lot nicer than an Aldi one.

rolf_f

He bought an unsuitable unit but the Bryton and Garmin (and Mio) are pretty much equivalent depending on what features you need. He's already said he is too much of a tart to use a watch mount on his road bike and I can't argue with that!
From what I understand, the premium straps are far less reliable than the basic ones - I think the Polar ones seem to be the best buy. Of course, the Aldi strap probably isn't Ant+. I've worn that sort of strap - I don't really notice the difference after a while.

keezx

A couple of years ago I bought the original Bryton 20 because it was smaller and much cheaper then the Garmin Edge 500.
If the possibilities to show random data on screen had been better I would still be using it.
The cheststrap went broke but that was a warranty item.
Still like the design and never had a real problem with the device, just regret I bought the first model with the very limited screen options.
Replaced it by Globalsat GB 580P which also does the job for much less than the Edge 500. and is still smaller
I didn't and don't want big lumps like the Garmins/Mio's and don't care about Strava.

mugensi

I have a Bryton 35 (which i thin was the forerunner to the 40) and I love it, It does everything a Garmin 500 does and has a nice clear and customizable display and the battery life is 30hrs + (even after nearly 18 months use)

I had a minor enough crash a few months ago an the Bryton took a knock breaking the rear tabs which rendered it unusable but i custom fab'd new tabs from a piece of 1mm thick aluminium and used expoxy resin to stick them on. Its been fine ever since. The 35 is not available any more and I dont like the look of the 40 and dont want a garmin (as everybody has them) and so was delighted when i managed to repair my 35.

Bobbinogs

I've had 2 Bryton 20s and have had a Garmin 500 since the start of the year.

When I bought the Bryton I did so as I sometimes like to c0ck a snoop* at market dominance by any one brand. However, I gave up on Bryton after the replacement for the faulty first product displayed exactly the same faults. I also realised after purchase that I had to manually bounce files to Strava (save file to laptop, then upload) or use the flaky Bryton Bridge rather than just upload direct from the device via laptop like the Garmin does.

Garmin 500. There is a reason why it is the most popular unit on club runs.

Edit: the autocorrected "fool a snoop" didn't make sense

mitchgixer6

Lol! This place always ends up with folk arguing over something!

Thanks again for the input guys. I've decided to go for the Garmin (2nd hand). I'm getting a great deal from a friend who is selling one. For the record the Bryton is currently £51 delivered from Bike 24. The buttons being on the bottom of the unit is what put me off eventually, I'll be using an out front mount so I fear the buttons wouldn't be easily accessible in that position. From what I can tell the Bryton is an excellent unit though and at that price seems a steal.

I took the Aldi unit back this morning for a refund. It did seem like a decent unit, appeared to be fairly accurate and has plenty of options for setting up zone alarms etc, but as I already mentioned it was very distracting having to look at my wrist and I don't have room on my bars on my winter bike to have it located there.

Anonymous

Bobbinogs wrote:

I've had 2 Bryton 20s and have had a Garmin 500 since the start of the year.

When I bought the Bryton I did so as I sometimes like to c0ck a snoop* at market dominance by any one brand. However, I gave up on Bryton after the replacement for the faulty first product displayed exactly the same faults. I also realised after purchase that I had to manually bounce files to Strava (save file to laptop, then upload) or use the flaky Bryton Bridge rather than just upload direct from the device via laptop like the Garmin does.

Garmin 500. There is a reason why it is the most popular unit on club runs.

Edit: the autocorrected "fool a snoop" didn't make sense

Then again, the concept of C0cking a snoop doesn't seem to make much sense in the first place does it?

To not buy something just because others have seems an odd strategy to me.
People should just buy what they want, because they want it IMO.

dinyull

So, sorry to jump in and do a little hijack.

I've been trying to decide between a cheap HRM and a Garmin 500. I don't use Strava, not bothered about GPS mapping functions and the HRM I'm looking at is a watch strap thing which I'd only use on the turbo, no cadence and is only £15 cheaper than the Bryton 20 on Bike 24.

Does the Bryton 20 make too much sense?

rolf_f

Carbonator wrote:

Then again, the concept of C0cking a snoop doesn't seem to make much sense in the first place does it?

To not buy something just because others have seems an odd strategy to me.
People should just buy what they want, because they want it IMO.

If most people buy things because everyone else has one (which, lets be honest, is what they do) then why is it more odd deliberately not to buy things because everyone else has one? At least that implies that some thought has gone into the decision making process.....

The Ford Focus is a very good car but it's a bit dull - who would blame someone for wanting something a bit different? Not everyone is beige! Same applies to bike stuff.

Bobbinogs wrote:

I also realised after purchase that I had to manually bounce files to Strava (save file to laptop, then upload) or use the flaky Bryton Bridge rather than just upload direct from the device via laptop like the Garmin does.

To be fair, that is Stravas fault. The same Strava that was apparently formed from Garmin staff and the same Strava that sells Garmin products. I guess there are reasons why they choose to make things a little awkward for users of the likes of Mio and Bryton. That's just another reason why I try to avoid Garmin products.

mitchgixer6 wrote:

The buttons being on the bottom of the unit is what put me off eventually, I'll be using an out front mount so I fear the buttons wouldn't be easily accessible in that position. From what I can tell the Bryton is an excellent unit though and at that price seems a steal.

TBH, I think a 20 would look a bit daft on an out front mount anyway - it's just too small. They belong on the stem!

rolf_f

mitchgixer6 wrote:

Thanks again for the input guys. I've decided to go for the Garmin (2nd hand). I'm getting a great deal from a friend who is selling one. For the record the Bryton is currently £51 delivered from Bike 24.

That is a good offer! It includes the HRM and cadence sensor - if you need those, you are pretty much getting the computer for free!