Bryton Rider 35 GPS computer

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Bryton Rider 35 GPS computer

Postby King Sad » 17 Sep 2014 13:20

For a few years now I’ve been happily using a Forerunner 305 and then 310. I don’t wear for the swim and have it mounted on my bike ready to snatch off for the run. This year I rather fancied a dedicated cycle computer and using the 310 for the run.

The Garmin Edge 500 was of interest but money is an issue; the cheapest I could find was £125 and even on ebay 2nd hand they were fetching £100. Then lo, on ebay I saw a brand new Bryton Rider 35 with HRM strap and cadence sensor on a buy it now for £75. Went on a intensive search spree and bought it.

What was in the box?
- Rider 35 main unit
- USB Cable
- Bike Mount (Garmin type twist thing and elastics)
- Heart Rate Monitor
- Cadence Sensor
- Instructions – only mention that as an aside as we all know real men don’t need instructions

The device has 6 customisable data screens with 44 data fields and can be set up with up to 6 data fields per screen, screens can be set to auto scroll. It supports Ant+ and power meters, has a barometric altimeter and a stated battery life of 35 hours.

Downloaded the connection software, Bryton Bridge.

Powered it up and got a GPS fix indoors in no time. Set up was easy and paired with my Garmin HRM strap and cadence sensor no problem.

My setup is to have 3 screens: Time – Distance; Speed – Average Speed; Cadence – HR.

Other data fields include temp, % gradient, altitude to peak of climb, distance to peak, altitude gain, distance to waypoint, waypoint (graphic i.e. left, right), route map, route profile etc. etc. All far more than I would use.

I discovered quite by chance that the backlight comes on automatically at last light and switches off at dawn.

It has 4 buttons: 2 left 2 right. The 2 left: on/off/back and start/select. The 2 right: up down.

In use – caveat only for my specific purpose of a racing computer, any other use I cannot comment on.

Setting up was easy enough.

Race start:
Power on
Select Meter (that means record)
Press start
The 3 screens scroll
Finish ride, press start again

First try out, the Monster Middle.
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=10349
This was a baptism of fire … well of lashing rain. It did the job.

Pluses:
- It did the job
- The HRM strap is comfy
- The battery is more than adequate
- The GPS sensor fixes quickly and so far very accurate
- Waterproof, tested in the Monster

Niggles;
- When setting up the cadence sensor you need to select Sensors but ignore Cadence and Select Cadence/Speed.
- It has auto pause which as far as I can see cannot be switched off but not a big problem for me as when uploaded to Strava the data shows total elapsed time and moving time.
- When pressing start again to stop recording at the end of the bike leg, it annoyingly asks if you are sure, defaults to no and you need to scroll to yes. Obviously not what you want when racing. My solution; finish bike leg, hit start, then on run to rack hit power off. In any case no big problem as the auto pause kicks in when the bike is racked.
- I would like to be able to switch the backlight on manually, would have been jolly useful on the Monster where the skies became really dark.

Some web comments moan about not being able to upload directly to Strava/Mapmyride etc. I actually found it easier and quicker; connect with the USB, Bryton Bridge fires up, select manage my tracks, select the track you want, download it (you can download in a variety of formats including TCX and GPX) and then upload to Strava as a manual file. A bit long winded? My experience with Garmin is wait for the damn Ant stick to connect, wait for it to upload to Garmin, then I can go into Strava and upload again.

You can upload to Bryton Community if you wish but that depends on how many sites you want to upload to. Seems eminently more straightforward to me to simply download as GPX or TCX.

Is it for you? New the Rider 35 is £120 for the unit to £180 for the unit, HRM and cadence sensor. Garmin 500 £125 for the unit £220 for the unit, HRM and cadence sensor. Yes, there will be different sites where it might be cheaper but they were the prices I found. In that respect I reckon most will go for the Garmin and it will have a higher resale value but £75 for a brand new unit, HRM and cadence sensor … bloody bargain.

Website
http://corp.brytonsport.com/products/rider35?lang=eng

Manual
http://static.brytonsport.com/uploads/c ... 130755.pdf

Specification
• GPS: High-Sensitivity Chipset
• Display: 1.9" Mono LCD
• Waterproof: IPX7
• Device Weight: 56 g
• Dimension WxHxD: 48 x 68.9 x 21 mm
• Max battery hours: 35
• Wireless interface: 2.4 GHz ANT+
• Connection Interface: Mini USB
• Co-ordinate Format: GWS84 (Degrees/Minutes/Seconds, Decimal Degrees)
• Record POI: 10 points
• Preplan workout: 10 sets
• Log history: 750 km
• Training Options: Simple / Zone Based* / Interval* / Lap*
• Barometer: Yes
• Operating Temperature: -15C° ~ 55C°
It seemed like a good idea at the time :? .



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