CYCPLUS G1 Wireless GPS Bike Computer Review
The G1 does not navigate, and pretending otherwise is how people end up disappointed. What it does is record and display, cheaply and reliably.
The verdictCorrect for what it is. As a data head it is excellent value, and as a navigation device it does not exist.
There is a real use case for a computer that does not navigate. Phones are better map readers than any bike computer and worse at everything else, so a cheap dedicated screen for speed, distance, time and elevation lets the phone stay in the frame bag conserving battery for when a map is actually needed.
At seventy grams and thirty dollars this is about the least consequential thing you can bolt to a handlebar, and it costs little enough that losing one on a rough descent is annoying rather than expensive. IPX6 covers real rain, and the 1200 mAh battery runs far longer than a phone asked to do the same job.
The limits are absolute rather than negotiable. There is no mapping, no route following and no rerouting, so it cannot be the only navigation on an unfamiliar route. Anyone expecting a budget Garmin will be unhappy, and that expectation is the source of most of the negative reports.
With more than four thousand ratings behind it this is one of the better-evidenced products anywhere in this category, and the picture those reports paint is remarkably consistent. It does one small job reliably and nothing at all beyond it, which is the correct thing to buy if that job is the one you have.
What works
- Very large body of owner evidence
- 70g and IPX6 rated
- Battery outlasts a phone doing the same job
What doesn't
- No mapping or route following at all
- Small monochrome screen
- Cannot be your only navigation on unknown roads
Buy it if
Riders navigating by phone who want a dedicated data screen
Skip it if
You expect the device to show you a route
Others we scored in this category
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