Cycle Computer of the Year shortlist

1

Beeline

Even the most basic bike computers like the Mio Cyclo 210 and Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt are becoming increasingly complicated. They’re great for navigating, but they’re also packed with so many features that the casual cyclist doesn’t need nor want. The Beeline is an antidote to that. Just fit it to your handlebars, input a destination via the smartphone app and it’ll give you turn-by-turn directions to your destination.

We're rather taken by the Beeline. Serious cyclists will want more features, but it's a great gift for the casual bike rider. The Beeline offers a great battery life and there’s a built-in sense of fun about it. It creates opportunities to explore areas, and it’s especially cool around town.

>> Read our full review

3

Mio Cyclo 210

The Mio Cyclo 210 is its entry-level unit with the likes the Wahoo’s ELEMNT Bolt in its sights. Headline features include a claimde 10-hour battery life, Strava connectivity and a Surprise Me feature — which can create its own routes depending on how far or for how long you’d like to ride. If your less handy with a smartphone, and want smarter-looking navigation — the more affordable Mio Cyclo 210 would be our choice.

There’s no ANT+ connection so you can’t connect it to a heart rate monitor, nor is there Bluetooth. That means if you want to transfer routes to or from the 210 (or pair it with Strava), you have to connect it to your computer using a lead. Although the Mio Cyclo 210 is more user-friendly and looks smarter, plus it’s painless to set up and does the basics very well.

>> Read our full review

5

Garmin Edge 25

This diminutive device is the smallest and most simple of all the cycle computers in our shortlist. Aimed at cyclists who are primarily interested in tracking the basics of time, distance, speed and GPS - the Garmin Edge 25 is a minimalistic, black and white unit that claims an eight-hour battery life (although six is more realistic). The 25 also has ANT+ connectivity as well as Bluetooth connectivity, so you can pair it with heart rate monitors, cadence sensor etc - as well as upload/download ride data, get phone call and text notifications and use Strava. 

Downloading a route to follow from Garmin Connect is fairly easy (but we'd usually opt for Strava instead), although following said map on the tiny screen is more tricky - so we think it'd better used just to track ride data for the most part. If you do want to use the nav feature, it's basically a breadcrumb trail with turn notifications. It's fully waterproof, too, and offers an impressive amount of features for such a compact cycle computer. For the price, we think the Garmin Edge 25 is an impressive piece of kit for any cyclist looking for an entry-level option.