In collaboration with Sony, the award winning pushbike manufacturer Canyon have released a brand new bike computer based on Android Wear.
A “normal” bike computer tracks very simple information such as distance covered, elevation gain/drop, road speed and path tracking then needing users to hook up to a computer to analyse their data on return home. The Canyon (being driven by Android Wear) paired with your mobile device offers this plus a lot more through apps such as Strava instantly uploading data to your account and navigation via Google Maps.
All of this is controlled through a 1.6″ Touchscreen display that they claim has 8 – 10 hours of battery life in it. According to bike radar, there are three versions that will be available when the device launches; A Mountain Bike mount (no doubt a more rugged design also to deal with the bumps, bangs and inevitable crashes – trust me…), one for Urban/Commuter bikes and one for time trial/aero bikes.
The expectation from Canyon is that their new computer will cost around €200 (AU$315 before even thinking about any perceived “Australia Tax”) which is about the mark for a current model, mid-high range cycling GPS and given the capabilities of this hardware should do quite well.
If you’re a rider, what functions do you value on your GPS?
Canyon have a direct sales model, so there is no Australia Tax
If you still need your phone with you, then why not just buy a normal Android Wear watch for the same price and just mount it on the bars?
I currently use a Garmin 500. While riding, power meter and cadence sensor integration would be very useful. While heart rate monitor integration would be a requirement. The Garmin 500 has these abilities. It doesn’t do mapping on the go like the newer models. However, I plan a ride prior to leaving. That may change though if I had the mapping feature.