We finally picked up the latest bike computer from Bryton, the Bryton Rider 750. Is it worth the upgrade? Read our Bryton Rider 750 review below to find out!
UPDATE: Read our one-year follow-up with the Bryton Rider 750 here!
Bryton Rider 750 review
The Bryton units we’ve reviewed over the last few years were basic, accurate, and affordable. Despite being inexpensive, they performed most (if not all) the functions required by the average cyclist. And while they lack the bells and whistles of more expensive devices from Garmin or Wahoo, they still provide a ton of data and accessory compatibility.
The Bryton Rider 750 adds a few key features which finally compete in the same weight class as its higher-end competition.
What’s in the box
The Bryton Rider 750 comes both as a standalone device or as part of a kit. The 750T kit I received came with cadence and speed sensors, a heart rate monitor, and various mounting accessories, including both a rubber band mount and an out-front mount.
The speed sensor is a cool new inclusion, (though I’ve gotten by fine so far without one). But I HAVE been harping about including an out-front mount for years now, and now they finally have! It’s a pretty decent mount, to boot. Constructed from alloy, it feels solid, mounts nicely, and looks good. I popped it onto my recent Ritchey Breakaway 1x gravel bike build.
Display
The most noticeable update for the Rider 750 its color touchscreen. The monochrome displays from the lower-tier models were functional, clear, and extremely easy to read. The contrast and clarity on the 750’s color LCD definitely can’t compete with those. Still, I found the screen quite clear, even in direct sunlight.
For displaying static, numerical metrics, a color screen is probably overkill. It is well suited, however, for maps/navigation, as well as some cool new visualations for speed, heart rate, and cadence. These visuals range from circular graphs displaying current vs average speed, to a scrolling line graph showing cadence over time. They aren’t absolutely necessary, but they do add an interesting dynamic to otherwise mundane stats.
The touchscreen element, also admittedly not essential, provides some benefits. For one, operating the device is much more intuitive and straightforward. I complained (mildly) about the awkward button layout/assignment on previous models. Here, there are no oddly-placed buttons (like on the back), and most actions can now be executed via touchscreen. This minimizes the “learning curve” from the multi-function buttons.
Navigation
The Rider 420 featured “bread-crumb” style navigation. You had to pre-load maps in the app, then transferr them to the device via Bluetooth. This process was a bit dodgy, but once maps were loaded, navigation worked more or less as described. It didn’t navigate in real time though – if you happened to veer off course, you were out of luck until you jumped back onto the original route. This wasn’t a huge deal, but the whole rigamarole was kind of tedious. I ended up not using the function very often, other than on long, unfamiliar routes that were difficult to memorize.
Conversely, the Bryton Rider 750 navigates on the fly. You can input a location while out on the road and the device will plot a route. It can also update your directions if you deviate off course.
Additionally, you can dictate destinations by voice. I was initially skeptical about this, since voice navigation can sometimes be hit-or-miss. Surprisingly, it worked pretty well! I voiced both street addresses as well as points of interest (Home Depot, for instance) and it was fairly adept at picking up the correct destination each time. (Note: This requires your phone to be actively paired to the device, with the Bryton app running.)
I normally plan and memorize routes ahead of time, so for me this is more of a “nice to have” feature. But for, say, bike commuters, or people who do a lot of city exploring, it could be really helpful.
Compatibility
Pairing accessories to the Bryton Rider 750 is a similar affair as before. Connecting the included cadence, speed, and heart rate sensors via ANT+ was straightfoward and uneventful. (Note: The Rider 750 appears to no longer be compatible with Bluetooth accessories, like my older TomTom heart monitor. It was, however, compatible with the 420 and 320. Not that it matters much anyway, because accessories all use ANT+ these days.)
I also paired multiple devices of the same type, like an additional cadence sensor (by Garmin). This let me easily swap the 750 between bikes (the aforementioned Breakaway, and my Ritchey Road Logic). It basically just picks up whichever sensor is active at the moment.
The Rider 750 also pairs to electronic groupsets, like SRAM’s eTap, for viewing gearing data on the device. Another new feature allows compatibility with the Garmin Varia, a radar system which alerts riders of surrounding vehicles. Since I have neither eTap or the Varia (for now), I can’t test these features out. If/when I do, though, I’ll update my experience here.
App and battery life
Bryton claims 20 hours of battery life. They’ve sometimes been overly generous with their battery estimates, but I definitely logged at least three solid 3+ hour rides on the Rider 750 before the battery indicator dipped below 50%. (FWIW, I’ve found Bryton’s batteries to deplete the second half much more rapidly than the first.) Regardless, I’m happy being able to squeeze more than three rides out of one charge.
The Bryton app remains more or less unchanged. Functional, not flashy, kind of funny looking. It exports data to Strava and imports from a number of services, if that’s your thing. (I mainly just use Strava and Ride with GPS, so it’s more than enough for me.)
Conclusion
PROS: Improved visuals and usability. High-end features, like eTap and Varia compatibility. Practical and functional navigation. Solid, straightforward operation. Good value. Now includes out-front mount!
CONS: Limited added value over more affordable models if you don’t use/need a lot of tech (navigation, eTap, Varia, power meters, etc).
That sums it up. If you are a gadget freak with all the toys, the Bryton Rider 750 is probably worth the purchase/upgrade. At under $300 for the standalone unit, it’s significantly less expensive than the latest releases from Garmin or Wahoo.
On the other hand, if you mainly use a bike computer to track rides and record basic data like speed, cadence, power, etc, you may not need to shell out more money for extra features you won’t use. You’ll get along fine with the Rider 320 or 420.
You can buy the Bryton Rider 750 as a standalone unit here, or as a kit (as reviewed above) here.
UPDATE: Read our one-year follow-up with the Bryton Rider 750 here!
What do you think of our Bryton Rider 750 review? Leave any questions or comments below!