Seattle Forrest

A friend asked my opinion on this. It looks like a good deal if it works as advertised, and doesn't die right after the warranty runs out. I personally wouldn't get one for several reasons, including being risk averse, but I thought I'd being it to the community's attention, somebody might benefit.

If my friend buys one, I'll update this thread with his feedback.



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079N57MM2..._NCTKDbR4S61HQ

njkayaker

You can get a Garmin 520 for $250.

The Garmins might not be perfect but the reviews of this suggest that this is much worse.

It's not that great a deal.

Elvo

Way point navigation, no turn by turn

Seattle Forrest

He placed an order.

John_V 

I've read some reviews on this unit. Some good, not so good. Would be curious to hear what your friend thinks about them. I have friends that don't want to spend $200+ on a GPS computer and if this one is works as advertised, it may fit their pocketbook a lot better.

Seattle Forrest

First impression is very positive. He says he hasn't used navigation yet, but it's impressed with the build quality, ability to use in the sun, and "crazy lot of data."

For context, this is his first bike computer of any kind.

will be was

I have one IGS618
got it for $100.00 from Gear best, I think this past February,
I don't use maps so I'm OK with it, I use mainly 8 things
time, speed, temperature, distance, moving time, grade, average speed and elevation,
you can program screens as you like,
quick GPS pick up signal at the initial start
it has great battery life, turns of screen when you stop after several minutes, when you move the bike it starts right away.
I haven't use the Bluetooth features yet, not that I need it,
only think I would criticize is that you don' get text or phone call warnings,
there is a new version coming up soon IGS620 it would have that feature,

horatio 

Thanks for posting this. Good to have another choice.

tagaproject6

Following for updates. These types of posts are really helpful.

Seattle Forrest

Thanks for the in-depth review. My friend who bought one lives about 40 miles away, I haven't been able to see it in person, and our season is coming to an end so I'm not likely to get many updates for a while. Your info is extremely helpful.

A similar Garmin costs 3x to 4x the price, competition is great for all of us.

njkayaker

A "similar" Garmin (520) is 1.7-2.5 times the price.

Seems weak for navigation.

https://bikemag.hu/english/igpsport-i...omputer-market

The website is atrocious. Lots of missing pages.

https://www.igpsport.com/

Managing maps is awful. According to the review above, you can only have one map installed at a time. It's also rather obvious there isn't much memory. As limited as the Wahoo units might seem, they are much better than this.

https://www.igpsport.com/home/OSMMap

Seems like a waste of time/frustration just to save $150-200.

"Penny wise, pound foolish."

===========================

The 530 is $300. It's a much more capable device.

The 530 has enough memory to have maps that cover a continent and you can install multiple maps on it.

Seattle Forrest

Clearly this isn't a computer for bike snobs. Not everybody is one. Many people appreciate the value of a dollar and don't want to spend 2.5x to 4x as much for a "similar" unit.

If you don't like what's on offer, you don't have to buy one, but you've made your point (which is worth considering) twice, and this thread is here to provide information for people who want to use something other than their phone but find Garmin etc's pricing unacceptable.

njkayaker

This is stupid.

Usually, if people can spend $150, they can spend $300. It's not that much of a difference (and plain dumb to think that would serve as a basis for "snobbery").

They should be clear about the features and limitations and buy the one will work for them and not worry about the $150 difference in price.

It's not as "good a deal (value)" as you made it out to be.

Many people also don't value their time.

People can do whatever they want.

The "4x" is nonsense. You only get 2.5 (you said 3x earlier!) if you use the discounted Gearbest price.

The similar (likely, better) units are the 520 (the slightly more-expensive 530 is a better choice) and the Wahoo Bolt and they cost $250.

???? It's not about me buying one.

philbob57

That's pretty arrogant. I simply don't see how you have much knowledge of other people's pocketbooks.

Probably pretty ignorant, too. Take a look at your income. Then take a look at income distribution in your state. Where do you fit in relation to the median? There are lots of people for whom a $300 bike is out of reach, much less $300 for a bike computer.

There are certainly problems with IGPSport products, especially in terms of documentation and troubleshooting, but the cost of the products is compelling.

bobwysiwyg

+1

njkayaker

This makes no sense.

What the heck are you going on about?

You didn't read what I wrote.

If a $300 bike is "out of reach" of somebody, wouldn't a $150 computer also be "out of reach" for them?

No one was talking about people for whom a $300 bike was "out of reach".

As I said:

Usually, if people can spend $150 on a computer for navigation (the thing we are talking about), they can spend $300.

Not just that. It got poor reviews. It might be a problem dealing with warranties (if that comes up). And it looks like it would be a nuisance to use for navigation (might be ok if you don't need navigation). The price doesn't that compelling for those potential headaches.

noglider 

Let's all listen to njkayaker. He knows what's best for all of us.

njkayaker

​​​​​​Here's you doing the same thing you are complaining about. Just days ago.


​Unusually sloppy for you.

​​​​​​Does this computer make much sense for navigation?

It might be sort of OK if you never went out of the small region of map coverage.

If you could install custom regions, that might work but that doesn't seem possible.

Canker

Does everybody use navigation all the time? I used it twice this year. I always think I need navigation on my GPS units but in reality eh not really. I'm either riding with somebody else who knows the route, somebody else has navigation on their GPS and I'm just following them, I have my phone, or 97.685% of the time I already know the route.

Could be because most of the time when I'm riding somewhere new I'm usually mtn biking and navigation is useless for that. There is also the problem of spending $300 on a item that you don't use most of the features on and could be broken anytime you wreck which happens a lot while mtn biking. I run an old magellan 315 that I paid $70 new for because it was an outdated POS but it does everything I need including the navigation I don't use.

njkayaker

???

Who is saying "eveybody uses navigation all the time"?

No one is saying that.

BillyD

@njkayaker Please leave the thread, enough is enough.

philbob57

I repeat, more bluntly:

You do not know what demands are placed on people beside yourself. You do not know what resources many other people have. You do not know how income and wealth are distributed. And I expect you do not know how most people live.

gear64

I'm just glad to see another competitor. Personally I think Garmins are overpriced for what they provide relative to a smart phone or full blown laptop, or especially a raspberrypi. Not that a laptop or raspberrypi would make a good bike computer, but just general capability of tech per price point. I've been very happy with Lyzene Super Pro, despite another thread that's flagged some issues in general with Lyzene. Knock on wood I haven't seen those issues. Maybe ironed out in newer versions, and no manufacturer is immune to an odd firmware hiccup. You can find issue reports with Garmins as well. I've got about 6 weeks and one firmware upgrade (out of box available) into it. How does Garmin compare at same price point? They don't have one to compare. With Lyzene this is middle of the pack. It has everything I want today and features to grow into. What I use today: distance, mileage, maps (grey scale), turn by turn, breadcrumb, text/call notices, tracking (for my wife). In my opinion $150 vs $300 is a big deal, even though I could comfortably do more than $300 at face value. I'm a frugal person that doesn't need best in class (not going to argue who is) over more than adequate. This isn't my only hobby or interest, and I'm certainly not a professional athlete.

sdmc530

So this computer really interested me. I have been a Garmin person for years with no issues, but my young son is wanting a computer like dad. Knowing kids wreck things because that is what kids do this interested me. I went to the website to see their offerings.....that was a mistake. Lots of broken links and then the info wasn't great. I wouldn't put any faith in a technology company that can not operate a website. Pass for me, I will stick with the big players for this reason alone.


Reviews aren't great either.

znomit

If it can zoom the map using less than 132 button presses while needing to switch hands 4 times, it just might be more useful than my garmin 520 (though I still think the etrex 20+ is the best cheap computer).