I've used Cateye cyclocomputers for decades, but the Strada I've been using is analog instead of digital, so every time an emergency vehicle passes my max speed jumps to 47.1 MPH; and the computer has to be mounted 15 inches (40 cm) or so away from my strobe headlight because of RF interference. I have a GPS-equipped FitBit (actually, it pairs with my phone), but it's so stupid it doesn't have auto-pause and keeps running even when I'm stopped waiting for my riding partner to catch up or for a stop light to complete its 45-second cycle. I do NOT average 9.8 MPH!

In other words, I'm about to give up and buy a GPS computer. The problem is that a lot of them with a map display are overkill -- I don't ride out in the middle of nowhere any more. I'm in the market for a computer that has the usual displays - speed, elapsed time, average, max - plus tracks my route and pairs with an HRM. I don't particularly need a $500 Garmin unit that would help me bushwhack up the backside of Aconcagua. I don't do that stuff any more.

Is there a middle ground? I see imports with weird names like COSPOO for sale online (but not at the LBS); but don't know whether I can trust them. Any reviews from experience would be appreciated.

No experience with these, and I would suggest you do your research for online reviews, but it looks like it would fit your bill (if it works as advertised):ROCKBROS M1 Wireless Bike Computer Waterproof 2.9inch LCD Screen GPS/B (rockbrosbike.us)

I'm not into tech, so I use Garmin's least expensive and easiest to use GPS watch (model 35). While riding it only gives speed and distance. Once uploaded to Strava it gives elevation and more. I like it. I don't need a turn-by-turn GPS bike computer.

I have a Coospo I use and they work just fine if you don't need a map in front of you. I use their speed sensors and strap on HRM as well. They have an app that you can pair it with on your phone but I don't use that since I have a Garmin Epix Gen2 I wear and use that to track metrics. But when I compare the HR and speed and distance data from the Garmin to the Coospo it compares very favorably. So I use the Coospo in the cockpit so I have good at a glance data. Battery life on the Coospo is decent for what you pay. I'm getting probably 25-30 hrs real time use before I charge and I don't run it all the way down but let it get close.

Same here; thanks. I'm not terribly interested in a watch, though, because I want to see basic metrics on the handlebar in real time. The Strada isn't working out for me, so I'm looking to upgrade.

Find a used Garmin 530 on C/L or something like that. You can usually pick a used one up for $200. Heck, a new one is only $300. Or get there 130 model brand new for $200.

Thanks. That appears to be a CYCPLUS M1 with Rockbros branding -- somewhere down the page they even tell you to "select the CYCPLUS M1" when installing the XOSS phone app. That being said, I'd been looking hard at CYCPLUS already.

About double what I'd hoped to pay, but probably doable. I had hoped, however, to have real-time heart-rate display; it seems that this model only displays alerts for leaving a specified BPM range. I could be wrong...

re: Coospo -- Good to know; thanks.

You can get a Polar HRM that comes with their app. I think they're about $59?

I just think trying to find something that only does a limited amount of things is going to be hard to find. I personally think the money spent on a nice Garmin model is money well spent. You'd be surprised how something you thought you didn't need might become something you can't live without.

For the price of that Coospo you should just check it out. It's a fraction of what my Wahoo costs.

If a $500 Garmin Edge is too much for you then why aren't you looking at the $199 Garmin Edge 130 plus?

Don't worry about all the extra features. You don't have to use the extra features you don't like. But many if not all GPS cyclometers are going to have those things now. So just pick a price point and compare models at that price point. I'd stick to the popular brands, Garmin, Wahoo, Lyzene and maybe a few others I've forgotten. Although my younger son has it now, my old Edge 500 from back circa 2010 still works. So do a dozen or so other Garmin products I have going back to the early 2000's. Only one ever crapped out. It was under water two weeks after hurricane Katrina sunk my boat. However we floated the boat and used that chartplotter for a backup for over a year, maybe several years after that till it finally quit.

The Garmin 130 certainly can display heart rate in real-time. Just pair your HRM and add it to a display data-field.

I used their comp until I needed maps and it worked fine, and was/is an excellent value.
FYI, the XOSS app is China based but I didn't think my ride, speed and heart rate data were going to tip the international balance of power.

A) As I mentioned before, that's still above my preferred price point.
B) It's highly unlikely that I'll decide I need features like VO2 estimation or "racing a segment." I'm in my mid-seventies (though I'm still riding a 100% human-powered road bike), and just want an accurate record of my rides -- not a cheerleader or a drill sergeant. I just want a replacement for the Cateye that won't go wonky every time I get within range of a radar gun or a radio transmitter.
C) My experience with Lezyne has been consistently negative -- everything I've ever bought failed before it was a year old; some as soon as it was unboxed. Fool me once, etc...

Hate to say it but in some respects your price point is a bit unrealistic. A 130 might be OK, but battery life isn’t stellar, as well it’s a small unit and limits how many fields on the data screen. Not sure what is going to work for you at a less then $200 price. Garmins are usually very rock solid and offer features that a Bryton or Lezyne might not, including the web app and Connect website and ability to use other activity trackers. I would say raise your price point and get an Edge Explore 2. It’s mostly a mapping and navigation unit, does not have most of the performance and training features of the 40 series - 540/840/1040. I started out only really wanting the ability to track an activity and upload to an activity tracker, then discovered the ability to easily create online routes and download that to the device. It’s changed how I do remote rides as I have a navigable map on screen. Ya never know, that might be useful to you at some point.

Get a Cateye Velo 7 - a model that uses a wire to replace two radios, and one extra battery...

Plenty of wired option that are very inexpensive. Wouldn’t they work?

scmrak take a look at the Bryton 420, which iis $100. Bryton are a reliable, mainstream brand, and while the 420 is fully featured (e.g. with nav), it’s well priced.

I don’t know anything about it personally , nor can I comment on ease of setup, but have tripped across reviews suggesting it is a decent option.

https://us.eshop.brytonsport.com/col...s-rider420-buy

Garmin 130

What about the GPS the OP wants?

I didn't see that you mentioned a $199 Edge 130 plus was above your price point.

If I take $500 as the high dollar part and $0.00 the low dollar ground, then $250 would be the "middle ground" you mention in your op.

You don't have to pay attention to any of those features you don't want. You don't have to enable any of the cheerleading features what ever you think those are.

You aren't going to find a GPS cyclometer that only does what your Cateye did. No guarantee for wonkiness on anything new. New users of something tend to think things are wonky until they learn what those features are really telling them. That guy was me, back in 2010 with my Edge 500. Quite a few things on it I misunderstood or misconstrued what they did or how they worked. But if you can learn from your misunderstandings you'll do fine. But if you fear new things and just cower to them, welll.....

I took a deeper look (I read a few things) and the Coospo seems like it checks all of your boxes. I have the original Wahoo Elemnt Bolt and I have found the map screen pretty much useless, It shows too little of the surrounding area and it doesn't have street names, not that the street names would fit anywhere. It does everything else very well. But why pay for that feature if it isn't really practical to use? Get the cheap one. Don't get any wired ones, they are obsolete.

I have a Garmin Edge 1040 which is awesome and I use a Cospoo HRM with it which has outlasted any Garmin HRM I’ve ever owned so I wouldn’t be concerned about using their bike computer if you want cheap & functional.

Not sure why you need GPS if you’re not navigating, surely you’ll just need a bluetooth speed sensor and hrm connection? Assume you’re not using a power meter given your comments above.

Whether there is a low cost device that doesn’t do GPS but does those other things with a decent screen, I’m not sure

Yeah that Cospoo or the Garmin 130 should do the trick.

OP could use the Strava phone app to record ride and HRM data and it does have Autopause which is what the OP complained about with Fitbit.