ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Coros Dura bike laptop is out there now for $249, delivery on July 1st.
- The Dura has an extended battery life, photo voltaic charging, a giant show, and Google Maps navigation.
- There aren’t any MTB dynamics and another options will are available in future software program updates.
For a number of years, I used my telephone as my bike laptop after which moved to utilizing my GPS sports activities watch. 5 years in the past, Garmin despatched me an Edge 530 bike computer to guage and I used to be hooked on using with a devoted bike laptop. For the previous a number of days, I’ve had the Coros Dura hooked up to the entrance of a few bikes for eMTB and highway biking.
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Once I examined the primary Coros smartwatch years in the past, it stood out from the pack with its lengthy battery life, which turned a staple of the Coros branding. We’ve seen iconic battery life from the entire Coros smartwatches launched since 2018 and that development continues with the corporate’s first bike laptop. Coros advertises 120 consecutive hours of GPS experience time. The corporate suggests cyclists maintain the Coros Dura mounted always to take away the ache level of charging their bike laptop.
Provided that I’ve solely had a assessment unit for a number of days, I’ve not been in a position to check the total battery life declare. Nevertheless, I’ve noticed about 1% of battery consumption for every hour of GPS monitoring, so plainly at the least 100 hours of battery life is feasible. Whereas that size is certain to get you thru any using exercise, the Coros Dura additionally helps photo voltaic charging. One hour of using in 75,000 or extra lux generates as much as two hours of extra experience time.
The Coros Dura (taken from the Spanish phrase ‘a tough factor’) comes with an out-front handlebar mount with a typical quarter-turn socket. Garmin makes use of this similar mount format so these mounts will work with the Dura, too. You’ll be able to cost the system through USB-C, however photo voltaic ought to hopefully maintain you going for just about limitless battery life.
5 satellite tv for pc positioning techniques are supported with dual-frequency functionality. ANT+, Bluetooth, and W-iFi connectivity are included, together with assist for a number of sensors. I paired the Dura with my Garmin velocity and cadence sensors, my Coros coronary heart charge monitor, and even my Garmin Varia bike radar. I used to be impressed to see the Garmin Varia nonetheless present car visitors standing shifting up and down the precise facet of the Dura display with colours and sounds showing to replicate the proximity of these automobiles.
I occurred to be using in a downpour sooner or later and the touchscreen nonetheless labored properly on the Coros Dura to view extra screens. As with Coros watches, you will have full management over the customization of the quantity and knowledge on the screens for every kind of biking, together with assist for e-bikes. A big scroll wheel is mounted on the precise facet so you may rapidly spin by means of menus with a again/lap button positioned under this wheel. Each options are straightforward to govern as you experience and match the Coros watch strategy.
The two.7-inch memory-in-pixel show is seen whereas using. There aren’t any brightness settings, however after I experience I additionally don’t want an excellent AMOLED taking away from my visibility. I rode with the Dura at an MTB path park. Sadly, no MTB dynamics have been captured by the Dura, however the Edge 840 offered this knowledge. It needs to be famous that the Garmin Edge 840 can also be greater than twice the worth of the Dura. Coros has an extended observe document of software program updates for its watches, so I’m hopeful that we are going to see options like MTB dynamics finally seem for the Dura. We should always see Strava Dwell segments, media controls, Climb View, and extra seem quickly in updates.
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One other advantage of the Coros Dura is the highly effective Coros ecosystem, together with a full-featured smartphone utility and the Coros Coaching Hub web site. The Dura will be custom-made in your smartphone and settings will be synched to the system. The info out of your rides syncs through Wi-Fi to the Coros knowledge middle, so you may view your experience knowledge, sync coaching plans, share knowledge with coaches, and run experiences to trace your progress to your coronary heart’s delight.
I used to be excited when Coros teased me in regards to the upcoming launch. Then, after attending the briefing and seeing the entire options with the extraordinarily lengthy battery life, I could not wait to strive the system out. I’ve been very impressed with the pc thus far. I must spend far more time with coaching plans, syncing knowledge with Coros watches that seize sleep and restoration stats, and exploring the navigation features that embrace rerouting through Google Maps. The value of $249 blows me away and I’ll decide up one in every of these units for myself.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
Gravel riders are a major focus of the Coros Dura. However even when you experience on the highway or discover single-track trails, there’s something to love right here at a low entry value. The bike alarm, crash detection, and security alerts are additionally helpful for retaining individuals knowledgeable of your biking standing. The massive display, lengthy battery life, and Coros ecosystem make the Dura a compelling bike laptop that is accessible to everybody.