Bryton Rider 15E Neo GPS cycle computer

The Bryton Rider 15E Neo is a compact, easy-to-use GPS computer for those who don't want all the bells and whistles of much more expensive units. It's quick to set up and battery life is excellent; assuming you don't want mapping or directions of any form, there really isn't anything to dislike for the money.

Some people thrive on data, while for others it's not that important – it's the latter who will find the Rider 15E Neo most appealing. It offers the same metrics as a standard wireless computer – speed, time, distance and so on – with the added benefit of a GPS chip and Bluetooth.

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The monochrome 2in screen can look a little cluttered at first glance, but once you know what data is where it proves easy to read, and it's easy to scroll through while riding too. Well, once the buttons have bedded in is... when the unit was brand new, I had to really push hard to get them to register. That got better after a few weeks use.

There are five pages of data available, and you can use as few as or many as you like, each with either three or four sections per page. You set all of this up via the Bryton app on your phone/tablet, and the Neo updates before your very eyes.

As well as those metrics I've already mentioned there is altitude, gradient, temperature and – thanks to the Bluetooth capability – it can pair with various sensors to display heart rate and cadence. There is no ANT+ compatibility, though, which may hamper some pairing options.

With all the 'average' and 'max' variations and the like, there are a total of 21 data fields in all. It will also display your heading too, although that is as much info as you're going to get when it comes to directions.

There is no mapping to speak of, not even a breadcrumb trail or turn-by-turn arrows, which is why the 15E Neo is unable to deal with uploaded routes of any description. If you rarely head off into the unknown it's not really an issue, especially as most of us carry phones with mapping capabilities anyway.

Bryton's Rider 420E offers basic turn-by-turn directions should you require it for just £134.99.

> Buyer's Guide: 13 of the best cycling GPS units

Battery life is a claimed 16 hours (in a perfect world), and running it from full to flat over the course of a week in varying temperatures I easily achieved around 13.5 hours before the battery icon started flashing. I got about another 1.5 hours after that, so the 16 hours is realistic, though it's less if you use the screen's backlight frequently. In daylight the screen is easy to see, so you'll only need the backlight at night.

The 15E Neo is IPX7 rated, which means it is waterproof enough to survive in 1m of water for 30 minutes. I rode the Bryton on a fair few wet days with no issue. The micro-USB does sit underneath the unit, but the rubber cover does a good job of sealing it.

It feels well made, just like previous Brytons I've tested, and it locks onto a satellite signal quickly. It's compatible with GPS (USA), Galileo (Europe) and QZSS (Japan) satellites. Having it connected to your phone while riding also allows you to get notifications about phone calls, texts and emails on the unit's screen.

Value

For your £64.99 you get the unit, a USB charging cable, a handlebar mount with various sizes of rubber bands and a quick start guide. That's not a lot of cash for a GPS unit (that's for the 15E version that we have here; a C version is available with a cadence sensor for £79.99).

Something like the Beeline Velo will set you back £99.99 and that's just a screen, piggybacking the GPS from your phone.

Lezyne was offering the Macro Plus GPS for £100, although Mike really wasn't impressed with it. Many of Lezyne's smaller computers seem unavailable via its distributor's website now, though, so maybe there are new models on the way.

Other than that, there are a few computers from the likes of Amazon, as can be seen in our guide to the best cheap GPS cycling computers, but we haven't had chance to test any of those yet.

Conclusion

Overall, I think the Rider 15E Neo is the ideal companion if you just want to record your ride and upload it to Strava (or wherever) without loads of graphs or data as you go. For the price, you really can't fault it.

Verdict

Small, simple to use satellite-tracking computer for non-GPS money