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review

Engo Eyewear Engo 2 sport smartglasses

7
£288.68

VERDICT:

7
10
Look stock but actually have a heads-up display – these are effective and give a clear view of your ride data
Light
Clear optics
Comfortable to wear
Display can be tricky to see in bright sunlight
Weight: 
40g
Contact: 

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The Engo 2 Sport Smartglasses from Engo Eyewear may not be 'just' sunglasses, but they still offer good optics – alongside a clever heads-up-display which works either with its associated app or your Garmin, Apple, Sunnto or Android device. It's pretty high-tech, and while it's a fair investment they aren't excessively expensive – standard glasses with no display can cost similar.

At just 40g the Engos are barely noticeable on your nose; in fact, they don't feel any different to standard sunglasses.

As glasses their performance is good. The lens wraps nicely around the face to keep out the breeze, plus the curved shape doesn't distort your view. They're vented too.

2023 Engo Eyewear Engo 2 sport smartglasses - lense vent.jpg

The nose piece can be adjusted for fit, and the Ergo 2s don't move about on rough sections of terrain or when you have your head dropped on a descent. The arms provide enough pressure to keep the glasses in place without being over the top.

2023 Engo Eyewear Engo 2 sport smartglasses - arm detail.jpg

As a pair of glasses, I can't really fault them, and I like the way that Engo has managed to incorporate the technology while still keeping them looking like standard sunglasses.

There are two sizes available. These are the larger option with a deeper lens designed to maximise coverage for cycling (and for larger heads), while the smaller size has a lens 12mm shallower.

2023 Engo Eyewear Engo 2 sport smartglasses - inside lens.jpg

Unlike the Everysight Raptor glasses that I reviewed back in 2018, the Engos don't have a built-in GPS of their own. These purely display whatever metrics are being sent from your device via Bluetooth.

An app a day

As for pretty much everything these days, the Engos require you to download an app – ActiveLook in this case – in order to set everything up. You can also use the app to record an activity, while displaying the metrics on the Engo's screen.

Like me though, you may well be using a dedicated device for recording your rides. The Engo is compatible with Apple, Sunnto, Android and Garmin devices. I use the latter primarily, so everything to follow will be based on that collaboration.

The ActiveLook app has decent instructions on how to connect your devices. In my case those were a Garmin Edge 530 and a Fenix 6 Pro watch, the latter being the one I use the most.

2023 Engo Eyewear Engo 2 sport smartglasses - connected Garmin.jpg

First up you need to go to the Connect IQ store from the Garmin Connect app and install ActiveLook on your device. From there it is a matter of opening the settings for the relevant activity – in my case Bike & Run – and changing one of the data fields to ActiveLook. Boom, your glasses now display those metrics.

That's numberwang

You can tweak which particular measurements you want displayed, and while it takes a bit of time, once set you shouldn't have to touch it again. Everything from speed, time, power or heart rate is catered for, plus all of the other usual data fields.

There are various pages you can use and, if you have the gesture sensor switched on, a handwave in front of the lens will scroll through the pages.

2023 Engo Eyewear Engo 2 sport smartglasses - hinge inside.jpg

Connections between the Engos and my Garmin devices were faultless, and I never had problems with them dropping out.

The Engos work well on the bike. The display is directed onto the right-hand side of the lens, but actually appears in your vision slightly to the left of centre, and towards the upper part of the lens. It is only visible to your right eye, though.

2023 Engo Eyewear Engo 2 sport smartglasses - up front display unit.jpg

The display is a yellow-orange colour which I never found distracting, and it's bright enough for easy reading in daylight. When travelling into direct sunlight it can be a bit trickier to read, mind.

Battery life is around 12 hours, and a full recharge takes in the region of three hours. It uses a charger that connects by way of magnets, with the contacts remaining open to the elements. Neither rain nor sweat have caused any issues, though.

2023 Engo Eyewear Engo 2 sport smartglasses - charging plug.jpg

Included in the box are the glasses, a travel case (on which the zip instantly failed), a soft case, a cleaning cloth, a charging cable and a retainer strap.

2023 Engo Eyewear Engo 2 sport smartglasses - hard case open.jpg

Value

Judged simply as glasses they are good, if not necessarily any better than something like Galibier's Regale Ultra Optics for £46. But then, they're not just normal glasses.

All of this tech doesn't come cheap, predictably, and these are £286.68. Mind you, the latest set of Oakley Katos I reviewed were £245 without any heads-up display.

Those Raptors I mentioned earlier were £699, although that was with GPS and a camera built in. It's hard to tell whether that company is even still going, however.

Basically, smart glasses are still relatively rare, and we haven't tested any others to compare them to.

Overall

If you're looking for a heads-up display, you can't go far wrong with the Engos. They give you all the information you need without having to look at your watch or computer, and that makes them an ideal companion for those who are racing, or need to give the terrain their undivided attention. If the technology is worth the premium, then these will be for you.

Verdict

Look stock but actually have a heads-up display – these are effective and give a clear view of your ride data

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Engo Eyewear Engo 2 sport smartglasses

Size tested: Large shield ,Standard shield

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Engo says, "Designed for cyclists, triathletes, runners or any other endurance sports. ENGO sport smartglasses display real-time performance data right where you need it most.

"ENGO 2 is an entirely new way to train and compete. The lightest, brightest, highest performing heads-up display ever created for endurance athletes. Experience instant and intuitive access to real-time data, right from your field of view. There's no need to slow down or interrupt flow."

The display is well positioned to not be distracting, and once set up they are simple to use.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Standard Dimensions: Width 138mm x Height 49mm

Large Dimensions: Width 139mm x Height 61mm

Temple Length: 133mm

Lens Details -

Lens Material: Polycarbonate

Lens Structure: Single panoramic lens with vents

Standard Lens Depth: Shallow lens design to minimize weight and reduce fogging.

Large Lens Depth: Deep lens design to maximize coverage for cycling and larger head sizes.

Lens Technology: High-definition Polycarbonate Category 3 lens. Lightweight and impact resistant, comparable to other high-performance lenses.

Connectivity: Bluetooth Smart 4.2

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Good connectivity, and they work well as glasses.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Good optics.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Bright sunlight can make the readout tricky to read.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

There are very few products like this on the market, at least in the UK that we have tested, so it is hard to quantify.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

They are a good pair of glasses with clear optics and great coverage. The head-up display works well, showing everything you need to know without distracting you while riding. They aren't cheap, but with very few products like this on the market there isn't much to judge them against.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 44  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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