Would you buy a Bryton again?

[Mike Bike]

i had a 35, unit was great, battery life excellent. I had crap with uploading rides into Strava. data would go haywire so i lost out on 2 gran fondos. Bryton couldnt help me. 

 

So i got a Garmin. no more ***

[Lexx]

Had the Rider 35 for a long time, upgraded to the 40 and never had any issues, Battery life is awesome. Ballistic Bike are great with their support, who are the agents. Their new range now has bluetooth too for instant uploading.

Girlfriend has the Rider 21, which is nice and simple and does everything that she needs it to do.

 

December I treated myself to the Garmin 520 for my bday, using ebucks, didn't cost me anything... Festive500 and DeathByLiveSegments was fun, sort of... 

Are you bragging Again!!     

[typhoon]

Are you bragging Again!!     

 

haha no... not at all... 

LiveSegments are bad for you... 

[Donovan Le Cok]

I had the 50 a few years back. Probably one of the worst pieces of tech I ever used in my entire life. I don't think I did one ride with it where it worked properly, the website was also a complete disaster. 

 

I eventually had a crash and smashed it to pieces... I was delighted... Bought a garmin and never looked back.

[HdB]

My (now) wife gave me a Rider 20 back in Dec 2012, and it still works perfectly. Can't say that I need any more functionality either, unless I get a power meter.

I use it with speed/cadence sensors on my road bike, and no sensors on my MTB.

I barely use the site though, it works ok but I already use Endomondo and Strava.

 

The new 310 seems very nice, but can't seem to find it anywhere in SA; Ballistic's page for them only shows a login page...

[Cheese]

I have quite a story.

 

Received a 35 as birthday present and it worked 100%, no complaints on the unit.

The belt did give me issues though , however through great customer service they gave me a new belt three times. I then got a Wahoo belt.

 

I then had a fall and the unit broke the lip that is used to attach to bracket and I asked if this could be changed, It could not but they gave me a ryder 20 at cost. The 20 was not as good as the 35.

 

After about two weeks the unit did not work and they replaced it for me.

The new one worked for around 6 months until it somehow fell out the bracket while on a smooth road. After this it did not work but They asked me to send it in to have a look at.

That was 6 October 2015. Have not heard from them since.

 

So in summary, units does what it supposed to however they wear down on the bracket and does not fit tight in bracket after about 50 (I also mentioned this to Ballistic trading)  

The belts just does not work for me as the connection clamp rust off. I rinsed mine after every ride to get rid of sweat but still an issue.

Customer service user to be great, but I have now gotten used to my Strava on the Iphone. While I have a normal cycle speedometer on.

[Christian van Zyl]

My (now) wife gave me a Rider 20 back in Dec 2012, and it still works perfectly. Can't say that I need any more functionality either, unless I get a power meter.

I use it with speed/cadence sensors on my road bike, and no sensors on my MTB.

I barely use the site though, it works ok but I already use Endomondo and Strava.

 

The new 310 seems very nice, but can't seem to find it anywhere in SA; Ballistic's page for them only shows a login page...

Thanks,

 

Bryton is changing distributors and noted the the 310 will be available in the next 1/2 months. 

 

looks like a neat product. 

[HeyYou]

I voted no!

 

Have a Cardio 35 and after a year the strap came apart. 

 

How and where on earth do you find, is there such a thing, as a new strap for a 35????

 

So, other than mounting on the bar, using sticky tape, it's pretty useless now!

[Monark]

I've had a 40 for a few years and could not be happier. It just works.

 

I do sani2c without charging the unit. Not many garmin users can.

 

Both are great brands and both have their own issues. Garmin is more premium when it comes to development and build quality.

 

If you can afford a garmin buy one. If you want something that works buy a bryton

[Bob Dylan]

 

No. would not buy again. 

 

I had a Bryton 35, rode in the rain, screen misted up and unit never worked again. Must say it fell off the bike, hit the tar, at 40kmph some weeks before the ride in the rain, but did not show any signs of breakage. Maybe got fractured in that incident. Furthermore, getting the cadence sensor to pick-up signal was too complicated and never worked - so that cheesed me off too.

 

I think the build quality, i.e shock proofing, water proofing, etc , is below it's competitors.

 

 

 

 

[WIPEOUT 1000]

I never owned a Bryton, but you have to also consider the total cost of ownership.

 

From my experience (Polar & Garmin), for a number of reasons these devices all seem to have rather limited lifespans and I have found Garmin aftersales support exceptional. E.g. I accidently destroyed my Garmin 810 on Monday and I was given a new unit at a fraction of the retail price yesterday. I am a very happy customer,

[Rotiringer]

My unit misted up and collapsed in lite drizzle. Replaced and happened again. The HRM broke 3 times and to get it back to some place near the dome to repair is a mission when you have to do it 5 times all in all. When it worked though it worked well and. It was cheap. The accessories like HRM cadence etc seem to be made of very cheap plastic.

[T-Bob]

100%. I've had a 35, 40 and a 50. Works perfectly, battery life is great and to be honest I'm looking for a reason to get a 60 but my 50 keeps keeping on. 

 

Upsides:
• GPS is good
• Battery life great
• Good options and specs
• Easy to set up and run

• Pairs easily with most things
• Soft HRM is very comfy
• Great support from Bryton international 

• Rain, hail, shine or crashing hasn't phased it one bit
• Good training plans
• Knock, knock was a good idea for wireless sharing of route and stuff when on the road or trail
• Great price new, amazing price 2nd hand. Have got 2 Rider 50 units for under R800, like new. 

Downsides:
• Very average support from Bryton agents here in SA
• Sometimes my HRM puts me in the heart attack category with my max HR well over 220!
• Lack of out front mounts for the 50 (only one with out the 3/4 turn)

• Can't upload directly to Strava... not a biggie though as I download my files to my machine anyway.
• Top of the little blue joystick thing broke of recently. Doesn't effect anything though

• HRM connector rusted and fell off the belt. Not sure if I should have washed it after each ride. Just rode in it and threw in in the draw after. Never stank though. 

 

Have had Garmins before but bang for buck I think Bryton are hungrier and they just work for me. Shame the national customer service is so very, very weak. The Products deserve better. 

[typhoon]

 

Downsides:

 

• Sometimes my HRM puts me in the heart attack category with my max HR well over 220!

 

 

On a side note, this isn't a Bryton issue but a HR strap issue, bad contact with the chest maybe...? My PowerCal and less so the Wahoo BT HR strap does the same, usually before the sweating has started and/or slightly hunched over where it seems to lose contact with your chest.

I think 220 seems to be the max measurement limit for most units, so you never see it any higher.

[Cheese]

I voted no!

 

Have a Cardio 35 and after a year the strap came apart. 

 

How and where on earth do you find, is there such a thing, as a new strap for a 35????

 

So, other than mounting on the bar, using sticky tape, it's pretty useless now!

I must say they replaced my strap a few times, however you can use Garmin or Wahoo Kiker straps as they are all ANT+

[Quickie]

Loved my Bryton and used them for 3 years but my only issue is not plugging to Strava and most importantly Discovery Vitality

In the end spent the money and brought the Garmin.