Lezyne GPS - value for money

[Frosty]

So I followed a few others in moving away from Garmin as my primary head unit on my bike. I had previously only used wrist-based devices, aka Forerunners (205, 305, 310XT and a 735XT). The 310XT was converted to mount on the stem, and I’ve never owned a dedicated bike-only GPS head unit, until now.

 

I was initially looking at a Garmin 130+ bundle, as I could get 39% discount from the HealthyGear card at Sportsman Warehouse. The cost of the unit ($199) converted to R3,500.00 (give or take the fluctuation in forex rates). During my online research, I found that the Lezyne Mega C/XL units were also selling at $199 (unit only). DCRainmaker has reviewed it, so I’m not going to duplicate his awesome work, but rather add my own experiences.

Edited July 21, 2020 by Frosty

[Frosty]

The long story... you can skip this bit if you're not interested in the online purchase story, and want to go straight to my experience, so far.

 

 

scroll down...

 

 

I initially thought that an import would be a good bet, but I saw that there were local options available, so I persued these instead:

 

• Bike Addict - R2990
   
   
• Evobikes – R3295
   
   
• Two Wheels Trading - the distributor, priced at R3650
   

I then popped passed a few bike shops between home and work, to see if they keep stock. Nothing, they claim it’s too niche a product and don’t keep stock. After trawling this forum for reviews on both bike shops listed above, I was a little sceptic of using Bike Addict, even though they were cheaper. So I added both to the basket, and then noticed that Bike Addict would provide a quote… that’s weird, why advertise a price and then still send a quote. I completed the form, and waited (as of this post, I still haven’t received a quote). At the same time, I popped Evobikes an email, and Naas responded the same day, explaining they don’t keep stock, but it usually takes 2-3 days. I didn't see the point of ordering from Two Wheels Trading, as they were more expensive, plus there would be a delivery fee. Evobikes would be shipping free of charge as it was over a minimum order value.

 

I paid later that evening (Monday, 13 July) and sent the POP by email, asking for confirmation they received it. Janos replied the next day, confirming the order, and also letting me know the tracking number would be sent once they have shipped. Like a little kid on Christmas eve, I was checking my mails daily to look for the tracking number, and eventually got one on Thursday (16^th). Coming from Cape Town, by economy shipment, I wasn’t expecting to receive it before Monday (20^th). Before my ride on Saturday morning, I checked the tracking on The Courier Guy’s website, and it still showed it was booked in at the JHB hub, so I knew it would arrive Monday. On the ride, as we were stopping to wait for straggler, I heard my phone ring – it was the gate intercom. “Hello”, I said. “Yebo, delivery for [Mr xx]”. I pressed the 1 open the date, then called the wife… “Are you okay?” she answers. “Ja, ja. I’m fine. There is a delivery for me at the gate. Please can you sign” – she didn’t know I had ordered the unit, but thought it was another shipment of Versus socks.

 

Upon arriving home, I see the package, but don’t open it for another few hours. I had to quickly shower, and head over to the SANBS to donate a pint of blood. I only opened it when I returned later that afternoon.

Edited July 21, 2020 by Frosty

[Frosty]

The box (screenshot) was wrapped in bubble plastic, so was well protected during transit. Inside the box was the unit, already attached to the bar/stem mount. Below the unit were two different sized o-rings (two per set), the micro-USB cable and the instruction manual, that I have yet to open (I knew just about everything from my online research, which included reading the electronic manual.

 

 

The unit had about 60% charge on when I switched on, and showed that my phone’s battery was much lower (23% when I looked). The setup is quite cool, in that everything can be done on the Lezyne Ally v2 app – I’ve created a few mosaic images to keep the number of mages to a minimum, but it’s quite flexible in the number of data screen layouts and the amount of data per page. I went out on Sunday (19^th) with 8 pages per screen – which I have now changed to 6. This is compared to what I was used to on the 310XT showing a max of 4.

 

 

I usually run on a Sunday, but decided it would be better to give this unit a test run, and joined my mates for a coffee ride (road). Saturday’s 75Km MTB ride was a casual pace, but my legs felt a little porridge/pap (jelly-like)… probably the blood donation adding to it too. First thing I noticed is that the time was GMT, so it was 04:35 instead of 06:35. I opened the phone app, and it immediately changed to 06:35. I tried to follow the club ride route, but I later found out that I hadn’t downloaded the offline maps for my area, but for another area.

 

After a 2.5 hour ride, the unit is still above 50% charge, so I’m hoping the advertised 32 hours is really true. I was on 1s recording on my Garmin (both the 735XT and the 310XT) to preserve battery life on the longer rides. On the Lezyne, I’ve turned the adaptive recording off, for now, and I’ll see how much if affects the battery, and file size.

 

A few things I like:

The screen that shows the metrics in different colours - makes for easier identifying when riding:

• Power (orange);
• Cadence (blue);
• HR (red);
• Speed (green);
• Elevation (brown);
• Other (white or black)

The background can be white or black. I’m undecided about the background colour, and will continue testing until I find the optimal BG colour. After three rides, a light/white background is better.

 

The difference in size from what I was using as a head unit, to now.

 

 

It shows the battery level on devices that transmit it, eg. The unit itself, my phone, power meter. For some reason, the Garmin HRM-Tri strap doesn’t transmit the battery level. This was quite frustrating when I first tried to pair the strap… I had used it earlier on my MTB ride, so was hoping it wasn’t a compatibility issue between Lezyne and Garmin. But then I checked the 735XT, and it also didn’t pair. After a quick battery change, everything paired nicely, including the Powertap speed/cadence sensor used on my “indoor” bike’s setup.

 

A few things I dislike:

The button layout will need some getting used to. Garmin has two buttons dedicated for up/down, whereas the Lezyne shared buttons for menu/up and start/lap/down and power/left, menu/right. Sounds confusing, and is, but like most things, it just needs a few rides to get use to it. I've pressed the lap function more times that I can remember (bottom right).

 

The in-ride notifications don’t disappear after a short period of time, eg. I have a drink reminder every 20 minutes. I physically have to press the return button to clear it, or when a WhatsApp/SMS message pops up on the screen (if I forgot to turn off my mobile data).

 

I currently only have one step/bar mount, and these are unique to Lezyne. As I have n+1 bikes, I need to order a few for my other bikes, or get the out-front mount that I can then move across from bike to bike. The bike shops I mentioned above didn’t have stock, so I didn’t want to order until I had seen the unit working, and I was happy. I am happy, extremely happy, and look forward to using the route maps on some of my upcoming “explorer” rides.

 

Based on my purchase from Evobikes, and my less than ideal dealing with Bike Addict, would I use them again, and/or recommend them?

• Evobikes = Yes;
• Bike Addict = Probably not;
• Two Wheels Trading = if the price is right, probably.

Edited July 22, 2020 by Frosty

[Frosty]

To Naas and Janos, at Evobikes:

 

Thanks guys, my first experience buying from you has been positive. I hope that others considering buying from you get the same level of service I got, or better.

Edited July 21, 2020 by Frosty

[ChrisF]

To Naas and Janos, at Evobikes:

 

Thanks guys, my first experience buying from you has been positive. I hope that others considering buying from you get the same level of service I got, or better.

I have only had brilliant service from Evobike over the last few years

 

 

Congrats on the purchase, and thanks for the detailed feedback

[Super Sywurm]

I got the Mega XL on Takealot about a year ago for R2250. Great GPS, excellent battery life. I am not even close to using all of it's functions. And when I had some problems with the unit after an update, Lezyne fixed it with a couple of easy instructions via email.

[WaynejG]

Yeah I love the XL. I use reading glasses but ride without glasses. I just battle to see when using the smaller devices. The big screen of the XL is a huge benefit to me.p

[Dirkitech]

Thanks for sharing Frosty. I've been looking to move away from garmin myself, so its good to see a locally applied alternative.

[Frosty]

I forgot to add the mapping function that this unit can do, as well as the setup on the phone app.

 

Like the Wahoo, the unit can be setup using the mobile phone app. The next few screenshots shows the setup of offline maps that I can use on the device without the need for my mobile data to be on:

 

The gear icon (upper left) brings up Unit Format, Map Style and Offline Maps

 

I’ve already downloaded the area I normally ride in, or want to ride soon. Then download and send to the device.

 

 

Rode data is sent to the following apps after saving the ride:

 

Live tracking is available - much the same as Garmin.To get the live Strava segments requires a subscriber account, and not the freebie version. Komoot is the app used to plot routes, or upload existing routes created in other apps/online services.

[mecheng89]

We have identical units, Frosty. I must say coming from an Edge 520, the interface is different, so it took some getting used to (I'm actually still getting used to it).

 

But the battery life is amazing, can't comment on the mapping function yet

 

I bought mine second hand from a dude on the BH, I must say you will not get the equivalent Garmin (520) at that price unless the unit has a faulty battery or even cracked screen.

[Popit]

Does it come with a HR strap ??

If not , can a Wahoo HR strap be linked ?

[tinmug]

I have the not-colour Mega XL. Better half the Garmin. The Garmin is beautiful. I am jealous. 

 

But the Garminf doesn't connect. Needs a restart. Now update the firmware. Then the app. Oh, it cannot see GPSs when it's cloudy (to be fair, once in a while it does work flawlessly  ).

 

The Lezyne: like a tractor ... just keeps going no matter what you throw at it. 

[Jensie]

Thanks for the write up frosty.

Had a 160km gravel ride on saturday that required a map. The bryton 330 that I use helped with breadcrumb trail but were a few times offroute as the route was out of context or not zoomed in. It still got me home though. I am looking for a better navigational unit (turn by turn) that does not break the bank and I don't use power. It looks like the lezyne would do the job. 

 

Enjoy it.

[WaynejG]

The Komoot app for route tracking is pretty awesome. That's what I like about the Lezyne. Almost every firmware update comes with new features.

[Danger Dassie]

Nice one Frosty, I've had the older Super GPS and loved it. The only reason I got rid of it and kept my Bryton is because the Bryton has navigation on it. I am looking at renewing with one of the Lezynes though, considering their range for both running and cycling.
Particularly like their robust design, battery life and secure lock mounting bracket.

Both superb options though if looking for an equivalent alternative the G and W that meets 90% of the functionality. Unfortunate that Bryton no longer has a local agent but I've found their international support desk ok. 

[dirtypot]

Does it come with a HR strap ??

If not , can a Wahoo HR strap be linked ?

 

Yes, the Wahoo strap can be paired up.  That's how I use my Lezyne GPS - with the Wahoo strap.