COROS has simply introduced (or reasonably, the second announcement) of the COROS Dura biking GPS pc. This pc goals to take their current watch software program, and port it right into a GPS bike pc format. Which, as you’ll see, is just about what they’ve completed. The unit’s standout characteristic is the upper claimed battery life, with theoretical ‘perpetually energy’ in the correct solar circumstances by way of its giant photo voltaic panel.
I’ve had the COROS Dura for a bit beneath a month now, which usually can be sufficient time to place collectively an in-depth evaluate – particularly the various rides I’ve placed on it. However at this stage, the unit merely isn’t prepared. COROS gained’t have a extra secure firmware till tomorrow (June 18th, a day after this announcement), and even then, it appears like lots of the points I’ve raised will take weeks or longer to type out. Which isn’t saying COROS gained’t be capable of repair them. I’ve really obtained a good bit of belief in how briskly COROS can situation updates and absorb suggestions, simply as they do on the watch facet. Nevertheless, I’d warning that even with all the fixes in place, there’s nonetheless some fairly substantial gaps right here to the competitors. Inversely, there’s additionally a few compelling options the competitors doesn’t have. Although, I feel there’s one factor we will all agree on: The value may be very fascinating.
Level being, this *IS NOT* a evaluate. That’ll come sooner or later down the highway, probably in early July, or each time they find yourself begin delivery models (now slated for July fifteenth). With that, let’s dive into it.
The Tech Specs:
The COROS Dura is designed in a lot the identical manner as their watches. It shares the identical software program, identical display varieties, and identical button-navigation kind format. In case you are a COROS watch consumer, and have been to ask whether or not or not the Dura has a given COROS watch characteristic, the reply is sort of actually going to be ‘sure’.
Right here’s the short specs although:
– 2.7” MIP contact display
– All the time-on, like a calculator
– Digital Crown and single further button
– Weight: 97g + 44g for the included mount
– Out-front mount is Garmin quarter-turn fashion
– Has Twin-Frequency/Multiband GNSS
– Has WiFi & Bluetooth
– Has temp sensor, compass, barometric altimeter, accelerometer, gyroscope
– Has bike alarm characteristic
– Deliberate Security Alert, Crash Detection, Stay Monitoring, Group Experience Options (not but out there/working)
– Display mirroring to look at (not but out there)
– Downloadable/free maps (no road names/POI/and so forth…)
– Re-routing help if inside mobile vary with cellphone app linked
– Has coaching load & restoration
– Has structured exercise help
– Has coaching plan help
– Integration with third social gathering apps (e.g., Strava, Komoot, TrainingPeaks, and so forth…)
– Battery life as much as 120-hours for ‘All-Techniques GPS’, and and 70-hours for ‘Twin-Frequency’ GNSS.
– Photo voltaic can prolong these battery instances, as much as 2 hours for each 1 hour using
– Bike profiles for Street, Indoor, Gravel, MTB, e-bike, and e-MTB
– Priced at $249/289EUR/399CAD/249GBP/449AUD/39600JPY/1799CNY
The precise specifics of a number of the options not but carried out are a bit fuzzy to me, such because the watch mirroring/handoff from watch to Dura, although they sound roughly much like what Garmin and Wahoo each have, although each of these firms do issues otherwise. Thus once more, how precisely COROS implements it isn’t but clear to me.
In all probability the simplest manner to think about this machine, is comparatively much like a Wahoo BOLT V1, when it was launched 7 years in the past (March 2017). The options are principally the identical as that, besides with longer claimed battery life. The newer Wahoo BOLT V2, with all its present updates, retails for $279. So roughly in the identical ballpark.
Some Using Ideas:
I’ve now gotten in a variety of rides throughout varied situations: Street using, gravel using, and mountain biking. Inside that, I’ve had shiny sunny circumstances, dumping rain circumstances, blah overcast circumstances, together with sundown circumstances. And from a terrain standpoint I’ve lined cities, flatlands, and straight-up Colorado mountains. TLDR: I’ve lined most utilization situations, and may define the place issues work properly – and the place they fall very quick.
To get a journey going, you’ll merely hit a button on the unit to wake it up. The COROS Dura doesn’t actually have a start-up interval/process, it’s kinda like a calculator in that it’s only one faucet away and at all times in standby. That is fairly good to get began rapidly.
You’ll select which journey profile you need. Every journey profile can have distinctive information fields/pages. That is an space Wahoo lacks, so it’s good to see the variations outlined right here, the place you may want a special journey setup for mountain biking than highway biking.
You’ll configure all these by way of the companion app, which then syncs to the Dura itself. There’s a variety of totally different information pages and configurations out there right here.
One distinctive one they’ve is that you would be able to have a map web page displayed up high, after which scroll by way of partial information pages down under (proven under, left). I like this concept, however equally, there really isn’t a solution to have a devoted map web page with devoted show fields. Which means, it’s both alway pages-split (map/fields for all pages), or nothing cut up (with no information fields on it). Hopefully my rationalization is smart, and it does sound like COROS is open to creating this a tiny bit extra versatile.
(Left to proper: Break up Display view for all information pages, non-split display map web page, non-split display information web page)
In any occasion, from a navigation standpoint, you’ll be able to push maps and routes to it. Maps will sync by way of WiFi, and you’ll simply select which map areas to obtain, that are in good small chunks. Nevertheless, the maps do *NOT* have road names or POIs on them. Right here’s the way it seems on the map:
You’ll be able to create routes by way of the COROS app, or import routes from Strava and Komoot. I’ve obtained a bunch of annoyances right here, particularly that you must actually wait 3 minutes every time you import a Strava/and so forth route (it’s an precise timer), till it reveals as much as then assist you to manually sync to the Dura. It’s this lack of polish that’s irritating, particularly if you’re making an attempt to get out the door and have to take a seat there and rely to 180 seconds.
As soon as a route is imported, you’ll observe it on the map. It’ll warn you when a flip is approaching, however gained’t present road names. I really don’t actually care a ton about road names. I’m consistently biking in international nations, and may’t pronounce half the names anyway. So long as the flip instructions are right, then I’m good.
Sadly, they aren’t typically right. The routing parser on the COROS Dura will (fairly often) inform me with an arrow to show left (or do a U-turn), when it means to show proper (and the road reveals proper). Right here’s one in all many examples of this in motion (be aware the chevrons displaying my upcoming route, after which the arrows giving reverse instructions).
Now, that is the place we get to the only greatest situation with the COROS Dura: Re-routing. Every part and something to do with re-routing may be very a lot not good. To start, it doesn’t really re-route till often about 500-800m later (after a missed flip). That’s the primary second the place it realizes one thing is flawed, practically half a mile after you’ve screwed up. It’s at this level it’ll provide a immediate to ask should you’d prefer to re-route again to your route, or to the tip vacation spot.
For one, bike computer systems ought to discover inside 3-5 seconds of a missed flip. Then, they need to simply robotically re-route to make it work. Similar to each different bike pc and cellphone mapping app does at present. I shouldn’t have to attend minutes, then give it particular steerage.
However that’s really not the largest limiter. The largest problem is that COROS can’t re-route on the machine itself. As a substitute, it has to go by way of your mobile phone to Google Maps to get re-routing data. When you don’t have mobile connectivity, it gained’t re-route. Or, if the app connection drops, it gained’t re-route.
As a substitute, it’ll present a line, like this:
I’ve mentioned this loads with COROS. Their view is that in 2024, they consider that re-routing could be higher completed by way of the cloud, than on-device. And certain, that’s maybe true should you’ve obtained always-connected gadgets. However the elementary actuality of a motorbike pc is that many individuals transcend mobile vary. In truth, particularly the various gravel riders they sponsored for Unbound, which might ceaselessly be in no-cellular protection zones.
COROS says they aren’t against offline routing long run, however it’s not a precedence proper now. Preserving in thoughts that after an organization begins down that offline routing/re-routing journey, historical past with different bike pc firms making an attempt this (Wahoo, Hammerhead, Sigma) tells us it’s a 2-3 yr course of earlier than that’s dependable. And people are firms with intensive expertise as bike pc firms. Level being, this gained’t probably occur (reliably) in a single day.
In the case of climb-related metrics, the COROS Dura will show upcoming climb particulars. However at current, it subdivides these climbs right into a slate of smaller items, making it inconceivable to determine precisely how lengthy the climb actually is. This previous weekend I did a ~1,000m/3,00ft continuous climb, and it was subdivided into 7 random chunks on the COROS. Whereas on the Hammerhead and Garmin gadgets it was correctly listed as a singular climb. I attempted loading the famed Stelvio climb in there, and it was randomly subdivided into 3 chunks (with zero elements together with any flat items that may set off a break).
That stated, the climb does look fairly alongside the underside – I really like the way it’s comparatively small and minimal right here. If they will enhance the climb splitting algorithm to be helpful, this can be nice (display under has water on it, from rain):
Past that, information fields work just about as you’d anticipate. I had no points with pairing to both ANT+ or Bluetooth Sensible sensors, together with energy meters, shifting (SRAM AXS), and coronary heart price sensors. Bike radar (e.g. Varia) pairing/performance isn’t but working reliably. However in any other case, you’ll be able to see the info similar to some other bike pc:
There’s numerous big-ticket objects that must be sorted. For instance, it may pair to ANT+ & Bluetooth Sensible sensors, together with energy meters. However after I linked an influence meter, the info is horribly flawed with so-called “Sticky Watts” (however the worst iteration I’ve ever seen of them), leading to repeated values for 3-4 seconds consistently.
You’ll use the little scrolling wheel (Digital Crown) to iterate between pages. I’ll be aware my private common bias in opposition to the Digital Crown (from any firm), as I feel it hardly ever offers a lot worth in comparison with buttons on a sports activities machine, aside from zooming maps. My private bias in opposition to such a wheel is maintained right here, the place it’s inconceivable to make use of on bumpy roads. As the one methodology to alter information pages, that’s annoying to me. I don’t actually have any points with devoted buttons on bumpy roads. However once more, I be aware that some individuals just like the Digital Crown, so my annoyance right here may not translate to everybody.
So far as battery life goes, the unit claims 70-120 hours, relying on GPS modes used. I’m unable to validate that declare presently. COROS says firmware that features battery enhancements gained’t come till tomorrow. In the mean time, I’m getting a fraction of that length, burning roughly 3-6%/hour (in shiny sunny circumstances), so serviette math says perhaps 25 hours of battery life in a dual-band configuration – which is on par with their opponents. I’m extremely skeptical of anybody who has claimed they haven’t charged it in months and been using consistently with it. That’s merely unlikely to be true (or, they haven’t ridden a lot/used a lot).
Nonetheless, if they will type out battery life to their claims of two hours of battery time for each 1 hour of sunny using time, that’ll be tremendous spectacular. Thus far, I haven’t seen that.
Hitting Pause:
It’ll be fascinating to see if/when COROS can stick the touchdown on the Dura. Definitely, they’re simply originally of their bike pc journey. Down the highway in a yr or two, many can have forgotten concerning the rushed launch of it, to seemingly attempt to hit the summer time season. And certain, they’ll have sorted out lots of the early teething pains by then.
However proper now, it’s merely not prepared. And I don’t see the way it’s going to be prepared in 3-4 weeks for the July fifteenth date. Outdoors of the facility meter information I discussed, different information like Shimano Di2 or SRAM AXS/eTAP the info is essentially lacking or incomplete. And within the case of biking radar (e.g. Varia Radar), the unit disconnects.
The listing of points is huge, and that’s once more, simply to get it to baseline 2017 timeframe.
But when there’s something that COROS is beautifully good at, it’s updating their gadgets with software program updates. And doing so ceaselessly. They’ve sometimes aligned to a quarterly replace cycle (roughly) for his or her watches, and traditionally have had good longevity in these updates for gadgets. I might *not* suggest shopping for this machine at present, however I feel if I have been to fast-forward to the autumn, it’d probably be secure sufficient for tech geeks to toy with. After which if COROS can maintain driving onerous, then I think by subsequent Spring, they’ll be ready to be extremely aggressive with the lower-priced Wahoo choices (e.g. the BOLT sequence), or different extra budget-focused models.
I feel what COROS has envisioned may very well be tremendous fascinating, particularly round battery life. It’s only a query of whether or not they can get to there, from right here, and what sacrifices is perhaps made.
With that – thanks for studying!
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