I am always up for trying new cycling gadgets and kit, so when I was asked to try the new Beeline Velo2, of course my answer was yes!

This is the second iteration of the Velo cycling computer from the computer and follows a hugely successful kick-starter campaign.

The Techy Bit

Here are the main details:

• Cost – The unit itself costs £79.99 and for that you get the bike computer, charging cable, handlebar mount (two different sized rubber bands to allow for different sized handlebars) and instructions. I was also sent to the carry case, which easily holds the bike computer, has a net to hold the charging cable too and a carabiner to secure when transporting.
• Battery – battery life is over 11 hours ride time so less when comparing with other major brands offering competing products but still more than a respectable battery life. When I complete in rides longer than this I would carry a battery pack so I can charge on the go/at rest stops as a fall back and could do this for this unit too.
• Display – 32mm LCD screen, with rocker top buttons rather than touch screen so great if you are riding with gloves as you don’t have to take them off! It has ambient lighting and back lighting, which is great for rides not in daylight but also if off road and in heavily shaded areas too. You can adjust the brightness as well.
• Shock and water resistant (including dust for the off road riding)
• Weighs just 25 grams!

Getting Started

Initial set up was super simple and complete very quickly. The bike computer works with an app and once downloaded and device paired you are good to go. I have an iPhone but this is available on android too. I would note that you need software of iOS 13.0 and above to run the app on an iPhone. This does mean you need your smart phone with you when riding although for me I always carry my phone so this is not an issue and it’s not super heavy draining the battery either, which is good, although I have not tested on any endurance riding.

Route Planning

You have the following two options:

• Route mode – this uses the most commonly used route and best for road riding and you can add points to go via by simply dragging the route on the screen in the app
• Compass mode – this is best for off road riding and is an ‘as the crow flies’ navigation, so you are given an arrow in the direction you need to go and can pick the path to follow to get there

In addition to the above you can also choose from the route mode out of:

• Fast route – will select a route to get you to your destination as quickly as possible
• Quiet route – will select a route that uses more quiet roads
• Balanced route – a blend of the two options mentioned above

The routes are feedback led too and so you can see those that have been rated good and not good by others and amend your route if you wish. You can do this too when riding using the red and green rocker buttons on each side – reminds me of the Waze navigation system I use in the car and helps other users.

It is also compatible with Strava and again super simple to pair and claims worldwide navigational coverage but I have only used in the UK so cannot comment on that.

You can also import routes from other planners, so once I paired with my Strava the app showed immediately routes I had from there that I could select and use.

Like other bike computers the route planning uses turn by turn navigation, easy re-routing when off the planned route and although it uses the app on the smartphone it will still work if you do not have any service on your phone.

Recording Data

The unit itself tracks all the usual/expected things you would expect from a bike computer including speed, average speed, distance covered, distance remaining and estimated time left on the route with your ETA. Personally I prefer not to have data overload and just enjoy the ride and if possible would remove some metrics from the display. I did reach out to Beeline support to ask if this was possible and they confirmed and got the following response:

Unfortunately at the minute, it’s not a feature we have. But, it is a very popular request, I will make note of your email, and who knows what the future may bring!

Not so long ago we launched our largest ever single update that was almost entirely made up of user-based ideas and feedback, we made a brand new UI to go along side major improvements done to our route planner. So it is how we as a company like to work, so stay tuned, and do share any further ideas you may have! 

I did reach out to Beeline support to see if it was possible to pair heart rate and cadence and got the following response:

At the moment, Velo 2 is unable to connect with heart rate or cadence trackers.

I would say they were super quick in getting back to me and offered further help with anything else so was impressed on that front.

My Thoughts

I love the simplicity of this and the price point is far more accessible than competitor units.

Part of what I love about being on the mountain bike is exploring and making up routes so I love that I can use this unit to do just that and think it will live on my MTB. The mountain bike I also find goes back to just loving being on the bike and that simplicity is matched with the unit.

I was really impressed with the customer service and that developments are very much driven by customer feedback.

I also loved that the brand have intentionally designed this unit to be carbon and plastic negative with sustainability in mind.

I will probably stick with my current bike computer for my road bike as I use that for training and require access to some functionality that is not available on this unit but for MTB and casual riding (as in not specific training sessions) it is perfect.

Product was gifted but all opinions are my own.