Hands on: Navman Cyclo 505 bike GPS & Scott Foil Premium Road bike

Cyclo 505 bike GPS.

I'm navigationally challenged. Put me in a round room and tell me to find the corner - It'll take me all day to figure it out. I'll also get completely lost.

Amazingly I can get just as disoriented walking as I can in a car or on a bike. Holidays where I act as navigator were stressful exercises until the advent of GPS. Similarly, Google Maps on my smartphone has transformed walking around unfamiliar locations.

Until now there's been little to no help for people like me on a bike. At least that was until the Navman launched the Cyclo 505 bike GPS.

Look and Feel

Out of the box, it is the size of a small smartphone. It may be crafted out of plastic, but in the hand it feels solid. How it would survive an accidental drop from a bike was something I wasn't going to test.

Bells and Whistles

There isn't much the Cyclo can't do. Aside from the obvious find cycle routes and giving route suggestions, it has a "surprise me" mode based on how long and how hard you want to cycle. It'll also find emergency services (which given my lack of cycling skills is bound to come in handy).

A firmware update released shortly after I got the Cyclo 505 greatly extends the features on offer.

Smartphone integration means the Cyclo can alert you to incoming calls and you can view text messages on its screen. I'm not sure about reading text messages when riding, but being able to answer or reject calls looks handy - using a Bluetooth headset. Calls aside, the Cyclo can also act as a music controller to play, stop and pause music on my phone.

The updated Cyclo also detected and worked with the Shimano Di2 electronic gears on the demo bike. I was able to view its gearing and the Di2's battery levels. Serious cyclists can also analyse gear data after their ride.

I was able to search nearby tracks and points of interest. This made finding landmarks easy. The Cyclo also has a Mountain Bike function that displays unpaved roads and slope percentages as well as ascent lengths.

Although I didn't get a chance to test it, the Cyclo can also connect to indoor trainers. When connected up to an Elite or Tacx ANT+ trainer, the Cyclo controls resistance. This means it simulates elevation to make for tougher hill climbs.

The unit I tested (the Cyclo 505) is a mid-range version that includes an ANT sensor for use with heart rate trackers and other wearables. It retails for $479. A basic version without an ANT sensor can be bought for $449 while a version with ANT and heart rate tracker retails at $579.

In Use

The interface on the Cyclo was dead easy to use. Its home menu consists of big touch screen buttons - which were ideal when cycling.

Its home menu was sufficiently idiot-proof that even I managed to find my way around town. Getting turn-by-turn directions via a Bluetooth earpiece also minimised distractions.

Verdict

The Cyclo 505 is bulging with features and sports a reasonable sticker price. It might be small, but in use it was near fool-proof thanks to its well thought out interface. If you're biking a lot and want to find your way around, or keep track of the ground you have covered, the Cyclo is a no-brainer.

The Ultimate Road Bike? The Foil Premium

The demo bike I used to test the Cyclo was a state of the art Foil Premium Road bike made by Scott. Costing a cool $13,700, it's the bike equivalent of a Ferrari.

Scott Foil Premium Road Bike.

Look and feel

When the Foil Premium arrived there was little to nothing hinting it was anything special. The only clue of anything different was the small battery on its frame for the Shimano Dura Ace Di2 electronic gears.

The real wow moment came when I went to pick the Foil Premium up. Its aero HMX carbon fibre frame weighs in at a mere 6.57 kgs. This also means it is for consumers rather than racing. Racing rules state that bikes must weigh at least 6.8kgs - I could lift it with just one hand.

Finished in a matte black with sporty red accents, its frame was a thing of beauty. Ugly welds were absent and lent it a seamless stealth fighter look.

In Use

Living in Wellington means hills - lots of them. For every high-speed freewheel down a steep hill there is always a gut-busting ride to its top. This was where the Foil shone.

Its ultra lightweight frame and electric gears meant that weight was minimised. Gear changes - even when pedaling up near vertical hills - were buttery smooth. In practice this made going up and down Wellington's many hills so much less of a slog.

Bells and whistles

A process called IMP allows for lighter bike frame construction and extra strength. 11 per cent of the carbon fibre used in the construction of its frame is removed from parts such as its headtube intersection, greatly reducing weight.

Extra strength is bought to the fore by the use of high modulus stressed carbon fibres and the usual cosmetic carbon fibre layer is gone, shaving off even more weight.

The tubes on its frame are also as aerodynamic as possible. The rear stays are four degrees from the seat tube plane which also makes for far less turbulent airflow through the frame. Central to this is what Scott calls "F01 Technology".

The theory is that a partial wing shape still creates aerodynamic benefits. Because bikes go slower than cars, Scott also developed tube shapes to be optimal at lower air speeds. Barrelling down a hill at breakneck speeds into a headwind, it felt as if I were riding a hot knife slicing through butter.

The Foil's most nifty gadgetry is the Shimano Di2 electric gears that linked up to the Cyclo via Bluetooth. In use they made for seamless gearshifts even when pedalling up-hill. The lack of missed gearshifts was definitely a good thing given my wobbly riding style.

Verdict

Having only ever ridden alloy-framed clunkers in the past, the Foil was a revelation. It doesn't get in the way of the ride, and feels like you're pedalling on thin air. The Di2 electronic gear shifter and aerodynamic carbon fibre frame made for an insanely good ride. This state of the art bicycle does however command a steep sticker price.

Tech Specs (Foil Premium Bike)

RRP: $13,700
Frame: FOIL Carbon Aero , HMX-Net fibers
Fork: HMX-Net, carbon steerer
Group set: Shimano Dura-Ace DI2
Ritchey WCS carbon parts
Wheels: Zipp 404 Carbon Clincher

Tech Specs (Cyclo 505 Bike GPS)

RRP$449
Dimensions: 61 x 103 x 18.9 mm
Weight: 129g
Battery: Rechargeable lithium-ion
Battery life: Up to 12 hours
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (BLE), and ANT+
GPS: Yes
Internal memory: 4GB
Screen resolution: 240x400 pixels
Optional Sensors: Works with heart-rate monitor, cadence and power meter
Touchscreen: Yes
Water resistant: Yes