Canyon is more than just a bicycle brand now, with the launch at Eurobike this week of its new Smart Computer, an app-based bike computer.
The Smart Computer, developed in partnership with Sony, utilises Android Wear software which means it can run a range of apps, including Strava, and be synced to a compatible phone, which as well as Android-based smartphones, will eventually include iPhone compatibility.
The Smart Computer has a very smart appearance. It has been designed to be compatible with Canyon’s own range of stems. No rubber bands or zip ties necessary, instead it uses a simple and secure sliding mechanism.
“Our aim in designing the Smart Computer was to find a sleek solution that seamlessly integrates with Canyon form. Gone are the days of rubber bands and bar clamps,” says Canyon.
The computer has a 1.6in trans-reflective LCD capacitive touch screen – we had a hands-on demonstration and can confirm the screen is very sharp with good clarity, more smartphone than traditional cycle computer. Using Android Wear technology, the same as you’d find in a device like the Samsung Gear smart watch, means the Canyon Smart Computer can be used with quite a large number of apps.
That means everything from navigating, using Google Maps for turn-by-turn directions, to tracking speed and distance using the popular Strava app, is possible with the computer.
There are internal sensors including GPS so it can be used as a standalone computer, without pairing with a smartphone. It uses Bluetooth Smart and ANT+ so it can be synced with heart rate, speed, cadence sensors and power meters. It’s waterproof and has a claimed 8-10 hour runtime.
The Canyon Smart Computer is expected to go on sale in February 2016, with a guide price of £200.
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21 thoughts on “Canyon Smart Computer using Android Wear launched at Eurobike + video”
Aren’t all computers smart?
Aren’t all computers smart?
Some computers are smarterer
Some computers are smarterer than others.
Looks great and very
Looks great and very desirable, but how would I transfer the unit it to my other bikes……
That’s the slickest looking
That’s the slickest looking bike computer I’ve seen. I imagine the cost of a stem and the computer (which bikeboy76 points out will only be for one bike) might cool my enthusiasm, but for now, it’s at the top of my Eurobike released wants.
I can’t believe there are no
I can’t believe there are no companies that make a stem faceplate that is a garmin mount.
DrJDog wrote:I can’t believe
3T; only for the Integra stem though.
DrJDog wrote:I can’t believe
Fizik Barfly, and Enve stem garmin mount. Stem faceplates are just such a huge range of sizes, it’s just not worth them making in a lot of cases.
Barfly make a stem faceplate
Barfly make a stem faceplate mount for Fizik stems. Stupidly expensive for a piece of plastic, though it does hold a 500/800 below the bar.
I cannot imagine Canyon will
I cannot imagine Canyon will limit this to their own stems.
If you look, the computer has a specific housing, of which the housing slides into a specific front plate for the stem. I can see Canyon either producing front plates for other companies stems, or perhaps more likely making the sliding mount design open source so other companies can create mounts at their own expense. That’s what I would do if I was them anyway. After all, the latter approach means they would not need to push sales of own brand stems. Profits would come from sales of the computer and profit from licensing the design…
that looks really swish
that looks really swish
Looks very good, and nicely
Looks very good, and nicely thought out.
This is quite sexy looking.
This is quite sexy looking. I am tired of paying excessive amount to Garmin.
£200 sounds like a good deal for this sexy looking gadget.
Looks good, just need Strava
Looks good, just need Strava now to support ant+ on android devices.
One could fear, that the usb
One could fear, that the usb post for the charger is located on the side that slides into the bracket. This would mean, that touring or other long distance cyclists that use a dyno hub generator to charger their gps device at day, would be unable to do so.
Otherwise a great looking computer! I really like the idea of bringing Android into this, the possibilities with 3rd party apps are endless. Still being able to use the Smart Computer as gps tracker without pairing it with a phone is a plus too, so its not just another smartphone mirror.
Maybe crystal ball gazing
Maybe crystal ball gazing without the details but how do you reckon this compares to the Edge 520? Was getting (sadly) excited about getting a 520 but this looks rather interesting. For us Luddites without smartphones any reason to go for one over the other?
It’ll work without a
It’ll work without a smartphone – quite well, by the looks of it. What you’ll gain with a phone will be stuff like being able to use Google Now to give voice commands on the go to find things or plan new routes, being able to mirror other apps on your phone, etc. The Edge 520 does look really good, and I’m a very heavy FR920XT and Edge 800 user…but if I could have something this clean, relatively cheap, and this well integrated I’m afraid the Garmin loses.
This is definitely the way
This is definitely the way forward.
Anything allows software to be developed independently to hardware will benefit users. There can be reliability issues but by comparison I have never found my Garmin to be reliable either and the software and in that case hardware are developed by the same organisation.
This kind of thing will open up choices.
earth wrote:This is
Definitely. I’m only surprised Trek didn’t do it first. They’ve already got some nice integration happening with Duotrap – they’ve missed a trick here. This kind of integration and flexibility does indeed make another Edge 800 style purchase look pretty ridiculous. The fact that the unit can operate without acting as a phone mirror only makes it all the more attractive. Canyon are, at last, about to start selling here in NZ. I’m due a new roadie in 2016 and the top end Endurace will be getting a serious look…this is indicative of a company very much on the forward looking edge of real wold, rider focused product design.
that looks lovely, price
that looks lovely, price seems very reasonable as well considering the stated functionality
Purchase of a new Garmin now
Purchase of a new Garmin now on hold …..
… though perhaps that design does look a bit more prone to ‘snapping’ off in an ‘unpredicted dismount’ than something rubber banded to the bars.
Any news when this is going
Any news when this is going to be released?