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Updated: GPS bike computer to launch at sub-£70

i-gotU computer offers sensor-free ride info that you can download to your PC

We’ve just been sent details of a new GPS bike computer called the i-gotU (yes, the i-gotU) GT-820 that seems to offer a whole lot for just £69.99.

Essentially, for any latecomers, you have yer GPS computers that offer mapping, similar to a car satnav, such as the new Garmin Edge 810. And then you have yer GPS computers that don’t provide mapping but measure your speed, distance travelled and so on via satellite technology, such as Cateye’s soon-to-be-released Stealth 10. The i-gotU GT-820 falls into the latter category.

So, here’s what you get…

• Speed
• Distance
• Time
• Pace
• Calorie consumption
• Slope meter (gradient)

The Pro version comes with a digital compass, barometric altimeter for £89.99 while the GT-820Pro HRM – with a heart rate monitor – is £109.99. The GT-820Pro-Deluxe comes with the HRM strap and a cadence sensor (prices include VAT). These use Bluetooth LE to communicate with the head unit.

The GT-820 measures 65 x 42 x 17.3mm and the screen is 1.4in. We’re told that it’s waterproof enough to handle being submerged a metre down for 30mins. It uses a rechargeable Li-ion battery, the manufacturer saying that the battery life is 24hrs with the backlight on, or 40hrs with it off.

You can download all your ride info via the USB port on your PC. That allows you to log your numbers and check everything out via the i-GotU software that comes as part of the package. This shows you where you have ridden and allows you to chart your performance.

The manufacturer tells us that the data can be exported as GPX and TCX files through their software although there's no Strava integration within the software itself.

The GT-820 will be available soon via the manufacturer’s website or through Maplin in the UK. 

We’ve not got our hands on one of these yet but we’ll try to get one in for review on road.cc.

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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39 comments

Avatar
ZeCycle | 8 years ago
0 likes

I've got this device (gt-820 pro+ cs) for about 50€ and soon i will buy hr for 20€. Device is nice, i have almost all functions like garmin 500. You can upload gps-gpx to Strava by uploading file, but there is some bad things. Strava won't take altitude from device(barometric one) and won't take speed from speed sensor but from GPS, not a big deal. Sometimes it can search for satelites up to 5 minutes and you have to turn it off and on so it can start recording. USB dust cover rubber is realy bad.. It will peel after some time and it can be hard to open it to upload your workout. I don't like holder, it's big and uggly, it would be nice if it's like garmin one. Battery life is awesome, recorded for 1.5 day and it didn't spend even 1 bar. Overall, it's pretty good device its price will take of any cons this device has.

 

Pros:

Realy cheap

Nice functions

easy to operate

battery life- maybe 5 days with cs and hr

nice PC software

POI info display

 

Cons:

big body- small display

sometimes, long satelite search

USB cover

big and ugly holder

 

I didn't regret with gt-820.

My english is bad, hope you understand.

Avatar
FJM1002 | 9 years ago
0 likes

Seen the pro version (hrm not included) of this on ebay for £40. This is £10 cheaper than a new sensor for my current computer (doesn't do gps or HR). Think it seems worth it, you ?

What I have noticed through a quick Google search is that the overall unit is roughly the same size as an edge 500 but the screen is much smaller

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pmr | 11 years ago
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Strava are missing a trick not getting involved in the market really.
They are most concerned with Garmin though, I use Strava and Garmin Connect. Strava having the social element whilst connect has better analysis features.
Planning to go to power next year and will probably use another service again to analyse that.

My advise is if you want to train seriously start using Strava or Garmin connect (strava if you're competitive!)
Dont bother with the cheap units, get the best, a garmin 800, it'll do everything you could possibly need (mapping, cadence, HRM, power etc etc) and you can get a good deal, particularly on ebay. Mine was £220 over a year ago but with the 810 out as someone has said you can get cheaper now.
Any issues or questions you have are easily resolved with a quick online search since so many have them.
Well worth the extra dosh IMO.

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torquerulesok | 11 years ago
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No Strava + no Mac compatibility = no sale.

Poor market research on account of the manufacturer. Fail.

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Mostyn | 11 years ago
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Garmin 200. at about £90.00 cannot fault it; and for the Strava guys - it's compatible!

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jimc101 | 11 years ago
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Looks like a bad copy cosmetically of a Garmin 200, reminds me of cheap Chinese copy products, rather than a quality Chinese one, but given who it's being sold by, that's not a surprise.

Being as you can pick up a 200 on promo every so often for £80ish, would hold out, and get one of them (I did this) rather than a bad imitation.

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matthewn5 | 11 years ago
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I got my Garmin 500 on Ebay for £112 shipped free from Taiwan (buy it now). They're cheap since the 510 came out.

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davebinks | 11 years ago
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Does it make actually riding the bike any easier?

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davebinks | 11 years ago
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"So, here’s what you get…

• Speed
• Distance
• Time
• Pace
• Calorie consumption
• Slope meter (gradient)"

That's what has been available on many cheaper computers for years (but perhaps not the slope meter).

Avatar
roly | 11 years ago
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you can get a battery pack for an iphone for a similar price to this. you need to carry your phone with you anyway so it's just down to weight penalty. None if you're doing 4 hours or less as you won't need the battery pack. Maybe 100g if you're doing more, but with a myriad of different software options. the wahoo app is designed to work with their rflkt screen (google it). wahoo uploads direct to strava from the iphone. don't yell at me if you don't have an iphone please.

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phax71 | 11 years ago
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What's Strava??

Just kidding ....  1

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dave atkinson | 11 years ago
0 likes

The unit can export .gpx and .tcx files via the software for upload to strava, we're told, but there's no strava integration within the software itself

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issacforce | 11 years ago
0 likes

who really cares if it does strava or not

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Forester replied to issacforce | 11 years ago
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 39 Strava has changed my cycling life, mainly for the better, so its abscence would be a deal breaker for me. I have a 200 and a 500 Garmin, the display is clearer on the 200 but I like the cadence monitor on the 500.I am probably mad, but the 200 seems faster, even with the same autopause on both.

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the_mikey | 11 years ago
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Garmin 500's aren't that much more expensive these days..

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gazza_d | 11 years ago
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I know it's a dirty word, but if you after summat like this , then Halfords often have deals on Garmin 200s. with 4% cashback though quidco I got mine for about £90.

Trick is to order online & collect in store as the web prices are often a good few quid cheaper.

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Birdoman | 11 years ago
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"Windows 7 or above, Vista or XP"

So that would be Windows XP or above... shurly?

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Cheesyclimber replied to Birdoman | 11 years ago
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Windows 7 "or above" is a nice way of saying it'll work with Windows 8, but doesn't have the necessary Microsoft certification.

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daysofspeed | 11 years ago
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Windows only fail. Next please. Unless that's just their software which no doubt is shocking given it's not cross platform and will therefore be under developed.

Still looking to quit Strava on the iPhone and not looking to spend £300 on something that only does one thing (ie track me the same as my phone can for free).

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iammarcmason | 11 years ago
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picked up one of these the other day...
http://www.expansys.com/globalsat-gb-580p-cycling-computer-230468/ £63.99....

works pretty well.

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mingmong | 11 years ago
0 likes

...or maybe one that steers the bike as well
(AI)-gotU

(takes coat off rack)

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russyparkin | 11 years ago
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DOES IT WORK WITH STRAVA?

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Doctor Fegg | 11 years ago
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Alibaba is full of this sort of thing. Personally I'd like one where I could easily hack the firmware but that's just my inner geek coming out...

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robinmccavert | 11 years ago
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Picked up a Bryton Rider 35t a couple of weeks back for £90 w/ HRM & cadence sensor... seems better value than this! having a couple of teething problems with their site, but the unit seems great thus far  4

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mr-andrew | 11 years ago
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That pic makes it hard to figure out if the screen is tiny or the entire unit enormous

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bike_food replied to mr-andrew | 11 years ago
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Seems like they could've made the display twice it's current size.

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mattheww385 | 11 years ago
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Bluetooth? Will that mean the battery life stinks?

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musicalmarc replied to mattheww385 | 11 years ago
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It's bluetooth LE so should hardly affect battery life. It doesn't seem to make any noticeable difference to my iPhone's battery using a Wahoo Bluetooth HRM and speed and cadence monitor.

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KirinChris replied to musicalmarc | 11 years ago
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musicalmarc wrote:

It's bluetooth LE so should hardly affect battery life. It doesn't seem to make any noticeable difference to my iPhone's battery using a Wahoo Bluetooth HRM and speed and cadence monitor.

So what do you do, can I ask ? You have a bluetooth HRM and cadence sensor linked to your phone. Do you mount your phone on the bike ? And can you get a real-time speed display or is this just stuff you download afterwards.

My Garmin has gone haywire and I was thinking of just downloading the Strava iPhone app but my understanding is that it doesn't give you a live speed/cadence/HR, you just download it all afterwards.

Not sure if that's correct but if there's a way to get that data real-time on the phone then I would probably take that route.

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