Sigma Rox 11.1 Evo GPS Cycle Computer Sensor Set

Sigma's Rox 11.1 is a versatile and comprehensive training tool that's fairly easy to use and has good battery life. It's relatively inexpensive, too, though you'll need to lay out (possibly a lot) more money to access its full potential. GPS capabilities are basic but work fine and can be enhanced if you have a Komoot subscription. You also need a couple of apps to go with it, which don't seem to talk to each other.

Like most bike technology these days, the Rox 11.1 is really just the pointy end of an integrated package of parts that combine to provide a range of functions and capabilities. In this case, there are the various sensors, apps and third-party service compatibility that all come together to make for a pretty versatile training and navigation tool.

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The head unit itself is a pleasingly bevel-edged piece of compact dimensions. It's much less intrusive than mounting a smartphone, or a larger GPS unit, on your bike.

There are four chunky buttons on the side and a fifth, corner-mounted button that turns the unit on and off (and accesses the menu). This was a bit awkward to use off the bike, as the diagonal forces needed tended to make the device slip out of my fingers, but once secured to the mount it all became a single-handed job. The main buttons are big and chunky enough to use with gloves on, and their functions are simple so I soon learned to navigate my way around.

The unit measures 66 x 46mm, but the display area is comparatively small at only 38 x 28mm. I can't see why Sigma didn't make more use of the available space. Screen resolution is 128 by 160 pixels, according to Sigma, so it follows that the display itself is of only limited ability and full mapping is not an option. Also, the more little boxes you set up to display on each screen, the smaller and more difficult to read each one becomes. I found three or four items per screen about the most that could be usefully displayed, beyond that it was also too distracting to try to take in half a dozen stats at the same time, and I prefer a quick glance to avoid doing a Bernal.

On the plus side, the backlighting is excellent and adjusts to the ambient conditions so is always visible. Also, you can change the colours of each little box on the display to help separate out the different functions.

In the box

Sigma sent us the Rox 11.1 Evo unit in its 'sensor set' box, which also contains the robust mount (Garmin compatible), two on-bike transmitters (speed and cadence), a heart rate transmitter with its strap, and a USB-C cable for charging and PC connection. You can also buy the unit with the mount and heart rate sensor only (£199.99), or just the basic unit with a simple rubber-band-attached mount (£169.99). It depends what you already have lying around at home.

The speed sensor allows you to use the computer with the GPS turned off, for example on the rollers.

The sensors are easy to fit, and pairing them with the computer via Bluetooth (in my case) or Ant+ was very easy and it all worked reliably throughout the test.

N+1 or 20...

One of the key benefits this unit offers is the ability to set up the display screens uniquely for up to 20 bikes, which should be enough for the most diehard n+1er. The computer comes with five of these 'profiles' already installed, but you're free to fiddle with these, which is most easily achieved using the smartphone app.

So, for each 'profile' you can decide how many screens you want to be able to scroll through (up to six), what information is displayed on each page, how many mini-windows you want on each screen (up to six), how they are arranged and what colours you want them.

That mounts up to a fair amount of set-up tweaking; even after a month I was still fiddling about with the displays and what I wanted on them, but it's easily done and you can't really break anything. The main thing is to remember which bike you are on today and make sure you've selected the right profile before you set off.

Value views

The computer can display a vast range of different values; Sigma reckons there are over 150 functions. I've listed them in the test report below, if you want to know them all. There are 18 ways of analysing gradient alone, to give you the measure of it.

Quite a few of the functions are duplicated – for example, you can choose between manual or automatic laps and choose from 25 different statistics for each, so that's 50 functions straight off.

It follows that, with a maximum of six pages per profile and six windows per page, you can only display a maximum of 36 of the 150+ metrics available, but you do get extras flashing up – each time you complete a lap, a screen with five stats pops up briefly, for example.

Training

From a training point of view, there's plenty on offer. You can use either the supplied heart rate monitor or a power meter (supply your own). It's simple to personalise your heart rate max and zones using the app. There are 21 ways of analysing your power figures if you are so equipped.

You can upload up to 36 'workouts', which are FIT format files with instructions for intervals and efforts built into them. Sigma has loaded eight on itself, so I was able to test these out on the rollers, using the heart rate monitor. However, if, like me, you don't have a power meter, some of these installed programmes are off-limits. Furthermore, Sigma tells me that it no longer offers the ability to design and create your own FIT files on its 'Sigma Data Center' software, so you'll need to find a third party provider (Sigma suggested trainingpeaks.com), which is likely to mean a paid subscription.

The device is compatible with smart trainers and I suspect this may be where it really comes into its own, since you'll have all the power data you'll need. The really good thing is you can look at your figures 'on the go' rather than having to wait until after the session ends to analyse them.

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The Sigma Data Center software is where you can crunch all your training statistics and design and download routes. It's not to be confused with the Sigma Ride app, which is what you install on your smartphone that allows you to play with your display settings, though this is also involved in your route file management.

'SIGMA tracks, such as those created in the SIGMA DATA CENTER, can be synchronised in the SIGMA RIDE app via the SIGMA CLOUD,' says Sigma's website. If that sounds confusing, it is. You can't simply design a route on Sigma Data Center and transfer it to the Ride app – you have to connect the Rox 11.1 to your PC and download it from there, then reload it into the Ride app in order to select the route from your list.

Not only that, but you can't transfer routes directly from your Strava app either. They have to be downloaded onto your PC, uploaded to the Sigma Data Center App, then downloaded again onto the Rox 11.1 and back up to the Ride app. This seems unnecessarily cumbersome and scores a black mark for the navigational functionality compared, for example, with the simplicity of using Strava routes on your smartphone. Sharing your activities with other apps, including Strava, is very simple.

The Sigma Ride app's mapping capabilities offer no particular advantage. Sigma makes up for the lack of mapping on the Rox 11.1's display by allowing you to use the app to display your position on Google maps. It seemed to me, if you need to get your phone out to see where you are, you might as well go straight to Google maps and cut out the middle man.

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Sigma's own mapping, which is Google-derived anyway, didn't seem to work once zoomed in beyond a certain point. Otherwise, the app works well, giving an intuitive way of setting everything up and some attractive graphics for some light activity analysis.

Once I'd designed a route on Sigma Data Center (pretty straightforward, if you've used Strava's own offering) and got it transferred via the above rigmarole, I found it offered a basic breadcrumb trail to follow. It does alert you to the fact if you drift off route, but I never got the 'turn-off instructions' Sigma's website assures me should come up on the display, try as I might. An enquiry to Sigma revealed that this is only available to Komoot users, which it should make clearer. I've had a fair bit of to-and-fro with Sigma's help centre, who've been reliably replying but it all takes time and suggests some of the functions could be a bit more opaque.

Crash alert

I usually ride with the Strava app running on my phone, not least because I like the live tracking facility, which lets my wife see how far away I am and whether it's worth waiting for me to come back before she puts the kettle on. The Rox 11.1 Evo doesn't have this. It does offer a crash detection system which should send a text alert to a pre-selected number in the event of a mishap.

I tested this by tossing the computer onto a grass verge as I rode along, then waited the requisite 30 seconds for it to ask me if I was okay, after which it's supposed to summon help. It didn't work – perhaps my simulated crash wasn't violent enough – but it's worth noting the computer needs to be connected to the phone app for this to work anyway, so if your bike is in the ditch and your mangled body is hanging from a tree 50 feet away, you're out of luck.

Battery life

Battery life was very impressive. In truth, I never managed to flatten it completely, because whenever I plugged it into my PC to upload data or download a route, the battery got a bit of a top-up. I did go nine hours without charging it, though, and still had 50% showing on the display, which fits with Sigma's own claim of 18 hours in typical use.

GPS location was slow in comparison to my iPhone, taking around 45 to 50 seconds to lock on, but the system was very stable and I had not a single glitch during the test period.

Value

This 'sensor set' pack retails at £249.99, which is quite a saving over buying the various parts separately – on its own the head unit is priced at £169.99, the sensors are £29.99 each, the heart rate strap £54.99, and the mount £17.99.

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If you prefer on-screen mapping, Sigma's own Rox 12.0 does this, and is in most respects an 11.1 with this addition. Stu liked this very much when he reviewed it, but it's an extra £100 (including the sensors).

Lezyne's Mega XL GPS computer, which Dave tested, is somewhere in between, with some very basic mapping and over 50 functions. It also has excellent battery life. Bundled it's a little cheaper than the Sigma, at £230, £180 on its own.

Conclusion

There's no doubting that the Rox 11.1 looks much better on your best bike than a slab of mobile phone or one of the chunkier GPS units; it also preserves your smartphone's battery life and, in normal use, runs for days between charges. I was also happier about exposing it to the elements and it's easy to use in-ride. There are masses of functions, it's highly adaptable and the training stats can be broken down in a myriad of ways, even as you ride. But to make the most of the computer's training capability, there's no getting around the fact that you need to pair it with a power sensor too, which you may or may not already have.

The navigational function is fine at the basic level and offers even more if you pair it with Komoot. As a long-term Strava user I found it less straightforward, and I'd prefer it if Sigma's various bits of software talked to each other.

Verdict

Hugely versatile training computer with masses of functions, but navigation is basic and the screen, though colour, is small