Bryton Rider 320 GPS Bike Computer Review (2024)

Perhaps one of the most useful modern bicycle accessories is the cycling GPS computer. Unlike a traditional cycling computer that simply shows real-time data, with a GPS equipped cycling computer you’re able to log full sensor and positional data. While most cycling computer companies have focused on the high-end GPS computer market with integration features and retail prices that warrant payment plans, Bryton has successfully offered a full lineup of affordable and feature filled options. In this review, we will be looking at Bryton Rider 320 GPS cycling computer that offers high-end features at a budget price point. The Rider 320 is the latest iteration of their more affordable cycling computer line and replaces the Rider 310.It also incorporates many of the Rider 420 features and overall form factor, but without the mapping functionality.

The Bryton Rider 320 GPS provides high-end cycling computer features such as power meter connectivity at an affordable price point.

Bryton offers two variations of the Rider 320 GPS, the head-unit only or a sensor bundle that includes a heart rate and Cadence sensor. The Rider 320 is advertised as “simple but powerful” with modern ANT+ and BLE connectivity that allows you to connect to power meters, speed, cadence, and heart rate sensors. With over 72 functions and a crisp 2.3″ black and white display that can be configured to show 8 screens with up to 8 fields per screen, the Rider 320 can easily be configured to your preferences. It’s probably easier to talk about what features the Rider 320 does not have though: mapping functionality, Di2, or light connectivity and live Strava segment integrations. Instead, the Rider 320 excels as an easy to use and configure full data logger with dual power meter connectivity and an impressive 35 hour battery life. The Rider 320 also has all the modern convenience features such as auto start/stop, smart lapping, cell phone notification alert display, and auto syncing you come to expect.

UNBOXING

The Bryton Rider 320 bundle is surprisingly small despite the fact that it includes sensors. In the box you’ll find:

• Rider 320 GPS
• Heart rate monitor
• Cadence sensor
• Micro USB Charging cable
• Quick start guide
• Standard bike mount + rubber straps

Bryton include a variety of rubber strap sizes to accommodate both road and mountain bike mounting positions. Although speed is determined from GPS, we found it odd that Bryton chose to include a cadence sensor instead of the more accurate dual speed/cadence sensor.

MOUNTING

The Rider 320 is also fairly thin at only 16.9 mm thick and looks sleek when mounted on the bike. On the backside of the Rider 320 there is a micro USB port underneath a large rubber cover. With the claimed 35 hour run-time, you won’t have to recharge the Rider 320 very often. In terms of mounting, the Bryton uses their own twist lock design that looks like a squared off Garmin mount. The Bryton mount appears to be cross-compatible with devices that have Garmin adapters that we tested. When mixing the mount/device you don’t get the satisfying click at 90 degrees when it locks in place, instead you feel more resistance as it approaches that point. It still feels secure and we found that with the stem mount and the Bryton sport mount, we were able to use an older Garmin Edge and the Fabric Lumaray with the Rider 320. However, we’d recommend being cautious about mixing the mounts and to use a tether for heavier devices just in case.

FIT & FINISH

Visually the Rider 320 GPS shares a lot in common with the Bryton GPS computer lineup. The 2.3” display is surrounded by fairly large bezels for a total face size of 49.9 mm by 83.9 mm. The Bryton logo can be found on the top of the display, while the model name is printed near the bottom. As this isn’t a touchscreen, there are four buttons to navigate the menus. Two can be found on the bottom corners while two are on the rear. The buttons are orange with the front two buttons clearly labeled and a horizontal line to indicate where the rear left button is.

Whether you choose to buy the Rider 320 with or without the sensor bundle, Bryton offers an impressive value. The closest Garmin computer is the Edge 130 which currently lists for $200 without sensors ($250 with speed/cadence sensors). The Garmin has a few advantages over the Bryton such as basic mapping with turn-by-turn directions, integration with live Strava segments and a more advanced display that shows graphs. However, the Edge 130 head-unit-only price is nearly twice as expensive as the Bryton and the bundles are both more expensive and don’t include as many sensors. Similarly, Wahoo doesn’t offer anything close to the price of a Rider 320.

SETUP

The user interface of the Rider 320 consists of four buttons: two mounted on the bottom corners and two buttons on the backsides. It can be a bit difficult to access the rear buttons, particularly with thicker gloves on. Being used to modern devices that feature touchscreens, the button interface is like going back in time and hence feels clumsy and non-intuitive. However once you get used to it, it becomes easier. Each button’s action is context specific:

• Bottom Left Corner (BLC) Button – cycle through data screens / page down (menus)
• Bottom Right Corner (BRC) Button – start data recording / mark lap / confirm selection
• Rear Left (RL) Button – open menu / page up (menus)
• Rear Right (RR) Button – turn backlight on/off / power the computer off

There are a few quirks worth pointing out that make the button interface a bit clumsy. When you are navigating within a menu there is no page up option, you need to cycle all the way around if you go past your desired option. Also when in a combo box field where you have to select a value, you cannot exit without confirming the selection as the return button (rear left button) acts as the up key in this context. These two issues were the most frustrating for us, but once you’re aware of them it is easy to work around. Thankfully the Bryton Active app allows you to set up the data views through the comfort of your cellphone touch screen.

DATA DISPLAY

With a claimed 72+ functions, we were curious just how many of them were useful. Looking through the data fields, Bryton currently offers 10 different categories of data with various options for each.

• 2x Energy
• 7x Altitude
• 6x Distance
• 6x Speed
• 8x Time
• 5x Cadence
• 11x HR
• 1x Temp
• 28x Power
• 9x Pedal Analysis

Combined, that comes out to an impressive 83 available data fields. Many of these are not entirely useful such as sunrise/sunset or more detailed metrics such as the 28 variations of power display that can breakdown per-pedal data. The lap data is particularly useful as you can use it to do repeats or to monitor your progress on familiar segments of your ride. There are a total of 8 possible screens(5 data, and 3 lap screens) with upto 8 data fields per screen. We found that 8 data fields were a bit overwhelming with the 2.3” sized display, and preferred to have multiple screens with lesser data values per screen.

SMART CONNECTIVITY

Bryton also offers their Bryton Active app which allows you to communicate via Bluetooth with the head unit. The Rider 320 can quickly be paired with the app through a straightforward interface. One of the best features of the app is the ability to configure the data display through the touchscreen display of your phone. Pairing the device also allows you to receive notifications from your cell phone to the Rider 320 GPS. Although the app also supports creating courses and training programs to upload to your Bryton GPS, with the Rider 320 these features are not enabled. Compared to Strava or other training apps, the Bryton Active app isn’t as refined or feature filled but it’s well worth the download to quickly configure the Rider 320 display alone.

THE VERDICT

Overall, we found the Bryton Rider 320 GPS to be an affordable cycling computer with premium features. While it lacks mapping or training features, the Rider 320 offers a highly customizable display and connectivity with sensors. We found that it was quick and easy to configure the GPS and focus on riding instead. The simple design and claimed 35 hour run-time also mean you won’t need to recharge the Rider 320 every so often. Also when paired with the Bryton Active App, the Rider 320 can also display text alerts when you receive emails or texts. If mapping isn’t a priority for you, the Rider 320 offers data configurability and premium features you’d expect without a heavy price tag.

Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by Bryton. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the authors and are here to help people make an informed choice before a purchase. The authors or the blog itself does not get any monetary compensation from the product manufacturer or third-party websites/vendor links that are posted here.

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