SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING

Specification

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Measuring 84x53x18mm, it’s designed to clip into a Garmin type mount (or the Quad Lock and O-rings supplied) and has a 2.4-inch (7cm) colour touch screen display, which is supposedly anti-glare. Coospo have also included a screen protector and USB C charger, which are small, but nice touches. Talking of touch, given the compatibility issues than sometimes arises between tech and stodgy winter gloves, Coospo has also opted for buttons along the sides and base.

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Oh, and you can switch the touch screen off and command it solely by the buttons, or a combination of both.  Everything feels very refined and positive and IPX7 for weatherproofing is another definite plus, boding well for more adventurous touring, bike packing, gravel and mountain biking.  Continuing this theme, Coospo say the CS600 is designed to operate in temperatures between minus 10 and plus 50 degrees.

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There’s assorted compatibility with ANT+ and blue tooth devices, which includes radar systems (not restricted to Coospo TR70 Coospo TR70 Radar Taillight | cycling-not-racing). Then, of course, we have heart rate monitors, cadence sensors, smart trainers, and some electronic shifters. GPS uses MapBox mapping, which is infinitely superior to breadcrumb only, but doesn’t offer route-back-to course or route to start.

 

The CS600 employs GPS + BDS + QZSS + GLONASS + GALILEO positioning, supports GPX and FIT files, which you transfer via an app or USB, but not TCX files and, at the time of writing, there’s no intention to add TCX support (although Coospo are considering adding support for custom navigation prompts).  In terms of storage, there’s 8gb, which is good enough for my needs.

 

For those coming from old school handlebar computers, there are nine basic functions; speed, average speed, maximum speed, ride time, distance, calories burned, altitude, temperature, slope and lap. You can also set various alarms that will engage should you reach a certain calorie expenditure, reach, or fall below a certain speed etc.    

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Mount

As I said in my opening paragraph, the stock quad lock type mount is basic, but serviceable and will get you started. However, Coospo also offers a range of aftermarket designs starting at £10.86. I found these extended, or “out front”, Garmin type the best fit for me and my bars, given lights, switches and other gizmos.  Either way, they’re very secure - no concerns when I’ve been hossing along unmade roads or, indeed, churned bridlepath.

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APP/Settings 3.5/5

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The App is fairly basic, but by the same token straightforward. You’re not compelled to use the app at all, which is a blessing for folks like me who don’t want to broadcast their movements, routes, locations etc. However, the app is where you need to be for Strava. It isn’t required for lots of other, small but significant stuff. You can set height, weight, distance and crucially a mix of measures. For example, born in the 1970s, I consider myself semi-metric, so went metric for height, weight, elevation and temperature in metric measures, but distance measured in miles.  

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Some stuff can only be tackled and tweaked via the unit, and this includes the GPS satellites. We might expect “all satellites” to be default, but you’ll need to select “all available” which had me confounded for a moment. Quirk, rather than nuisance.  Getting it to connect and, moreover, play nicely with the TR70 and BBB Signal Radar lights was incredibly simple - just ensure CS600 and chosen taillight are close together during that coupling phase.

 

Frankly, getting the barometric altimeter to behave was far more challenging and that only took a couple of minutes faff to sort.  You can also tweak and personalise stuff to taste, including backdrop colour. Want to set an alarm, say for maximum, or minimum speed, a set distance, or calorific milestone? That’s an option, too.  

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Readout/Display 4/5

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Our first outing was at night, which also enabled me to assess just how user-friendly it was. The ambient light sensor is very perceptive and illuminated the display very reliably, so I knew in a glance what was going on; speed, average speed, max speed, time distance, elevation, calories burned.It will beep, then two lines (red denotes 70kmh, green) running parallel either side coupled with an advancing cog graphic on the left side communicating the approaching vehicles and their proximity.

 

Once these “cogs” have left the screen and the vehicles (including cyclists) passed, two bold bars will appear - green before it resets. This will be more active through busy town centres, or fast A roads and no substitute for periodic over-the-shoulder checks, but very accurate and great for windy days, or blustery descents.  Continuing the climate narrative, the screen does an excellent job of managing glare, or reflection, although I’ve found a very modest upward tilt hits the sweet spot, especially in harsh, early seasons sun.

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GPS/Navigation 3/5

This is where some of the unit’s limitations became more apparent and until this point, I’d been mightily impressed. It’s greatly superior to the bare bones “bread crumb” types, but a little clunky, so might come as a shock if you’re coming from Googlemaps, or indeed, a more sophisticated bike-specific GPS. It doesn’t automatically rotate as you ride. Rather it’s controlled by a setting, which I found a little elusive.

 

On the head unit, tap ride mode, then outdoor and fields. Once you’ve reached fields, scroll down until you find map. Tap this and then map settings and then select North Up. The existing software doesn’t deliver route back to course, or route to start, for example. In common with some standalone car GPS, it can tell you to turn left, or right when the road is just curving that way and you need to follow said curve, not turn off.

 

I was caught out on a couple of occasions, but reading it like I do my car GPS, the issue largely evaporated. Again, we’ve discovered the CS600 won’t display custom info added to a route, which is another limitation and may be a deal-breaker for some. Nonetheless, having accepted and adjusted to these limitations, I’ve found navigation reliable and straightforward enough, even when I’ve been weary. Worth doing a few test rides along familiar routes before heading out into the unknown.   

 

Run & Charge Times 4.25/5

 Coospo cites 36 hours from a full two-hour charge, and in temperatures between 3 and 16 degrees. I’ve found this to be startlingly accurate, even when I’ve been doing longer night rides with those radar lights engaged. The charge life is displayed at the top of the screen, so there’s more than a sporting chance of reaching a USB C cable and charge source. Zero to hero? I’ve had ours fully juiced in 1hr 40 from the mains, using a 6V tablet charger, 2 hours from the PC - rapid and accurate.

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Care & Durability 4.25/5

Common sense stuff frankly, especially since the unit complies with IPX7. The port cover fits snugly, so no issues in heavy rain, or when giving bikes a well-earned wash-down. Coospo tell me the 1090mAh lithium-Ion cell will manage 300 charge cycles before there’s a tangible (20%) dip in battery performance, but this is easily mitigated by little and often recharging, rather than letting it deplete. I’ve not dropped ours, but it has scored a couple of direct hits from stones thrown up by the front tyre along some particularly gloopy, gritty bridlepath. No damage, cosmetic or otherwise to date.  

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Value 4/5

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£273 (now down to £182.62) is impressive, dare we say enticing. Garmin Edge 540 is £309 and though very comprehensive, with 16gb memory, it doesn’t have touch screen connectivity and a shorter battery life (26 hours). Its 550 stablemate offers a larger screen

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Wahoo Element Bolt3 comes in at £299.99 and includes compatibility with Manage Spotify, Apple Music, radar, lights, and GoPro, Dual-Band GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, & ANT+, ride with Strava, Komoot, or Ride with GPS, google and apple maps. However, there’s no touch screen and the 10–15-hour battery life (depending on whether sensors are employed) is considerably shorter than the Coospo CS600.

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Corus Dura Solar GPS is £249.00 and offers user friendliness, impressive battery life (120 hours), quick start up, syncing, fast engaging GPS. However, some report the touchscreen can be slow to respond, there’s no on-device re-routing and mapping is also lower quality.  The Bryton Ryder 650 comes in at £139.99 and could give the Coospo650 a good run for your money. It features a 2.8-inch colour touch screen with ambient light sensor, 33-hour battery life, quick status menu that gives an overview of your ride, including sensor status, GPS signal, time, latest notification in a tap. There’s also a detailed “Climb Challenge” providing colour communication of grade, distance, ascent.  

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Conclusion

One way or another, we ultimately get what we pay for. Overall, the Coospo CS600 is an excellent, user-friendly package that does most things competently. In common with some others discussed here, there are some compromises, especially the GPS side of things, but these can be worked around. Those seeking a unit that will work with electronic shifting will also need to check the CS600 is compatible with their system. However, the price, features, compliment of sensors and smart trainer compatibility means it’s a comprehensive starting point that can grow with you and without breaking the bank.

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Michael Stenning

Verdict: 3.75/5 Impressive computer for the money but GPS more basic than some

coospo.com/products/cs600-bike-computer

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