Thanks for tuning in today we're going to be reviewing the Beeline Velo 2 bicycle gps computer.
These days it seems like most new cycling gps computers are getting more expensive
and complicated with advanced data metrics and capabilities. The new Beeline Velo 2 bucks at
trend and offers a minimalist intuitive cycling computer with rounding software
that uses user feedback to optimize the routing. With the Velo 2, Beeline has retained a lot of
the features that made the original Velo such a hit on Kickstarter back in 2015 but upgraded the
interface and added optional detailed navigation prompts. In terms of packaging you can see nice
and simple cardboard box. You have the yellow and black branding on here that really pops on camera
and specs printed on the back. We'll go ahead and take it out of the box and go over those.
Retail price of this is $97 USD and it's a minimalist gps cycling computer. It offers
their hit compass mode which simply shows an arrow as well as a more detailed navigation view
and that's what's really new for the Velo 2. It has usb type c charging and 11 hour run
time with a RockerTop interface which makes it really simple to use instead of a touch screen.
In terms of what comes with it you get the instruction manual, a usb type-c charging
cable and their universal mount which is really simple to put on your handlebars and then the
device itself. Now let's take a look at the weight of the Velo 2. The computer by itself that comes
in at 24 grams and if you include the handlebar mount with the two longer straps that's only four.
Visually the Velo 2 looks more like a smart watch than a gps computer and wouldn't look out of place
on your wrist. You can see it has a round profile that's quite distinct and thicker than a normal smart
watch and has a basic plastic bezel and a yellow base. This mount although it looks like a Garmin
mount is essentially a double Garmin mount so you have the tabs on the sides and top and bottom so
you do have to use their proprietary mount which a little disappointing. It would have been great
if they just stuck with a standard Garmin mount but operate the same way rotate it instead of a
quarter turn it's actually a eighth of a turn so you just do a slight rotation or locks into place.
Instead of the touchscreen that you found on the original Velo. They've actually switched to what
they call a RockerTop design so there are four buttons here and it's like a d-pad on a gaming
console. So these actually tilt downward and that's what engages the buttons so you can see you can go
through the different options and a built-in gyroscope here for the navigation which also
doubles as a little animation of the bike which is really cool so you can see it tilts around.
Then buttons on the side and top so really easy to use and you have nice feedback unlike a
touchscreen which without haptic feedback is not really obvious when you pressed it.
You have four buttons you have the green and red which are labeled on the edges to make the
route positive or negative and also duplicates the
going forward and backward menu up and down which gives you the different data screens
as well as battery statuses. The the power button is the bottom one so if you hold it
you'll actually see the ring of fill up and then turn off. To turn it on you simply hold it.
Now take a look at the Beeline app. As with the Velo 2 which is designed to be really simple and the
app is also very simple to use. So you basically have a couple tabs here. You have a right tab
where you can create a ride or just do a free ride by pressing record. You can't actually do
a free ride directly from the device you have to come here and press record which is a little
bit strange. It would have been nice if you just had a record button on the actual Velo 2
but you can do that free ride there or plan a ride. You can see your previous rides
so you have some metrics you even have a free heat map which is really cool you have some
basic settings here. There's really not that many options on the device but you have auto brightness
alerts and sounds and you can even change the auto pause feature by enabling or disabling it
and the time format as well so a couple of basic things here that you can do.
You can also sync to Strava which is really nice so you can upload your rides directly there
for more metrics. Now with setting up a ride it's pretty simple you click the plan ride button
so with playing a ride you start with a starting destination and then you set a end location
so a nice interface here and then there's basically a couple options here so
i'll give you multiple routes. Some of them are loud quiet
they have different ratings depending on how you do it so you can see a couple options
and depending on your location if you're more urban setting this will be a lot more useful
while on our more coastside setting there's really not that many route options so
it routes you through a basic area. Now you can see there's a couple options here we can do
a fixed route which will actually route through a certain route or you can do compass which is like
the what the Beeline was really meant for so you make a b-line there it's just as the
crows fly straight direction and you would get a basic compass telling you how close you are to
that final destination so you can pick the one you want. You can't change it mid-ride so you have to
choose that up front once you've chosen you just press go and then you can navigate to the start
if you're not at the current location and then that's pretty much it you can press go and it
starts recording so a really cool feature and it actually mimics the compass on both the app and
the device so you can see the compass is on here and you can actually see the different waypoints.
It's a really cool feature you can add multiple waypoints even with a compass and i'll just direct
you there or give you a more direct route if you select the more traditional navigation approach.
Now let's take a look at the Velo 2 on the road. Here we have it in the compass mode which
is really cool instead of having a complicated grid display with multiple metrics. You have a
simple arrow and the remaining distance and it's a really fun mode to use if you're trying to find
a new route or explore a new way to get to work or home. It's a really feature that i like and that's
what really set the Velo apart especially in its first iteration. Here you have the RockerTop
design instead of the touchscreen so really easy to use. When you're riding you can rate the roads
by pressing the green or the red button and you have nice feedback so instead of a touch
screen which don't really have haptic feedback. The RockerTop you can feel it so a big upgrade from
the previous version. We also really appreciate the simplified design you have a little bar on
the bottom that fills and basic data displays. The other option is a more traditional navigation view
so here you get the turn a little schematic of the upcoming route as well as the distance remaining
so pretty simple to use and with these little schematics you have better idea of where you're
turning instead of just saying you go left and right especially more complicated intersections
and you can see the very simple black and white display works out really well even though it is
a color display. Some of the overlays are green red with this color scheme simple to read and
even in sunlight or dim settings very easy to use as you approach your final destination even shows
up on the map with the remaining distance and the bottom bar fills up so nice mode and gives
you a little more information. So if you're doing a more complicated route this is the navigation
mode to choose especially if you have a lot of waypoints once you've reached your final
destination you'll get a nice summary of the ride and the ability to end it so really nice design.
You can't connect sensors of course but if you don't care about that you just want basic metrics
then this is the way to go so here you can see you can end the ride and it is a color screen
so it gives you average speed distance time and then takes you back to the home page.
Now it's a little comparison between the Velo 2 and other computers on the market. The big
difference between the Velo 2 is that it's much more of a user-friendly urban computer than your
traditional cycling computer. Here we have the CYCPLUS and you can see similar round profile
has a garmin mount instead of their modified Beeline mount but you can see a lot more data
metrics here so you actually have speed average speed timers you can connect sensors cadence
sensor speed sensor heart rate monitor whereas the Velo 2 is much more of a basic speed display.
This is much more oriented toward a urban commuter or someone just wants basic metrics
rather than something like the psycplus there are also other computers like the Coospoo that
we have here so very simple but again it's a much more data forward design instead of the
more navigational design on the Velo 2. So a bit of a different market so if you are looking for
more metrics I recommend a different computer than the Velo 2 but if you're just looking for
basic directions and you're in the city then the Velo 2 is great option is it's more fun
and easy to ride with. In terms of navigation as well once you get any higher-end computers
like the Bryton S800 we have here you have full maps you can do routes you can
upload more outs you can actually navigate home there's a lot more than the basic aero
and route display on the Velo 2 but obviously cost you money. So it's about 400 dollars and really
replaces your gps phone even though you still need the phone for rerouting you get a lot more
info directly on the device while the Velo 2 really relies on your phone for all the directions.
Now let's go over the pros and cons for the Velo 2. What we like about it is they have a minimalist
round design and a very intuitive navigation options and display so it's really easy to use
instead of making it more complicated. It also allows you to rate the roads and improve routes so it's a
nice option to really see incremental improvements some of the cons for the device is the fact that
it does have a proprietary mount it's very similar to a Garmin but they have four tabs and it does
require cell phone app to initiate the ride so it's highly dependent on your cell phone and you
can't even just start a free ride recording which would have been a nice feature or load the routes
directly from the device taking everything into account would give the velo 2 a 9.3 out of 10
it's a refreshingly simple gps computer. Thanks for watching this review don't forget to like and
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