Review – Shanren Miles GPS Cycling Computer

Shanren Miles GPS Cycling Computer
The Shanren Miles Cycling Computer is marketed as "your first GPS bike computer” – a budget level GPS cycling computer that evolved from a Kickstarter campaign, and has since developed into an impressive budget product offering.

The Shanren Miles GPS retails for just $89.99 and features full ANT+ and Bluetooth connectivity for speed, cadence, heart rate and power meters. The Miles GPS also claims to be the world's first GPS computer to feature a power estimation feature that can compute real-time and normalized power without a meter fitted to your bike.

While the Shanren brand is not as well-known as companies such as Garmin, Lezyne, or Wahoo, they seem to be making some impressive ground.


First Glance

The Shanren Miles GPS has a non-touch screen 2.1" LCD display. There are three physical buttons located on the bottom edge of the GPS that have different actions depending on the active screen. The primary actions for each button are:
  • Left Button (Data Display / Record Ride) – A short press cycles through real-time / average / max data displays while on the data display screen, or toggles options in the configuration menu. A long press while on the data display screen starts or stops a recording
  • Middle Button (Lap / Power) – Holding this button while the GPS is on turns computer on or off, while a short press increments the lap counter during a recorded ride
  • Right Button (Page / Light Control) – A short press cycles through the display pages or configuration menu while a hold will turn a connected Raz Pro taillight on or off
  • The Miles GPS also has auto-pause functionality 

Usability

Display – The data display options are the usual options such as speed, distance, time, power, cadence, and gradient. The display configuration and brightness can be tailored on the Shanren Sport App.

Mounting – The Miles GPS uses a Garmin style quarter turn mount and can be used with a variety of third-party mounts.

Charging – The computer charges using a micro-USB charging port.


Estimated Power

The Shanren Miles GPS claims to be the world's first GPS computer with power estimation. The algorithm uses GPS data, cadence information, user input weight, and wheel circumference.

I compared the data to that from my real power meter and relatively it was similar—that is, on higher powered rides on my road bike the estimated power on the Sharen Miles was also higher. The quality/value of the reading seems consistent with the estimated power given on Strava.

Estimated power may help you to better gauge effort instead of comparing more variable data such as speed, as it considers all elements of the algorithm in the effort estimation.


Light Integration

The Shanren Miles GPS computer offers integration with Shanren's Raz Pro taillight. The Raz Pro is a smart taillight. With the Miles GPS the taillight can be connected via Bluetooth to the GPS computer. Once connected, the Miles GPS syncs the multi-colour LED next to the Shanren logo to match the current state of the taillight. It is a clever feature that lets you see what flash mode and colour the taillight is on.

I would question whether this is really a useful feature or not, but it is fun. The LED display also lets you see when the taillight detects braking or bumps as the colour and flash pattern momentarily changes.


Shanren Active App Integration

The Miles GPS computer wireless connects to the Shanren Sport App, which allows you to sync ride data, navigate to a destination, or access heart rate training data. You can also export data from the app to Strava or other training apps for further data analysis.

The Shanren Sport App allows you to configure and update the Miles GPS; such as changing the display units, altitude calibration, and do basic firmware updates. Display fields on the three pages can also be adjusted using a simple drop down menu interface.


Overall

Summing up, the Shanren Miles GPS is easy to use and well made. The GPS computer offers features not typically seen at this price point, such as power estimation and taillight integration; while it is simple to set-up and intuitive to use.

The functionality and simplicity is not on par with my normal Wahoo ELEMNT GPS computer, but if you are on a budget then the Miles GPS is a good unit to consider.

Shanren Miles GPS Cycling Computer

Shanren Miles GPS Cycling Computer

Shanren Miles GPS Cycling Computer

Disclaimer: Life In The Saddle was supplied with a Shanren Miles GPS Cycling Computer for test and review
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