Yep, albeit not for longer rides than ~6h, unfortunately. I think on longer rides in particular, it might be ever so slightly more comfortable than the EVA version but in my butt's opinion, there's not much in it.

Sorry, took me a while to test a few scenarios due to some mechanical work on one of the bikes.

Yeah, there's definitely sticky/ghosts watts, along with some general lag regarding power data - going by my fit files, there's about a 1s general delay, e.g. when rolling up to a hill and then putting the power down.
Presumably on top of that, there's sticky/ghosts watts when dropping to zero/coasting, resulting in about a total of ~3s it takes to actually drop to 0W (again, in the fit files).
Both behaviours look worse on the device as well as the displayed numbers ironically both update more regularly than the 1s fit file interval, but also seem to suffer from the device's (presumed) low processing power, so it's easily 5s on there while riding.

Those numbers are all based on a SRAM Rival PM - I've also tested with a Leoseek spider PM but that already comes with its own small lag so the numbers are slightly higher still.

There's also the issue that the "power gauge" widget (which is well-designed in theory) seemingly updates the gauge and the number bit separately from another, sometimes resulting in some weird changes (think power zone dropping to a lower colour while power value increases).

So yeah, maybe not the best device if you want to dive into power metrics - I think the overall averages, NP, etc. will still be okay, but it's still annoying especially mid-ride.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I also tried to connect the Leoseek PM via Bluetooth, but that just wouldn't work at all, so the suggested workaround might not be available depending on your PM hardware.

Am i the only one minding the ghost watts? I'd have thought it'd almost be a deal breaker for anyone using a power meter? I sure AF wouldn't have bought mine had i known that would be a problem, let alone one that would never get fixed because igpsport clearly gives 0 F about it.

I assume you mean power not dropping to zero when coasting or something along the lines? Seems like you deleted your post on this, so I'm guessing a bit 😅 I'll keep an eye on that during the next ride!

What's the comparison on the apps side?
Before my current BCS300 I had a fairly simple Magene C406, so I can't really make a apples-to-apples comparison, but when switching over I liked the iGPSport app much better than OneLapFit.

While not perfect either, the app itself seems more coherent on Magene's side in my opinion, iGPSport's one feels a bit chaotic without a uniform design/UX philosophy (for example, the device and profile pages use completely different menu styles).

I currently have a BSC300 and it often starts announcing every single turn of the route, even though it's just a bend with no other ways to go.
When it does it I'm under the urge to throw it into the trees, is the 500 the same?

Yeah, that sure sounds familiar - it's not every single bend, but there's definitely plenty of alerts when there's no alternative anyway. My guess is that they're really only analyzing the bends without cross-referencing map data or anything.

Sure thing! Bolt v1 on there as well, and a AAA battery for scale 😅

Edit: Added a powered-on one for easier screen size comparison.

Some more testing done, a bit more due, but here's my impressions so far

Hardware
Look & Feel is fairly cheap, but sturdy. A lot of plastic, and comes with very limited accessories (stem/rubber band mount and a security cord, so no cable/case/screen protection). Depending on the mount used it seems somewhat prone to no/limited stoppage at a quarter turn as well, but it hasn't come loose yet.

vs. C706: Charging port is easier to open and seems slightly more trustworthy regarding water ingress. The bell is slightly louder and more distinct ("ding ding ding ding" vs "Rrrrring Rrrrring" 😅) than Magene's one. C706 comes with more accessories and feels a bit more premium in general. Size is about the same.

Screen
Somewhat prone to glare but so far I haven't had trouble reading it at all. Auto brightness works well too, and the touch screen feels responsive enough. You can set up a screen flash on navigation prompts but I haven't found it all that useful.

vs. C706: the BSC500 comes with a touch screen lock which might be handy in rainy conditions, glare is worse on the C706 but no massive issue either.

GPS and data quality
Perfect - that said, it's using dual band GPS by default, so you'd expect that. Haven't tried single band or its automatic mode yet. File exports (.fit) look decent and import into intervals.icu fine.

vs. C706: Very similar deal really, no notes.

Maps and Routing
I haven't managed to get road names to show up in navigation prompts, but other than that the routing has been pretty great. The track's visuals could be better (or adjustable) but maybe that'll come later (I think it's a thing on the BiNavi Air?). I've used GPX and Komoot imports thus far and both worked fine - similarly to the C706, you first add the route to the app before transferring it over to the device.
Navigation prompts can be displayed on all pages (overlay) or included as a data field. Alongside the prompt sound and/or voice instructions (either on the device or your phone), it's hard to miss a turn. If you still do, rerouting works but is a bit slow to calculate the new route initially.

Maps are mostly preloaded - and thankfully so, because there is no user frontend to update them. Instead, you have to download new versions from the website, connect the device to a PC (only works at full battery it seems) and transfer the files over. The USB transfer speeds are abysmal - like half an hour for about 1GB of data. Some countries seem to be missing from the initial setup but are available on the website, e.g. Austria.

it does have some quirks regarding the GPS track rendering: For example, rerouting looks like it's overshooting the re-join point, but then disappears when you're back on route. Tracks are simplified (less geo points/more straight lines) in certain scenarios - this happened both when selecting/viewing a route and when coming back past a bit that I had already ridden in the same sessions (did two laps of the same track, basically). It doesn't happen with the active track once you are navigating though, so it's far from a big issue in my opinion.

vs. C706: Slightly better map rendering on the BSC500 in my opinion (street names are fewer, don't interfere as much and can be disabled), better initial map package but more cumbersome with updates.

Climbing
It comes with iClimb 2.0 which means it only starts the climbing mode while routing a track - which is completely fine with me, but if you are looking for "free ride iClimb", you might have to keep your fingers crossed for an update, or look at the BiNavi Air or the Magene.
It also seems like it's pulling the climb data from the route file, which feels superior and more accurate to whatever database Magene is using. I have only done some very mild local climbs though, so maybe more on that after the weekend as I'm planning do to a bit more then.

vs. C706: Better accuracy on the BSC500 (depending on your GPX source of course), but no free ride climbing mode.

Battery
Battery usage has been swinging around 5-7% per hour with 2 connected sensors, making it trend towards the lower end of their claims. I'll probably end up using this in an ultra in three weeks time, so we'll have some proper data then 😅

vs. C706: Similar capacity, similar usage and estimated life.

Data Fields
Plenty of customization, if a bit cumbersome as pointed out by Stormy - there's a limited number of layouts, and they are also limited to certain pages, all of which feels like a bit of an odd choice. But with some trial and error you should be able to get a decent layout for your needs going. The zone graph fields are really nice.
Unfortunately, there's no 5min/20min average field for power or HR data.

vs. C706: More/full layout flexibility on the Magene, but similar choice of fields overall (and similar missing fields). The device has to be connected to make changes while the Magene's screens can be edited "offline" too.

Ecosystem and account data
iGPSport seemingly wants to have a bit of a "Strava at home", leading to some noteworthy stuff IMHO.
During account setup, you are asked for your city/region of residence as they have a local leaderboard thing going. You can't opt out of providing this info, but at least only activities set to "public" are counted towards the stats so you can stay "invisible/inactive".
A bit more of an issue in my book is the fact that if you connect your komoot account and then import a planned route, it's automatically set to public and thus added to the public library of routes. You can not change this in the app at all (you can via the web interface but that's super basic and most users won't even know about it I reckon), so if you don't want that you'll have to export the GPX from komoot and then import it as that gives you the option to have it stay private. I assume it'll be similar for Strava.
If you want to share a picture with some ride stats after your workout, you'll have to set it to public as well as sharing is completely disabled otherwise, even if "sharing" in that case would only be image generation 🙄

vs. C706: No similar functionality (and thus issues) on Magene's side.


Overall, I think the BSC500 is better value for money if you can look past the basic look & feel, don't need/want a freeride climb mode and either don't care about map updates (or Austria 😬) or the hassle they come with.
Magene's C706 feels more premium and while it's still a bit rough around the edges as well, it feels like a more streamlined experience in total.

If anyone has specific questions, particularly regarding the comparison to the Magene, let me know

Btw, I am also wondering what the resale value of Chinese bike computers is. Are they impossible to sell similarly to Chinese bikes?

I reckon it'll be a challenge, yeah - that said, I did check eBay and similar sites (and would've been happy to pay ~70-80% of the RRP depending on condition) before ordering my C706 so while it may be small, I guess there'll be a bit of a market.

There's hardly any (public) information, right? Bar the 3€ figure and the fact that it'll be applied per tariff/product group, everything else still seems tbc:

- Is this a process to be implemented on top of a DDP solution/can AliExpress and other shops take care of this in a streamlined fashion?
- How much (if at all?) can the shipping companies charge for the added handling?
- What impact will this have on shipping times?

I really doubt anyone's properly ready for the process (how's things going in France, they implemented something in March, right?), so I'm half expecting the EU to postpone everything for a few months last-minute 🤷

That said - yeah, I also stocked up on brake pads/discs, bartape, tubeless valves, jerseys... 😅