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[carbonazza]

I have been struggling with this a bit, I like being able to move around but it has made it difficult to find a 'default' position.

That is why I stick to a bare carbon saddle.
The pedalling/moving friction occurs between the bib and the saddle, not between the bib and the skin, so no chafing anymore on long rides.

But jonathanf2 seems to say they aren't that sticky, so I could try them.
Only if I could find a 130mm one.

[jonathanf2]

That is why I stick to a bare carbon saddle.
The pedalling/moving friction occurs between the bib and the saddle, not between the bib and the skin, so no chafing anymore on long rides.

But jonathanf2 seems to say they aren't that sticky, so I could try them.
Only if I could find a 130mm one.

I also have a bare carbon saddle. Those slide nicely, but my bib can sometimes get caught in the center cutout. The 3D saddles don't have that problem due to the 3D mesh. More padding, less friction, but at a slight weight penalty. At least with the Lexon saddles, the quality is a bit higher as well, such as the thicker carbon rails and stiff shell.

[Noladutch]

Sadly, Shimano's cranks aren't bullet proof either

That is the understatement of a lifetime. Three came unglued on me. So much for them never a replacement either or even a discount. They are never getting my money again.

[jonathanf2]

Thank you for the longer term review and the screw advice!
What pedals do you have there? They look nice and light.

That crankset has received a bad rap, but honestly I think the problems are caused from the terrible factory screws they provide. The titanium screws allow you to torque the crank arm higher eliminating any creaking.

The pedals I'm using are Xpedo single sided SPD pedals weighing in at 245g. They're okay, but are sometimes are hard to clip in especially on an incline. Though they are quite durable and spin smoothly. It does help keep my gravel bike nimble.

[kbernstein]

Any long term review of the IGS630?  I seem to recall some of you have it
There are way too many paid unboxing videos to promote it but almost no deeper reviews with more than a week on it 

[jonathanf2]

Any long term review of the IGS630?  I seem to recall some of you have it
There are way too many paid unboxing videos to promote it but almost no deeper reviews with more than a week on it 

I've been using it for the last month. It works well once you figure out the interface, it's simple enough. Though you have to use the phone app to create/download a route and then upload it to the unit. The app will create the route if you just want to go from point A to point B. I linked all my sensors from my 3 bikes so once mounted to a particular bike and I activate the unit, it automatically links up. Also you can create multiple bike profiles and enable which bike you're using before starting your ride.

Ride data seems accurate and battery life is long. It also comes with a screen protector which was a nice touch. I have no real complaints. My cycling buddies use Wahoo and Garmin units and there's not much functional difference. With the IGS 630 you get practically the same functions at a more affordable price.

The only issue is that they don't sell it on AliExpress, so you'll have to buy it locally like on Amazon. Though I bought mine from Ebay at a slight discount brand new. I'd totally recommend it, especially for the price.

[kbernstein]

Do you mean the courses do not automatically get sent from komoot/strava/ridewithGPS etc? What units did you have prior to this?
Can you load power-based training programs? I've heard someone complain the iClimb screen automatically popped up which was annoying (which garmin does too anyway). Do you know if it's possible to turn off?

[carbonazza]

...Though you have to use the phone app ... battery life is long...

I've got a couple of gripes with my Karoo
Does it need wifi to send routes, or bluetooth is enough ?

When you talk about "long battery life", how long's that?
And with a bright screen ?

I've heard whispers of a Karoo 3, but I'm leaning towards something else.
I'm sure a gray one will pop up on day from China – maybe this one.

[jonathanf2]

Do you mean the courses do not automatically get sent from komoot/strava/ridewithGPS etc? What units did you have prior to this?
Can you load power-based training programs? I've heard someone complain the iClimb screen automatically popped up which was annoying (which garmin does too anyway). Do you know if it's possible to turn off?

I previously had a simple computer with speed/cadence/heart rate. I haven't tried the training programs, but you can upload them from the app to the unit. There's a brief pop-up screen, but it doesn't really bother me, because I always check if my sensors are synced (in case of dead battery) and I have to select the bike I'm using since I always rotate them.

I've got a couple of gripes with my Karoo
Does it need wifi to send routes, or bluetooth is enough ?

When you talk about "long battery life", how long's that?
And with a bright screen ?

I've heard whispers of a Karoo 3, but I'm leaning towards something else.
I'm sure a gray one will pop up on day from China – maybe this one.

All data downloading/uploading is done via bluetooth. Connection is stable as well. A 2 hour ride only sucks about 2-4% of battery life. A fully charged unite can probably last for days from constant use. Screen brightness isn't an issue and I live in sunny southern California, I only have it set to 50% and it's bright enough I can see the screen with my sunglasses on in bright sunlight. I wanted a computer with navigation and I first thought about getting the BSC300 computer from AliEx, but I figured a good computer is more like a long term investment, so I opted to track down the IGS630 locally which on paper seems to be the more feature rich unit. I looked at other units in the price range, and this seemed like the best value.

[carbonazza]

Thank you for the answer, that looks good.
By curiosity, I checked https://www.igpsport.com/igs630-highlights

40g less than the Karoo !! 
35h(wow!) battery life for a bright enough screen.
And a great price.

More questions...
Doesn't seem to have Komoot integration. Right ?
Did you try it off-road, how's the quality of available tracks ? Karoo has them all in general.

I will sit tight, awaiting for the Karoo 3 specs, and see if I stay loyal or jump on the dark side of the bike computers 

[carbonazza]

Anyone tried already Firespider ?
https://firespider.aliexpress.com/store/1100268111

It is the high-end brand of Toseek, that makes bars, stems,...
https://toseek.aliexpress.com/store/912268096

[jonathanf2]

Thank you for the answer, that looks good.
By curiosity, I checked https://www.igpsport.com/igs630-highlights

40g less than the Karoo !! 
35h(wow!) battery life for a bright enough screen.
And a great price.

More questions...
Doesn't seem to have Komoot integration. Right ?
Did you try it off-road, how's the quality of available tracks ? Karoo has them all in general.

I will sit tight, awaiting for the Karoo 3 specs, and see if I stay loyal or jump on the dark side of the bike computers 

I don't think there's Komoot integration, but you can upload any of the standard map file formats onto the unit or create your own route via the app. I haven't used the navigation aspect of the computer very much, since I tend to ride locally, but I mainly bought it for those oft times I might get lost.

[kbernstein]

I don't think there's Komoot integration, but you can upload any of the standard map file formats onto the unit or create your own route via the app. I haven't used the navigation aspect of the computer very much, since I tend to ride locally, but I mainly bought it for those oft times I might get lost.

Can you import your own map themes?

[sbellote]

I have the BSC300 from IGPSport, which I think is the next down the lineup (bit further down in features, though), so I can maybe help with some of these doubts.

Routes must be sent/synced from the IGPSport app, you can either create the route in app (like said, from A to B) or sync from 3rd party. From what I checked you can connect with Strava and Komoot for routes, unfortunately no RidewithGPS (at least currently). In the app you need to select which routes you want to sync, so it's manually synced not automatically.
It's also possible to import route files, so you can get a .gpx or some route file and import in app and then sync it to the unit, that's the workaround I've done to get routes from RideWithGPS, a bit more work but not much anyway.

Battery it's important to point out that the time advertised is normally a bit inflated, and also is 'pure gps use', like with no external sensors. So as soon as you add HR, speed, powermeter... the battery is drained faster.
My BSC300 is getting 10h+ with all the sensors, and the advertised is 20h, so I think for the IGS630 will still get a good battery life even with sensors.

Training at least in the BSC300 works really well, you can create the training session directly in the app (then sync it), and make the interval about HR or Power Zones, time-based or leave it open and pass it by pressing the lap button. There's a lot of options, honestly, I've been doing my indoor training directly in the unit linked with the smart trainer and it works like a charm.
It's also possible to sync with TrainingPeaks and import the training sessions.

About the BT connection and sync speed from app to unit, so far had no issues with it, if anything it impressed me how fast it is to sync activities, it's a major stepup from the other chinese brands I've tested, and faster than Bryton420 which I had before the BSC300

Do you mean the courses do not automatically get sent from komoot/strava/ridewithGPS etc?
Can you load power-based training programs?

I previously had a simple computer with speed/cadence/heart rate. I haven't tried the training programs, but you can upload them from the app to the unit. There's a brief pop-up screen, but it doesn't really bother me, because I always check if my sensors are synced (in case of dead battery) and I have to select the bike I'm using since I always rotate them.
All data downloading/uploading is done via bluetooth. Connection is stable as well. A 2 hour ride only sucks about 2-4% of battery life.

Doesn't seem to have Komoot integration. Right ?
Did you try it off-road, how's the quality of available tracks ? Karoo has them all in general.

[jonathanf2]

Can you import your own map themes?

The only map themes I'm aware of is the day and night mode.