COROS has begun a social media teaser campaign for what they’re calling “a different kind of bike computer”. The teaser doesn’t say much, but obviously, I’ve got some thoughts. COROS e-mailed existing customers with a simple one-image graphic that says “COROS Dura – Coming June 2024”:
The alt-text on that e-mail says “A Different Kind of Bike Computer”
That e-mail links to a Dura homepage which in turn has a 17-second computer-generated video, where presumably the budget was too tight to hire a proper CGI lighting crew. Thus, you can’t see much. Along with that, there’s text below it which says:
“We have often been asked when we would create a bike computer.
While we have always been passionate about cycling, we didn’t want to develop a new head unit without creating something different.
We are proud to announce COROS DURA, the ultimate cycling adventure and training companion.”
Those be some big words there, namely the last sentence: “Ultimate cycling adventure and training companion” is definitely aiming high.
Now, like I said, the imagery is very very dark. But, I possess a magical power: Adobe Lightroom. Said power allows me to quickly brighten dark images. So, we can take that image at the top, via the YouTube video, and bring out the shadows:
The super-bright white light thing is simply some graphics that in the video scan down the unit’s front. I can’t remove that. However, we see that it appears the front is split into two chunks. First, is a lower chunk, taking up about 2/3rds of the front of the unit. I’d presume that’s the screen.
However, if we take another angle and brighten it up, there’s also a different area at the top right that’s seemingly not connected. This has the ‘DURA’ name in it, as well as being much smaller. You can see the very bottom edge of it, just in the lower right corner. This could be a secondary screen, a light, a solar panel, or perhaps just a place to stick gummy bears. Time will tell.
Meanwhile, in the lower rightish corner, you’ll see a round thingy. This pretty clearly looks like a Digital Crown. That makes sense, given all of COROS’s watches have digital crowns, so trying to translate software UI concepts would be much easier if they just kept that rolling wheel.
Beyond that though, we don’t know much, except June.
However, I’d suggest the following tidbits are worthwhile considering, in no particular order:
– The GPS bike computer landscape is surprisingly crowded, at numerous price points. You’ve got what I’d call the ‘Big Three’ (Garmin, Wahoo, Hammerhead) with the obvious and massive lead. Then you’ve got a slate of non-Western budget-focused companies (Bryton/Magene/iGPSSport/etc…) producing look-a-like products. Some of these are reasonably good, but most (all?) of them suffer from weird usually UI quirks or bugs that might or might not matter to some users. Finally, you’ve got a weird collection of has-been GPS brands out there too (e.g., the Cateye/Lezyne/etc). These companies have focused on other products (e.g. Lezyne makes lots of other great things), but have largely neglected their GPS lineup. Still, they influence the lower-end of the price sphere. Oh, and then there’s the Sigma Rox. They produce some really solid bike computer units, but are basically only catering to specific geographies (e.g. Germany).
– Competing in this landscape will require quite a bit of focus, and a very heavy-handed update cycle. If we focus just on the Big Three for a second, they have current and previous gen offerings that scale down to the mid-$250 range depending on various sales/deals. This includes things like the Garmin Edge 530/830, Wahoo BOLT V1, and Garmin Edge Explore series. These are still very solid units, especially when put up against any new entrant or budget competitor. They are heavily full-featured, well-established, battle-hardened, and do anything almost anyone would want them to do. Likewise, despite the quirks found in Bryton and other units, those next-tier units generally get the core functionality largely right. Of course, they sell at budget prices (many sub-$200) to account for lack of advanced functionality, brand name, and said quirks. Said another way: If they were better, consumers would be willing to pay more.
– Now getting to COROS. The company has established itself as a very legit player in the watch game, mainly focused on the running side (along with climbing). However, the cycling side has largely been an afterthought, until recently when they added a phone companion mode. Virtually all of the physiological type metrics cater to runners, not cyclists. Still, at its core, they’ve sorted out and dealt with things like sensor pairing, recording from power meters, FIT file stuff, uploads/download from TrainingPeaks, Strava & Komoot, and countless other things. These are all of the plumbing that bogs down new entrants. It’s death by a thousand cuts, but COROS has mostly gotten past those cuts because of their watch business.
(COROS Companion App Mode, indoors, also an outdoor versions)
– Where COROS really needs to focus is ensuring entirely seamless integration via their app, and with the rest of their watches. Said differently: COROS’s main pitch in 2024 should be “The bike computer for COROS watch users”. Ensuring super-seamless integration with their watches for things like training load, recovery, and more. And importantly, ensuring those metrics are cycling-focused and compatible.
– If they can do that, they’ll have a unique combination that Wahoo won’t be able to easily counter as the company continues to exit and discontinue the Wahoo RIVAL watch realm. Further, Wahoo (and Hammerhead for that matter), never focused on those training load type metrics. Though, Hammerhead does have their partnership with also-watch competitor Suunto, which does get your rides into the Suunto platform and counting towards training load type metrics.
– Above all, COROS needs to think very very carefully about price. As I’ve said countless times before “COROS is most deadly when they undercut others on price”, and that’s going to be even more critical here. I’d encourage them to really follow their original COROS Pace watch when it first came out: Undercut on price, offer good-enough features and a bug-free experience, and then follow through with a very strong update cycle. If they can do that, they’ll be in good shape.
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With that, I look forward to a busy June. I’ve been doing a heck of a lot of riding lately, and there’s plenty more to come. As always, stay tuned for plenty of cycling-focused full in-depth reviews of all sorts of things, whenever things happen. Thanks for reading!
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