Garmin Edge 200 review

Although its place in the Garmin hierarchy has now been usurped by the Garmin Edge 20, if you want easy to read data on a small reliable device then the Garmin Edge 200 is still a very good option. Measuring just seven centimetres tall and five centimetres wide and weighing in on our scales 58g, it leaves your cockpit clean and tidy and is very unassuming in its gloss black finish. Placed on a bar extender its virtually unnoticeable.

Buy now: Garmin Edge 200 at Gearbest for £59.45

Read more: Buyer's guide to GPS cycling computers

The idea of the Garmin Edge 200 is that it be easy to use for casual cyclists, though it has its place for any budding racer or sportive riders. The plug and play nature of the device is something I like and barring the wait to connect the GPS satellites you don’t have to do anything else. Acquiring GPS position can take a few minutes, so I have found if I am running late it’s a problem. I’ve even started my ride once or twice because I got fed up waiting, five minutes down the road it then finds itself.

Watch: Critical power - the hardest test you can do on a bike?

If you rely on power, heart rate or any other external device then look elsewhere than the Garmin Edge 200, as Garmin has taken out any wireless connectivity. As I say, I don’t mind this but any number cruncher certainly will. However, being a GPS computer, you can still track your rides and upload them to Garmin Connect or Strava without the need for external speed and cadence sensors, and these sites can then give estimated averages of power and other metrics post-ride.

>>> 12 cool things you didn't know your Garmin could do

The Garmin Edge 200 also allows you to upload and then follow a pre-planned route. There is also a ‘get me home’ function, although this only shows you the general direction you should be going, rather than an actual map or turn-by-turn guidance, which would have been handy. However, given the price, it's difficult to expect too much, and if you want functions like this then you're going to have to splash out on the vastly more expensive Garmin Edge 1000.

The main screen on the Garmin Edge 200 shows three fixed fields (current speed, trip distance, and ride time) that cannot be changed, plus a fourth field at the bottom of the screen, which can be switched between average speed, total ascent and calories burned. I’ve had no problem glancing at these fields out on the road and pressing one of the four buttons on the sides can activate a timed backlight

Buy now: Garmin Edge 200 at Gearbest for £59.45

But probably the best thing about the Garmin Edge 200 is its battery life, which is a massive 14 hours. This means that this is a great choice of cycle computer if you're off for a riding trip beyond the realms of civilisation, or are just a bit too lazy or forgetful to charge it everyday.