Beeline? B-

When I cycled across Europe I bought one major bit of new kit I'd never used before. Previous trans-UK cycles had taught me that google maps was unreliable - it had taken me over stiles, through cornfields, into rivers - and that having it up on your phone at all times was not only distracting, but meant you had to stop several times a day to charge. The solution: Beeline Velo (2).

The Beeline attached to handlebars

I used this bike navigation accessory all the way to Patras. After that I lost confidence in it. In this post I'll lay out the good things about Beeline, as well as its downsides, so you can decide for yourself whether to invest in it for your own long cycles.

What is Beeline Velo?

Beeline Velo (2) is the bicycle version of the Beeline navigation computer. Don't go buying Beeline Moto by accident. I had a friend who did this and it took him onto endless dual carriageways. It's a small, circular device you clip onto your bike, and connect to the app on your phone.

Positives of Beeline Velo

Affordable(ish)

At only £99.99 (holder included) this is one of the more affordable bike computers on the market. A high end Garmin Edge can be over £600, and even the cheap version still comes in at £130. Many other computers hover around this mid £100 mark. Beeline was the only one I could find for under £100 - albeit only just.

Intuitive - Easy interface, Set-up and App

Setting up and using Beeline is ludicrously easy. It comes with a simple clip on holder which you can attach to your bike in a variety of places, and an app which connects the device to your phone simply and quickly via bluetooth. It was very rare that I lost connection.

Once connected the small circular screen displays a lowkey arrow and line map which gives you all the information you need to easily follow a route without distracting you from your surroundings, similar to a mini-map in a video game. It even beeps at you quietly to pre-warn you of turnings. I found it even easier to use than google maps.

Easy initial route planning, with options

All you need to do to plan a route with Beeline (if you're in a supported region like most of western Europe) is to pick a destination, add a couple of waypoints if you feel so inclined, and choose the type of route you would like. This was one of the best features Beeline had over simply using google maps. You can set it to take you a fast, quiet, or balanced route, which is often the difference between following a nice cycle path and quiet lanes, or zooming down a main road. All of this is done in the free app. You don't even need to buy the accessory to use this feature.

Route ratings

Adding to the initial ease of routing is the route rating feature. This allows you to click a button on the device itself or in the app to tell the software whether you liked or disliked the section of cycling it had just taken you along. This is then fed back to the app, and future routes for other riders are adjusted accordingly. When planning your own routes you are warned about sections other riders have rated negatively, and shown those they've rated positively. This allows you to pick out fun routes and make plans for the tricky bits.

This is overall a good feature, though I do have some issues with it, which I'll get back to in the next section.

Good Battery

This was definitely one of the biggest upsides of the Beeline. You need to charge the screen separately from your phone of course, which can be a bit of an annoyance, but it charges fast and retains it for a long time. I was cycling ten hour days at times, and the beeline would only need charging every other day.

It also saves your phone a lot of battery. On the last long cycle I did I took three portable chargers, and still had to stop twice a day to charge my phone, as I had it clipped to the handlebars open on Google maps the whole time. Granted for this trip I did replace my phone battery before I went, but still the difference between Google and Beeline was astounding. I charged my phone from one portable charger once a day, using Spotify and Beeline. Google does eat energy, and of course I saved tonnes of power by having the display on a separate device, rather than having my phone screen on all day.

No need for constant internet connection

Once you've set the route Beeline works offline. So long as you stick to your route, after you press go, you shouldn't need to turn your data on for the rest of the day. This saves your phone energy, and gives you freedom to go to remote places without the fear of getting lost. All you need is a campsite or cafe with wifi early in the day and you really don't need data at all to use Beeline.

Water/weather proof - hardy

I cycled through endless thunderstorms in France, the Alps, the Balkans and Greek mountains. The beeline was clipped to the front of the bike at all times, open to the weather, and never had an issue. Because the screen is controlled by clicking buttons hidden on either side, and not touch screen, it was still usable when soaked. I also took it off often and kept it in my pocket and my bag when browsing supermarkets or making camp, dropped it a few times, and crashed with it on the front of the bike. It got through the whole trip with only a few superficial scratches. It's well made and very tough.

Heat-map

This was a feature I appreciated a lot. On the app you can look back over your previous journeys, and even save ones which you liked. It also provides a heat map to show you everywhere you've travelled via Beeline. When on a long cycle like my trip across Europe it ends up acting like a route tracker, giving you a grey line showing every turn you've made from door to door on your trip. It's this heat map I always whip out when people ask about my route.

Re-routes if lost

If you do go off course the Beeline will automatically re-route you to get you back on track as quickly and easily as possible. This means you can change your route on the go and it will adapt to you. You can also turn this off easily in the settings if you want to stick to a particular route or save battery.

Records route for you

Like many other cycle computers Beeline records the route for you and gives you the option to save it in the app or to upload it to Strava after you've finished, allowing you to keep track of your cycles and plan them with only one app open on your phone. Rides are automatically recorded so you can upload them later if your wifi is spotty.

Gives you stats on go - speed, how far from destination

There are several modes you can set your computer to by clicking the tactile edges of the screen. It's easy to change them on the go. You can have it set to map mode, or compass, or as a kind of speedometer which also tells you how far you have left to go, and what time you're likely to get there. This is very motivating when you're struggling towards the end of the cycle.

Good quality and satisfying holder

Beeline comes with a robust holder which attaches to your bike by elastic bands or zip ties. It is very simple, so has little chance of being broken, and allows you to twist the computer on and off your bike with a satisfying click. This may be a small thing, but it was a big selling point for me.

Ability to import GPX

In addition to its own built in route planner you can easily import routes into the app by downloading them to your phone, then uploading them by clicking "options" when route planning in the app. This is very useful in places like western Europe where the Beeline routing is less reliable.

Negatives of Beeline Velo

Unreliable Routing, especially outside of Western Europe

Despite all the positives listed above there are some major issues with Beeline's routing software. Beeline's navigation uses google maps data, so in regions where google maps doesn't have cycling options, like in the Balkans, the fast, balanced and quiet settings disappear and the routing can go haywire. When I was in the Balkans I quickly took to relying on GPX routes of Eurovelo 8 which I could import into the app. But when these ran out in Greece I very quickly stopped using Beeline at all, except to record my cycles, and turned to other offline options like maps.me.

Even within supported areas I came across major issues. Beeline's software isn't great at distinguishing between cycle paths, walking paths, mountain bike trails, staircases and even non existent routes. It can also cause issues at borders, as I found to my cost. To give some examples:

• In France I set it to take me to a fort - it took me into the woods and up a gravel path to a near vertical climb up a woodland hill crisscrossed by only narrow hiking trails. I had to lock my bike to a tree and come back for it later.

• In Germany it directed me to a campsite by leading me into the woods and then telling me to simply cycle directly over a river.

• In Austria/Switzerland I spent half a day cycling up steep incredible paths over a mountain in the alps. I reached a pub near the top, went behind and the path ended. A narrow bridge led to a vertical set of foot-worn stairs up the mountainside. After struggling up it for a while I was met by a local who informed me I was climbing a downhill mountain bike track, and it would take me an hour to reach the top. Around I turned, half a day wasted.

• Also in the alps I was taken on hiking trails no wider than a foot, made of mud and full of steep step-filled climbs and scrambles over fallen trees.

• In Lake Garda I tried to ask it to take me to a famous section where you can cycle above the water. It took me up a winding steep series of hills, and at the top it told me to turn left, where there was a wood followed by a steep cliff dropping down into the lake below. No path at all. This was partly my fault for trying to force the navigation, but it simply made up a route, rather than told me my intended route was impossible.

• In Italy and Croatia it took me off route into small towns where the only way out was a steep staircase.

• In Croatia I was taken up over a huge mountain to the Bosnian border. This was an unofficial, unmarked, unmanned crossing - very illegal. I used it anyway because I did not want to make the three hour detour which turning back would have cost me. I got through Bosnia without incident, but once back in Croatia I was caught by police, searched and fined 179 euros. Thanks Beeline.

• In Greece I was taken away from cycle-able coastal roads up into empty mountains where the only tracks were steep dirt and loose stone trails. Here is where I decided to abandon Beeline completely.

Quiet mode Issues

Beeline really doesn't want to take you on major roads. This is a good thing most of the time. But this means sometimes nice sections of smooth tarmac are avoided by the most circuitous, complex route imaginable, especially when re-routing. I was once taken 5km out of my way to avoid a 1km section of mildly busy road near stonehenge. If you're cycling on a nice flat route atop a hill with a little traffic, and Beeline detects that turning off down a long, steep, gravel track down to sea level, then back up the other side, will cut off a bit of traffic, it will take you that way. By Italy I had learned to be very cautious of any turnings that didn't quite seem to make sense.

Satellite location reliability

This is a small issue. Most of the time the satellite location is good. But at times Beeline can have you drifting several hundred feet off track on your screen, which can confuse turnings, and even trigger unwanted and unnecessary re-routing.

Changing plans on the go

It's easy to add waypoints at the start of the journey, but if you're halfway and suddenly want to add another stop, like a supermarket, bakery, repair shop or interesting site, you're out of luck. The only way to do this is to end your current trip and start a new one, which sometimes gives you an entirely different route and does not look good on Strava. There were many times where I had to navigate via google maps and Beeline at the same time so I could get a much needed pastry or bottle of water.

Glitches in GPX

As mentioned above, Beeline really hates main roads. It feels this way to such an extent that even when routes are downloaded it will add its own little additions. In the Balkans when I was largely following GPX routes, Beeline would try to take me into every car lay-by, and down every small cut-through or side road no matter how unsuitable for cycling. This was a very strange and irritating glitch which had me double guessing every turn.

[Since initially writing this review I have done another multi-day cycle using a downloaded GPX on Beeline in the UK. This issue did not occur on this cycle. It's possible that this issue was largely due to the series of GPX routes for Eurovelo 8 which I was using in the Balkans - still, it's something to bear in mind.]

Accidental road ranking

The road ranking is a good feature. I especially liked being able to vent my frustration when taken to yet another dead end or un-cycle-able path. However it is very easy to do accidentally. You can rank a route by clicking on the edge of the device screen. The edge of the device screen is also easily pressed by leaning over the handlebars of the bike when stopped. Holding the button down by accident will result in a spam of positive or negative ratings for wherever you decided to take a breather and rest your arms.

This of course doesn't bode too well for the reliability of other's road rankings, but my biggest issue was that every rating showed up on my heat map as a huge green tick or red cross. What could have been a nice record of my route through Europe is spoiled by these unsightly icons which cannot be removed. If I was to ask Beeline to change one feature, it would be this. Please can I have an option to turn off ratings on my heat-map? No one wants to see that!

The heatmap complete with accidental route rankings

Verdict

If I had to grade Beeline I would give it, suitably, a B-. This device has many great features; It's affordable, tough, intuitive, satisfying, easy to set up, has good battery and decent route planning options. All of this makes it a fantastic investment for a quick jaunt around the Lake district or the South of France. But...

The issues it does have, while not as numerous, are significant. You want to be able to trust your mapper implicitly. I grew to be very suspicious of mine. It caused me mental, physical and financial pain. Investing the extra £30 into a Garmin would have been worth it if it didn't take me over illegal border crossings. The route planning is not flexible and is full of glitches. If you're using it in any kind of remote or unusual area, where maps aren't perfect, double check your route.

I would still recommend it. In fact I have. I know of at least two people cycling Europe right now with Beeline because of my recommendation. But it does come with caveats. Having not tried any other cycling computers I can't say for sure if there are better options out there. Beeline is accessible, affordable, and somewhat reliable. If that's what you're looking for go for it. But don't blame me if the Croatian Police catch you.