Bryton’s S-series of GPS cycling computers have been the brand’s premium GPS computers that offer color touch screens and the latest features. The new Bryton Rider S510 is the latest iteration of the 500 series of the computers and features a refined design, larger screen and more intuitive features. Retail price on the S510 remains a competitive $249.95 and includes a 2.8” color touch screen with a claimed 30 hour runtime. The Rider 510 incorporates all of Bryton’s features including the group ride & chat as well as the new Climb Challenge 2.0 that shows climb profiles in real-time for your current heading. As with the previous S500, the S510 has a replaceable mount which lets you swap out the Bryton specific mount for a more generic Garmin mount.
The Bryton S510 GPS cycling computer combines a bright and vibrant color screen with the new Climb Challenge 2.0 for real-time climb profiles.
| Rating | 9.3/10 |
| Retail Price | $249.95 |
| Measured Weight (in g) | 94 |
| Likes | + Swappable mount lets you use Garmin puck + Real-time offline climb profiles while riding with Climb Challenge 2.0 + Bright and vivid color touch screen |
| Dislikes | – Muffled sounding audio alerts – Lock screen is easy to accidentally activate when turning off computer |
| Where to Buy (US) | Bryton |
UNBOXING
The Bryton S510 comes in a small black and gray box with a glossy graphic of the computer right on the front. Bryton has designed the packaging to use minimal materials with simple cardboard dividers to separate all the accessories. Inside the box you’ll find:
- S510 GPS computer
- Basic handlebar mount + o-rings
- Safety tether
- USB-C charging cable
- User manual
Despite the more premium price point of the S510, Bryton does not include an out-front mount with the computer which was a bit surprising. Note, our computer is the S510E version and not the more expensive S510T which includes a heart rate, speed and cadence sensor.
MOUNTING
As with all Bryton computers, the Rider S510 uses the proprietary Bryton mount. It is a very similar design to Garmin quarter turn mounts with protruding tabs that lock into a matching base. Bryton’s design uses slightly thicker mounts which means you can force them into a Garmin mount but it will damage the Bryton mount and the Garmin mount over time. Surprisingly, Bryton only includes a cheap plastic handlebar mount with two o-rings with the computer. It’s an okay mount, but for $250 we would have expected at least a plastic out-front mount. We’d highly recommend buying an out-front mount like the Topeak UTF with the optional Garmin mount adapter or the Bryton Sport mount for a cleaner installation. Using an out-front mount you can place the computer directly in front of the computer instead of on the handlebar or stem.
Thankfully, Bryton has made the mount on the S510 removable with four small screws which means you can swap it out for a standard Garmin mount. This was a feature that was previously on the S500 so we’re excited to see it continued here. The Garmin puck has to be purchased separately but is easy to install and swap in. Both mounts are plastic but feel thick and robust to withstand daily use. For additional peace of mind, you can also use the included tether as a safety backup.
FIT & FINISH
Visually, the Rider S510 mimics the S800 with smooth rounded corners and a large 2.8” screen. It is a welcome departure from the previous Bryton Rider S500 which had large bezels and an awkward cramped display. The Rider S510 has an attractive design with relatively slim 14.9 mm thickness and vibrant color TFT touch screen. A majority of the body of the computer is a black plastic with a light gray accent around the edges for some contrast. Branding is limited to Bryton logos on the front and below the screen for a clean look. There is a USB-C port on the bottom edge of the computer with a tight fitting rubber cover and a cutout for the provided lanyard.
Despite being a touch screen computer, there are also four labeled buttons with two buttons on each side of the display. Each button has a beveled design that makes it easy to differentiate from each other and have a good tactile feel. The display itself has bright and vivid colors which works well during daytime riding or night time riding. Bryton has also incorporated an ambient light sensor which allows the screen to automatically switch between a dark night mode or a brighter day mode based on the current lighting conditions.
CLIMB CHALLENGE 2.0
One of the notable features of the Bryton Rider S510 is the introduction of Climb Challenge 2.0. This is similar to Wahoo’s Summit Freeride and Garmin’s ClimbPro which provide climb profiles in real-time based on your current heading. The feature still works when riding on loaded routes, and lets you adjust the start/end points for routes through the Bryton Active app. With this updated version you can now just start riding and have Bryton notify you when a climb is starting and it will switch to a new dedicated screen that shows a small map, gradient profile and additional data files. Although the map view is a bit small on the page, it’s a great feature that allows you to modulate your effort based on the length and elevation of the climb.
The feature even works while being offline so you do not have to keep the Bryton Active app running. We were impressed with the Climb Challenge 2.0 feature as it would seamlessly update based on our current heading and allow us to see climbs without having a route loaded. The start/end points are based on Bryton’s algorithm and were generally accurate, but we did notice that it would sometimes split up climbs into separate segments if there was a longer flat section in the middle of the climb. Aside from that, it’s a nice feature which has vibrant color coating to indicate gradient which helps you mentally prepare for a climb.
USER INTERFACE
The Bryton Rider S510 uses a combination of the touch screen and physical buttons to access all the features. There are four buttons with two buttons on each side, the left side has a power button and a lap button with clear labels. On the right side there is a play/pause button and page cycle button. The touch screen also supports gestures like swiping left/right and an upward swipe to return to the main menu. Bryton has also added a quick-access screen by pressing anywhere on the recording pages. You can customize what is shown on the quick access page as well as swap out any data field by pressing and holding on it. It’s a nice feature that lets you change a data field while riding.
The home page looks similar to other Bryton models with a large colored box with the name of the current profile. You can swipe left/right to switch between profiles which is convenient if you have different bike setups or want to tailor the screens for different types of rides. It’s an easy to use interface with bright colors and nice dividers between the elements. The only minor complaint we have is that it’s easy to accidentally lock the screen by doing a short press of the power button. It’s easy to accidentally trigger the screen lock when trying to turn off the computer if you do not hold the power button long enough to get the shutdown prompt.
BRYTON ACTIVE APP
To fully take advantage of the Bryton S510 you’ll need to download the Bryton Active app. Once you’ve gone through the mandatory Bryton registration and logged into your account, you’ll see a simple black / green skinned interface with four buttons on the bottom. The bottom navigation buttons allow you to review and analyze previous activities, set up workouts or routes, adjust your user profile, and configure any connected Bryton computers. The app is fairly straightforward and has many of the features you’d expect to find on a cycling app such as calendar activity views and the ability to link third-party apps such as Strava, Komoot and Ride With GPS to upload ride information.
Unlike the lower end Bryton devices such as the Bryton Rider 17 where you primarily use the app for third party linking and GPS configuration, with the S510 you can take advantage of all of the features. That includes route importing / creation, group ride / chat and setting up workouts. Aside from that, the app is great for configuring the screen display. You can enable/disable pages, reorder them and reconfigure each data field. As you would expect for the S series of computers, the S510 supports graphical views like radial displays and curves which are great for showing speed, power or cadence. The S510 also supports electronic groupsets and just about every variation of power data displays.
RIDING IMPRESSIONS
With just the updated screen size and shape of the Bryton Rider S510 it’s already a big improvement from the previous Rider S500. Where the S500 felt cramped with font sizes being too small, the Rider S510’s 2.8” feels large and is easy to read. The screen has a nice bright display with vivid colors that works during the day or night. Even though it’s not as large as the S800 or computers like the iGPSPORT iGS800, the S510 feels well-sized and premium. The only place where we might have liked to see a larger screen is the Climb Challenge 2.0 page which has a small map view, gradient view and 2-data fields on the bottom.
Speaking of the Climb Challenge 2.0 feature, it’s a great addition for Bryton that helps it compete with Garmin which limits it to their Edge 540 or higher series computers. Even when there are no climbs you can see the altitude profile for 1 km / 0.6 mile ahead of you while riding. It’s a lot more useful than viewing the standard altitude chart for what you’ve already ridden. Navigation on the Bryton is also reliable and easy to follow with street names and detailed graphics instead of just standard left/right arrow markers. We used the optional Garmin adapter to mount the Rider 510 on our Trek Blendr mounts which avoided the issue of finding compatible Bryton mounts which are far less common than Garmin.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found the Bryton Rider S510 to be an intuitive and well designed GPS computer. Bryton has taken the previous S500 and improved the screen size as well as integrating the new features to make the computer more competitive and user friendly. We liked the updated 2.8” color touch screen which has vivid colors and is responsive. The new Climb Challenge 2.0 is also a welcome addition that adds real-time offline climb profiles while riding without a pre-loaded route. It’s a nice feature to see at this price point and works seamlessly to show climbs based on your current heading. Other features like navigation and workouts are easy to use with a refined Bryton Active app for setting things up. The only negatives we found were that the audio alerts are slightly unpleasant sounding compared to other computers and that it’s easy to accidentally lock the screen. That said, the Bryton Rider S510 offers premium features and a bright screen at an attractive price point.
Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by Bryton. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the authors and are here to help people make an informed choice before a purchase. The authors or the blog itself does not get any monetary compensation from the product manufacturer or third-party websites/vendor links that are posted here.