COOSPO is well known for their budget friendly sensors and GPS cycling computers that focus on value. The COOSPO CS300 is one of COOSPO’s newest cycling computers and offers long battery life and customization features not typically found at this price point. Retail price for the CS300 is an attractive $69.90 and includes modern features like USB-C charging and a Garmin quarter-turn style mount. The CS300 also offers a large 2.6” screen and can connect to heart rate sensors, power meters, cadence sensors and speed sensors. One of the unique features of the computer is a zone display that shows a radial graph of heart rate, speed or power zone.
The COOSPO CS300 GPS combines a budget friendly price with a large 2.6” screen and unique data layout.
| Retail Price | $69.90 |
| Rating | 9.0/10 |
| Measured Weight (in g) | 60 (computer), 10 (mount) |
| Likes | + Budget friendly + Large 2.6” screen with easy to read layout + Surprising amount of data configuration options |
| Dislikes | – Rides have to be manually saved before shutting computer off – Zone display takes up valuable space |
| Where to Buy (US) | COOSPO |
UNBOXING
The COOSPO CS300 comes in a slim cardboard box with white and black graphics printed onto it. Inside the box you’ll find:
- CS300 GPS computer
- Handlebar mount + o-rings
- Safety tether
- USB-C charging cable
- Instruction manual
The packaging feels well put together but lacks the sustainability approach we’ve seen with other brands like Feedback Sports or Lazer that avoid plastics or extra packaging material.
MOUNTING
On the base of the computer you’ll find a standard quarter-turn Garmin mount molded into the body. The mount uses two protruding tabs which allows you to do a quarter turn lock to install or remove the computer from a mount. It’s a popular mounting design that offers security and quick installation and removal. COOSPO includes a simple handlebar mount which uses two rubber o-rings to secure it to handlebars. We’d highly recommend using an out-front mount instead of this mount though as an out-front mount lets you place the computer directly in front of your stem and even mount lights or cameras underneath it such as the Topeak UTF out-front mount for a sleeker installation.
FIT & FINISH
Visually, the COOSPO CS300 has a traditional rectangular shape with rounded corners and a relatively thin profile. The computer has a plastic body with no exposed hardware and simple COOSPO branding printed on it. Despite the relatively light weight of the computer, the CS300 includes a tether that can be tied around a small cut out in the front of the body. The computer has a modern USB-C charging port that is protected by a thick rubber cover which we are always happy to see. With a 2.6” screen, the CS300 offers a nice large black and white display to view ride information. As with other budget cycling computers, like the COOSPO BC26, the COOSPO CS300 uses a simple LCD display with a predefined grid that uses text and icons.
The CS300 uses three physical buttons to navigate through the user interface. There is no touch screen or gesture supported here, instead the three buttons have clear labels and support short or long presses to activate different actions. The red power button on the top left of the screen can be held to turn the computer on or off. A short press of the power button increments the lap counter if there is an active recording. The bottom left button is used to start or pause a recording and has a simple play/pause icon. Holding the bottom left button while a recording is paused will save and stop the active recording. The bottom right button cycles through the five available pages and can be held to access the configuration menu. Within the configuration menu you can do only five actions: connect sensors, set time, set wheel diameter, set units and perform a power calibration.
DATA LAYOUT
As far as the data layout, the CS300 has a two column and three row layout that can display everything from heart rate, power, speed, cadence to distance and time metrics. The top status row of the computer displays GPS status, time, recording status and battery status with compact icons. It’s a simple layout with angled vertical splitters to visually separate the information. Surprisingly, each of the six data fields can be customized using the app with at least two options per field. While you can’t change the page layout, you can enable or disable up to five different pages with the fifth page disabled from the factory.
As far as the data customization options below are the options that are currently available for each field:
- Top field – speed (realtime / avg / max), HR (realtime / avg / max / % max), cadence (realtime / avg / max), power (realtime / avg / max / 3 sec avg)
- Middle left field – speed (avg / max), ride time, power (realtime / avg / max)
- Middle right field – distance, cadence (realtime / avg / max), altitude (realtime / avg / max), calorie
- Bottom left field – HR (realtime / avg / max), gradient (realtime / avg / max), temperature
- Bottom right field – distance, odometer, altitude, elevation gain
It’s a pretty impressive range of options that lets you customize the pages. While there aren’t 99+ options like you’d find on higher-end computers like the Bryton Rider S800 it’s nice to be able to move things around. The one constraint with the user interface is that the zone display and the top field are always linked so you can’t display heart rate at the top and show a different zone to the left of it. Also, all lap data is only shown for 10 seconds when the lap button is pressed. That means you cannot display current lap time, distance or other metrics that would make the lap functionality more useful.
One of the interesting features of this computer is the zone display which is prominently shown in the top left. The radial display has bars that fill up based on the current zone of the data shown to the right. That means it can show your heart rate, power or speed zone which the range of each zone configurable via the app. It’s a novel idea but with the lack of color and the tight spacing between the bars it can be hard to tell exactly which zone you are in. COOSPO has also placed the lap counter in the center of the display instead of the zone which could have been more useful.
RIDING IMPRESSIONS
Thanks to the common Garmin quarter turn style mount, we were easily able to swap in the COOSPO CS300 onto our Topeak UTF out-front mount and start riding with it. We were able to quickly connect the CS300 to our cadence sensor, pair it with the app to automatically set the time and start riding. The simple layout and interface of the computer make it easy to use and track ride data without having to read user manuals or getting lost in menus. We were impressed with the large 2.6” back-lit screen which has large font sizes and well defined regions. COOSPO has even added a nice startup and shutdown animation that displays CS300 which give the computer a more premium feel.
With the lack of maps or navigation, the CS300 is better used for local routes to track fitness and record routes. The app pairing makes it easy to review previous rides directly on the COOSPO app or send it off to Strava for more in-depth analysis and tracking. As far as day-to-day usability, we didn’t think the zone display and prominent lap count added value. The lack of color and spacing between the bars make it difficult to tell which zone you are in at a glance. Otherwise, the app offers a nice amount of customization so you can see all your data within a page or two. While the claimed 40 hour runtime is likely under optimal conditions (i.e. no sensors or interacting with the computer), the CS300 has a 20+ hour runtime which means you don’t have to charge it often.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found the COOSPO CS300 is a budget friendly computer with a large and easy to read data layout. COOSPO has incorporated a large 2.6” screen and intuitive two column and three row layout that can display a variety of sensor data. While the CS300 lacks the fancy features of higher-end GPS computers the computer allows you to track fitness and offers long runtimes. We were impressed with the amount of customization COOSPO has incorporated into the app that lets you change the data display in all the fields which is a feature usually only found on high-end computers. As far as negatives, we didn’t think the zone display was that useful and would have liked to see an auto-save feature as it’s easy to forget to save a ride. That said, the COOSPO CS300 is an affordable GPS computer that has simple user interface and customization features.
Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by Coospo. 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.