Coros, the sporttech company best known in the triathlon world for its smartwatches and heart rate monitors, has taken a step into the cycling market today with the launch of an all-new GPS head unit that appears to be set to challenge the best bicycle computers.

Called the Dura, it measures a size similar to the Wahoo Elemnt Roam and mounts using Garmin–style quarter–turn mounts, but it comes as we expect

Instead of filling the available space with the largest screen possible, Coros uses a smaller screen deliberately -2.7in corner to corner- The top third of the top surface was filled with high-efficiency solar panels. The result, Coros says, is a battery life that lasts 120 hours of running ride. 

In fact, under the right conditions, the solar panels could complete the ride with more charge than at the start, as they produce up to 1 hour of battery life every 2 hours of direct sunlight. 

The screen itself is a memory-in-pixel color touchscreen with adaptive backlight. It is a top-end GPS bike computer

visually impressive unit with a black plastic housing in aerodynamic shape, the leading edge is narrow and shallow, such as speed, distance, time, power, heart rate, routing functions and hundreds of advanced metrics. It measures 3.92in x2.39in x0.62in and 97g.A USB-C charging port sits on the trailing edge under the weather-sealed flap weighing. 

The biggest point of aesthetic difference compared to competitors is the large digital dial on the right, which mimics the features of similar dials found in the brand's range of smart watches. It also acts as an "ok" button, just below which the "back/wrap" button is combined.  Accessing GPS, Glonass, Galileo, Beidou, OZSS satellite systems can modify the position and the built-in algorithms turn on the functions required to optimize battery life It runs both the original L1 and the latest L5GPS signals for the balance of reliability and accuracy in dense cover or built-up areas. 

Other features include built-in bike alarm and crash detection, an overview of upcoming climbs, and smart mid-ride re-routes (via phone connection) using Google Maps, leveraging live data such as traffic and road closures. 

You can connect to regular apps like TrainingPeaks, Strava, Komoot and RideWithGPS to download routes and workouts and then upload rides. 

As expected, it can also be paired with a Coros app that allows users to configure the device and perform firmware updates. The Coros app also has a free-to-use inbuilt training hub that, when paired with a Coros smartwatch, connects your ride to big picture health data such as sleep, HRV and recovery. 

The price of Coros Dura is £249.00/US。249.00/ €289.00/AU4 449.00. This will be in line with a smaller Wahoo Elemnt bolt, which is cheaper than roaming. It also means it's cheaper than Garmin's non-touchscreen Edge 540 or Hammerhead Karoo. 

Orders can be made immediately upon launch, but the unit will not start shipping until 7/15. 

With its wide feature list and powerful battery life at such a competitive price, Dura looks very competitive in this area. It is the cheapest touch screen bike computer around. We've taken it for 1 ride so far, and the early signs are positive. 

Coros is rolling out regular firmware updates as it moves from beta to fully functional consumer products, so the feature list will continually expand and the battery life will be slightly adjusted, so there is little value for a thorough review at this stage. Therefore, when the firmware update slows down and the product becomes a better reflection of the finished product, try to bring a full review to the reader.