Navigation on the bike is as useful as it is popular - and always a cause for annoyance: the expensive devices are often complicated to use, and navigation with a mobile phone on the handlebars is not everyone's cup of tea for a variety of reasons. If you're not a technology freak and don't want to spend a lot of time familiarising yourself with the system or simply like simple solutions, you're in a bad position. This is where a minimalist sat nav comes in handy: Beeline from London now wants to enter the German market with its Velo 2. We have tried it out.
Beeline Velo 2: Simple routing
Everything is different. Velo 2 looks more like a coin that's too fat than a bike computer. There are no buttons either - to switch it on, simply press and hold the lower part of the device, where the USB-C charging socket is located. The clock, a charge level indicator and the kilometres ridden so far appear immediately against the black background. The mobile phone connects to the device via the app. You can then plan a route on your mobile phone: a map shows the current location, you can enter the destination point on it or enter a street as you would with Google Maps. And that's it.
The routing is even simpler than the input: the display shows a minimal section of the roads you are on in white on black. Your own position is shown as a triangle in the centre, with an arrow and distance directly below it indicating when and where you need to turn next. An actual map is not visually displayed. You can only see the next roads as white lines that cross your route - and this is exactly what makes navigating so easy and relaxed.
Different paths lead to the goal
Missed a turn? Like good "grown-up" sat navs, the Beeline Velo 2 recalculates at lightning speed and displays a new route. By clicking on the sides of the screen, you can display the journey time, remaining time and speed. That's all there is to it: you can safely forget about a pulse sensor, cadence meter or wattmeter at home. Pure is what counts. If you want, you can choose the type of route guidance beforehand: Fast, Balanced or Steady are available. Beeline works with the widely used Open Streetmap data, so these modes are integrated very effectively. In fact, with Quiet, for example, you get to know secret routes that you had no idea about.
Of course, you can also import GPX routes created on Komoot or similar portals and save the ride in the app or on portals such as Strava. Speaking of shortcuts: it's even easier. You can also select compass mode. Beeline Velo 2 then simply shows you the direction to your destination without orientating itself on roads. If you simply want to roam through the countryside and have a destination in mind for which you want to find the best route yourself, this "minimal routing" is perfect for you. During our test runs, this worked perfectly - including the discovery of new paths - and has a charm all of its own. For adventurous gravelers and bikepackers, this is a routing option that is not available anywhere else.
Conclusion on the Beeline Velo 2 bike sat nav
So we summarise: The Velo 2 from Beeline is the perfect bike sat nav for minimalists who want to get from A to B quickly or without the stress of traffic, and for people who think that technology should work simply and without much experience. It is not a complete sat nav kit for touring cyclists who also expect information about points of interest etc. and don't want to carry any other maps. Attention: You must have your mobile phone with you! The Beeline Velo 2 currently costs 109.99 euros.
