Review: Velo 2

Beeline’s Velo 2 isn’t an independent GPS device like a Garmin or Wahoo. It’s a head unit for your phone, which provides the information via Bluetooth from the Beeline app. 

Keeping the screen lit is what drains a phone’s battery fastest. With the phone screen off in your pocket and the Velo 2 on your bike’s bar or stem, you can enjoy turn-by-turn navigation for much longer rides. The Velo 2’s own rechargeable battery lasts for around 11 hours. 

The Velo 2 is just 51mm across and 29g. Rocker switches at the edge toggle between different screens and work with gloves on. The mostly white-on-black display is easy to read at a glance due to the resolution (266ppi), a backlight and the brevity of the information. 

For navigation, you can choose between a breadcrumb trail, which is best off road, or a simplified schematic map based on OpenStreetMap data. This shows your route as a solid line and side roads as outlines. The unit beeps once when approaching a turn and twice when you reach it. If you’re on a different screen it temporarily switches back to the map. Handy! While you can have satnav-style audio cues, these come from your phone not the Velo 2. I couldn’t hear them with my phone in my pocket. 

Aside from navigation, destination ETA and a climb view for upcoming gradients, the Velo 2’s ride data is limited to speed, average speed, time, distance and so on. It won’t do heart rate, power or cadence. It attaches via a Garmin-like quarter-turn mount; an adapter (£9.99) is available to convert actual Garmin or Wahoo mounts. 

The Beeline app will plot an A-to-B route for you (quiet, balanced or fast) or you can import a GPX file. You can also link it directly to a Komoot and/or Strava account and use any routes there.

Verdict

While the Velo 2 works fine for urban cycling, a bar-mounted phone alone will do that. It’s best as a navigation device for touring, recreational road riding and audax. Compared to a GPS computer it’s cheaper and simpler, while the runtime is comparable.

Other options

Garmin Edge 130 Plus £170

The smallest and least expensive Garmin is a better choice for fitness-focused cyclists. It also does breadcrumb-style mapping with turn alerts

SKS Compit+ £80

A phone mount that functions as a 10,000mAh power bank with inductive charging. It should more than double the runtime of your phone.

First published in Cycle magazine, August/September 2025 issue. All information correct at time of publishing.