After more than 20 000 kilometres and nearly 1 000 hours of riding – across The Traka, Tour Divide, and FRTHR Races – one thing about the Coros DURA stands out immediately:
it was built by people who clearly understand what endurance riders actually need.
It may not be the prettiest or most feature‑packed device on paper.
But it is the one that keeps working long after flashier computers are asking for a charge.
This will not be the article with the most polished pictures, but through my phone snapshots you can truly see: I put that little bike computer through its paces!
As a disclaimer:
I received the DURA bikecomputer, the HRM and an Apex 2 Pro watch (Review coming soon) from Coros, however I was not paid for this review and hopefully my slightly German review will tell you that this is my obvious opinion.
If you feel like buying a DURA or any Coros watch we are still offering you the code "GRAVGRAV" to get a free accessory with your purchase.
Let's get into it!
Hard Facts
- Display: 2.7‑inch MIP color screen with a large solar panel
- Controls: Touch + buttons
- Battery life: ≈ 120 h GPS (+ solar boost)
- Weight: ≈ 97 g
- Connectivity: ANT+ / Bluetooth
- Navigation: GPX / FIT, off‑track alerts, app re‑routing, custom cues & POIs
- Workouts: structured builder, power & HR targeting
- Mount: Garmin‑style, screwed on and replaceable
- Integrations: Komoot, RWGPS, Strava, Coros app & Coros` own training center
- Alarm: Motion sensor with PIN unlock
- Price: ≈ €280 – 300
Sleep Mode: Always Ready to Ride
The DURA’s instant start comes from smart power management, not magic.
It never fully powers down; it slips into sleep mode, sipping almost no energy thanks to that efficient hardware and solar panel.
Tap a button, and the device wakes up instantly – no loading screens, no patience required.
Other computers are by far not efficient enough, they would drain their battery in a day.
Somehow it's crazy no other brand has done this so far. Click any button, hop on your bike and the Coros DURA is already waiting for you to start recording your ride.
That speed changes daily usability more than any fancy screen ever could.
In fact not having that annoying boot screen on the DURA makes using any other device a bit annoying when you're ready to hop on your bike, but have to wait for the device to boot up.
Navigation That... Works
In real conditions, the DURA’s navigation is wonderfully focused.
The thick blue line and arrows are clearly visible even after 15 hours on the bike.
That being said map readability could still improve – roads and trails sometimes merge visually – but once you know its logic, you will get used to it. However to make clear what is tarmac, what is off-road and what size and priority one path has over another will have to be addressed at some point.
Off‑track warnings are immediate, and you will see a direct line pointing to where you left track.
Re‑routing requires the phone app, which works but doesn't always come up with great options. Plus if you don't have reception or prefer to have phone and DURA disconnected during your rides, the DURA will simply not be able to re-route on device.
Custom POIs and Route Notes are the real highlight: pre‑mark food, resupplies, or time‑limited checkpoints and see them right on the map.
When tired brain meets low blood sugar, that’s gold.
I know that Wahoo & others have caught up and implemented this as well now, however the simplicity of the implementation of POIs and how well it works is actually quite nice!
The only thing I'm missing here is a screen with a list of all POIs and distances etc. Hopefully that'll come in a future update.
Same goes for some sort of information how much distance and climbing is left on a loaded route. Or a list of climbs.
Touchscreen & Button Control
The touchscreen is definitely working, but not great.
Pinching maps isn’t precise, and during rain it may shift pages once or twice – still miles better than a Hammerhead Karoo 3, which demands a “rain lock” just to stay usable in bad weather.
I’d still pick physical buttons every time, but Coros’ "bad" touchscreen system is a good compromise: the screen never ruins a ride, and the buttons always take over when conditions escalate.
It's good to be able to operate the device with only two buttons. The touchscreen is optional and that's good the way it is.
Battery Life & Solar Durability
That big rectangular solar panel dominates the device – a bit brutalist, a bit Darth Vader’s‑helmet – and it works beautifully.
During the Tour Divide, I charged the DURA only four times in under two weeks.
You simply stop thinking about power.
There’s no nervous eye on the percentage bar, no nightly USB ritual.
For ultra‑riders, this one trait justifies the entire purchase.
I arrived with less than 10% charge at the border fence towards Mexico and that didn't make me freak out. I definitely learned to trust the DURA.
Wahoo, Hammerhead, and Garmin keep pushing bigger screens, heavier bodies, and smartphone‑like features.
The DURA pushes endurance, efficiency, and patience – exactly what its audience wants.
Route Sync & Reliability
I’ve never owned a Garmin, but compared to Wahoo and Hammerhead, Coros absolutely wins on reliability here.
Syncing routes from Komoot or RWGPS is straightforward and fast, rarely throwing those mysterious “failed to sync” errors that Wahoo users know all too well.
The route management in the COROS app still lives in the somewhat clunky Explore tab with basic filtering and a ≈ 50‑route cap, but once you find your route, the transfer is smooth and error‑free.
On the DURA choosing your route is quite simple. And all the basic features, even reversing a route, are present.
You can start a new route while riding and more. The basics are definitely covered.
And unlike Hammerhead’s app – which behaves like a minimal helper with limited functionality for the device – Coros’ mobile and web ecosystems actually feel like balanced companions.
In fact the app delivers quite a lot of analysis and graphs, as well as sharing options for presenting your amazing ride on social media. ;)
It has to be said though that you can clearly feel the app is designed for and focuses on runners.
Workouts & Training Tools
You can train like a professional on the DURA right now.
It handles structured intervals, power or HR‑based sessions, and even other training metrics like RPE and give all the expected mid‑ride cues.
What’s missing are the convenience luxuries:
- Auto‑sync of planned workouts from third party training apps. (Training peaks is the only one for now, but not the app of choice for me. XERT please? :) )
- Rich on‑device data visualization (interval bars are not representing actual values and durations, colors can be confusing) and more data fields
- Native
.ZWOand other file type imports or adaptive training options - Weirdly you cannot stop and load a new Workout during a ride
- You cannot pause workouts or skip blocks of intervals
Still, the Coros app and web Training Center make up for those shortcomings with some good data analysis and visualisation.
They already track Training Stress, Sleep, Recovery, Fitness Fatigue, and much more and combine data from the DURA and Coros watches into a coherent platform.
Coros may not yet rival Garmin Connect’s interface volume, but for endurance athletes it’s surprisingly complete – data‑rich, precise, and genuinely helpful.
You could even argue Coros are on the way of becoming a competitor to WHOOP if they enhance all the data in the app with some more automated analysis and training advice. If this is something you really want to have is your very own decision then. ;)
Screens & Sensors
Customising data pages for different bikes bike is easy and fast.
You can build layouts for different amounts of fields, have custom navigation screen, power, gradient, or cadence. Even nicely organized graphs that combine Powerdata with your current output, avg Power, NP and your zones, graphically pleasant on your screen in one section across the screen.
The Splitscreen feature is also interesting, I personally barely use it though.
All core ANT+ and Bluetooth sensors connect instantly and stay paired.
Only niche sensors, such as tire‑pressure systems, remain unsupported for now. Hopefully I can pair my Gravaa tire pressure hubs soon.
Climb Mode, Notifications & Alarm
Climb Mode detects upcoming ascents, though start / finish logic and gradient color scaling could improve.
I sometimes struggle to understand why and where a segment starts and ends. The gradients turn deep red too early for me. Red for me is more than 10% because otherwise it is hard to understand where it becomes really steep and where it's still nicely rideable.
Phone notifications sync perfectly (I mostly leave them off, though).
The Alarm feature remains one of my favourite real‑world safety tools – move the bike, and the DURA sounds off until you enter your PIN. Café‑stop confidence in one feature. Of course the person moving your bike can just remove the DURA and run away with it, but still: it will create attention especially in crowded places!
Why not implement a digital bike bell as well as a feature. Just tap the screen 3 times? The DURA is loud enough!
Aesthetics & Build Quality
The DURA is not delicate.
That large solar panel forms a bold, almost industrial front – it literally looks a bit like Darth Vader’s helmet at the front of your handlebars.
Functional? Yes. Subtle? Absolutely not.
I like the honesty of it.
It’s solid. Compared to it's competitors its still pretty lightweight. Buttons have a distinct click, the housing shrugs off mud and vibration, and nothing shakes loose. Both times it crashed, it saved the file, rebooted, and kept logging.
Sometimes the dial misbehaves a bit but turning it again will get the wanted interaction. (And this will very like be because all the dirt accumulating around the device and my laziness and though not cleaning it properly.)
The replaceable Garmin‑style mount plate is another quietly brilliant detail. If that breaks you don't need to throw away the device because of a platic part. Wahoo users will know that problem!
And someday, hopefully, a Wahoo adapter will arrive. That way we could just swap the mounting plate instead of changing computer mounts on every bike once we swap our bike computer. But maybe that's a me problem.
The Bigger Picture – Who It’s For
The DURA has quickly become a cult favourite among bikepackers, gravel racers, and minimalists.
Not because it’s the most advanced head unit, but because it does precisely what those riders demand: reliability, simplicity, endurance.
It feels like watching Coros carve the same disruptive path Wahoo once took with its first BOLT: affordable, purposeful, and clearly made by users, not marketers.
Considering Garmin’s stranglehold on the market, Coros’ progress is genuinely impressive.
At least subjectively I see a surprising amount of DURAs on social media and co.
The very competitive price point of around 280€ is definitely a part of the DURA's uprising and success.
And yes – coming soon there’ll be a full article asking whether watch technology is secretly the better bike‑computer architecture. (Spoiler: it might be.)
Coros HRM – Perfect Pair
The arm‑mounted Coros HRM remains the best heart‑rate strap I’ve used.
Comfortable, stable, consistent, and still alive after nearly a year of abuse.
Battery life could stretch slightly longer, but overall accuracy and comfort win.
If you have a skinny torso like me you will be very happy to ditch chest straps. For me chest straps tend to slip down my chest and accuracy isn't great.
On top a lot of chest strap heartrate monitors break after a short amount of time.
I was genuinely surprised by how well the COROS HRM works.
Final Thoughts
The Coros DURA proves that endurance doesn’t need complexity.
It wakes instantly, runs forever, survives everything.
Where others grow larger, brighter, and heavier, Coros doubled down on efficiency and focus – and nailed it.
If your rides measure in days, not hours – and your idea of “connected” is still mostly just you and the landscape – this is the computer to trust.
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