I can hear you already: What the fudge is the SIGMA ROX?
But here, let me make it simple for you: This is the most complete cycling computer to challenge Garmin’s higher end mapping devices yet. End of story.
Of course, the long story is much…much longer. So long in fact that I first used a unit on rides back last December, then again this winter, and then consistently for the past two months. Almost all my rides have been with it, even if just barely out of sight from my regular pictures and videos.
So how’s it the most viable competitor? You mean aside from having full-color touchscreen mapping that’s actually fast and responsive while zooming around? Or were you talking about the sensor support for all the major sensors types? Perhaps it was the full Strava Live Segments integration or the support for WiFi sync of Strava, Training Peaks, and Komoot platform data like routes, and on-unit workouts. Did I mention that it comes with any map set you want in the world, free of charge?
Of course, it’s not without its quirks. There is no silver bullet here. I’ll dive into both the pros and the cons of this device through the review. The point of my intro paragraph is more simplistic: Don’t dismiss the unit based on the company’s long history of putting out boring head units. They got the memo (from me and everyone else). And apparently they also even read the memo we, as the collective Internet of cyclists, sent. The SIGMA ROX 12 is what came of it.
(Note: I was sent a loaner ROX 12 unit to poke at. Actually, I used multiple loaners over the last 7 months. All of which I’ll soon be sending back to SIGMA like I always do with other companies.)
Unboxing:
Like most cycling computers, there are two purchasable variants of the SIGMA ROX 12 kit. One is just the standalone unit, while the other is a full bundle with extra sensors and such. In this case, I’m unboxing the bundle variant. So if you don’t have the bundle you won’t get the heart rate sensors and speed/cadence sensors. No worries though, it’s compatible with any ANT+ sensors (Bluetooth Smart sensors are coming), and on the mount side, any Garmin quarter-turn mount too. So basically, between those two…pretty much everything from anyone is compatible.
In any case, here’s the front and back of the box:
Once you remove the outer shell, you can part the Red Sea and find the ROX 12 sitting inside:
We’ll skip ahead to me getting all the parts out on the table and well-organized. A process that probably took longer than drinking a cup of coffee:
Here, I’ll help explain everything. First, in the lower left side, we’ve got the various sensors. This includes a combo speed/cadence sensor and the heart rate strap. Both of these are dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart.
Next, there’s the Barfly out-front mount (with SIGMA branding), that’s in base and bundle kits. What’s super cool here (aside from them partnering with Barfly/Tate Labs on this), is that they actually give you the GoPro underside mount. Every other company that does out-front mounts cheap out on this tiny bit of plastic and doesn’t include it, pressing you to spend some crazy amount of money for something that costs a few quarters. Kudos to them for including this in BOTH the base and bundle kits.
You’ve also got the standard handlebar/stem mounts (two of them):
These are almost identical to the Garmin quarter-turn mounts. From a compatibility standpoint they are, but SIGMA did a few minor tweaks to increase solidity on them so they are a bit firmer in there. I’ve been using the ROX 12 though with all sorts of Garmin mounts with zero issues.
Next, we’ve got the micro-USB cable. I know, geeks everywhere just sighed and hoped for a USB-C cable. Not today folks, not today.
Oh, then there’s the unit itself. Fear not, there will be plenty of photos of the unit throughout this post:
Finally, there’s the manual and a paper note letting you know about the apps. We’ll talk more about that later. I thought the little table of ranges and performance was kinda neat though. Very German. :)
Next, a super quick look at size and weight compared to some other popular units:
Left to right: SIGMA ROX 12, Garmin Edge 1030, Hammerhead Karoo, Wahoo ELEMNT, Garmin Edge 520/520 Plus, Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT, Polar M450/460
And the weight comes in at 125g:
The others weighed in at:
Hammerhead Karoo: 186g
SIGMA ROX 12.0 SPORT: 125g
Garmin Edge 1030: 124g
Wahoo ELEMNT: 103g
Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT: 61g
Garmin Edge 520/520 Plus: 60g
Polar M450/460 (non-mapping): 52g
Finally, for lack of anywhere else to plop it, note that the ROX 12 actually has swappable back cases, like this:
You can remove the black shell and easily swap it for other colors. Kinda neat if you want to match your bike. I suppose you could even buy an extra shell and then paint/decorate it yourself.
The Basics:
As noted earlier on, the Sigma ROX 12 is a fully touch-screen equipped device, akin to that of a mobile phone. That’s because under the covers, that’s exactly what it is: An Android device. Which doesn’t mean you should get grand visions of running Snapchat on the unit…at least not yet. It’s a moderately locked down version, so you can’t just tap an icon to access the app store, at least not yet. The vision Sigma has is roughly half-way between that of competitor Hammerhead with their highly customized and locked down Karoo, versus that of an off-the-shelf Android phone.
More importantly, none of this really matters to 98% of folks out there. If you have an iPhone or an Android phone or no phone at all, there’s no difference. That’s because Sigma doesn’t have any direct connection between your phone and the ROX 12. They operate independently of each other (for better or worse).
So let’s start with the basics. After powering it on and completing some basic setup questions, you’ll be brought to the dashboard. Along the way, within setup, you’d have also configured WiFi on the unit. That’s the primary way you’d get data off of it. It doesn’t have a Bluetooth Smart connection to upload via phone. Instead, it’s WiFi or USB for any data offloading or communications. It’s also how you download maps, routes, and upload activities.
The next thing you’re likely to want to do is to setup 3rd party services. Out of the box the company has Strava, TrainingPeaks, GPSies, and Komoot support. This means you can do everything from download and ride Strava Routes, to compete on Strava Live Segments, as well as upload workouts to TrainingPeaks (not yet pull them in from TrainingPeaks). Same goes for routes from Komoot and GPSies. Essentially, this puts them on roughly equal footing to Wahoo and Garmin in terms of ingest of data, though slightly below those competitors in terms of export of data (meaning: Garmin/Wahoo have more data sync partners at this time, though I expect that’ll change quickly).
After that’s all done you’ll probably want to pair sensors. You can pair and store ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart sensors. The following sensor types are supported:
– ANT+ Cycling Speed-only
– ANT+ Cycling Cadence
– ANT+ Cycling Speed & Cadence Combo
– ANT+ Heart Rate
– ANT+ Power Meter
– ANT ROTOR Power Meter (advanced data view, including OCA/OCP data)
– ANT+ Cycling Gear Shifting (SRAM RED eTAP, Campagnolo EPS, FSA)
– ANT Shimano Di2 Gear Shifting
– ANT+ E-BIKE (LEV)
Like most options on the market these days, you can store multiple sensors of the same type as well. Convenient if you have multiple bikes. And like other companies, Sigma has sidestepping having specific ‘bikes’ in terms of settings, instead focusing on sport profiles (similar to Garmin). This means you can customize a swath of settings for different situations (indoor cycling, road cycling, mountain biking, etc…), and then it’ll automatically find the sensors for your bike when you start up. If more than one sensor type is in range when you start it’ll ask you which one to use.
Note that I don’t currently have a ROTOR unit in my stockpile to test, but, I thought it was notable that they are showing ROTOR’s advanced metrics in their head unit. That’s cool cross-manufacturer collaboration where the ANT+ spec doesn’t cover them yet. Here’s what that should look like according to their marketing page:
You’ve also got all the options you’d expect for looking at sensor details and setting a zero offset on your power meter.
One of the things you’ll probably notice sooner rather than later is that sometimes the precise wording the company uses isn’t 100% natural to native English speakers. They’ve done some good work on this since last December on my first ride with it, but there are still occasional nuances to this. Part of this likely comes from being Germany based as opposed to US/UK/etc based. But I suspect another portion of this is actually just them trying not to copy the exact wording of their competitors for certain functions. Unfortunately, that slightly increases confusion because we’re largely accustomed to calling certain things by certain names. For example, ‘cubes’, which means ‘data fields’. Or in intervals, ‘phases’, which means…well…intervals.
Native English speakers will understand roughly what to do here, but the linguistics of it isn’t quite perfect.
The interface itself is heavily touchscreen, but also has buttons for confirmation and up/down style navigation. On the upper right side is a dedicated power button, while the lower half of each side has buttons that can be used for changing the data pages. Meanwhile, across the bottom, there are dedicated stop, start/lap, and home buttons. All of which worked with gloves for me this past winter. Similarly, the touchscreen did work with gloves for me too.
As for rain? The final unit I received has worked without issue in the seemingly always-present Dutch rain. However, some earlier pre-production units were more troublesome. Sigma says they’ve addressed that, and that certainly seems to be the case. Still, I mention this because the only proof here will be lots of users having no issues. I base this on Garmin’s Edge 820 touchscreen woes, which can be heavily attributed to manufacturing quality control issues on the screen layering itself. Hence why one person would have no issues, and the next person wanted to swing a crankset to their own head. Said another way: This unit is working great for me now – but let’s not count the chickens till a few months from now.
Turning to settings for a moment, you’ve got pretty much everything you’d expect to find on a high-end Garmin unit here as well. From backlight timeouts and color modes, to sleep timeouts and altimeter calibration. Imperial/Metric toggles, languages, map customization and management, and sport profile configuration, and crap-tons more. I dig into these settings in a bit more detail within the video linked in this post.
In any event, let’s head out for a ride to cover the basics. The first thing you’ll want to do is decide which sport profile it is that you’re using. By default, it’ll be the Road Bike profile (RDB), but you can change that easily by just tapping ‘Sport Profiles’. Up top it’ll specify which one it is:
Next, tap that big section up top where it says ‘RDB’ to get going. This brings you to the main screen where it’s going to start finding satellites and such. If you want to enable/disable/tweak sensors or calibrate the compass or elevation, you can just swipe-down from the top to quick-access a slew of settings:
Otherwise, you can just press the lower right start button to begin recording:
At this point, it’s recording just like any other head unit. You can swipe left and right on the screen to change data pages, or press the left/right buttons on either side of the unit to accomplish the same. Below I’m using my thumb to scroll through by swiping.
Whereas here I’m simply pressing the left side button to iterate through the pages.
There’s tons of customization of these data pages, either directly on the unit itself or via the desktop app. You can also change any data field at any time by just long-holding that data field to bring up choices for other data fields:
The number of layouts is impressive as well. What you see below is one layout where the map will actually be that tall block on the right, so you can see the part of the road you care about just ahead, and ignore all the other junk you don’t care about on the side.
At this point, everything works pretty much as you’d expect for the basics. Sensor data displays and records, maps are shown by default (more on navigating later in the review), and elevation charts plot too. Again, it just works.
There is a gap though: Smartphone integration.
There’s currently no integration at all. Meaning, no smartphone notifications of text messages or incoming calls, nor any other way to directly have the unit talk to your phone. The company does have a smartphone app for viewing rides and such, but that requires that the unit upload the data first via WiFi. This also means that there’s no live tracking or the like for the unit either. And before you ask, no, it doesn’t have a SIM card slot.
The ROX 12 supports the creation and execution of interval workouts, built on the device itself. You’ll start by specifying whether you want a simple goal (which they call ‘Phase’), or a more complex interval workout:
If we choose the second option, we can specify a given target zone (heart rate, cadence, power, %HRmax), the reps, the recovery duration, and the reps. You can build these out independently though to actually put together some surprisingly complex workouts.
You can keep adding chunks to the workouts as well, albeit there appears to be some minor quirks in adding things like recovery bits where you need to add those first and then specify the work effort portion, else the recovery wipes out the specified work portion. Same goes for inability to use the space bar in between words. Minor bugs I’m sure they’ll fix.
Out on the road (or the trainer), the unit will give you details on each section you’re in and how far to go in each section. Again, all pretty impressive for a new unit at this point.
Once your ride is complete, you’ll go ahead and hit the stop button and then re-confirm again to end the ride.
At this point, the ride is available to sync via WiFi the next time you’re connected and press to sync. In theory, it’s supposed to sync automatically when in range of WiFi, but I found a few cases where that didn’t happen and I had to manually press to sync.
Now you may have noticed the ‘Sigma Cloud’ option within the unit. That ties up to Sigma’s Cloud service. Now, don’t get visions of an elaborate platform like Garmin/Suunto/Polar/Fitbit. Instead, this is as 1980’s as you get. It’s basically just a repository for data so that their Data Center app can access the data. That app is located on your desktop or mobile phone (where it’s called Sigma Link there, but it doesn’t seem to work with the ROX 12 yet). Essentially think of the Sigma Cloud service as a roundabout interchange for data. It’s not really somewhere where you want to hang-out, but is important nonetheless. Just to exemplify what I mean, here’s what it looks like:
Yup, that’s it. The ‘My Data’ tab merely shows my e-mail and name, and the ‘Contact’ tab has a form to contact them.
Meanwhile, here’s the exponentially more capable Sigma Data Center software:
Within this software, you can access data synced via WiFi to/from the Sigma Cloud, or you can also access the ROX 12 via USB cable too. This allows you to analyze rides and do longer term reporting and analysis on your trends.
You can also configure additional sharing connections here, including 2Peak and Facebook/Twitter:
In fact, you can even customize all of your sport profiles and data pages here if you’d like.
All of this is pretty impressive. And here’s the thing you have to keep remembering with Sigma: This isn’t their first barbeque. They’ve been making sport GPS devices for years, both cycling and running. It’s just that till now you probably ignored them because they were clunky and felt dated. While some of the cloud pieces may still feel a bit that way, the underlying data and cycling concepts are well flushed out by now.
That’s a core difference when you compare to new entrants like Hammerhead and their Karoo. They’re having to deal with the death by a thousand cuts paradigm because they don’t have years of users and data experience behind them. For example, their latest firmware update last week addressed issues with two (fairly major) types of ANT+ power meters and how those power meters chat. That’s a perfect example of something Sigma has long ago had to deal with (years ago), and thus doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel there.
Which isn’t to say that Sigma or their ROX 12 is perfect. But to point out that don’t lump them in the same group of up and coming entrants just because this may be the first time you’ve heard of them. If for no other reason than for at least half a decade the company has been at events like Eurobike, Interbike, and the ANT+ Symposium – trying to find just the right piece of hardware to get that viral unit like Wahoo got with their BOLT. I think they finally found it with the ROX 12.
Mapping & Navigation:
Of course, a big part of why you’d buy the ROX 12 over other less expensive cycling computers is the navigation. So, let’s dive into that for a bit. The ROX 12 comes with maps for the region you bought it in (i.e., Europe, North America, etc…), and then easily downloadable maps for other regions (for free). This is akin to Hammerhead and Wahoo, but unlike Garmin, which frustratingly makes you either pay for other regions or forces you to 3rd party sites to download the maps.
For example, the unit had pre-loaded maps for Italy, Netherlands, and France – all countries in my ‘region’. But when I traveled to the US a month or so ago, I needed to download those maps. But that’s easy once connected to WiFi. Just tap through the menu for the area you need and you’re done a few minutes later:
These maps are of higher level than something like a Wahoo ELEMNT/BOLT, the Hammerhead Karoo, or the Edge 520 Plus – that’s because they contain not just address information but also POI (Point of Interest) information, so that includes things like bike shops and restaurants. Only Garmin’s higher end Edge 820 and 1030 units have the full set of capabilities as well.
On the ROX 12, you can enable/disable POI display however within the settings. This is also where you can tweak other map-related settings too:
Also note that individual sport profiles also have additional map routing options you can configure:
Next you’ve got basically a few core ways you can navigate on the ROX 12. They are:
– Specify a street address [However: It does not permit entering a specific house/building number on that street]
– Search for POI (i.e., bike shops)
– Draw a route
– Tap a point on the map
– Pull from favorites (saved locations)
– Follow Sigma Cloud tracks
– Follow a past activity
– Download a route from Strava, Komoot, GPSies
– Specify GPS coordinates
Yes, really. There are that many options. Any more options and Google Maps would probably be getting self-conscious.
In my case, I tended to use routes from Strava, merely because it’s where I’ve centralized most of my route creation. This way I can easily use my routes with devices from all manufacturers – Garmin, Wahoo, Hammerhead, Sigma and probably others I’m forgetting.
To grab Strava routes you’ll have wanted to previously linked your unit with Strava’s service. Once that’s done you’ll crack open the ‘Strava’ tab on the interface, which brings you here:
This is where you can look at Strava Routes or Strava Segments. All of your routes are synced to the device, and can be used offline anytime. It shows the name, route distance, and how far the starting point is from you.
What’s really cool is the display options here. If you have a lot of routes like me you can choose how to sort them, such as by distance or name. This is helpful because my route naming standard is of low quality. I tend to have like 32 different routes named ‘Amsterdam South’, rather than being more descriptive. But this way I can sort by the distance, which is usually how I narrow down routes for how far I want to ride that day.
If you tap on a route you’ll get the overview of the route on the map. You can also do cool things like instantly reverse the route if you want to.
Virtually everything I’ve shown here also applies to the other mapping options in terms of sorting and such. Same goes for what I’m about to show in terms of actual routing. Next, you’ll hit ‘Select’ to load the course up. At this point you can select to route to the starting point if you want, or route to the nearest point on the course. Then you tap ‘Start’.
Beware though that pressing start here doesn’t actually start the recording on the unit. Instead, you have to press the physical start button in the lower right corner. You’ll hear a little chirp sound, and now the unit is actually recording. This is confusing, and something you’ll want to be aware of.
Once you’re up and going you’ve got a few different ways you can see and be notified of turns. First is to stay on the various map pages.
As you approach a turn it shows you the upcoming turn on the upper portion of the screen, as well as zooms in the map.
Here’s the thing that’s hard to convey in text: Responsiveness.
The ROX 12 responds just as fast as your cell phone does when it comes to you interacting with the map. When you move around in the maps, it’s instant. It redraws into more detail in the blink of an eye as I zoom in, complete with all the water and road features around you. It doesn’t spend time re-drawing the maps or pondering life as Garmin Edge computers do. I can scroll around and everything happens as far as my fingers can work. I’ve gotta video coming up shortly that’ll detail this in a more visual way. Hang tight!
Like other computers, even if you’re on a data page dedicated to metrics (and not maps), you’ll get pop-up warnings of upcoming turns as you approach them:
Overall this works fairly well, I’ve never had a warning be missed. In fact, the inverse is true – I’ve occasionally had too many warnings. Like other GPS systems sometimes you get warnings for turns that don’t exist, usually when a road name or trail name quietly changes. However, I find that in general Sigma does it far more than Garmin or Wahoo. In talking to Sigma about it, they’re aware of the issues and have been working to minimize ghost turn notifications (they always say to keep going, so fear not, they aren’t telling you to turn somewhere you’re not supposed to). These notifications have reduced over the time I’ve used the unit, so it seems like they’re making progress here – but it’s still something to be mindful of.
The other minor thing to know is that when you stop at a light or such, the current heading/direction of travel seems to be lost. Meaning, it forgets that you were heading east, and the map rotates a bit while at a standstill. It doesn’t trigger anything on the unit, but it can be confusing when you’re potentially making a turn immediately after the light as to which direction that turn is if the map rotated during your stoppage. Hopefully, this is a minor thing to address though.
Ultimately, I’ve successfully routed on numerous trips with the ROX 12 over the last few months, all without issue. The only other downside to the routing piece just comes from the lack of Bluetooth phone integration in that you can’t transfer routes via phone, only WiFi. Sure, many people can create a hotspot on their phone via WiFi, but not everyone. So if you’re one of those lacking WiFi hot spotting, just be aware of this limitation before you head out the front door.
Strava & Apps:
The ROX 12 supports certain 3rd party integration, which at the moment come from Strava, TrainingPeaks, Komoot, and GPSies. Also, via their desktop SIGMA Data Center app they can sync to 2Peak. On the unit itself, at this time these integrations are developed by Sigma themselves (rather than the 3rd party). For each of these, you authenticate to the 3rd party app like you would most other online sites and then once authorized you’re able to access those platforms via the ROX 12 without further prompts.
In the case of Strava for example, the integration covers both routes (as I outlined in the previous section), as well as Strava Live Segments. Like other platforms the Strava Segment will appear as you approach it for those that are favorited segments, and then give you status information throughout it:
You can dig into a given Segment, see where it is on the map (instantly, no delay), as well as the KOM leaderboard:
In the case of TrainingPeaks, it’s just uploading workouts to them, they don’t yet have in place the ability to execute structured workouts from the TrainingPeaks platform. Given Sigma already has structured workout support on the unit itself, hopefully we’ll see them start to support TrainingPeaks workouts soon.
I didn’t spend much time with Komoot or GPSies, but they’re both routing-focused. And of course, both are popular with various groups/regions.
When it comes to data sync to other platforms, that happens from the unit itself for the previously mentioned platforms. However, SIGMA can also sync via the Data Center desktop/mobile apps, and even in theory via their SIGMA Cloud platform. Right now though you don’t configure anything via SIGMA Cloud in terms of 3rd party apps. But I’d see that as the most logical way for them to quickly add other 3rd parties (for example entities like SportsTracks, MapMyFitness, Today’s Plan, etc…). Hopefully, we’ll see more of that soon.
The bigger question I suspect many people are asking is whether or not SIGMA plans to open up their Android platform to 3rd party apps. And at present, the answer is a bit of a wishy-washy ‘kinda’. They see good opportunities for 3rd parties to more easily port their existing Android apps to run on the ROX 12, rather than straight-up enable support for any Android app altogether.
To me, that’s logical. As much as people think they want blanket access to the Android app store, in reality that doesn’t really work as well as folks want it to. For example, there’s no headphone jack on this device for access to music, nor a camera for that either. Also, finding a way to make the interaction seamless between the SIGMA side of the house and an Android base platform is tricky. After all, there are plenty of far cheaper and more capable Android phones if all you want is an Android phone on your handlebars. True though, this does have ANT+ access on it as well as a touchscreen that actually works in the rain and with gloves.
It does sound like SIGMA is open though to trying to find the right middle-ground here. They didn’t do some super over the top custom build of Android for their platform, which gives them more flexibility for both updates and 3rd party app developers. We’ll have to see how this story plays out over the next year.
GPS & Elevation Accuracy:
So how does the unit track when it comes to accuracy? Overall, pretty darn solid. We’ll look at some GPS tracks first, and then some elevation ones. When it comes to GPS tracks I’m comparing against usually 2-5 other GPS devices. Some Garmin, some Fitbit, some Suunto, some not. Just depends on what I’m testing at the time of that ride. In the case of the ROX 12, I was using the GPS+GLONASS setting, which would drain battery a bit more than just straight GPS alone (but can give better GPS results in many cases).
Keep in mind that when looking at GPS tracks it’s important to usually use satellite view, since that most closely aligns to where the tracks are plotted. Versus regular map view, which may not have bridges and water features perfectly the right size/width, so sometimes it can appear you’re in the drink when you’re not.
We’ll get right into things. Now in some of these examples I can’t quite share all the other units I had with me on the bike/wrists since they’re unannounced. Fear not though, in any instances where there was disagreement I checked in on those tracks to see who the winner was. Typically though, with road cycling it’s fairly rare these days to see broad screw-ups on GPS tracks (mountain biking is more common, but unfortunately I didn’t have any mountain biking during my time with the ROX 12).
In any case, first ride from a couple days ago in Italy on relatively meandering terrain. Ups and downs, plenty of trees in some forested sections, and also the unit was hidden away in my back pocket. So basically the worst possible conditions from a reception standpoint. Here’s the overall route/track, my inability to navigate included:
As you can see at a high level, everything is basically spot-on. So I’m going to dive into the most heavily forested part and see how things look;
Above you can see the switchbacks going up a hill and the purple line of the SIGMA 12 nails it, even stuck in my jersey pocket. It’s super solid.
At the top of that climb it does seem to struggle a little bit on a turn or two, but so does the Edge 520 Plus. This was against a tall rock wall/cliff on one side of the road, so it’s understandable this would be more difficult:
The remainder of the ride was fairly normal and both units performed as one might expect.
Next, here’s a ride around the farmland south of Amsterdam. In this case against an Edge 520 Plus (albeit one started a few minutes later, but that doesn’t impact the recorded track). At a high level everything looks good:
As we dig into some of the turns, I’ll start by picking a tough spot near some tall buildings and then diving under an underpass. It’s a good test of recovery of GPS signal once lost:
In this case above you can see on the left side that the Sigma in purple was actually a better track than the Edge 520 Plus. Admittedly this particular ride was still on non-final Edge 520 Plus firmware, but just focusing on the SIGMA track, it looks super crispy here.
The same story is true of the river here, the Sigma is perfectly on-target.
I can’t find any part of this track where the SIGMA went off-course. It was spot-on throughout.
Next, we’ve got another Amsterdam ride as I go on a bit of a meandering river ride. It might be fun to start with the final distance numbers:
Note that on the average power numbers the units were using different settings for zero averaging, thus why those are different.
In any case, GPS tracks:
Let’s take a look at that same railroad turn that caused the Edge 520 Plus beta firmware some issues, and now compare it to the production firmware:
And now it’s spot-on. Perfect from both units, really really perfect. The rest of the ride is incredibly boring – everything is great.
And that’s basically the trend here if I pull open other GPS tracks as well from it, it’s spot-on in every condition I’ve ridden. Now granted, these were super dense mountain bike trails, but usually some nice tall buildings like I rode past tend to at least challenge other bike computers. Not so here.
So let’s take a crack at an elevation chart. Looking at elevation charts near Amsterdam though is about as exciting as evaluating elevation on a pancake from IHOP. For better or worse, the SIGMA 12 passes that with flying colors – they’re all flat – at least if you remember the entire scale on this is 18 meters. The Sigma in purple had a total difference of 4m to 12m, which is about right as I ‘climbed’ up from the river over a large highway overpass at the end there which you can clearly see. Thus, the only ‘hill’.
So let’s go back to Italy instead, where there were some legit hills. This is Tuscany, so they are indeed hills, not mountains. Still, at 200m of elevation gain, that’s respectable for a hill.
And we see the two units are very very close. Without a reference altimeter reading from a known good quantity we have no way of knowing which one is absolutely correct, but they’re within a few meters.
If we look at the total ascent numbers, they’re also fairly close – about 17 meters off, but I suspect some of that may be settling (as we see a bit of drift over the course of the ride).
Again note that in the case of the average power the two units were doing different things for zero values.
In any case, insofar as road riding goes, I’m seeing really solid results from the SIGMA ROX 12, matching what I see from other head units, and more importantly – matching exactly where I went. That’s somewhat the nice part about looking at GPS tracks of cycling computers on the road, it’s much easier to quickly determine how accurate a track is, since it’s unlikely you’d have gone off-roading (and if so, you’d remember it).
(Note: All of the charts in these accuracy portions were created using the DCR Analyzer tool. It allows you to compare power meters/trainers, heart rate, cadence, speed/pace, GPS tracks and plenty more. You can use it as well for your own gadget comparisons, more details here.)
Product Comparison:
I’ve added the SIGMA ROX 12 into the product comparison tool, which allows you to compare it against other units I’ve reviewed. In the case of the below charts, I’ve compared it against the Garmin Edge 1030, Edge 820, Wahoo ELEMNT, and Hammerhead Karoo. You can, of course, compare it against other units within the product comparison tool though, just as easily.
The main mapping/navigational difference between the Edge 1030/820/Karoo/Sigma, and that of the ELEMNT/BOLT is that the Wahoo units can’t re-route you if you go off-course (they just point you back in the direction of the course). Nor can those units (without the phone) do much in the way of routing to addresses, points of interest, etc… Essentially, with the Wahoo units, you need to know where you’re going before you leave the house. The others you can decide when you mount your bike. There’s obviously far more features than that, but that’s the 20-second elevator version.
| Function/Feature | SIGMA ROX 12 SPORT | Garmin Edge 1030 | Garmin Edge 820 | Hammerhead Karoo | Wahoo ELEMNT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copyright DC Rainmaker - Updated May 22nd, 2024 @ 6:39 am New Window | |||||
| Price | $349 | $499 | $399 | $399 | $329 |
| Product Announcement Date | June 4th, 2018 | Aug 29th, 2017 | July 13th, 2016 | May 2nd, 2017 | Sept 15th, 2015 |
| Actual Availability/Shipping Date | June 4th, 2018 (Europe), July 2018 (US/Global) | Aug 29th, 2017 | Mid-July 2016 | Feb 9th, 2018 [No longer available] | March 1st, 2016 |
| GPS Recording Functionality | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Data Transfer | WiFi, USB | USB, Bluetooth, WiFi | USB, Bluetooth, WiFi | WiFi | Bluetooth Smart, WiFi, USB |
| Waterproofing | IPX7 | IPX7 | IPX7 | IP67 | IPX7 |
| Battery Life (GPS) | 16 hours | 20 hours (+ battery pack up to 40 hours) | 15 hours | 10-15hrs | 17 Hours |
| Recording Interval | 1-second | 1-Second or Smart | 1-Second or Smart | 1-second | 1-Second |
| Alerts | Audio/Visual | Sound/Visual | Sound/Visual | Visual | Sound/Visual/LED's |
| Backlight Greatness | Great | Great (slightly less than Edge 1000, but better in daylight) | Great | Great | Great |
| Ability to download custom apps to unit/device | No | Yes | Yes | In future | No |
| Acts as daily activity monitor (steps, etc...) | No | No | No | N/A | N/A | Music | SIGMA ROX 12 SPORT | Garmin Edge 1030 | Garmin Edge 820 | Hammerhead Karoo | Wahoo ELEMNT |
| Can control phone music | No | No | No | No | No |
| Has music storage and playback | No | No | No | No | No |
| Streaming Services | No | Payments | SIGMA ROX 12 SPORT | Garmin Edge 1030 | Garmin Edge 820 | Hammerhead Karoo | Wahoo ELEMNT |
| Contactless-NFC Payments | No | Connectivity | SIGMA ROX 12 SPORT | Garmin Edge 1030 | Garmin Edge 820 | Hammerhead Karoo | Wahoo ELEMNT |
| Bluetooth Smart to Phone Uploading | No (uses WiFi) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Phone Notifications to unit (i.e. texts/calls/etc...) | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Live Tracking (streaming location to website) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Group tracking | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Emergency/SOS Message Notification (from watch to contacts) | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Built-in cellular chip (no phone required) | No | No | No | Yes (with SIM card added) | No | Cycling | SIGMA ROX 12 SPORT | Garmin Edge 1030 | Garmin Edge 820 | Hammerhead Karoo | Wahoo ELEMNT |
| Designed for cycling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power Meter Capable | Yes | YEs | YEs | Yes | Yes |
| Power Meter Configuration/Calibration Options | YEs | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power Meter TSS/NP/IF | YEs | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Speed/Cadence Sensor Capable | Yes | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Strava segments live on device | Yes | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Crash detection | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Running | SIGMA ROX 12 SPORT | Garmin Edge 1030 | Garmin Edge 820 | Hammerhead Karoo | Wahoo ELEMNT |
| Designed for running | No | No | No | No | No |
| VO2Max Estimation | N/A | N/A | (Cycling Yes though) | (No for cycling too) | N/A |
| Recovery Advisor | N/A | N/A | (Cycling Yes Though) | (No for cycling too) | N/A | Triathlon | SIGMA ROX 12 SPORT | Garmin Edge 1030 | Garmin Edge 820 | Hammerhead Karoo | Wahoo ELEMNT |
| Designed for triathlon | No | No | No | No | No | Workouts | SIGMA ROX 12 SPORT | Garmin Edge 1030 | Garmin Edge 820 | Hammerhead Karoo | Wahoo ELEMNT |
| Create/Follow custom workouts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes via TrainingPeaks | Yes |
| On-unit interval Feature | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Training Calendar Functionality | No | Yes | Yes | No | Sorta | Functions | SIGMA ROX 12 SPORT | Garmin Edge 1030 | Garmin Edge 820 | Hammerhead Karoo | Wahoo ELEMNT |
| Auto Start/Stop | Yes | Yes | Yes | Auto-pause/restart (but not Auto-Start) | Yes |
| Virtual Partner Feature | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Virtual Racer Feature | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Records PR's - Personal Records (diff than history) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Tidal Tables (Tide Information) | No | No | No | N/A | N/A |
| Weather Display (live data) | NO | yes | Yes | No | No | Navigate | SIGMA ROX 12 SPORT | Garmin Edge 1030 | Garmin Edge 820 | Hammerhead Karoo | Wahoo ELEMNT |
| Follow GPS Track (Courses/Waypoints) | Yes | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Markers/Waypoint Direction | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Routable/Visual Maps (like car GPS) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Back to start | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Impromptu Round Trip Route Creation | No | Yes | Yes | No (But can create one-way routes on device) | NO (BUT CAN CREATE ONE-WAY ROUTES FROM PHONE APP) |
| Download courses/routes from phone to unit | Via WiFi, not phone | Yes | Yes | No (only via WiFi from site) | Yes | Sensors | SIGMA ROX 12 SPORT | Garmin Edge 1030 | Garmin Edge 820 | Hammerhead Karoo | Wahoo ELEMNT |
| Altimeter Type | Barometric | Barometric | Barometric | Barometric | Barometric |
| Compass Type | Magnetic | GPS | GPS | Magnetic | Magnetic |
| SpO2 (aka Pulse Oximetry) | No | ||||
| Heart Rate Strap Compatible | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Heart Rate Strap Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Speed/Cadence Capable | Yes | Yes | YEs | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Footpod Capable | No | No | No | No | No |
| ANT+ Power Meter Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Lighting Control | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| ANT+ Bike Radar Integration | No | yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Trainer Control (FE-C) | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| ANT+ Remote Control | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| ANT+ eBike Compatibility | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| ANT+ Gear Shifting (i.e. SRAM ETAP) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Shimano Di2 Shifting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth Smart HR Strap Capable | Coming soon | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth Smart Speed/Cadence Capable | Coming Soon | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth Smart Footpod Capable | No | No | No | No | No |
| Bluetooth Smart Power Meter Capable | Yes for ROTOR, Coming soon for others | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Temp Recording (internal sensor) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Temp Recording (external sensor) | No | No | No | No | No | Software | SIGMA ROX 12 SPORT | Garmin Edge 1030 | Garmin Edge 820 | Hammerhead Karoo | Wahoo ELEMNT |
| PC Application | Windows/Mac | Garmin Express | Garmin Express (PC/Mac) | No | N/A |
| Web Application | Barely | Garmin Connect | Garmin Connect | Yes | N/A |
| Phone App | iOS/Android | iOS/Android/Windows | iOS/Android/Windows PHone | No | iOS/Android |
| Ability to Export Settings | No | No | No | No | No | Purchase | SIGMA ROX 12 SPORT | Garmin Edge 1030 | Garmin Edge 820 | Hammerhead Karoo | Wahoo ELEMNT |
| Amazon | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| Backcountry.com | Link | ||||
| Competitive Cyclist | Link | Link | DCRainmaker | SIGMA ROX 12 SPORT | Garmin Edge 1030 | Garmin Edge 820 | Hammerhead Karoo | Wahoo ELEMNT |
| Review Link | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link |
Again, don’t forget that you can mix and match against other bike computers within the product comparison tool here.
Summary:
It probably goes without saying: I’m impressed.
When SIGMA first reached out last fall or so about the ROX 12, I was pretty straight with them. I said I wasn’t interested in spending time on another boring bike computer that wasn’t remotely competitive with half the industry. I explained I had more important things to do – like eating ice cream. They replied not to worry, they had something unique.
And sure enough – they very much did. While Wahoo has taken lead in recent years on challenging Garmin’s dominance, I’d say that Sigma has instantly dropped itself into the ring as well with the ROX 12. It’s easily bested Wahoo when it comes to mapping and navigation, though it doesn’t beat the overall simplicity and cleanliness of the Wahoo BOLT for most basic operations. Similarly, when it comes to challenging Garmin, the SIGMA does a superb job in the mapping realm as well as just being a solid and flexible bike computer, especially for touring folks.
Where SIGMA struggles a bit is around the overall integration story. They have a capable (if slightly dated feeling) desktop app, that syncs via a cloud service that apparently floated in from the 1980’s. No worries, Wahoo’s cloud service is equally as questionable. However, the biggest gap for some will the be the lack of companion app for the ROX12, and with that, lack of smartphone notifications. Like Hammerhead and their Karoo, SIGMA has no method of notifying you of incoming calls/texts/Tweets/etc from your phone. That’s something that the company has some potential options on the table to fix, but none of them sound terribly near-term (or great).
Still, if that’s not important to you – then you should definitely consider the ROX 12 if you’re in the market for a higher-end mapping device. It’s hard to say that it outright challenges the Edge 1030, because in a lot of ways it falls short there (such as around advanced training metrics, full app support, advanced sensors, and so on). But where it does do a better/cleaner job is at lower end units like the Wahoo BOLT or Edge 520 Plus…just with a bigger and prettier screen.
The only challenge SIGMA will likely face here is that their USD pricing isn’t as competitive as their Euro pricing. With USD being $475, that puts them trying to compete with Garmin’s higher end units, versus the 399EUR pricing is more competitive in that market. I think if SIGMA had priced the ROX 12 at $399USD (parity, as is common), they’d be selling units like there’s no tomorrow. $475USD makes people pause when talking about a new entrant.
In any event – I’m sure there will be plenty of questions, so I’ll do my best in the comments section below. Also, the unit starts shipping today. Initially, European distribution is fully sorted, though US/world distribution is being worked through and might take a few days/weeks until various global retail partners light up listings. The company says they have plenty of units ready to ship, they just are looking for distribution partners to ship them to.
With that – thanks for reading!
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Hopefully you found this review useful. At the end of the day, I’m an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase – so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device. The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so it’s a fair bit of work (and labor of love). As you probably noticed by looking below, I also take time to answer all the questions posted in the comments – and there’s quite a bit of detail in there as well.I’ve partnered with Clever Training to offer all DC Rainmaker readers exclusive benefits on all products purchased. You can read more about the benefits of this partnership here. You can pick up the Sigma ROX unit through Clever Training using the links below. By doing so, you not only support the site (and all the work I do here) – but you also get to enjoy the significant partnership benefits that are just for DC Rainmaker readers. And, if your order ends up more than $49, you get free US shipping as well.
Thanks for reading! And as always, feel free to post comments or questions in the comments section below, I’ll be happy to try and answer them as quickly as possible.
(I think a typo in your 2nd paragraph, n’est ce pas? ‘completive’.. :)
I go back to France for a few days and look what happens…
So big.
Essentially the same case size as the Edge 1030, albeit a smaller display.
Sorry if I’m missing it Ray but have you posted the specs of the display? From your pictures looks about the same width as the Edge 820 but a little longer – fair?
Thanks Ray, at some point I want to upgrade from Edge 520 to a unit with fast/fluid turn-by-turn nav from Strava routes. A couple quick questions. For longer all-day rides, is it possible to charge while riding? Any company outside Garmin with plans to support bike radar?
Stroopwafel? :D
Yup, I’ve got the best named WiFi in our hood.
Hi Ray
Could you give a very brief overview on how Strava Live Segment functionality compares to Garmin and Wahoo etc?
E.g. Garmin 1030 allows comparison against more times for a segment than the rest of their range and Wahoo allows multiple live segments to be raced at the same time.
I have an ELEMNT Bolt sat next to my Edge 520 purely for the more advanced Strava Live Segment functionality.
Haha, I have two gps’s on my handlebars as well for that reason. I am also curious how the live segments compare. I also have a phone on my stem for the strava app. I might have a problem.
Great work. Thanks for this. I especially enjoy your section on GPS and Elevation Accuracy. I live in Utah and my Garmin Edge 500 ruins every HC climb so bad that I miss segments so I have to run my phone concurrently. Accurate GPS in the Alpine mountains is my #1 concern for my next purchase. I looked back at your Element Bolt review and you don’t seem to have a GPS and Elevation Accuracy section for the Element Bolt. Can you comment on the Bolt’s accuracy when in high mountains?
Blargh. Stick with the Wahoo. Cell integration is a must these days. I like to ride with my phone tucked away never to be seen unless I get an emergency text. No integration means the phone stays in my sight or pocket which is annoying. Having a life sux.
How did we manage before mobiles were invented (rolls eyes)
I know two people (just off the top of my head) who would be dead now if they didn’t have their phones on them when riding.
I agree…in fact the much cheaper ROX 11 has mobile phone notifications. Did Sigma forget this much-needed feature?
I’m not going to buy without support fore either phone integration or garmin radar, but I’m hoping this pressures garmin to bump the internals of edges. The lag on my 820 is extremely annoying especially considering the cost
No bluetooth to phone connectivity is very strange. The hardware is all there so rather than having to do a mobile hotspot every time to connect.
The hardware connectivity is unfortunately a wee bit trickier than one might think. Both Hammerhead and Sigma are actually in the same pickle here, and it’s really about how the Android stack broadcasts itself from a mac address pairing standpoint, whereby each time they go to pair they identify themselves as a new device. As a result, in certain scenarios a user could potentially have to re-pair their phone every…single…time.
There are some ways they’ve looked at solving it, but none are great right now.
Kudos to Sigma, they figured out how to charge $475 for a really bulky phone with a nice cycling themed Android skin and no cellular connectivity.
But isn’t that true of any head unit out there, Garmin included (minus Android, but just an embedded OS)?
Ultimately, the important piece here is the Sigma cycling app/platform atop it. Well, that and the fact that it’s waterproof and actually works with your fingers in the rain or with gloves. Or that it has ANT+ in it. Things most Android phones don’t do properly.
But those aside, because the next comments will be that someone says they can do the same thing with a generic Android phone. My response is more simplistic: Cool story, bro.
Why?
Because for years people have been saying it, but constantly miss the most important piece: The cycling platform atop it.
Sure, there are many cycling apps – but none cohesively bring everything together like a Garmin, Wahoo, Sigma, or even Hammerhead. If they did actually do that, then years ago people would have switched to buying cheap Android phones off the shelf. Overwhelmingly, they haven’t.
Which doesn’t mean things aren’t overpriced. As I said in the conclusion, I think the USD pricing of this is out of alignment by about $79USD.
That’s fine and granted my comment was a bit sardonic, however, being very obvious that this is a phone you’d figure it would at least have the ability to have standalone cellular data a la the Hammerhead since most of the hardware is in place. Not knocking the idea of a phone underpinnings for a cycling GPS, obviously for race focused units like the Elemnt Bolt (in fact underneath a Phone is doing a lot of the routing work from my understanding) or the 520 there’s really limited need for that much processing power or that big of a display and for these products it actually makes perfect sense but jeez for the love of god don’t make your product look like a blackberry pearl or a Samsung I-730.
“but constantly miss the most important piece: The cycling platform atop it”
This is a very interesting comment. I’m a Garmin user, and I see what Garmin Connect is. Personally, the only reason I use it is to push my activities to Strava and other platforms. Other than that, only for the strictly necessary (like installing apps on my Fenix)
I have tried to use my Galaxy phone as a cycle computer, and personally the reason I don’t use it is very simple. All the apps out there suck, big time. Like reeeeeally suck. Lacking a “platform” would mean little to me as long as I can push activities to Strava (and from there pretty much everywhere else, because lets face it, everything integrates with Strava)
Would love to hear more on your opinion about this
“Sure, there are many cycling apps – but none cohesively bring everything together like a Garmin, Wahoo, Sigma, or even Hammerhead. If they did actually do that, then years ago people would have switched to buying cheap Android phones off the shelf. Overwhelmingly, they haven’t.”
And I don’t think people are going to buy these enormous re-skinned Android units either.
What is the battery life like with GPS and sensors connected? The other issue is the lack of live tracking which has become important to me as I ride solo in remote Jura mountain roads and forest roads where I may pass a human now and again otherwise would rely on the cows and Lynx to see me if I am unable to use a phone. Having been knocked unconscious last year I am a little more safety paranoid about cycling alone in remote places as is my wife who gets comfort from live tracking which.
I haven’t see as much of an impact on battery life with respect to sensors, rather, it’s really screen backlight that gets you. If it’s on full blast, you’ll fly through battery life.
I’ll try and get some more specific battery testing knocked out this week outdoors. I typically do more formal battery testing after a review publishes, merely because I don’t usually want to take a unit out of commission for that long to do the series of tests.
Wait, there is a chirp sound? Amazing!
Great review as usual.
Nice product from Sigma this time.
I have two questions:
a) Are the maps based on open street maps? (unfortunately there are some Nordic counties where Garmin maps are still superior over the open street maps which are still missing huge amounts of gravel roads and paths)
b) Does Sigma have any plans on adding ANT+ Trainer Control (FE-C) to this unit.
1) Yes, based on OSM.
2) They’ve discussed it, but I don’t have a specific date from them on it. I’ll add it into my round-up of reader questions for tomorrow.
If something’s missing from Open Street Map, get editing! It’s easy and very satisfying.
What’s the source of the maps? Road navigation is likely straightforward enough from about any source. But I spend as much of my time as possible off-road. Not having mtb and hiking trails would be a complete non-starter.
Although being a non-starter is also an issue with that price and the lack of phone integration. My wife very much appreciates being able to track my live location on my 20 mile ride home from work. Which skirts along some highly trafficked streets and sketchy neighborhoods.
Source is OSM maps, same as Garmin uses on their Edge 520 Plus, Edge 1030 and Edge 820. I didn’t do much in the way off off-road with the Sigma unit, however, using that same base mapset on the Edge 520 Plus for offroad in California mountain biking, I was actually surprised at how good it was.
I’m sure though regions/quality vary a lot, no matter the mapset provider.
Agree that the OSM maps are pretty good fro trail use. I used to sideload those on my Garmin.
Did they mention anything about adding phone integration?
There’s a lot of talk about how they might do phone integration, but the technical hurdles are the challenge. I outlined a bit more detail up above in a comment here: link to dcrainmaker.com
Hi Ray ¡¡
I appreciate a lot this full review of the brand new Sigma Rox 12.0. Right now I have a Wahoo Bolt but I want a device with colour maps and with more level of details… Maybe it’s silly, but I miss the data field with 10s of average power….
And that’s my question…. Is it possible to zoom in on the profile of the route just like the older version of Garmins made ?? You know… the possibility to modify the x and y axis in order to see the elevation more or less pronounced
I don’t see a way to override the zoom level of the altitude profile. For example, at present the altitude profile graph is showing four graph lines ‘wide’, with each line representing 1,000y (imperial), so basically about 4/5ths of a mile ahead.
In toying with the settings I don’t see any way to zoom out, though perhaps there’s some magic combo of settings that let’s me override it.
Are the Strava live segments based on average speed or waypoint to waypoint comparison ?
No cell phone integration is a deal breaker sadly. That and the ‘90’s styling….
Fantastic. Been waiting for something like this. I’ve been hugely disappointed with Garmin Fenix 5X and Garmin’s inability to produce decent navigation features. I will most certainly get this one to use on my bikes. Kudos Sigma.
How does it handle re-routing when you go off course, it took Garmin forever to fix the 820, but that works great now, for example I never plan with cafe to stop off at, so sometimes I will take a small detour to a cafe, re routing back to where I left my route AND the ability not to re route but to figure out when you had rejoined the route.
Smart phone integration is an issue, are they planning into integrate with the Garmin radar ?
It’s instant.
The second you miss the turn it’s already got something else figured out for you to get back to the course and the direction of travel.
It was actually interesting in that at one point on a river ride a few weeks ago the canal was small enough that it thought I had jumped to the other side, and then re-routed me a bit until it realized where I was. All of which wasn’t a big deal though because there was no actual points I could turn. Just cows and canals. So it figured itself out before I could have time to think about why it might or might not matter.
Is there a battery saving mode, similar to Edge 1030/820? Is there support for Edge remote?
No ANT+ remote support.
Yeah, I noticed this evening on their marketing site (that just went live) they actually specify a 40hr low-battery mode. I can’t see any way of enabling such a mode, or how it works. It’s on my question list for the morning.
Another news source tells me that the screen can be powered down while recording (short press on the power button), it’s probably that.
For me it would not matter much though, as the longest rides tend to be those with the most intense navigation use…
Looks like battery saving mode is simply short press of power button. Not exactly what I hoped for. There doesn’t appear to be a way to set a timeout for battery saving mode and only way to wake it up is the power button.
Can the battery charging during operation? (OTG)
If you can upload tracks while it is running, I would assume you can also charge it while it is running. Maybe someone should still confirm it?
You can charge it while navigating and recording an activity. Initially when you plug in and turn on an external USB battery you will get an error message that says you cannot upload tracks while recording an activity…simply press the round home button and continue navigating/recording your activity and the unit will charge.
The screen to bezel ratio isn’t very good. It reminds me of a Samsung or Sony feature-phone from 2006.
Does it have an option to just show multiple gpx tracks without navigating any of them? With different colors like Garmin Edges?
(This should be obvious, but didn’t see mentions of it)
I’m confused about whether the base (non bundle) includes the out-front Barfly mount as you state:
a) Barfly out-front mount (with SIGMA branding), that’s in base and bundle kits
AND
b) Now, since the non-bundle doesn’t come with the out-front mount, you’ve also got the standard handlebar/stem mounts (two of them):
It is included in the base (the Sigma site also confirms this). I’ll fix my wording in the second instance.
Thanks!
What is the SD card slot used for?
Just storage for maps. It’s got 8GB internally, but this allows you to expand it significantly.
Realistically I don’t think most folks would use it, given how silly easy it is to load/offload maps. If you were talking the cumbersome process of maps on the Edge series, it’s nicer to set and forget. But with the ROX12, it’s so trivial that you can pretty much do it on-arrival in a country/region/etc….
I suspect the SD card slot was there in whatever reference design they started with, and they probably didn’t see any good reason to get rid of it, since it gives them a bit of flexibility for storage expansion if they get onboard some cool apps and such.
I talked to the Benelux distributor this morning. The mSD card can also be used to store GPX-files (tracks). However, I’ve had no chance to test it yet …
Could be a work-around for those who have a smartphone with internet-connection, but no computer of wi-fi network nearby : place the mSD card in your phone (if necessary via a cardreader, such as the GoPro Quick Key Mobile mSD card readers), load the created/downloaded GPX-file from your phone on the mSD card, and place the card in the GPS-device.
Does it support own maps? Either .img or some other standard format? So can you download your preferred map and use it?
I’ll ask how to add your own maps. Fwiw, here’s what that file structure looks like…
What is the map format? Compatible with Garmin .imgs?
Does it have option to lock screen (and buttons) when you put it to pocket during a stop?
Is there way to upload a route manually, are routes and maps held in a potential hard reset? Can they routes and maps be uploaded from a microsd card? Does it support exfat file system microsd cards (Garmins don’t)?
So many questions… :)
A) Screen Lock: I haven’t seen any method of doing it, but it’s a good question – I’ll ask. I did the jersey pocket thing on a few rides, and sometimes the touchscreen ended up in curious places as a result. :)
B) Upload routes manually: You can use the desktop Sigma Data Center app to add routes, or, you can just drop a GPX/etc track into the ‘Tracks’ folder. It’s impressive how quick it is. No having to reboot the unit or anything. I just did it a second ago with a GPX file from Paris (while in Amsterdam), and then instantly unplugged the cable and was able to tap and open and see the unit (all within 5 seconds of drag/drop).
C) ExFat: Let me dig up an MicroSD card I can flatten and circle back. Fwiw, supports size-wise up to 128GB.
D) Bonus: I included a pic of the file structure.
Hi, I know its been awhile since the comment was posted but I’m hoping to get some followup on this … so thanks in advance.
I recently purchased a used Rox 12 from ebay … have not received it yet … but I’m already questioning my decision … why?
Because I planned to use it for navigation on a xc tour on which I will bring my iphone and probably ipad. It is critical to be able to import routes to the device from these devices but the more I read now (I know too late) I dont think its possible. There is NO … I mean zero .. mobile integration… I think. I’m not talking about tracking and upload stats to strava or such …. I’m talking navigation. Its incredible in this day and age that they require a desktop to do this! :(
Note… I did read you hints page about using Strava to import routes but Strava no longer imports routes and the beta site had errors processing the GPX files I got from Adventure cycling.
I tried using Komoot (which seems great btw) but the Sigma data center app does not see the routes I import to Komoot. The incredibly ancient Sigma data center wont even import files from the ipad! Good grief ..;. what are they thinking.
Personally I think this shortcoming is so bad that the device is almost a brick to anyone planning to use this for navigation on a long tours. Either you own a desktop, preload it with routes …. and pray you dont need to update anything …. or you are screwed. Tell me I’m wrong … please!
Thanks in advance!
Rox 12 User and you’re not screwed.
Yes, there is no mobile connection, but you can (via mobile HotSpot or possibly open WiFi) pull routes, which you have made/changed and saved in komoot (on the tour with the komoot-app) directly via the Rox. You just have to pair the Rox with your komoot account.
Also, you can use it as an standalone navigational computer by either entering a goal (as mentioned e.g. POI, street, touch, etc) or by “drawing” a route on the device, which will be converted into a suggested route (which you can alter via touch, albeit very finicky).
So no, you don’t need to preplan everything, you can either update routes via a WiFi or just use it standalone with the downloaded maps and internal routing.
Any info about support of Varia radar? Is that even a public ANT+ profile?
ANT+ Radar is actually a public profile, but Sigma hasn’t implemented it.
I’m hoping that Sigma looks at the myriad of comments on Facebook, Twitter, and here and notes just how many people have been asking for this (more than people asking for telephone integration).
ANT+ Radar support is now table-stakes for me. After riding country roads with it I refuse to be without it.
I want Varia compatibility too. I don’t need cell phone integration.
+1 for Radar. Once you have it, it’s a must-have! :) I can’t change for anything else without it, because 1. Varia Radar is really really useful and 2. I spent some money buying the radar, so it wouldn’t make sense to have a new bike computer that’s not compatible with it.
+1 for Radar… will not buy without it, once you have had radar you don’t go back :)
count me in if it supported varia radar. the ONLY thing keeping from chucking the temperamental 1030 for a Wahoo Element is the radar
Another +1 for the radar integration. I would gladly switch from Garmin but since no one else supports radar I’m not going anywhere.
I can’t help but be reminded of the old HTC Diamond Windows Mobile phone of yore.
Think you should have been much more critical on the lacking of phone connectivity + ugly looks. I’m also missing information about actual battery life.
Yeah, I tried to outline the issues with the lack of phone integration in three different places. One thing I found semi-interesting in my Hammerhead Karoo review is that there’s actually a fair bit of people that don’t care about this (I do very much care, but surprisingly a number of people don’t care).
As for battery life, I typically dive into that in more details post-review, once I can set units outside for more detailed testing for long periods of time in different scenarios.
Oh, and as for looks…shrug, some people like it, some don’t. Actually doesn’t bother me much at all. With the exception of the BOLT, I think most GPS bike computers look kinda ugly, so…yeah.
(Also, the last time I noted how ugly the Lezyne units were, which I consider the most ugly of all, then people all said I was highly confused.)
Wonder if you really mean you care personally or just that you would care personally if you were some of the people who don’t? Personally would not be an issue to me (unless I’m missing something). Don’t take my watch off when I cycle and it gives me all the general phone connected goodness I need – including strava beacon etc. No text is urgent enough not to wait till i have time to look at my wrist. What my watch does not do is give me convenient mapping and ride specific data fields without taking hands off bars. Wierdly therefore to me the big negative of this over garmin is no remote, which i guess just goes to prove what you say that even the most marginal feature is someone’s deal breaker.
I personally care about it – I absolutely want notifications on the unit as I cycle. I don’t always feel the vibrations on my wrist on bumpier roads.
But yup, you’re point is spot-on on the remote. Everyone’s most important feature is another person’s “don’t care” feature. The good news is for things like the remote, it’s an ANT+ standard, so Sigma could add that in.
Given they added in stuff like the eBike support, I’ve gotta believe remote would be a silly easy one. And I think if Sigma plays their cards right here and just goes wild with adding in all these standard ANT+ sensor types (lights, radar, remotes), then they can quickly pick-off Garmin loyalists.
LOL – did not even occur to me about the missing notifications on your watch. Imagine how hard it would be to picture everyone’s use case. Oh – as you do so well!
Heh. I personally never have notifications enabled or would I really want them. I find them distracting and irrelevant to me.
This device made my choice really complicated. I almost bought a 1030, but really only thing I would miss is cableless charging. But 1030 doesn’t have a option for dynamo charging yet either. Combining exercises when using both rox 12.0 and 820 would be a little bit more complicated.
There is a good chance that Android base will be better than Connect iq for new apps.
Even though I love my Lezyne (it checks off all the boxes for what I need in a cycling GPS; maps would be cool, but turn by turn plus breadcrumb works fine, plus anytime I am using navigation in real life my phone is only a back pocket away just in case) you are correct. That thing is ugly. Especially, for me because I bought one of their “special edition” units on a sale, which is a terribly ugly color of blue instead of black. IMO great size though. Small enough to not be obtrusive; big and clear enough that I can glance down and get the info I want.
I think the form factor plays into the decision for a lot of people. It was smart for Wahoo to market the bolt as being the most aerodynamic bike computer. I am sure that helped capture sales.
Many thanks, I really love this new unit. And I like the lack of everything I do not need for a better battery life, like smaller display and no phone connection. For staying connected I‘m wearing my Apple watch. Ok, it looks a little bit ugly, but same with Garmin in my personal view. Great review!
The wider bezel has at least one advantage over the narrower ditto. I often adjust my computer while I ride, to accommodate sun glare. With the wider bezel I have something to grab onto without accidentally rerouting myself across Europe. Touch can be wonderful but in a bicycle computer it can be bloody annoying.
The one thing I am missing in all computers to date (or don’t know about), is the ability to reprogram the physical buttons to the functions I prefer.
Considering the extremely high build quality of my earlier Sigma computers, I am actually a bit excited about this one.
Epic review, chapeau!
But hey, this thing looks it timetravelled from the early age of smartphones.
Guess we germans are not the best in making tech look too well… what a pitty…
Can you please load a map area of Tokyo or another Japanese city? With a screen-shot. This has been an issue when using non-western characters.
Thanks for the review! Coming from Germany, I can assure you that the strange names for data fields and intervals seem to be kind of a marketing issue, because the proper German words for these are nearly the same as in english ;)
This head unit seems to be targeted at Garmin users. I’ll stick to the simplicity of my Wahoo ELMNT Bolt.
Also, kudos for such a tasty name for a WiFi access point :D
Does it consume any of the files that Best Bike Split produces?
Will there be the ability to put custom maps on do you think? Also can you change the map colour scheme?
Having just gotten my hands on an Elemnt, the display setup via iPhone built the coffin for Garmin in my household. And save for the list of No’s in the Connectivity section of the product comparison, the nails are being hammered into the afore mentioned Garmin coffin.
Is it only shipping direct from Sigma?
It doesn’t seem to be available via clevertraining.co.uk (to support DCR).
And although it might be “shipping” as 18.06.04, it’s not listed on the Sigma website. Hmm.
can I use my Garmin Edge 520 mounts? Is there a mount for an triathlon bike around?
Yup, any Edge 520 mount works fine. In fact, I’ve been mostly using Cycliq and Garmin mounts for it.
On the triathlon bike side, K-Edge makes a really nice metal one, as does Barfly too.
Does the DI2 integration support changing screens using DI2 buttons (e.g. the extra buttons on top of the shifters)? Fenix 5X supports DI2 but does not implement this so I’m curious.
Is there a limitation on turn cues on courses like Garmin has (50 cues per route)? Not sure if this is just Fenix 5X issue or Garmin in general.
Never buy Sigma. I had a wired computer unit from them. It was purchased at a reputable bike store. It was one year old. I emailed them, when I realized that the MPH calculations were not correct. You could find a 5% difference between their MPH calculation and using their recorded time and distance. I sent an email to them and they suggested that I should buy one of their superior new units.
A friend bought a sigma wireless unit. She had endless problems. Did they support her? No.
In the end that reputable bike shop gave her a brand new Garmin.
Thanks for the great review. One thing I don’t think I saw that I’m always interested in is the format of rides/activities on the device. This is important to me because having them in a standard format (like .fit) is meaningful to remove dependency on a proprietary vendor service to use information from the device. Being able to upload a .fit to any analysis site you want is a great option to have.
Records to standard .FIT files right on a USB mass storage device. :)
I’m able to plug the unit in, and then it asks you to press the ‘enable’ button to go into mass storage mode (versus charge mode). At which point the files are accessible immediately in standard .FIT file. I’m able to successfully drag them into the DCR Analyzer as well.
There’s a few minor internal quirks with their .FIT files, but nothing affecting the average user. They don’t currently record the ANT+ sensor ID’s internally like Garmin/Wahoo/Stages do, which really only matters for DCR Analyzer users, as well as sites like Today’s Plan that allow you to track that data. Hoping I can convince them to add it in, it’s an easy tweak.
What is the screen resolution? Is it visible in direct sunlight (transreflective)? I wish both of those facts were in your comparison tables.
From the spec sheet (link to sigmasport.com):
IP67
Transreflective display
3″ – 240x400px
128GB MicroSD
In other words: it’s the Edge 1000 screen, most likely from the very same supplier (there are not many different models of transflective screen in the world)
Sigh. I want the Karoo screen with the Sigma software.
I think I’ll stick to my Avocet 45tt, it is a bit more compact :)
Thank you for this incredible throrough review. I used to own MIO navigation and recently returned 2 MIO cyclo 400 because the GPS was horrible. It took 1,5 hour to get a GPS fix. I found the sigma Rox 12 and found it meets my purpose. Based on your review I purchased it today and should receive tomorrow evening.
My main goal is navigation as I tend to cycle in places I am not familiar. SO a good GPS is most important. Since the navigation and mapping comes out excellent in your review, that gave me the last bit I needed to order it.
Best regards,
Timo
No (ability to attach a) lanyard?
Yes just under the SD Slot #sp
*possibility
Also Ray, did you check if it can connect to a Wifi network which requires a login via browser like many hotels do?
hi there i connected it to my mobile via a hotspot including entering a password
while i think the karoo screen is still beatiful this unit seems fantastic so far
Hey, Ray: should we expect to see any new GPS bike computers from Wahoo, Garmin, et al at Eurobike or later at Interbike? My Garmin 705 keeps dropping hints about retiring.
Impressive review! thanks a lot.
one question: is it possible to import gpx routes? i do ride several “toertochten” and would like to import their gpx routes before riding such a tour.
thanks a lote
Yes you can #sp
I would like to point out one important aspect that might be overlooked with Sigma. To my knowledge it is the only company today that allows you to keep your data private. Meaning not forcing you to synch it to the cloud.
I consider my health data private and don’t want to put it anyway near the cloud.
If this is a concern for you, you should have a look at Sigma.
What I do is using the Sigma Data Center desktop app to download my rides into my computer. From there I export into any of the 10 (common) formats, usually tcx or fit.
I use Golden Cheetah for further analysis.
So far I am happy with my Rox 11 (before Rox 10 which was lacking some power meter functions)
Working rock solid without any glitches.
Good to hear that Sigma has delivered something great with the Rox 12 too.
You don’t have to sync to the cloud with a Garmin watch or cycling computer either. You can run it totally offline.
The question that I keep asking myself is this:
Are all of these guys just hanging on until the embedded technologies in smartphones render their individual components obsolete? I have the EDGE 1030 mainly because I am a geek, but the minute someone comes out with a case that embeds a forward looking camera (maybe just a periscope?) and ANT+ sensors with an extended battery weatherproofed and I am done with Garmin and so will alot of other people.
Just my two cents…
Agree 100%. All that room in the large bezels could be for embedding ANT+ sensors around an iPhone+.
What app would you use? I’ve often been tempted, but nothing I’ve found comes close to the number of metrics and flexibility of configuring them that a Garmin / Elemnt gives.
Funny tidbit: That case did exist, and nobody bought it. Back a few years ago Wahoo made exactly such a case for the iPhone, had ANT+ in it and even some variants had a barometric altimeter (wasn’t common on phones then), as well as an extended battery pack.
Nobody bought it.
But the problem was bigger than that – it’s just not business-wise viable because there are too many phone models with too fast a refresh cycle. With yearly releases and 3-5 models per manuf, the cost of goods is too high for an an advanced electronic case such as described without a massive market.
And that all ignores the issue Alex mentions: Software.
Folks have long predicted that phones would takeover head units, but the opposite has seemingly happened – high quality head units have gotten cheaper and there appears to be less interest in putting a handlebar on your phone when phones are getting more expensive.
Bite the bullet already Ray… go metric!
No kidding! Ray, you’ve been working & living in Europe for long enough now. And there’s only one country that’s not officially embracing metric, despite that most of the sciences have. It’s time to stop being backwards compatible with antiquated thinking.
Couldn’t agree more.
If you guys want to give into French imperialism, that’s your choice. (We got them off mainland North America during that time, for a small payment.) You do realize that it’s just a scale, right? That a km is just a mile for wimps?
As for what’s used in science, that all depends on the science. And which metric do you mean, mks or cgs (it makes a difference in electromagnetism)? Generally you use units that allow you not to write all of the annoying constants all of the time. In high energy physics, \hbar (Planck’s constant divided by 2 pi) = c (speed of light) = 1 and everything (masses and energies) are measured in eV (electron volts), generally MeV. No one would give the mass of a electron in grams, it’s 0.511 MeV. In relativity, G (Newton’s gravitational constant) = c = 1 and the mass of the sun is about 1.5 km. In astronomy in general, you usually measure masses in solar masses, not gm or kg (easy enough to convert if you actually need to, which you probably won’t). In my current field, planetary science, you generally use metric (no one uses statute), but it might be more convenient to measure a distance in units of the target’s bodies radius, in my case R_S (the “radius” of Saturn, which since it’s oblate and gaseous is defined as the equatorial radius of the 1 bar surface) or R_T (radius of Titan; since it’s solid and nearly spherical you don’t need all of the caveats). So in general you use convenient units, but you have to be very clear about what you’re using. It’s easy enough to switch back and forth between statute in everyday life and metric or something else in other cases.
As Paul says, it’s not quite as black and white as people claim to be. In the UK for example, speed limits are displayed in MPH, not KPH. In aviation, every country in the world uses statute.
I mix and match depending on what I feel like. I can go either way, so it doesn’t matter a ton to me.
It’s not statute miles in aviation, it’s nautical miles …
Aviation uses feet, not meters. Also, MTOW which corresponds with ATC metrics like weight designations (i.e. ‘heavy’), are also driven in pounds.
It doesn’t really matter to me. I’ve just never got why folks are so obsessed with making folks change to one variant or the other. If someone comes to the US, I wouldn’t care if they used kilometers on their watch. It doesn’t make one any faster or slower.
Before the GPS (Garmin) era I was exclusively using Sigma (Sigma Sport) computers and heart rate monitors for a very long time. They used to be the leaders… good to see them being competitive again after a period of relative irrelevance.
I’m a long time user of the ROX 6.0 and have about 6 years of riding stored in the Sigma Data Center. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of touring and route planning. Nearly all of my rides (actually ridden) or planned routes (either planned by myself or someone else) have been saved using the Ride With GPS (RWGPS) application on my iPhone. RWGPS can export routes in several formats such as TCX Course, TCX History, GPX Track (.gpx). I’d really like to have turn by turn navigation and quality maps for some of routes I’ve either ridden or planned out.
Is it possible to import my RWGPS data directly into the ROX 12? Or would I somehow have to get the data into Strava first? If the RWGPS import feature isn’t available now do you think it is likely to be available soon?
btw: I’m a complete novice as far as GPS stuff is concerned.
Hi there I would also like to know about importing from ride GPS is there any news ray?
Karoo has been $399 for a while now, not $299/$300.
Thanks, updated the database.
Does the device speak the navigation alerts? Or is it just a beep to let you know about a turn?
150 meter before a turn you hear a beep and auto zooms (if turned on and not zoomed in). It shows you a very clear red arrow how you need to go. Also a small text sign saying ‘turn right 40 meter’ etc. At the turn itself you hear another beep.
When you are on a page without the map, the bottom part of the screen will have a red banner with instructions where to turn which direction. Very clear as well. Can’t miss it.
You can clearly hear the beep when going against the wind.
The device is too large for the display size, but there is enough space in front of my handlebars. I suppose there is a rather powerful CPU so that they need a larger battery to achieve the specified endurance.
Ray, thank you for a great post which convinced me to buy ROX 12. I had my first ride yesterday and I experienced a lot of the ghost turn notification you were writing about. They are coming way too often and make the navigation an awful experience. When the map is showing you need to go right a notification tells you to turn left and vice versa (see the attached picture). Even if the current street is straight forward for a couple of kilometres, the turn notifications are popping up and tell you there is a turn. This is very annoying and I don’t understand how Sigma decided to bring a device on the market with such a significant bug. Currently starring at the map is the only we to use this device for navigation. Do you know their plans about fixing it?
i know they’re working on it. From what they’ve said (and I noted above), the issue is challenging because it’s figuring out the nuances of underlying data sets and which turns are true or not. In the vast majority of cases, the road/trail is actually changing names/identifiers behind the scenes, which is what triggers it. So it’s a matter of figuring how to show that kinda stuff without missing actual turns.
I’m seriously considering buying this unit. Here are my thoughts on what I’m looking for in a GPS:
– Navigation and mapping is important.
– Tracking routes and workout information is important, but my Forerunner watch is there for a backup.
– Notifications don’t matter (riding is my escape, and I guess I could always have the watch alert me).
– Radar integration would be nice, but I’m honestly not sure how I would change my riding knowing that a car is behind me.
Is this the best unit out there for these factors? Some of the comments on blogs about the Garmin Edge units make me worry about their navigation and re-routing (Specifically the 520 Plus, but it sounds like the 820 and 1030 share some of the same issues). Is there something else I should be looking at?
Hi Ray, maybe you have a recommendation. After your good review I got a ROX 12 yesterday and took it on a 160k ride today. Navigation was ok, but to often I missed a turn because nothing was announced. Also the ghost notifications you wrote about.
But my biggest struggle with the unit is: i connected a vector 2 to it. It perfectly showed TSS, NP, etc. but it did not sync any PM data to training peaks. Hooked to my MacBook and tried Sigma Software. Also, no Pm data. My forerunner 5 recorded the data perfectly..
Any ideas?
I bought the rox12.0 last week, based on this great review as Well.
I was very exiceted based on the first impressions. Yesterday i went for the first ride. Unfortunatelly the sigma crashed and stated “could not Find the sigma app”. Tried several times to ervoor or restart, But the computer could not start up again…
Very disapointed a Did my ride without the sigma rox and i have to send it back to the online seller. Anyone facing the same issue?
Weird, never had a crash on any of my units.
To reset the unit however, you can (steps I received at one point):
////////////////
You can recover the device like this:
1. Turn off the device (push and hold the power button for at least 10sec)
2. Push and hold the Power+Home Button (center top) for about 10sec
3. It will start automatically the Recover Mode
4. Push the Home Button again
5. Select reboot option
Now the system should boot normally.
Hi SJors and Ray,
I have quite the same experience.
I bought the unit based on Ray’s review and used it first yesterday on my mountain bike ride.
Since I have the unit (it’s two days…) I had four unexpected reboots and once I also got into the “could not find the sigma app” situation that I could fix by pushing the power button approx 40secs triggering a factory reset.
Two out of the total four reboots ended up being a total fresh setup starting with the “choose Your language” screen.
Ghost turns – I have them too and using the unit off-road (what I do most of the time) yesterday during my 60kms it made me turning off the navigation overlay function after the first hour.
I used to use my edge 1000 for navigation purposes that has it’s own faults with navigation however at least it has an option under the tracks to have them “always on” so I can see where to go without the ghost notifications – the ROX does not have this option either (I just write this down to mention that there are viable workaround solutions – at least there are for my needs)
I like that You can change the screens with the buttons when the device is locked (if You push the power button there is the option to lock the screen) and overall I like the look and feel of the device and the layouts, and have been waiting so long to change my edge 1000 so that’s why I bought this one.
…and it seems that it goes with the same 10% power consumption / hour as my edge 1000 did (map displayed with some extra data shown)
I really want to go with this unit on the long run so I will contact the customer service tomorrow and see if they have a planned firmware update coming within the 14days I have before sending this back (400EUR…)
Have a nice day,
Csaba
Based on the review and some more investigation into Sigma I bought it as well. Am very satisfied. I haven’t had the unexpected reboots and only a few ghost turns. I did find a few bugs which I reported to Sigma. I was well impressed with the speed of their response. Within 30 minutes I had an answer and direct email. So mailed them the bugs I found and was told later that day a new firmware is in the making. Touch will be optimized, entering credentials (related to the touch) will be improved (multiple characters with 1 click). Downloads of maps will be looked in to. Had problems downloading the maps of Malaysia. Also a problem I had was to get the Rox 12 on my preferred network. The current limitation for the WPA key is 25 characters. They are looking into it if that can be higher. Not sure if that’s going to be solved in the first upcoming firmware though. Logging on to Gpsies doesn’t work as expected. Only a username has to be entered. No password is asked.
I have routes which I can start from Route, but can’t start from Navigation – Route. Just keeps loading and loading. Directly through routes I can start within 5 seconds. Still need to test out if that’s a problem with the GPX file or the deivce. So far I had this wth tracks which were recorded with Runkeeper and tracks downloaded from gpsies.
I’m sure they are working on a few more bugs.
They don’t want to come out with an update every day so they are bundling it.
Hope this helps.
The gpsies bug is ridiculous. Didn’t anyone test it before release?
I also haven’t been able to log in to Sigma cloud.
Separate keyboards for separate apps is also a bit annoying, but that is issue with most Android devices anyways. :)
This should be solved in the upcoming firmware update.
Hey Ray, after reading your review I went ahead and bought one. Two issues I’m seeing, let me know if you experienced anything similar:
1) Strava does not sync all of my Segments, when I click Sync Data it just spins and then shows “Sigma APP has been stopped”. When I go to the segments list it only shows 4 out of at least 20 that I have…Needless to say this has prevented me from testing the Live Segment feature.
2) When I finish a ride the upload to Strava works perfectly, but the one to Training Peaks gets messed up and does not upload the Power data from my P1 Pedals. When I go to the Sigma Data Center and sync it to TP through there it works well.
Any help would be appreciated.
I bought one too on the back of this review!
I noticed that a maximum of 30 of my starred segments are copied to the device.
This seems to be a limit that they put on it, which is pretty poor and renders Strava Live segments useless.
So, I have to manually enable/disable most of my starred segments depending on the route I’m taking.
I’ve complained to Sigma and Strava about this, as I’m not sure who imposed this:
link to support.strava.com
If they don’t fix this, I may send this back and go for the Garmin 1030.
Hay how is the Strava live segments working with the newest update? Can you get more then 30 segments? Is the info good while on a live segments?
Hello,
I got one to, but Iám very disapointed.
Can´t conect to cloud.
Did a few resets, and at start it says cloud conected.
but in use there is no more conecting possible.
Seems support here in Germany didn´t work great. No help yet.
Sorry for my english
It’s a Germany company, thus, it’s odd you haven’t had success with support. When did you first contact them?
Email to support 09.06.18, answer 11.09.18. They told me that they work at the cloud server and maybe thats the reason. But it wasn´t.
Today I called the support, but no direct help.
They told me they will call back, but maybe not today.
Called me back today, to tell me they will call me tomorow to fix it.
still waiting, no use for me at this time.
Hi all,
until now i am quit disappointed with the device and thinking of returning it.
– Navigation is very buggy. I got turns where no turns are and on the other side where really a turn has been i got nothing. So some times i had to ride 1-2km back to be back on route.
– Powermeter Data from my Vector 2 is not recorded. Only NP, TSS, etc. is saved. My Favero however is working
– Before my morning ride today i needed to restart the unit a couple of times to connect to my Favero PM. Got it working somehow
– In the middle of the workout the unit crashed (something with Sigma App was written). So needed a restart. Parts of the workout where thus not recorded
For 400€ here in Germany i expect at least a reliable device. I don’t need a crash in the middle of an ironman race. Never had a crash with my edge 820. So guess i will go back to that one. Navigation, Display size, overall layout of the ROX are very pleasant, but it lacks reliability.
Unfortunately, as always waiting for new devices announced until a stable firmware exists. But I think that Sigma generally makes it very fast and then the devices and the software (Sigma link and data center) are very stable. I currently have the Rox 11 (previously the Edge 520) and have no problems with the device and the software!
Hi Ray in your review it states its not designed for running but there is a sport profile on the device specifically for running it would seem, so am in correct in saying it can be used for running or have I missed something?
Was there option to simply display multiple routes without navigation? (2nd time asking) :)
If You are searching for something like that the garmin devices have (always on option under the tracks and then You can colour them differently one-by-one) the ROX 12 does not have it in this firmware version.
Damn. That was exactly what I was looking for. Does it have it for single route? Eg. not giving any turn-by-turn instructions?
Mmmm very mixed feelings. Just bought the Rox. I had a ELEMNT before. Very reliable but I was missing slightly better navigation options. Setup took a while – had to reboot 2x times before it recognised my Di2. But so far no luck on linking the Polar sensors. Created a route with Kamoot. Loading went fine, but then … lefts are rights, bends in the road get a beep and arrow, but when I need to turn (a real turn I mean) – nothing. Also had 1 reroute (missed a turn) and it kept sending me in a loop. The lines/colors or route done, recalculated route and orginal route get very messy. Halfway I thought maybe it was the Kamoot route. So switched to the internal route calculation. Calculation went very fast but it didn’t take into account specific bike routes along the canal. So got bored and switched the routing off. The draw route looks cool but to draw a route of say 60km you need to zoom out pretty far and then it’s really pot-luck. The resolution of the screen lets you down. For the price I was expecting a bit more.
Bought the unit last week, and did two testrides, here are the (dissapointing) results;
– the unit keeps crashing during a ride. 4 times on a 90km ride! Message “sigma APP stopped working.
– i wanted to check if the unit had the latest firmware, but Cannt find anything on their website
– the unit restarts itself after the crashes
– when can we expect an upgrade fixing the crashes? No info on website.
I really like the options to go to the nearest point of a route, and also the recalculation workshop excellent.
But if nu update soon i will return the unit…
Update: according the Dutch helpdesk there will be an update which will correct the crashes by next week.
There is an issue with the sensors, which causes the crashes.
That is actually pretty responsive, their helpdesk. CUDOS for that.
Interesting – did they specify what specific type of sensors triggers the crash?
Fwiw, I mostly paired power meters and HR sensors.
No, he said to disconnect all sensors for now.
i had the same problem with the crashing app, and mailed sigma service about it. They responded with saiying that it has to do with the ant+ implementation of the sensors, and a fix is in the workd (i have the sport version with cadence and heartbeat sensor)
Yeah, they told me the same thing about my crash when updating Strava, I removed all sensors, even did a factory reset and I can’t still get the Strava sync to happen fully, so no segments are synced. I am now getting worried that the FW update won’t fix my issue…I have no crashes during my rides though.
I also use Power Meter (P1 Pedals) and HR (Wahoo Tickr X).
I’ve been using the ROX 10 for three years and it consistently undercalculates trip distance by 2-4% when using an ANT+ wheel rotation sensor. This is comparing the calculation to other apps and devices when the tire circumference is identical in each device. Did you do any ROX 12 comparison of the distance accuracy when using a speed (wheel rotation) sensor?
Note the GPS distance calculation is comparable to what get with other devices and phone apps.
I bought the Sigma Sport R2 duo combo ant+ and connected that to my Rox 12.0.
There are no problems with crashes. The speed and distance are accurate compared to other devices not using the sensors. Tested this on short and long rides.
HNNNNNNGH. Tell me I can turn routing off somehow? It says that routing maximum distance is 300 km. I don’t want to start splitting my tracks for this. :P
Agreed on the pricing. I’d probably pay $300-$350 for this device as reviewed. If the phone integration was better, I’d probably bump myself to $400. Over $400 US as is, tough to justify IMO. Interesting device, though, and if pricing comes down 20% in the future, I’ll reconsider.
Dear Ray and readers,
Love the website, have been reading posts since it exists and will continue to do so.
However, regarding the Rox 12.0 please do note the following before you purchase the device.
I own the Rox since Tuesday 26 June. To my disappointment, it did not connect to my Polar bluetooth heart rate and cadance sensors. The only bluetooth sensor currently supported is that of the Rotor powermeter. This has been confirmed to me by Sigma Sport, who were also kind enough to provide me with the cadance sensor I needed (I already own multiple ant+ heart rate sensors, so this was a lesser issue).
It was initially a major disappointment, because I bought the Rox based partly based on the consideration that BLE sensors were supposedly supported. There were some firmware issues also, which were also resolved completely to my satisfaction by Sigma Sport.
The superb follow-up turned the rather negative experience (I was close to trading the device in for a Garmin 1030) to a very positive one.
But please be aware of the lack of BLE compatibility when you consider buying this device.
Regards, Rutger
Hello mike I understand that for a combination with a power meter is perhaps better to prefer the 1030 garmin edge because it has the firstbeat metrics? (although not sure of their reliability)
Can sigma software provide an estimate of ftp like pc8 srm and garmin?
Compared to the elment bolt unit, it is more precise in determining the altitude and in managing slope and cadence (I noticed that wahoo elemnt bolt has some problem of precision in this respect).
tanks
denis
Hi,
i bought a ROX 12, inserted a mico-SD Card, but I can’t see the card with my Windows file manager, while connected with USB. The internal memory of the ROX remains the same, free space is 2 GB. Card is okay and works, checked the issue with another card in the ROX. Doesn’t work too. Who has the same issue?Got a new firmware last week. Release 35016.
Best regards
Axel
Same problem here. FW upgrade to rev.35016 did not fix it.
Where and how did u upgrade to FW rev.35016? i’m still on rev 34171 and cant seem to update to a newer one.?
Hi! I am curious to know why you didn’t compare the Polar V650 to this unit? The non-mapping offerings were included, so why not the mapping one? Thanks!
I didn’t compare it within the comparison tables or text anywhere. I had some photo comparison shots, but that was largely just a collection of units I had handy with me for other things. They were also the most popular units out there.
The V650 doesn’t do legit routing, which is why I focused on the other units when talking comparisons in the rest of the post.
What specifications or features do you consider to be “legit routing”?
Ability to actually know the streets your on and re-route on the fly when required. Versus just having a breadcrumb trail overlaid onto maps that may or may not have street names.
Hi Ray,
Maybe my previous post was unclear or too long, but I do want to help other people by preventing from running into the same disappointment as I had.
So here it is again: The comparison table wrongly states that bluetooth only sensors are supported.
E.g. Polar HR straps and speed & cadans sensors do not work with the Rox.
This has been confirmed to me by Sigma.
Regards, Rutger
Sorry, I thought I had fixed it upon your first comment. Confirmed as fixed now in tables. Sigma says it’s coming shortly.
Also Wahoo BlueSC Speed/Cadence sensors do not work with it.
It seems that if you have a 3rd party speed & cadence sensor, it stops a few things working, such as the Gradient, and Speed from being shown on the device and interferes with a few other calculations.
This is probably true for all 3rd party Speed&Cadence sensors at this time.
I’m pretty sure this can easily be fixed in an update though.
The only other niggly issue is that it only stores 30 Strava Live Segments at once on the device. (I’ve complained to them about that too!)
Hi,
Ive got a question about the data Rox 12 can display during rides. Lets say i’m cycling in the mountains. The trips consist of multiple mountains of different lengths and steepness. Can the ROX 12 display information about these mountains individually in one ride?
For example, I want to see when the first mountain begins, how much km it is to the top and how steep it is. When the second mountain begins I also want to see where it starts, how much km it is to the top and the steepness. Basically, I want to see the complete profile of the ride but also with individual information about the mountains. Is this possible with the ROX 12?
@ Deen, no individual information for each mountain but a summary for the ride and an elevation profile.
Similar to the Edge devices
Which devices do have this option of showing individual climbs, data and/or profile?
Bought a Rox 12, hardware and software looked quite promising. However, the devices software turned out to be that half-baked that the device never actually made it on my handlebar. Played around a little, loaded some courses and did a firmware upgrade. Suddenly the Rox 12 was always showing the error “sigma app is not responding”. Tried rebooting, factory resetting, calling the Sigma support. None of that helped and I had to return in the end. Seems I am not the only one with that problem, so “the most complete cycling computer to challenge Garmin’s higher end mapping devices yet” is not good enough yet, unluckily.
I purchased a Rox 12 recently and it’s worked fine for over a month, however the latest firmware update also bricked my device similarly. I got in touch with tech support over email (both the Dutch and German folks were super responsive). This is what they suggested, which worked perfectly fine:
The customer should try following to restart the device. If the customer has a boot loop they must send the device to us, so that we can flash the device with the correct firmware. Our guess is that the ROX 12.0 SPORT had a problem before the customer has done the firmware update.
1. Hold the “On/Off Button” and the “Home Button” simultaneously for 20 secs to open the “Recovery Mode”.
2. Press the “Home-Button” to enter the menu and select the field “wipe data/factory reset” with the buttons on the side, then press the power button to select it.
3. Select now “Yes–delete all user data” with the power button and wait till the process is done.
4. Press “reboot system now” to restart the device.
5. Once restarted, you can use the menu prompts to setup your device with your settings.
That’s it – hopefully the next firmware update will be more reliable, but this should get your device working.
Didn’t work for me, unluckily. Since the customer support refused to send me the firmware file so I could try the “flash from sd card” option of the recovery mode I had to buy a Garmin. Good luck to Sigma, maybe I’ll try one of their GPS devices again in 5 years ;)
You are not the only one with that problem. I had the same problem here in the US (device says “Installed Firmware 35016” and is current, whatever that means). I am currently on ROX 12 number two which they sent me quickly (sometimes I just feel jinxed…I went through four iPhone 6s in one year…under warranty). My second ROX 12 also had the same error message. I found that when that happens I pressed “wait” rather than restart or reboot…
Sigma’s customer service (at least here in Germany) is awful. You send tickets and never get any meaningful response. The support person only tells you that your request will be forwarded to developers and you never get any feedback or status again. The tickets stay opened forever. They don’t even ask you for details about the problem you reported.
Hi,
Not to defend them, but just to share my experience:
In the Netherlands my experiences have been great. At first use, the unit crashed. I wrote a complaint to the Dutch customer services address. They wrote back within the hour and offered to come by to install a firmware update which had not been officially released. I went by their offices the next day and they installed the firmware update. No crashes after that. Because I was misguided in thinking that the unit supported bluetooth only sensors, I was pretty pissed of when I found out I could not pair my Polar sensors. They provided me with a free cadans sensor and offered me a free heart rate sensor (which I declined, because I have ANT+ sensors too). Also received a free colour cover.
I can offer no explanation why the service in Germany sucks, but my experience in the Netherlands has been exceptionally positive !
Then probably I should send all my tickets to the dutch email address. Where do you send them to?
Dutch Service folks are most responsive – email: Kundenservice
You can find the Dutch service email here: link to sigmasport.com
Hi Igor,
Sorry to hear that you are not satisfied with our service.
I would like to give you some explanations about the turning guidance.
There is a difference by using an existing course or a one point navigation. If you choose the one point navigation, the ROX 12 will check all existing turns and they are reliable.
If you use an existing course it is different. It won’t follow our routing algorithm. So we have to re-calculate all turns, which is quite tricky. And like you already experienced, it ends up in misleading information’s. Further there some external factors to consider, e. g. a course with bad GPS accuracy.
To make a long story short.
We will improve the course navigation, but we don’t want to make a fast shot. We take all feedback thru any channel serious and will work on that!
You will receive further information to the open tickets within the next days.
Sorry for causing any inconvenience.
Bests,
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
I noticed that only a maximum of 30 of my Strava starred segments are copied to the device.
This seems to be a hard limit, which is pretty poor and renders Strava Live segments useless.
So, I have to manually enable/disable most of my starred segments depending on the route I’m taking.
Why can you not remove this limitation for this new unit? It makes Live Segments a waste of time otherwise
You mention this with an older unit here:
link to support.strava.com
Thanks
Hi,
The Strava Live Segment support will be updated soon. In the next update the supported segments are 100.
Sorry for causing any inconvenience.
Cheers,
Daniel
Hoping to get an answer, in use combined with a power meter which one should I prefer? Garmin edge 1030 or Sigma Rox 12? and why?
I never use turn by turn instructions, find them really annoying. I currently use a Garmin 800 and just display the route on map, and keep an eye on the screen near junctions. Can this be done on the Rox 12?
Hi Matt,
Sure this is one of the basic function of the ROX 12.
Hi Daniel,
I just asked the german support this question (if it´s possible to only have the track on the map *including the current position* but *without* routing) and their answer was „No, that is not possible“.
Maybe you can provide some more inside, like screenshots?
Many thanks for clarification!
Cheers from Germany,
Daniel :-)
Hi Daniel :-)
That’s true. Actually there is always navigation ongoing. But I guess this is not the main issue you facing to (please correct me if I’m wrong). It is about the clear message, to know when you are off the track/course and when you are on. The navigation will help you, to find a way back to the track/course. You don’t have to stop and discover by your own.
We are aware of that and working on a more clear solution, which will be available in the next update. :-)
Update will be ready latest early autumn.
Hi,
Did I get you right: With the software update you mentioned, it will be possible to only view a manual prepared and uploaded track (e.g. automatically synched from strava) on the map without routing? And you will see the current position and the map will automatically center“ on the current position? And you can zoom in and out manually?
Many thanks!
D.
Hi Daniel,
Sorry for my late reply. I missed your comment.
We have reviewed a lot of feedback regarding the track – navigation and re-routing issue. For the next update, we improved the turning guidence significant. This took a lot of time to make it close to perfect (perfect is not possible to reach :-D ). So the feature to simply just display the track, like you mentioned, will not part of the next update. Acutally and can’t give you a promise when this feature will be available. But we had it on our road map.
If you have any further question, just contact our customer service.
Cheers,
Daniel
Hi and thx for your update! I see your point and this of course is a valuable function. But most cyclists I know would like to have the option, means both. Including me :-)
Did I get you right: With the software update you mentioned, it will be possible to only view a manual prepared and uploaded track (e.g. automatically synched from strava) on the map without routing? And you will see the current position and the map will automatically center“ on the current position? And you can zoom in and out manually?
Many thanks abd cheers.
Just read a review on another website which states it doesn’t support routes/tracks over 300km so no good for randonneur’s, anyone know if this has been resolved? Also until a software update implements the view route/track onscreen without routing prompts i’ll have to hold fire purchasing one of these.
I asked Sigma about this, here’s what they noted:
“If the device has to do the routing by itself, the max. length is 300km. If you already planned a route (.gpx file) you can put it to the device an use it (e. g. 700km).”
Had my first ride today with the device. After 72km the device shut down unexpectedly. Had to reboot to see there was still 45% battery left. Not very good first impression. It did save the activity though, but there’s no way to continue old activity so it became a bit problematic to follow the last kilometers of the planned activity back home. This is by far the worst bug I have encountered so far but there are too many to my liking.
I used broadcasted HR from Garmin Forerunner 935 and Garmin Speed sensor. Could not even connect to cadence sensor. Too bad if the cause of crashes are the sensors, because without them it is just a navigation device. So better keep a backup device recording all activities for now.
Hi Petri,
sorry for reply that late to your post.
Please make sure you have installed the latest Version (actually it is 35016). With that version you shouldn’t have any problems with the ANT+ sensors. If you still have any issues, just contact our customer service. We will figure out, what is the issue.
Cheers,
Daniel
Dear Ray,
I have been a big fan of your website since the very beginning. This makes it very disappointing to find that this review still states that the Rox 12.0 supports bluetooth heart rate, speed and cadence sensors.
It is simply not true and this has serious consequences: People, like myself, are buying this very expensive piece of hardware on the basis of the information in your review. I am sorry to say that I am very disappointed in your response to this issue and my trust in your site took a very big hit. Staggering really, for such a highly regarded reviewer and influential writer.
It begs the question: Why are you not adjusting the text of the review to reflect the actual situation?
You have updated the product comparison chart, but the review itself still incorrectly states bluetooth sensor support. I am very doubtful that I would have bought the Rox 12.0 if your review would not have been so overly positive and would have stated the correct information. I also doubt that I am the only one.
Kind regards, Rutger
Sorry, I didn’t catch that it was also in the text when I updated the table (mostly because I usually only list compatible sensors in the text).
It’s updated now.
Out of curiosity – what speed/cadence sensors are you using that aren’t dual ANT+/BLE?
Hi,
Polar Cadence, Speed & heart rate sensors, used these with Polar M450. Polar heart rate strap very useful because of Gym link also, and very comfortable strap.
The 1030 was 130 euro more than the Rox 12.0. If I had known the extra costs for buying new sensors and the software issues which I have to deal with in advance, I’d probably bought the 1030. The initial positive experience with customer support from Sigma won me over however to keep the Rox 12.0.
The software issues (usability interface and bugs) are however not over, so I am having a love/hate affair with the unit on pretty much every ride.
Regards
Hi Rutger,
Fully understand your issue. That’s why we offer sensors with dual mode communication (ANT+/BLE) to cover the gym use case as well as the cycling.
We know, that we had some issues in the very early stage (which are solved already). We are working on the next release which will be available soon. There are further improvements and some new features. Looking forward for the next release.
Cheers,
Daniel
I have been using the 12 for several weeks now. I am gravely disappointed that they removed the mobile phone notification that was on the much less expensive ROX 11, which I had been using for the past two years!
Does anyone know if a point of interest (POI) will show on routes which I have uploaded into the ROX 12? I typically create all my routes in RWGPS and then export them as GPX into the Sigma Data Center which is on iMac. No POI data seems to come across. I even manually added several POI to a route in the Sigma Data Center mapping program and then pushed it to the ROX…but still no POI was visible on the ROX 12 screen. The reason I want it is that I do Audax or randonneuring style of road cycling and need to know where my control or checkpoints are.
Hi Richard,
Fully get your point and fully agree this feature is missing. That’s the reason why we will add it soon. It won’t be included in the upcoming update, but maybe the update after that.
Cheers,
Daniel
Daniel, are you referring to the notification feature or POI?
Richard, I’m referring to the POI feature.
Cheers,
Daniel
Hi fellow cylists,
I like this thorough review as I want to purchase my first GPS-unit.
I have compared many devices on the internet and all of them have battery issues. There is a world to win in manufacturing longer lasting batteries :-)
I want a GPS for riding existing rides like Liege-Bastogne-Liege, so with full navigation. How will the battery of this Sigma Rox hold?
At this moment I want to choose between the Wahoo Elemnt, Garmin Edge 1000 Explore or the Sigma.
I like intuitive devices!
Please help!
Thanks,
Yiannos
Hi Yiannos,
battery drain depends of display light on/off, navigation yes/no, showing posotion on map yes/no.
You can have a drain of 6%/h up to 13%/h. L-B-L = 274 km and some climbs. That means 12-16 h on the bike. Without a small powerbank no way..The ROX allows a power save display off function, this might help, but was not tested.
Best regards
Axel
Hi Axel!
This is a very helpful explanation! Thanks!
Allthough I like all the extras on the Sigma, I am quite ‘afraid’ of buying because it is a new device that needs improvent?
In any case I will have a power bank with me on rides like LBL.
The Wahoo Elemnt has good reviews, only no rerouting and the ‘draw a route’ (which seems nice). There are also still issues with TBT, but navigation seems good even in black and white screen.
I will make my choice soon ?
Thanks again.
I just got my Rox 12 yesterday. Going to go for my first ride today. Did you have trouble pairing it with Garmin sensors? You said it was supposed to be compatible but I can’t get them to pair.
Hey Jeffrey,
As long it is an ANT+ sensor it should work. Which sensor did you try to connect?
Did you promt “Search All” or search for a dedicated sensor? If the sensor is activated, search all is the easiest way to start the pairing.
If you still have some issues, please contact our customer service: kundenservice@sigmasport.com
Cheers,
Daniel
Jeffrey,
Try this: Home > Settings > Connect Sensor > Paired Sensors > Heart Rate ID ???? > Show Sensor Details > RSSI (signal strength): -40 thru -44 is excellent. If the number is lower (-70 or so) then you may have a low battery problem or a pairing problem.
I am currently uploading tracks to the ROX 12 via the Sigma Data Center app on a desktop computer via a USB cord…no problem. Is there a way to upload a track to the ROX 12 which is currently found on the SIGMA LINK app on an iPhone instead? I enabled the hotspot function on the phone and used both the Data Sync > Sigma Cloud > Resync and also SIGMA CLOUD > Sync. Data, but to no avail. (I have used the hotspot successfully to upload a ride when I’m away from any WiFi, so I know the hotspot is functioning.)
I’m a ultra-distance roadie and travel in areas where I need the navigation features. Since the audible beep “turn” feature is only 70-80% effective, I have to ride with a navigation map always up. My number ONE COMPLAINT with the ROX 12 is the navigation maps are hard to see in most daylight conditions, especially early or late in the day when the light on the screen is skimming across it and not directly hitting it. I am using polarized sunglasses. The red “follow me” line against the dark green background field makes it difficult to see surrounding streets. A light-colored background, as found on the default setting for Google maps, WOULD HELP IMMENSELY. I have the screen brightness turned all the way up, but then I barely get 7 hours of use before the low battery (25%) warning pops up. Zooming in a lot helps, but then I can’t see what is up ahead. Also, have a zoom scale number, like the ROX 11 has, would help when zooming back and forth (I don’t use the auto zoom feature).
Hi Richard,
I also find the navigation colours difficult to make out, It’s a shame we can’t change them like on some Garmins.
What I did was change the display Color Mode to Night and that helped me a lot.
Hi Richard,
Thanks for your feedback. This is quite helpful. We figured out the same issue and will improve the colors with the next update. After that, we will check how to improve it further.
The zoom scale will be added in the next update as well. The release will be ready soon.
cedric, some time ago, I tried the night mode, but I didn’t care for numbers-only fields that way, but will try it yet again. Thanks for the reminder. Daniel, that is great news, I hope that the update happens before I switch to something else, like an Wahoo ELEMNT with its very clear B&W screen. With the ROX 12 screen at max brightness, yesterday, while on a gravel ride, the low battery indicator popped up after only 5 hours! Attached is a photo of how dark the screen appears. I put my hand in the shot for reference. This photo was taken with an iPhone X and it’s quality camera. The issue it not just screen brightness, but contrast in the map, due to the map style.
Did anyone figure out how to enter an address with numbered streets?
Bought my Sigma Rox 12.0 today and encountered a major problem right away.
I am planning a 24hrs race soon of aprox. 490k.
I uploaded the gpx-file (downloaded from Strava) and here’s what happened:
1. When i chose ‘routes’in the menu of the device I got the following notification: #dialog_track_s_napping_failed
2. in the navigation menu on the device I got the following notification: Track is longer than the maximum allowed 300k!
I have imported the file in Komoot and tried it again, but failed! Also I find it very disappointing that you can have a connection of Kommoot with the Rox, but in order to work you will have to pay for regions!
What seems to be the problem?
Will this be tackled in an update or is this a restriction on the device? Do other brands have similar problems on long routes? Should be unacceptable.
If it is going to be the latter, I will send the device back to the store.
Help is needed here.
Best regards,
Yiannos
Hi,
I queried this earlier in the thread, here is the reply.
“If the device has to do the routing by itself, the max. length is 300km. If you already planned a route (.gpx file) you can put it to the device an use it (e. g. 700km).”
Thank you for your reply, but I have read this comment.
Still, it is a planned (gpx) route and does not work. It notifies me of the issues as I mentioned in my original comment.
I think I have a bug in my device!
I have tried all the routes I have imported on to the device, all different distances. It even gives the notification ‘Track is longer than the maximum allowed 300k’ of a distance of 39k!!!
What is wrong here?
Hi Yiannos,
I prepared a short video for your reference:
link to sigmasport.box.com (this video link is valid until 1st of Oct.)
Here you can see a track which is about 700km long. I takes some time to prepare the snapping (and at the end it failed – in fact of the length), end of the day you can see it works like it should. You can select the closest or start point to start the navigation. Without any problem.
If you still have some issues, please contact us: kundenservice@sigmasport.com
Bests
This is a concern for me too. Riding brevets up to 600k over two days. If the Sigma ROX 12 cannot accept a GPX route for this distance I have to wonder why there is a limitation. It isn’t a big file for the processor to handle.
RickH, I also do a bunch of randonneuring. I purchased the ROX 12 after finishing our series for this season. Just now, as a test, I just uploaded a 800km route onto the ROX 12 w/o any problems or delays. I had it start near my house and proceeded to navigate or follow this route. No problem thus far.
Thanks Richard. There is a lot about the Rox I like but some of the comments are a little confusing. Can you tell me what type of file it accepts? (fit, gpx, tcx)? And, is it fussy where the file is created.
I do all my route creation on Ride with GPS and export my files, using their default settings, as a GPX file. I then import this file into the Sigma Data Center app on an iMac and push it to the ROX 12 via a USB cable. Daniel…or others, is there a way I can upload a route that is in the Sigma Data Center (cloud) onto the ROX 12 WITHOUT using a desktop computer (using an iPhone)?
Hi Richard,
Actually there are the following options to push a .gpx file to the ROX 12.0 without using USB?
Today we are integrated Strava (Routes), GPSies and Komoot. You can create a Route in the mentioned websites or simply take your .gpx file and import it to one of the mentioned website (e. g. GPSies is free). Once it is imported, you can simply sync it with your ROX 12.0.
We are evaluating other options already, which could offer a more generic solution. We will offer a soltuion in midterm.
Hope this answer your question.
Best regards
Daniel
Ray I bought the sigma after reading your review, did you ever have a problem with it calibrating with your powermeter. I’m using a power 2 max ngeco, a d on the ng app I get a consistent 0 offset value but on the rox I get calibration failed. I contacted sigma a d they were aware of the bug a d it will be fixed in the next firmware update in mid-October, I just wondered if you encountered this at all.
Thx
Jeff
Hello!
Is it possible for the Rox for the display to turn on when approaching a turn during navigation mode?
Someone told me this is possible but I can’t find how. I have done couple of rides with screen always on.
Best rgds
Hi Yiannos,
This is not possible, yet. But we will check if we can add this feature in future. Actully you here just the sound for the turns, but the displays stays off.
Best regards
From a safety standpoint I find phone notifications questionable whilst out on a ride.
Am I missing something about this function?
Will the Rox 12 handle 100 Strava Live Segments yet?
Hi Shane,
We will inform you here, once the update is ready. So today it is still limit to 30, but it will increased soon!
Actually checking your phone is far more dangerous. The value of notifications is that they make it easy to ignore those messages/calls that you can ignore when there can be some that you need to answer (e.g. something directly ride related)
Is it possible to sideload apk’s on the Sigma Rox 12.0? Because it would be great to run TrainerRoad native on a bike computer…
Hi Bestevaer,
No this is not possible. Actually there is no plan to doing this in future. Sorry.
Best regards
Daniel, with respect, what is the point of using an Android based ROM/OS if not to be able to install APKs at some point? I’m just about ready to buy the ROX 12, but your reply above has given me pause.
The point of building on top of Android is that writing an OS is hard, sdopting Linux to tiny battery powered devices is hard, building a productive application UI framework is hard, training new hires to work in that kind of environment would be hard and building on top of Android is giving fitness device makers all that for free. Without leveraging Android, no company besides Garmin would have been able to reach full mapping capabilities because all development resources would be tied down reinventing basics like filesystems, touch UI primitives, battery management and so on.
Hi Seth,
Thanks for your concerns. We fully understand your point of view. “usr” describt it in a perfect way…
End of the day the whole OS is totally customized and there are only some parts left from the stock OS. You could even call it Sigma OS based on Android.
Thanks for your understanding.
Hi usr,
Thanks for very good explanation.
Best regards,
Daniel
Has anyone compared a Garmin 800, Garmin 1000 series, and the Sigma ROX 12 in the rain? When cycle touring, my Garmin 800 goes haywire after several hours in a light rain. After which it can take a week of warm sunshine to return to normal.
I went out for my first session in light rain yesterday – for about 2hrs.
After 30mins my barometer went haywire and it stopped recording gradient and altitude properly.
I was a bit annoyed, as I was doing hill-repeats.
I got home worried that the barometer had fried – like the Hammerhead Karoo did to me, but I had to do a reboot to get it back working. Strava allowed me to recompute the real altitude, so all was not lost.
It’s a bit of a worry though!
…just to add, I have a Garmin 1000 and it has seen plenty of rain and snow with no problems with changing weather
On all devices with a barometric altimeter there’s a hole that lets outside air in so that the pressure inside the device where the sensor is and outside is the same. If that hole gets blocked by water, which can happen in the rain, then the inside and outside pressures are no longer the same and the sensor can’t detect altitude changes. That’s probably what happened. They usually start working again once they dry out.
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the very good explanation.
The metioned “hole” is covered in from the ROX 12.0 shell. So it is protected, but for sure it is still possible that the hole gets blocked. Good thing is, it will recover by itself.
Hi @all,
I would like to make an announcment. There is a new update available. Please check how to get the update and what have been changed here:
link to sigmasport.com
Enjoy your next ride! :-)
Thanks for the notice Daniel. With a connection to WiFi, I plugged my 12 into a power source (not my desktop computer) and waited for several minutes. I did not get an update or download symbol. The “Installed Firmware” on the ROX 12 says I am current with 35016, yet your website indicates 36391 is the latest. Is this update not activated yet?
I got the new firmware straight away. You may want to try a different WiFi connection ie hotspot through phone.
Found 1 issue so far with gpsies. After logging in I don’t see any of the routes in my account. I should see 11, of which 2 are public and 9 are private. None are available to me. Interested to hear if anyone else has this.
The GPSIES is solved. Routes have to be added to the notepad (kladblok). Sync again and the routes (in notepad) are visible, both private as public.
Usage updates:
1) I got the firmware update to “take.” Afterwards I did a 200km ride with several turns (link to strava.com). I will say…the turn-by-turn navigation is MUCH better now. 2) When I was navigating with a map up on the screen and my head or body casts a shadow on the unit, it is still very difficult to see the map—however when I tapped the screen, it brightened up with the auto backlight function (for 2 minutes as per my settings). So now, I don’t leave the backlight on constantly, greatly increasing the battery life. For this 9-hour ride, I still had 40% of the battery left.
Hi Richard,
Thanks for your feedback! We spent a lot of work to improve the turn navigation a lot! We are happy it worked out so good! :-)
Enjoy your next rides!
Did the update a d my rox still wont perform a calibration, it still fails
Same here, no sensors can be found ?
Hi Steve,
The sensors should be found after updating the ROX 12.0. If you still have any issue, please contact our customer service: kundenservice@sigmasport.com.
Thanks in advance.
Daniel
I received my ROX 12 the day the big update was released. How was that for propitious timing.
I came from the Hammerhead Karoo which has a terrific display but woefully underdeveloped software and a company whose relationship with honesty is fast and loose. Done with them now. Delighted to have a highly functioning device that is well thought out and works as it should.
Two questions for SIGMA’s Daniel: when will the sd card slot be functional? Support tells me to look for an announcement from you here. The other issue: navigation works without issue but there’s one function that has become a safety issue for me. When I’m crossing four lanes of traffic here in urban Tucson Arizona USA to make a left turn I need more than a 150 yard notice. (150 yards = .14KM) I hope I’m not out of luck with that request, but IMO it requires modification or the option of a longer heads-up to the next turn.
Thanks
I agree. Sometimes the turns sneak up you. Last week I discovered a new field available for the ROX 12. Maybe it was there before, but I didn’t understand it. It is “Track View.” It is on my Sport Profile > Navigation Page and I put it in the lower left-hand field. It gives you the distance & direction of your next turn. Maybe this will help with your problem.
Hi Seth,
Actually we are still working on the last “2%” of the solution of the SD card. Technically it is working, but the issue is more related to the SD cards itself. There are so many SD cards available which causes issues. That’s why we decided to remove it from this update. We’ll keep you update about this process.
Thanks for your hint regarding the turn instruction. Richard already provided the solution we had in mind, to have a save trip in all cases. So you can add the Turn Instruction to any training view. There is even no limit for the size of the “cube”. I just enclosed a picture, how it could look like in a small cube.
Please let me know, if this suits to your needs.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Richard,
Thanks for your perfect help!
Thanks for the hint, for the “wrong” translation in the DATA CENTER. This should be named as “Turn Guidance”, like it is in the ROX 12.0. We correct it asap.
Thanks :-)
Thanks Richard and Daniel for the tips and the update.
Let me make this modification and will post back .
Indeed it (Distance to turn in data field) worked. Thanks again Richard and Daniel.
Hi Daniel,
It is possible to upload/use TOPO cards or use TOPO cards saved on the SD cards?
Hi Erwin,
No you can’t use any other map format on the ROX 12.0. Sorry.
BR,
Daniel
Great review DC Rainmaker as always. I watched a YouTube thing you did which was also good but it wasn’t on the Sigma, and the comments were all negative toward the gear, which were 3 models of the Garmin and Wahoo, so I was thinking great I’m not paying $500 or so for a GPS so I can tour with it and not have it work, I’ll just buy paper maps from Adventure Cycling and the maps would be cheaper and use my phone if I need something more detailed, but now you peaked my interest in the Sigma; so I have to check this one out further. I’ve actually own a Sigma computer and it’s lasted so far 15 years whereas the others I have only lasted 5 to 8 years, so Sigma seems to be pretty robust designed hopefully this unit is like those. I don’t need the Sigma to do a lot of what it does, but being a bike computer and have accurate map routing is a must, the rest is just fluff for me.
Thanks for the review.
How’s Traditional Chinese support? Does it accept Traditional Chinese search query for navigation?
Hi Chup,
Unfortunately there is no support of Traditional Chinese search query for navigation. If there is any change expected, I’ll let you know.
BR, Daniel
Appreciate your prompt reply. Hope to see Chinese support in the near future (and possibly CJK input support).
Thanks for your reply. Does it mean the device could not display Chinese or Japanese characters in maps?
Hi Ayko,
it can display characters, but you can’t use it for the input when searching for an address.
This is how it looks like.
Best regards,
Daniel
Daniel
Thanks for your quick reply. That’s good enough for my usage and I am sure I would get one after my poor experience about Garmin devices. My Garmin cycling computer and watch usually get bad firmware updates with broken functions. I really wish ROX 12 will be more stable and every promised functions could work.
Will my wahoo heart rate chest strap work with the rox?
My Wahoo TICKR works fine with this
Hey Folk,
I have some good news for you. We just released a new update for the ROX 12.0!
Here you can see all changes:
– Strava live segments update
– Dropbox integration
– Training view is given a new improved font for numbers
– Zoom function for altitude profile
– Power meter calibration – optimized
– Improvement to stability
I highly recommend to do the update now. It is a very nice improvement for the training!
Enjoy!
Changelog can be found here as well: link to sigmasport.com
Excellent. I like the new condensed font and zoom function for altitude! (I guess I should stop hoping for a function on the 12 that will notify me when I get a text or voice call on my smartphone?).
Also, silly question…when I want to follow an uploaded route or “Track” I do the following: Tracks > Select the given route from a menu > Select >>> and then I see my map with the words “Start Point” and “Closest Point” on the screen with a “Start” option below both of them. Which one do I press next if I am at or near the start? What if I am in the middle of the route? I have managed to get it to work, but only after pressing one or more buttons in no particular order. Can you provide clarification on what should be obvious to a seasoned user?
Hi Richard,
Thanks a lot for your feedback. This won’t be the last update we will provide. Let’s wait and see ;-)
Regarding your question (first of all, there is no silly question…. any silly answers ;-) )
The concept is like this.
You can decide if you would like to start the selected track at the starting point OR if you are already close to the middle of the selected track and you won’t start at the starting point… you would like to start at the closest point, you have to select closest point instead of starting point. The idea is, that you should make the selection, not the system!
If there are any other things you would like to clarify, just let me know.
Daniel, it appears the battery % is now missing from the notification bar. Oversight or by design in the new update? If the latter, may I urge you to put it back in the next update? I’d rather know exactly how much power is left than to guess. Thanks
Daniel, I just tried my Rox 12 for the first time. It did an update. When I connect with Strava and go to my live segments on the Rox , I get a message saying I need to be a premium Strava member for this to work. I am a premium member. I logged off and back on several times and turned the Rox on and off but it still does not work.
Also I downloaded the sigma link on my iPhone 10xs and only see the Rox 11 on app and any other thing I try the app doesn’t see my Rox. Any ideas?
Shane, unfortunately there is a “funny” bug in the ROX 12.0. But there is an easy way to fix it. You simply have to remove the digits for your weight (in your personal settings). That’s it.
Actually there was no update for iOS for the LINK App to be compatible with the ROX 12.0, yet. We had some issues, which will be fixed soon. So thanks for your patient.
Merry Christmas,
Daniel
Daniel, I tried to remove the digits in my weight in the Strava profile but it won’t let me. Once I hit save it says a valid weight must be entered. I also tried not saving but it reverts back to my weight.
Daniel, I too have had the same problem as Shane with Live Segments. Were you saying removing the weight settings would resolve this problem? I tried it and it is, unfortunately, not fixed. I put in a setting of 0.0 lbs — it cannot be left blank. Strava on the 12 is still showing I’m not a premium member
Hi Seth,
Sorry my explanation was not clear. Please just remove the digits. Please change the unit from lbs to KG. Please check if the weight is set to e. g. 70 Kg. It shouldn’t be 70.5 Kg.
With an even weight value, it should work without any problem.
Best regards,
Daniel
Hi Shane,
Please change the unit from lbs to KG. Please check if the weight is set to e. g. 70 Kg. It shouldn’t be 70.5 Kg. If you set an lbs value, it could be converted to an uneven kg value. So it ends up in the same problem.
Best regards,
Daniel
Daniel, alas, this fix to Strava doesn’t work. I changed weight setting only to metric (Settings/Device/Scale Units/Manual) and put my weight in at 77kg not 77.0kg. Logged out and in to Strava twice and it still shows that I’m not a premium member. I changed all Scale Units to metric. Same unresolved problem — no Live Segments
I’ve been mystified that changing weight to whole Kg from lbs fixes Strava Live Segments, it seems totally unrelated, so forgive me for asking, but can you confirm that it is the fix, even though it doesn’t work for me?
Please let me know of another solution or tell me how I can revert to the previous version. I’d rather have Live Segments working than have any of the features in the latest version.
It appears support has dropped the ball on another issue for me: Every time I attempt to sync data to Sigma Cloud, I get a Data Sync failed message, but the data is uploaded nonetheless. I contacted support 7 weeks ago and complied with every request for a data and log-in info. I did not hear back and reached out again last week. Nothing. Could this be related to the Strava issue above?
I’ve been praising the ROX12 to my former buddies who still own the Hammerhead Karoo. I hope I don’t have to eat my words.
THanks for the continued support from you.
Could this have something to do with the changes at Strava, so that there are no longer “premium” members? I’m now a “Summit”, and I believe there are now one or two paid tiers below that.
> “I’ve been mystified that changing weight to whole Kg from lbs fixes Strava Live Segments, it seems totally unrelated”
The data devices read from the Strava API includes, amongst a other things, the athlete weight. And apparently, the Rox only reads segments after successfully reading athlete data, which turned out to be fragile in the current implementation. All this Strava data is in JSON format, where there is no formal difference between full numbers and fractional numbers. It is a very, very common bug in code that consumes JSON data to assume whole numbers for some data field where sometimes fractional numbers appear.
Usually this kind of problem is quickly identified and fixed, but in this case, the distribution is a bit weird: hardly anybody would enter a fractional number in Strava (because weight fluctuates and Strava lacks integration with smart scale platforms), but the API converts imperial to metric, which almost universally results in fractional numbers. Sigma is based on Europe, so pre-release testing will tend to be on metric accounts.
If the code that reads the Strava API JSON is fragile enough to choke on converted pounds, it will likely also stumble over other, similar unexpected details.
Hi usr,
Happy New Year and sorry for my late reply.
We already fixed that issue. We actually plan to release a new version soon. In fact of there will be included some other “things”, it will take some time. I can’t give more details for now :-)
We are very sorry about this bug, espacially it is easy to identify.
Best regards,
Daniel
Thanks usr, for the explanation.
Hi Seth,
Happy New Year! I missed your post, sorry for that!
We already fixed the issue. But we have to double check if it is all good. In fact of the Christmas Holidays, it will take some more days. There should be a work around for your case as well. We will check this and let you know asap how to get the Live Segments to your device .
Regarding the SIGMA CLOUD issues. Please send us a mail to kundenservice@sigmasport.com. Refer to this website. I’ll take care to check what is the root cause for your issue.
Sorry for causinng any inconvenionce.
Best regards,
Daniel
Thanks Daniel for getting back.
In anticipation I sent a request to kundenservice@sigmasport.com describing the issue this morning (02/01).
Looking forward to a quick resolution.
Daniel or others, I have tried this technique with no luck. When I tap on either “Closest Point” or “Start” nothing happens. In fact, this weekend (link to strava.com) I was on a solo out-of-state 200km ride where I REALLY needed navigation. I started cycling part way into a given uploaded route, but yet tapping on “Closest Point” yielded no results (see Ray’s photo referencing navigation where he says “Virtually everything I’ve shown here also applies to…”). I hit stop navigation and reloaded the route to no avail. In fact, the ROX 12 gave me some very odd directions. The turn-by-turn “text” was mostly working, yet the map didn’t match! Note how the map indicates I had a turn coming right up, yet the text said my next turn wasn’t for 14.3 miles! The map kept trying to take me back to the start. Anyone else experience such weirdness?
In his review of the Rox 12.0 Sport, Ray has commented: “The other minor thing to know is that when you stop at a light or such, the current heading/direction of travel seems to be lost. Meaning, it forgets that you were heading east, and the map rotates a bit while at a standstill. It doesn’t trigger anything on the unit, but it can be confusing when you’re potentially making a turn immediately after the light as to which direction that turn is if the map rotated during your stoppage…” This is similarly confusing at mountainbike trail intersections.
It’s been my impression that this loss of current heading when stopped is normally found when the GPS signal is used to determine direction; On the other hand, GPS units equiped with magnetic compasses seem to be able to retain the proper heading when motionless.
The chart of features for the Rox 12.0 Sport says that it has a magnetic compass. So, I’m unclear as to why it loses direction when stopped. Perhaps the magnetic compass hasn’t been activated? Or, has this problem been corrected since the writing of the initial review? As the Sigma changelog webpage only lists the changes in the most recent two updates (actually, it seems to be “down” completely at the moment), it’s impossible to examine all of the earlier releases to see if this issue has been addressed. Any clarification would be greatly appreciated…
Hi “GroundFather”,
It is recommended to check if the compass is calibrated before starting a navigation. The ROX 12.0 has an e-compass, which could be influenced by a smartphone.
You can find the compass calibration in the short cut menu (swipe from up to down).
Merry Christmas,
Daniel
Mine is a pre-purchase question. I’m seriously considering buying a Sigma Rox 12.0 Sport, but I would want it to be able to correctly show my current direction whether moving or stationary. It seems like a reasonable expectation for a $500 device.
Are you saying that Ray probably hadn’t calibrated his compass before doing his review? Is an e-compass the same as a magnetic compass?
Let me reach out one last time to point out that my comment immediately above wasn’t addressed. I’d just like a little more clarification.
Thanks.
Does anyone know why it won’t calibrate or should I say do a 0 offset
Hi Jeff,
Please check if you could calibrate your compass before starting a training. If you still have some issues, please contact our customer server: kundenservice@sigmasport.com. Please let us know some more details about your issue.
Thanks!
Daniel
Are there any retailers or partners that actually ship the unit bundle to Hong Kong? I have found them mostly focused on US and EU.
Hi Jay,
Actually there is no partner in HK. But please send a request to info@threepeaks.com.tw, which is located in Taiwan. They should have ROX 12.0 available. If not, please send us an email with your request to: kundenservice@sigmasport.com.
Best regards,
Daniel
Manged to find an online retailer from Germany.
Now I run into problem importing maps into the unit as it only came with EU maps. How do I import osm into the unit? and what osm format does the unit uses?
Also I cannot set my home location due to lack of local map, the “broschuere” mentioned “Additional maps can be downloaded free of charge.” but where is it?
Hi Jay,
You can simply go to “Settings>Map>Map Management”. You have to have WiFi established to enter this menu. Once it is available, you can simply select the maps you need. Or delete maps you don’t need. :-)
Best regards,
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for all the help, I would say it took me a long way but I am certainly enjoying the Rox. :) It would be nice to see if the units support Chinese character inputs because the OSM streets seemed to be in Chinese, only less than 20 of the 1000 are in English.
Currently there appears to be no way to enter a location number on a street. It seems to be a major oversight which hopefully Sigma can fix soon. Any word from Sigma about this?
Hi Nathaniel,
First of all… Happy New Year! :-)
We kept out the numbers, because OSM database is just providing a part of the numbers. There is a high possibility that “your” number is missing. So it is not a “bug”.
To learn more about your request, could you please let me know in which region you are leaving?
Thanks in advance.
Best regards,
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
I’m in the US and was looking for an address in Massachusetts. However, best I could tell, there was no way to enter a number. When I look for a street I have to pick it out from a list so I can’t enter a number there. After entering the street there is no other place I could see to enter a house number. Am I missing something or are you saying that because some numbers aren’t provided in OSM the Rox is not letting you enter any numbers? I think there should be an option to enter a number. If the number can’t be found then come up with the closest number that can be found and just report that number and ask if it can be used. Some streets here go on for many miles and simply getting to the street is not sufficient.
Happy New Year!
Thank you,
Nathaniel
I just tried out link to openstreetmap.org and had no trouble there specifying the house number and street I was looking for on the Rox. The location specific to the house I was looking for was found, so it looks like the OSM database has the information.
Best Regards,
Nathaniel
One more comment, then I promise I’m done for the night…
It looks like I’m not the only one seeing this. In the Enduro MB Magazine’s review is says: “Entering an address is limited to the city and street so that you can’t navigate to a particular house, and if you don’t know the coordinates of your buddy’s house by heart, you might take an involuntary detour.”
Hi Nathaniel,
Fully agree. Some streets are very long and it would be great to enter an the number. It sounds easy, but like mentioned, it isn’t. I just added a screenshot, where you can see the missing numbers. There are just two available in that whole area. That’s the reason we left it out.
We will check, if there is any other option to solve this issue.
An easy solution/workaround is, to search the destination on the map. So you can point any target you would like to go.
If you have any further question, please let me know.
Best regards,
Daniel
The unit simply does not go to specific addresses usually. And you can’t enter an address that contains a street that is numbered (as opposed to a name). Accept it – its just a negative you have to be willing to deal with.
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for your response.
I can see how OSM makes it difficult to use house numbers but believe you need to do at least a partial solution. There are many streets left out of OSM as well, but I’m sure you wouldn’t think of limited addresses to cities. Perhaps you could…
Come up with another input area that allows selection of available house numbers, similar to how streets are selected after a city is selected.
or
Allow any house number to be specified and then find the closest number OSM has and use that number, opening a dialogue box after the selection if it is not the exact number requested to ask if the number found is ok.
I think you need some creative solution here because totally disallowing the specification of house numbers is a serious omission.
Best Regards,
Nathaniel
Hi Jeffrey,
I didn’t realize that you couldn’t even enter numbered streets. Thanks for pointing that out. Makes it pretty hard to use in New York City.
Best Regards,
Nathaniel
Hi Nathaniel,
Thanks for your suggestion. We will check, which options are available or if we even simply enable to enter the (available) numbers.
If a street is starting with a number, e. g. 50th street, it will be displayed like this.
Best regards,
Daniel
Thanks Daniel.
I’m directionally challenged so being able to simply ask the unit to direct me to an address is a big help, and I just want to add that I’m enjoying the Rox 12.0 a lot. Well done!
Best Regards,
Nathaniel
Appreciate! Our goal is to make you happy! So we are very happy about your feedback. It helps us to improve our system. Sometimes there are limitations. Sometimes there is a descision to make. If we add the numbers, it will end in another complain: “Why my house is missing?” :-D
Hard descision to make :-)
I’m really happy, that end of the day you like the ROX 12.0. That’s the most important for us! And we are still working on some nice stuff…. so looking forward to it! :-)
Best regards,
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
Is it possible to allow searching via Post Code? – You can do this on openstreetmaps and this at least gets me much closer to an address without having to type so much information in. In the US, it might be a bigger range than UK, but you still can get a lot of possible addresses back without having to type so much initial information.
This can narrow things down quite a bit and is quicker than the current method for me. It would be good to have that as a toggle option.
“Why my house is missing?”
At the risk of later receiving unpleasant questions about your data supply chain latency, you could reference them to link to wiki.openstreetmap.org
In the mean time, you might want to consider implementing support for intersection addresses like “West 33rd Street & 10th Avenue” for your American customers. It should be possible to do that entirely within the geocoding DB encoder once you have support for a hierarchy level below streets.
Hi usr,
Thanks for your hint! That’s very helpful. We will check, if it is better to enable the input again.
Regarding the “West 33rd Street & 10th Avenue”. I just enclosed a screenshot. Is this what you expect? Just want to double check if I understood it correctly?
Best regards,
Daniel
I promise not to complain if my house if my house is missing! As usr points out, I can always add it myself (and then find it using my Rox 12.0 when it has house numbers).
Hi JuniorM,
Thanks for your question. Actually the search via Post Code is not possible, as you can see on the device. We will double check, if there is any option to integrate this feature in future. For now, I can’t promise.
Best regards,
Daniel
Daniel (SIGMA),
are you aware about the bug shown on the picture? It’s not possible to connect ROX 12 with TrainingPeaks as the button to grant permissions is not displayed. After logging in into TrainingPeaks you just see this screen and can’ proceed.
BTW this bug exists since a couple of releases and was not fixed in the most recent firmware update.
Hi Igor,
First of all “Happy New Year”!
Thanks for your message. Actually it looks like the button is missing on TP side. I will update you asap, once we double checked with TrainingPeaks.
Best regards,
Daniel
Happy New Year to you Daniel.
You posted a number of replies to many queries but none to me regarding my continuing issue with not being able to get Strava Live segments in the latest release. See post #285. Any ideas? Thanks
Here’s a fix for Strava Premium members who use Imperial units on Strava to get the ROX 12 to recognize that you’re a premium member and therefore use Live Segments. Read it through but I recommend trying this first: Instead of changing units to “Kilometers and Kilograms,” try putting in a weight in lbs which equates to rounded kgs. E.g., 169.8 lbs = 77.0 kg. The converted weight has end in .0 kgs It might be a quicker fix. The longer way definitelyworks however.
“Login to Strava
Change “Display Preferences>Units” to “Kilometers and Kilograms
Go to “My Profile” and change the weight to, e.g., 77.0kg (please use the digit “.0” as well to make sure it will be set correct).
Keep this setting and do not change to “Miles and Pounds”
Turn on your ROX 12.0
Go to Strava and Logout if you are logged in
If you are logged in -> log out
Go back to Home
But your device to sleep mode (display off)
Turn on again
Go back to Strava
Login with your credentials
The Live Segments should be available now
You can change back to “miles and pounds” on Strava. As long you stay logged in, it should work.
Hi Daniel,
When will the Bluetooth Smart sensors be compatible ?
(I use Polar for registering my trainings (cycling/running/swimming/…)
I want a capable GPS cycling unit, but want to keep my beloved V800
grt
Erwin
Hi Erwin,
Actually there is almost no request from the market to support BLE Sensors. This is a special request from Polar users :-)
There is an easy solution. I would highly recommend the ROX 12.0 Bundle including the Heart Rate and the Speed/Cadence Sensor. The SIGMA Sensors supports both standards, ANT+ and BLE. So you can use the ROX 12.0 and the Polar V800 at the same time without any limitation.
If you have any further question, just let me know.
BR, Daniel
Anyone tried loading a gpx file as a track on the Data Center and then gone to the Rox 12.0 and done a cloud sync to get the track onto the Rox? It works but the projected climbing numbers I get are dramatically different on the Data Center vs. the Rox (5,361 ft. in the Data Center, 7,276 on the Rox). Why would they be so different? Which should I trust?
Hi Nathaniel,
Thanks for your question. In fact of both system are doing their own calculation, it ends up in different values. What is the right one… this is hard to say and depends on the terrain. The only way to find out is to ride the track and compare it afterwords.
Best regards,
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for the answer. Just curious, if it’s not too complex to explain: What are the different methods used. Are they based on different mapping services? Different algorithms? It’s a 35% difference!
Best Regards,
Nathaniel
Hi Nathaniel,
Sorry for my late reply.
The differences depends on the track itself. If you have a track which has ‘real’ climbs, there almost no difference. If there is a track with some up and downs, it could be different.
If you take the same track and put it to another website, you will get another value as well. What is the truth? Hard to tell. There are small differences in the base for the calculation, which ends up in that difference. We will check, if there is a way to reduce it, but it can’t be 100% the same.
Best regards,
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
Thanks again for your reply. The ride has some ‘real’ climbs and some ‘fake’ ones (rolling hills). I often see differences between web sites and devices and understand that getting altitude numbers can be difficult, but was mostly curious why the number was so dramatically different when both calculations are being done for the same ride for the same device by the same company. I looks like very different software is on the cloud and the Rox 12.0. What are the major differences? Knowing the differences would make it possible to make a more educated guess about which is more accurate for this particular ride.
I sent the gpx file into support, but so far they seem to be a bit puzzled about what I’m asking. And yes, I’m a programmer, so I’m probably getting a bit fixated on this.?
Thank you,
Nathaniel
Hi Nathaniel,
The ‘rolling hills’ making this difference. DATA CENTER and ROX 12.0 are not using 100% same base.
But for sure, if you could share the track you refer to, we can double check why there are 35% difference. Maybe there is something else. We will check.
… it is OK to be fixated on some stuff. ;-)
Best regards,
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
Thanks again. I did send in the track to support: issue DSK-68061. Anything more you can tell me is greatly appreciated.
Best Regards,
Nathaniel
I got this thing for xmas and right out of the box I was super impressed and pumped. It came preloaded with all the maps of north america. I thought I would have to load all that myself. Big win! I signed up for the sigma cloud, set it up with strava, loaded up a bunch of routes and was in love. Two days later the device wouldn’t turn on. It just froze at the start up screen. Didn’t even get it home and on the bike. Reached out to Sigma and they got back to me super quick once the holidays were done and explained how to do a factory reset. Great! Did as they suggested and sure enough it worked. Excellent. Got home, set it up on the bike, set up the sensors and sat down to link everything up. Unfortunately the reset lost all the data meaning the pre-loaded maps were gone. That kinda sucks, now i’ve gotta figure out how to load them. Oh well. But. Despite the green light on the cadence/ speed sensors and my personal ANT+ HR wouldn’t show up on the unit. I manually added the packaged strap HR sensor which the unit recognised but wouldn’t pair with. I said, ok… maybe I need to update the firmware. Yup. Needed to update it after the factory reset. No problem. Currently up to date. Perfect. Sadly it still won’t pick up any sensors and now it won’t sync with the sigma cloud. I’m pretty frustrated. I’ve reached out to sigma again but from reading the review earlier it seems the tech support is watching this pretty closely as well. Heeeeeeellllllpppppp! I realllly want this unit to work. I loved it right out of the box, the hiccups are just starting to pile up.
Hi Stoicloic,
Thanks for comment. To get more insides about your issue, please contact our customer service in Germany: kundenservice@sigmasport.com. Refer to this DC Rainmaker comment.
Just some general information about issues you mentioned.
Factory Reset: If you are doing a Factory Reset, all maps should stay on the device. It should delete all personal data, but not the maps. This is something we have to take a look into it. So when sending a mail to our customer service, please let us know all steps you did.
Sensor Pairing: There is no magic behind it. It should simply work. The best way to pair the heart rate sensor is wear the chest strap incl. the heart rate sensor. After taking it on, start the searching process. Easiest way is to use “Search all” option. So all close by sensor should be displayed.
If you still have some issues with it, please let us know which steps you did.
I’m sure we find a way to keep you happy :-)
All the best,
Daniel
Sometimes with sensor pairing problems (heart rate chest strap) it is best to disconnect, or as the iPhone says “Forget this device,” as per these steps: Home > Settings > Connect Sensor > Paired Sensors > Heartrate > Disconnect > Re-pair it again.
Daniel, here’s something Sigma needs to remedy: I learned the hard way that activities will be deleted and cannot be uploaded back to the device when you do a factory reset. I know now that the files on the ROX in the Activities folder are.zipslf which become .slf when uploaded to the Data Center. Exporting the files back is useless. Unless you have an immediate workaround I have to warn other users to back up activity files before resetting.
I didn’t, obviously. I didn’t think I had to. I spent an exasperating 8 months with my Hammerhead Karoo and sold it back to the company prior to buying the ROX 12. It pains me to tell you that resetting the Karoo was seamless and painless whereby everything previously on the computer was restored. The ROX is superior in so many ways, but not in this case. I hope a fix is in the works. I now have nothing in Memory for any rides, other than tracks.No activities, no personal bests, and no totals
Why did I reset? Despite my last post outlining a workaround to get Strava Live Segments working for those in the U.S. not on the metric system, it still wasn’t working for me. Sigma Support is missing in action the last week with a solution. Thus, I decided a reset, which I expected to be quick and easy, would be worthwhile.Haven’t tested it yet, but I hope that issue is resolved.
Thanks in advance for a helpful reply.
Hi Rando,
In fact of using ANT+ for sensor connection, this shouldn’t be necessary. Usually it should simply work! In fact of the heart rate sensor do not have any LED to indicate it is “on”, it is hard to if it is already transmitting data.
If you have any further issues with pairing the sensor, please let us know.
Just to consider all error possibilities. Did you checked the battery of the sensor? It shouldn’t be any problem, just to make sure there is no unexpected case on your side.
Best regards,
Daniel
Hi Seth,
Thanks for your very worthful feedback.
I would like to give you some details. The feature which you expect is a part of the SIGMA DATA CENTER. It will collect all your data regardless if you are using one or multiple devices. One device as such do not nessaccarly have the full picture of personal bests and totals. That’s is why the concept of the full SIGMA environment is acting like this. All bike computers collects data and has some analysis features, but the full picture is on DATA CENTER side (or if you like any 3rd party website which supports .fit files).
The only values which can be set are the “Totals”. Personal records can’t be set on the device manually.
To make sure, that this won’t happen again. We will add some further information for the “Factory Reset” to make sure this won’t happen again. Something like “ATTENTION: All personal data will be deleted!”
Thanks for your understanding.
Best regards,
Daniel
Daniel, thanks for the reply. Totals were not restored to the device and I can’t find a way to do that through the SIGMA DATA CENTER. Please let me know how.
I understand the logic of a central point for the data, i.e., the DATA CENTER, but I believe it is more user friendly to give us the option of reinstalling the personal data we wish to have on the device rather than make that arbitrary or to decide for us that it’s not needed. Wouldn’t you agree that it’s more convenient and appropriate for us to check on comparative data on the device when we finish the ride than have to go to a PC or our phone or tablet to check it, or at least to have that option?
Please let me know how to restore Totals.
Thanks
Daniel, I just confirmed that Device Totals for the ROX12 are NOT available for upload back to the device from the Data Center which is where one is to look according to: link to help.sigmasport.com: Clicking on the ROX 12 under My Devices does not offer this option. It is available for my old ROX 9.0, 9.1 and 10.0. I’m assuming you were not aware of this. As such it reinforces my request for the team to address the issue of what data should be reloaded to the ROX12 after a reset.
Thanks.
Seth,
Sorry for causing any confusion.
You can set the Totals for each sportprofile manually in the device itself. It can’t be set via SIGMA DATA CENTER.
Please check “Memory>Totals”
Best regards,
Daniel
Thanks Daniel for getting back at this late time for you if you’re in Germany. I’m 8 hours behind you. We still do not have a solution
Alas, there is no ability to set Totals manually under Memory/Totals (I would have seen it previously) or anywhere else on the device.
Isn’t it time that SIGMA updates/expands its user manual — what there is — to include the ROX12? Aren’t you tired of fielding queries that could have been resolved with a complete manual? Getting frustrating my friend.
THanks.
Hi Seth,
I just enclosed a picture. This is the page which you can edit. Simply select every single item to add your personal values.
If you can’t find any edit feature, please check if you have the latest update.
We never get tired to help for every single question. But I will forward the request to have a more detailed manual.
Best regards,
Daniel
Thanks Daniel.
-I am on latest update
-It appears from your pic that the Totals page is within the Sports Profile. Can’t find that on mine.
-If I go to Memory/Totals within the Sports Profile, it is blank with no option to edit.
Please let me know the detailed steps you took to get to the page you showed.
THanks.
Looks like a great unit. Just wondering if I misunderstood in the review did you say the Rox 12 was not being recognized by the Sigma Data Center? Also have the ghost notifications in navigation been resolved or lessened at this point?
Thanks, John
Hi John,
Thanks for asking! To be honest, yes we had some issues in the very first release. We fixed them. Especially the navigation part including the turning guidence has a big improvement. So there are no ghost notifications anymore.
Regarding the DATA CENTER: This shouldn’t be any problem. This was no general issue at all.
If you have any further specific question, just let us know: kundenservice@sigmasport.com
Best regards,
Daniel
Thank you for the reply Daniel.
I have been using Rox products (9 & 10) for some time and have always liked them and the Data Center. Until I needed mapping, then I went to Garmin. I am glad to see the 12 with navigation and will likely purchase soon.
I do not use Strava or other apps but I do map my Randonneuring rides in Ride with GPS and then upload them via the computer. I assume this is all possible through the Data Center app.
How does the navigation handle long out and back routes? My Garmin gets confused and to solve this have been making two files to handle the route, one outbound, one for the return. I would prefer having one reliable file with the whole route.
Also, is there a detailed instruction manual available? All I have found is the basic manual and a few basic videos.
Thank you and thanks for a great product.
John
Hi John,
Great to hear that you are happy with SIGMA products since long time. :-)
Regrading your question how to share data. There are basically two options:
a. WiFi (direct Sync to SIGMA CLOUD, Strava, TrainingPeaks, Komoot and Dropbox)
b. USB
For Option b) you can use the Data Center (in this case you don’t need to set up a WiFi at all). Simply connect the ROX 12.0 to the PC/MAC and open the DATA CENTER App.
In fact of ROX 12.0 is also creating a .fit file, you can simply take this from the “Activity/fit” folder and share it to any 3rd party website which supports .fit.
Summery: You have all options and it is up to you, what you would like to use.
Navigation: You can select any route and reverse it. So there is one file only which you can use for both directions.
Actually there is no more detailed manual than what you found. The reason is, that the FW is changing during the life time. The manual would be outdated quite fast. But we will add further content in future.
Anyhow, if you have any specific quesiton, just let us know: kundenservice@sigmasport.com. We are happy to support you in any case.
Best regards,
Daniel
Thanks for the useful info Daniel.
Just a couple more questions. What is the best format for downloading routes, .tcx or . gpx?
Also is there a cue sheet downloaded to the device along with a map?
Thanks again for the help,
John
Hi John,
.tcx is not supoorted, because usually there are more data than needed. Use .gpx files, which should be available from almost all 3rd party websites which offers routes.
Regarding your second question…. could you give me some details about your question?
Thanks!
Best regards,
Daniel
Daniel,
To clarify my question, I have been using a Garmin Edge 1000 and when you load a .gpx course it also loads a cue sheet on another page that you can scroll through from beginning to end of route. Just wondering if the Rox 12 does the same.
Thank you,
John
John,
Thanks for adding some details. The ROX 12.0 generates a cue sheet by its own. So you will have it in any case once you load the route. Even when the route do not have this information, the ROX 12.0 will generate it.
Best regards,
Daniel
Thank you Daniel
Daniel,
I’m surprised by the comment regarding cue sheets as that is one of my main complaints. Are you saying that the cue sheets are available to review on the screen? Or that they are there internally. If they are available to read I would love to know how to find them.
My other complaint is that if I choose to deviate from the track that I selected at the start I can’t – or don’t know how to – quit navigation without quitting all data gathering for that ride. So I end up having to suffer through beeps and prompts that I don’t want.
I hope you follow what I’m saying and thank you for any help.
Wondering what happened to the video with this review? Its not showing up in my browser.
Thanks, John
Did anyone figure out how to name “home” location so it doesn’t just name the city it is in? My home is in Seattle. That’s a big place. In favorites, it says “Seattle” instead of “Home.”
Daniel, I’m hoping you’ll get an opportunity to respond to my reply #345.
Many thanks
Hi Seth,
Sorry for the slow response. Our customer service will contact you. They will give you a instruction how to set your totals.
Best regards,
Daniel
Daniel, thanks and indeed I got a short video from customer service. I appreciate that effort and support.
I say the following with a smile: You know why I was having a problem with restoring Totals? You can’t do it right after a reset when the fields are blank. You have to have one ride recorded which populates the data fields. Only then can I manually input data. Alas, no one from your end told me that. Now we both know, right?
I’ll reiterate my request and suggestion which I supported at length in an email to customer service: enable the Data Center to restore Totals and Personal Bests back to the ROX 12. Makes sense, yes?
My issues with Strava Live Segments not showing on the device have also been resolved. Although this wasn’t suggested by support I did a factory reset. That solved the problem. I realize both sides are going up the learning curve.
High marks to support for staying on this in a timely manner. That says so much about SIGMA Sport
Just a thought. Wouldn’t it be good if Sigma ran a dedicated support forum themselves, instead of camping out on DC Rainmaker’s site?
I agree David…it would be nice if Sigma USA or UK would create a forum or e-mail list for such discussion. Should I set up using Google Gmail Groups (as I have done for several other groups)?
Hi Rando,
hi David,
Let me double check with SIGMA USA first. Google Groupe could be a good option, thanks for your suggestion.
I fully agree with you, DC website shouldn’t be the place to start support Q&A.
Thanks.
Daniel
Thanks Daniel, and Rando. I’m sure it would be highly beneficial to both sides. I’d certainly welcome the opportunity to contribute feedback as a user of the Rox 12.0, and would be very interested to hear other user experiences and feedback, as well as up to date news about the device and firmware from Sigma.
I could set up a Google forum for all Sigma cycling computers or all Sigma products and then later transfer ownership to someone in the USA Sigma office.
By the way, I finally posted my ROX 12 notes onto my blog at: link to randorichard.com. It is not a review, but rather, my notes on how I operate the device. Others may find this post handy. This is a work in progress and will be updated from time to time.
Richard, kudos for the offer to set up a Sigma computer forum and for developing ROX 12 user manual, I lament the trend that puts the onus on the user/community to learn how to use a device, which, alas, includes the ROX 12. Developers and product managers do not understand that their intimate knowledge of designing and programming a computer over months or years translates automatically into an intuitive product for users.
Had a quick look at your blog notes on the Rox 12, Richard.
The content is exactly the sort of thing I’ve been looking for. Real user tips and experiences.
I’m having the issue trying to load tracks of longer than 300km onto the device. I want to use it for the transcontinental race but need to be able to load tracks of at least 800km onto it. Any advice on how to do this would be really appreciated. I created the route in RWGPS and imported (GPX) it into Sigma data centre but get the message “route exceeds max routing length of 300km”
Hi David,
it is possible to load tracks longer than 300km. Just make sure the starting point of the track is closer than 300km. The ROX 12.0 always calculate a route to the starting point. The max. distance of this calculation is 300km. But there is no relation to the length of the track.
If you would like to double check, simply create a track longer than 300km with the starting point next to your home. You will see it works without any problem.
If you have any further question, just let me know or send an email to kundenservice@sigmasport.com
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
Does this mean that if I”m traveling to some far away place (i.e., over 300 km away) I can not load any routes to use on my trip until I get there?
,
Nathaniel
Hi Nathaniel,
You can load, take a look to all details like altitude profile, distance and description of the track. All you need for the track. You can not start a track, which are far away from your place.
Why we are doing it like this? We calculate the route to the starting point. If the starting point is e. g. 2000km from your actual position, it would take a long time to calculate this route. And usually you would select a track to ride which is not close to your position.
Just to make sure I got your point, please let me know what is your use case which could be covered.
Daniel
That sounds good. I thought you couldn’t even load a track that was over 300km away. If you can load it but just not start it that’s fine. My use case is when I’m planning a trip somewhere (for example, Germany) when I’m in the USA and want to have my routes loaded onto the Rox 12.0 before I arrive. I’m not going to start riding from the States – that pond gets in the way.
Thanks Daniel. Yeah, I figured this out late last night. Loaded a 400 km route that starts at my from door, worked no problem. Thanks for the reply. One if the reasons I bought the Rox was the great level of customer service being provided by you on this forum. Kudos to Sigma.
Hi David,
Thanks for your Kudos! :-)
Best regards,
Daniel
Hi Nathaniel,
Yes it is like that. So it covers your use case 100%. :-)
Best regards,
Daniel
Thanks for the great review! I purchased the Rox 12 a few months back in part due to your review. I’m happy with the device and it has mostly met my needs. The one drawback that I’ve found is the inaccuracies of the GPS distance measurements. My 8.5 klick ride to work can end up being over 10.5 on some rides! I worked around this by getting a speed sensor, which measures distance fine, but then I loose the GPS mapping..:( Anyone else run into this issue and have a workaround? Thanks for posting the review. It was good to get a preview of the Rox 12 before diving in…
Hi Mark,
If you still have that issue with GPS, please send us some example files (good and bad). We would like to take a deeper look into it.
Please send it to: kundenservice@sigmasport.com (refer to DC Website).
Best regards,
Daniel
I have a new problem(s) with this device. I managed to load some tracks onto it a few days ago. However, when I tried today it wouldn’t work. It won’t connect to sigma cloud/data centre via wifi. I tried a factory reset and during the set up process set up my training peaks and strava accounts no problem- so it appears to be specific to sigma.
When I try to set it up in the set up menu it says “loading page” for a few seconds and then does nothing- blank screen. If I skip this part and try to login later it says “loading page” then “authenticating” then just returns me to the same page.
Pushing the files via usb seems to work fine.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Cheers
David
Hi David,
Thanks for your feedback. The issue was not caused by the ROX 12.0. It was a SIGMA CLOUD issue. We had some server issues during the weekend. Acutally all status lights are green again. So you should be able to login again.
If not, please let us know and email us: kundenservice@sigmasport.com
Best regards,
Daniel
Bought the Sigma last month and had a couple of rides with it. I switched from the Garmin 820 explore because I wanted a bigger screen, di2 compatibility and hated the touch screen only of the 820. Overall I’m happy, but found there were some bugs:
– my speed sensor had a low battery, which caused it to disconnect constantly; but this made the Rox go bananas and couldn’t pair any of my sensors anymore.
– After the first startup I had some unexpected reboots, which stopped after 3 times. Then, after disconnecting the Rox from the PC, this started happening again. Funny enough, the “startup and shutdown beep” also disappeared after this but booting up and down was significantly faster. Factory reset didn’t change a thing. The device seemed to work fine, but i did not trust it and cleared the dalvik cache. And voila, the startup/shutdown beep returned. Sadly, also the reboots returned. I tried some extreme things like draw my route over 200km, and this caused it to crash. But I found that rebooting the device fixed this, I can draw routes across the entire country now and had no more reboots. This led me to believe that the device has two “challenges”:
1. when disconnecting from the PC, ALWAYS choose ‘safely remove hardware’ first, otherwise the internal memory gets corrupted. I fixed this by formatting the device and a dalvik cache whipe.
2. The Simga has a problem with caching data ; normally the davik cache is build up at initial start-up, but it seems that some functions are still being cached while operating, which causes it to crash. Similar storing issues could also be found on the Garmin 810. A few reboots fixed the problem (so it seemed at least), but I wonder if these are acceptable bugs for a 400 euro device.
I will continue to use it, as for now I had little trouble while riding; it is a similar experience as with the Garmin 820. Sadly, I was hoping to be blown away.
Thanks Bart for your insights. Glad you have it fixed.
I’ve never had problems with reboots and I wonder if this is a hardware issue?
Hi Daniel,
I live in the US. Interested in maps of Italy/France and Spain. Can I purchase the ROX 12.0 in Europe. Would I then use US customer service for assistance/replacement etc? Would I be able to charge it with US wall socket?
Thanks.
Hi Shaka,
You can purchase the ROX 12.0 in Europe or US. It doesn’t matter. You can download and manage the maps on the ROX 12.0 itself. The only difference is, that the preload maps in the Europe version is different than the US. But the access to the maps as such is the same.
Regarding the assistance/replacement. For sure, you can use the US customer service for any reason.
There is no wall socket in the package, but you can use any wall socket from a smartphone which supports mircoUSB.
Best regards,
Daniel
I used my Rox 12 today with no issues, However, I have just restarted it and got the startup screen, then the chime, then another slightly different startup screen followed by a blank screen, (backlit, but just grey).
I’ve tried to restart it several times and get exactly the same result.
What do I do now?
Had that too, it was an empty battery. Charging it with a phone charger fixed it for me.
Hi Bart,
The battery is fully charged. I’ve contacted Sigma support and suspect that they’ll suggest a factory reset. I’m a bit reluctant to do that, as my most recent backup was mid January.
Thinking about it, I had a crash on the device after my ride yesterday. I swiped sideways between screens and the screen froze mid swipe. I powered it off and thought nothing more about it until trying to restart later in the evening.
Update.
Sigma suggests a factory reset.
Hello Daniel (SIGMA)
If I understand correctly, the SD card was not fully operational in Nov 2018, what is the situation now?
Thanks!
Hi Shaiko,
That’s true. But we will release a fix soon. It is a lot of testing required to make sure it do not cause any issue.
I can’t tell you a fixed date now, but it will be soon.
Thanks for your understanding.
Hi Daniel,
Do you guys also perform a stress and load test? My experience and what I can derive from other comments is that a lot of swiping or heavy computing makes the device crash the most. Would give you an advantage over Garmin, as they cleary never heard of it ;)
Can we expect new features in a new update soon?
Hi Bart,
This is what we are doing right now. And it takes time ;-)
I can’t give you any details for now. But for sure, I’ll let you know, once the update is available and where to find the change log :-)
Thanks for your understand :-)
Hi,
I have issues setting clock on ROX 12.0. Time on my device is exactly 2 hours behind Slovenian time zone.
Does anyone knows how to set clock?
Thanks, Matej
Same here, have not figured it out. @Daniel (Sigma); doe you have an answer?
Hi Matej,
This is very strange. You can’t setup your clock, because it will be automatically setup by your position (auto timezone). If the time which is showing in the status bar, is wrong, please send a picture and a short description of the issue to our customer service: kundenservice@sigmasport.com. We will take.
Best would be if you let us know, where you are located (city, town is enough).
Thanks.
BR,
Daniel
@Daniel (Sigma)
Are there any updates regarding timezone shift problem? I’m interested in buying this device, but folks at my LBS also detected the problem and warned me about it. It seems that their device have same problems as @matej. I’m from Croatia (Zagreb). I really find this device suitable to my needs (although device missing Galileo support), but this timezone problem could be a real showstopper for me?
Btw.. are there any plans for supporting RideWithGPS app inside Rox 12.0?
Thnx.
Ojla Matej. Je uspel rešit težavo z uro?
I had a problem with the Rox 12 when it arrived, that doesn’t seem to have been reported elsewhere.
The map management screen was broken, it said no maps installed / no maps available when the maps for europe were definitely on the device.
Customer service told me to delete:
\System Files\settings.xml
\Map\lastpackagesXML.xml
\Map\lastServersXML.xml
Then restart it. Didn’t work!
In the end I had to log out of the Sigma Sync, then it worked right away. Guess it was downloading some junk config files.
Posting this information here in case anyone else ever has a similar issue.
My ROX 12.0 Sport had a boot/shutdown loops and the repaired device returned a month later after I sent it from Tokyo to SIGMA Sport GmbH– The delivery has been suspended for some reason at a local post office in Germany.
Immediately after an initiatoy configuration, I encounter a multiple issues.
1. MAP MANAGEMENT →> Map Status X (red) ==> No items available.
There are no “lastpackagesXML.xml” and “lastServersXML.xml” files in the directory. Sync with Sigma Cloud or Sigma Data Center does not help for a solution. Looking into \System Files\settings.xml, I see strange segments.
For example;
false</Allow …. This should be 'true' No?
… It’s empty.
2. Established a Wi-Fi connection between a home Wi-Fi router and the ROX 12.0 Sport very frequently drops both on 5G and 2.4G bandwith connection. I have no strict filters setting for a Wi-Fi router that affect ROX 12.0 Sport established connection.
A WPA2 authentication and the password for my SSID are frequently die out or comes to invalid thus I have to type so many times. I notice that there is no file to be saved for those descriptions in the resource directories. I did a factory rest twice but that does not help, besides my profiles data remains oddly. In fact someone in Sigma Sport company just start taking care of my issues.
I wonder if this repaired ROX 12.0 Sport results in a cascade syndrome, or a hacker/s (a US based company’s network engineers) who make lockon to my IoT for long years is behind these issues.
Had some issues and contacted the seller of my Sigma. Had the options to send it in for repairs or wait for the upcoming update which was expected for today. So, now you know it is coming ;)
Hi Bart,
You are a furtune tellers ;-) Yes, the update is online since today. You can find the change log here:
link to sigmasport.com
Best regards,
Daniel
Purchased the Rox 12. Enjoyed great phone support (Randy). Worked for one day. Next AM I get only a blank screen ??????
Hi
I´ve already contacted your customer service in february 2019 (Eintrag Nr. DSK-70580).
I from Novo mesto, Slovenia.
Thanks
Matej
Hi,
thank you for the review; I wonder have you tryed the Mio Cyclo 415; I am buying a new computer and have to choose betwen this 2. Which one is better, the Sigma or the Mio ?
Thank you
Živjo Matej;
Kako si zadovoljen s Sigmo, bi jo kupil spet ? je boljša od garmina ali Mio ?
Hvala
Zdravo,
Sigma se obnese zelo dobro, a včasih se resetira sama od sebe (sicer še nikoli med treningom). Prej sem imel Garmin Edge 520, uporabljam pa tudi Garmin Fenix 3. Sigme ne bi ponovno kupil, ker menim, da programsko ni dorasla Garminu.
Lp Matej
Do you know if it possible to use free maps as for example mtbmap on this unit? I am using 1030 today were I easily can downloaded and transfer OpenStreetMap maps through USB from my computer to the Edge 1030. I use 1030 mainly for MTB single track and I am like for a better device when it comes to display. Is the display on the Sigma better than 1030? Thanks for a thorough review. Glenn / Norway
I can not tell you if the Sigma is better but I can tell you that it’s very good (been using it for a couple of months now). As for maps: yes, you can easily download routes through either USB or wireless using their “cloud” utility; maps for regions (I believe they are using OSM) can be easily downloaded directly onto the Rox using the wireless interface.
Hi, congratulations for the site!
I’m writing to you from Italy and I’ll be direct: is the garmin edge 830 or the Sigma rox 12 better?
Hello
Max
If your Wifi password is longer than 25 characters you cannot connect your ROX12. Sigma is aware of this but has no plans to correct this issue.
For those that have done mountain biking with their Rox 12.0, I thought I’d ask about the quality of the rendering of your local mountain bike trails. My experience has been a bit disappointing. In the northeastern U.S where I live, the trails can be twisty, requiring one to zoom in quite a bit to optimize the view and distinguish between trails/features. At a zoom level of 1000 feet, the trails still display as a solid line; at less that 1000 feet, however, the trail are increasingly represented by dots that have large gaps between them. It’s really not a very pretty sight and comes as a surprise (unimpressive) considering the cost of the Rox 12.0, and the relatively high resolution of the screen. The rendering kind of looks like a “bread-crumb” trail. I still have an old Garmin eTrex 35T with it’s small, low-rez, slow-scrolling screen, and it displays trails with much more quality and continuity than the Rox 12.0 at similar zoom levels. I don’t see any Settings to address this issue.
What has your experience been?
Daniel:The latest update to the ROX 12 allows users to change the goal against which our time can be compared for a Strava Segment. I’ve spent hours (no exaggeration) looking for how to adjust this setting. I can find the Strava segments on the ROX without problem but there is no global or segment-specific option to make this change. What am I missing?
To the American community: I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad and concerning news, but U.S. support and sales operations will cease the end of this month. Sigma announced this last week. It was terrific having U.S. availability for service, warranty and proximity. Daniel, it would have been nice if we had heard from you as this was happening; question is how will warranty returns be handled from this part of the world now that you’re leaving this market?
Please let me know the solution to my Strava Live Segments issue.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Hi Set,
You can simply change it on the fly. You simply have to swipe the lower part of the screen. I just enclosed a Strava screen to show the “active” area.
Yes, unfortunately this is right. But regarding the support, don’t worry. Our HQ will help you in any case. If you have any question or issue, whatever it is… just let us know.
Please let me know, if your Strava issue is fixed.
Thanks,
Daniel
I can’t imagine being able to swipe during a segment attempt. It would be good to be able to pre set goals before a ride. Some I’d like to challenge for a KOM, others, my target is a PB or a top ten.
Hi David,
unfortunately you can’t set the comparison target for each segment. The ROX 12.0 will keep the last comparison you used and will start with that. If you would like to change, you have to swipe.
Thanks,
Daniel
Daniel, I tried changing live segment comparisons on today’s ride. Here’s what happened:
-Incredibly difficult to swipe without swiping into another view. I found it frustrating and frankly dangerous as in distracted driving. There’s got to be a better, safer way while stationary.
-Not all choices were available for each segment and never was I able to find “next fastest time.”
-When you swipe to the end of the list, instead of stopping, it would swipe to a new page. That should not be happening
-When I chose a new goal it did not stick. Instead the next segment did not compare to it as I expected. In fact it showed KOM which was not my last previous setting — my PR time.
Lots of issues here
New Update available as of 7-16 v1.19.270 (40552) Just downloaded it. Not yet installed.
Hi Seth,
First of all sorry for my late reply.
Could you confirm, that you still have the issue with Strava? If yes, please contact us via: kundenservice@sigmasport.com.
Regarding the update. You can find the changelog here:
link to sigmasport.com
Best regards,
Daniel
Strava Live segments is still quirky.
I think you said that once you change the goal for a segment it is the same for each segment? That’s not the case for me. The goal is only changed for that specific segment. Somehow all my other segments are now compared with KOM when they were compared with my PR/PB previously — I didn’t make that change. Not all the goals you list on your website are available with every segment.
Its unacceptable to me to have to make changes for each segment when I only can do it on the fly. Too much swiping and distraction. Sigma’s lawyers know about this? There has to be another option available off-the-bike such as in the Strava section within the Sport Profile. IMO, this is not well thought out, but I appreciate it’s availability if not design
Anyone installed the update yet? Last update fixed a lot of issues for me, I went from very instable to very stable. I’m a bit reluctant to install an update, cause I dont want to leave this stable sweetspot :)
I just installed the update without any problem. It takes a while, and I haven’t gone on a ride yet, but I did a quick glance around the screens and everything looked good.
BTW – If anyone’s looking for a new one they’re getting pretty reasonably priced:
link to ebay.com
I’ve updated and been on a ride without any major issues. On a couple of occasions there was a little lag in the screen response to touch input. Also the shutdown was a little laggy, but thankfully no crashes (yet). With the previous version I had a few crashes on startup, resulting in having to re-enter my user data and losing historic best results.
great and informative article
I have been using the ROX12 for quite a while now (running the latest firmware) and some things work really well but unfortunately there are also some issues that could use some more attention imo. Several of these issues are actually starting to become dealbreakers for me. The reason why I write this post is because I much prefer these issues being sorted and keep using the ROX12 then to have to purchase a bike GPS from a competitor.
-One of the biggest gripes I have with the ROX12 is the poor trainingpeaks integration. I have several work out plans activated in trainingpeaks and would love to be able to download these interval training schedules straight to the device. Right now I have to fiddle with the ROX12 unit to manually create these training activities, which is really annoying. The Wahoo Elemnt units have this integrated very well.
-When creating an interval training based on power I have to manually select the wattage ranges of the power intensity. Why not implement a powerzone selector, where you simply select the zone you want to use which is calculated based upon the entered FTP. This way previously made interval training workouts remain up-to-date when ones FTP starts to change.
-The brightness level of the auto brightness setting lits up the screen insufficiently when riding in direct sunlight, especially when wearing shades. I always have to manually select full brightness when cycling in direct sunlight, which leads me to manually correcting the brightness during the ride because of changing lighting conditions. I would suggest introducing an option for the autobrightness scale, normal (as its configured now) and bright (which significantly increases the brightness compared to now).
-Riding Komoot routes often yields navigational issues. Usually it takes 3 or 4 route load attempts before the unit starts giving correct turn by turn directions (it otherwise keeps instructing to perform a u-turn while being on route correctly).
-Sigma Link (the software used to analyse your rides) needs an overhaul as it’s seriously outdated.
These are issues that imo would add a way better user experience with the ROX12 once they get sorted. The ROX12 is an awesome bikecomputer, and I would really love to keep using it!
re: brightness
Do you need backlight in the day? I turn it off unless I’m riding at dusk/night. Seems fine.
I have the backlight off in daylight and it’s absolutely fine. And it virtually doubles battery life.
Another alternative that’s worked well for me: I set the backlight to full brightness but have it only go on for 30 seconds after I touch the screen (or push a side button). So it’s off almost all the time but I can quickly have it go on if needed.
Well that’s just plain weird. My eyes are fine but during bike rides (mostly at the end of the day) when the sun is relatively low and wearing shades (Oakley Prizm road lenses) I am having a really hard time seeing the screen clearly. I have to turnoff the auto brightness and crank the backlight all the way up. Especially navigation is an issue. I have absolutely none of these problems with the Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt.
Well apparently you guys are right. I thought that increasing the backlighting (during direct sunlight rides) made a difference when in fact it hardly makes any difference. I guess the screen for me is not readable enough when riding in direct sunlight (when comparing it to the Wahoo).
Silly question, Martijn, as you do mention that the Wahoo is readable, but: are your Oakley Prizm lenses polarized? Another reason (other than ice on road, I mean) that Assos is right not to offer polarized lenses: screens are very difficult to read.
Good question, as far as I am aware the Prizm Road lenses in my Jawbreaker are not polarized.
Hello guys,
What would you suggest: Garmin 530 or Sigma Rox 12? Or maybe Wahoo ELMNT?
They are all in same price range.
Sigma is more sleek, looks more upmarket, but as I read through various comments, it still has some issues or misconceptions in a whole package.
Thanks.
I’ve had the Rox12 for this entire season and been quite happy with it. If navigation is important to you then I think it’s a clear winner over the others. As for other functionality, I’ve found it has all I want and is easy to use. I’ve only had minor problems with it (rare need to reboot on startup). I do wish they had kept their US office open, but hopefully there’s minimal need for support.
Thanks Nathaniel.
Navigation is not on the top of my priorities, but it certainly has to have it and that operation is easy and logical.
I assume each of them would great for me (currently have Polar M450). I don’t want to have problems like rebooting during ride or losing my ride due to some software fault. Hats off to Polar on that respect.
The reboots I encountered were never during the ride. They were always at startup and haven’t happened since the latest release. Pure speculation but I think if you don’t let things complete (get GPS signal and wireless connection if one is there) before asking it to do a route then the chance of failure on startup is greater.
So, there are no more any glitches? It just works how it is supposed to?
And what about ride upload ? It does not have a bluetooth to connect to a smartphone. It seems to me quite cumbersome to upload via WiFi or USB only.
I don’t keep my bike in a house, meaning I wanna sync and upload rides while still on a bike (or around it). I don’t wanna carry GPS comp with me all the time, connect to PC etc….
I can’t guarantee there are no more glitches but I’m not encountering any. You do need WiFi or USB to download/upload rides. If your phone can become a “hotspot” that should work, but I haven’t tried that.
I use this a lot and its fine
Thanks guys!
Does pairing with other devices / sensors like heart rate belt, powermeter work fine?
It can pair via Bluetooth with those sensors (can it? :)) , but it cannot upload a ride to a phone app via bluetooth. Isn’t it strange?
There are a lot of strange things about the 12. Such as you cannot put in a regular street address. It does not recognize streets that are number (only names).
But I have found it pairs with my Garmin HRM watch, speed and cadence sensors just fine.
And how is battery life?
As far as I understand, screen does not have to have backlight basically never during daylight.
I’ve gone on 70 mile rides with navigation on, HR and Cadence sensor on, backlight off except for it going on for 30 seconds when I touch the screen, and it’s taken less than 50% of the battery.
BTW – I don’t believe bluetooth, on its own, can ever be used to connect to the internet and you need to connect to the internet to do down/up loads.
Thanks again.
A device (GPS computer) is paired with a phone via BT and transfers (sync) data with a phone app, i.e. transfer your rides to a cloud (Polar, Garmin…). Sigma does that via WiFi obviously.It is a kind of ok if you can use you phone as a hotspot, but still it is mucj more convenient to do that via BT. All others do it that way.
Ah – I get it – they have Sigma Link but it doesn’t appear to work with the Rox 12 yet.
Nathaniel, the SIgma Link app on your phone does indeed work with the ROX 12. It gets its data from Sigma Cloud which is uploaded by wifi or cellular data from the ROX.
Zrinko, I’m with Nathaniel on B/T. It cannot be used to connect to the Internet or the cloud. Perhaps data can be transferred a device via B/T but it then requires Wifi or Cell data to upload to the cloud, not directly. If you know otherwise please let us know. It would be most illuminating!
Seth, I obviously poorly explained this.
Of course it it the way you put it: GPS computer transfers data to a phove via BT, and then phone via Internet connection (WiFi or mobile) to the Cloud. But in case a phone has a good Internet connection (which is almost always the case), data are transferred to the cloud as soon as phone app get them from a device via BT.
But what is the purpose of Sigma link phone app if it actually cannot communicate with ROX 12? So you can analyze your data on a phone?
Anyway, back to my original question: Sigma ROX 12 or Garmin 530/830? Maybe I am on a wrong place for this question, since you are all more-less happy Sigma owners. :)
@Nathaniel I had a reboot a couple of minutes into my commute a couple of days ago, which I would’ve thought is well clear of the bootup phase…
It actually saved the file so I merged them together later.
Have had the occasional oddity with syncing with the PM – it seems that sometimes they just will not pair. It’s rare, fortunately. Have to reboot the Rox completely.
What is the minimum crank length that The Rox 12 will accept for power calculations, as I have 153.5 mm cranks
Hi Daniel,
Is there any news on integrating Varia radar tech in an update anytime soon?
Thanks
Hi Junior,
Thanks for raising this question. Actually there is no timeline for the integration of the Varia.
Sorry that I’m not able to give you a more detailed information about.
Once there is an update, I’ll let you know.
Best regards,
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
The last update reintroduced the old bug that direction in navigation is lost even standing still. Also, the sigma loses signal from my sensors from time tot time. Will there be a bugfix update any time woon and are you aware of these issues?
Hi Bart,
If you standing, the ROX won’t fix the direction (like others do). We are using the e-compass to show the right direction where the device is heading. If it doesn’t show the right direction, please check the short cut menu and do the calibration of the compass. This should improve your mentioned issue.
Regarding losing the sensors. Could you send us some examples, to get a better understanding of what is the issue to: kundenservice@sigmasport.com
Thanks a lot!
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for the reply, I send an email with several examples.
Thanks!
Also, I calibrated the compass (was calibrated in half a second), seemed to fix the issue. Thanks :)
Hi Daniel,
I am also noticing that all my Strava segments now have no leaderboard history data.
So when I am doing them, there are no options to swipe and the time to beat is zeroed, so impossible to get a good idea of where I am in relation to other attempts / KOM.
I’ve deleted/re-added lots of different segments and it is still the same
Is there a solution for this? (I have latest firmware)
Thanks
I also had this issue on a ride today. The map showed, but the bottom part of the screen on the Strava Live Segment display was blank.
Hi Junior,
Thanks for your note. I just checked the sync with Strava and it worked fine.
It would be great if you could send us the segments you have selected (5-10 segments). Please send the strava link to the segment via email to: kundenservice@sigmasport.com.
So we can double check what is the issue.
Thanks.
BR, Daniel
How do you add a new map to the Rox 12? I would like to add a map of Madagascar, which is not listed in the Africa maps on the device. What format is required and where on the device should I copy the map data? If you have a suggestion as to where I can get such a map that would be useful as well. Thanks
Sigma uses OpenStreetMaps (OSM.) Ask them at email address above your post to include the following: link to download.geofabrik.de or to provide a way you can sideload it to the ROX. Unfortunately the Maps directory is locked out to us unless you can root device. Hope this helps.
Hi Joseph,
We will add the Maps for Madagascar in the next update cycle for the maps. Actually it is planned to release the new maps end of November.
BR, Daniel
Hi Joseph,
it’s not possible to get own maps on the ROX 12. You could ask if Sigma would be so kind and add the map of Madagascar to their map collection.
Hello Ray and everyone,
I am based in LA, California and bought a Rox 12.0 in July 2019 a few weeks prior to their US online store closed. I was pretty impressed with the aesthetics of the unit I received right out of the box and felt that I made a great decision in purchasing a Sigma Rox 12.0, but after I started using it, I noticed that the battery life felt short as their advertised 16 hours. My Rox 12.0 loses battery life after 6 hours. I contacted Sigma and they were very prompt to response. They asked that I should let the battery life run all the way to empty before I fully charge it as this should recalibrate the battery life. This sounded odd to me, but went ahead and did this for a couple of times with no luck. my Rox 12.0 only lasted on a average 5.5-6 hours tops. So I contacted Sigma again a couple of day ago and this is their response:
“Dear Mr. Henson,
thanks for your message.
Unfortunately decisions were made which we can’t control and SIGMA Sport USA was closed. At the moment we have no way of giving support to US customers as we are not able to ship to the US and no stock is left there.
We are hard at work to find a solution for US based customers but this will take time.
As soon as new possibilities for the US customers are given we are sure that it will be communicated properly.
Thanks for your comprehension and have a nice week.“
This is outrageous to me for a company who sold their product in the US and decides not to stand behind them.
Never again will I buy a Sigma product again.
Buyer please beware.
Thanks James for passing on the troubling news.
Daniel: No comment? This is at odds with what you said in post #411. We’d appreciate a forthcoming and transparent explanation, otherwise it will appear Sigma has abandoned the US market, period.
Ray, any insights? Moot point, but I wonder if you would have spent time and effort reviewing the ROX12 and other Sigma goodies with the knowledge it was leaving the U.S. and as said in the email to James, “…we have no way of giving support to US customers…?”
I can no longer recommend the ROX 12 as a result. Not angry, just very disappointed and surprised.
Sigma hasn’t done anything that really Garmin or any other bike accessory manufacturers haven’t done in the past. They all overpromise and give horrible customer service in my experience. The whole reason I bought my ROX 12 was because the 5 – 7 Garmin bike computers I went through failed in one way or another and they replaced them for free or at a discount. The fact that the ROX lasts 6 hours instead of 16 is basically on you. Obviously no bike computer lasts 16 hours and you are a fool to have believed one would. Sorry but true.
Hi James,
sorry for causing any inconvenience. It was not planned to leave the market without having any kind of support. Like already mentioned in the email, we are working on a solution to make sure that the existing users will get support soon. We’ll keep you updated.
Regarding the battery issue. We’ll contact you via email to get some more details about the issue.
Sorry to cause any trouble.
BR,
Daniel
I live in Australia, so what support could I receive if I buy a ROX 12 Sport
Have been using this device for almost a year now. Functionally speaking; great device. Works well and very happy with the options it offers.
But the device has been buggy. My timeline:
1. I started out with the devices regularly crashing. Customer service was quick to respond, I had to manually erase some things, which partly fixed the issue. After an update, the device worked much better.
2. Turn-by-turn stopped working all of a sudden. Manually adjusting some settings fixed this.
3. Paired sensors could not connect anymore; had to redo the steps from point one (lost all my data).
4. Sensors signal was losts during rides; I helped the servicedesk by enable debugging and sending the files, a fix is coming in a later update was the message.
5. After the debug session, the devices started crashing again and battery life dramatically went down. I contacted customer support again, who gave me another manual step-by-step guide to fix battery issues.
I had enough of spending hours manually adjusting and fixing a device which cost me a lot of money, and in reply of the solution offered point 5 I told them this and asked for a more robust solution. They were always quick to reply, but now: nothing. Even after a reminder they remained silent.
@Daniel: can you give any help here? I think it is very wrong to ignore a customer like this.
Hi Bart,
Sorry that you have such trouble with your device. Our customer service will contact you. The best would be, if you could send us the device for further checking. Please keep all data on the device! So we have a chance to find the root cause for your issue.
Sorry for causing any inconvenience.
BR, Daniel
I too have had issues for which there has been no resolution other than a “we’re working on it” message.
Last Sunday I lost another activity recording due to the Rox 12 losing signal and constantly pausing/starting/pausing etc. I reported this a long time ago but have seen no fix. This has now happened to me on multiple occasions and is really pushing me towards looking at other devices.
I do like the Rox 12 very much and a lot of the functionality is great.
Any news on a fix yet, Daniel?
Regards.
Hi David,
Sorry to hear you have some issues with your ROX 12. When you doing your next ride, please disable the AutoPause function. Send us the file with some details, like if you already saw some issues during the ride or if all works good but you can see any unregular behavior in the log. Send it to kundenservice@sigmasport.com and refer to the DCR.
We will take care.
BR, Daniel
Hi Daniel,
I raised this via your customer service web form in August. Below is the message I sent and the reply I received.
“Hi,
I’m experiencing an intermittent issue with my Rox 12. During an activity it auto pauses for periods between about 15 seconds and a few minutes, doing this multiple times. It is as though it is losing GPS connectivity. This happens most frequently when the Rox 12 has been paused for a period of time during a mid ride café stop, then the activity resumed. It seems to find satellite connectivity then lose it, then find it again, then lose it. When this happens my data shows jagged deviations away from the route taken which results in greatly increased maximum speeds recorded as it is jumping between points of connectivity.
This happened on a ride today so I saved the activity and restarted the device. However, it continued to do the same throughout the rest of the ride even after two further restarts, making the data useless for uploading to Strava, Training Peaks etc.
I’m reluctant to do a full reset on the unit as I have specific profiles for multiple bikes with several data pages for each. Last time I did a reset I lost a lot of this and had to spend a long time recreating my profiles. I also lost the historic totals which was annoying. Because of the issue I’m experiencing my historic data shows a maximum speed of over 260mph and an equally incorrect maximum average speed. I can find no way to correct these without losing everything else. This has been happening for some time and has not changed with recent firmware updates.
Can you help?
Regards”.
“Dear Mr. Carter,
Thank you for your message and we are sorry to hear from you that you have problems with the ROX 12.0 SPORT.
We had the conspicuity you told us on our agenda, to fix it with the next firmware. At the moment, we had no filters to check if its plausible what for information from the sensors come.
For this reason, we ask you some time, so that we can fix this in the next update.
Bei Rückfragen antworten Sie bitte nur auf diesen Email-Vorgang! Please reply only to this email!
Mit freundlichen Grüßen / Best regards
Steffen Sinnwell”
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for the message. I’ve raised my complaint with the supplier as well, Sigma NL has now offered a full replacement trough them. So at the end, happy with the service and hope the next one will be more stable :)
@Daniel (Sigma)
Are there any updates regarding timezone shift problem I’ve commented in post #396, also are there any plans to support RideWithGPS routes like you did with Komoot?
Hi Prometej,
Yes we are working on the fix. It will be released in the next update. Actually we don’t have any fixed timing when we will release it. I guess it will be January.
There is actually no plan for the direct integration of RWGPS. But we consider this website for future integration.
Thanks.
BR, Daniel
Thank you for the feedback information. You gave me some valuable information.
Daniel, for those of us who live in the U.S. where do we send our device if it needs repair?
I recall you saying that there would be an update to the ROX12 in November, now you think it might be January. It’s been a while since the last update. Please provide info on why the delay. Thanks.
Hi Seth,
we are looking for a solution for U.S. users. I’ll keep you updated here.
You are right. We was planning to release the new update this year. But the testing took longer than expected. So we postpone the release to January.
Sorry for causing any inconvenience.
BR, Daniel
Happy to volunteer to assist in testing new/development releases if that’s an option.
I’m not quite sure what you’re asking for but I do know that you can download routes from Komoot (and at least originally from Strava) directly to the device. You connect the Rox to a wireless network and then you can use the integration with Komoot and Strava to pick routes that were done in either of those sites. The routes are put on your Rox and then you can use them.
Hi Nathaniel
Admittedly I’m trying to import routes to the Sigma Data Center app on my ipad from Komoot.
I’m trying there software out while waiting for the Rox 12 to arrive. Anyway, importing to the Data Center on the ipad does not work. I log into Komoot from the sigma app and none of the “Planned Tours” show up.
I guess there is hope that this works from the Rox 12 … have you tried this? Has anyone here tried this?
I have, worked pretty well for me.
Yes, I do it all the time on my Rox. I do not use the Data Center at all.
Wait till you get the unit – it’s pretty simple to do it directly on the Rox.
Thanks, I assumed that the Data Center would be like the Garmin Connect … nope. I think Sigma would do themselves a favor by just eliminating it.
While I’m here. Has anyone tried using a microsd card for storing and retrieving routes?
Hi Bart,
I notice that when I import gpx files to Komoot as a planned route it will attempt to modify the route a little … even when I tell it not too (“stick to original route”). So I figured out that I have to import it as an “activity”. I guess thats fine.
But the real question is … does it matter if the route is a “planned route” or “activity” when importing to the Rox 12?
btw … I have received a reply from Sigma CS …. they insist the best way to get routes onto the device is to import them to the cloud ….which means using their Data Center app. sigh.
I used activity I think (was a while ago, I use Strava routes now), I remember it took a little practice to do the right steps. Try it out for a short ride first.
Hi Larry,
There are different options to load routes to the ROX 12.0. First of all you can simply copy the .gpx file to the folder “Track”, which you can find on the ROX 12.0 mass storage. You don’t have to go thru the DATA CENTER.
If you already use Komoot, you have to simply login on your ROX 12.0 to Komoot. All planned routes are available than (via WiFi/Internet). In any case it doesn’t work, please send us a detailed description of what is happening on your device, to kundenservice@sigmasport.com. I’m sure we can solve this issue easily.
Best regards,
Daniel
I finally got my device and yes Komoot does work with it. And I was also able to import routes via the USB cable provided (interesting that I initially tried with my own cables and they dont work … just the supplied cable).
Another interesting tidbit … When I tried to look at the tracks I imported directly via USB I got the 300km error message …. too far from route. But when I tried the Komoot version of the same route (I imported it to Komoot and then use the device to get it) … I could view the route!
Lastly I tried to update the firmware and it said I was on the latest version 35016. I saw that there was a newer version out there though:40552
link to sigma-inmotion.com
Would you know how to get that version?
I did send messages to customer service … so far not too helpful.
Its also bad there is no US customer support to call anymore. :( It seems I have to call Germany to get a real person .
Thanks,
Larry
OK …. This is bizarre . I just able to update the firmware. I plugged the USB cable into my PC (for about the 10th time) … and this time the ROX said there was an update. It succeeded and I have to say its working better than before.
The routes I can see (still only the Komoot routes) … they display more clearly. Definitely improvement there. There cloud sync is now working . Komoot is still working but seems like improvement in integration.
Life is a getting better . :)
Now that everything is mostly working I can see what the Rox does importing Komoot routes …. only “Planned” routes are imported from Komoot. Unfortunately when I import gpx files to Komoot as Planned routes … sometimes Komoot will modify the route slightly … even when I tell it to Stick to the original route. But this is still acceptable I think . My use case while on the road is that I might need to create a route to get somewhere and load it. With my Ipad, Komoot and wifi, I should be able to do this.
There is also the on board routing capability of the ROX 12 … which seems cool, but I think using Komoot for creating the route would be more reliable. At least I can see clearly what its doing.
So …. without having really used the device on my bike yet, I think the ROX 12 is a very cool device. I have tried the Garmin Explore and I like the ROX 12 interface much better. The Garmin products have better Mobile integration with the phones apps … e.g. messaging, weather … but really they are pretty worthless. I’m glad the ROX 12 did not go there.
… oh and this is big … and perhaps would have not got the ROX 12 if I had known …. The level of customer service is very poor with Sigma. It was fabulous when there was a US presence but now … we have to call Germany ? no chat service ? email response is poor. Documentation is poor.. sigh. Good thing for DC Rainmaker and some You Tube videos! and good thing the device seems rather solid.
Hi … Hopefully last question regarding using a Micro SD card. Tried to get an answer from customer support but no reply.
I bought myself a Samsung microSDXC 128GB card and plugged it in. But I dont see any confirmation on the device that it sees it. In Settings->Device->Internal Storage I can see that the device has 6.32GB of storage … and I have 1.61 GB left. So its not showing there. I cant see a folder for it if I plug the device into my PC either.
Is there anyway to know if the device sees the storage ?
Thanks
Larry
Yes. Go to Settings/Device/Data Storage and it should show up there.
If it’s not there, either the device will not accept 128GB cards or it isn’t formatted properly. ExFat?
It does not show up. The claim is 128GB is supported.
I plugged it into my PC …. it shows up as ExFat.
Should it be something else ?
Thanks!
It might be incompatibility with the card. I’m using a Kingston 16GB and it works. Have any other cards you can try? FWIW, 128 GB may be far more than you’ll ever need.
Format FAT32 and Cluster 64 KB for 128 GB, this should help.
128 GB will cause a long start up time.
Bingo. Thanks Axel ! That did it.
So just maybe I dont need 128 GB :) ….. so If I downsize it to say 64GB, will that make it significantly faster ?
Hi read this:
link to sigmasport.com
Thanks Axel. I noticed that before but the fat32 part didnt stick ….
@Daniel, Any news on the upcoming update? Know sensor issues would be fixed in that, would love to have that fix :)
Hi Bart,
Sorry for my slow response. We are working on it. :-) The update will be ready soon, but I can’t give you an exact date. But it worth to wait for it! :-)
BR, Daniel
Good to hear, a bit of wait is no problem if it means a well tested device. Will there be new features as well?
Hi Daniel,
My device says there is a new update available, version 1.20.070. aIs this the new awaited version and any changelog available for this one :)?
Bart, I’d post this as a new comment so it can be seen at the bottom and not buried here.
BTW, the update has not been pushed to the U.S. as of 1:30PM Mountain States time (2/26/2020)
I like the Rox12. I’ve had the device for a while now, and really like the display. However, there are some significant issues. A number of times I have turned the device on, gone to select a track to ride and the device restarts on its own. Today, after my ride, I had to re-enter all my personal settings (device name, height, weight, date of birth, etc.). Why? Having plugged the device into my lpatop and started Sigma Data Center the device restarted on its own. Again, I needed to re-enter my data. All this annoying, but I can live with that.
What I can’t accept is that data from a ride is lost or gets truncated. Today I had a 56km ride. When I came to review the data I found that the device had stop recording after 47km and what it recorded for the last 8km was incorrect. I’ve attached screen shots from Strava showing the result. During the ride, my location on the map was being correctly updated, plus it showed the route of the ride.
This was admittedly not a critical ride and the loss of the data is perhaps not that important. However, my confidence in the device is being constantly eroded and for any significant ride I’m now thinking that maybe the Rox12 isn’t the best device to rely on.
I don’t think those problems are common. I certainly have never experienced those issues and I’ve had my unit for over a year. Good luck with tech support.
I’ve hit your first problem (reboots while selecting a route) on occasion. Strava (Daniel Conka) said it would be fixed in the next update. What I don’t know is when that update will finally appear. It’s been delayed for a while now. Daniel, can you give us an update on the update? Also, what is happening with USA support?
Thanks.
The restart issue is very common. I often encounter it when trying to do something before the OS seems to have fully booted. Maybe it’s at the point where the device is searching for satellites. A swipe on the screen causes the restart. Not only do you have to enter all of your personal data again but it also resets some of the unit settings, and more annoyingly, your historical records.
Regarding the other issue, I’ve had data loss problems during rides and have submitted detailed information about what I think the causes are.
The firmware update has missed yet another deadline…
Any information would be helpful, Daniel.
Hi Joseph,
Sorry to hear you have faced to this kind of issues. Best would be if you could share all details about the ride and the files which you can find in the ROX 12.0. Please send us the related files (.zipslf + .fit) of the ride. Please let us know, what happend during the ride? Did you saw any strange behavior during the ride?
Please send all details to: kundenservice@sigmasport.com and refer to DC Website.
We will take a look into it and will feedback you soon.
Thanks!
BR, Daniel
Hi Daniel,
Any update on Sigma USA support?
Also, has Sigma given thought on making a site where suggestions/problems/compliments can be logged and replied to. Having these dialogues on DCRainmaker is probably not best.
Thanks,
Nathaniel
Hi Nathaniel,
Yes we have a solution for all US users. All questions about the ROX 12.0 as well as any complains has to be addressed to our service department in Germany. Please send an email to: kundenservice@sigmasport.com. Our service department will judge what to do and will take care, even if there is a replacement needed.
Fully agree, DCRainmaker shouldn’t be the place to have these dialogues.
BR, Daniel
Hi Daniel,
My device says there is a new update available, version 1.20.070. aIs this the new awaited version and any changelog available for this one :)?
For what I have seen so far; new splash screen on start up(looks nice though), adding a Strava screen item is possible now (or was it before?). Hope the sensor signal loss bug is now fixed.
Hi Bart,
You are right! :-) This is the new update. We started the roll-out on Monday. It will do the rollout in steps this time.
To add Strava items is no change. It was possible before. Some of the changes are:
– Removing GPSies (as they was takeover from Alltrails)
– Adding fast charging (with up to 1.5A)
– Improved Gradient
– Improved System Stability
– …
The full changelog will be released soon.
Hi Daniel,
Thanks! Witth rollout in steps, do you mean that the the release will roll out in for specific regions or in several versions? Thanks.
Hi Bart,
No, it is not depending a specific region. There are specific time frames, when the Update is available.
BR, Daniel
I’ve ridden a few long rides now with the new software, so far it has been rock solid. I’ve suffered some reboots and temporary signal loss from my sensors in the past, haven’t seen that happening anymore with the new firmware.
Seems to me it is mainly a bugfix release as I haven’t seen any new features (haven’t really searched for them though). Happy with the stability, but is seems to me that further development of the Rox 12.0 is slowly coming to a hold. Too bad as the device seems to have a lot more potential.
Much the same feelings here. It does seem a lot more stable. Apart from the new splash screen on startup and the removal of GPSies I’ve not seen anything else new. I do hope development continues, to add further functionality and to improve/refine the UI and UX.
As the Rox 12 is a couple of years old now, I wonder about the lifespan of the hardware and whether a successor is under development.
Daniel, you indicated the much-delayed update would be “worth the wait” suggesting it was an important update. I join the chorus which is asking what was significant about this release. I’m not seeing it. What are we missing?
All this feeds my increasing disappointment with Sigma — abandoning the U.S. market and avoiding further meaningful development of the ROX12.
You’ll say otherwise no doubt, but I’m asking you for a credible response. No response would be preferred to one that contains more sizzle than steak.
Hi Set,
Yes, you can’t see that much, that’s true. We spent a lot of time to improve the “backend”. We are happy about the feedback we already received. Most of the users already noticed that. Further we improved the charging. First you would say… OK, it is not worth to talk about it. But especially this, will increase the daily usage experience.
It is not always about, what you see. But you will recognize it.
Enjoy your weekend.
Daniel
That was a quick reply. Thanks.
Were I you I would have disclosed all that you just said before the update. It’s all about managing expectations Daniel and I (and I’ll bet many others) expected more on the front-end. Better to inform before the fact, IMO.
I always thought charging was quick and efficient. No complaints from me. Just lucky?
Hi Set,
Thanks for your comment.
I’m sorry, if my comments leads to a wrong direction. As we really spent a lot of time to anaylse and improve the hidden stuff, we was excided about that. But I understand your point. We will do it better in future.
Regarding the charging. You wasn’t lucky. I guess you already use a good wall charger. If you charger supports 1.5A, the charging time will be even less than before.
BR,
Daniel
I stated earlier it was rock solid, too bad I have to come back from that. Saturday I was racing up a hill, lost connections with my sensors again. Wasn’t for long, but during this point in the race it was terrible timing. I’m afraid that the issue isn’t fixed after all.
Hi Bart,
Thanks for your feedback.
Could you please send us the related training file? We would like to take a look at the file to check what went wrong. Please let us know, which sensors you are using (brand name + model).
Send it to: kundenservice@sigmasport.com
Thanks a lot!
BR,
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
I too have had issues since the update.
Yesterday I had a crash on startup and have also been unable to connect my Sigma R1 Duo heart rate monitor to the device. I’ll send more detail to the kundenservice email address later today.
Regards
David
Well, I am done. Last ride my power meter would not connect (connected well to phone though) and than crashed after reboot. Luckily I new how to enter recovery mode, but it took me about 20 minutes and six (!) reboots to get it working again. This stability release is slowly grinding down to a terrible break it down release.
I had this device for 1.5 years now and I have been patient trough all it’s bugs. Worked with the servicedesk, send in files and tried all kinds of fixes, even got a new device. While from a service standpoint that is pretty good, I paid nearly 400 euros for a device that just doesn’t work well and my patience has run out. The device certainly has its upsides, but I am going to ask for my money back and go back to Garmin.
Garmin is no better than Sigma. All bike computers are flaky. I’ve been through at least 10 of them. It’s odd, because there are some things manufacturers have gotten to work pretty well in life (Eg, microwave ovens) but the bike computer is simply not one of them. Stop wasting your breath complaining. You need to lower your expectations.
This unit is very close to competing with Garmin, but not there yet.
The Sigma Data Center apparently does not offer the features of Garmin Connect, maybe most of them. Works better (correctly) on some Windows 10 machines but not all! Support gives up pretty easily, compared to Garmin.
The unit on the latest firmware still reboots when using it before it stabilizes.
hey DC Rainmaker … did you test “full” compatibility with powertap wheels? i.e., the ability for the ROX12 to get speed/cadence from the hub, eliminating the need to fit a separate speed/cadence sensor.
Hi wallymann,
Yes it should show the speed/cadence values as well as the power.
If you have any further question, please don’t hesitate to contact our service: kundenservice@sigmasport.com.
We are happy to help you.
BR, Daniel
Does anyone know how to get the Sigma Cloud to resync after getting “synchronization failed” message. Maybe deleting all activities? Maybe deleting all tracks?
That happens to me after half my rides. Reboot and re-sync should do it. Annoying problem.
Following up with my experience here….
Deleting the activities on the ROX 12 was fine…these were retained in the Sigma Data Center.
Deleting the tracks on the ROX 12 also deleted the tracks in the Sigma Data Center. Why would anyone want to do this? Now I have to recreate all my tracks!
With all my tracks gone, the Sync worked between the device and the Data Center.
Has any one found that it is possible to create a track that goes to a destination, and then follows the same track back?
It seems that the Data Center is missing this ability.
For Daniel and the community: Here’s a copy of an email I sent to Sigma Support this morning. Feel free to comment or help.
“I’ve been compiling a list of issues for many months, it’s time to bring them to you. I’ve owned the device for 20 months.
-How do you restart the device as opposed to turning off and restarting? No option that I can see.
-More than 50% of my ride data will not sync with Sigma or Strava, after being saved, even though the screen always shows that they synced with Strava. I have to shutdown the device and restart it to get a sync to the Cloud and Strava (for certain.) I am always connected to WiFi when this happens and a few meters from the router. That issue is down from 90% prior to the latest update, but it is still unreliable
-Strava Live Segments — many issues:
-When I have individual “Segments Enabled” within Strava (on home screen,) “Show Strava Segments enabled” on Strava landing screen, and “Strava Live Segments On” in pull-down notification screen, many enabled segments do not appear or record. It’s always the same few on repeated routes. Why?
-It seems that the pop-up screen indicating upcoming segments MUST stay stay in place until the segment starts in order for it to record. I’d prefer the option of returning to the previous screen without having to wait. It should record in the background whether it shows or not. Annoying.
-I’ve synced with Strava to include new segments — it does not download to ROX 12. I am not over the limit.
-Scrolling the bottom on each Segment screen to set-up comparisons is not a good design IMO — it often scrolls to training view pages instead. Better option is to add a settings option for Strava within Training View (or elsewhere) to choose what comparisons I want for segments, e.g. to be compared with KOM, recent rides, etc. It would be great to have the added option to compare with my age group.
-When reviewing data after a ride I can scroll segments just like I can Laps and Auto-laps but scrolling Strava will show the next segment but the data is locked on the previous segment no matter how much I scroll. Bug I presume.
-If I don’t keep the Segment page active in the display and go back to Training View I’m taken to Page 1 of Training View, not the last-viewed screen.
-Please allow more time for a rider to review completed Laps and Auto-laps screens — better yet give me the option to set the time to review.
I look forward to hearing from you with a resolution.”
Hi Seth,
Thanks for your comment and sharing your thoughts about how to improve the ROX 12.0. We will check them for sure.
Regarding the SIGMA CLOUD: We are actually working on improvements. It will go live in near term.
STRAVA Segments: If there is any segment which is not synced, it is possible marked as “dangerous”. If this is the case, it won’t be displayed and synced to the ROX 12.0. We (or the user) can’t change this category. If the Segment is effected, we have to check it. Please send us the segments, which won’t be synced to your ROX 12.
If you have segments which are transferred but not displayed on the ROX 12, please send us those segments as well. We will check them.
Thanks for your help.
BR, Daniel
When I deleted activities on the ROX 12, the activities stayed in the Data Center.
When I deleted the tracks on the ROX 12, the tracks were deleted in the Data Center.
This is inconsistent.
Why would anyone want to delete their tracks in this manner?
Hi Howard,
Thanks for your feedback.
We have to delete it in the DATA CENTER as well. Otherwise it wold be synced again and again back to the device. If you would store a flag “deleted, it would never be synced to the device (even if you want it).
BR, Daniel
Well this is fun. My device is now stuck in a bootloop and it is now unusable. Lucky me it only my second replacement and cost me only 400 euros :|
Before my device became a brick, I noticed a small bug that can be annoying if you don’t know about it; when you are navigating and choose to load another navigation track, the device will ask you if you want to stop current navigation and start a new one. After clicking yes it does not ask you if you want to go to the nearest point or to the start of the track, but it will always send you yo the start of the track. Even if you do, turn by turn will stop working all together. Always stop your current navigation before loading another; then it is just fine.
Wow – i am looking to buy my first proper GPS cycle computer with navigation and the SIGMA Rox 12.0 was going to be my new unit.
However, reading these messages on this page is making me think twice as it does sound like it is a very buggy unit.
The auto-pause ride corruption issue is a real worry as well as unexpected re-boots and restarts.
Do I still buy this or should I be looking elsewhere for cycle route navigation, which is my primary need?
For navigation, it has been great (few glitches here and there but that is normal for every device). I switched over to the Garmin Edge 830 last week and for purely navigation I would still have a little preference for the rox 12.0. From my experience, the fun starts when you add in training and using multiple sensors, buggy as hell. Sigma service is great though.
I got a new one in return under warranty and it is for sale if your interested ?
I’ve ridden mine 1000s of miles, usually with navigation on, and found it to be reliable. Before the latest update it did frequently reboot on startup, but since the update that’s only happened to me once (out of 10 or so rides). I ride with a cadence sensor and HR monitor without any problem, but no use a power meter.
Obviously everyones experience is not the same, but overall I’ve been happy. Before the Rox 12.0 I had a Garmin 810, which wasn’t bad except for navigation. Then I tried a Hammerhead Karoo. They’ve come a long way, but I gave up on them about a year ago. They were very buggy. I don’t know if that’s gotten better but if you want to buy a Karoo I can sell you that. Lots of choices, but if your primary usage is navigation I’d definitely recommend the Rox 12.0,
Hi Bart – let me know how long you’ve had this ‘new’ one and how much you’d like for it. Not sure how we could do a transaction on a forum like this!
Thank
Enzo.
Hi Enzo, take my full name from this comment (without the spaces), add 87@gmai.. and send me an email if you are interested (seems like a bot-proof method this ?)
Sent you email Bart.
Enzo
I have now used the Rox 12 for about a week on my grand tour of the US via the Transamerica Trail. I’m using the gpx files provided by Adventure Cycling. Each file contains a route that is OVER 300 miles. Each day on the ride I have stopping the device to have fresh stats for the next day. And to stop it from beeping while I sleep!
Well guess what happened when I rode over 300 miles on the route? Yes thats right it would not let me start the route (to the closest point) because I was over 300 miles from the start!!!!! Fortunately my friend was using a Garmin and I had RideWithGps on my phone. Otherwise I would have screwed. There is simply no excuse for this restriction. None. Bad engineering might be one. Fix this stupid restriction.
Ok. I got that off my chest. The other issue I have is that device is terrible navigating when it goes even the slightest bit off route. I mean like I’m staring at where we need to be straight ahead and it says to make a right/left/right go back 4 blocks turn around make a uturn …. what the heck. Just pick some forward location on the route and navigate to it simply! Geese.
Otherwise , If you dont go off course, It does fine. I do wish the turn notification came more than 30 feet before the turn. Thats too late if your going fast … like down hill. I do wish I could see the next turn distance on the screen too.
Really, its a find device. Just some mind boggling software issues. Please fix the ASAP
Regards,
Larry
Larry, have a great ride! But don’t waste another breath complaining about the Rox 12 or hope it’s bugs will be fixed. I switched from a series of Garmin navigators I had for over 10 years to the Rox 12 about two years ago. Trust me, they are ALL BAD. (I like the Rox better than the Garmins though). None are flawless. They do not put the money into them as they are only used on bicycles, and if they lock up or reboot without reason, nobody dies. The Garmin navigator in my airplane cost over $12,000 – they can be engineered to higher standards if someone is willing to pay for that level of reliability. Would you pay $12,000 for the Rox 13? I doubt it. Just hope for the best, but don’t expect too much because it will not happen. We can put a man on the moon but cannot build a bike unit that works without issues.
Interestingly this weekend we went out. I had the Rox 12, but we also had riders with a Wahoo Bolt, Garmin 510 and Lezyne SuperGPS. The Rox was the only device to successfully re-route after a wrong turn rather than force you to turn around. The display was by far the best too.
The only issue I did have (and it was my first ride using the Rox) was that it decided to tell me the ride had ended half way through. I had to reload the track and it went back to normal. Not sure if this was because of the GPX file i had uploaded or whether I pressed a setting whilst cycling through a page…
But overall I was pleased in its navigating function on my first ride.
Will continue to use it and report any further issues, if there are any.
Hi Larry,
Thanks for your feedback! And sorry you faced to the “300miles” issue. The case you describe is very special, but it can happen. We decided to use the 300miles limit to make sure there won’t be an extra-long calculation of a course. When you select a long course which is fare away from your actual position it could take long (>1min). Most of time it fits to the needs of the users, but not in this case. We will check, if there is any limitation to remove this limit in future.
Your experience regarding the re-routing situation. The re-routing algorithm takes your preferences in account. Depending on OSM and how the streets are classified, it can end in some strange situation.
There is also a big difference between a navigation and a course. If a course is selected, the ROX 12.0 will force you to stay on the selected course. This can possibly end in some “beeping – U-turn” situation.
If you don’t like that, I highly recommend to use a one point (or multi-point) navigation. If you select one target, only, you can decide on the fly where you would like to ride. The ROX 12.0 will immediately do the re-routing.
Best regards,
Daniel
I have an Edge 830. In regards to the U-turn behavior, I don’t know what else you’d want it to do. If you’ve left the course by mistake or inattention, going back to the course where you left it is probably the right thing to do. What I’d really like to see from Garmin, SIGMA, and anyone else manufacturing cycling navigation devices is a way to immediately mark a road not-passible in real time, so that instead of the unit trying the U-turn, it starts looking for alternative ways of making progress. I’ve navigated a lot in the past month, and any number of times I’ve run across construction, detours, or just temporary blockage and it’d be nice to be able to immediately indicate to my 830 “I can’t go that way, find me another way”. In all cases in the past month I was familiar enough with the roads in the area so that I’ve known what detour I should take. But in case I didn’t, it’d be much better if the unit found the way immediately rather than fooling around with U-turns. (In the case of the 830, eventually it stops trying to make a U-turn and finds a forward way back to the course, but that takes a little while.)
Thanks for responding Daniel. The 300 mile limit really does need to go. If it truely is a “special” case the there should be no reason to limit it. It makes the device useless in those special cases. Removing it would not effect most cases anyway. Unfortunately it wont help anyone using the Adventure Cycling routes at the moment. Which is a fair number of people. I think its less special than you say.
You also did not address my other concerns. The overly short warning with low volume is not good at all.
Also the need to keep the next turn on a screen somewhere. Just the quick blip after you make a turn is way to easy to miss. And then you dont know. This is an important feature. Especially on long days where I’m trying to conserve battery by shutting the screen off.
As far as the routing on a track goes. I have what I have. I’m not in a position to do or use anything else. It needs to reliably route back to the track!
Maybe I was not clear. If it had told me to do a uturn to return to the route I would have been happy. Instead it made me go ahead several blocks, make several turns … the I gave up on its stupidity.
Today I made a quick stop that was one block off course. As I was returning on the same path to the course it was fighting me. I was returning on the same path and almost there and it told me to uturn!!!!
As Daniel noted it does things differently if what you are following is a “track” vs “route”. Please help me understand why it should. My little brain cant understand that.
Hi Lawrence,
Sorry I missed some points!
The turning sound should appear ~200ft (or 60m) before the turn. Can you confirm it is always 30ft on your side? Unfortunately there is no way to adjust the sound volume.
Regarding the turn you would like to see constantly on your screen. This is already possible. You can add it to any training screen. Push and hold the “cube” you would like to see the turns. Select “Navigation>Turning Guidance”. You will see the turn as well as the distance to the next turn.
Regarding the “strange” re-routing situation. Please contact us via kundenservice@sigmasport.com and send us more details about the situation. Where it happened and what happened. Please send us the related route and the related activity. So we can double check and explain why it worked like it does.
Best regards,
Daniel
Thanks Daniel. Took me a little while to figure out what you meant by “cube” but I was able to turn on turn guidance for a cube. So thanks!!! Have not tried it yet but I assume it well tell me how far to the next turn.
Regarding sound notification to the next turn. I do think it varies depending on the distance between turns. I do have a suggestion though. I normally keep the screen off to preserve battery life and depend on the tone to check in. Since the tone is too low to hear with traffic , would it be possible to have the screen turn on when a turn approaches … so tone and screen on at the same time? … The tone volume should also be higher too … much higher.
Thanks for quick responses … much appreciated.
-Larry
Hi Larry,
I’m happy it worked out and sorry don’t give you more details of the meaning of “cubes”. :-)
Unfotunately there is no option to turn on the display, when the next turn is upcoming and no option to modify the value beside changing the mounting position.
BR, Daniel
Funny thing about the volume is that the speaker seems to be located on the back in the quarter-turn-lock-thingy. When I use a hidemybell mount, it muzzled the volume quit a bit. I actually drilled a little hole in my mount which turned it into a kind of resonance box, made it much better.
Dear Ray,
Thx for the review. At the moment I am using a Karoo. This device got fluids under the screen and they are offering to buy a new one. Looks to me like a manufacturer who does not back his product with a IP67 rating.
However I probably have to look for a new device. I would like it to support garmin varia. Which device is to be suggested most? If anyone else is happy to advice me, please do!
Daniel, it’s regrettable that I have to reach out to you this way, but your service department has dropped the ball. I wish I could say I was surprised but ever since you closed the U.S. office I feared indifference to American customers would arise.
In May you may recall I reached out to you and Service with a number of issues. most notably how Strava Live Segments was not working properly on my ROX 12. It is no exaggeration that I spent more than 2 hours compiling a table of Segments that were on Strava, on the device and enabled, shows/doesn’t show during ride, and those that show up in ride summary. Sent it off and I got a timely response asking for FIT files to be sent. I did that the same day — 5/27.
After 3 weeks of hearing nothing in return, I reached out to Service to get an update and heard nothing back.
It’s now 4 weeks and still nothing which is why I’m going public here
Three questions, what’s going on, why have I not heard back and do you find this acceptable? I would appreciate answers to those questions.
You’ve talked-the-talk but you’re not walking-the-walk about taking care of your American customers. How about giving us your email if you disagree?
Seth
kundenservice@sigmasport.com is tech support for Sigma. Stop including everybody on your complaints! If you don’t know that bicycle computers are unreliable and buggy by now, you’re a fool. It doesn’t matter which brand or model.
Jeffrey, Feel free to ignore my posts. You’ve already told us of your opinion of bike computers, no need to repeat it.
I guess you couldn’t figure out in my post that my emails were going to kudenservice@sigmasport.com.
Unlike you I will attempt to get problems solved. Using this route when SIGMA has not replied in almost a month is appropriate and serves a purpose to the community. Besides I was told Daniel was in the loop.
Hi Seth,
First of all I would like to apologize for causing any inconvenience. You are right, you wait for too long to get a reply. In fact of COVID, the response time is much slower than usual. We are very sorry!
We will contact you immediately to clarify the open issues.
Thanks for your understanding!
Daniel
Daniel,
I got an email this morning from Kudenservice. Had they told me “We’re really stumped, we can’t tell what’s going on, but….” I would have had a better reaction than being told “We couldn’t open the FIT files you sent — the file name was truncated.” COVID issues notwithstanding, you will agree it should not have taken 4 weeks to apprise me of that.
I immediately sent a dozen FIT files with shorter names.
Can I count on you to stay on top of this?
Seth,
We are very sorry, letting you wait so long! There is no excuse.
You can count on it, you will receive feedback to all of your files, latest tomorrow.
BR, Daniel
Thanks Daniel. Kundenservice conveyed the following from Strava this morning:
‘…please let the user know that no segments with 0% or negative avg grade cannot be synced as a Strava Live Segment.’ My interpretation: “No rides with 0% or negative grades on average will be synced.” If true, that makes no sense. In fact it’s easily disproven from my ride yesterday. See attached copy of Live Segment which recorded on the ROX12 and showed in the summary — avg grade was 0% (Note I also sent the FIT file to Service)
Did Strava really say this? Make sense to you? (Way-in Ray, please, if you see this.)
For what it’s worth I think you/we/I have a GPS problem.
Seth
Hi Seth,
it is correct, what is mentioned here. It is about the Strava Live Segments. All segments with the mentioned criteria won’t show up during the ride.
There is no dependency to the segments analysis after your ride. All segements you finished should be shown on strava after you uploaded your finished ride.
If you need more details, simply reply to the email you received.
BR, Daniel
Will do.
For the record, the Strava Live Segment segment I displayed with 0% average (taken from the Strava activities page), also showed up during the ride (on the ROX12 ) and it was one of only two Strava segments to appear in the ride summary, even though there were 10 total starred segments. Why would it show up if, allegedly 0% segments are excluded.
Answer: after a review of this subject on Strava it appears that only negative slope segments are not synced, but flat or 0% and uphill sections will sync — contrary to what you’re stating. That is why the 0% segment appeared on the ROX. Please check with Strava.
Feel free to communicate directly with me. You have the email address.
Last public post on the subject — I promise.
Daniel:
When 0% grade is not 0%:
If this is correct we could have saved each other time and confusion: If a Strava Live Segment average grade is between 0% and -0.24% (inclusive) it will sync to the ROX12, show up and record. It will be listed as a 0% segment. If an SLS average grade is between -0.25% and -0.49% (inclusive) it will not sync to the ROX, nor show up and record, but it too will be listed as a 0% segment.
Aside from the arbitrary low cutoff of one-half percent grade, it explains why 0% may not be 0%. That would be an issue with Strava not Sigma. Please confirm with Strava.
Hi Seth,
We will double check with Strava and send reply via email.
Sorry causing any inconvenience.
BR, Daniel
I’ve had this device for a few months now and would like to share my experience. I have found that there is good and bad: as a navigation device I have found it to be good – I especially like the draw my route feature. However, as a training device I have found it sorely lacking when compared to other (Garmin/Polar) units that I have used when it comes to workout creation/execution. The notable shortcomings for me are:
Interval phases can only cycle a single work period and a single rest period; Garmin allows repeating intervals of many work/rest periods, e.g. ‘2mins hard/1 min harder/30second even harder/5mins rest – repeat 5-times’; it is not possible to program that interval structure into the rox12; you could try to mimic that by programming many sequential ‘simple’ phases but you then hit another limitation…
The number of phases in a workout is limited to 10: Is there a good reason for this? – again other units I have used do not have this limitation.
Workout phases do not demarcate laps: when executing a structured workout the ending of a phase does not mark a lap in the workout data file; if you want to mark laps for analysis post-ride then you have to manually hit the lap button when the programmed phase ends.
No audible alert that a phase is ending: other units I have used will sound 5 beeps for the last 5-seconds of a phase, which I find very useful as it means I don’t have to constantly check the screen to see if my interval has ended.
No visual alert that a phase is ending: other units I have used will display a visual alert regardless of the current view being displayed, similar to a banner on a smartphone, to indicate that the current phase is ending/has ended. This is very useful as it means I don’t have to constantly check a specific data page to see if my interval has ended.
Whilst I’m here – @Sigma Daniel: what are the chances of the above being fixed?
Another limitation: workout phases cannot have power zone targets, they can only have specific power value targets; zone targets are useful because if my power zones change with changing fitness then the intensity targets of the workouts will update automatically, rather than me having to go and manually update each specific power value in the workout targets.
Hi!
I recently purchased sigma rox 12 with the last firmware and It has some issues:
– The percentage of slope does not have decimals.
– It only shows 30 strava routes (not segments, routes).
– I had several unexpected reboots and I had to do hard reset.
Is there any solution to these questions?
The unexpected reboots seems to be a recurring issue. Sometimes for me, I select a track and reboot. Yesterday, the reboot happened when I plugged the device into my laptop.
Sometimes the Rox does a reset, so I have to enter the name, age, height, etc. data again. This is particularly annoying when you’re about to start a ride!
The percentage slope is a problem with the Sigma Data Center as well. It only really handles slopes in the range +/-10%. Outside of this range the graph looks appalling. I’ve reported this to Sigma.
I had my first bootstrap error yesterday and had to do factory reset which is hugely annoying. Hope this is a one off as the unit has been fine so far.
Enzo.
SigmaUser,
Alas, slope shows only in whole percentages — no decimals.
Joseph Steel,
Graphs on the device (and Data Center?) are useless and I never look at them when reviewing an activity. ROX 12 has been out 2 years now and very few — if any — visual improvements, including this one have been made
A factory or involuntary reset is definitely annoying. The ROX12 will not reload activities from the cloud or personal bests even if you store them in the micro SD card. Thumbs down for that.
For the reboots, I’ve taken to not doing a “Power Off” on the Rox12 and this seems to have reduced the number reboots. I only press the power button to “turn off” the screen and only do a power cycle if it stops recognizing my heart rate sensor. Anyone else try this method?
When Sigma closed its USA office 13 months ago I knew it was a troubling omen. I’ve hung in there, but service and support from Germany since then has been indifferent at best and unacceptable at worst.
I’ve been a good customer over the years. After owning four Sigma computers, ROX 12 will be my last. It’s not being sold in the U.S. anymore and if anyone, anywhere in the world, is contemplating buying a used one I’d recommend looking elsewhere.
(Daniel: Note that I sent an email to Kundenservice to be forwarded to you 2 weeks ago and never got a response. Please, no more apologies. I’m done.)
Hi Seth,
you should have received a reply. Was it about the Strava issue?
Thanks for your reply.
Daniel
Agreed. There is no USA support. I would not have bought the device if I had known that.
I just finished a XC USA bike tour and CAN NOT recommend the device.
The stupid 300 km distance to the start limitation meant I could not use the device on the last 1-2 days of many of my route segments from the Adventure Cycling Associaton as all of them are over 300 miles.
There dependence on Komoot as a routing app is a poor choice. Ride with GPS is a far superior app.
It just is wacked out if heaven forbid you go off course and need it to route you back.
Oh well … makes a good paper weight.
I have been using the Sigma ROX 12.0 since last December, without any major issue (despite some reboots). I was quite happy with the device.
However, some days ago the altimeter stopped working properly. The altitude data and therefore the elevation charts are plainly wrong since them. I have installed the latest firmware, I have tried to reset the device to factory settings. However, the issue is not resolved.
Is there any way to fix this? Should I submit a warranty claim to my dealer? Hardware failure or just a software issue?
Thanks
Interesting to see Hirschi of Team Sunweb making very effective use of the Sigma Rox in the role of clip-on aerobars at the Tour de France!
It must have a very stiff case and bike mount.
I too saw that. Couldn’t help wondering if it’s better as an aero-bar than a computer. JK
My Rox just had a new firmware update but i cant find any links as to what the new firmware does?
Version is now 1.20.370 (45236)
Any ideas?
link to sigmasport.com
Very minor update it appears. Fixed connection issue with HR sensors.
Has not been a problem for me.
1 What is the battery life at full power ? Is there a power save mode ?
2 Is there a calculated power reading based on climb rate and wind resistance like the Rox 9.1 ?
3 Does the Rox 12 display climb rate as accurately and instantly as the Rox 9.1 (Garmin 820 fluctuates wildly even in averaging mode-just awful)
4 Is there a real time elevation profile like on Garmin 820 ?
Dear DCR, you really must clarify the distance limitation of Strava/Komoot plannen routes. Sigma tell me that there is no limit.
Apart from that, I find the accurancy of the climb rate (m/min) is of paramount importance, more so than speed !
Finally is this unit suitable for “randonneur conditions” ? ! (72 hour rides, through the night, wind and rain in the face !)
1 – No auto power save (auto go to sleep and wake up) – DISAPPOINTING !
2 – no calculated power, you need a power meter – shame.
As a regular club spin road/leisure cyclist, this is still the best device I have used to date. My GPS evolution has been Garmin Edge 25, Garmin Edge 520, Garmin Edge 820 and Wahoo Elemnt. The Sigma beats all the those hands down. At the price point there is little to compete with it. There are the German eccentricities “Sigma Cloud” that can only be viewed on Windows (I am on my 3rd device that is not compatible with the app) but it works well for what I need. The only option I haven’t tried is the Karoo. Having consulted this forum a number of times there is a lot of negative posts about the device. I thought I would post something positive after all the navigation is excellent and has gotten me to coffee stops a few times that would have been a nightmare to get to otherwise.
SIGMA has stopped development of the ROX12 sadly. I agree it was among the best. I traded in my Karoo for it over 2 years ago. I haven’t looked back but Hammerhead — to its credit — has continued to improve the Karoo I within its hardware limits. Now with the Karoo II (reviewed by Ray this week) it has surpassed the ROX 12 without question. I’m considering returning to the Hammerhead-fold. I’d sell my ROX for it.
Have they officially stopped development, or is that just an expression of frustration over their lack of updates?
I deliberately waited 4 days to reply to see if there was any official reply
I have twice made the statement that there’s no more development — by that I mean adding features, not just fixing what’s not working — and there has been no response or retort from the company. That says it all IMO.
The writing was on the wall when it removed its presence in the U.S. Wish I had known that before buying the ROX.
I’ll stick with it as long as I can with my limited discretionary income, but my battery is only lasting 4 hours now, thus a new one may come sooner. Hammerhead re-beckons — maybe.
I am still waiting for DC Rainmaker to test the Rox12 in randonneur conditions, this miserable week would be perfect, plenty of wind and rain in the face ! Does the touch screen still work ? How long does the battery last ? Nothing else matters !
Making a statement like that is sure to confuse casual viewers of this thread. It’s not an official Sigma forum as you know, so why would there be an ‘official reply’ here?.
As there was a firmware update in December, Sigma is obviously still supporting the device. I would imagine that new hardware is probably under development, and maybe under testing with sponsored teams.
I do understand your frustration with the lack of support in the US, that is a bad move by Sigma IMO.
David, your logic eludes me.
There is no official forum. We, here, suggested one a long time ago to no avail. This is the closest to it. Daniel of SIGMA last commented 6 months ago. That is a comment unto itself.
The December update consisted of bug fixes. “Supporting” the device is one thing, but with the absence of further DEVELOPMENT in two years, and the abandonment of the U.S. market, it’s inconceivable that SIGMA is working on a new computer. It would be an unwise business decision IMO.
Do you notice the dearth of comments here and the diminishing interest in the ROX 12? Few vendors are selling them.
My statements are, of course, my opinions, and based on experience/observation and not frustration. “Casual” viewers will not be harmed. Serious viewers can be informed and draw their own conclusions.
So, do you know if SIGMA is developing a new computer or are you just hoping for it?
It’s a huge shame IF support for this device is dropped. I ride with friends who use Wahoo Bolt, Lezyne and Garmin computers (comparable in age and price to the Sigma) and in terms of navigation the Sigma wins easily.
They all have problems but my Sigma is the most reliable.
No device is forever but it would be a shame to have stopped developing the Sigma Rox 12 given its performance actually out there on the roads and trails. It is a great device and deserves more love from the developers.
change log:
link to sigmasport.com
How is the stability after the late december update? The sigma has everything i want. But the bugs and loss of connection with the sensors are holding me back. Thanks!
I’ve found the latest release to be far more stable with sensors. It finds them more quickly and stays connected. No issues at all, so far.
Thats good to hear. Is see that there is a 4gb version too. And that you can put a micro sd card in the device, but you cannot put maps on the card. Only all the other things like routes, workouts, etc.
Is the 4gb enough for maps of netherlands france and italy at the same time? I will.put a mirco sd in for the other things just to be sure…
Those three country maps together are just under 1.5GB, so it should be fine. I have 1.1 of maps on the 8GB version, with nearly 1GB of old trip data I’ve still got 4GB free. So you’ll need to tidy up old trips more often, but otherwise totally fine.
Thanka for the info. A micro sd for the old trip data will be handy. Cause the OS takes in roughly 2 gb and 1,5 for the maps. I will ride in the netherlands for 99% of the time so i can swap maps when i need to. But a micro sd will be handy. Too bad they didn’t put in a 16 gb….
Some advice please Team on conserving battery
What settings would you suggest to help conserve the battery for long rides? I’m doing 4-5 hrs most weekends and the battery % is getting low and I’m hoping to go even longer so want to maximize the available power.
I use the device mainly for its GPS and i link up a heart monitor and cadence sensor (although the cadence sensor doesn’t appear to connect all the time but that’s another post for another day!)
I always have WiFi off which should help, but any other settings that could help conserve battery would be appreciated. I do need to see the screen as I follow new routes every week so I do need to see it clearly.
Thanks
Enzo.
What I found made a huge difference is the screen brightness. I use to have this at max, but I was lucky if the ROX had enough power for 4-5 hours. I’ve now dropped the brightness way down.
Oh wow thank you. I just checked mine and I had it in max too. I’ve dropped it to less than half and will see how that affects the life. My eyesight isn’t great when using sunglasses so always had it ramped up to max brightness. Great tip will give it a whirl. Thanks again.
Enzo, in addition to the other good suggestions you can turn off the screen from time-to-time. I do this when I get a low battery warning and it does extend its use. One short click on the power button does the trick — on and off — no delay.
Battery consumption may also be affected by the number of sensors you have connected. I have 5.
That said, I’m seeing diminished capacity the last 6 months on my 2 1/2 yr old device. I charge it after each ride.
Thanks Seth – will also give this a go.
Has anyone opened one of these up to replace the battery? It’s such a good unit, I’d be loathed to no longer be able to use it just because the battery became too weak.
You guys are very helpful! I’m glad!
When i use a track from komoot (created myself) do you have to use turn by turn navigation? Or is it possible to just use the map with the blue line and the arrow of where you are that follows the line on the map? With no turn by turn but you check the map by yourself from time to time to see where you have to go… i hope you guys know what i mean. Thanks!
Hi.
I have some personal POI in my old garmin that I use to find nice places in the area where I use to ride.
I have not found the way to set theses points in the Rox12.
Do you know the way?
Daniel.
Yes. From the home screen tap on Navigation/POI/Custom Position and go from there.
Hi.
Thanks for the help.
Probably I don’t express correctly. From Navigation/POI/Custom Position you can define any point as the center of the search for the predefined POIs.
But what I really want is to introduce my own POI/Waypoints and be able to see in the map.
In Garmin is so easy, I have a list of Waypoints and they just appear in the map.
Do you know if its possible with Rox12??
Yes. All you need to know is the address of these waypoints, its point on a map or GPS coordinates using Google, etc. and you can define your own POI, label it and save. What happens when you try that?
I bought my ROX 12.0 Standalone to replace my Sigma BC16 before I came across your article which I found reflected my views: I love it too! However, recently I went on to acquire the Sigma Heart Rate and Cadence monitors (I confess, I’m a data nerd) and I hoped that your article might have some guidance on how to get them to work. Despite my age, I regard myself as being tech-savvy but just can’t get my head around grinding any data out of the 2 monitors into my Sigma Data Centre on my Mac despite endless emails between me and their Customer Service department. The heart rate monitor should be simple. Once paired, you should just strap it round your chest and expect it to work. But no, you have to “wet” the strap first except, it still does not work. As for the cadence monitor, that has to align with a pedal magnet on one side and and a spoke indicator on the other and neither should be more than 5mm from the sensor. I have them almost touching and still it does not work. If you know the missing secret, would you mind sharing it with me please? Thanks for your article.
I think you mean a combined cadence and speed sensor, hence the need to align it with the magnet on the crank and another on a spoke? I found getting this sorted a little difficult – trying to find the sweet spot especially with the speed sensor. Also, more often than not after washing my bike I would move the sensors and then have to re-align them again. In the end I decided to ditch these types of sensors and bought Garmin inertia sensors – no magnets required and so far these have been very reliable.
Thanks, Joseph. Did you ever get the Sigma cadence/speed monitor to work before moving on to Garmin? Also, did you ever use the heart beat monitor? That should be so easy as it is not mechanical but there is no way of testing whether it is the monitor itself or the computer but nothing I have tried has worked yet.
I did get the cadence/speed sensor to work. I found that I had to have the magnet for the speed sensor to pass very close to the end of the sensor – not the middle, for it to work. The cadence sensor was a little easier.
With the heart belt, this seems to be a little tricky as well. Sometimes it just works, sometimes it works once I’ve got a sweat going, and sometimes (yesterday) it didn’t work at all, even after I re-synced. I don’t know if other computers are so fiddly to get to work. I guess the sensor-magnet combination are always potentially going to have a problem if they are not aligned. It just seems you have to be quite precise. I just became to frustrated with them and hence I changed to the Garmin sensors and these just work.
I think I will follow your example. I have spent a great deal of frustrating time back and forth to their customer care department thinking it was my idiocy at fault or that I had missed a soft switch somewhere along the line and getting nowhere. Sad really because the ROX 12.0 itself it a great bike computer. Thanks for your help.
Dump that chest strap and get this:
Scosche Rhythm24 – Waterproof Armband Heart Rate Monitor HRM Optical with Dual Band ANT+ and BLE Bluetooth.
Its a forearm heart rate monitor. No need for cream or anything else. Absolutely rocksolid. Will pair up before you even swing your leg over the bike. Avoid all Garmin products as they are extremely flaky.
I just changed from Garmin 820 to Sigma Rox 12 – very pleased so far ! Agreed, the dual magnet sensor takes a while to find the sweet spot, but the indicator light helps. That done, the pairing was instantaneous ! both with the new magnet sensors as well as with my old Garmin inertia sensors. I would say that the Sigma pairing goes much better than with the Garmin 820 which had been troublesome. The Garmin had often lost the sensors but so far the Sigma has not.
Thanks Jeffrey. Not sure about throwing more money into was is basically a fad for me. I can get my heart rate from my Apple 6 watch although I shall have to make a manual transfer. Perhaps there is a way of pairing the watch with ROX 12.0? I’m grateful for your comment, though
I regret buying this unit. It disconnects from power meter mid ride, gps fails with no warnings or settings change, front plate (buttons) fall off. Now upon trying to update firmware, its bricked. Bikeinn wont accept a return, and have now stopped retailing it. Its a piece of trash and if you buy it, you’ll be stuck with a €400 paperweight.
Hi Dennis,
Sorry to hear about the issues you faced to. Could you please contact our customer service: kundenservice@sigmasport.com? Please refer to the DC website and send us a short description about the issue. We will contact you asap.
Best regards,
Daniel
I’ve given up on SIGMA and my ROX 12. No support, no feature development, abandonment of the U.S. market and it has the temerity to introduce new computers, notably the 11.1, after giving up on the 12? German Chuztpah!
I’ve gone back to Hammerhead, this time with the Karoo 2. It’s light years ahead of the ROX12 just as the K1 was well behind the ROX when the 12 came out 3 years ago. The new Karoo is lacking a few features which it is committed to developing. With updates every 2 weeks and adequate company funding I’m willing to bet it will be completely to my liking. At least it won’t be standing still.
I’ll be selling the 12.
Too bad. I liked the Rox 12.0, after coming from the Karoo 1 which was buggy and too complicated. I don’t understand the Rox 11.1. It doesn’t look as nice as the 12.0, particularly for navigation. I don’t mind if it connects to my phone, but I don’t want to rely on my phone for maps and navigation.
I guess I’ll stick with the Rox 12.0 until it dies and then give Karoo 2 or Garmin a try.
Thanks, Nathaniel.
I’ll say this about the Karoo2, it’s packed with more goodies (as Ray might say) than the K1 which might make it more “complicated” for you but I like having more options. It’s well designed and that screen is still the best.
I’ve just bought a Karoo 2. If a replacement for the Rox 12 had surfaced this year I may well have bought that. But, after just over three years, the Rox 12 battery is only giving me around three hours charge, even after recalibration recommended by Sigma’s service department. I’ve started turning off the screen late in a ride just to be able to record my whole activity. There are still crashes on start up, failed sensor pairing and other minor glitches. I have, however liked the device and would have invested in a successor with enhancements to the original hardware and software. The lower end devices released this year didn’t do anything for me.
So, it’s the Karoo 2 for a few years.
Hello, could you please share instructions for the battery recalibration process? Thank you
This is the message sent to me from Sigma about battery calibration.
Regarding the battery, please calibrate it first to find out if it has an effect:
1. Charge to 100%
2. Let it discharge till it shuts down by itself
3. Connect to charger while it’s off, you should see a battery level of about 40-50% immediately
4. Disconnect and turn it on
5. Let it discharge again till it shuts down by itself. Repeat till the device doesn’t turn on at all anymore.
6. Connect it to charger and charge till 100% while its shut off
7. Disconnect and turn it on, done.
Has anyone updated to the latest firmware and found that Strava now syncs with an error?
My unit gives me an error messaging when syncing to the Sigma Cloud, although it does actually sync.
Says that the sync has failed, but it clearly hasn’t as all my data appears in the Sigma Link app.
Strava syncs without the error message.
Which K Edge (or other mount available in the USA) will fit Sigma Rox 12 GPS? Thanks
Although not the largest head unit available it still needs the longer armed mount.
K-EDGE Garmin Max XL Mount.
Thanks David
I bought a Sigma Rox 12.0 some year and a half ago on the basis of the review above. But II must have gotten the Monday version because I cannot agree that it’s an excellent gps. On the contrary: the the satelite connection in my experience is erratic. Pass along a tree lined road, and the connection falters. Battery life? Poor.
I’d hesitate about any Sigma cycling gps in the future based on my experience with the Rox 12.0