For the past several years, I have used Sigma analog “magnet wheel style” computers for some time now and like their large easy-to-read screens and overall design. Late last year, Sigma, the German company, released their first-ever GPS based cyclocomputer. They are offering the same computer body with two packaged versions. One version, the “Basic” package is the bare-boned package with no heart rate monitor, cadence sensor or wheel speed transmitter. Since it is GPS based I see no reason to also have a wheel speed transmitter. Also, since I already had two Garmin ANT+ heart rate chest transmitters, I opted for the “Basic” kit, instead of the more deluxe “Set” package.
For a similar price of the Garmin 200 or 500-series units, you get a lot more with the ROX 10.0. For that reason alone, I highly recommend this model. What you gain is the ability to upload previously created (or cycled) maps (i.e. GPX files made in RidewithGPS, Strava or Map My Ride). The maps on the ROX only show a reference line where you need to go and do not show surrounding streets or geographic features like the Garmin 800-series, but that is better than no map at all, as is the case with the Garmin 500.
User Tips
Chest Strap Syncing. For me, the manual (pg. 40) was confusing on how to sync the computer head to a chest strap heart rate transmitter. Here’s how, with the strap nearby the ROX: go to Settings > Bike 1–3 & Totals > ANT+ Pairing > Heart Rate 1.
Short Menu I missed this in the manual, but while on the primary “Training” screen, press both the upper buttons (Back & Enter) to quickly get to the “Short Menu,” which has several useful items like favorites (preferences for differing screen settings), elevation settings and uploading a previously created route or track.
Auto Pause I have found that I don’t enable the Auto Pause function as I like to separate moving time from total time. Page 23 says “Note: The exercise time is linked to the logging. If the exercise time is stopped, no data is recorded for further analysis. If the auto pause function is activated, the exercise time is identical to the trip time. If the auto pause function is deactivated, the trip time and the exercise time differ.
Backlight I have found that this light uses up a minimal amount of power, so lately (November 2015), I have it set to not turn off automatically after 10 or 30 seconds. I ran a test by leaving the light on for the duration of an 8-hour ride and the battery was depleted by 50%, which is about the same depletion I normally get with the light off the whole time.
Important Routes Note I currently create all my routes in Ride with GPS and then export them as a GPX file to my computer. From there they can be imported into the ROX using the Sigma Data Center software app. On a recent long ride, after downloading (or is it an “upload”?) my route, I checked to see if it “made it” onto the ROX via the Short Menu (see below) > Load Track > Stored Tracks. It showed up with the correct mileage displayed. But on the morning of the ride, the ROX constantly said I was off route. Upon further review (Short Menu > Load Track > Stored Tracks > Select “My Route” > Show Track, it displayed no map, despite indicating the correct mileage. Apparently I exported the wrong type of GPX from RWGPS, or the file was corrupt. Later, at home, I re-exported the route and it worked fine. So word to the wise…always double-check by viewing your route map on the ROX to insure it is properly uploaded.
Elevation Calibration As far as I can find, there is no auto elevation calibration. So at the beginning of every ride that is not near my known home elevation, I have found I need to go to Short Menu > Altitude > Manual Calibration and reset the elevation, otherwise, all day long, the elevation is reading as if I started it at my home elevation.
Preferences Perhaps one of my favorite features is the preference screen settings, which can be set up on my PC (Mac actually) and then later uploaded. With my Garmin fenix it can only be done on the tiny unit itself, taking hours because of the various disciplines or profiles (swimming, cycling, mountaineering, SUP etc.). I finally wrote them all down in a notebook before I sent the unit in for warranty replacement.
Software The packages do not included a software CD, instead they give you a license key (inside the box) to download it to your PC or Mac. My initial key didn’t work right, but Sigma’s great U.S.-based customer service quickly provided another that did work.
Below are Some Questions
or comments I sent to their tech support person regarding this product, along with their answer.
- Q: You said “Anytime you come within 30m of that point it should recalibrate to your preset number.” What point? How does one set waypoints with this device? On pg. 26 of the manual it says “You can also mark special points of interest (POI) located near the route as waypoints.” Does that mean in RidewGPS after I mark POIs and the ROX will beep when I approach it? Or can I do create waypoints with the ROX as I travel?
A: POI is different from the Altitude points list. POI’s can be added to route that you then transfer to the ROX computer. The altitude points list you have to create on the ride at the location. Here is how you set that while on a ride: you have to be getting the GPS signal and then follow the steps to get into the short cut menu/altitude scroll to the bottom (Manual Calib) press enter, press enter, then using the -/+ buttons change the character/number that is selected then press enter to go to the next and repeat until you have set the elevation then press back/back/back and you should be at the training screen. - Q: If I’m doing a continuous 24-36-hour ultra event, do I want to set the Log Interval to 5 or 10 seconds, so I don’t max out the memory of the ROX? I will be using an external USB battery pack to keep it going for that long.
A: With the log memory empty at the start of the event you should get approximately 41 hours at 5 seconds and 82 hours at 10 second intervals. When you dock the computer with your MAC in the dashboard display in the upper left you will see LOG and below that it tells you how much memory is left depending on the interval selected. - Q: In tracking mode, what is the top of the screen oriented to? With my fenix, I can set it so the top is the direction of travel OR just north. I keep it in the direction of travel. It seems the ROX bounces around a lot when holding it in my hand. Is there a setting for this?
A (Short Answer): Short Menu (see top of page) > Track Settings > Track Direction. (But not found under Settings where one would think it would be.)
Long Answer: When you are in the track view or the altitude view you can change the options on the top of the display. Go to the device settings in the data center and go to favorites A (and or B) and open that drop down, there you will see the different views and the options available. Direction is one of the options but you can select up to six for track view and altitude view. - Q: After creating a route in RidewGPS or elsewhere and after exporting as a GPX file, can I just copy it onto the ROX w/o opening the Data Center and saving it there first? (seems like an extra step) With the fenix, the icon of the device shows up on my desktop (iMac) and I see the native files etc. that are on the device, whereas the ROX it doesn’t show up as a device on my computer, which is kinda weird as I thought all external devices that are attached show up.
A: No you will have to import the .GPX file into the data center first then export it to the ROX computer. - Q: I don’t have a power meter on my bike, so are the power settings (including power to weight ratio) not relevant or does the ROX provide a guestimate of those anyway?
A: The ROX computer has what they call Perceived Power, it is an algorithm that will use the user data that you enter then it calculates what it perceives is the power that it should take to do what you are doing. It is not the same as using a strain gauge power meter. - Q: With the Sigma PC15 (fitness watch) it gave me wonderful heart rate info, giving me time percentages of time in each of three zones. That was most helpful in training and for post-workout analysis. On page 32 of the manual it shows time at various intensities (but not percentage, a bummer), but I don’t see that data on Sigma Training Center. I know it shows on the ROX under Memory > Stored Tours. I am missing that info on the Data Center?
A: The HR % are shown in the data center, you can display the target zone, intensity zones, or the power zones. But while you are riding you can set it to intensity zones or you target zone and that will show % of max and it will show if you are below, in, or above your chosen zone. - Q: It appears that the stopwatch doesn’t work in the background…i.e. in an ultra event, I want to get a total time, after all the breaks and stops including those times when the ROX is turned off…but I guess that is not possible. Too bad. My Sigma 1609 (older non-GPS model) had such a feature.
A: You are correct. As soon as you leave the stopwatch display is resets it to 0. - Q: With the ROX 10, the “Trip Time” is actually the time moving or the time “exercising,” whereas my exercise or moving time is the ROX’s “Total Elapsed” time of the event. Those seem to be reversed!
A: Exercise time is the total time from when you hit start until you press stop and trip time it the time you are moving. But if you have auto pause turned on they will be the same time. - Q: For ultra long events, an external battery pack can be plugged into the Micro-USB port and the computer battery can be topped off while cycling. The only problem I see is that for a 1200km event (90 hours) the unit may run out of memory, and unlike my Garmin fenix, there is no way to wirelessly via WiFi, upload part of route to my iPhone. (For a 90-hour 1200km ride, I would have to set this to once every 30 seconds, which gives chops off any sharp turns, but on the straights or with wide turns, it is basically OK).
A: You will have to change the log interval from the ROX computer under device settings. - Q: The twist lock attachment is not secure. Because the body of the 10.0 is larger than previous Sigma models, when one pushes any of the four side buttons, the whole unit tends to rotate (nearly falling off the bike). I finally slapped some electrical tape inside the mount, to tighten things up more. I noticed that some reviewers on Amazon or elsewhere had the same problem.
A: There will be a new mount and out front mount just for the ROX 10 but we have not heard a date when that will be showing up. I did see a prototype last week and it really did hold it nice and tight. I will write myself note to get one out to you when we get them. I will forward your comment on to the developers and see where that goes. Thanks for the input. - Q: The lap button only works when moving. On today’s ride, twice, I got to the top of a hill climb, unclipped, then quickly hit “Lap” but it didn’t take it. Consequently, I didn’t get a record of the time interval for that lap. (Perhaps Strava may have it as a segment, but I won’t know my time until I get back to the office to upload).
A: Will pass comment on to engineers.
Q: Yesterday, I took the ROX 10 on a short backcountry ski trip, along with my Garmin fenix (wrist watch tri model) to compare. Regretfully, both units recording erroneously high heart rates, which seems to be a chronic problem with ANT+ chest straps. I confirmed this with them at the recent Interbike show and they sent me a freebie “newest, latest” Garmin chest strap. It was worse than the old one…mostly due to wind issues while cycling, but today, while skiing, why? Hmmmm. I guess this is your first ANT+ venture. Have you heard any reports that your chest strap also gives bad readings for cyclists (mostly in summer when wearing one single jersey)? (My conclusion: same problem as with all Garmin devices).
A: Did you try moistening the chest belt contacts when you put the chest belt on? Its cold and dry air so that might help with the connectivity, maybe a cardio gel. But Garmin owns ANT+ so my guess is it’s all the same. I have heard of issues with cycling and HR’s, with a looser fitting jersey that if it starts to flop around it can create a static discharge and that will interfere with the HR signal. I had a customer out is California and he was having issues with his HR chest belt so what he tried was he mixed some sort of fabric de-static stuff for the laundry and mixed it with some water and put it into a spray bottle. Before a ride he sprays the front of his jersey and that seemed to work for him. And I bet it smells fresh on the rides. That was years ago and he still stays in touch so I assume it is still working. - Q: How does the unit get firmware updates? The manual refers to this, but gives no clues on how it is done.
A: When you dock the ROX computer the data center checks for FW updates, for better or worse that’s how they set it up.
The Firmware updates are done through the Data Center (PC or Mac software). After you open the Data Center software wake up your ROX 10.0 computer then dock it with the USB cable, while in the DC dashboard view if there are any Firmware updates you will see a window between connected device and statistics in the main display. It there are any updates listed, to the right you will see a green button that says start update, click on that green button and from there you will get a screen(s) with the instructions for installing the updates. BUT before you do any updates make sure you have downloaded any data off the ROX computer, the new FW will wipe all the previous data off the computer. This includes any training data, total device values, and your device settings. Once the new FW updates have been installed then you can push the device settings back onto the ROX computer from the Data Center. - Q: How do I delete tracks (routes created, but not ridden yet) on the ROX? (Not being able to delete them in the field seems to a big oversight).
A: They can only be deleted by using the Sigma Data Center (desktop) computer application. Plug in the ROX to your computer and then click on the “Track Synchronization” icon on the upper-right corner of the screen of the Data Center screen. Follow the logical steps from there. - Q: On the ROX unit itself, there is a “Memory” function. What memory does it refer?
A: The internal memory % is the amount of memory that is taken up by your rides that you have saved, but not the tracks you have uploaded to the ROX, they are separate.
Q: So if “internal memory” is only for rides I have done, how do I asses memory allocation of uploaded tracks or routes (which I have yet to ride)?
A: There is no way to check that memory; I don’t think it takes up very much memory as it’s just the GPS coordinates. But it would be a nice addition; I will mention it to the developers.
Summary
All-in-all I am happy with the ROX 10, especially considering the price point.
My biggest complaints are:
- Inability to upload results directly to Strava. One must upload to the Sigma Data Center on a PC first and then to Strava.
- Inability to upload results via a mobile device or directly online. When I travel, I generally do so with an iPhone and a iPad as I don’t own a laptop. But I like to upload my rides to Strava immediately after I complete them. But I can’t, until I arrive back home, because the Sigma Data Center software must be loaded (& this is only available through a serialized edition) onto a laptop or desktop computer — they don’t have a online, browser-only upload utility. (This problem is solved with the ROX 11 as it has Bluetooth).
- I wish the stopwatch function would work in the background of an activity, so at the end of an ride, I can tell what my total time was, including breaks and stops. Better yet, I wish the “Trip Time” recorded the total time, from the start the unit started recording to when an activity was saved, regardless of how many times the unit is paused or turned off to save battery life.
- Battery light buttons are difficult to use. The backlight is enabled by pressing the bottom two side buttons. But nearly every time, I end up pressing one button slightly before the other and invariably I click the lap button instead.
- I like that there are no touch screen modes as that is a hassle with gloved hands. But on the other hand (pun intended), I don’t care much for the soft rubber buttons as with gloved hands, it is difficult to use.
- I have a local friend that, after about three years, the tabs on the bottom of the ROX 10 are worn out and no longer can mount to a bicycle. That is not a replaceable part. Sigma offered a discount on a new unit. The new ROX 11 has deeper tabs and use the Garmin mount system.
Sigma Contact Info
USA Telephone — 1-888-744-6277
Tech Support — Mike, E-mail (mike@sigmasportusa.com)
Rando Richard Blog 
how to set a clock on rox 10.0? please and i have a problem how to put speed and cadence thing on bike there is no place between frame and front left pedal
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To set the clock: get to the main Training Screen > Mode > Settings (enter) > Device (enter) > Time Zone & it should set itself the next time you enable the GPS outside.
I don’t use the Cadence feature so I can’t help. Contact Sigma in the U.S. at 1-888-744-6277 or sales@sigmasport.us.
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Hi
Nothing will load on to my iMac is there something I’m missing…
If you can help it would be very appreciated
Thank you
M.J.
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Did you download the software to your iMac? The code they gave to download it didn’t work on my iMac so I e-mailed them (sales@sigmasport.us) and got another, then it worked fine.
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Hi
Thank you for this very interesting article.
I use a sigma BC2209 and the HR data are reliable. With my new Rox 10.0, there are at least a difference of 20 bpm between the two devices. The chest belt is moist. For exemple, my maximum rate is 185 with the BC2209 and only 160-165 with the Rox. I always wear a jersey (slim fit) with a full zip. Any advice?
Thanks
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When I first got the ROX, I wore my Garmin ANT+ chest belt and transmitted to two different devices at once: the ROX and my Garmin fenix (tri watch model) and they read exactly the same. I have a 70-yr friend that also has the 2209 and his highest heart rate is much higher than I would expect for someone his age, so suspect that the “old” Sigma heart rate data consistently reads high. I would contact Randy at Sigma, though there is little he can do except add it to his “list to give to the German designers.”
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Hi, nice review.
One question on the ROX 10: how customizable is the screen? Also, I read elsewhere that an upcoming firmware update will increase the screen customization options. True?
Thanks
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On the main training screen, one can only customize the very bottom data. I wish I could customize at least two fields at the bottom too, as I constantly bounce (read…scroll) between distance traveled and % max heart rate. I have heard that they might be the whole screen more customizable (fall of 2015 maybe?). I do NOT like the big MPH “speed” digits as it just takes up valuable real estate. I would prefer it much smaller to make room for other data.
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Richard – nice concise review. I just bought a Rox 10 and, well, at this point I’m not too sure. I’ve had a 1609 STS CAD for years and have loved it, but wanted the added GPS and ability to add my new PowerTap info as well. It was a bit less the the Garmin and I wanted to support Sigma…we’ll see.
I was wondering if you had encountered two issues that I have seen. First, I don’t seem to be able to change the Log interval from the unit. By that I mean I can’t even select the setting when I go to settings, it just skips over it. It may be (who knows) that I have started recording without knowing it (although I’ve tried to go edit this setting directly after turning it on.) I think I had been able to change it, or at least access the setting when I was first playing with it, but no longer. Any similar experience? The second issue also might be more bad Sigma user interface logic. As I said, I have a PowerTap power meter. I’ve paired it with the Rox but saw in the manual that the device can either calculate power or measure it and I choose between the two. “please choose between power meter and formula under settings/Device/power meter or Formula.” I didn’t check before pairing the units but there is no settings/Device/power meter setting. My hope is that it went away after I paired the unit. More Sigma interestingness (I’m sure there is a more appropriate word in German.)
Thanks!
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Joel,
You cannot change the log interval once you have started to record an activity. I pretty much leave mine at 5 seconds, unless I am doing a 1200 km ride and then I change it to 10 seconds.
I cannot help you with the power meter questions. I don’t have one. Some day, it would most cool if EVERY bicycle had one as I would like to compare myself to my faster friends (of similar age)…is it their lighter body weight or just their brute strength that makes them faster than I?
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Hi, I’ve just got a ROX 10 and have just got back from its maiden ride.
I’ve uploaded everything into DataCenter and it seems OK except for the altitude trace on the graph screen.
I set my home altitude in the ROX settings for 8m above sea level but the DataCenter shows me starting 67m below sea level (!). I’m assuming it’s user error on my part but I can’t fathom where I’ve gone wrong.
Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks.
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I believe you have to set your home altitude in conjunction with a given way-point, so that when you first turn on your ROX it will know that you are home. One thing I do not like about the ROX is that when I travel to a ride where the altitude is much different than my home (nearly every “event”!), I must remember to manually reset the ROX, otherwise all day long the altitude is off. This must be because the ROX doesn’t have a built-in map to “know” what altitude it is at.
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I have a Rox 10 bundle that I sourced from Performance in July this year. Recently I had two previous events in Memory (one was 1 hr 25 minutes and the other was about 4 hrs) with data being saved at one hertz. Went on Century ride on Sunday and the Rox 10 stopped saving data due to Full Memory at 54 miles, so maybe that equates to the Rox advertised end of Memory – no Strava upload for me!!!
Also – a niggling issue, the stopwatch will not run in parallel with other functions. So that means I can’t ride the Rox 10 on my rollers and have a critical stopwatch and also monitor HR, cadence, etc. I have a Rox 19. and even though it is early technology with no real computer function nor GPS nor Power, it would run a stopwatch while I watched cadence and HR. Since the sensors are different technology I can’t simply install the 19.2 while I ride rollers. I know, I’m a whiner.
I have been using the ROX 10 now for a couple months and it seems pretty reliable. But I am coveting a Gmin Edge since it has more memory and a stopwatch. The Rox HR and Cadence sensors are hopefully compatible and the Edge has the functions I want and all the users I have talked to have no issues with Gmin ‘Memory’. Got to have a stopwatch and I don’t like having to fret about Memory (Yes – I changed it to 5 second Log intervals).
(Why in tarnation are the buttons so hard to push?!?!?)
Also considering a Stages Power Meter which should give me cadence in addition to Power and I can then ditch the cadence sensor!
One other niggling issue: the function icons on the Rox computer program should have a short explanation feature when you hover the cursor over an icon. It seems to upload to Strava ok tho.
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MK,
I regularly do 200- to 750-mile events with no memory issues (using 5 or 10 second log interval). In July, I was most worried about running out of memory on a 1200 km (750 mile) brevet, which took about 85 hours total (including sleeping). It worked fine and I think it used about about 75% of the memory. I cleared out all old activities and also most other “routes” first though. When the ROX gets down to only 20% left, it will warn you, so that can delete off old files. Are you sure you don’t have older events in memory that are clogging the unit?
I believe I mentioned the stopwatch issues in my prior comments. I have brought that to their attention and hopefully the Germans will fix it. It is most annoying. Of course on the early non-GPS models the stopwatch went to 99 hours, but on the later 1609 it only went to something like 9.9 hours — a big engineering oversight, since I do events much longer than that!
I hate the “soft” buttons too, especially when wearing gloves.
The reliability is nice on ROX. On one occasion, in the middle of a 125-mile ride, the unit froze, so I turned it off and on again, yet no data was lost. I have heard that Garmins sometimes loose everything with such an episode.
At first I found the Sigma Data Center (the software installed on my Mac desktop computer) to be confusing as to what was stored on the unit vs. what is stored on my hard drive. Yes, a hover over clarification description would help.
~ Richard
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Richard – thanks for the reply. I double checked and all I had saved were two short events. Weird. Funny that my Rox ‘said’ that I had accumulated 104 miles during the Century (which was correct) but when the info was downloaded to my laptop, nothing registered on the file after 54 miles. I’ll see how it does with 5 sec intervals. Mine ran out of memory after 25 + 48 + 54 total miles. I usually clear the memory after accumulating two or three separate, short rides. I did not clear it before the Century and would have never guessed that I was going to have an issue.
Are you running a power meter with yours?
mk
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No power meter or cadence on mine. I used cadence years ago, but lately have not seen a purpose in it now.
How many routes are downloaded on your ROX? They supposedly take up little memory, but you never know.
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HI
for Esper: when you are in the training mode, you can access to the short menu by pushing back and enter buttons at the same time, then go to altitude menu and you can change manually your start altitude; so it is not a complete reset of the device.
During the training, you can also register an altitude wherever you are (like in a mountain pass), and everytime you will pass at this same GPS point, the altitude is automatically adjusted.
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I have never downloaded a route and likely never will. All I need the Rox to do is capture my HR, cadence, speed and time figures. And Power when I get it. And Stopwatch – but it can’t. I use it for training only. I should design such a simple bike cptr and send it to China for manufacture. I’d sell a million of them. Competitive cyclists neither want nor need all the bells & whistles, different bikes, blah-blah-blah.
I keep my eye out for such a cptr. Thats why I really like my 1909 – it was mostly perfect: useful on the road and rollers and the screen data was sort of better. I manually entered post-workout data from the 1909 into a training diary book. Only reason I got the Rox 10 is that my 1909 HR strap sensor quit working and the cadence sensor quit. New batteries didn;t help. I reasoned that it was better to make the leap in new tech especially since I was going to get Power soon and the Rox 10 has a small cptr program to download data.
I DO like the Incline/ Decline features to log total feet/meters climbed and the GPS allows me to upload to Strava!
If they made a 1909-like cptr with GPS, stopwatch, new tech sensors + Power & feet climbed and revise the desktop cptr pgm a little, they would have an unbelievable winner for folks that want to Train seriously. OR: if ROX 10 customers could download a revised program from Sigma to make it do what I just said. I can’t tell you how many times I ride my rollers indoors when it’s raining outside or maybe I missed my daytime ride. Nice to have a stopwatch run organically with the cptr so I can do speed & time intervals, etc. and then download all that data in a coherent manner – but you can’t.
Maybe there’s such a ROX that I have missed???
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I have imported training data into the Sigma Data Center (recorded with another device than my Rox 10.0) in the form of a gpx file. This file appears as a track in the Data Center 3, not as training data. How can I correct this?
Thanks a lot!
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Not sure how to fix that problem. Call Sigma, but since you are using their app in an unapproved manner, I doubt they can help. You might try brining it into the Garmin Connect or Ride with GPS websites and converting it.
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Hello Mr. Rando,
I really appreciate you writing this detailed article and answering all these folks promptly; since there are not sufficient videos out there for the ROX 10 nor that there are many reviews about it.
This device along with Garmin edge 500 seem to be the best bicycle computers that have all the essential cycling parameters plus more with the cheapest price.
First of all, for almost all the questions and doubts that I have read in the reviews above, the Sigma ROX 10 manual covers them (it was just modified in Feb, 2014).
But still some things are vague. The main reason I am going to buy this device over the edge 500 is that because it can show power reading estimates using formula (as per Sigma); but here lies my question, does it show the power during exercise or after you are done and uploaded to the Data Cenrte?
My second question, even though the manual explains it, but I still do not know how to calibrate the altimeter. When it says you can store 3 Home altitudes, do not you need to enter the coordinates as well? Otherwise, what is the difference between Home alt. and Current alt? Also, the manual says that the device can store up to 20 “Altitude Measurement Points” , then what is the use of the first 3 Home altitudes when you can store up to 20 points?
Another question is that I would like to know what is lap mode exactly? What I understood from the manual is that it creates laps every time you press the lap button during training, shows the last lap details briefly then returns to normal “bike mode”.
My last question is, is it possible that firmware update can contain new training mode, for example like the edge 500 where it has a workout mode that allows you to create workout plans with steps, or another example to increase the degree of freedom for which you can customize the data fields for training?
I would really appreciate it if you could answer all these questions so that I can decide what to buy, or if the answers are long, you can email me if you wish.
Thank you
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Excellent questions.
1. I am not sure about power meter settings as I currently don’t use that function. I will send this link to the tech support person in the USA and see if he has an answer and post it.
2. As I understand the elevation modes, you must be at a given “home” location, press and then “set” your altitude to what it really is and then every time your ROX starts a ride and as it passes through that “home location,” or waypoint, it will reset to that altitude. My problem is that I often travel to start a ride somewhere else and forget to reset the altitude manually and then it is off for the whole ride, unless I reset during the ride when I am at a known elevation. I am not sure about the 20 points you mention.
3. Lap mode is as you explain it, you can view details about each lap as you are riding, IF you have your screen preferences set that way. Each time you punch “lap,” it flashes a special lap screen, but only for 6 or 8 seconds, which is not enough time to see the 6- or 8-field summary of that lap. I wish I could go back and see prior lap details while riding, but that is not possible. My biggest complaint is that to turn on the light, one must press both of the bottom side buttons exactly at the same time, but usually I end up inadvertently pressing the left “lap” button first, creating a new lap, instead of turning on the light, thus messing up any stats I have started.
4. The firmware update, due out before the end of year (I believe), will include customizable fields. If you look at the recent copies of Bicycling Magazine you will see full-page ads showing this feature. It appears that one can put six fields on the home or training page…I hope it will allow eight, as six is rather meager and I will still end up scrolling a lot to the other screens. I do not believe the new firmware will have training plans on it.
Cheers,
Rando Richard
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Hi Mehran,
Yes you can display the calculated power in real time while riding but you will have to be using the cadence transmitter in order to use that feature. You can select it to display under your favorites A or B and it will display at the bottom of the screen. You have several options as to how you would like to see it, power, 3 second average power, 30 second average power, average power, max power, work in kj, power w/kj, and power target zone.
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Jacques,
The GPX files come in two versions, tracks and routes, simply put, tracks are where you’ve been, routes are where you want to go, but they are just the map data. I think what you want is the .fit file, that should have all the training data from a ride including speed, cadence, hr, etc.
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Thank you Rando and Randy for replying,
I have another question, somebody earlier complained about the stopwatch not working in the background as you are training, and I hve read in the manual that one of the data fields that you can add to the normal view when training is the stopwatch and countdown timers, is that true? and if so, how can you start and stop/reset the timer while training without stopping the actual training?
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I guess those data fields are for use when only using the ROX as a stopwatch, not in GPS mode because, as you noticed, the stopwatch will not work in the background (unlike the much less expensive 1609 Sigma!).
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Hi and thanks for a nice review.
Wonder if it’s possible to use Rox 10.0 only with HR-belt for indoor cycling and further get all training data into Data center after training?
I belive it’s necessary to get speed signal, but this could be a nice function without using different equipments.
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I know you can use the ROX 10 with the HR chest belt inside — just disable the GPS function (Settings > GPS Settings > GPS-OFF), but I’m not sure if you can get a speed signal fed to the unit from your stationery bike. I personally have the basic model and it doesn’t have a wheel or cadence sensor, which is used in combination with the GPS signal. That model may work. That would be a good question for Randy at Sigma USA.
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Answer from Sigma in Germany is that Rox 10 won’t start time counting without speed sensor.
This means it’s “useless” for indoor cycling, cause you can’t see graph etc over time/HR and so on. The only thing is that you can see times(in %) you have been working out in for the different HR zones.
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Hi Geir and others,
Today, while eating breakfast, I did a quick test with the ROX 10 sitting next to me on a table and wearing a heart rate monitor chest strap. I turned off the GPS as I was inside a building. After saving the “tour,” the ROX showed 11 minutes of “Exercise Time” and zero minutes of Trip Time (Memory > Stored Tours > 02/02/2015 > Time), yet when I uploaded it to the Sigma Data Center on my computer, it showed zero minutes of Training and Total Time under the main tab (Sigma Data Center > Activities > Values), but under the “Laps” tab it showed my elapsed time. Weird. It did upload to Strava fine though and recorded my time and heart rate specs, which is the most important spec for those not using a power meter.
~ RWS
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Hi, some great answers on here, my question is how do you get the backlight to work, I’ve set my sigma Rox 10 to all of the backlight settings, none of which work. The unit can’t been seen at all in dark conditions, I’m starting to think there’s a fault and it needs replacing.
Thanks,
Mark
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At the same time, press the bottom two buttons (Start/Lap and Mode). One of the problems with this is that I sometimes press the lap button a bit sooner than the mode button, triggering another lap, instead of turning on the light.
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I have the Rox 10.0. It is telling memory is full and needs to be purged. I can not find a way to purge the memory and unit is pretty much useless until I can. When ride it continuously displays a message that memory needs to be purged that takes up the whole screen.
How do I purge the memory??
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This is usually done in Sigma Data Center on your PC. First, make sure all your rides have been off-loaded to the Data Center and/or to Strava (if you use this service). Open the Sigma Data Center > Dashboard (default opening screen) > Remaining log time: > Delete. That is the easiest way…otherwise try this on the ROX itself: Power unit on > Mode Button > Memory > Stored Tours > Select > Delete.
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Hi I want to buy sigma rox 10.0 and i am from greece has it maps from the greece and especially from my small town. Can you give me more informations about it because i do not understand some things. I want all the options and functions of it analytically. And i want a site to buy it (not only from greece) with heart rate, cadence, speed all the fuctions
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The ROX 10 has no built-in maps. It only shows very crude “bread crumb” map (lines) which you create online or after you finish a ride. My commercial site sells them (eogear.com), though it is a special order item.
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i see it from your site has it cadence, heart rate and allthe optional with * or not???? After it i will not having maps. The fuctionals says with gps. I know that it shows only lines (no like GARMIN) but i want to show me my road like the video of sigma that he connect it with his PC shows the roads and send it to the bike computer (ROX). When he rides ROX shows him the lines which you have send it from your PC. Isnt it???If it has not maps like videos i will buy another bike computer. Can i ask a question? Has it the slope of the three following kilometres????
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Sorry, I have not reviewed their video lately. All I know is that this GPS is similarly priced to the Garmin 500, which has NO map display, so it is a better value IMHO. It only shows lines that represent roads, but the ROX does not show other roads nearby, like the very expensive Garmin 800 or 1000.
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If it has not got GPS why did they tells you that it have. For garmin I see them and I am not so good biker or professional to buy them and it is very good but expensive. I see in the videos that it connect to the PC before the ride you create your route and send it to the rox. After in your ride rox has the lines and tells your route from the start as the destination you have put from your PC .Isn’t it? Finally has it GPS or not??
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Yes, yes, it has GPS. But once again, it does not have “built in” or loadable maps that show other roads. It only shows the roads that you create.
To follow a route using the ROX, do the following:
1. Create the route in an online mapping program like Ride with GPS or the Sigma one that comes with the ROX. Do this on your home PC.
2. Export the route as a GPX file.
3. Import the route into the Sigma PC program (called Sigma Data Center)
4. Export the route into the ROX.
5. Follow the route on an actual ride.
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I have a rox 10 and love it. So I bought one for my wife. On the first 2 rides it worked fine. Now it’s been working intermittently, off and on during the ride. It would go auto start and then auto off during the ride. Then after a while it shuts down. I checked out the sensor distance and looks fine. Has anyone encountered this? Could this be a battery issue?
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Try increasing the Auto Off Time and see if that makes any difference. My Devices > (Select Your ROX) > Device Settings > Auto Off Time.
I personally leave the Auto Pause in the Off mode too.
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Hi there, Thanks again for the report. Although the unit has been out for a little while now it still seems to be very popular. I tend to read the negative reports written by users and then pull them to bits to see if they are relevent to me. One recurring complaint is that the unit seems to be unreadable when wearing polarised glasses. I tend to wear polarised glasses all the time so this would make the unit hard to use. Any thoughts??
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I have some prescription sunglasses from Costco and honestly, I’m not sure if they are polarized or not. I believe they are. But the angle which the unit is on the bars makes all the difference. Perhaps put a small wad of foil under the mount to tilt it up more?
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Hello!! I want to buy a sigma rox 10 but I am not doing road bike. I am doing mountain bike. Is it worth to buy it or not. What are your opinion and I want to ask something does the GPS work in mountains or not??
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Hello!! I want to buy a sigma rox 10 but I am not doing road bike. I am doing mountain bike. Is it worth to buy it or not. What are your opinion and I want to ask something does the GPS work in mountains or not??Help me please…
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Any GPS’s will work in the mountains. It is deep valleys where GPS units sometimes have issues, especially if it is heavily wooded, and then you may bet occasionally drop outs. This applies to both road or mountain biking.
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Hello everybody! First of all: this is a great ROX 10.0 review with a lot of usefull information – thank’s everybody for them! I have bought ROX 10.0 last week and it works 100% as it should – no problems so far. Anyway – I have a question (especially addressed to those, who are using this gadget for longer time): how durable are those 4 small white locking plastics which lock the device to the holder? I’m worried that they will wear off in time, and it will not hold anymore ROX to the holder. I’m not letting my ROX on the bike, when I’m not riding… Thank you for your replies and info!
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I have used the ROX 10 for 18 months now. I remove it after each ride so I can upload my data to Strava. No problems at all (I put in ~ 7,000 miles annually).
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I am deciding between the Rox 10.0 basic and the bundle. I personally do not care that much about the heart rate monitor and the cadence would be nice to have, but my real question is do I need to have the speed sensor? That would be the most important to me, will the basic work fine?
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I have never had, nor used, the speed sensor. As I understand it, it works in tandem with the GPS and is especially useful in deep canyons when GPS reception is spotty.
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Hi there,
I have recently purchased the Sigma Rox 10 for my mountain Bike.
Unfortunately, whilst I think the product is great, I find it annoying to have to turn on and press ‘start’ every-time I get on the bike.
So question is – If I purchase the speed sensor or cadence sensor, will this unit turn on automatically?
I had a bike computer 20 years ago that would turn itself on when it detected the wheels turning, so this feels like regression!
I would appreciate your feedback!
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Hello Richard,
I personally do not own the optional speed sensor/cadence sensor, primarily because I don’t have a need to see my cadence any more. But regardless, I’m sure that this GPS, like nearly every other brand on the market, requires user input to turn it on…otherwise the battery simply wouldn’t last long. Accessing a satellite requires more power than the old-school magnet cyclometers.
With the ROX 10, you first press (hold for a second or two) the upper right Enter/Power button. It will bring up the “Training” screen. Press the same button again and it brings up the home screen. Then, once the device senses movement, it prompts you to press the Start/Lap button, which you must do, otherwise your activity will not be recorded. Once you start recording an activity, a watch symbol is displayed, confirming that you are “recording” the activity and not in pause mode.
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I have a question, I make sure that my home elevation is set every time I leave for a ride and usually leave from my home.
I am still not getting a incline reading on my rides.
What am I doing wrong?
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That is a problem I have yet to encounter. Remember that it only records in full degrees (unlike some Garmins) and frankly it does not appear to terribly accurate. Did you try a long steep grade, of perhaps at least 200-300 vertical feet? If that doesn’t work, call Sigma. I believe their number is above in one of the other posts.
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I just purchased a ROX 10.0 and like it very much. One thing I have noticed is the trip function doesn’t keep track of the miles accurately. When I download to PC the total miles is correct. Is there a setting I’m overlooking?
Thanks Ed
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So you are saying that at the end of a ride, the “Lap” distance is different than the Total distance, despite not resetting the lap distance during the ride? Did you stop during this workout? If so, turn the Auto Pause off. I always leave mine off.
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At the end of the a ride of around 30 miles the trip/lap distance will show 8 or so miles. When I download data the total miles will be 30 miles, everything else, incline, HR, max & min speed, shows correctly. I did have the Auto Pause on, it’s now off, going to try again next ride.
Thanks
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I have speed/cadence sensors from a older Rox 6. Will those sensors work with the Rox 10? Can I significantly extend the battery life by using the sensors rather than the gps to track speed? If so, can I use the gps on a spot check basis to determine my location on a downloaded track?
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I really doubt that the ROX 6 and 10 are compatible. The 10 uses ANT+ frequency, whereas the others use something totally different. For your other questions, contact Randy at Sigma (see bottom of blog page for contact info).
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Update on this post.
The trip distance works on all other screens and modes. It will not work on the main training screen. I should say it doesn’t display the correct mileage of trip on this screen. Other wise it works great, would have paid this much $$ for it if I had known of this.
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Let me run my own tests and get back to you, though it might be a bit as the forecast is grim for next few days, here in the mountains of Central Utah.
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Questions for you Ed. I did some field testing today & I may be able to help.
1. When changing the fields on the ROX, are you doing that on the device itself or are you using the Sigma Data Center software on a PC?
2. When you say “main training screen,” are you referring to what the Sigma Data Center (SDC) on the PC calls “Bike computer” or “User view?” The “Bike computer” is the default or “home” page as I call it. The latter is the customizable screen, up to six fields.
3. Exactly what field are you having trouble with? “Trip time” (with a clock symbol in front when using the SDC), “Trip time” (with an arrow & mountain symbol in front) or “Lap time” (with the Lap words in front)? I found that I was using the Trip time with the arrow and mountain symbol, which meant that field was ONLY showing either the time going up or down and not the total trip time. Take a look and let me know.
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Great review Rando Richard. I have been using my ROX 10.0 for about a year now. My main complaints are the sloppy fitting handlebar mounting system and the time it takes for the unit to locate satellites. I did get the free upgraded mount, which is much tighter, although I now need another new mount for my commuter bike. The issue of satellite location is very annoying. Even when standing in an open area with a clear sight to the sky my unit can take up to 15 minutes to locate enough satellites. Often I get tired of waiting and begin my ride. 5 km down the road the unit suddenly comes to life and starts tracking. Frustrating! Have any of you had similar satellite location issues?
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Instead of purchasing a 2nd mount for your other bike, take a small piece of electrical tape and place it over the edge of the mount “shoulder” to make the fit tighter. I did that before they introduced the new mount.
I have not had any slow-to-find satellite issues with the ROX. I have had such issues while in a narrow canyon with my Garmin fenix, but that is expected.
1. Do you have a home elevation set into your ROX? Perhaps there may coordinates associated with that setting which may make it faster to find itself.
2. Do you travel a lot, with start locations that vary? I know that if you start up a GPS but have traveled 50, 100 or miles since it was last used, it takes longer to find the satellites.
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Thanks for the quick response Richard! Much appreciated. Great tip for increasing the mounts hold on the unit. I’ll try that this morning.
I do have a home elevation set into the ROX, which I have now zeroed. Perhaps this was causing the unit to search long and hard when starting a ride away from home, which is often the case.
No, I don’t travel too much. I have the most satellite tracking issues when I begin my ride home from work, which is only 15 km away.
I have enjoyed reading through your blog posting, especially the Hints and Help section. Great stuff.
Thanks,
Martin
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Don’t zero out your home elevation; put it at whatever it needs to be so it’s accurate. I also enter the other three options of elevations into places I frequently travel to; and the key is to remember to reset the elevation when you were starting from destinations away from your home. It seems like the Garmin devices I have owned did not require resetting the elevation, and I’m not sure why this is required with this Sigma project.
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Hi Rando. I have a query about the android Sigma Data Center app. Can I use an OTG cable to connect my Rox 10 to my device (Samsung S5) and upload the current data, thus freeing up more space on my Rox? Want to find out before I purchase the app. This would make life much easier when traveling without a PC and SDC. I see they have released a few updates, but make no mention about syncing the Rox to the device…
I am loving my Rox though. And had great service from Sigma Support.
Kind regards
Rowan
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As I have heard it, the Sigma Data Center only works on a computer like an iMac, laptop or PC. Any Sigma mobile apps (phone or iPad) that may exist, do not work with the ROX, but may work with other devices like a Sigma heart rate watch. That is one my biggest complaint: when I travel I cannot easily upload results since I don’t own a laptop as I tend to use an iPad instead, but the Sigma Data Center and ROX aren’t compatible.
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Hello
I’ve been using a Garmin Edge 500 for a few years, and although it seems to have most features covered, I thought I’d look around for an alternative.
From what I’ve seen, the Rox 10.0 doesn’t have any additional navigational features over the 500. With the 500 you can plot a route using online route-planning software, save it, then copy the route directly to the 500. The 500 converts it to a Garmin ‘Course’, and you can then follow that as a breadcrumb trail.
I’ve used older Garmins which worked differently, and with those you had to use different mapping software to create waypoints at every road junction on your route. They didn’t have a breadcrumb trail, but when you approached a junction they would point an arrow in the direction you had to go, and would also tell you the distance to the next junction – it worked well on audaxes/brevets.
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David, does the Garmin 500 show a visual “route” on the screen when navigating a pre-loaded course?
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Hi Richard
Yes, it does. The following website has a few images of the screen when following a course.
http://www.blog.ultracycle.net/2010/05/courses-on-the-garmin-edge-500
I remember when I first read the manual I had the impression Garmin’s idea behind the course was that you could save a course you’d ridden, then ride it again at a later date, and race against your first performance (the Virtual Partner). However, it also does the breadcrumb trail navigation thing pretty well. It’s been a few months since I used it, and I live in quite an open area so don’t really need to navigate on local brevets. I think the last software I used was RideWithGPS, and it’s very easy to download the route to the Garmin. You just bung the route file (I think it’s a TCX file)into a specific folder in the Garmin, and the next time you switch it on it automatically converts it into a Course file, and you can then preview the route or navigate it etc. It also has the route profile.
The Edge 500 is a very good unit, although I had a few problems with it last time I updated it. I’m still interested in the Rox 10.0 though – probably because it’s a bit different. I’ve stuck with using Garmin’s old software on a Windows XP PC, and have run into problems with that, and I think the Sigma’s PC software looks quite good. As for functionality, the devices seem very similar, and I can’t see many differences. Possibly the Garmin has more customisable data screens. What’s the battery life like on the Rox 10.0?
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I have used my ROX 10.0 for over two years. I just got back into the cycling after some health issues. Hooked up the unit, rode, came back to my Apple computer and the computer sees the unit but won’t download any new data? I have updated my running software using the latest that Apple has. I sent an email to Sigma and since I am using a Mac they told me to send the unit back to them. I had already updated the firmware as well on the ROX. So now they have the unit and I hope to get it back soon since I have logged a few more days since I sent it in. I’ll keep you up to date on what happens.
CJ
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Hi, David
I have two Bicycles and use two censor . I already pair the censor to bike1 and bike2 (Bike1 use speed censor cadence censor ,Bike2 use complete set censor speed + cadence)when I connect SIGMA ROX 10 to Bicycle and cycling it only work only Bike1 ,Bike1 it doesn’t work.
What wrong with the process to active Bike2, Could you please advice me the correct process ,Many thank you for your kindness advice.
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Ed – I have the same problem as you re: Trip Distance on Main training screen (on the device)does not record distance correctly but if you flip onto the track screen where it also shows trip distance and speed (as well as the track map) the trip distance is correct.
Did you manage to resolve this issue yourself?
Dan
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Hello,
Is it possible to give names to POI and see them while riding with the track on sigma rox 10 ?
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No. But I believe that the new ROX 11.0 (due out shortly) may do so as it has a so-called “Waypoints with Name” feature.
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I’m having troubles with cadence sensor. I change battery and i try to set sensor again but it doesn’t recognized it. Do you have any advice?
Tnx matto
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Matto, I never did use the cadence sensor with my ROX, only older Sigma computers, so I am afraid I cannot help. But it sounds like you are having trouble syncing it to the ROX? Hmmm, call Sigma at 1-888-744-6277 or e-mail randy.scott@sigmasportusa.com.
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Hi,
I have a couple of routes downloaded to a GPX file on my Mac
Can I upload these to the Sigma and follow these routes ?
Thanks,
Nick
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Yes, but only if you have downloaded a copy of the free Sigma Data Center software. Initially, the software required a download code which came with each GPS unit…these days that may not be required.
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