iGPSport SR mini Review: Small, Cheap, and Accurate?

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I’ve already reviewed iGPSport SR30 a year ago. Initially, it performed decently, but after a firmware update, it started giving too many false positives and became unusable. Naturally, I was curious about the newer SR mini radar. Has iGPSport solved the accuracy issue? I’ve been using it for a few weeks and have also compared it to other popular cycling radars to find out.

Full disclosure: I received this radar from iGPSport for testing, but as always, I assured them that I would reveal the good, the bad, and the ugly. They have no editorial input or control over the final article.

My SR rating at a glance:
Reliability 4/5 | Multi-object Detection 4/5 | Battery Life 2/5 | Brightness 3/5 | Side Visibility 2/5 | Mount 1/5 | App 4/5 | Price 5/5 | WEIGHTED OVERALL SCORE 3.1/5
More about this cycling radar scoring.

NOTE: I tested this radar with firmware v1.0.3.

iGPSport SR mini Summary

Below is the summary of the iGPSport SR mini technical specifications.

My Experience with iGPSport SR mini

Based on my testing, I found the following pros and cons of the SR.

The box doesn’t include the standard contents we are used to. Instead of a seatpost mount, it includes a saddle mount. This could be a problem if you are unwilling to give up your saddlebag. Luckily, I had a mount from the SR30, so I could test SR mini with that mount, which is problematic, by the way, because it slides on the seatpost.

I first used the SR with the Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM 3. SR mini surprised me as it didn’t give me too many false positives. In fact, it gave me around one false positive per 3 hours of riding. I was surprised because the SR30 was a mess. After one firmware update, it started giving me several false positives per hour of riding. It became unusable.

Naturally, I was curious about its performance compared to Garmin Varia RTL515, which is my benchmark radar. So, I paired RTL515 with my Garmin Edge 840 for side-by-side comparisons. In theory, the SR mini should detect cars faster because it has a 20m longer detection distance (160m). However, both radars detect vehicles at about the same time, and sometimes the SR mini detects them later, never sooner. The same happened to me with the SR30. The claims didn’t meet the reality.

The SR mini also performed well in detecting multiple cars at once. It was able to track them accurately, especially in bends when multiple cars were driving behind me, and the radar could “see” them (unlike when cars are driving behind each other). I tested this by pointing the radar toward a highway with an 80 km/h (50 mph) speed limit. The SR mini detected cars well.

The number of false positives was close to zero. During one full charge, I experienced one or two false positives. This is so refreshing because radars, such as the Magicshine R300 or iGPSport SR30, give multiple false positives per hour. The Cycplus L7, which I reviewed recently, gave me between 3 and 5 false positives per hour, depending on the area. For example, in urban areas, false positives are more frequent than in rural areas.

The battery is claimed to last up to 7 hours in day flash mode. During the first round of testing, the radar lasted 8.6 hours. This result surprised but also disappointed me because, while the radar exceeded the claimed battery life, its overall battery life was below average. The following chart shows the battery life of some of the most popular cycling radars.

I also noticed that the Auto Sleep feature didn’t activate during my first long ride. I don’t know why, because I had turned it on before the ride. During my second ride, it worked. This is a useful feature, by the way. The app also allows you to adjust the duration after which the radar falls asleep.

SR’s brightness is average. The flash is brighter, so I prefer using it over the solid mode. The following picture (credit to the GP Lama for the idea) compares the Bryton Gardia R300L, Varia RTL515, and SR mini. It’s not as clear in the picture, but the Varia had the brightest and most focused light, while the SR was the least bright.

I’m glad that the radar remembers the last used mode and changes the flashing pattern throughout the overtaking period. However, you must enable this feature in the app. It should be enabled by default! Naturally, you can also control the SR’s light modes from the head unit if it offers this functionality. Unfortunately, Wahoo (or any other bike computer) cannot wake up the SR from standby mode; they can only turn it off when you turn off the activity. This is another big disappointment, and I hope iGPSport will implement this in future firmware updates.

You can slightly adjust the custom light mode, but the rest of the light modes should be sufficient. The app also lets you turn on and off additional settings and light modes, and it can replace a bike computer by alerting you to cars, like other radars (Varia, Gardia, etc.).

Another thing I want to discuss is the mount. It’s a shame the seatpost mount isn’t included, because the saddle mount, while firm and solid, might not fit your saddle rails and will most likely prevent you from using some saddle bags. So, you have to rely on 3rd-party mounts. But let’s be honest, those are usually much better than the 1st party mounts that tend to slide on the seatpost (with a few exceptions such as the Cycplus L7 mount).

Remember, though, that the iGPSport SR mini socket is incompatible with the Garmin quarter-turn mount. It’s rotated by 90°.

iGPSport SR mini vs. Other Cycling Radars

The following table summarizes the technical specifications of the SR and other popular cycling radars.

Things to Consider Before Buying a Bicycle Radar

Cycling radars have to be highly reliable. They may give you false positives, but they should never give you false negatives, meaning they never miss a car.

You should have zero tolerance for false negatives if you buy a device like a cycling radar. However, you shouldn’t rely entirely on a bicycle radar and use your other senses while riding.

Based on my testing, the SR proved reliable in terms of its technical specifications. It detected cars about as quickly as Varia and did not miss any cars. The number of false positives was close to zero.

My Verdict

The main selling points of this radar should be the low weight and price. It ticks the boxes there. But what about its core feature, which is the car detection? The radar does a good job there as well, as it doesn’t produce many false positives. Their number is lower than that of other Chinese radar alternatives, averaging about 2 per charge. It can also track multiple vehicles at once pretty well.

It’s a shame that the box doesn’t include a seatpost mount, and that the actual battery life is also below average compared to other cycling radars. However, it does last longer than the claimed battery life. Still, you’ll need to recharge it frequently.

It honestly surprises me that the previous iGPSport radar, the SR30, performs so poorly compared to this one. However, I’m glad that the algorithm was improved, and the SR mini is now almost on par with the top radars, such as the Wahoo TRACKR Radar or Garmin Varia.

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iGPSport SR mini FAQ

The product for this review was kindly provided by the manufacturer. This did not influence my overall verdict or my opinion about the product. You can learn more about how I approach reviews here.