Conclusion
Logitech is a very interesting company. They have a lot of good designers and engineers and they pride themselves on producing a very, very good product. Logitech is a world leader in mice and one of the top keyboard makers. They have a very wide base of products, and as I am writing this I am listening to music on my Logitech Z5500 speakers that I have owned for 14 years! 14 years for a set of computer speakers that still work perfectly and sound excellent! That is some seriously good engineering and quality control.
The bottom features plenty of space to route cables without crimping or compressing when the unit is clamped down upon the mounting surface.
So how do they do with wheels? I would say that their focus is certainly not where the Fanatecs and Thrustmasters of the world are. Those companies are laser focused on their primary moneymakers. Logitech sees a market for themselves with a good quality controller with a few interesting features there, but they are not fully invested in producing new wheel products year in and year out. The G29 was released in 2015 and has not had an update. Thrustmaster and Fanatec are a little quicker with their updates and they have another avenue of revenue with the ability to swap out different rims. Each year we see a handful of new rim designs that can be swapped out if a user is interested. It seems to keep things fresh. Logitech does not have that ability with their fixed device (just like the Thrustmaster TMX and T150 products).
The introductory price of the G29 was simply far too high at $400 US. While there were certainly people who purchased this wheel and were happy with it, those who shopped around and tried other options were probably far more likely to pick up a Thrustmaster TX on sale for $260 than go for the G29 for $400. Over the years Logitech has slowly decreased the price of the G29 to where it is today. It is quite common to find this part for $250 to $275, and that is a much better price point.
Consumers who are willing to spend that type of money on a racing wheel will be getting quite a lot for that money. It has performance of the lower end wheels on the market, but it features far nicer materials and a better overall experience from those budget parts. The leather, aluminum, and steel parts on this set up are a huge step above what we see at that price. Even the Thrustmaster TX on sale for around that price features a rubberized wheel and two pedal base with very little brake feel.
The shifter is a good addition to the race set for a different experience. Most people rely on paddle shifters on the wheel for gear changes, but changing it up with a 6 speed shifter can breathe new life into older titles.
When we view it from that aspect, it is one of the best wheels in its price range. Getting a T300R will give a better force feedback experience, but it costs a whole lot more to kit it out with a 3 pedal base and a leather wrapped wheel. The G29 has an excellent balance of the things that probably mean the most to sim racers. It is a well designed product that is now a best-of-breed for its price range. Logitech will eventually release a successor to these latest wheels, but rumors point to that being nowhere close to happening.
I am not sure if it is a Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Cyber Monday special, but consumers can find the G29 for $199. At that price it is an absolute steal for what the user gets. Solid software, good force feedback, excellent materials, and a quality product from Logitech that has had very few black marks against it.
Well written and fair review.
Well written and fair review. At little more than $200, the build quality and much better durability make logitech wheels a good introductory choice, as thrustmaster still seems to have higher failure rates.
But man should you listen to some actual speakers if you’re citing logitechs as excellent examples of engineering.
For computer speakers, they
For computer speakers, they are good. For Home Theater or Audiophile grade equipment, they are middling at best. Speaking from an average consumer if I had bought these that long ago, and used them for PC audio for gaming and streaming, the Logitech speakers I have are great. If I were focus on audio quality to the highest level, I would get a full blown receiver/amp and get much more focused on what speakers I was using. For what was offered and delivered, the Logitech speakers are very good for the price and what they are focused on. Opinions will vary, but I like my Logi 5.1 set.
The Logitech computer
The Logitech computer speakers from that era were – and are – awesome. Clear sound and serious bass. Like, small home theater bass. I kept the bass on my Z2300 speakers turned down most of the way and they had the potential to vibrate the floors at 50%. Anyone who questions the the Z5500 or Z2300 era Logi speakers should check out the current used selling prices on eBay. They aren't cheap, and shipping isn't cheap either as you're getting a heavy box if you buy a set.
Thanks for the review.
My G27
Thanks for the review.
My G27 still going strong after 7 years of abuse. I changed the springs in the pedals for stiffer one and got a wheel stand. Very happy with it. The lack of buttons on the G27 wheel is the only reason I’d get the G29 especially for newest F1 cars.
Logitech do make long lasting products. I still use my Z560 4.1 speakers that I got in 2001. They sound great after 17 years 🙂
Z560’s were pretty
Z560's were pretty interesting speakers at the time. They competed well with the Klipsch units at the time, but were just a cut below. I remember the precursers to those had a terrible hiss problem that was partially improved by swapping the control unit, but was never truly solved until the Z560s.
Also, what do you think of the wheel size of the G27/G29s? I'm a bit disappointed they aren't a little bit larger. Not that the size is uncomfortable, but they just seem… tiny.
I have a Logitech MOMO wheel
I have a Logitech MOMO wheel from 2005 that still works fine. I imagine this would be quite an upgrade. I wonder if the G29 has stronger force feedback? The MOMO was quite powerful for 2005.
Bought mine to use with VR.
Bought mine to use with VR. Bought the shifter but they do need to make a e-brake add on.
I use a cheap, old Saitek
I use a cheap, old Saitek joystick as my e-brake. Thrustmaster also has a USB/Sparco unit that is pretty nice from what I hear.
seems a fair review, i also went back to trying a g29 after now owning a t300RS GT for a while and the g29 does not feel good when you have tried something a little better, the mildly notchy feeling feels very notchy indeed and so far from reality its not great.
what really is frustrating with the g29 and the reviews of it are they dont seem to pick up on the negatives of the pedals, they get high praise for being ”well made” at this price point but the functionality of them is really bad, and what makes them bad is they dont self calibrate on startup like say the t300 GT pedals. this leads to so many problems in so many games, if the game does not offer pedal calibration you often find yourself in a frustrating loop of adjusting braking saturation in order to achieve 100 percent braking at a reasonable force and even at max braking in game you just cant get enough pedal travel going on to achieve 100 percent, often you only get 50-60 percent braking when your pressing really hard. people say you should remove the rubber stopper etc but this is a workaround you shouldnt have to do because the brake feels better with it. the T300 ( gt pedals at least ) offer self calibration when you turn the wheel on meaning your first press of the pedals sets the maximum travel so you press the brake just as hard as you like and it sets the 100 percent to there meaning it works in every single game with the same pressure you set yourself. so many reviews dont point this out and so many people get burned by it, it simply shouldnt be that level of frustration. then theres the resolution of the pedals which is really pretty low but hard to spot why its an issue, that is until you use higher resolution pedals and spot the resulting smoothness of the inputs on the onscreen brake and accelerator guides. with the wheel being pretty notchy and the feedback being jerky rather than smooth it adds up to what is a pretty bad wheel for me, but yes the price of it is often very very low, low enough this should for sure be picked over cheaper options offering none or plain bad feedback.
anyway nice review thought id share my opinion on it having used it too.