Logitech has historically been a cornerstone ine the early days of simracing peripherals, but rested on their achievements when the direct drive technology bloomed. The Swiss brand waited years to finally get back in the game with the G Pro ecosystem, before following up with the RS50, which we are reviewing here.
Quality and design
Much like its main competitor, the Fanatec CSL DD Pro, the RS50 base has a nice compact and simple design with good looks and nicely finished details. There are obvious inspirations taken from Fanatec there : the metal cooler that constitutes the central block of the base features a very similar style of fins. The full metal RS pedals follow the same vein, and the RS Round wheel with the hub gives an immediate impression of quality. The color scheme of mainly matte and satin black, with very small touches of white and blue works well and is easy to integrate into most setups.
The RS Round wheel has a nice finish, with a faux-leather rubber material that feels quite nice under the hand, aluminium magnetic paddles, and sports a pretty standard 290mm diameter. You also have the choice to get a GT style rim or a Mclaren Formula style wheel to mount on the same hub. One detail that could have been improved on the round wheel : the stitching extends fully into the thumb holes. The more sensitive people will notice the rubbing on their skin during longer sessions, so even if it's not a major point, it's worth noticing. On the hub itself, we regret that the rotaries don't offer a bit more resistance. Electronically, they're well programmed and will register individual clicks consistently, which is nice, but you might accidentally move the rotaries several clicks if you're not careful.
The RS pedals feature a similar all metal construction design than the competition, but distinguishes themselves by the pedal faceplates : the throttle plate is the one that's wider, which is a bit unusual, but not problematic at all. The texture on the faceplates is a perfect compromise : they manage to not be slippery, while having a texture subtle enough you don't feel it under your feet even if you're racing in socks.
Ergonomics
The RS50 is extremely user friendly, and offers one of the most plug and play experience in the market. Installation is made very easy : it took us only 35 minutes from start of unboxing to driving, which is pretty impressive. The groves at the bottom of the base and T nuts with removable rails participate greatly to that, along with the fact all hardware and tools are included. That simplicity translates into the physical features of the bundle : the base has a classic round power connector, and 3 regular USB, plus a USB C connector in the back, a big power button at the back too that's easy to find, and a small display at the front allowing you to navigate menus and show either pedal inputs or live torque figures. The RS50 base can also be mounted on a desk with the table clamp, though with 8 Nm, you'll need quite a sturdy piece of furniture to support it.
The quick release is easy to use, though it might feel a bit heavy to pull on the first few times. However, there is a difference in behavior between the wheel hub and the QR adapter : while the former stays closed unless you pull on it, the later will stay open until pushed onto the wheelbase's shaft or a wall support. This makes the QR adapter nicer and easier to use. The hub itself is ergonomically sound, with most buttons being easily reachable by your thumbs. The paddles are big enough and adjustable to be in reach of both small and big hands. The led strip at the top is also quite nice, as the light is not only visible from the front, but also from up top, which can be very helpful if your setup puts the wheel lower than your head. The main drawback, again, comes from the position of the rotaries, which would be reached by your pinky or ring fingers if you don't want to lift your hands from the grips. Moreover, the clickable buttons that centers them are difficult to reach as there is limited space between it and the rim itself (unless you're using the McLaren rim, which is open at the bottom).
The RS pedals come disassembled, but again, putting everything together is pretty straightforward. You have several mounting options to space your pedals as you wish, and the possibility to hard mount them, or use additional stoppers with rubber ends to use under a desk, against the wall. As the brake is a loadcell, we recommend using a mat if you don't have carpet already in that scenario. The adjustment possibilities are much more limited when it comes to the action itself, as the RS pedals don't come with additional elastomers or springs - you'll have to rely on aftermarket options if the stock mechanical feeling doesn't suit you. However, the brake force can be set up electronically, and the resistance provided is interesting enough to consider using shoes.
Software
The RS50 integrates into Logitech's global software suite, GHUB, which is quite convenient if you're already using Logitech peripherals like a keyboard, mouse, headset or webcam. Going into the RS50's menu, everything is streamlined and easy to navigate. Logitech goes to the essentials there : angle, damping, force, filter, TrueForce and brake force. All of that can be directly changed on the base itself if you have the Logitech hub plugged in, and saved into 5 different presets, but GHUB has a few additional features there. The first being the ability to see pedal gauges, which is useful to fine tune your brake force while you're exerting pressure on the pedal. The second being able to customize the pedals curves instead of keeping the inputs linear, which can be particularly interesting for the brake. This however only works on PC, when GHUB is open and that preset is selected. The third feature allows you to customize the LED presets, which are then saved in the base and can be attributed to different profiles. Finally, GHUB will automatically take care of firmware updates as long as your RS50 is plugged in and turned on, which is another level of convience a lot of people will appreciate.
Experience
On consoles, the RS50 is well integrated thanks to Logitech being a well established player and big company, which translates into a high quality force feedback on all the games we tested, providing information about tyre grip, slides, suspensions and road details, especially with TrueForce. Again, the more limited setting options aren't holding back the RS50, which feels as good as a GT DD Pro, if not slightly better in some situations, and finding good settings is quick and easy. On PC, the experience is great too, with no parasitic movements or cogging effects, and more detailed simulations really allow the RS50 to deliver its true potential. Trueforce really shines on iRacing for instance, sending vibrations into your chassis which reinforces immersion and feedback. Besides the plug and play aspect we already mentionned, Logitech's direct drive base doesn't overheat even during long sessions, and has been perfectly reliable in our experiences.
The RS pedals also do their job perfectly, with good electronic sensitivity and no lateral play. The throttle is not too soft, and the load-cell brake works as expected, providing some initial travel before firming up. The attack is a bit soft, which is going to be felt more on PC sims which require more modulation at the low end.
Value
Due to Logitech's sales model, pricing can be a bit difficult to read, as besides the recently released McLaren edition bundle, pedals are always going to be a separate element in your shopping cart. So let's explore the different possibilities there.
The wheelbase itself is available without or with the Playstation compaitibility chip, for respectively 300 and 400€ before sales, and the RS Wheel Hub is available in regular and Xbox version for respectively 140 and 160€ before sales - a Playstation version with button labels matching a Playstation controller being only available in a bundle, but not being required for Playstation compatibility. Both the RS round and RS track wheels, which mount on the hub, cost 80€, while the McLaren RS Formula wheel costs 120€. The table clamp is available for 30€. On the pedals side, the RS Pedals with the load cell are available for 150€ - which is absolutely great value on its own, even if you want to pair them with another system - and the recently released RS pedals SE, without the loadcell, go for 120€ (we don't think it's worth saving 30€ there). You can add an additional clutch pedal for 40€, or move up to the Pro Racing pedals at 370€ before sales. Logitech's store also lists wheelbase + hub and round wheel + table clamp bundles, and McLaren edition bundles including the loadcell RS pedals and a unique black and orange color scheme, but no Xbox option.
When selecting components individually, with the loadcell RS pedals included and the round or track wheel, starting price before sales starts at 670€ for a PC only package without a table clamp. Xbox compatibility will bump you up to 690€, while a Playstation compatible package will cost you 770€. You can also build yourself a bundle that does both Xbox and Playstation by purchasing the PS base and the Xbox hub together for a total of 790€. Interestingly, the PC and Xbox bundles offered on the Logitech store end up being more costly than buying each thing separately, even accounting for the extra table clamp you get, with the Playstation bundle being the only one that matches the price of each of its separate elements combined. At the time of posting, Logitech are running sales which put the PC bundle to a matching price, effectively giving you the table clamp for free, and the PS bundle ends up giving you an extra 10€ discount comparatively. Meanwhile, the Mclaren edition bundles, when compared to a self made package with the McLaren wheel, end up being 40€ more expensive - 10€ more if you need the table clamp, so unless you're buying outside of sales periods, or really want the orange colorway, this bundle presents no interest. Note that the RS Track wheel is not available in any bundle, so if you don't want to pay the 40€ premium for the McLaren wheel and want a GT / formula style wheel, you will be forced to pick your parts individually anyways. Note that for that style of wheels, you have more options from several 3rd party manufacturers which are compatible with the Logitech hub.
In the end, unless you're a Playstation user who requires a table clamp, manually picking every part of your system will save you money on Logitech's store, unless there's ongoing sales. However, make sure to check out other stores like Amazon, where prices for complete packages can be lower - at the time of writing, the Playstation bundle with RS pedals specifically benefits from a significant discount at 670€, which puts it only 20€ above a Fanatec GT DD Pro bundle which doesn't offer a loadcell pedal. If you want a 3 pedals setup, adding the respective upgrade kits puts the RS50 just 20€ below the Fanatec equivalent.
Overall, the value proposition makes a lot of sense, especially considering the level of quality and finish provided. And for current G29 / G920 series owners, things get even more interesting : Logitech offers the Racing Adapter, a 40€ control box that allows you to mix and match your old wheel, pedals or shifter with any components from the RS ecosystem. If you have a really tight budget, you can gradually upgrade your setup by either keeping your pedals with a RS50 base and wheel, or keep using your current wheel and move up to loadcell pedals until you can afford the missing piece of equipment.
If you're looking to purchase equipment at a reduced price, use our affiliate links and the corresponding codes to get a discount in various shops (excluding sales).
Conclusion
Overall, the quality impression given by the Logitech RS50 is higher than its direct competitors, and the fact the RS pedals come with a loadcell at that price point is a major selling point to people looking for a comprehensive package.
The main drawback is the limited Logitech ecosystem, especially for console players, where Fanatec and the upcoming Playstation Moza bases offer better upgrade paths regarding pedals, and better mid-range to high end wheel options. While not as much of a problem on PC thanks to the RS QR adapter, mix and matching elements from different brands makes you lose the plug and play aspect of the RS50.
Still, it's a great option in the 8 Nm range, especially for console players, dual duty users, or generally newcomers to the simracing space who need something easy to use, and it's still more than good enough to follow their evolution and stay with them as they grow more confident. By the time you would be looking to add new wheels to your collection and need extra functionality, or a more tailored brake feel, you should be able to tweak things on your own and deal with extra cables easily.
Ultimately, the decisive factors between the RS50 and its competitors will mainly be personal preferences, and ongoing sales at the time of purchase (which are usually more aggressive on Fanatec's side) for 90% of users. The other 10% would be people who are already planning to move up to a 15+ Nm base in the future, as Logitech's lineup is currently capped at 11 Nm with the G Pro wheelbase, which is not an interesting upgrade from the RS50 when you put the feedback difference and worse form factor against the price difference it asks for. Competitive console players who are looking for the last bit of performance might also be interested in the premium pedals the competition offers, such as the Fanatec Podium pedals or the Moza mBooster, but that population is extremely niche. For everyone else, the RS50 is definitely a safe bet.