# Best "Fitness Tracker" for Cyclists?



## Plains_Pedaler (May 12, 2014)

Just looking into buying a wristband/smartwatch/fitness tracker, and I don't feel comfortable spending ~$200 if I'm not sure it will work well for what I do. There's the Fitbits, Jawbones, Misfits, and tons more. I'm just curious what you guys out there use for this? I'm always curious about my heart rate, calories burned, etc. So what tracker have y'all found works best for us, as cyclists? I was looking heavy into the Fitbit Surge, but I feel like Fitbits are more steps and running related. Thanks in advance for the input!


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## BigDweeb (Dec 2, 2005)

I don't know which device is the best. But I got a Garmin Vivosmart. Partly because I wanted to see notifications from my cell phone (for work - long story). Partly because it does not look flashy. And partly because you can (in principle) pair it with some bike speed sensors. You can also pair it with HR monitors but I'm not interested in that. Here's a link with compatible devices:

THIS IS ANT - vivosmart

I'm trying to pair it with my Garmin GSC 10 speed and cadence sensor (Vivosmart only gets speed info though), which is not on the compatible devices list. I got them to pair and tried to record a ride and it got messed up (max speed 3,400 mph!). I'm troubleshooting that now. Presumably a device on the list will work better... but I can't vouch for that.

Anyway, I like it for what it is. I got it at REI in case I can't get cycle sensor pairing to work and that becomes a deal breaker then I can return it easily.

I was also considering a Fitbit surge specifically for the GPS capabilities - but that thing is huge. And expensive.

Oh, and I also just got a Virb (Garmin's version of GoPro) and I can use the Vivosmart to start/stop recording. Which might be nice if the camera is stuck to my helmet or something.

Not sure if that helps, but maybe you want to add it to your list of possibilities.


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## Plains_Pedaler (May 12, 2014)

That was definitely informational, thanks! I'm thinkin I'm more interested in a do-it-all type of mechanism (one that you don't have to pair an HR monitor to since it's built in, for instance) but I do appreciate the input.


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## UtherLazarus (Jul 15, 2012)

Microsoft recently released their "Band" which is their Fitness Tracker/Smart Watch type device, and it seems to be pretty impressive:

Microsoft Band | Official Site

It's compatible all major smart phone OS's (Apple, Android, Windows) and interfaces with most major fitness tracking sites (although, they are still working on integration with MapMyRide/MapMyFitness). I wish I could tell you myself that it's an awesome device, but it sold out so quickly that I'm still on the "waiting list" for one. Most major complaints I've read about it say the battery life is comparatively short for a fitness band (i.e. it lasts about a day), so if you're into sleep pattern tracking and all that, it might not be what your looking for. Anyway, I figured I would throw that out there, as I've heard some really good things about this device and I'm seriously looking forward to getting one myself. Good luck with your search!


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## Plains_Pedaler (May 12, 2014)

Hey, thanks. Feel free to let me know how it does for you! Would like to hear about it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BruceBrown (Jan 16, 2004)

ColeSJ said:


> Hey, thanks. Feel free to let me know how it does for you! Would like to hear about it!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Get the Wahoo Fitness HR bluetooth to use with your iPhone.


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## Plains_Pedaler (May 12, 2014)

BruceBrown said:


> Get the Wahoo Fitness HR bluetooth to use with your iPhone.


I'm kind of looking for more of a wrist band tracker versus a chest strap. I'd like to wear one all day, like people do with fitbits, but I just wanna make sure whatever brand/product I decide on will work well with cycling as well as calorie tracking, steps taken, etc.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## OhioPT (Jul 14, 2012)

Wondering the same as the OP. Any more input?


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## TSpice (May 15, 2015)

My personal opinion, obviously not fact by any means, is that any of the wrist based trackers are designed for "light" fitness.

The problem is positioning and consistency. The newer Fitbits use LED and green laser technology to sense the pulse in your wrist. Mixed with an accelerometer to sense steps horizontally or steps up/down, it spits out data based on historical averages of your height/weight/HR and what the accelerometer is reporting to tell you caloric burn. Sound good? The problem is if that wrist strap slides even a half an inch forward or backwards on your wrist, it loses the HR. So you either have to deal with intermittent data from the HR, or you have to cut off the blood circulation to your hand by having it so tight.

My wife has cycled through about 5 different fitbits and none of them have been accurate. They are "good enough" if you are a typical 9-5 office worker who doesn't have any actual work outs. Lets you know if you are moving, and maybe if you use the stairs.

When it comes to actual workouts where you sweat, move side to side, really need good read outs on distance, heart rate, etc? Can't get away from a heart strap and GPS.


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## TSpice (May 15, 2015)

TSpice said:


> My personal opinion, obviously not fact by any means, is that any of the wrist based trackers are designed for "light" fitness.
> 
> The problem is positioning and consistency. The newer Fitbits use LED and green laser technology to sense the pulse in your wrist. Mixed with an accelerometer to sense steps horizontally or steps up/down, it spits out data based on historical averages of your height/weight/HR and what the accelerometer is reporting to tell you caloric burn. Sound good? The problem is if that wrist strap slides even a half an inch forward or backwards on your wrist, it loses the HR. So you either have to deal with intermittent data from the HR, or you have to cut off the blood circulation to your hand by having it so tight.
> 
> ...


FYI, I use a Garmin Forerunner 220. I think if you want a Garmin that successfully works between running/cycling as well as GPS and mapping, might have to go up to the Garmin 620. (The 220 still does cycling, but you have to change it from running in the app/online afterwards. The 620 can do it from the device, on the fly.)

That or what my new plan is to get an Edge 25 (GPS mounted to your bike) that will get all of your pacing/cadence data, then you just merge it to the heart rate data later.

If you can find a device that you can wear all day with better/equal to Garmin in quality/consistency, yet is less/equally invasive as a Fitbit, I think you would make some serious bank.

I just haven't seen it yet.


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## Cotharyus (Jun 21, 2012)

I'm prepared to take some flack for this, but in line with what others have said, I've used wrist based activity trackers. They're off the reservation completely when it comes to cycling. My current setup uses my iPhone (6) as a base for data collection (normal movement via built in sensors, apps for heart rate, etc) into the standard health app on iOS. The health app is also fed while I'm cycling via Strava and a blue tooth heart rate strap. It's not perfect, but it's the best I've come up with so far.


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## OhioPT (Jul 14, 2012)

I just ordered a Mio Fuse. The Mios are supposed to have the most accurate and responsive optical wrist pulse detection, based on 3rd party lab tests and user reviews. It is also waterproof, which is nice if I get caught in the rain. I will sync it with my phone (Moto G) via BT 4.0 so that HR data can be seen along with my Strava data (I use my phone now for tracking my rides via the GPS and Strava).


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## TSpice (May 15, 2015)

OhioPT said:


> I just ordered a Mio Fuse. The Mios are supposed to have the most accurate and responsive optical wrist pulse detection, based on 3rd party lab tests and user reviews. It is also waterproof, which is nice if I get caught in the rain. I will sync it with my phone (Moto G) via BT 4.0 so that HR data can be seen along with my Strava data (I use my phone now for tracking my rides via the GPS and Strava).


Will be curious to see if the HR is actually correct or not.

Every time we get a new device we give it the "test."

1. Garmin watch on the table with premium HR strap on chest. 
2. Wrist tracker XYZ on left wrist.
3. Wife (doctor) checking physical HR using pulse on right wrist.

So in a perfect world, readings from 1, 2, and 3 would all line up.

Sitting at the table at a resting HR, all three devices almost always line up.

Marching in place. 1 and 3 stay aligned, 2 has maybe a 5% variance.
Running in place (treadmill) 1 and 3 stay aligned, 2 has a 10% variance.
Plyometric fitness (jumping, side to side, up down, around) 1 to 3 have a 1-2% variance, 2 has a 15-20% variance.

Basically said, the chest strap has always had the highest level of consistency to what your real HR is. The wrist trackers start to deviate pretty badly the more strenuous the workout.

Now if you have never used anything but wrist trackers, I would say "ignorance is bliss" and don't ever change because you will get upset when you find how inaccurate they have been, lol.


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## agent8six (Apr 21, 2006)

I bought a Basis Peak hoping that it would be the best option for what you mentioned, but ended up returning it tonight because it's just not quite enough. The 24/7 HRM seems about right maybe 70-80% of my normal day, but many of the times I would check it, it would read >120 and then start dropping fast down to a reasonable level. The nice thing about the Peak is that you can use it as a standard bluetooth HRM, so I took it running a few times and for one mtn bike ride using Strava or Runkeeper each time. It read my HR consistently each time, but seemed a little high (although I had nothing to compare it to since I've never used another HRM). The only issue I had with riding was because it needs to be worn above the wrist bone to get the best reading. Once I started getting sweaty, it would continually slide down and I could see myself wrecking if I kept riding with it since I had to slide it back up each time. I'm in FL so I could see that being even worse on a descent or very technical trail. The other complaint I had while riding was that it doesn't show distance or speed, so it's not a very good HUD for either biking or running.

I'm in the same boat in searching for the perfect device, and I think I've decided to just get a Wahoo Tickr or Polar H7 and then keep an eye out for future products. I also picked up a Sony Smartwatch 3 a few months ago (and returned it) and it was a very good HUD for riding or running, but was terrible for step tracking. I've considered getting another one when prices go down, but will probably just watch for the next model.

Good luck in your search!


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

This thread is kind of apropos for me. I'm thinking about something for my Dad. I really want it to have GPS, but I think some daily activity tracker stuff might motivate him to walk more.

That brought me to the Garmin ForeRunner FR15. It seems like it does most of the Vivofit stuff all the time, but can also be used as a more active runner's watch. During that state, it collects GPS and is compatible with a couple of the really basic ANT+ devices. IIRC, the foot pod and heart rate sensor. So you'd have to put up with GPS-based speed and no cadence, but it can have a pretty good heart rate and it has the GPS and the usual runner's watch screens when it's being used actively.

Anyone have feedback on this model?


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## OhioPT (Jul 14, 2012)

So I've had the Mio Fuse for a couple weeks now and have used it daily as an activity tracker, and as a HR monitor for 5-6 mtb rides and a couple 2-4 mile runs. Put in on your wrist like you would any watch, and then slide it up your forearm until it's snug when you want to monitor your HR (not so tight you'll cut off your circulation or anything). The instructions suggest wearing the watch with the sensor facing the other side (palm side/anterior/ventral) for cycling, but I tried this first and was a total fail. 

Pros: 
- HR seems extremely accurate. From resting to all out effort, and everything in between, the readings always make sense and correlate with other sensors I've used. It responds quickly to changes in effort. Start climbing a steep hill and within seconds the monitor shows the change as it should. 
- Pretty easy to read while riding. The display is kind of simple and generic, but bright LEDs indicate what your HR is. Also, the watch will vibrate when you go from one HR zone to another (there are presets based on your age and max HR, which you can customize with the app).
- Connects relatively quickly and maintains a good connection with my MotoG phone when using Strava. 
- NO chest strap!
- Waterproof! Can wash with soap and water and no panic if caught in the rain.
- The "step tracker"/pedometer function is pretty good. You input your height (and weight and age) in the settings, and I guess it estimates your stride length from this. Comparing the distance on the Fuse vs my GPS, it is off (low) by about 10% when jogging or walking fast. So a 2.2 mile run will read 2.0 miles on the Fuse. I have long legs for my height, so I imagine that's why it's off. I went back into the settings and increased my height by 1", so I'll see if that helps the accuracy.
-It's interesting to see how many calories I'm burning a day, based on my general activity level and my workouts. I range from 2k on a lazy day, to 4k on days where I'm busy at work and then do a 90 minute mtb ride (at 160 bpm avg HR).

Cons:
- The data from your workouts can only be viewed in the app on your BT enabled smartphone/device. There is no cable to connect to your desktop computer. etc. In workout mode (when HR is being monitored and recorded), the only data the watch will show is time of day, elapsed time of the workout, distance traveled and pace (for running/walking), calories burned during the workout, and current HR. In regular mode, it will display time of day, daily steps, , distance in miles based on your steps, daily calories burned, and % of goal for steps/day (preset at 10k steps, but you change it). 
- Terrible Mio phone APP. Connecting the watch with the Mio app on my phone is stupid unreliable. Sometimes I'll try for 5 minutes turning the App on/off, turning the bluetooth on/off, etc, and just give up. On the other hand, it seems to connect to Strava reliably and fast, so I'm pretty sure it's a Mio software bug and not my phone. The App also lacks features as far as analyzing your HR data. It just shows the basics like Avg HR, Max HR, time in the most used HR zone, calories burned. There is a graph with HR plotted against the workout time, but it's pretty small to view and pretty generic. 
- The Mio watch is not intended to continuously monitor your HR throughout the day, like some of the other activity trackers are (i.e., FIT Bit). Sure, you can put the watch in workout mode and leave it there all day, but doing so will drain the battery quickly. I don't care much for this feature anyways, so it's not an issue for me. I think the Mio uses a much better HR sensor with perhaps a higher "sampling rate", which might explain why it is harder on the battery and not meant to monitor all day long. I had my wife wear my Fuse and simultaneously wear her Fit Bit Charge HR while on a brisk walk, and her Fit Bit read significantly different and did not really seem to correlate well with effort (ie, increasing HR as you start walking up a steep hill). I'll take the more accurate HR monitor every time over the "feature laden" Fit Bit. 

I know it's a somewhat lengthy review, but hopefully it will help someone here. Overall, I'm very pleased with the Fuse because it does what I bought it for very well.


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## OhioPT (Jul 14, 2012)

Here is a screenshot of a Strava analysis of a ride I did a few days ago. It was really hot and humid that day (90 degrees, 70 degree dew point), so my average HR was 5 bpm higher than when I did the same ride a week ago. I only stopped a few times to take a sip of water and knock off the spiders that were crawling on me (lots of fresh webs across the tighter trails).


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