Watches/Fitness tracker.

solidsneek

Hi guys and hope you are well!

I am looking in to maybe a GPS/FITNESS watch that will record laps and fitness activities/time.

Budget will be around 50-80 don't want to spend a huge amount. Any ideas guys? :?:

EDIT- Forgot to add I only have a tab and phone so anything that syncs wireless via the watch rather than USB connection.

fenix

Save your money. You won't get anything at that price that's GPS. Fitness trackers are a gimmick for people who don't exercise properly.

larkim

Fitness activities plus GPS definitely starts in the £130+ bracket (unless you can find a bargain or second hand on ebay). You can pick up a decent GPS watch (TomTom Runner is a great example) brand new for about £60 which will sync via bluetooth and can be pushed out to Strava etc without any other interference other than having to change the activity type from "run" to "ride" etc if it isn't a run. I used to have one and found it very effective - good battery life, some useful features. I changed because I found an absolute bargain in a Garmin Vivoactive on a black friday deal (£100). That does have step / activity counting built in, plus GPS. But doesn't do constant heart rate as it needs pairing with a chest strap to monitor heart rate.

solidsneek

Ah awesome. I don't think a fitness tracker is needed to be honest as if you are biking you are working out! However I like seeing distance, climb, speed etc which is why a GPS watch appeals to me. However I know there is a few apps that can do this via phone.

larkim

The only word of caution is that low end watches like the Runner (and my Vivoactive) don't have barometric altimeters in them, so rely on GPS for climb / descent data - and GPS is generally much poorer at elevation data than it is at ground speed data etc. That said, most of the web portals that you can upload these tracks to (e.g. Strava) allow for them to be corrected by their software based on topographical maps if the GPS receiver that is uploading them doesn't have a barometric altimeter so whilst you're in the saddle the data might be inaccurate (though usually not that bad), when you're reviewing a ride later you should have better info.

Having said all of that, phone based trackers (e.g. the free Strava app, Endomondo, MapMyRun, SportsTracker) are all fine for tracking (though battery life can be an issue), so you might find that phones do the job well enough anyway.

solidsneek

I actually use MAP MY RUN and enjoy it as well. I was thinking about going for a go pro but I have no PC/LAPTOP to edit and upload it with which is a shame. Most phones can do the whole fitness tracker etc.

cooldad

Not sure what a Go Pro has to do with mapping, but it's not a shame. The last thing the world needs is more random Go Pro footage.
The world thanks you.

carvedmarble

This kind of plays onto a thought I've been having recently, I've got a Garmin 25 and I'm looking at mounting it on my wrist just using a Velcro watch strap for when I'm not riding but just walking around the hills with the kids to track distance and route.

I use/used strava on my phone until I got the Garmin but it used to kill my battery (old iPhone) I now use the 25 and upload to strava so I've always got battery if needed for any mishaps I no doubt encounter while out riding etc. The 25 isn't much bigger than some of the Garmin watches either so think it should work ok.

Is there a better way to mount it than just a Velcro watch strap, I can't find a proper Garmin one other than a quick release mounting one that would have the orientation wrong?

kyle17290

Just buy a cheap phone like i did. Got myself an ee rook for 30 quid on pay as you go.i can use strava etc to map my rides plus i have a phone incase i need it, plus if it breaks its only 30 quid.

oodboo

I bought a sony smartwatch. I like it. I can start/stop strava from my watch and during a ride it shows duration and distance or average speed. I also use viewranger to plan routes and I can get a direction arrow on my watch to keep from getting lost or pulling my phone out every few minutes to check the maps. It was only £100 so a lot cheaper than the similarly spec'd apple watch but this also has gps so can do standalone tracking with certain apps. I use ghostracer when out running so I can leave my phone at home. The eats the watch battery though and I can only get about 2 hours out of it doing this. Good job I can't run for two hours then. Plus it's waterproof and you can wear it for swimming if you want but I'm just happy to know it's going to be ok in the rain.

solidsneek

oodboo wrote:

I bought a sony smartwatch. I like it. I can start/stop strava from my watch and during a ride it shows duration and distance or average speed. I also use viewranger to plan routes and I can get a direction arrow on my watch to keep from getting lost or pulling my phone out every few minutes to check the maps. It was only £100 so a lot cheaper than the similarly spec'd apple watch but this also has gps so can do standalone tracking with certain apps. I use ghostracer when out running so I can leave my phone at home. The eats the watch battery though and I can only get about 2 hours out of it doing this. Good job I can't run for two hours then. Plus it's waterproof and you can wear it for swimming if you want but I'm just happy to know it's going to be ok in the rain.

Are these compatible with Samsung phones to? I have never heard of ghost tracer but it sounds awesome the only thing I am worried about is how delicate they are?

oodboo

They're standard android wear so will work with any android phone. They work with apple phones as well but I think the app support is still a bit limited.
Mine seems pretty tough, I've hit it off a few of them barriers they put in to stop motorbikes and so far it's unmarked.

jonathanuk

I use a Garmin Dakota 20 in my jersey pocket or saddle bag then upload to Strava when I get home, much more useful while out in the field for checking routes etc and the 2 x AA batteries are enough for a day (rechargeable).

A GPS watch is likely to be a tad on the bulky / heavy side, and for the money I just don't think any size or weight saving over a normal GPS is worth it when on the bike. If you're committed to carrying a smart phone then I would just use that, if you want more accurate 'real' GPS then get a proper GPS unit as all mobile phones rely on the mobile signal.

oodboo

jonathanuk wrote:

all mobile phones rely on the mobile signal.

Mobile phones use AGPS - Assisted GPS. It uses the mobile signal to speed up location for a quick fix. If the mobile signal is not available then it'll just use GPS and take a bit longer to get a fix.

The advantage over mobile is that newer GPS devices will use GLONASS as well as GPS. Not entirely sure what the advantages are but I think there are more GLONASS satellites for better accuracy (but I could be wrong).

solidsneek

I might look in to a smart watch as that will come in handy at work also. Not sure where to go on this really.

larkim

Vivoactive is compact, light, good battery life, smart notifications, syncs wireless via phone and is reasonably priced. GPS is quick, accurate etc. and the device can be paired later with Ant+ devices such as cadence / HRM sensors. I've got the original device which is currently around £120-£130 and I'd say is a bargain personally (though I only paid £100 in a Black Friday deal and it was a complete steal at that price).

GPS accuracy is a bit of a red herring. If you want to save your pennies, mobile devices are perfectly fine for GPS tracking. Ignore people who say they are less good than dedicated GPS devices. Once upon a time that might have been true, but today they are equal in terms of accuracy to most consumer grade dedicated GPS devices. I should know, I've used GPS for about the last 10 years, and regularly use phone GPS devices to locate plastic boxes hidden in the countryside (goole: Geocaching if you're interested). If they are good enough for that, they're good enough for tracking cycling / running. The only down side on phones is that they aren't optimised to save battery life, so there's a trade off between having your GPS on and risking running completely out of battery whilst out on a trail. The solution to that is to carry a spare battery / spare battery charger, but obviously that is a weight penalty.

On the other hand, Decathlon currently has these devices on offer which offer smart notifications but rely on your phone to do the hardwork in terms of tracking etc. They display the tracking effort from the app (as I understand it) rather than use a GPS of their own:-
£34.99 - Timex Run X50 - http://www.decathlon.co.uk/run-x50-conn ... 34068.html

£25.99 - Decathlon ONDaily 700 - http://www.decathlon.co.uk/ondaily-700- ... 48669.html - think this includes step counting etc too.

(EDIT - just check out compatibility - spotted that the ONDaily is only compatible with Strava on iOS for example)

Probably worth a punt on the second one given the price, or the first if you're interested in potentially having a HRM too.

solidsneek

The first one looks actually really nice to be fair. A watch that can change my tracks whilst riding would be good as I put my phone in my camel pack. I use my phone as a tracking application anyway but the watch would be nice to display it for me whilst i ride?

larkim

It's definitely a good price, I wouldn't have paid £100+ for it but at that sort of price even if it isn't perfect I suspect it would do most of what you want. I've got my Vivoactive and that has often meant I've left my phone at home when I go out for a run, but when I go for longer runs or rides I always take my phone with me for safety reasons, so providing the GPS signal isn't poor from the phone in a bag, this sort of device would be OK.

solidsneek

Decided I might actually look in to a smart watch as that will come in handy with work also. So if anyone can recommend any under 100 that would be awesome. One where we can reply to messages also.

larkim

Don't think you'll find that, short of something like the Decathlon one or "chinese" clone copies from sites like ebay or Groupon.