Is there a decent GPS watch that will work for running and cycling?

daniel_b

Afternoon all,

it's my gf's birthday coming up, and she has hinted at wanting a new watch that will work for:

- Reliable GPS
- Running with HR
- Cycling with HR and cadence - and maybe power at some point

She currently has an aging and ailing Garmin Forerunner 305, which in theory ticks all the boxes, but the software is old and unsupported\no longer developed, and even though we have two docks, getting activities to actually upload is nye on impossible.

my preferred method would be for her to use a perfectly good, but idle Garmin 500 I have sat in the bike cupboard, and then get something like a 230 as a running watch.

Anyone have any other opinions, or feedback to share.

Max spend - probably £220 at a max, maybe £250 if it's something that has amazing features, battery life and with looks to die for.

She has small wrists, so nothing too chunky ideally.

Thanks

Dan

kingstongraham

Garmin 230 won't do power for the bike, so count that out if it's an essential. Also no mapping or live Strava segments if that is important. I think the Fenix is the only current watch that would do all of that. Otherwise, I really like my 230. Battery goes for a few weeks as a watch, or I think about 12 hours of running, and displays notifications from the phone.

You'd need to check whether it is too big for small wrists though.

Garmin 500 is better for using on the bike, but doesn't upload over Bluetooth.

daniel_b

KingstonGraham wrote:

Garmin 230 won't do power for the bike, so count that out if it's an essential. Also no mapping or live Strava segments if that is important. I think the Fenix is the only current watch that would do all of that. Otherwise, I really like my 230. Battery goes for a few weeks as a watch, or I think about 12 hours of running, and displays notifications from the phone.

You'd need to check whether it is too big for small wrists though.

Garmin 500 is better for using on the bike, but doesn't upload over Bluetooth.

Nope agreed, hence why I think a pair of devices would make more sense - if i can tell her that a suitable watch will cost £400, perhaps she will come round to the idea of using the 500 (The usb upload was always reliable in my experience, and she doesn't cycle as much as me anyway currently) on the bike, with a proper out front mount, and then a decent wrist watch purely for running and HR.

Just wasn't sure if there were any makes, models or sale items I had missed that might not be from the usual suspects but might tick all of the boxes, and not cost an arm and a leg.

chippyk

Garmin 920

Man Of Lard

Get her a Fēnix 5S (S=small) and a yellow strap

Ticks all the boxes (apart from the price).

Failing that a 735XT might do the job - certainly does all of the cycle censor connections - the only thing missing (I think) is the barometric altimeter. Being last year's model, it's available (relatively) cheaply.

mrb123

Garmin Vivoactive HR. There's a new one coming out soon that is a bit more stylish than the current model.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/p/571520
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/08/gar ... -know.html

daniel_b

ChippyK wrote:

Garmin 920

Ta, that's a beast price wise eh - cheapest I can get it for is £300 from wiggle, with about a tenner knocked off through cashback, £290 a tad high, but will think about it.

Frustratingly the 3 places I can get some dsciount of some kind, Halfords, Evans and CRC, are either prohibitively expensive to start with, or simply don't stock it!

Thankyou MOL and Mr B - will check out those other suggestions too :-)

bendertherobot

MrB123 wrote:

Garmin Vivoactive HR. There's a new one coming out soon that is a bit more stylish than the current model.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/p/571520
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/08/gar ... -know.html

No power, as I recall.

Man Of Lard

Daniel B wrote:

...£290 a tad high, but will think about it.

Just hold off buying some black & yellow stuff for about an hour and you'll have recouped the difference and anyway, this is your significant other you're spending on... Is she worth another £100-£200? (Only you can answer that, I make no judgement)

kingstongraham

Does It need wrist based HR built in?

daniel_b

bendertherobot wrote:

MrB123 wrote:

Garmin Vivoactive HR. There's a new one coming out soon that is a bit more stylish than the current model.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/p/571520
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/08/gar ... -know.html

No power, as I recall.

Yep just spotted that myself :-(

Man Of Lard wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

...£290 a tad high, but will think about it.

Just hold off buying some black & yellow stuff for about an hour and you'll have recouped the difference and anyway, this is your significant other you're spending on... Is she worth another £100-£200? (Only you can answer that, I make no judgement)

Harsh - and yes she most definitely is, but I know she won't want me spending too much on the present, she is all about keeping money for holidays, daughter, the house yadda yadda yadda.........

KG - nope a watch that can pick up from a chest strap is fine, she has a Garmin one already - I gather the wrist based ones can be a bit flaky, and depending on how you are built, will either work really well, or really badly.

Man Of Lard

I know it's naff - a joint b'day / Christmas present?

bendertherobot

What I would say, with wrist based HR, is that the Mrs 235 appears correct. My Fenix 5, when running, appeared correct.

My Fenix 5 on the bike was laughably bad. So would necessitate, IMO, a HRM strap to make it work properly. And you can't get a Fenix 5 without a HRM built in (but you can add the strap and turn off the internal).

daniel_b

Yep that's a possibility MOL - will keep that in mind.

I keep coming back to just using the sodding 500 on the bike though, and a deent wrist watch for running :roll:

bendertherobot wrote:

What I would say, with wrist based HR, is that the Mrs 235 appears correct. My Fenix 5, when running, appeared correct.

My Fenix 5 on the bike was laughably bad. So would necessitate, IMO, a HRM strap to make it work properly. And you can't get a Fenix 5 without a HRM built in (but you can add the strap and turn off the internal).

I think that likely rules the Fenix out tbh.

bendertherobot

https://www.sportpursuit.com/catalog/pr ... flat.%20(1)&spt=AGwBbEqm2Vayfk5t

Seems like a pretty good cheap watch. Haven't checked it out mind.

bendertherobot

Actually, it has a GPS pod by the looks. Screw that. And shit upload

daniel_b

Good features it would seem, but no power support, and over 6 years old!

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/06/polar-rcx5-in-depth-review.html

bendertherobot

Yeah, would be fine for running (only) but even that seems limited.

mamil314

I've not had good experience with wrist or arm mounted HR gizmos, back to the chest strap

daniel_b

The more I look, the more I think the 230 makes the most sense.

Nice purple one can be had for £165.

bendertherobot

It does. Get a Wahoo tickr to go with it. Or, if you want run dynamics, the Garmin strap. You don't really need run dynamics.

daniel_b

Yep I think a decision is made especially as she will like the colour of that one!

I had £180 of top cashback stuff to withdraw, and as Amazon are sadly the cheapest, I went for Amazon vouchers, which boosts it by 2.5% - thought it would be instant, but seems like I may have to wait up to 3 days, hoping they do not go out of stock in the meantime........

Did see a good deal at Millets - £200 with HRM, but alas the 20% discount code is excluded on Garmin products, otherwise would have been £155 after cashback, so some £20 cheaper than the watch on it's own - oh well.

Oh and I bought a 5 pack of screen protectors for when I bought my 230, so that works out nicely

kingstongraham

By the way, the 230 doesn't do run dynamics. But you don't need them.

daniel_b

KingstonGraham wrote:

By the way, the 230 doesn't do run dynamics. But you don't need them.

Ah did not realise that, but I don't think she will be worried about that - I love my stats, she is not very bothered, and often does not even wear a heart rate strap :shock:

Boggles the mind I tell ye!