Smart watch

bikeit65

Anyone use a smart watch to track their workouts rather than an on board bike computer?

haydenm

bikeit65 said:

Anyone use a smart watch to track their workouts rather than an on board bike computer?

I have a Garmin forerunner 235 watch which is great, some going nice and cheap online now as they are quite old. I do have a Garmin and, more recently, a Wahoo which are bike mounted but I tent to only really use those if I want to follow a route or I want more metrics while I'm riding.

I bought the garmin as I do a lot of mountain biking and a bit of running, nice to hop on whichever bike and hit go

fenix

Garmin Fenix. GPS records my cycling and running and outdoor swims.
Indoor it can record spin stuff and I don't need it for Zwift as the app records it all.

I'd not bother with a smart watch as such.

billycool

I have a Garmin Fenix 5S and use if for MTB, running/walking and playing hockey. GPS works well and it talks to My Fitness Pal and Strava (via Garmin Connect).

It does have a built in HRT but prefer to use a chest strap as it is more accurate.

pblakeney

I considered one for a while but I did a test run where I looked at my "normal" watch every time I looked at the Garmin. I decided not to get one.
They will work best if you don't want to look at anything very often, or are bar mounted.

slowbike

Smart watches are a PITA to check on your wrist whilst riding - well, when you've got long sleeves on anyway.
I've ridden with strava going on the smart watch - it's fine to record - even though the accuracy isn't the same as the bike computer - I just don't look at it.
Mind you - I tend not to look at the bike computer much these days ... just turn the pedals .. (although forwards would probably be quicker! )

bompington

I have a cheap nasty smartwatch (Morepro P1C) - unbelievably cheap for what it is, basically works well but the software and interface design is appalling.
Generalities might be more useful than specifics, though some of the following is a bit more device-specific :
- quick and easy to start recording on a watch
- not so handy for looking at your speed or any other info along the way - I find it halfway convenient when running, but really, really inconvenient on the bike, especially wearing winter gear
- GPS seems to be quite accurate and quick to get a fix: different devices will vary of course
- ditto radial pulse: seems to work well enough, of course if you're serious about heart rate then something that connects to a proper HRM is better
- battery life seems to be pretty good on mine, others not so much

elbowloh

I have both a Garmin 810 and Garmin 35 and use them both (not at the same time).

tbh, i don't look at either much during a ride (unless i'm using the 810 for navigation), so it doesn't bother me much to have it on the wrist. I only use them for recording the ride and not too bothered about looking at loads of data as I go.

I'm thinking of upgrading to a vivoactive 3, 4 or even a Fenix 5 at some point.