snow_echo_NY

i received an apple sport watch from a family member who won it and has no use for it. altho it's really pretty, i'm thinking of trading it in for a garmin FR 235. they are at similar price points.

i mainly want to track my mileage. but other fun features i think i'd like are my energy output, navigation, and mainly just starting and stopping from the watch and not having to manage my phone for uploads to strava.

For cycling, which would you pick and why?

Seattle Forrest

Do you have a power meter or plan to get one? Do you run?

The Forerunner has the advantage for you that your ride data will make it to Connect and Strava automatically and with no effort. But other than that it's designed to be useful to runners.

snow_echo_NY

i don't have a power meter.

i usually just run in the warmer months but not often (1x a week?) and not for long distances. my longest distance is about 10K. the primary use would be for cycling. is there something else i should look into for cycling?

dr_lha

Neither. I see no utility on having a watch based display when cycling. Handlebar mounted is much more useful than looking at your wrist. So something like a Garmin Edge or a Wahoo RFLKT (+phone) make much more sense.

snow_echo_NY

ah i've ruled out bike computers b/c i'm not on the bike that long (i don't typically do long rides), but i'm on it often and for short commuting rides and i'm riding multiple times every single day. it amounts to about 50-60 miles a week, sometimes up to 80 if i do a long ride but that's atypical for me.

to give some background, i switch between my commuter and the family bike a lot. i have to switch my lights between the bikes already and on my commuter and i have to strip them when i park (bike thieving is crazy in NYC, every component is locked down).

on my commuter, i simply don't have the space for a bike computer b/c i have brake levers a bell and my light all cramping up the tops of my bars.

i was looking at a watch device for my leg but i can't determine how useful that is esp when you can't access it while riding.

dr_lha

Wait, you're going to strap it to your leg?

What do you want the device to do? The Apple Watch is a screen and a HR monitor, but needs an iPhone for GPS and all but the most basically functionality, so you need an iPhone on your person to use it. That may not be an issue of course, if your phone is an iPhone and you carry it with you at all times. However, if you are just going to use it to measure HR, you're much better off getting a dedicated HR strap to use with your phone.

Otherwise, sounds like the Garmin might be a better fit. I still think a computer is better though, have you seen the Garmin Edge 25 for example? It's pretty tiny.

snow_echo_NY

hahah yeah i don't know. moov and fly fit from here: Best cycling watches and tracking wearables

i know nothing about these things b/c i didn't care but taking my phone out to start and stop my strava sucks, esp. cuz i do it so often. i have a garmin FR 110 that i used but it doesn't just upload from the device itself, i have to connect it to a device and do so thru the garmin app. it's annoying as well.

purposes from my first post: "i mainly want to track my mileage. but other fun features i think i'd like are my energy output, navigation, and mainly just starting and stopping from the watch and not having to manage my phone for uploads to strava."

i agree about the HR strap. i think i should just give up on that end. i hate putting on and taking off the strap multiple times a day so i just don't anymore. i tried it with the garmin fr 110 for a couple weeks then stopped. i have it so i could use it, but i think i might just try to sell the FR 110 + strap together and call it a day.

dr_lha

I've no experience with either of those devices.
Well with the Apple Watch I know that both Strava and Cyclemeter support it, so you can start recording from your wrist (or leg I guess, if you're a ballerina) easily.
[quote]

Quote:

i agree about the HR strap. i think i should just give up on that end. i hate putting on and taking off the strap multiple times a day so i just don't anymore. i tried it with the garmin fr 110 for a couple weeks then stopped. i have it so i could use it, but i think i might just try to sell the FR 110 + strap together and call it a day.

I've heard that the Apple Watch HR monitor kinda sucks for cycling, because it drains the battery really quick. But for short rides it might be OK.

snow_echo_NY

ah interesting. good to know...i suppose the only thing to do is test for a week and if i hate it, switch to the garmin i want.

Seattle Forrest

Most people prefer one of the Garmin Edge units for cycling. But it sounds like you don't want to go that route.

The Forerunner is likely to be a better bet than the Apple Watch for cycling, just not by leaps and bounds. You'll be able to start and stop workouts from your wrist, and have them automagically appear on Strava when you stop them, but they'll probably be tagged as runs. You'd have to edit that manually if you care, and if you run you probably do care, you want to be able to keep them straight so you'll know things like how much did you ride vs run in the summer. The FR should have better battery life, is waterproof, and has some good exercise features like that it can tell you how long to rest after a workout. It will not work with a power meter, so if you get one in the future you'll also have to get a head unit with it.

snow_echo_NY

Thanks
i tried the apple watch today and it's pretty nice, it did what i wanted, it's mainly an interface for the iphone only - the only thing that the watch seems to have is the alarm, and the watch buzzes. that's about it. i think so far it fits my needs for now. i'll see how the rest of the week goes to make a decision.

rjdennis

check out DC Rainmaker for advice, but I might recommend the garmin vivoactive

snow_echo_NY

thanks! dc rainmaker i hear is really the only good authority on this. i've been eyeing the fenix 3 in a rose-gold (women's version) or the garmin FR 230 or just keep the apple watch.

i've been using the apple watch and the apps it has are pretty awesome, but again it only works with the iphone. that said, i love not looking at my phone.

but i hike a lot and wonder if the navigation part would come in handy on the fenix 3. i'm not sure i'm willing to pay that much more for it though.

i will check out the vivoactive thanks~

TriDanny47

I bought the Applow Sport watch just before Thanksgiving. It's a fun little piece of technology, but not stand-alone - basically in those 3 weeks, I've come to think of it essentially as a "remote control" for my iPhone 6. It doesn't do anything my phone can't, just makes it somewhat more convenient when my phone is in my pocket or otherwise inaccessible. Pretty much what you said.

When I'm riding, my phone is front and center anyway on the handlebar mount. I can access with one hand easily. With the watch, I would have to reach across to the other wrist, or take both hands of the grips.

Yeah, I would go with a garmin.

Seattle Forrest

I hike a lot. I've only used the navigation features once (to see how they work) on my Fenix 3. They're way cool, but unnecessary for hiking the way most people do it. I mean, as long as you're on a trail, you won't get lost unless it has tons of junctions, and if that's the case you have a paper map, or waypoints in the device. The altimeter and barometer are very useful in the mountains. But seriously don't buy an F3 for the nav features.

I'm considering a Forerunner 2xx as a birthday present for my girlfriend. She needs an HRM and she's attached to her phone, so the notifications would be really useful. She thinks the black strap is too masculine and the teal will clash with some of her clothes. We didn't consider the Apple Watch because we both have Android phones.