Best Fitness Tracker for Cycling

by David Wright |

Athletes and fitness fanatics are enjoying the benefits of owning a fitness activity tracker all around the world today. The significant advantage is knowing their progress and working hard in areas that need improvement.

With a fitness tracker, cyclists can monitor several factors during their movement. Since the market floods with numerous activity trackers, we have gathered five of the best fitness trackers for cycling to make a specific choice. Read along to find out more.

Quick Navigation

> Garmin Fenix 5 Plus
> Suunto 9
> Fitbit Ionic Watch
> Polar V800
> TomTom Spark 3
> Buyer’s Guide

1. Garmin Fenix 5 Plus – Our Top Pick

Cyclists and all outdoor enthusiasts find this premium Garmin Fenix 5 Plus tracker a perfect accessory for their adventures. That is because it has plenty of multisport features that come in handy in different activities.

First off, it comes with built-in navigation sensors that work together to track your location and distance even in the harsh and remote environments. That enables you to find your route back home in case you get carried away cycling.

The Fenix 5 Plus features a rugged design with a stainless steel or DLC titanium bezel, that withstands the harsh environments.

While cycling, you are bound to lose more weight. Therefore, a fitness tracker with a heart rate monitor is always ideal. The Fenix 5 Plus has this feature to monitor the status of your heart to know when to speed up or slow down your cycling. Also, you will not get bored on your way as this tracker allows you to store 500 songs and connects easily with your Bluetooth headphones.
With GPS on, this tracker will deliver up to 8 hours of runtime. And you get up to 10 days runtime in smartwatch mode.

With Fenix 5 Plus you can conveniently make payments via the Garmin Pay Contactless solution.

Pros and Cons

2. Suunto 9

Every cyclist enjoys having a great fitness tracker offering great features and a durable design for outdoor usage. The Suunto 9 is such a tracker. It provides up to 120 hours of runtime and incorporates intelligent battery mechanism that alerts you when to charge your device for great convenience.

Also, it combines FusedTrack movement sensors with GPS to augment activity tracking as well as relay accurate distance measurement. That greatly improves battery life. Besides, there is an adjustable battery mode that allows you to extend longevity when the watch is low on charge.

The Suunto 9 allows you to train for over 80 sports and analyses your progress on graphs and lap tables to know your trends. There is also a heart rate monitor in the watch that lets you the status of your heart while you cycle. Furthermore, before you leave the house, you will know the daily weather forecast and storm alarm to avoid getting surprised while biking.

The tracker features a silicone strap that feels comfortable on the wrist the whole time you will be on your bicycle.

Pros and Cons

3. Fitbit Ionic Watch

A sleek design and a high-quality performing fitness tracker are attributes that every cyclist’s dream of having in a watch. The Fitbit Ionic watch fits perfectly into this category. It features a built-in GPS tracker that monitors all your movement, including your cycling distance and speed.

Besides, there is a heart rate monitor to know the right workout condition of your heart. The monitor works continuously to track your heartbeat, whether you are sleeping or exercising. Also, it provides personalized workouts through step-by-step coaching with up to 30 feet of syncing range.

Cycling alone and especially for too long distances can be tedious. Therefore, you need something to keep motivating you to hit your goal. The Fitbit Ionic allows you to store and play over 300 songs from Pandora.

It features a durable screen Gorilla Glass 3 that is built for harsh environments. That allows you access to your sports app, weather and also make wireless payment via the NFC chip.
The Ionic tracker offers more than four days of battery life, depending on the activity.

Pros and Cons

4. Polar V800

If you take your cycling serious, then having the Polar V800 Sport watch can be a superb addition. That is one of the best fitness trackers that allows you to reach peak performance in your activities.

It incorporates a GPS tracker that monitors your cycling, runs, hikes and measures your distance, speed, and route. That enables you to know your progress and achieve your workout goals. Also, it includes a heart rate monitor that ensures you are in the perfect exercising state.

There are cycling and running modes on this tracker that deliver specific data on your training.

Polar V800 features a waterproof design of up to 30 meters. That makes it possible for you to swim with the watch on without the fear of damaging. In addition, it presents a 38-millimeter plastic case design which delivers excellent performance in the outdoors.

The battery on this unit will last about a week on a single charge.

Pros and Cons

5. TomTom Spark 3

TomTom Spark 3 is a great fitness tracker for cycling and running thanks to the plenty of impressive features it exhibits. First, it features a GPS tracker to actively track your daily activities, location, time, distance, speed, and route. It also captures the calories burned from your exercise as well as sleep quality to know your progress.

What’s more, it has a multisport mode that monitors all your runs, biking, swimming, indoor and outdoor cycling, and more. The watch presents a waterproof design of up to 40 meters for swimming and engaging in other water-based sports.

TomTom sports watch features a wide compatibility range. It is compatible with iOS 8+, Android 4.4+ devices. Also, it boasts a long battery life of up to three weeks in smartwatch mode and 11 hours in GPS mode. It is available in small and large sizes to fit different wrists.

Pros and Cons

Factors to Consider When Buying a Fitness Tracker for Cycling (Quick Guide)

Activity trackers are gaining popularity in the fitness sector today. That is why there are numerous brands releasing plenty of models to the market. Each model presents different features and choosing one for your needs may become a challenge.

Here you will find useful factors to be confident when choosing the right model for your personal needs.

GPS

Since your cycling activity is mostly in the outdoors, a GPS tracker is essential. It allows you to navigate through your trail with ease and aids in tracing your starting location to prevent getting lost. The recent models use GLONASS alongside the GPS to get more accurate navigation data.

Heart rate monitor

The heart rate monitoring is quite important as it enables you to know the condition of the heart while cycling. It analyses and delivers the data straight from your wrist to see if you are in the right exercising condition. For reliable and accurate results, you should wear the wrist band tightly, but comfortably.

Just keep in mind that cycling through rough terrain may interfere with accuracy.

Battery capacity

Since you are cycling in the outdoors, the availability of electric power is scarce. Therefore, having a long-lasting battery for your fitness tracker is imperative. This way, you can continuously track all your activities in the outdoors without any hindrances.

GPS on trackers is known for draining the battery. So, some models may include battery saving technology on the unit to prevent fast battery draining while using the GPS mode. The best activity tracker for cycling and running should provide up to five or seven days of battery life.

Design and comfort

Most fitness trackers for cycling are wrist-based. They strive to provide maximum comfort in with the band design. Many models feature silicone or rubber construction on their bands to ensure comfort while exercising.

The premium models present an elegant design with leather bands. All in all, the band should offer maximum breathability during cycling to improve comfort on the wrist.

Garmin Fenix 5 Plus – Review (Our Best Fitness Tracker for Cycling)

Conclusion

If you are a biker or enjoy outdoor cycling adventures, then having a fitness tracker will do you a lot of good. A tracker will provide sufficient working out data that enables you to know your progress and improve where you can.

Having a fitness tracker is a great way to elevate your exercising experience and make your cycling fun and enjoyable.

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