Activity tracker for the active cyclst

[dashDustin]

Mio Global: Mio Fuse | Heart Rate Monitor Activity Tracker

i think that's what i might end up with. obviously lacks the class, but makes up for that with other handy features.

[j44ke]

Good thread and rundown. I like the Withings -- stylish, functional, and sponsors a cyclocross team. Win.

I need a sleep tracker. I used to do this manually and then with an iPhone but both are no longer doable for different reasons.

Heart rate would be nice, too, especially an optical heart rate. Anyone have experience with them?

Withings does make a heart rate/activity monitor called the Pulse. It uses an optical HR monitor. Here's a review. The Withings Activité can calculate your heart rate through its app and the camera flash on the iPhone, but it doesn't monitor heart rate continuously. Also the HR reading is only recorded in the app, not on the watch.

The Apple Watch uses an optical HR. Seems reasonably accurate when compared with my Wahoo chest strap if I make sure that the wrist strap is very snug. The numbers are closer if I wear the Apple Watch underneath my wrist, rather than the typical position of a watch, which makes sense because the skin is thinner there and so the optical reader works better. Wearing it gives me an option if I forget my heart rate strap, but basically I use the strap connected to my Garmin 25.

General rule: The Apple Watch increases in accuracy the closer it is to your iPhone.

There is also a new Garmin Vivosmart activity monitor with heart rate monitoring using the optical sensor system. And DC Rainmaker does an overview.

The Scosche Rhythm+ Dual Ant+/Bluetooth Smart Optical HR Band does get good reviews for accuracy, not just from DC Rainmaker but other places as well.

[Jonathan]

I was blissfully unaware about this device until last night. I'd never heard of one. Now it's the only thing on my Christmas list.

[dashDustin]

Metro | Casual, Dress, and Sport Watches for Women & Men

been seeing this all over my facebook and instagram.

[j44ke]

Metro | Casual, Dress, and Sport Watches for Women & Men

been seeing this all over my facebook and instagram.

Yes, I remember reading somewhere that the movement has been licensed to other watchmakers, including some higher priced makers, which I guess isn't uncommon in the watch world these days. The patent is evidently owned by Withings and is called "Connected Movement Technology".

Edit: Here is a very similar Mondaine Helvetica. Not sure it has the same internal movement, but I wouldn't be surprised. Price is $900~

[Tamu8104]

Not necessarily the most stylish item but I use the Garmin Fenix 3 for cycling, running, and activity tracking. It helps me know if I'm moving around enough. This keeps me walking to meetings versus just calling in, and walking while I'm on conference calls.

[Matthew Strongin]

Not necessarily the most stylish item but I use the Garmin Fenix 3 for cycling, running, and activity tracking. It helps me know if I'm moving around enough. This keeps me walking to meetings versus just calling in, and walking while I'm on conference calls.

I'm curious, how long have you had it and used it consistently?

I'm a few weeks in and still surprised how often I wear the Withings Activite. Other than a few times where I've worn another watch out to dinner or to a party, I've had it on non-stop. The sleep tracking in particular has kept me motivated to wear it and, more importantly, be more aware of how much I'm sleeping. I've started going to bed earlier and not crashing on the couch for hours. I've also started taking the stairs at work and walking to get lunch more than I have in years. So far so good.

[Tamu8104]

I've been using it consistently for 6 months. I don't believe it's sleep tracking is as good as what you describe with the Withings so I don't wear it while sleeping now but it does recognize when I go to sleep (take it off) and when I wake up (put it back on).

Originally it had a bug that would cause it to count steps while I was riding but they have since fixed that. Now it counts steps in watch mode or on hikes, runs, etc.

[MisterDangerPants]

Not necessarily the most stylish item but I use the Garmin Fenix 3 for cycling, running, and activity tracking. It helps me know if I'm moving around enough. This keeps me walking to meetings versus just calling in, and walking while I'm on conference calls.

After 9 years, I retired my Garmin Forerunner 305 last week and picked up a Garmin vivoactive. I got it for running and cycling (also return an unopened Garmin Edge 25). I wasn't all that interested in the activity tracker stuff but after wearing it for several days straight I'm pretty hooked. Similarly, this isn't the most stylish but I actually like it. Don't know if I'll end up wearing this all the time as I really dig my regular watch quite a bit.

[Matthew Strongin]

I'm curious, how long have you had it and used it consistently?

I'm a few weeks in and still surprised how often I wear the Withings Activite. Other than a few times where I've worn another watch out to dinner or to a party, I've had it on non-stop. The sleep tracking in particular has kept me motivated to wear it and, more importantly, be more aware of how much I'm sleeping. I've started going to bed earlier and not crashing on the couch for hours. I've also started taking the stairs at work and walking to get lunch more than I have in years. So far so good.

Self quote for an update. I now have a month of wearing the Activite. Like I've said above, my main goal was helping with sleep. In looking at the week by week averages, I'm now sleeping about an hour per night longer than I was at the start. I can tell a noticeable difference in my energy level and the ease of waking in the morning. I hope I can keep it up.

I've also noticed that while it doesn't specifically track cycling, there does seem to be a consistent relationship between "steps" and saddle time. I suspected this early on, but the past couple weeks where I've ridden a ton have somewhat proven it out. All the days I've done 100+ mile rides, I've broken 10K steps that day. Days I've not ridden and just lounged around, the step counts are closer to 1K. So even if cycling isn't "stepping" it still seems to be a good reflection of activity.

[Tamu8104]

I saw similar activity tracking with the Fenix in it's original OS. Days with long rides would typically have around 12k-15k steps whiles days without would have 6k-7k. They later updated the OS so that it wouldn't track steps during a "ride" activity.

[defspace]

My girlfriend just got a fitbit. She's really enjoying it. I'm curious about how I might incorporate one into my training.

How are you guys incorporating this into your training? Do these things just serve to make you more aware of your activity outside of cycling or have you been able to incorporate the data into your on the bike work? Any clue how calorie counts, HR zones, etc are calculated?

[Matthew Strongin]

My girlfriend just got a fitbit. She's really enjoying it. I'm curious about how I might incorporate one into my training.

How are you guys incorporating this into your training? Do these things just serve to make you more aware of your activity outside of cycling or have you been able to incorporate the data into your on the bike work? Any clue how calorie counts, HR zones, etc are calculated?

Some of both, but mostly to gauge and track overall activity and, most importantly for me, recovery. I've just set up the Withings, garmin connect, and MyFitnessPal integration to start seeing the complete picture and not just my on the bike data. I have a scale on the way too, which should be a cool addition.

[Tamu8104]

For me it helps to provide a better view of my overall activity which leads to better calorie management and also better rest management. It can also be interesting to look at a dip in recent power curve and then look at the recent rest pattern. I often find a correlation.

[Matthew Strongin]

So I added the Withings Smart Body Analyzer scale to the mix last week. I'm still in the new toy phase, which means I've been weighing myself much more than I might normally. It's quite the upgrade from the simple scale we've been using for the last 10 years. Usually I'll weigh myself once or twice over the course of a week, but out of curiosity I've been weighing myself before and after rides. During shorter weekday rides there isn't much of a change. After today's 5 hour century I had dropped almost 4 pounds and just under a percent of body fat. I'm sure it wasn't a legit baseline weight loss and more a combination of dehydration and a very empty tank. Thinking back on the ride I didn't drink nearly enough. Probably only 3-4 bottles worth. I'm going to keep playing around to see what the numbers say on days I'm better about hydrating. Anyway, in addition to the general purpose data for keeping an eye on my weight and body composition, I think this may end up helping keep me on top of better nutrition and hydration practices during harder rides. So far it's been a good addition.

[e-RICHIE]

So I added the Withings Smart Body Analyzer scale to the mix last week. <cut>

My observation is that the scale (the Withings Smart Body Analyzer) is the brain trust, Ground Zero, the mind behind the beauty, and the glue that holds all the salient information together. You're system is now complete according to my opinion. PS 64 kilograms tonight.

[joosttx]

So I added the Withings Smart Body Analyzer scale to the mix last week. I'm still in the new toy phase, which means I've been weighing myself much more than I might normally. It's quite the upgrade from the simple scale we've been using for the last 10 years. Usually I'll weigh myself once or twice over the course of a week, but out of curiosity I've been weighing myself before and after rides. During shorter weekday rides there isn't much of a change. After today's 5 hour century I had dropped almost 4 pounds and just under a percent of body fat. I'm sure it wasn't a legit baseline weight loss and more a combination of dehydration and a very empty tank. Thinking back on the ride I didn't drink nearly enough. Probably only 3-4 bottles worth. I'm going to keep playing around to see what the numbers say on days I'm better about hydrating. Anyway, in addition to the general purpose data for keeping an eye on my weight and body composition, I think this may end up helping keep me on top of better nutrition and hydration practices during harder rides. So far it's been a good addition.

Matt i have been using mine for about 1.5 years. The best secret I can give about the weight thing is weigh yourself once a day at the same-ish time each day. I weigh every morning right before I brush my teeth. My weight will fluctuate 2 or more lbs during the day. So, trying to get a good read on positive healthy progress can be tough if you check throughout the day. The scale is a motivation thing as much as an analytics things. By weigh yourself once a day at the same time helps with both.

[Matthew Strongin]

Matt i have been using mine for about 1.5 years. The best secret I can give about the weight thing is weigh yourself once a day at the same-ish time each day. I weigh every morning right before I brush my teeth. My weight will fluctuate 2 or more lbs during the day. So, trying to get a good read on positive healthy progress can be tough if you check throughout the day. The scale is a motivation thing as much as an analytics things. By weigh yourself once a day at the same time helps with both.

For sure. This is definitely the way to do it in the long run.

[rec head]

I just got the scale because of you guys. Well not entirely but the salon really shifted the way I was going. Anyway I usually weigh myself on work days (every third day) after my morning routine but before eating. Now that I'm analyzing all my fat too I am drinking a glass of water when I get up to begin hydration. Then I begin the routine and then weigh myself. Since the scale is measuring conductivity normalized hydration is key.

This is from their PDF

After Sports: a weighing after sports may lead to mistaken measures of the fat mass. In fact, dehydration due to sweating and the production of excess lactic acid momentarily change your physiology and "trick" the scale. It is therefore recommended that you wait at least 3 hours after physical activity before weighing yourself.

When you get up: weigh yourself as soon as you get up may yield mistaken measures. Indeed, during the night, the body tends to become dehydrated. In addition, your stretched-out position during the night changes the distribution of liquids in the body. It is therefore recommended that you wait at least 30 minutes after getting up before weighing yourself.

In conclusion: to get consistent fat mass and lean mass measures, it is especially important to weigh yourself regularly (once or twice a week) under the same conditions and study the evolution of these measures over time. Avoid weighing yourself after sports activity or immediately when you get up.

[defspace]

Does the Withings scale work without the watch?

Do I just need a smartphone/tablet and I'm good to go?