11 Best Fitness Trackers For Cycling (2023) With A Buying Guide
Keep a close check on your health markers with these fitness gadgets at hand.
Max LoweryPersonal Trainer & Online Health Coach
Expertise: Nutrition, Exercise, Corporate Wellness
Experience: 10 years
Max Lowery is a personal trainer and online health coach with 10 years of experience. His clientele includes high-profile celebrities, top models, and influencers. After experimenting with intermittent fasting and realizing its power, Max d... more
Expertise: Fitness & Lifestyle
Experience: 3 years
Rajeshwari is a dedicated fitness and lifestyle enthusiast, deeply committed to enhancing our readers’ well-being and vitality. She has a master’s degree in Journalism & Mass Communication fro... more
Aditi Naskar Diploma In Health & Wellness
Expertise: Health & Wellness
Experience: 5 years
Aditi Naskar has a postgraduate degree in English literature from Presidency University, Kolkata, a bachelor’s degree in education from WBUTTEPA, Kolkata, and a diploma in health and wellness. She i... more
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For all the valuable health insights that you want to know about yourself, you need to buy a fitness tracker. It has never been so easy to track your health data as it is today. With a slew of the best fitness trackers for cycling out there, you can get all the important information at the drop of a hat. While the old-school cycling meter feels like home, fitness trackers are giving you all your data faster. You can use these trackers to record your heart rate, performance, and more.
In this article, we take a look at some of the fitness trackers to maintain cycling metrics and help you reach your cycling goals. Scroll down to know more.
In This Article
11 Best Fitness Trackers For Cycling
1. Best Buy: Garmin Forerunner 935 Running GPS Unit
Image: Garmin Garmin’s Forerunner GPS watch is one of the top picks because of its unique features and exceptional durability. This premium GPS triathlon wristwatch measures heart rate and monitors your performance. The data can be integrated with your smartphone. It is specifically designed for sale and support in North America only. This triathlon tracker weighs 49 grams and tracks your cycling activities, along with the elevation changes with an inbuilt barometer and altimeter. The built-in compass always keeps you on track.
The tracker helps analyze biomechanical measurements, such as pedalling rate (cadence), ground contact time, balance, vertical oscillation, and vertical ratio for a better understanding of your performance. Challenge yourself every day by analyzing your laps and performances on the leadership board.
Beyond the tracking, the Forerunner 935 also has all the amenities you could want in a smartwatch. The tracker connects with both iPhones and Android phones. It can store your music, and you can even make NFC payments through Garmin Pay. Here’s an honest video review of this product.
Pros
- Lightweight
- Advanced tracking for cycling and triathlons
- GPS and WiFi connectivity
- Contains a chest strap heart rate monitor
- Lactate threshold and heart rate variability stress test can be unlocked
- Comfortable to wear all-day
- Leadership board for evaluation
- Bezel material fiber reinforced polymer
- Built-in activity profiles
- Smarter notifications
- Durable
- Water-resistant frame
- GPS tracking with altimeter
- Built-in compass
- Customizable display with smart apps
- 2 weeks of battery life in watch mode
- Smartphone compatibility
Cons
- Expensive
- Sold as an Asian version.
- Need to buy screen protector separately.
Pro Tip2. Garmin Vívoactive 3 Smartwatch
The Garmin Vivo active 3 Smartwatch is preloaded with GPS. It is made of a stainless steel bezel and Corning gorilla glass that makes it scratch-resistant. The sideswipe user-friendly interface helps in quick scrolling and swift navigation of the menus and widgets. This fitness band is preloaded with apps for biking, along with others for yoga, running, swimming, etc. You can easily customize your cycling activity and integrate it with your smartwatch. With the help of the Elevate wrist-based heart rate technology, you can monitor your fitness and stress levels along with the VO2 max under different physical activities. Always get connected with the smart applications, live tracking, and the fitness community. Check out this video review to get a clear picture of the features of this activity tracker watch.
Pros
- Stainless steel bezel
- Corning gorilla glass for the screen
- Scratch-proof
- 5 ATM water-resistant rating
- Safe for riding in the rain
- Safe for triathlons
- Comfortable to wear
- Easy to sideswipe and scroll
- 15 preloaded sports apps
- Track heart rate variability (HRV)
- Track fitness and stress levels
- Fits all with adjustable straps
- The display is easy to read even in sunlight
- Easy to connect with smart apps
- Message and email notifications
- Outstanding battery life
Cons
- Device may have software bugs.
- A bright blue display may be distracting.
- Not compatible with iOS.
3. Best Affordable: Fitbit Inspire 3 Tracker
Image: Fitbit The Fitbit Inspire 3 keeps a log of your activity level including steps taken, distance traveled, active time, and the number of calories burned. It can monitor heart rate, keeping you informed throughout the day. This smart device can receive notifications for calls, messages, and app alerts. It comes with a variety of interchangeable bands and clock faces.
Pros
- Long battery life
- Water-resistant
- Optical heart rate monitor
- Vibration motor
- Red and infrared sensors for blood oxygen (SpO2) monitoring
- Ambient light sensor
- Blood glucose tracking (in-app only)
- High & low heart rate notifications
- Menstrual health tracking
- 24/7 heart rate
- Connected GPS
- Automatic exercise tracking
Cons
None
Quick Tip4. SUUNTO Ambit3 Peak HR Running GPS Unit
Image: Suunto SUUNTO Ambit3 is an ultimate GPS watch to track indoor and outdoor activities. Its bezel is made of steel and a mineral crystal glass. The tracker includes a built-in altimeter, barometer, compass, and a smart GPS system to accurately measure of elevation along with the weather checks. You can easily integrate your fitness band with the SUUNTO app, digital service, and a companion to track your records. You can easily track your activities, carry out goal setting, and get motivated by the social sharing of your goals with the fitness community. The large display screen monitors your heart rate, VO2 max value, calories burned, along with your peak training effect and recovery monitoring. With the SUUNTO app, you can easily track the cycling speed, multiple bike POD support, hill incline, among other metrics.
Pros
- Measures altitude and weather information
- Built-in GPS with 100-meter water resistance
- Can be synced with the smartphone for smart notifications
- In-built route navigation and trackback
- Monitors heart rate
- Bluetooth-enabled bike compatibility power support
- Tracks multiple sports in one log
- Measures peak training performance
- Tracks recovery system
- Extended features with the SUUNTO app
- Available in multiple languages
- Customizable watch
- Lithium-ion battery
- Easy to operate
- Easy to read
Cons
- Little bulky and heavy.
- Low battery life for ultra features.
- Poor customer support.
5. Best For An Active Lifestyle: Amazfit Band 5
Image: Amazfit This is an ultra-thin, lightweight, GPS-enabled fitness tracker. Apart from cycling, it also contains apps for other sports like running, golfing, swimming, etc. The Garmin Vívo active Smartwatch has a robust, dedicated wearable technology that improves training metrics for athletes, tracks goals, achievements, and integrates them into a smartphone for a better view. Smart notifications keep you focused and your life in balance.
The Amazfit Band 5 has a 1.1-inch full-touch color AMOLED display that makes it simple to read even in direct sunlight. You can also personalize the look and feel of your gadget to match your sense of style by selecting one of the 45+ watch faces available. Its sophisticated health monitoring capabilities are what makes it stand out. This device has a BioTracker TM2 PPG optical sensor that can continuously track your heart rate and even identify irregular heart rhythms. It monitors the quantity and quality of your sleep and blood oxygen saturation level. It can properly track your distance, pace, and calories burned during workouts and features 11 distinct built-in sports modes for tracking your fitness, including running, cycling, and swimming. The Amazfit Band 5 has a wide range of smart features, including call and message notifications and weather forecasts. It also supports Amazon Alexa voice control, allowing you to check the weather, control your smart home devices, and more, all with just your voice.
Pros
- 15-day battery life
- Pairs with a phone for smart notifications
- Gives weather information
- Music controls
- Amazon Alexa voice control
- Heart rate tracking
- Sleep monitoring
- Blood oxygen saturation tracking
Cons
- Not durable
6. Most Popular: Garmin Fenix 5X Sapphire
Image: Garmin The Garmin Fenix 5X Sapphire is one of the popular cycling wristwatches that includes three built-in cycling profiles like normal biking, indoor biking, and mountain biking. It also has tracking and analyzing features. This is a multi-sport GPS watch with an elevate wrist heart rate technology. Its multi net work satellite reception allows you to do distance, route, and speed tracking. The preloaded topographic and cycling maps are handy and easy to operate. The rugged design features a stainless steel bezel with easy-to-operate buttons. The rear case design features sunrise and sunset times that sync with the GPS system.
A bright, high-resolution, full-color Garmin Chroma Display with LED backlighting enables good readability in different conditions. The transflective technology reflects and transmits the light and increases visibility and readability even under intense sunlight. The scratch-resistant lens with enabled WiFi connects to a wireless network and sends progress to the fitness community to keep you more focused.
Pros
- High-resolution display
- A rugged and tough exterior
- Three built-in cycling profiles
- An excellent GPS tracking system
- Fit for adventurous sports
- One-touch key stats with the performance widget
- Smart notifications
- Connect with Garmin fitness community
- Scratch-resistant sapphire lens
- Wrist-based heart rate tracking
- Counts steps
- Monitors sleep
- Easily detachable premium quality wrist band
- Advance performance matrix
- Extended physiological matrix
- Outstanding battery performance
Cons
- No Bluetooth connection.
- Not rust-resistant pins.
7. Best Multisport Option: POLAR VANTAGE M
Image: Polar The Polar Vantage M is a multisport GPS watch that is designed to provide athletes and fitness enthusiasts with advanced training features and performance metrics. One of the key features of the Polar Vantage M is its GPS functionality. This allows athletes to track their pace, distance, and route when they are running or cycling outdoors. In addition, it also offers a monitoring feature of advanced heart rate zones. It uses a polar precision prime sensor fusion technology, a wrist-based sensor to measure heart rate, which is then used to calculate a range of performance metrics, including VO2 max tracking and running index. This data can be used for training analysis and to track progress over time, identify areas for improvement, and optimize training routines. The watch also provides smart notifications, which allow athletes to stay connected to their phones without having to take them out of their pockets or bag.
Pros
- Battery life up to 30 hours in training mode
- Waterproof design
- Track calories burned
- 24/7 heart rate tracking
- Connected GPS
- Cardio fitness score
- Automatic exercise tracking
- Sleep tracking & sleep stages
- Sleep score and profile
Cons
- Little bulky
8. Fitbit Ionic Watch
The Fitbit Ionic Watch has a built-in GPS that tracks your pace, distance, and time and shows stats on the large durable and scratch-resistant Corning gorilla glass 3 display. It also helps with elevation tracking and records the split times and maps out your route. Unlike other smartwatches, the high-resolution large rectangular screen displays all your data even under direct sunlight. It has increased pixels and amplified brightness. Its operating temperature ranges from 4 degrees to 113 degrees Fahrenheit. Its maximum operating altitude is 30,000 feet.
These cumulative features help track running, cycling, swimming, and climbing. With the Pure Pulse Heart rate monitoring system, the smartwatch measures the acceleration of heart rate during exercise and optimizes it accordingly. You can check the dashboard for getting a summary of your entire day and challenge yourself by connecting with fitness communities.
Pros
- 24/7 heart rate, goals, and sleep tracking
- Smartphone applications
- Easy to update with messages, calls, and emails
- On-screen coaching facility
- A built-in GPS tracking system
- Syncs with Mac OS, iPhone, iPad, and Windows
- Has a storage capacity of 300+ songs
- Adjustable wrist strap
- Dynamic coaching facility
- Large display screen
- Easy to read even in sunlight
- Tracks calories burned from different activities
- A personalized dashboard
- Customizable widget and apps
- High-quality battery performance
- Dual-toned sports band
- Easy to use
Cons
- Does not track heart rate while cycling.
- Not durable
- Poor quality MP3 and GPS system
- Poor Fitbit customer service
- Inaccurate data
Did you know?9. Garmin Vívo active HR GPS Smartwatch
Image: Garmin The Garmin Vívoactive HR Smartwatch has a a high-resolution colored touchscreen GPS. It has a display size of 28.6 mm x 20.7 mm. It has built-in apps for indoor and outdoor sports activities like running, biking, swimming, skiing, snowboarding, golf rowing, and paddle boarding. It helps track time, distance, speed, and calories. With the Elevate Heart Rate technology system, the tracker measures the acceleration of your heartbeat while you are cycling or working out and quantifies the intensity of your fitness level. The smartwatch also tracks sleep wake cycles. The sunlight-readable high-resolution touchscreen is integrated with smart notifications. From the Connect IQ online store, you can customize your smartwatch with 1300+ easy to download face apps for training plans, customize widgets and themes, and design your sport tracker the way you want.
Pros
- High-resolution display
- Easy to read large screen
- In-built accelerometer
- Track time, speed, distance, and calories burned
- Elevated Heart Rate Technology to measure heart rate
- Compatible with smartphones
- Bluetooth 4.0
- 8-day battery life in watch mode
- Smart notifications
- Access to Connect IQ
Cons
- Does not measure heart rate while swimming.
- Not water-resistant.
- Poor quality battery life.
10. Fit bit Surge Fitness Super Watch
Image: Fit Bit The Very sleek Fitbit Surge Fitness Super Watch is one of the best fitness trackers around. Its incredible accuracy along with multiple sensors to track your movement makes it ideal for all outdoor and indoor sports, in addition to cycling. The built-in GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and altimeter track your speed, time, distance, routes, elevation in cycling, running, mountain biking, and swimming. A real-time wrist heart rate monitor is effective and convenient unlike most chest-strap monitors. The tracker measures your every beat accurately. The wireless syncing and mobile app integration help you access data across devices and even computers for easy access to your goals (along with a track sheet). Use the Bluetooth to sync the watch with your smartphone so that you can receive notifications and control your music while on the go.
Pros
- Sleek design
- Available in 3 colors
- Touchscreen monochrome LCD display
- Ambient light sensors for backlighting
- GPS tracking for cycling
- Built-in heart rate monitor
- Built-in sleep monitor
- Vibrating alarm to wake you up
- Outstanding battery life
- Wireless connectivity and syncing
- Smart notifications
Cons
- Not water-resistant.
- Defective straps.
- Not durable.
- Not moisture-resistant.
- Does not track treadmill runs.
11. Fitbit Luxe Fitness And Wellness Tracker
Image: Fit Bit The Fitbit Luxe Fitness And Wellness Tracker is crafted with accurate sensors to track heart rate, stress levels, and sleep quality. This device has an in-built GPS, and different exercise modes and can provide real-time feedback on your workout tracking. This is a smart device and can receive notifications for calls, texts, and application alerts. This device as it comes in a range of clock faces and colorful stylish interchangeable bands.
Pros
- Water-resistant
- Long battery life
- Lightweight
- Track calories burned
- 24/7 heart rate tracking
- Connected GPS
- Automatic exercise tracking
- Always-on display mode
- Compatible with iOS and Android devices
- Sleep tracking & sleep stages
- Smart wake alarm
- Stress management score
- Relax breathing sessions
Cons
None
These are the 11 best fitness trackers meant for cyclists. They help measure and track your speed, time, and distance traveled. Most of these trackers are water-resistant, which means you can wear them even as you cycle in the rain. But before you purchase a tracker, you need to check a few things.
How To Choose The Best Fitness Tracker For Cycling
- Reliable GPS: The inbuilt GPS system of the tracker should be reliable to help you navigate properly on your trails. A fitness tracker with a built-in GPS can collect and process your GPS data to show you where you are at any given time.
- Activity Tracking: With more advanced statistics and built-in features, a fitness tracker can track the progress of all your activities, including the pedaling rate (cadence sensors), stride length, ground contact time and balance, vertical oscillation, and vertical ratio for a better understanding of your performance.
- Water-Resistant: A higher water-resistance rating means your watch is more durable.
- Heart Rate Monitoring: This feature synchronizes your heart rate with the intensity of your sports. The wrist pulse monitors are generally a little less accurate than chest strap heart rate monitors, although the accuracy varies between models. This is one area where a more expensive watch will deliver better results.
- Sleep Tracking: Tracking your sleep helps maintain your fitness levels. By wearing your device on your wrist while you sleep, you can find out the exact duration of your sleep and that of your deep sleep versus light sleep.
- Battery Life: An outstanding battery life increases the longevity of a fitness tracker and helps to track your progress all day. The battery should also be rechargeable.
The Bottom Line
A fitness tracker is a specially crafted device to keep track of the calories burnt and monitor your heart rate and performance rate. It has become a staple device for sports enthusiasts. It is of great help to a cyclist to record the calories burnt, optimize your goals, and record important data. Unlike regular fitness trackers, the modern-day fitness tracker and their features, such as Strava integration, come with advanced cycling and triathlon tracking. In addition, some trackers come with GPS tracking and WiFi connectivity, while some can also record the time spent in light and dark. If you’re a dedicated runner looking for advanced tracking, the Garmin Forerunner 935 Running GPS is a reliable choice. For overall activity monitoring and stylish design, opt for the Fitbit Inspire 3 Tracker. However, if you’re into multisport training and want accurate heart rate monitoring, the POLAR VANTAGE M is a great companion. So consider investing in the fitness trackers that record the activity accurately by monitoring the heart rate.
Why Trust StyleCraze?
Aditi Naskar, the author of this post, holds a diploma in wellness and nutrition. She always has a keen interest in various products for fitness. After in-depth research and reading many online reviews, this list of best fitness trackers for cycling has been carefully curated by her. She says that these trackers are a must-have for cyclers to track their cycling goals and monitor their performance and heart rate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I sleep with my fitness watch on?
No. It is best if you sleep without the fitness watch. The low-frequency waves from your health tracker are not good for your heart. Moreover, the battery will drain out unnecessarily.
Are fitness trackers safe to wear?
Yes, fitness trackers are safe to wear throughout the day. Although most fitness trackers emit electric and magnetic fields (EMF) radiation, it is not enough to cause adverse effects.
How do you use a fitness tracker effectively?
Wear the right tracker that tracks your needs. Determine what you are tracking and wear it daily to set specific goals. Then, track results and make changes accordingly.
What are the cons of fitness trackers?
• The battery drains faster when you use it for multiple purposes like listening to music and tracking details.
• Some devices offer inaccurate results.
• More features equals higher prices.
• Constant tracking can lead to an obsession in users.
Is it time to stop using your fitness tracker?
No. In fact, Max Lowery says that “If you want to take your training to the next level, and become more efficient, data is key. Investing in a high quality tracker will give you the data to make better decisions about your training and recovery.”
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