This is a comprehensive list of the best fitness trackers for cycling enthusiast.
In this guide, you will learn about:
- The most accurate fitness and activity trackers that you can buy and use for biking and other outdoor sports
- The built-in features that makes each of these activity trackers worth buying
- And the pros and cons of each
In short: if you know how fitness trackers work and you want to monitor everything cycling, from cadence, distance covered, speed, and calories burned, then you will love this guide.
And here’s something I need you to understand upfront:
While many brands make fitness trackers, only a handful of them are actually suitable for cycling community.
Plus, because of the cutting-edge technologies involved in the tracking process, from GPS system integration to multisport functionality, most of these trackers fall in the high-end category. Yet, with the promise to give you better performance in the end?
So which model should you go for, if any?
Here are the best recommendations suited for cycling.
Contents
Top Rated Fitness Trackers For Cyclists Comparison & Rating Chart
Preview | Product Name | Water Resistant | GPS | Battery Life | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 hours in GPS mode, 3 weeks on non-GPS mode | ||||
| 6 months | ||||
| 8 days on tracking mode, 13 hours on GPS mode | ||||
| 7 days on smartwatch mode; 13 hours on GPS mode | ||||
| 21 hours on GPS mode |
Best Activity Trackers for Cycling Reviews
1. TomTom Spark 3 Cardio
For over three decades, TomTom has dedicated its time and resources to build the best consumer electronics for the market. And its fitness tracker category has some of the best models in the world, one of which is the Spark 3 Cardio, an all-around device that can monitor multiple fitness activities, including cycling.
Many of Spark 3 features, like route monitoring, GPS tracking, and live stats, mostly target runners. But the device includes a built-in Multisport Mode that lets you apply the same features to outdoor biking and indoor cycling.
This activity tracker doesn’t just monitor cycling speed and duration.
It tracks how much calories you burn, the total distance you cover, as well as your pace. Also, it includes a sophisticated trail tracking technology, which makes it easy for you to ride your bike in unfamiliar routes without losing your way back to your origin.
You don’t necessarily have to be a swimmer to take advantage of Spark 3’s waterproofing feature. It’ll be handy if you ever find yourself cycling in the rain. Because it’s water-resistant enough to beat heavy drops and perform just fine.
One of the truly amazing modes of the Spark 3 Cardio is the race option. Built-in to challenge your workout timing, this feature allows you to cycle against your previous record to improve your workout time. This, of course, is a great feature to take advantage of when you want your current workout period to be better than the first.
2. Moov Now
With no buttons to press, no screen to tap, and no fitness metrics to see on the go, Moov Now feels like an ordinary device ever created. It’s not so in the real sense, though. Designed to work with the Moov iOS and Android app, this smart device is the best out there, a beast in its job, handy in guiding you to get the most of every cycling session you engage to.
Moov Now is the reason you don’t need an actual personal trainer. That’s because it talks to you through the real time audio coach, allowing you to get the most out of your fitness session. And talking you through your workout period isn’t the only thing this device does. It also gives you the motivation you need to set, work on, and achieve your fitness goals.
To get the most out of Moov Now, wear it on your ankle instead of your wrist. This way, the built-in sensor will be able to monitor your biking cadence, distance, and speed accurately.
If you’re going to use Moov Now for cycling, you’ll need to make sure you have a bike phone mount attached to your bike’s handlebar. That’s because you’ll need to turn on the app to monitor your fitness progress in real time. You can even set the app to give you verbal updates as well as voice coaching as you ride your bike.
Color scheme isn’t something I often consider when purchasing a fitness band. But if you’re someone who like to factor looks in the buying criteria, then you’ll be happy to know that this one comes in 7 color schemes. So why not choose a color that best suits you.
3. Garmin Vivoactive HR
Every update to the Vivoactive series has always been for one purpose: to give you a more accurate and dependable activity tracker that you can truly depend on. And the HR is the latest improvement in the category that works better than its predecessors ever did.
Featuring a built-in heart rate monitor and a GPS, the HR is more of a sports watch than just a general activity device. In fact, since it’s a multisport device, which can track walking, running, golfing, and cycling, it makes the best alternative to devices like Apple Watches and the Fitbit Blaze.
The GPS system is the most important feature in the Vivoactive HR. In other words, it’s the GPS that makes this device the best fitness and activity tracker for biking. It measures distance covered, helps you to determine speed, and even fills you in on how much calories you burn during cycling.
Vivoactive’s heart rate monitor works well 24/7, allowing you to monitor your heartbeat even when you sleep. Once on your wrist, the device will monitor your pulse and help you stay in the standard heart rate zone. The only problem with the heart rate monitor is that you can’t get any benefit from it when swimming.
Vivoactive HR’s touchscreen display is clear and crisp, allowing you to see your fitness stats in high-resolution. At 205 by 148 pixels, you get clear details, no screen tearing and definitely no input lags. In addition, the screen is sunlight readable, which means all the details should be clear even on broad daylight.
You can pair it with your smartphone and then use it to receive calls and read texts without touching your phone. This is a handy feature, as it gives you the convenience to communicate without taking your eyes off the trail.
4. Garmin Vivoactive 3
Rich in features and going for almost half the price of Vivoactive HR, Garmin Vivoactive 3 is one of the best fitness trackers in the market yet. It has been around for a while and has a fine spot in the most popular activity watches, mostly for being multisport.
Being a multisport device means it’s versatile. But your interest as a cyclist should mainly be in the GPS navigation system. This is what makes cycling possible, not to mention fun. Because with the GPS mode enabled, you can record distance cycled, pace for cycling, and even your trails.
One of the best things about Vivoactive 3 is that you can link it to Garmin Connect, a mobile app that lets you see your fitness stats on a bigger screen. If you interlink the two, you’d simply have to mount your phone on a bike’s phone mount and you’re good to go.
In the app, you can see distance covered, average speed, as well as calories burned. This will help you take full analyze your fitness regime, and teak it if necessary to get the most out of it.
Beyond cycling, you can use this fitness tracker to monitor activities like walking, running, and yoga. And don’t worry about taking it off before going to the shower, because it’s completely water-resistant. Which is to say that you can also use it for swimming if you want to.
The Chroma display of this model is just like that of the Vivoactive HR. It’s clear and colorful, displaying text in high definition so you don’t have to strain while looking at the data. Plus, the screen is sunlight readable, which means you can see all the content clearly even in an afternoon when the sun is too bright outdoors.
Want to make a payment but forgot your wallet at home? No problem, because you can actually do just that with the Garmin pay as you ride your mountain bike or road racing bike. This payment system is very easy to use and is accepted anywhere you can tap your card and make a payment for good and services. Just tap the Garmin Pay option and make a purchase.
There’s one important thing that you need to understand about Vivoactive 3 activity tracker: it’s not waterproof. It’s water-resistant. Garmin just uses the two terms interchangeably to mean the same thing. It’s actually water resistant up to 5 ATM, which is standard for most Garmin watches. This means you can swim with it comfortably without actually breaking it down.
5. Garmin Forerunner 935
Stylish in design and lightweight enough to wear for long hours, the Garmin Forerunner 935 is one of the best fitness tracker in the Garmin smart activity devices series. The integrated GPS system makes it good for cycling, so it can monitor distance covered, cycling speed, cadence, pace, as well as the total amount of calories burned.
Like the Vivoactive 3 and the HR model, Forerunner 935 also fits in the category of a multisport device, allowing you to go beyond cycling to walking and running. In other words, if you’re into triathlon, then you will find this fitness tracker handy.
Navigating this device is easy and straightforward. The menu layout is tidy and easy to understand. All you have to do is to choose a function and it will show up at the very top of the application, making it very easy for you to find what you’re looking for.
One of the best things about this fitness tracker is the host of notifications that you get as you go. In short, with Forerunner 935’s smart connection, you will never miss important notifications. And if you choose to connect it with your smartphone, you’ll get many benefits, including access to Garmin Connect and Music control.
Garmin Forerunner 935 doesn’t just helps you know your heart rate. It also helps you to make sure your heart is pumping the right way. In fact, the wrist-based heart rate monitor will help you to know your lactate threshold as well as heart rate variability stress level, making it easy for you to know your pulse condition and make the necessary adjustments if you ever have to.
Forerunner 935 is also about working out hard enough to beat your previous accomplishments. You can do this using the Strava Live Segments. This feature is important because it helps you to set cycling fitness goals and work as hard as you can to accomplish them. Now, if you’re a premium member of the Strava Live Segments, you can set your account to send you notifications when a segment starts and finishes and even see how your current stats compare with your previous efforts.
