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Apple Watch 4 for riding

25K views 78 replies 31 participants last post by  bitflogger 
#1 ·
How do people like their Apple Watch for riding? Thinking of getting one with cellular connectivity so I can leave my phone at home when I am going for a ride.

Does strava work well on the Apple Watch? How about the heart rate monitor?

My assumption would be to use only the watch when I am doing small to moderate rides on known trails but still bring my phone when I am exploring new places so I can access Trailforks. Also would bring the phone on big days as backup.

I ride mainly in the PNW If that makes any difference.

Thought?
 
#2 ·
How do people like their Apple Watch for riding? Thinking of getting one with cellular connectivity so I can leave my phone at home when I am going for a ride.

Does strava work well on the Apple Watch? How about the heart rate monitor?

My assumption would be to use only the watch when I am doing small to moderate rides on known trails but still bring my phone when I am exploring new places so I can access Trailforks. Also would bring the phone on big days as backup.

I ride mainly in the PNW If that makes any difference.

Thought?
I use Cyclemeter. It works fine. Uploads to Strava, all that stuff. I continue to wear a chest strap. I haven't really worked much at comparing the watch's built-in HRM to the ANT+ HRM on my Trip 300 computer so I don't know how accurate the watch is while working out. It seems to do OK. It does have a fall sensor.
 
#4 ·
I use a Apple Watch, series 2 I believe. It works well enough. I usually put my phone in my bag, and start and stop Strava on the watch itself. I haven’t had any issues with it uploading to strava. Heart rate also uploads to Strava just fine too.
You actually don’t need LTE to do watch only. Just start Strava on your watch, and when you finish it will upload your results when it pairs back up with your phone. I do that for runs. On rides I prefer having my phone for emergencies though. This doesn’t work on the earlier iterations that didn’t have a built in GPS.

I’m not sure how accurate the wrist HR detector is though. I’ve had periods where it will say I’ve had the same HR for 20 minutes straight. There is no way I am that consistent.

If you are the type of person who likes to have a map, speed, distance, and so on always visible then it probably isn’t for you. But if you usually start Strava and then never look at your phone again until you finish the ride, then the watch is a bit handy.
 
#6 ·
I use a Apple Watch, series 2 I believe. It works well enough. I usually put my phone in my bag, and start and stop Strava on the watch itself. I haven't had any issues with it uploading to strava. Heart rate also uploads to Strava just fine too.
You actually don't need LTE to do watch only. Just start Strava on your watch, and when you finish it will upload your results when it pairs back up with your phone. I do that for runs. On rides I prefer having my phone for emergencies though. This doesn't work on the earlier iterations that didn't have a built in GPS.

I'm not sure how accurate the wrist HR detector is though. I've had periods where it will say I've had the same HR for 20 minutes straight. There is no way I am that consistent.

If you are the type of person who likes to have a map, speed, distance, and so on always visible then it probably isn't for you. But if you usually start Strava and then never look at your phone again until you finish the ride, then the watch is a bit handy.
thats good to know. I have not used Strava on my watch yet. 99% of the trails I ride I know well or are well marked so I dont need a map up while riding. Always take my phone for emergencies but would be nice to save from battery while on longer rides.

J-
 
#5 ·
I got the Apple Watch 4 for the fall alert for when I am ridding alone. Just Incase I was to hurt myself bad enough to not be able to call help. Was a bit disappointed that the Strava for the watch don’t let you use the beacon feature or the live segments. So I usually still run my phone for the beacon and the Strava in the watch for the heart rate. The heart rate seems to work well. Battery life could be better. I just have the GPS version.
 
#73 ·
I got the Apple Watch 4 for the fall alert for when I am ridding alone. Just Incase I was to hurt myself bad enough to not be able to call help. Was a bit disappointed that the Strava for the watch don't let you use the beacon feature or the live segments. So I usually still run my phone for the beacon and the Strava in the watch for the heart rate. The heart rate seems to work well. Battery life could be better. I just have the GPS version.
Well I crashed today, watch flew off and did not alert. I was going about 10 miles a hour to a sudden stop I would think that would of have triggered it. Unless the watch coming off some how prevented it? I escaped With a very bruised arm and leg but otherwise okay.
 
#10 ·
Best piece of tech I’ve ever had. I put it on as soon as I wake up every day, and even with a hour and a half ride using strava some days, the battery never goes below half. I have cellular too, and it’s such a relief being able to leave my $1500 iphone at home or in the car, and my wife still being able to contact me. Strava on it works amazing, haven’t had one issue except maybe the anxiety that my ride is lost during the sync back with my phone, but it’s never failed, just sometimes you gotta wait 5 min for it to do it’s thing. Hrm accurate when compared to my friends garmin, and the ecg, fall detection, AirPod music streaming, and awesome band selection all just icing on the cake after that.
 
#11 ·
AirPod music streaming,
Many people don't realize that the watch has a small amount of storage space. The newest model has 16GB, Series 2 only had 4GB. But that's still plenty for a workout playlist. And you connect your bluetooth headphones directly to the watch. It's not something I would use for riding, but it works great for running. Leave my phone at home, start strava, start music, and then go on a run. No wires, nothing in my pockets, but I still get music and everything gets tracked and synced when I get back.
 
#12 ·
I have an Apple Watch 4, use it almost every day for my rides.

I still run my Garmin 520 on the bars because I like to look at a few ride stats, so I have compared the distance and elevation between the two and they are always very close.

HR function seems to work great. Looking over the heart rate data, it seems pretty accurate to me.
 
#13 ·
I used to ride with the Apple Watch 3 and it wasn't my thing. I don't like stuff around my wrists when I ride (or do anything). Plus I wasn't a fan of the heart rate monitor while I rode. It was not completely accurate and when it linked to Strava, it would not register my stats correctly. A chest strap heart rate monitor was my best bet.

Granted the Apple Watch 4 may have improved greatly over the 3 in some of these categories. Based on these comments, it seems to work a lot better than the 3!
 
#14 ·
I have a Garmin Fenix and my wife has the Apple Watch 4 series and without a doubt the Apple Watch is 1000x better. I guess I like the Garmin because its rugged and maybe has better GPS for Strava but when I'm not on the trail I use it to check the time and maybe preview texts and calls. Her watch does everything AND its cheaper. I couldn't honestly recommend getting a Garmin over an Apple Watch unless I guess someone told me the Apple was super fragile and shouldn't be on a trail.
 
#19 ·
Mine easily goes 18 hours. I go to work at 5:30 am, usually put the thing in the charger about 10pm and it typically has about 30% battery charge left. I suppose it will be less if I'm using it as a cell phone. I haven't noticed that it's affected much by running GPS type apps like TrailForks, Strava, Cyclemeter, nor does the batter life appear to be affected much by heart rate monitoring.
 
#20 ·
I have had Apple Watches from the second model release. Use the 3 now the 4. I continue to use Garmin 1000 and 1030. For me the watch has three useful feature. 1. Cellular connectivity 2. Tells accurate time 3. Great music player especially with Air Pods. I have 400 songs on the watch and access to 40 million tunes when you have cell service. The HR readout is usually close to the Garmin and a chest strap but not always. Not positive why that is. The Garmin gives me so much detail on my metrics with easy to read data, the watch cannot compete. Great piece of gear for what it is. But having all the music you want on your wrist with wireless headphones is the real reason I own one. Cell service is awesome too but still cannot match the phone’s range for the most part. All in all, a very useful product.
 
#21 ·
Well, that's one plus for the Garmin's :)
The Fenix 5 & 935 get about 24hr with the GPS and HRM in use. About 2 weeks as a watch with notifications and wrist HRM on 24/7.

If you're already invested in the Apple ecosystem however, the Watch 4 isn't a terrible hardship to put up with. Looking good helps too :)

My ideal would be a Garmin 935 + touch screen with Samsung's Tizen OS.
 
#22 ·
Well, if you don't have an iPhone then the Apple Watch is completely pointless. It is indeed designed as part of the Apple infrastructure. If you don't need/want the much broader-based app library and the extensive non-workout capabilities, and instead just want a workout watch with GPS then the Fenix line will likely be fine if you're OK with the notoriously lame Garmin software. I do note that the Forerunner 935 is only slightly less expensive than an Apple watch.
 
#25 ·
Garmin software can be a pain but once you set it up, you only need to digest all the data it provides. They now can control your lights, provide radar read outs, power meter screen, oxygen blood data, weather, texts and info on issues calls and on and on and on. Of course all the other stuff like GPS, turn by turn directions, speed, HR, cadence, calories, time, date, temp, sun up, sun set, grade, and on and on and on. Not much else can compete with the upper lines of Garmin. Some but not many. Like Di2, a pain to set up but then you just use it.
 
#26 ·
This is all good info. I've been going back and forth between the Apple Watch 4 and the fenix. I have apple everything else(phone, laptop, ipad) But im still shallow enough to be hung up on how unattractive the apple watch is, bot compared to the Fenix, and to all of the other apple devices. As I mentioned, I'm shallow. ;)
 
#27 ·
Yeah, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I'm not a huge fan of the design elements of the Apple Watch....more of a Rolex guy when it comes to watch-as-jewelry. I find the Fenix more attractive, but for a data watch I am more inclined to prefer function over form.

(not an absolutist on this..."function" is a term relative to the needs of the particular individual so the buyer gets to define the meaning). At about the same price as an Apple Watch, some may prefer the function and/or appearance of the Fenix.
 
#30 ·
That’s why I stopped wearing mine. Worth too much. After a huge fireworks display, a couple of sumbags tried to make me give it to them. One had a knife but I had a Kimber 45 CDP II Ultra. After pulling the weapon and clicked the safety off, they started running and probably still are. Number one reason to wear an Apple product. Oh, I do love the Daytona. There used to be about 1.5 year wait time. A real nice piece.
 
#31 ·
That's why I stopped wearing mine. Worth too much. After a huge fireworks display, a couple of sumbags tried to make me give it to them. One had a knife but I had a Kimber 45 CDP II Ultra. After pulling the weapon and clicked the safety off, they started running and probably still are. Number one reason to wear an Apple product. Oh, I do love the Daytona. There used to be about 1.5 year wait time. A real nice piece.
And a good reason to wear a Kimber.
 
#32 ·
Hopefully someone can answer this question... I currently own and use an Apple Watch 3 for recording my rides using strava. I have a major issue with it that I’m hoping the new Apple Watch 4 will fix. The battery life on my Apple Watch 3 is dismal and doesn’t last much longer than 3 hours when using strava. During a normal day it is fine and has plenty of battery life left by the time I take it off at night, but strava sucks the life out of it.

Does anyone have any experience with the series 3 versus the series 4 regarding battery life while using strava? Is it any better?
 
#34 ·
Hopefully someone can answer this question... I currently own and use an Apple Watch 3 for recording my rides using strava. I have a major issue with it that I'm hoping the new Apple Watch 4 will fix. The battery life on my Apple Watch 3 is dismal and doesn't last much longer than 3 hours when using strava. During a normal day it is fine and has plenty of battery life left by the time I take it off at night, but strava sucks the life out of it.

Does anyone have any experience with the series 3 versus the series 4 regarding battery life while using strava? Is it any better?
Not much. The GPS in the watch sucks the battery hard. I only use the watch for music, cell coverage and time/temp. Garmin 1030 does the rest. The battery is not defective, only small.
 
#36 ·
When I first received my 3, I used it for to check out the accuracy of the watch comparing the data to the Garmin. Sometimes it matched up OK and other times the HR was way off. The speed was good but what I quickly discovered that using GMS and other metic tracking consumed a ton of battery. I often had less than 25% of battery after a moderate ride. I continue to use my Garmin cause there is no reason not to. Music via Air Pods and watch is like magic. My primary use of the watch. Cell capability tops it off for me. Phone stays hone but Garmin on board.
 
#38 ·
For those who are in the Apple ecosystem and use the watch to record rides I would suggest trying out the workoutdoors app. It records rides, has offline maps, can load GPX files, uploads to strava, and is very customize-able. I was hesitant to drop $4.99 on the app just to try it but I am really glad I did. This is a really great solution if you don't want a dedicated computer on the bars.
 
#39 ·
I had Series 4 and have Series 4 LTE.

There are reasons to have a sports specialty device such as Garmin Suunto products (there are more) but the Apple Watch is overall just a super product. You have utility, reliability, super display, function with other devices and app choices. My associates who do endurance competition still rely on other devices. For basic few hours or a day of exercise the Apple Watch with or without phone is tremendous.

The Abvio apps have been updated to import Apple Health data so you can use the native sports app in your watch and import to Cyclemeter later if for an example you use that to measure MTB separate from all cycling.

Series 4 display is tremendous whether the quality or quantity - by quantity, some faces have more data fields, and no matter what it has more pixels. Series 4 is great freedom from my phone because my job is a near constant on call status. There were no surprises here when the Wall St. Journal had some stats on the sales and market share. It's just a tremendous product.

On reliability, my Series 2 held up to bangs, knocks, trail building and salt water snorkeling. My wife did crack screens with some hits but there are cheap and easy to put on protection.
 
#40 ·
You can access apps on the screen but mostly they are useless due to small screen size. Many app builders have left the Apple Watch scene for greener pastures. The watch does three tasks very well. Holds 350 music tracks and access to 40 million if you are in cell coverage. So with just Air Pods (or some other brand wireless phones) and your watch, you have a near bottomless pit of music all without out your phone. It also works in providing you a cell phone while your phone charges safely at home. Lastly, if you pick the proper watch face, one glance gives you time, date, weather /temp, sun up/down time and direct access to your music with one tap. Using a Garmin 1030, I need nothing in the fitness arena while riding. So the emergency calling and man down features are very nice. Beyond that, meh....but it does the things I like better than any other devise imho.
 
#42 ·
Battery life is great. I did a 3 hour ride this morning and still had 77% remaining when I finished. The Workoutdoors app doesn't have separate MTB vs road cycling modes.

The only thing I have noticed now after a couple months of use is that the Workoutdoors app consistently comes up short on mileage compared to Strava. This comparison is between both apps running on the watch, not the phone. If you export the ride to Strava this is mitigated somewhat as Strava seems to correct the data somehow. On my ride this morning I recorded 18.9 miles whereas another guy with whom I was riding recorded 20.0 miles on his Garmin cycle computer (not sure which exact model). I have yet to determine if this is an issue with the watch or with the Workoutdoors app but at this point I am leaning towards the app as being the issue.
 
#43 ·
Battery life is great. I did a 3 hour ride this morning and still had 77% remaining when I finished. The Workoutdoors app doesn't have separate MTB vs road cycling modes.

The only thing I have noticed now after a couple months of use is that the Workoutdoors app consistently comes up short on mileage compared to Strava. This comparison is between both apps running on the watch, not the phone. If you export the ride to Strava this is mitigated somewhat as Strava seems to correct the data somehow. On my ride this morning I recorded 18.9 miles whereas another guy with whom I was riding recorded 20.0 miles on his Garmin cycle computer (not sure which exact model). I have yet to determine if this is an issue with the watch or with the Workoutdoors app but at this point I am leaning towards the app as being the issue.
I want to follow up on this. I contacted Ian with WorkOutDoors and even sent him a log of today's ride. He actually thinks there was some issue between watch/phone or something along those lines. I reset both and we will see how it goes on my next ride. I must say customer service for that app is outstanding.
 
#48 ·
That works both ways. Some have moved to the Apple Watch for reasons such as Office 365 notifications or the overall capabilities a specialized sports watch doesn't offer.

Our family tried a few music services before doing Apple's family plan. No one seems to be suffering for it. At times I think Apple robots might not be the best at creating playlists but the catalog and reliability are great.

Streaming would be more important here for a run or walk in the neighborhood more than for a bike ride.
 
#49 ·
My wife gave me an Apple watch 4 with cellular for father's day. I've tried to research it online to see if it would work for me before opening it. Like Cuyuna said "buyer gets to define the meaning of function."
Currently, I ride with an Apple phone in my hydration pack. I was previously riding with it mounted on a Rokform mount on the stem. I typically ride Trail-AM-Enduro trails as fast as I can 90% of the time. So after a few hard falls I stopped using the Rokform.
Options that I like about the Apple watch:
#1 Crash alert (Strava has been working on it since Aug. 2016 and still nothing)
#2 Cellular phone -In case I've fallen and can't get up
#3 Riding stats for Strava
#4 HRM (I know it's not as good as my chest strap but it's good enough for me)
#5 I can leave my phone and chest strap behind (1/2 pound savings)
#6 I can mount my tube/tools low on my bike and carry a water bottle.
#7 Music -I prefer to listen for animals and people that might be in the way. But may be nice someday.

So my question is for you guys that ride with a watch, is it really durable for the hard riding? Many times I come back and my gloves and elbow pads are covered with mustard plant, dirt, bark, dew, ect. I know nothing will stop a direct rock hit but I'm still replacing glasses that constantly get scratched from wiping dirt/mud off. Or am I expecting too much for my riding style?
 
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