Smartwatch vs Cycling Computer
GPS or multisport watches are becoming ever more sophisticated. Even the mid-range ones are starting to outperform most cycling computers: not only do they have the same level of functionality and post-ride data analysis but because they’re on your wrist they can be smarter: they track what’s going on with your body when you’re off the bike as well as on it. And also because they’re on your wrist they’ll track pretty much any sport you do, whether that’s running, swimming, hiking, rowing, skiing or even golfing!
Transcript
00:00Should your next bike computer be a watch?
00:02GPS watches or multi-sport watches are becoming ever more sophisticated.
00:06Their functionality is as good as or better than most cycling computers now.
00:11And because they're on your wrist, they can be smart.
00:13They're not restricted to bike measurements.
00:16They can track your fitness.
00:17They can track your sleep.
00:18They can track your breathing.
00:20They can track pretty much everything.
00:22So the thing we're going to ask today is,
00:24do you really need a bike computer anymore?
00:26Will a watch do?
00:30So, I mean, most of us use either a computer or a watch,
00:34which I have to admit I have been using recently,
00:36in order to collect data about their predominantly cycling,
00:40being cycling weekly, that's our primary concern,
00:44but also other areas of health and fitness.
00:47Can you go through with me the differences
00:49in terms of the data that I can collect on a computer
00:52versus the data that I can collect on a wrist-based watch?
00:55Yeah, so first of all, I mean,
00:56the watch is going to do the same things that your computer does,
01:00the same basic things.
01:01It's going to pair with peripheral sensors.
01:03It's going to pair with your power meter
01:05and your heart rate monitor, first of all.
01:06GPS watches also have their own heart rate monitor wrist base,
01:11which is the green light that wakes us up in the middle of the night.
01:16So they don't even need a heart rate monitor, a chest strap.
01:20In terms of data collection,
01:21you can customise the screens to fit your needs.
01:24You can customise the screens to display the metrics that you want to see.
01:29With the Wahoo Element Rival, you've got perfect zoom,
01:31which means you can basically narrow it down to your favourite metric,
01:36which is like speed, if you're on your bike probably,
01:39or you can zoom out again to include your heart rate monitor,
01:42your power, average speed, all that kind of stuff.
01:45Where they're really good is that they can just collect so much more data
01:48than a bike computer.
01:50Something like the Garmin 1030 here,
01:52it's going to give you a VO2 estimate, VO2 max estimate and an FTP estimate.
01:56It's quite a clunky kind of thing, really,
01:59compared to something like any of these, the Suunto 5,
02:02the Garmin Fenix 6, which we've got there,
02:05which, you know, they're on your wrist 24-7
02:08all the time they're tracking your fitness.
02:10They also do stuff that wearables do, that Fitbits do, Apple Watches do,
02:14which is calorie burn, step counting.
02:17It seems to me like the computer,
02:20normal sort of head unit that we've been using for the last few years,
02:23they are capable of tracking stress,
02:27but it's something that you need to make a distinct effort to do each day,
02:32whereas with a wearable watch, it's on your wrist all the time
02:35and just constantly communicating.
02:37So it makes it more of a background check that's just part of your life
02:41without you having to really kind of make any effort.
02:44Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
02:45I mean, they're even really sophisticated things that they can do.
02:48The new Garmin Enduro, I think the Fenix 6 does the same.
02:53It's got an oximeter where it can actually measure the oxygen levels in your blood.
02:57So they can just collect so much data
02:59and it's really up to you whether you want to use it or not,
03:01but basically there's loads of data and it's all there.
03:09Well, GPS used to be a real battery killer for watches
03:11because they're small, they've got smaller batteries, obviously,
03:15but the latest ones are really, especially Wahoo here,
03:18Wahoo really upped the ante with a battery life in GPS mode of 24 hours for the Element rival.
03:26More recently, we've just seen the Garmin Enduro released,
03:29which has, let me just check this, 80 hours claimed in GPS mode.
03:33And it's helped out by a powered glass solar charging lens,
03:38which is basically a solar panel via the glass,
03:42which gives you an extra 10 hours of charge if that's enabled.
03:47Whereas head units like the 1030 or the 1030 plus now,
03:5220 or 24 hours, I think it is for the 1030 plus,
03:57which is considerably less, obviously,
03:59even though until recently that was considered pretty good.
04:04The Wahoo Element Roam here does 17 hours.
04:09So you can see it's quite a lot less now with computers.
04:13So the watch is really, really, they're really up there with the battery.
04:16It's not anything to worry about anymore.
04:18Okay, I mean, that does lead me to the question though,
04:20that the head unit might be 24 hours,
04:23but that might last you several weeks worth of riding.
04:26So does that still mean that the head unit wins out there?
04:29The Enduro and the Fenix 6, you've got sort of 70 or 80 hours in GPS mode.
04:34In just smartwatch mode, you've got,
04:36I think Wahoo says something like two weeks for the Element rival.
04:41So you're going to have to do a lot of riding
04:46to really worry about charging it up again.
04:54All right, so I'm looking for a win for the computer, I have to admit.
04:58What about aerodynamics?
04:59I've got a computer on the front of my bike
05:02and in an ideal world, it's paired with a mount
05:05that is more aerodynamic, that is such a thing,
05:08versus having this on my wrist.
05:12I have a horrible feeling that the watch is going to win out again,
05:14but go on, let me know.
05:16Yeah, you're right about the aerodynamic mount.
05:17I mean, the Wahoo computers,
05:20the original Bolt was designed with Dimitris Katsanis,
05:23the designer of the UK sport track bike.
05:25And they actually concentrated on making the Wahoo
05:27more aerodynamic than the other leading computer.
05:31And they succeeded.
05:32But a computer is still going to be less aerodynamic on your bike
05:37than no computer at all.
05:39So there are still just a few watts,
05:42but watts nonetheless to be safe from wearing a watch on your wrist.
05:45And there's no aerodynamic penalty, I assume,
05:48or no notable aerodynamic penalty for having this on my wrist?
05:52I reckon they probably, I don't know, how many do you think a watt?
05:58Yeah.
05:59I mean, the other thing is that if you're riding a time trial bike,
06:01I mean, this was measured with a road bike,
06:04designed for a road bike for an out front mount.
06:06If you're on a time trial bike,
06:07quite often there isn't really the place,
06:10it doesn't suit an out front mount.
06:11You can't literally fit one on because of the integrated bar.
06:14I've fashioned some quite interesting kind of contraptions
06:18out of zip ties and mounts
06:20and positioned it between the extensions.
06:23But no, it's not naturally easy, is it?
06:26And there's always the chance that you're going to hide it anyway
06:29if your elbows are close together,
06:31you're not going to be able to see it if it's down there anyway.
06:32Or you accidentally knock the button and it's very upsetting.
06:35Absolutely.
06:39So basically, wherever it is,
06:41it's not going to be more aerodynamic than a watch.
06:43And the next metric we're going to look at is weight.
06:46And I'm pretty sure I know what's going to win here.
06:48But go on, tell me the numbers.
06:50Okay, so something like the 1030 or the 1030 plus,
06:53that's over 100 grams.
06:54That's about 120, 123 grams, something like that.
06:58Smartwatches, you're looking at just 50 grams,
07:02around the 50 gram mark.
07:04And I mean, I know it's only a small amount,
07:05you know, 50 grams or 70 grams here and there.
07:08But cycling is a weight-obsessed sport, as we know.
07:11People always want what's lighter.
07:12Exactly. If you're a hill climber, you're interested in that.
07:15I suppose that you do have to remember
07:16that you are going to be carrying that around on your wrist all the time.
07:19And I would say, I do find that it is a noticeable weight,
07:23actually, on my wrist.
07:25Although it's lighter, it's in a place where you're going to notice it
07:27much more than perhaps adding it to your bike that weighs, say, eight kilos.
07:31Yeah, yeah.
07:37So, so far, the watch is winning out, really.
07:40It's got better battery life, it's more aerodynamic,
07:43it's lighter, and it collects data constantly,
07:46and it collects more of it.
07:48Now, the head unit, the humble head unit
07:51that we've been using for many years,
07:52has to have its positives.
07:54One of those first really obvious positives is potentially navigation.
07:58So how do they perform against each other there?
08:00Okay, well, basically, that's going to come down to screen size.
08:03And with a GPS watch, you're lucky if you get a display
08:07that's bigger than an inch and a half.
08:09You're not really going to be able to look at a map properly on that.
08:11Even though the Garmin Fenix 6 and the new Enduro,
08:14they do actually have proper mapping features.
08:16But you're really going to be squinting to look at them.
08:20And if you're riding your bike, you're going to have to go like this.
08:24You know, you're definitely going to have to take one hand off the bar
08:26to look at it properly.
08:27So it's really not ideal.
08:29Something like the 1030 or the 1030 Plus,
08:32that's got a 3.5-inch screen,
08:34which is like home cinema-like compared to that.
08:39So yeah, you can follow a map, it's easy.
08:42The map's right there, you can follow it, no problem at all.
08:45So yes, the computer, even the, you know,
08:48even the smaller ones, the Roam has a 1.7-inch screen
08:53and that's fine for following mapping as well.
08:57And if I were to load a route,
08:58this is something I do all the time on my Garmin 1030,
09:01which we have on the table there,
09:02but if I have to load a route onto my computer,
09:05obviously I follow it, it gives me left, right directions.
09:07Can the watch do the same thing?
09:10After a fashion, yeah, yeah.
09:12It's not really necessarily turn-by-turn breadcrumb.
09:16The more sophisticated watches like the new Garmin Enduro
09:20can actually navigate to a place from the watch
09:23without you having to upload the GPX file.
09:26But it's nowhere near as good.
09:29The watches and the computers both use
09:30the same satellite navigation systems.
09:35There's GPS and the Russian GLONASS
09:37that they both commonly use.
09:39So accuracy is pretty much the same.
09:43It's all just down to the screen size,
09:44just how readable they are.
09:46The computer's position on your stem
09:48or in front of your stem
09:50is obviously so much better.
09:51If you're cycling, you just look at it.
09:52It's there right under your nose.
09:54You can see where you're going.
09:55You can see all of your metrics,
09:57even the Wahoo Element Roam,
09:59which has a 1.7-inch screen.
10:02You can easily look at the maximum 11 metrics
10:04on it all at once.
10:06No problem at all without squinting.
10:08There is also mountain biking though.
10:10I have used the watch for mountain biking, gravel riding.
10:14There's pros and cons of that.
10:15Obviously, I'm off-road,
10:16so I'm not so likely
10:18to constantly keep checking the map
10:19because actually I'm focused on
10:20what's in front of me.
10:22And it's also a little bit safer, I suppose.
10:24But then where I'm going off
10:27in the wrong direction,
10:28I have no idea
10:29because I haven't got a map in front of me.
10:31So I guess there's pros and cons.
10:38It does leave us with one final thing to look at,
10:41and that is price.
10:42These watches do an awful lot.
10:45Do they come with a price to match?
10:47So yes, they are more expensive.
10:48The top Garmin watch, the Enduro,
10:51costs a penny under 700 pounds.
10:53Now compared to the top head units,
10:55the 1030 Plus is now a penny under 520 pounds.
10:59So it's 180 pounds cheaper
11:01than the Garmin Enduro watch,
11:02which is 180 pounds is quite a lot of money.
11:05Well, one of the cheapest GPS multi-sport watches
11:08that does all the smart stuff
11:10is the Sigma ID Tri.
11:12That's around 160 pounds,
11:14depending on where you look.
11:15So yeah, on average,
11:16the GPS smart watches are more expensive.
11:19Okay, so we began this video with the question,
11:22should your next cycling computer be a watch?
11:25What's the answer?
11:27Okay, so if you're a pure roadie,
11:28you don't want any fitness tracking,
11:29you don't want any adaptive training advice,
11:32you don't want any calorie burn,
11:33you don't want any step count.
11:35All you want is your head unit there
11:37on your bike in front of you,
11:38tracking your cycling.
11:39Then yes, a head unit's all you need,
11:42and it's going to be cheaper as well.
11:44And what if you're venturing outside of cycling,
11:46you're doing a few other sports,
11:49is that where really the watch starts
11:50to become a more inviting option?
11:53Yeah, I mean, if you're doing other sports,
11:55I mean, cyclists these days,
11:56we go swimming and we go running,
11:59as well as our cycling,
12:00we don't do them all one after the other.
12:05But if you're doing other sports,
12:07if you're doing activities,
12:08if you're interested in your general fitness,
12:09your body condition, your recovery,
12:12all those things,
12:12then yeah, a watch, absolutely a watch.
12:16And you do, I mean,
12:18the honest truth is that my Garmin 1030
12:20down there has a massive chunk missing out of it,
12:23and that is from where I did go running,
12:25holding my Garmin,
12:27because I didn't have another option
12:29of recording where I'd gone.
12:30So, you know, there are benefits.
12:34The case in point.
12:35Yes, exactly.
12:37Okay, yeah.
12:39But can a watch actually replace a cycling computer?
12:42Would any of us have a watch as our only device?
12:48I don't think we would really, would we?
12:50At this point, no, I can't imagine.
12:52I would never line up to a road race
12:54with my trusty watch.
12:56It's not going to happen.
12:57No, no.
12:58I would feel deeply unprepared.
13:00Ideally, if you can afford it,
13:02if you're that kind of person
13:03who does lots of sports,
13:04lots of activities,
13:05and is interested in fitness tracking,
13:08then you do need both.
13:10But as we've seen,
13:13it's going to be an expensive business owning both.
13:16So really what you've got to do
13:17is work out how much you can justify spending
13:20on your hobby.
13:21There is a certain issue though,
13:23if you are choosing to use both,
13:25in that you do have potentially a data disconnect,
13:30unless you're very, very dedicated.
13:31So as an example,
13:33I've been using the Garmin Fenix watch,
13:35and I've been using that
13:36when I've been doing a bit of cross training,
13:37bit of gym, bit of running.
13:39And that obviously all goes straight to Garmin Connect.
13:42And if I go for a bike ride on my,
13:44and I'm using the computer,
13:46if I'm doing a bike ride outside,
13:47everything goes onto the computer
13:49and it also goes to Garmin Connect.
13:51But then if I do an indoor ride
13:54on the Sufferfest or Zwift,
13:56that app sends the data directly to TrainingPeaks,
14:00bypasses Garmin Connect.
14:02And that means that all of the body battery
14:05and all the incredible things
14:06that this watch can do for me,
14:09it's not actually going to be able to do that.
14:11Yeah, it's going to skew your watch's data really, isn't it?
14:13Exactly, which is entirely user error.
14:15It's because I have been too lazy
14:17to wear the watch whilst doing my Zwift session
14:19and then upload it.
14:20So it's my problem.
14:22It's not Garmin's problem,
14:23but I expect I'm probably not in the minority
14:27in being perhaps not that dedicated
14:29to making sure that all of this data
14:31is perfectly compiled.
14:32Okay, so Simon,
14:33you've spent a good amount of time
14:35testing all of these.
14:35You've written an entire feature on it.
14:37Any final thoughts, things people should consider?
14:40Well, I think if you enjoy gadgets
14:42and you enjoy data,
14:44then you've got as much
14:46as you can really deal with here.
14:48But as we've said,
14:49you've got to be thorough
14:50with your scheduling of wearing these devices
14:53or using these devices
14:54and you've got to be very thorough
14:56with filing your data.
14:58Otherwise, it's not as accurate as you'd like.
14:59But if you want to do all that,
15:02if you enjoy it all,
15:03then owning a watch and a head unit,
15:06probably, if you can afford it,
15:07if you want to spend that much money on them,
15:09then that probably is the best thing for you.
15:12So there is your answer.
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