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Get Fit, Stay Fit, Feel Good - 2026

Das MotorRad said:
Was warmer this morning, 40F :laughing Do you wear a heart monitor or anything when you go for a pedal? I'm curious what my heart rate gets to, the watts I'm producing, etc. I'm a data nerd at heart, but a miserly nerd, so I've just been curious and haven't spent money on the question...yet
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I have an Apple Watch Ultra 2. It’s not as robust as the Garmins but for a relative Luddite like me, it’s great.


I do appreciate knowing my heart rate is highest on descents. It cracks me up.
 
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Das MotorRad said:
Was warmer this morning, 40F :laughing Do you wear a heart monitor or anything when you go for a pedal? I'm curious what my heart rate gets to, the watts I'm producing, etc. I'm a data nerd at heart, but a miserly nerd, so I've just been curious and haven't spent money on the question...yet
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I would recommend a Garmin, the basic running watches will have stuff for cycling. In my opinion, Apple Watches are horrible choices for exercise. They have all of the features you can want but the absolute worst battery life, which makes them fairly useless. Garmin and even Corros (spelling) watches will last 16 to 30+ days on a single charge for normal everyday use. Adding in monitoring during exercise will drain your battery but you’ll still get days and even weeks of use depending on the model.

For your power output (watts) you’ll need to get a power meter for your bike. You can sync them to your watch to log your ride.
 
Ridley said:
I would recommend a Garmin, the basic running watches will have stuff for cycling. In my opinion, Apple Watches are horrible choices for exercise. They have all of the features you can want but the absolute worst battery life, which makes them fairly useless. Garmin and even Corros (spelling) watches will last 16 to 30+ days on a single charge for normal everyday use. Adding in monitoring during exercise will drain your battery but you’ll still get days and even weeks of use depending on the model.
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I literally just had to charge mine again so it would have the juice to monitor my work out. You speak truth.
 
Ridley said:
My sister is a runner and she uses Apple. She’s always changing that thing. Seems so inconvenient.
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I love the thing so I got a rapid charger. It’s one more thing to think about but it was also free (a gift) and does a lot of things.
 
two wheel tramp said:
I love the thing so I got a rapid charger. It’s one more thing to think about but it was also free (a gift) and does a lot of things.
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For sure they do lots of awesome stuff, my kid has one and it’s actually been a great purchase for her. We are able to communicate with her (voice calls and text), without her having an “evil” smartphone. We all know how bad they can be for kids and access to social media. Sorry to divert from the original topic.

Lots of great choices for monitoring your workouts, just depends on what you want.
 
Ridley said:
I would recommend a Garmin, the basic running watches will have stuff for cycling. In my opinion, Apple Watches are horrible choices for exercise. They have all of the features you can want but the absolute worst battery life, which makes them fairly useless. Garmin and even Corros (spelling) watches will last 16 to 30+ days on a single charge for normal everyday use. Adding in monitoring during exercise will drain your battery but you’ll still get days and even weeks of use depending on the model.

For your power output (watts) you’ll need to get a power meter for your bike. You can sync them to your watch to log your ride.
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I appreciate the input, will be looking at Garmin and possibly side-eye Apple Watch. I like the idea of syncing a power meter to the watch :thumbup
 
Ridley said:
For sure they do lots of awesome stuff, my kid has one and it’s actually been a great purchase for her. We are able to communicate with her (voice calls and text), without her having an “evil” smartphone. We all know how bad they can be for kids and access to social media. Sorry to divert from the original topic.

Lots of great choices for monitoring your workouts, just depends on what you want.
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I still think the garmin sounds like the best tool if you’re serious about fitness. If I were to buy another it would most likely be a garmin.
 
Das MotorRad said:
I appreciate the input, will be looking at Garmin and possibly side-eye Apple Watch. I like the idea of syncing a power meter to the watch :thumbup
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What's said above Is the absolutely limiting factor of the Apple Watch. I couldn't ever do sleep tracking with mine cause the battery needed charging when I was gong to bed. Also, I figured out I don't like a the cellular portion of the watch on my wrist all the time...ran it for 3 months and shifted to a Garmin which doubles as a dive computer now with the Fenix 8.
 
I remember Rob @stangmx13 posting a review of different Garmin products, were they watches or the bike computer?
 
Can't recall. My educated guess is is bike comps. He'll settle this!
 
Without a techy way of measuring my progress I'm using what gear I'm in and what hole I'm breathing out of :laughing If I keep the same cadence/intensity then as I get stronger I should use a higher gear and less mouth breathing :teeth
 
Das MotorRad said:
I remember Rob @stangmx13 posting a review of different Garmin products, were they watches or the bike computer?
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Last year I asked Robert and Mike about bike computers and both gave me feedback. Based on his experience, Robert did provide quite a bit of information about the various Garmin models he’s used or has had direct interaction with. It was extremely informative. He may have had other reviews on watches that I missed.

Also for Garmin watches, some of the newer Fenix 8 models now have the ability for direct communication without being synced to a phone…like the Apple Watches. However, they are pretty pricey.

And, don’t overlook Corros watches. They are really liked by a bunch of my running friends and are a little less expensive than Garmin. Overall they get great reviews by various online peeps.
 
Look at me taking big walks! I think I can make it up the big hill that used to be my daily doddle. Getting stronger every day.

VO2 max went from 22.1 on 12/15 to 24.1 today. It was over 30. I’ll get there.
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Das MotorRad said:
I remember Rob @stangmx13 posting a review of different Garmin products, were they watches or the bike computer?
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Both. My current recs are Garmin Forerunner 265 watch and Edge 840 bike computer.

The wife has the 265. My 965 is not better-enough to justify the price diff, unless you hike w digital maps a lot or want golf functionality.

The Edge 850 is out so the 840 can be found on sale. The better screen on the 850 would be nice, but isn’t a game changer. I hate the lack of touchscreen on the 540/550.
 
stangmx13 said:
Both. My current recs are Garmin Forerunner 265 watch and Edge 840 bike computer.

The wife has the 265. My 965 is not better-enough to justify the price diff, unless you hike w digital maps a lot or want golf functionality.

The Edge 850 is out so the 840 can be found on sale. The better screen on the 850 would be nice, but isn’t a game changer. I hate the lack of touchscreen on the 540/550.
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Awesome, thanks @stangmx13 :thumbup :ride
 
I decided I’m buying a bike for my place in sf.

I can’t be bikeless for two whole weeks again. I will go insane.
 
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