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Fitness Tracker for indoor cycling

Indoor cycling has exploded in popularity, and for good reason. It is a fantastic way to get a great cardio workout while having a blast. Studios are popping up all over the country with a fun, energetic, vibe that can really keep you motivated.

Or, you can get the same studio feel in the comfort of your own home! Companies like nordic track and peloton, have disrupted the fitness industry. These companies provide a way to get a sweat-filled workout without having to drag yourself to the gym every day.

Tracking your progress while indoor cycling is extremely important. You want to be able to check your heart rate, calories burned, and distance covered.

Our Top Picks

We’ve selected the best fitness trackers for indoor cycling, from the ones which can be used daily and for pretty much any fitness activity. Let’s take a look at all of our top picks. We’ve selected the best fitness trackers, from the ones which can be used daily and for pretty much any fitness activity, to those whose usage is limited to basic cardio workouts. Let’s take a look at all of our top picks.

Top Choice: Garmin Forerunner 935

Mid-Range Option:  Fitbit Versa 2

Budget Pick: Half Sun Fitness Tracker  

Runner-Up: Fitbit Charge

Editors Choice: Garmin Forerunner 35

Top Choice: Garmin Forerunner 935 

The Garmin Forerunner is a premium fitness tracker that offers plenty of useful stats to help you attain your fitness goals. It’s suitable for indoor cycling, runners, and other outdoor activities. 

This tracker also shows your notifications alongside your fitness statistics. Through this watch, you can play your favorite tracks and adjust the volume or change the song without needing your phone or an iPod. 

The Forerunner 935 is a worthy investment because you can use it daily, and it also keeps track of your sleeping patterns. 

Core Features 

  • Bluetooth sensors to connect to the cycling power meter, foot pods, heart rate chest straps, etc.
  • GPS tracking 
  • 5 side control buttons 
  • 24-hour battery life 
  • Compatible with apps like Uber
  • No storage for music 
  • Display of essential metrics like balance, stride length, etc.
  • GLONASS – a combination of a heart rate sensor, thermometer, and altimeter

Pros 

  • Sleek, lightweight design 
  • GPS tracking
  • Sleep and heart rate monitor 
  • Customizable data measurement and display 

Cons 

  • The difference in quality between the Asian and global version- the global version is the better performer
  • Compatibility concerns between the Garmin app and the tracker

Mid-Range Option: Fitbit Versa 2 

This fitness tracker incorporates smartwatch elements and voice activation in a decent price range so that you can keep track of your fitness stats easily. You can easily check your messages, emails, and even play music directly through the Fitbit.

Some users also have an issue with the fact that it cannot connect to Google Fit or Apple Health. Overall, Fitbit Versa 2 is suitable for everyday fitness activity tracking. 

Core Features

  • Single-button control and touch screen
  • Built-in heart rate monitor 
  • AMOLED screen (upgrade from the old ones with an LCD display)
  • 5+ days of battery life 
  • Measurement of basic stats like sleep, food intake, steps taken, heart rate, and so on
  • 2.5 GB music storage 
  • Alexa integration
  • Single-swipe data summary 

Pros 

  • Lightweight design
  • Option to keep the display visible 24/7
  • Long battery life 

Cons 

  • No GPS tracking 
  • No option to play Spotify music offline 
  • Limited options to customize the screen display 

Budget Pick: Half Sun Fitness Tracker 

This extremely budget-friendly fitness tracker is suitable for anyone, including those who are new to working out and don’t want to splurge on a pricier fitness tracker. Despite the low price point, it’s loaded with some solid features, such as the fact that it is waterproof and has a comfy, skin sensitive silicone strap.

While it has most of the features that people need in a fitness tracker, perhaps the main drawback is that the quality is not 100% reliable, and important stats like heart rate may not be measured accurately and cannot be relied on, especially for someone who is involved in high-intensity fitness training. 

Core Features

  • Step counter
  • Heart rate monitoring 
  • Measures distance and calories burned 
  • Built-in sleep monitor 
  • Smartphone connectivity – phone calls, social media, and other notifications are displayed on the screen
  • Blood pressure tracking every 10 minutes while it is on

Pros 

  • Budget-friendly 
  • Blood pressure and heart rate monitoring 
  • Smartphone compatibility 
  • Soft strap

Cons 

  • Not water resistant 
  • Blood pressure measurements may not always be accurate 
  • Smartphone connectivity can cause problems occasionally 

Runner-Up: Fitbit Charge 3

Whether you go with the leather or the silicone strap, you’ll enjoy using the Fitbit Charge 3 with its slim design, touchscreen display, and smartphone connectivity. A plus point is that since you’re using it for indoor cycling, you won’t miss the lack of GPS tracking in the Charge 3. 

It’s ideal to turn the screen display off if you sleep with the watch on so that it doesn’t disturb you. Apart from that, the Fitbit Charge will display data in-depth, like the REM pattern of your sleep, making it a really handy tool to have around. 

Core Features

  • A bright, OLED display 
  • Single-button – all features are accessible through the touch screen
  • Accurate sleep tracking 
  • Water-resistant
  • Tracks metrics like distance covered, calories burned, steps, etc.
  • Customizable workout display
  • Heart rate monitoring

Pros 

  • Sleek, lightweight design
  • Displays notifications from your smartphone
  • Long battery life
  • Touchscreen control
  • Different color options for the wrist strap

Cons 

  • No GPS tracking 
  • Not fully compatible with iOS
  • The touchscreen can be annoying to control at times 

Editor’s Choice: Garmin Forerunner 35 

The Garmin Forerunner 35 is your basic, everyday fitness tracker with a range of useful features. This affordable fitness tracker is compatible with your smartphone and displays your notifications on the screen. What’s great about this amazing smartwatch is that it doesn’t just track your fitness; you can also control the music you play directly through the watch. The Garmin Forerunner 35 also monitors your heart rate constantly and includes bonus features that help you know what distance you’ve covered on your indoor cycle. 

There are certain features where the Forerunner 35 misses out, such as the capacity to store music, tracking other fitness activities, tracking sleep activity, etc. Overall, it’s pretty great if you’re just using it for indoor cycling. 

Core Features

  • GPS tracking
  • Heart rate monitoring 
  • 2 side control buttons 
  • Measures limited stats- cardio, indoor and outdoor running, and biking 
  • 9-day battery life (13 hours for high-intensity training)

Pros

  • Affordable
  • Smartphone compatibility
  • Bright screen display 

Cons 

  • Slow heart rate monitor
  • Slow GPS tracking 
  • Limited tracking of fitness stats 
  • Control buttons can be a bit confusing to use

A Final Word on Fitness Trackers for Indoor Cycling

Finding a fitness tracker for spin workouts can be confusing at times. That is why we wanted to compile this list. We want to help our readers cut through the noise and find the best fitness tracker that suits their needs. Feel free to reach out with any questions you may have. We hope you enjoy your new fitness tracker. Now it is time to workout!