When I cycle outdoors, I use a Garmin 1040 with a chest strap and power meter. I don’t plan to change that regardless of what smart watch I get. I currently have an Apple Watch Series 7. I am interested in potentially getting a different smartwatch for a few reasons: I mostly just use fitness a…

Does you FR 265 record power? Asking for a friend :blush:

Yes, I only use a head unit as it’s easier to see power numbers when doing a workout or time trial/triathlon

+1 for the LED of the newer Fenix, Epix and Enduro watches. If you get one of those, there are QuickFit Garmin quarter turn mounts for 2-3$ on aliexpress: [image]

[image] JoeX: You are almost always best off staying in one ecosystem - you have a Garmin head unit, get a Garmin anything else. Or you recognize the best device functionality and use the Garmin Edge for riding and don’t use the Apple Watch (or other smart watch) to do the same. If you can ri…

If you switch from Apple to Garmin be prepared to always be told your training is unproductive and your recovery is 4.5 years. But maybe you know that from your head unit already :slight_smile: This doesn’t exactly answer your question but I’ve been down this rabbit hole recently so I’ll share som…

I use the Garmin watch and the headset. I use the watch for heart rate as I really hate chest straps. It also serves as a backup in case something happens with the headset and does my livetracking.

I’m a triathlete and I love not having to run with my phone, therefore I have an Apple Watch Ultra 2. The trade off is that I charge it every second evening around dinner time. Being able to stream music, receive messages and call someone in an emergency (without having my phone with me) outweighs t…

There’s no need to lock yourself into a single ecosystem. I personally use intervals.icu as my aggregate and have the flexibility of switching between different bike computers and watches. I also make use of TP with my coach. Variety is the spice of life as they say.

It also serves as a backup in case something happens with the headset and does my livetracking. This is key IMO. I actually forgot my head unit for an event (not a race, more a ride event) - and I was able to load the route on my Fenix 7X. It buzzed when I needed to turn - and saved my butt whe…

A coworker gave me an older Forerunner and since I already use a 1040 with all your same sensors it seems like a natural extension of that and keeps my data in the same system. I also use intervals.icu for most things but I do like the sleep scores and having all my cycling data on my wrist as well.…

Best smart watch for cycling if I will also use a Garmin head unit

Equipment

Benjamin_Reynolds April 18, 2025, 1:40pm 23

Doesn’t sound like this is OPs reason, but I find a wheel speed sensor is pretty critical on my mountain bike.

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Best smart watch for cycling if I will also use a Garmin head unit

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