You have plenty of choices if you’re looking for a new cycling watch. As technology has advanced and dropped in price, specialist sports and fitness watches have flooded the marketplace. These wristwatches carry complex and detailed workout tracking and health monitoring tools. Even smartwatches have gotten in on the action.
To help you find the best cycling watch for you, we’ve searched high and low to find the cream of the crop. In our list below, you’ll find a range of comprehensive cycling watches that will give you all the information you need to maximise training and everyday options that can help you keep more of a casual eye on your progress.
Read on to see the best cycling watches in 2021.
The best cycling watches shortlist:
• Polar Vantage V2
• Apple Watch Series 6
• Samsung Galaxy Watch 4G
• Suunto 9 Baro
• Polar Grit X Cycling Bundle
• Fitbit Charge 4
Why do I need a cycling watch?
Cycling watches and fitness tracking watches perfectly marry functionality with convenience. They are unobtrusive devices that sit comfortably on your wrist tracking everything, from your walk to the kitchen to a three-day bike-packing adventure across a National Park. They have something to offer everyone at every level of fitness.
More specifically, cycling watches offer road and off-road cyclists excellent feedback and detailed metrics, from heart rate and calories burnt to the route taken, elevation climbed and top speed. While satisfying to read for its own sake, this information can be used to show your progress, record your best times and identify any areas of performance that need a little more work.
Further to this, some cycling watches have programs that will crunch all the data for you, letting you know everything from your peak "power zone". Some can even feedback when your body shows signs of overtraining and promote that you have a day or so of rest to prevent injury.
If you are someone who enters competitions, the best cycling watches can be a valuable ally. Live feedback on your heart rate and oxygen levels can let you better adapt to what your body needs, while route guidance can keep you updated with upcoming technical sections or hill climbs. As the best cycling watches are multidiscipline, you can access similar information for other sports too, including running and swimming (which is ideal for triathlons!) and more. Social media and similar sharing functions also mean that stats, metrics, and accomplishments are shareable with friends for support and friendly competition.
If you’re not competitive, don’t worry; cycling watches still have plenty to offer you. In addition to being multidiscipline watches that can track other outdoors, sporting and gym-based exercises, many of the watches have smart features. This means that you can control certain smartphone features from your wrist. These can include answering texts and calls, receiving weather updates, controlling music playback and setting reminders.
The best cycling watches 2021
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The Polar Vantage V2 watch boasts comprehensive fitness tracking. Here you’ll find a heart rate monitor, GPS tracker and sleep tracker. The FuelWise feature will keep you informed about when, what, and how much to eat to fuel your exercise, helping to fight inadvertent dehydration or energy crashes. Training Load Pro is another feature focussed on recovery - it will track body strain and provide information for optimising training. Are you still feeling sore after the weekend outing? The Polar Leg Recovery test will run you through a quick test, letting you know whether you’re well-recovered and safe to get back on the bike.
With the purchase of a Power sensor, you can use Cycling Performance Test - this extra feature will accurately track your cycling progress, let you know your power zones and peak performance regions. Hill Splitter is another feature of interest to cyclists - it breaks down uphill and downhill performance for more granular feedback. Plan a route with an app called Komoot, transfer it to the watch and you’ll get route guidance as you cycle.
The Polar Vantage V2 is compatible with MyFitnessPal and Strava, as well as many other apps and trackers.
Weight: 52g | HR: Wrist (chest strap optional) | Water resistance: 100m | Battery: Up to 40h tracking exercise
The Suunto 9 Baro is robust to the point of being overengineered. Suunto has tested the watch using US military procedures and had the gadget face the toughest of weather conditions - it can handle pretty much anything. So, it’s a safe bet for anyone who likes to take the rugged and overgrown routes.
As well as being indestructible, the Baro 9 has plenty of tracking metrics alongside one of the industry's best GPSs, which uses motion sensing to increase its reporting accuracy. The Suunto 9 Baro can report on barometric altitude and also provide detailed heat maps and route guidance. The Suunto smartphone app is a nicely presented software and is compatible with Koomot, Strava and Under Armor Run.
The battery life is impressive. If you’re out touring, you can have a GPS running for up 170-hours. However, if you’re closer to home, you can opt for greater accuracy while dropping the overall battery life to around 25 hours.
Weight: 81g | HR: Wrist | Water resistance: 100m | Battery: Up to 170h tracking GPS (Tour mode)
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The Polar Grit X is a powerful watch for tracking multiple disciplines, but with the Cycling Bundle, its cycling credentials get a serious boost. The Cycling Bundle includes a Polar H10 Heart Rate monitor, a handlebar mount that allows the watch to sit like a traditional cycle GPS and an exclusive Polar-branded saddlebag.
Going further than simple heart rate and GPS tracking, the Grit X collects enough data from other areas of your day to assess and optimise your training and cycle times. These features include Hill Splitter, Training Load Pro body stress tracker, FuelWise refuelling guide and a FitSpark Training Guide.
The Grit X is also adept at helping you when you’re out on the road or trials, with route guidance (via Komoot) and live weather information. It’s also compatible with Strava Live Segments, letting you add a little competition into a ride, even if you’re rolling solo.
Weight: 64g | HR: Wrist (chest strap optional) | Water resistance: 100m | Battery: Up to 40h tracking GPS
Fitbit is probably the first brand that pops into your head when you think “fitness watch”. It’s incredibly popular with all demographics and with its reasonable pricing and low-fuss operation, it’s no surprise why.
From the wrist, it continuously monitors the body, providing detailed information throughout the day. When it comes to cycling, select the correct tracking profile and head off - the watch will track sport-specific stats, providing you with all you need to maximise and refine your routine. The GPS does a stellar job of tracking your route.
Just note that it’s not the best option for keeping you informed during tracking. It’s used best as a retrospective report viewed on a smartphone. Thankfully, the Fitbit app is a great, easy-to-use tool.
If you’re looking for the ultimate cycling watch, check the other recommendations. However, general sporty folks will be happy with what it offers.
Weight: 64g | HR: Wrist | Water resistance: 50m | Battery: Up to 7 days
With excellent performance tracking and analysis available across many sports and exercises, the Garmin Vivoactive 4 is a strong watch for cyclists. It has heart rate monitoring and GPS tracking, and several smartwatch features including phone notifications and contactless payment using Garmin Pay. Handily, Garmin has included onboard memory for music playlists - coupled with the Bluetooth connectivity, this means you can head out for a cycle a listen to music straight from the watch.
For multidiscipline sportspeople, there are dozens of workout plans and exercise trackers. Garmin Coach is a particular highlight, offering personalised training guidance to help you achieve your time/distance goals.
Garmin Body Battery tracks your physical energy, letting you know when your body is primed or ready to rest. The Vivoactive 4 works with the Garmin Edge Cycling Computer (sold separately) and will start and stop tracking with the starts and stops of a ride.
Weight: 50g | HR: Wrist | Water resistance: 80m | Battery: Up to 18h tracking GPS
The Apple Watch Series 6 is powerful and versatile. In daily life, Series 6 will keep a note of your burnt calories and movement, as well as more comprehensive metrics such as blood oxygen levels. It’ll even run ECGs.
Things are just as thorough when you’re working out and exercising. The Apple Watch Series 6 will measure your heart rate and burnt calories, alongside marking your elevation, distance and location. These statistics can be shared with fellow Apple users, allowing you to build a little community of cycling fans (and maybe even engage in a little healthy competition).
The Series 6 also supports cycling-specific apps, such as the comprehensive Cyclemeter, the ever-popular Strava, and the handy Komoot route-planner. The Apple Maps app is also supported by the Apple Watch Series 6, allowing easy and accurate access to route guidance.
Weight: 47g | HR: Wrist | Water resistance: 100m | Battery: Up to 18h
The Galaxy Watch is a great watch for Samsung smartphone users. Designed primarily as a smartwatch there are countless convenient features, such as music controls, notifications and call alerts. Spotify playlists can save to the device for easy listening.
Fitness fans will benefit from dedicated tracking profiles for different sporting activities, including cycling. All the usual aspects of your exercise, including heart rate and GPS route, are tracked and recorded.
While there are more comprehensive options available, the Galaxy Watch 4G will please Samsung using sporty types.
Weight: 63g | HR: Wrist | Water resistance: 50m | Battery: 7 days light usage