Blaze cycling convert to steps for 7-day total and challenges?

[Slayer33]

Hi everyone, first post here. I have my new blaze on its way, but I am worried that what I intended to purchase it for is actually not going to work. The issue here is Cycling and Step conversion..

It doesn't exist?

I asked customer support on 3 separate occasions, with 3 different answers.

The 1st was to upgrade my charge to a blaze since I commute to work on my bike, 50 kilometers round trip. I asked if my bike ride will count towards my daily step total and i was told that yes, the blaze will track cycling.

2nd attempt - after searching the forums and web for cycling/step conversions for the fitbit surge i was unsuccessful so I contacted customer support again. This time the conversation was more thorough and the customer support person confirmed with me that yes, the blaze will include the cycling that i do and it will indeed count towards my challenges and 7-day totals. After this chat, I pre-ordered the blaze.

3rd attempt - This morning... (March 4th, 2016) - After seeing the Blaze out in the real world and waiting to receive mine in the mail, i couldn't find anything about the tracking of bike rides and the steps being counted.. so I contacted customer support once more.. this time, i was told that no, cycling activities will not go towards my 7-day totals or my challenges.

I'm heart broken and disappointed... I compete daily with my family and friends, i have worked so hard in the past 6 weeks trying to get steps in at work to the tune of an average of 18k steps per day and 19lbs lost to date (i started at 205lbs). I was looking forward to commuting to work on my bike now that spring is around the corner.. and was gearing up to tackle my friends and family and show them how much hard work i'm putting in... but all that is gone.. I feel like if Fitbit is to be an activity tracker it should be one, one that integrates the activities it supports within its application. Not just a pedometer.. which it is turning out to only be.

It doesn't seem that difficult to integrate bike rides and convert them into steps.. you have a heart rate sensor, you have an altimeter and with the blaze and surge gps tracking (blaze using phone gps). I'm sure there is a calculation that can be done to convert distance cycled into steps and count it towards your daily and weekly totals.

I'm at a tipping point... i have been using a garmin bike computer for years to track my cycling.. but i got the blaze cause i want to be included in my weekly totals and challenges. Since its not going to work like i assumed it would.. i may very well cancel and return my blaze when it arrives... reluctantly..

[Slayer33]

@bbarrera thats awesome how you've achieved some great benefits.. I am almost there as well and feel like maybe i don't need to compete in the fitbit ecosystem with family and friends, because I know I have lost the weight and hove gained a higher level of fitness.

But in the end, it still would be nice if they would be more than just a pedometer company.. it feels like they are trying to, but can't seem to incorporate things properly.

Sure there's no pleasing everyone by going one way or another, but giving us the options would be nice.

[goldenweekend]

Hey has anyone tried the Blaze for cycling yet? Does it track steps, or just HR, time, calories? With my Charge HR I used to wear it on my leg to get the step credit too!

[kerrycrow]

Biking does not equate to steps.  It is a rotation, it is not weight bearing (or much). Totally different than walking running etc.

You don't count steps for swimming, or yoga why would you do so for biking?  I just don't get it.

If you want to compare your fitness exercise with people you can look at active minutes.

I could put my fit bit in my shoe in the dryer and get a lot of steps, just as I could put it on my ankle while I am spinning on the bike.  I could be riding up a mountain and working really hard, or sitting on a spinner with no resistance and just going in circles.  

I don't understand trying to make the fitbit more than it is.  It IS a pedometer with some great features added.  

[Slayer33]

Then perhaps fitbit shouldn't advertise to be more than it is which is what
I was trying to point out. Yet they market their devices as more of a
fitness device then just a pedometer. The biggest attractor for fitbit is
the application and step counter/challenges... if you can't do other
exercises that count towards these totals then why even integrate them.
It's like going half way in vs going all in.

Also for users who can benefit from their insurance companies etc there are
rewards based on fitbit steps.. yet if they don't include other activities
then how is that fair to others. It's not fitbits fault but if it is going
to be a fitness tracker then it should be exactly that.

[kerrycrow]

it is a fitness tracker as well as step tracker.  it provides you the statistic of active minutes to compare all exercises against each other. 

sounds like it is an insurance probblem (and I have plenty of those!) not a fitbit problem

[Slayer33]

The issue here is simple. When you open your fitbit dashboard or your
mobile app what is the first thing you see? Steps. What do the challenges
base their stats on? Steps. What do the insurance companies base their
rewards on? Steps.

We aren't asking for a step for every 3 ft travelled, but they have the
resources to figure out based on activity how much effort you are putting
into a specific exercise to be able to calculate and convert that data into
steps.

What pull people into joining fitbit is the friendly competitions and the
community. What good is it when that main feature becomes useless when all
that effort you put into your exercise isn't validated.

To some of us not being able to get steps from cycling to compete with
family and friends takes all the fun away in my opinion.

But that's just my opinion. I started this post because I was told by a
fitbit customer service person that cycling would account for steps with
the blaze. And unfortunately that person who convinced me to buy the blaze
was wrong and now I am left disappointed and stuck with a device that
doesn't meet my needs.

[kerrycrow]

Yes I can see we are seeing this from two different perpectives.

I love to cycle but because I do that at the expense of not actually running or walking I have encountered physical challenges.  So I clearly see physically there is a HUGE difference between cycling and weight bearing exercise like walking or running.  I want to measure my walking/running with the fitbit and active minutes for total exercise

So I have acitve minutes as one goal and steps as another....they are related but not one to one.

 I don't worry about competing with my running friends on steps because I am not in their league.  They don't compete with me on how fast they ride their bike.  They are slow on their bike but they would kick my you know what on a run.

It is not Fitbits' job to equalize insurance programs, and it it not Fitbits job to make all challenges fair so I can compare my 2 hours of yoga to your 12 mile walk.  In my mind...that is what you are looking for.  Now if it makes econmic sense for them to do so, then I am sure they will come up with a way to give a METS score or something similar.

This is all my opinion and obviously we are on different sides of the fence.  I am glad for what fitbit offers me in terms of measurement. I am glad they don't try to make it one size fits all.  

[bbarrera]

---

@kerrycrow wrote:

I love to cycle but because I do that at the expense of not actually running or walking I have encountered physical challenges.

---

Gosh, I ride with an 800 member cycling club and don't know anyone that has physical challenges because they cycle instead of run. Sure there are wounded warriors that have special bikes, and they can't walk, but honestly that part of your post seems to be a bit of a stretch for an active person that focuses cardio on cycling or rowing or swimming. 

Fitbit is the company that employees sales people to sell companies on the idea of using Fitbit trackers to measure steps, and only steps, as a way to achieve healthier workforce and thereby offer reduction in health insurance premiums. Fitbit makes money when a company adopts the program and sells trackers to their employees. So yeah, I think they do have a responsibility to normalize fitness and align with CDC and World Health Organization, both of which recommend:

- 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous cardio

- 2 or more strength training sessions a week

Nowhere do they recommend 10,000 steps a day.

Checkout the latest from Fitbit's home page:

"ultimate fitness app" -- seriously???

"redefining fitness" -- I guess, if you redefine fitness as 10,000 steps a day

[kerrycrow]

Not a stretch at a all, and I recommend you do the research vs. relying on your 800 member club. Maybe you should talk to my physical therapist for confimation? 🙂

Just one article that I googled quickly: http://www.bicycling.com/training/health-injuries/frame-work-build-bone-strength

We should never judge others by only our own experience.  Again.  That is why I am happy that FB provides several ways to measure and set goals.

And you can track your moderate to vigourous cardio, per the CDC, using active minutes if that is the measure you want to use.https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/What-are-very-active-minutes

[bbarrera]

Uses phone's GPS to get distance, speed, and map. Blaze tracks time, HR, and calories.

[bbarrera]

---

@kerrycrow wrote:

Not a stretch at a all, and I recommend you do the research vs. relying on your 800 member club. Maybe you should talk to my physical therapist for confimation? 🙂

Just one article that I googled quickly: http://www.bicycling.com/training/health-injuries/frame-work-build-bone-strength

And you can track your moderate to vigourous cardio, per the CDC, using active minutes if that is the measure you want to use.https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/What-are-very-active-minutes

---

@kerrycrow with all due respect, that article is not research. Not even close.

You said:

"So I clearly see physically there is a HUGE difference between cycling and weight bearing exercise like walking or running."

You also suggested not judging by only our own experience, but isn't that what you did by saying cycling takes away from running and walking? I manage to both cycle and rack up walking/hiking miles. You also clearly see physically a HUGE difference between cycling and weight bearing exercise like walking or running.

Again isn't that judging? I haven't read that anywhere in the medical literature.

For example in the 2012 article 'Bone Health in Endurance Atheletes: Runners, Cyclists, and Swimmers' the authors survey a large body of research and distill that into summaries by sport. First interesting note:

"running generally has been associated with equivalent or slightly higher BMD than inactive controls"

(BMD = bone mineral density, an indicator of osteoporosis, and risk of stress fractures)

So in one objective measure, the research reveals that runners have equivalent or slightly higher BMD versus sedantary lifestyle.

that article concludes with:

"bone health in distance runners, cyclists, and swimmers tends to be inferior to that seen in athletes of other sports."

So other ball and power sports, e.g. basketball, leads to higher bone health, versus runners, cyclists, and swimmers.

Another good read 'A Systematic Review of Bone Health in Cyclists' extracted data from 13 studies, and it concludes with:

"In summary, cycling may not be as beneficial to bone health as running and other weightbearing activities. Cycling does not appear to be more detrimental to bone health than a sedentary lifestyle, and it is beneficial for cardiovascular health." 

So for bone health, running and cycling are roughly equivalent to sedentary lifestyle with respect to bone health, and both lead to clear cardiovascular benefits.

Re: Fitbit measures and goals. Unfortunately Fitbit has simplified heart rate zones, and I'm not able to consistently get accurate heart rate while cyling. Which makes it impossible to train above/below threshold. I'm often training in narrow heart rate zones, tempo work 145-148bpm, steady state intervals 151-155bpm, climbing repeats 156-160, and power intervals 165-172. I've found it impossible to use a Fitbit to train in those zones. Apple Watch was better but also unreliable, but at least with AW I could pair with bluetooth chest strap or Scosche Rhythm+ worn above my elbow (as Fitbit itself states, optical HRM works better higher up the arm).

Unfortunately I can't rely on Fitbit's active minutes calculation (due to HR accuracy issues), or Fitbit optical HRM for zone training. Hence my frustration because I like Fitbit and want them to follow-through on marketing hype/slogans like "ultimate fitness app" and "ultimate fitness super watch." If Fitbit is "the ultimate" I wouldn't still be using TrainingPeaks and Garmin. I expect "ultimate" to include VO2max, recovery advisor, heart rate variability, FTP, custom training plans I create, etc.

[Rich_Laue]

@goldenweekend ive moved your post to the main thread on steps vrs cycling.

[Iammattb]

Yup - it's all about the rewards system.  The blaze does track cycling/spin using the heart rate to count active minutes/calories burned.  Unfortunately fitbit only uses step count as a comparison tool instead of something like active minutes or calories burned.  Considering many of the earlier trackers lacked the ability to track heart rate or stairs climbed and the new Alta lacks both, I doubt we'll see a change anytime soon.  Honestly fitbit really should determine a set group of sensors that will be standard throughout every device they offer.  At the very least, active minutes, calories burned and stairs climbed should be included in the friend comps even if ranking is based on steps.

[Snowrose]

I agree... I just rode my bike 6,2 km and the fitbit only shows the 2,19 I've walked so far today... I don't feel very motivated by this... Do I have to have my phone set to sync all day for it to figure out I've been on my bike and not on a bus the 6,2 km?

[Jim_NJ]

I tweeted Fitbit support about this: " @FitbitSupport Blaze doesn't count cycling toward steps, meaning I can't compete w/Friends, and my insurance doesn't see my activity. Help!"

Here is their response:  

Fitbit Support ‏@FitbitSupport 6h6 hours ago

 Hi! Please note that step count isn't the best indicator of calories burned for cycling. Keep in touch for any questions.

I'm going to remain civil, but I could have a few choice words for this 'response'.  I re-asked my question to Fitbit Support, linking to this discussion:

@FitbitSupport Please answer my question about insurance and competing with Fitbit Friends. Others have same prob https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Blaze/Blaze-cycling-convert-to-steps-for-7-day-total-and-challenges/...

I'll let you all know if I get a responsive response from them.

[Nocturnx]

I can understand why people would want cycling to count as steps for the challenges but riding a bike is not the same thing as taking steps.  It is 2 different movements and not the same activity.  They are "Step" challenges not "Cycling" challenges.  I agree it's disappointing Fitbit only promotes step challenges, perhaps if they had challenges for specific activities like cycling that would be a happy solution or even active minutes which was already suggested.  

I also ride stationary bike at high intensity every day and get no steps counted.  So yeah, I lag behind all my friends in step count.  But I can see my active minutes, miles traveled, calorie burn, heart rate, and weight loss happening.  Those are the things that really matter.

[Jim_NJ]

" perhaps if they had challenges for specific activities like cycling that would be a happy solution or even ctive minutes which was already suggested. "

Agreed.  It would be better IMHO to count calories or active minutes instead of steps in the challenges because just counting steps excludes many people from the challenges.

[Jim_NJ]

Fitbit support just gave me another 'non-repsonse response':

Fitbit Support ‏@FitbitSupport 1h1 hour ago

1/2 Sorry for the delay. Steps from GPS activities are counted towards a challenge because you're wearing your Fitbit Blaze.  

2/2 Check this out for more info about Challenges: http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/Challenges-FAQs …. Keep us posted!

I'm going to try to pin them down one simple question at a time:

53m53 minutes ago

Thank you. Can you please answer this question with a 'yes' or 'no': Does cycling count toward challenges?

[Jim_NJ]

It looks like the answer is that cycling counts, but innacurately.  I'm riding tonight, and plan to put my blaze in my sock to see what happens.  

Fitbit Support ‏@FitbitSupport 1m1 minute ago
1/2 You're welcome. Yes it will count towards your Challenges since you're wearing it while cycling.
Fitbit Support ‏@FitbitSupport 1m1 minute ago
2/2 Please note that cycling is not a step-based activity so you may receive incorrect step data. Hope this helps!

[kerrycrow]

If you put your Blaze in your sock while biking you will get steps to count.

They will not relate much to actually measuring the activity you are doing from a fitness standpoint.  I could sit on a spin bike with a fitbit in my sock and twirl around with no resistance and earn a lot of steps.  Or I could put my fitbit in my sock and ride up a mountain, and earn the same number of steps I did on the spin bike while working much harder.

I guess it depends on how badly you want to get "steps" for biking.  And whether you care if the measurement is meaningful or not.