Cycling km not registering in dashboard

[LHW1]

Went for a cycle today and set my Blaze to bike. The km done haven't registered on my dash board or converted into steps for my Weekend Warrior challenge. I'm new to all this am I missing something???

[Rich_Laue]

@LHW1 which of the 3 ways did you use to track your cycling? 

Auto detect - this is when you do nothing and let fitbit decide that you were riding a bike. Fitbit has no way to measure miles so they will not be displayed this way. 

Set the Blaze for Bike, no phone with you - again while the start/stop time is known there is no way to measure distance. 

Connected GPS, phone is with you - with the GPS the Blaze can measure disttance. 

It is also possible to have the phone with you but the connected GPS turned off. 

The short answer is without knowing which mode we can not answer your question. 

Was the phone with you, and did you get the "Let's Go", or the "Phone not Found"?

[LHW1]

I had my phone with me and set it to bike. I'm new to all this - have I missed something? Thanks for your reply.

Sent from my iPhone

[bbarrera]

Using Bike mode on Blaze will result in very few steps, as you aren't stepping. What you want to do for steps is:
- don't use bike mode, and disable biking in SmartTrack
and
- put Blaze in pocket or wear on ankle

or

- add your phone as a 2nd tracker using Fitbit MobileTrack and leave Blaze at home

I've been using the 2nd option and I get about 400-600 steps per mile, depending on my cadence. The basic rule of thumb when using MobileTrack and phone in jersey pocket is: 1.5-2.0 x cadence in RPMs x minutes cycling. So if I rode for 90 minutes with average cadence of 85rpm then I get:
Low end: 11,475 steps (90*85*1.5)
High end: 15,300 steps (90*85*2)

Hope that helps.

[LHW1]

Thanks very much that really helps.

Sent from my iPhone

[Rich_Laue · Accepted solution]

Yes bike riding won't give steps, but your question was about distance. On the Blaze select Excersize - Bike now press the gear in the lower left. Make sure use Phone GPS is turned on. Now before pressing start wait for the let's go. 

Another thought, you did not say, after the Bike ride did you see a map of the trip? 

[LHW1]

Thanks for your reply. Yes I did get a map. I guess I thought it would add my cycling km to my dashboard but from what you're saying it doesn't only walking km. thanks for your help.

[Rich_Laue]

I'll have to check that, i never thought to see if bike miles get added to daily miles. 

[LHW1]

Umm would be interesting to know. Thanks very much

[bbarrera]

I've only seen walking/running mileage on Dashboard

[AngelaMa]

Hello @LHW1, @bbarrera, @Rich_Laue! It's great to have you here. @LHW1 If  you are using the Bike mode on your Blaze the miles recorded should be added to your daily miles total, let me know if you see something different. 

Happy stepping! 🙂 

[bbarrera]

@AngelaMa No, cycling miles have never been shown on dashboard. I ride about 150 miles a week during the summer, and I can assure you those miles have never been displayed on my dashboard.

[LHW1]

Hi Angela
I can confirm that miles or km are not being added to my dash board - any suggestions?

Sent from my iPhone

[LHW1]

Interesting! The moderator just told me they should be on bike mode but it died t show up for me either.

Sent from my iPhone

[bbarrera]

Cycling miles have never been on the dashboard. Here is the last week according to Fitbit:

and here is actual cycling mileage:

[Aclobos]

@bbarrrera, @lhv1, I was just thinking about the auto recognize feature. You might want to check to see if it set to max minutes. If it set to 90 that would indicate you would not register until after you have rode more than 90 minutes. Or auto register could be turned off. To check auto register for outdoor biking go to your account and under goal click on exercise then click on outdoor bike. You can set your preference for auto recognize or turn it off. Hope this helps

[MikeF]

No, dashboard mileage has always been for walking/running from steps or GPS.

There have been user forum discussions about the potential for a seperate cycling miles metric but it's not something Fitbit have ever adopted or commented on from memory.

[bbarrera]

@MikeF agree, cycling miles have never appeared on dashboard and thats why I'm always puzzled when a Fitbit mod drops by and wants to investigate (?!)

[FerdinandFitbit]

Hi there guys! Good to see you all in the Community!

Just to clarify, only walking/running/hiking activities (basically step based activities) will add distance to the dashboard overall. Bike distance might appear in the activity log depending on the way you tracked it (As @Rich_Laue said here) but they will not be added to the overall totals.

[KitC]

I get why steps aren't added when biking but why wouldn't mileage be added?
Fitbit is advertised as a "Fitness Tracker" not a Walking Tracker or Pedometer.
Am I alone in thins thinking?
Calories burned are included. Seems GPS mode cycling miles would be as well.