Auto-tracking of outdoor cycling

[MrK1980]

I have a daily commute to work by bike which takes around 20 minutes one way. My Charge 5 almost always logs this as moderate activity, and only few times as outdoor cycling. I do have 15+ minutes of active zones per commute.

Is there some setting or something else to check to enable proper tracking? I don't want to enable GPS for daily commute cycling.

[RiekoC · Accepted solution]

Hello & welcome @MrK1980 

Do you have Bike as one of your Exercise shortcuts? If so, you can disable GPS in the Bike settings.

If you are looking for better tracking of your commute, you might consider using the Exercise shortcuts to manually start Bike, then tap Finish when you're done. Although the auto-tracking exercise feature is nice, I find it's better to manual start & stop my exercise sessions for proper tracking.

If you would like instructions on how to customize the Exercise shortcuts on your Charge 5, click here for a video: Customize Charge Exercise shortcuts 

Although the video shows using a Charge 3, the instructions are the same for the Charge 5. 

[MrK1980]

Hi, thank you for your answer. Yes, biking is part of my exercise shortcuts. I understand the provided aporoach, but it is a pity that auto-detect doesn't work reliably. Any plans to improve this?

The video was very helpful in that I removed & added other exercises. As a side note, I now have both "weights" and "workout" as shorcuts. Which one is more suitable for a mixture of light indoor cardio and resistance training (including weights)?

[LZeeW]

@MrK1980   You might get more consistent recognition if you set the recognition time to 10 minutes from the default 15 minutes.  Tap on your profile avatar > Activity & Wellness > Exercise > Outdoor Bike > change it to 10 minutes.  Not a guaranteed fix, but it's worked for some users.

[RiekoC]

Hi @MrK1980 

When I do a combo workout that includes cardio & strength training with weights, I use generic Workout to track it. 

In case you didn't know, you have the option to retitle the workout in the Fitbit app after you complete it, if you would like to be more specific on what type of exercise you did.