Stationary bike and Charge 6

[RafRafRaf]

Hey,

What will be a best exercise pick on the watch to track indoor training on stationary bike? I know it's a bit tricky because during it wrist is not moving. I have tried on Inspire 2 with just a "Training" or to let it detect automatically, but 1st gave a inadequate outcome on stats, 2nd didn't work at all (nothing was detected). I haven't tried it yet on Charge 6 tbh, but perhaps someone of you did.

And no, I can't pair it with bike sensors, it's just a regular one 😉

Cheers,

Raf

[LZeeW · Accepted solution]

@RafRafRaf   Please use Spinning for any indoor bike.

[RafRafRaf]

Thanks @LZeeW . I have compared stats on the bike display and on the app. Hearth rate was quite similar, just slight difference on the calories burned (~+15% as per bike sensors), but in general this seems to work ok'ish.

[liene_p]

I used spinning for my stationary bike at home. Usually my stationary bike showed quite a bit more calories burned because I set up a high resistance (which I have no way of adjusting or logging on Fitbit), but at least the actual workout was logged, although not quite accurate.

[LZeeW]

@liene_p  You'll always see a difference when different methods are used.  Fitbit uses a proprietary heart rate based algorithm to estimate calories burn.  Different bike brands likely use a different methodology, often using watts and personal demographics.  The take home message is that both are ESTIMATED calorie burn.

[Triletics]

@liene_p The calorie estimate will depend on the method your bike uses. Cheaper bikes rarely use power (watts), and more expensive bikes may use virtual power (using speed, cadence and resistance as input and base power on the physics model). Most expensive bikes and smart trainers will use power meters which are more complex and the error (per pedal) is less than 1% (if it doesn't then such a power meter isn't worth it 😉 ). So it really depends on what stationary bike you use. A power meter will give you the best estimate, however, it may come slightly undercounted as the software may not be adding BMR and you may use more energy that is not going directly into pedals (not stable position, stance, cleats/no cleats, etc.). I usually go with power meter readings rather than HR because HR models suffer from a few issues: lag, creeping, and current physiological state, the accuracy of the used sensor. You may be generating ie. 145W with HR very low as well as with HR higher after warming for let's say 10 min. That will give you 87kcal (active) but it will be less by HR (because of rising HR and starting low). When you're warmed up the HR may continue increasing which will inflate calories. For a steady ride, it will come up with a similar calorie count but if you do HIIT intervals your HR won't manage to respond that quickly and with each interval you're HR will be getting higher and higher (which doesn't mean you burning more if you maintain same power output). Understanding how different methods estimate energy expenditure may help you choose which numbers suit you better. I always go with a power meter (I have one in my smart trainer and also on my regular bikes) although not for calories but for better effort control.

[NomadKricket]

No option for spinning or to add an exercise on the charge 6.  Hate it

[RVecsei]

I have the charge 6 and have spinning on it daily? I just had to select "more" on my watch and scroll down to the "s" alphabetically to add it to my workout list.