Best bang for the buck

[BoonesDad]

Hi all 

Just bought a stationary bike without checking to see if it had a mileage tracker and it doesn't. Saw that I could use a Fitbit to track miles and whatnot. What would be the best one to get that isn't overly complex and has a good battery life?

Thanks all

[t.parker]

Fitbit won't track your mileage on the stationary bike. If your stationary bike doesn't show it then there is not much you can do.

If you own a real bike then it's better to get turbo trainer (the easiest option is to get wheel-on trainer so you don't need to detach the rear wheel) and cheap speed and cadence sensors. Then you can use plenty of mobile apps to track stationary cycling.

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, welcome to the Fitbit Community forums, @BoonesDad. 

Thank you for sharing your inquiry about the possibility to track your mileage. 

Unfortunately the Fitbit device will not track your distance for stationary bike. When you track an activity with GPS, your device calculates your distance using GPS data rather than steps. If you begin moving before you get a GPS signal, your device calculates distance using your steps until GPS connects, but this doesn't apply for stationary bike. You can find more information about how Fitbit tracks your daily activity in this article. 

In addition, you may vote for these ideas posted in the Feature Suggestion board of the Community: 

• Add stationary bike to auto-detected exercise
• Rowing/Stationary Rowing Machine Exercise Shortcut

Regarding the devices available for you, you can check all the features included with each tracker or smartwatch here in the Fitbti.com Store. If you're looking for a device that is not too complex, you could consider the new Charge 5, the Fitbit Luxe or the Inspire 2. 

Have a great day.

[Argali]

Not Fitbit, but I added a wireless cyclometer [bicycle speedometer/odometer] to mine.

Conveniently, it already had magnets (for a missing ergometer) in place.

DP AeroCycle

If you have to get creative, you can game the cyclometer (via its imaginary tire size) to get a working odometer (but at the loss of accuracy in its speedometer function).

[DavideFitbit]

Thank for you sharing this alternative, @Argali! 😁 

[Heybales]

Mileage on an indoor bike is pretty much made up anyway as there is no wind or road resistance as normal - most good ones don't have it.

Some recent ones have been adding it because unaware classes at gym ask for it.

If your bike has watts - you have the most accurate logging of calories available - would have to be manually done of course.

It may even give the calorie burn since an easy formula.

avgWatts x 3.6 x hours = calories

[t.parker]

@Heybales what is wrong with the mileage (distance) of the indoor bike? Most exercise bikes use an imaginary wheel of a certain size so they can track the mileage (much more accurate than treadmills). The resistance of the bike imitates road friction, uphills etc. Anyway, mileage does not depends on those factors but only on how many times the wheel (real or imaginary) will spin. On my turbo trainer (wheel-on, I'm too lazy to attach and detach the wheel and the bike is used for both, indoor and outdoor rides) I actually see the rear wheel spinning and the distance it goes is correct (and I use the same sensor to calculate distance outdoors on the same bike). I agree however about the calories. A power meter is much more accurate (same for running, I use a power meter for it, too).

[BoonesDad]

Thanks for all the replies. I got the charge 5 yesterday but I'm sending it back. I can't justify paying that much money for something I'm only going to use when I ride my stationary bike. 

[Cchip]

Try strapping your Charge 5 to your ankle while you are on the stationary bike before you send it back. Use a rubber band between the ends of wrist strap if it's not long enough.

[BoonesDad]

Oh no it's not that it won't work it's just 190 dollars for something that a cheaper Amazon product can also do.