Fitbit One and cycling

[SunsetRunner]

Hi everyone. I've just started to cycle to work and I wear my fitbit one in my shorts. I wanted to see if anyone has any advice on using fitbit and cycling?

Also looking for general advice on commuting by bike. Don't ride a great distance, just 3 miles each way, but wanted advice on gear for cycling like shoes, lights and shorts etc.

Thanks for reading

John

[ADilwicius]

I commute to work every few weeks.  22 miles one way.  So far I haven't been able to get the fitbit to record accurately.  I tried attaching it to my shoe and the rid was so bumpy that it kept putting it in sleep mode.  Tried my ankle but the movement is to smooth to register.  So I'm still trying things.  As far as gear you'll probably want to check out a bike forum but you good quality padded back shorts will make all the difference.

[Heybales]

Don't even bother attempting, unless you just want the extra "steps" - the calories are going to be totally off.

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Get-Fit/Fitbit-Zip-and-steps-and-calorie-burn-biking/m-p/345230

[citizen477]

I've tried it, and it doesn't record the steps nor the "calories burned" very accurately. You'd probably have to still carve out time either before or after work to get your steps in to meet your goals, but hey, at least you'll be getting that extra workout in, right?

[Heybales]

And depending on goals, if just steps from more daily activity, or actually improving fitness, or health, sometimes the time taken for the non-"step" activity can have a much better impact than the true step activity.

[3meninabar]

Last week I cycled 28 miles and got no credit for that on my Fitbit One.  (Well, I did when I logged the distance through the computer but that's one step before cheating.)  This week, I was determined to solve the problem.

What I do is determined through the motion of my foot.  So, I put my Fitbit One on an elastic band and attached it securely through the laces of my shoe.  Then I did a test run.  If I coasted, my step count didn't change.  When I pedaled it did.  So, while my step count for 20 miles cycled today does not equal the step count if I walked that distance, it was fair.

Hope this helps.  Happy walking.

[Heybales]

---

@3meninabar wrote:

Last week I cycled 28 miles and got no credit for that on my Fitbit One.  (Well, I did when I logged the distance through the computer but that's one step before cheating.)  This week, I was determined to solve the problem.

What I do is determined through the motion of my foot.  So, I put my Fitbit One on an elastic band and attached it securely through the laces of my shoe.  Then I did a test run.  If I coasted, my step count didn't change.  When I pedaled it did.  So, while my step count for 20 miles cycled today does not equal the step count if I walked that distance, it was fair.

Hope this helps.  Happy walking.

---

Well, actually, it depends on what you mean by fair and what you are attempting to accomplish.

If you merely wanted some increased steps even though not really steps - then you found best way to do it.

Maybe - I've actually found through testing that I get more steps counted by the road vibrations with it on body rather than on foot - if your pedal stroke is close to smooth step count will be way off.

Never mind the fact it's only seeing 1 foot moving and not the other one, so even if it saw this fake step accurately - it's only getting half of them with 1 foot.

If you care about calorie count, which you may not if manually logging it after the fact - it's a terrible method - because steps walking has no relationship to these half steps with low impact seen biking.

If by sheer coincidence the calories is right (and you would have no clue to that) - then the bike ride was mightly slow and easy.

So if just steps desired, I'd suggest go for road vibration with it on hip.

[Mukluk4]

A bike by definition is a machine that improves speed and expenditure of energy in moving from one location to another.  

Therefore Biking is not equal to walking and should NOT be considered the same as stepping as defined by the basic (non-smart) fitbit systems.  

[Rich_Laue]

Attaching to the shoe or just wearing on the hip will record the pedals as steps, will it give accurate mileage or calories? No

Why? 

Because it does not know what gear your in, a low gear will give more steps per mile than a high gear. 

The best thing to do with a Fitbit One is to manually log the time and distance.