Auto recognition of exercise

[Wukildoon]

I frequently walk, and almost never ride my bike. My Fitbit has been recognizing some of my walks as bike rides. Is there any information on why this happens? (For reference, I walk with a toddler in a stroller and a baby on my back. Not sure if this makes a difference, except in heart rate probably.) 

[LZeeW]

Hello @Wukildoon and welcome to the Community.  Fitbits use a sensor called an accelerometer to analyze motion in three dimensions.  It looks for motion patterns that go along with certain activities.  I can understand why your walks with a stroller could be interpreted as a bike ride.  Walking looks for the patterns that go along with your arm swing.  If you are holding the stroller with both arms, then you lose the arm swing.  Knowing what I know about accelerometers, I can understand why your stroller walk could get sensed as a bike ride.

Here is a link to a great article from the New York Times that shows simple movement and accelerometer tracings.  This 2014 article is ancient in tech terms.  All major fitness trackers have figured out how to sense a bike ride.  You can get a good idea about how this stuff works without an advanced physics degree.

Here are two ideas.  First, you can turn the Outdoor Bike auto recognition off.  Tap on your profile avatar > Activity & Wellness > Exercise > Outdoor Bike > set the toggle to Off.  But, your Fitbit doesn't reliably count steps when you hold a stroller, shopping cart, etc., with both hands.  You might not get a walk or any steps recorded ( a common complaint).  So second, unless you are a huge fan of no-show socks, you can pop your Fitbit in your sock with the heart rate sensor about an inch above your inside ankle bone.  If you love no-show socks, Amazon has third party band extenders for many Fitbit models.