How to correctly sync Fitbit and Strava

[ChrisBosco]

I use a Charge 2 to track all my normal activities except for Cycling, it's great for 24/7 tracking but poor for my actual exercise. I have Strava/Wahoo and Fitbit linked. Using my Wahoo cycling computer, chest HRM, cadence, speed and power sensors, my riding is tracked more accurately. The problem is, that the Fitbit sync doesn't do as I'd read it should do, which is to use my Wahoo stats for the time I'm riding. Instead, it appears the fitbit is still trying to collect stats it's not designed to collect and make estimates that are incorrect.

For example, yesterday Fitbit credited me with 8000 steps that I didn't make, collected while I was riding. It also had completely inaccurate HRM data trying to figure my HR during riding (which naturally it's not very good at since opticals aren't good at that). It also gives me 50 to 60 per cent of activity times which are actually very accurately recorded from the Wahoo, so my Fitbit activity doesn't reflect total activity. As a result, calories for yesterday, which should have been 3015, came out as 2888 which makes it impossible to use food logging. Too many steps records, too low a heart rate, not enough calorie burn, and just incorrect activity time. Plus it also gives me Stairs that I didn't earn because hill climbing is what I try do on the bike. 

What I need to understand, is how to tell the Fitbit to not try to record during my riding and just use the synced data from strava/wahoo. I have tried using the fitbit activity by selecting Bike at the start of my ride, then stopping it at the end. This ended up doubling my activity on Strava which then I have to go and delete that extra activity, and it was still of course inaccurate since that isn't the Fitbit forte. Is it best to leave the fitbit in the car during my rides, but if so, will it take my strava/wahoo data and insert it for that period. That would solve my steps and stairs inaccuracy but if it doesn't sync, the food/calories function will be off.

[AlvaroFitbit]

@ChrisBosco Welcome! Thanks for being part of our Community! Sorry for the delay in my reply.

Let me help you with your Strava link to your Fitbit account. Your device will detect the movement on your arm and translate that movement into steps. As you said the steps are being counted while you are riding your bike. You can negate these steps by logging a driving activity. You can try wearing your device on your non dominant hand but select that hand as dominant on the device’s settings to make it less sensitive to movement. I not sure how the Wahoo integration will work with Fitbit or Strava but you can try not wearing your device to your rides and see how it behaves. If you can share your suggestions for this integration and improvements in our Feature suggestions board. Search for the idea first to see if one already exists so you can add your vote. The more votes an idea gets the more likely the developers will try to implement it.

Let me know how it goes.

[ChrisBosco]

Thank you. I wasn't familiar with a driving activity, so I'll look into that. 

The only suggestion I might be able to request would be to have the dashboard accepts all the information from the selected tracker such as the Wahoo Roam. This would allow calories to be correctly reflected based on the more comprehensive sensor's one uses when doing a formal activity like biking. It wouldn't seem different than what we do when post a non-logged activity and enter our own information. I'll ponder if I can come up with a suggestion they would find useful.

Thanks again.