Option to remove steps earned when cycling

[MikeyW]

Like most cyclists who have a fitbit, I track my activity using Strava (or some other RunKeeper, etc...) and as a result it syncs to the fitbit app and fitbit knows that I have completed a cycling acti ity.

However, it also counts steps during that period and allows those steps to contribute to my daily total - despite the fact that it knows that from x time to x time I was cycling.

Currently to remove these steps I would have to then manually enter my activity as driving and it would then remove those steps from the total.

Surely it would be a simple fix for all cycling activity modes to have the same affect on the step total as the driving modes, and for steps to no longer be counted?

The trouble is, for people like me who commute to work by bike it means the step counter is pointless on days I cycle (which is 5 days out of 7).

However, I understand that some are happy with the way it works at the moment and don't have HR monitors so just put their products in their pockets. So perhaps it would be best to have an option in the settings called "Count steps when cycling" or just "Cycling steps" and perhaps it's best that it's turned on by default so that essentially nothing changes for people who are happy using it the way it is, but for those who don't want to it'll solve the problem?

[budenberg]

I think these are just some of the many bugs to b addressed. The charge 2 showed time and cslories for spinning as it should do.

[TriV]

I just bought a Fitbit Charge 3 a few weeks ago. Recently I noticed that the numbers of Steps and Floors in the tracker went up dramatically every time I went for a ride on my motorbike (nearly 1.5k steps and 10 floors added per 10km riding). I could see the Outdoor Bike exercise was automatically tracked during that time. The question is why Fitbit doesn’t ignore the steps and floors counts during the time the Outdoor Bike activity is tracked?

[Anders101]

The Chage 3 counts stairs and steps when biking, it does not matter if using manuall or automatic biking.

Since I ride the bike to work almost everyday there is no use to set up any goals for distance, stairs and steps since the values are false. Charge 3 just add some happy values that has nothing to do with reality. Of course I do neither climb stairs nor walk when I am biking. The only time the distance is correct is when choosing biking manually, GPS-mode. Though I rarely use it since it is consumes to much energy from my mobile phones' battery.

As it is today when I can not set any if these goals the Charge 3 can more ore less be used for two things, register calories and sleep. That is not what I bought it for.

[PerfectBlue]

I personally use this as a means of comparison, so I'd prefer that it was made optional, rather than mandator

[Bonnie3]

Why would any means of tracking be included if it is not accurate?

[Tursiopsess]

I would like to turn off the stairs.  My versa is incredibly inaccurate. I literally climb one flight of stairs 1—2 times per day during the work week (so 5-10 floors/week) and over the past month it has logged 780 floors! 

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Anders101, thanks for adding your suggestion. This will help users doing biking to set up goals for distance, stairs and steps objectively. Keep sharing your ideas.

[LThdwYm4]

This seems more like fixing a bug than an adding a feature....

I'm not sure but I think elevator rides also sometimes count as climbing stairs.  Not sure. I didn't climb any stairs today but my fitbit registered stair climbing.

[RiseAndShine]

First of all, these are not 'stairs', but 'floors'. What Charge 3 is couniting - elevations based on barometric pressure. As you cycle uphill - it will measure floors climbed. 

Now, as it comes to step count - this is not a bug and not an issue. Many apps out there are using exactly the same approach. Majority of the users are relying on a Charge 3 to track overall activity level, and cycling is one of such activities that absolutely should be counted towards daily step goal (unless someone wants to argue that cycling is the same as sitting on a sofa...). In addition to that, many corporate apps are syncing to Fitbit app to use data for health incentives. Thus, removing cycling from activities that would count towards steps would greatly and very negatively impact A LOT of users whose primary exercise activity is cycling. 

What could help though is to have an ability to separate step count by activity - this way users could see how many steps they made by running, walking, cycling etc. And if someone doesn't want to count steps for cycling - they can easily exclude them. Just my 2 cents...

[LThdwYm4]

---

---

"First of all, these are not 'stairs', but 'floors'. What Charge 3 is couniting - elevations based on barometric pressure. As you cycle uphill - it will measure floors climbed. "

It doesn't matter, it doesn't do this even remotely accurately.  Many report even the older Charge2 was better at that.  Smarts phones are able to calculate this accurately.  Charge3 does not.  It's anyone's guess whether it's a hardware design flaw or a software design flaw or both. It is embarassingly bad.  I live in a flat area and I routinely end up with more than 50 floors.  Furthermore, the software is so bad that it counts floors even when standing still in an elevator which means they do not do the logical thing and ensure that you are actually moving and stepping as a perquisite to count a floor.

"Now, as it comes to step count - this is not a bug and not an issue. Many apps out there are using exactly the same approach. Majority of the users are relying on a Charge 3 to track overall activity level, and cycling is one of such activities that absolutely should be counted towards daily step goal (unless someone wants to argue that cycling is the same as sitting on a sofa...). In addition to that, many corporate apps are syncing to Fitbit app to use data for health incentives. Thus, removing cycling from activities that would count towards steps would greatly and very negatively impact A LOT of users whose primary exercise activity is cycling. "

This most certainly is a bug. "Cycling" is not "stepping", "Cycling is Cycling". It is a different kind of exercise.  It should have a calorie count, a pace and a distance but not steps.  Just as when letting weights no steps are counted except for those to and from the weight rack, steps should not be counted for any activity besides running or walking.  This is common sense.   Calories burned not steps is a global benchmark for all types of activities.

[LaKaat]

I would argue that when you turn on the biking exercise, the Fitbit should not count steps, but it should recognize you are biking. Whether it gives an equivalent in steps, I do not really have an opinion about. Anyhow, we should be able to see how many steps were added while biking. Saying it has no impact on the steps is just wrong.

[Cliffie]

Just did a bike ride and I experience same sort of behaviour.

Biking activity is not counting steps and floors.

Biking activity counts calories.

Biking activity counts active minutes.

At the dashboard, the steps during biking are counted towards the total.

The distance of those added steps are not counted towards the total.

So, the only figures incorrect at the dashboard are the steps and the floors.

I hope it will be fixed, but at least a configuration option should be fine for me.

For now I see the added steps as a measure towards my daily goal, after cycling I have less stept to take to reach my daily goal.

[LauretteJones]

Would prefer steps and stairs not included with outdoor bike. 

[floridafairy]

I have an issue of my Charge 3 not being accurate as far as stairs and elevators.  I NEVER use the stairs and live in a 17 story building and ride the elevator up and down all day, consequently my fitbit registers me walking several flights of stairs every day, and I am sure has me walking much more than I actually walk.  The inaccuracies of the counts are severe, and the sleep feature is really useless except to tell you how much you are moving around at night.  It is not an accurate way to measure the different stages of sleep, you have to be hooked up to electroencephalogram machines and other medical devices and have them evaluated by medical technicians and evaluated by trained physicians and medical technicians to determine accurate cycles of sleep.  A fitbit will never get that right.  I should have known better (I worked in the medical field for 25 years, but......), I actually bought the Charge 3 partially because of the sleep tracking feature but then on research educated myself and realized the truth of it (which I should have known anyway because I have sleep apnea and I have had many sleep studies and worked in the medical field to boot!) but you know how we buy into these advertisements........    That being said the concept of having a tracking device for activities is appealing, but I am disappointed with the inaccuracies of my Charge 3 all the way around.  The $150+ I have spent on my Fitbit (including extended insurance against damage) makes it an expensive accessory....  that isn't even that attractive, but is in fashion all the same.......   Wish instead of everyone wishing it have a different clock face, or apps or this or that, the Fitbit company would just make the product more accurate and it actually DO what it is supposed to be DOING.

[AlexandraFitbit]

Hello @Anders101! Thanks for sharing this suggestion, I moved it to this similar post so you can add your vote to it. Please keep sharing your ideas with us!

[GallopingGranny]

When riding a bike the watch records the bike activity. Please stop the watch from also recording this activity as footsteps.

[DavideFitbit]

Hi @GallopingGranny, thanks for taking the time to share your feedback about the possibility of prevent the device from tracking steps while riding a bike or be able to remove those steps easily after the workout. I noticed a similar suggestion already exists, so I’ve moved your post here, this helps to keeps the boards more organized. Make sure to add your vote as well to support this suggestion, this helps the team of developers to keep track of popularity and demand over time.

Thank you again for your participation in the Community.