Biking: Surge vs Blaze vs Apple?

[jibanes]

Hello,

I've done some serious walking, thanks to the motivation provided by my Zip (lost it), One (lost it, lost it again, this is the 3rd one 🙂 and Aria. Love it.

Now it's time for biking, I've read ( https://www.quora.com/Will-a-Fitbit-accurately-track-my-activity-if-I-am-riding-a-bike ) that fitbit doesn't support bikes, but this article is outdated and things (may) have changed.

Would a Surge or Blaze allow me to automatically account for outdoor biking exercise; I also have an iphone if that's a requirement, but also, I wouldn't want to enter the energy expenditure and other metrics (HR, distance, etc.) manually; I want it to be like the One, all integrated, simple.

Let me know which device would work best, or if any would work well for this kind of workout, or perhaps, if it's worth waiting for the next generation.

Thank you,

Jerome

[jibanes]

I just realized this wouldn't work on the Blaze, because it has no gps; therefore requires a Surge?

[godzooky75]

Do you take you phone with you when you bike?  If so, I believe the Blaze will work as it has a "Connected GPS" feature - meaning it uses the GPS from your phone and connects via Bluetooth.

If you don't take your phone with you, then yes, you would need the Surge.  I have the Surge and have used it while biking.  The Surge GPS is as accurate as my phone was (Strava and MapMyRun apps), but the battery drain is prety significant.  When I want to use my Surge while biking, I have to make sure it is 100% charged beforehand.  After a 2.0 - 2.5 hour ride (with GPS on) the Surge burns through about 60-80% of the battery charge (depending on GPS connectivity issues).

I have no experience with the Blaze, but the battery drain is supposed to be less significant because it is using your phone's GPS (and thus the GPS radio is using your phone's battery, not your watch's).

[jibanes]

I'm curious though; do I even need the blaze at all to do that; or can I just track with the fitibit app itself?