Strava and Samsung Smart watches – best way to track rides

[Alcova cyclist]

I recently got a Samsung galaxy watch (it’s a Galaxy Watch 4, so it’s using the newer Wear OS) and am trying to figure out the best way to use it for tracking cycling in conjunction with Strava.

If not for Freezing Saddles and its need for Strava feeds, I’d probably just use the native Samsung Health app.

Wondering if folks out there can recommend (with a little how-to as a bonus) whether they:

1. Skip smart watch use altogether and just use a smart phone/garmin, etc. — i.e., you have a smart watch you could use, but have decided it’s too much of a pain to use the watch for this (this is basically what I am doing now)
2. Record natively on Strava on their smart watch (if so, do you later sync data from strata to Samsung Health so all your health data is in one place?)
3. Record it on Samsung Health (or similar) and then sync it to Strava
4. Some other genius solution

Most importantly: Why set it up the way you did?

Seems like I have all the pieces for a simple and easy way to track all this, but just not sure the best way to fit the pieces together.

Thanks!

[Meh]

Subscribed – ‘coz needs a new swim watch and has noticed massive altitude errors on others’ posted watch tracks.

[Brett L.]

@Meh 213100 wrote:

Subscribed – ‘coz needs a new swim watch and has noticed massive altitude errors on others’ posted watch tracks.

My Garmin Forerunner 935 is horrendous for altitude estimates. It has a built-in altimeter, which I believe in this case is just a barometer that corresponds pressure to elevation, and it heavily skews low towards the end of a workout. I think because of proximity to wrist, body heat and sweat cause the watch to think that pressures are higher than they really are. And of course I’m sweating much more end of ride than beginning…

[mstone]

I use a garmin edge because I don’t like to run down my phone and find it annoying to wear a watch while cycling. I also find it easier to glance at all the important useless numbers on a screen in front of my face rather than one on my wrist.

FWIW, I’d always sync with strava because you’re likely to switch platforms at some point (or your platform will disappear because reasons) and strava syncs with pretty much everything and seems to be the one that one the tracking wars. If you ever want to look back on something a decade from now, your odds are better that you’d be able to do so without a lot of drama using strava than anything else.

[huskerdont]

I use a Garmin Instinct Solar watch as backup to my phone and sync it to Strava when needed/wanted (deleting otherwise). It usually states more elevation than Strava on the phone. No idea which is closer to correct. Distances between the watch, the phone, and the little CatEye speed sensor are usually within about a tenth of a mile per 20 miles, unless mountain biking, in which case they both read much less than the CatEye–sometimes as much as 2 miles in 20.

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