Until recently, most outdoor cyclists and bikers used handheld GPS units or handlebar-mounted devices like a dedicated bike computer for route tracking when riding. As technology shifted, outdoor sports watches and other tech wearable devices have increasingly become improved for storing accurate ride data. Since tracking outdoor rides is such a crucial part of cycling, smart GPS watches with mountain biking and cycling-specific features, can help you set and achieve your mtb and cycling goals easily. So what is the best watch for mountain biking under $300?
Some mountain bikers and cyclist want to receive interactive smart notification while biking, a smart watch for mountain biking with unique sports tracking features and detailed biking and cycling metrics, is your best gear on wrist.
If you are going to ride smartly up the mountain, a smartwatch with outdoor features similar to that of a mounted bike computer is the kind to look for. Such mtb watches are suitable for triathletes, runners and active multi-sport athletes. The versatility in their design gives the watches the ability to record body metrics, track heart rate, monitor sleep and even measures Vo2 max including recovery time.
While professional cyclist and bikers may be looking for a smartwatch with a dedicated cycling mode or compatible biking apps, which they can afford, many avid sports lovers are cash trapped that they are looking to buy the best watch for mountain biking and cycling for under 300 dollars.
The best mountain biking and cycling watches also have features suitable for other sports like rowing and erging, and buying just one gps smartwatch is going to be a great value for multi sports enthusiasts. If you are one of the recreational bikers who are tight on budget and don’t want to spend more than 300 bucks on a smart sport watch, here’s the list of the best sports watch for mountain biking and cycling under $300.
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The best smartwatch for mountain biking, running and cycling
Even if you are looking for the best smartwatch for running and riding at an affordable rate, we have got it all here. Some come with just basic sports tracking features, others have it all and I am pretty sure you’ll find your best gps watch for mountain biking for under $300, before you leave this page.
What is the best cheap bike watch for mountains riding?
If you were the one riding in the woods as you see in the video above, which inexpensive gps smartwatch woulds you want to wear so that it accurately tracks your biking or cycling stats? Lets check out the cheap gps watches for cycling , biking and running.
MTB : Mountain biking
What to consider shopping for the best watch for mountain Biking
Here is the buyers guide to picking the best smartwatch for mountain biking and cycling
Navigation System
A reliable GPS is one of the most important features a outdoor watch must have. Not only is GPS satellite system very useful for cycling, hiking,skiing, hunting and snowboarding activities, it is the basic requirement for any outdoor watches. If you are not going to miss your track or path riding down the mountain side, make sure your cyclist watch comes with a reliable GPS to navigate your trails so easily.
Some higher-end outdoor smart watches even come with breadcrumb style navigation, to help outdoorsmen trace their way or route back to starting point. In addition to GPS connectivity, some advanced MTB watches have GLONASS, these creates a very accurate dual navigation system.
A better navigation watch for mountain biking should have an onboard GPS, it should not rely on the GPS of the smartphone to track ride data.
Good readability and visible Display
The smartwatch for mtb should have easy to read display screen, else ride data would be of no value to bikers.For visually impaired bikers, large display screen watches for mountain biking and cycling are the best option because they will offer good visibility.
Another useful feature for legibility is that the display must be readable under sunlight as well as in poor light conditions like under tall forest trees and dark shades.
Waterproof
Water-Resistance is a vital requirement to having a durable smartwatch for mountain biking, running, cycling and other other sports. Serious bikers would anticipate getting winter rains and water splashes along the cycling path. No one would want to allow his smart sports watch for triathlon get ruined by condensation or moisture while going on a trail.
Button vs Touchscreen
If you often use gloved hands and wet and muddy hands forest riding, a touchscreen smart sport watch is not going be interactive. Its pretty frustrating using wet fingers on smartwatch with touchscreen design. In that case, the best watch for mountain biking is one with buttons.
Health features
Many outdoor smart watches designed for sporting activities including running, cycling and riding, have heart rate monitors. For mountain biking, you need smartwatches and fitness trackers with accurate and reliable optical heart rate sensors that are mainly wrist-based. Chest straps may look good but I believe there’s much convenience checking your heart beats by a quick glance on the wrist without removing your hands from the handlebars of the bike.
Fatigue, stress and Sleep tracking are great wellness stats, that avid sports enthusiasts who are health-focus, would want to have on their wrists. Some most high-end smartwatch for mtb, like the Apple series 5 and garmin Fenix 6, are packed with these health related features. so some readings
Battery life
Battery life is another important factor that every mountain rider must consider before buying his best smartwatch for mtb. No cyclist wants to have a gps watch for mountain biking that suddenly turn off in the middle of the ride.
Here’s how to check long battery life. Turn off gps and other navigation features and check the battery life, many outdoor smart watches claim having battery life more than 7 days to several months after a single charge. Next; turn on the GPS navigation and check again the battery consumption.
It is well known by outdoorsmen that GPS watches drain battery juice excessively when operating in GPS mode and when music is playing. If your best watch for mountain biking can keep battery life for more than 10 hours at least, that is a great mountain bike gps watch to pick. It can continuously track your ride data for half a day, at the minimum.
Comfortability strap
Avoid a smartwatch for mountain biking with bands that cause itches and infections on your wrist. Too large strap would keep your mtb watch loose on wrist ad that is never going to give you accurate heart rate values, unless its tight enough on the wrist.
I prefer bands that are sized for my wrist, breathable in design and have a snug fit. MTB smartwatches with silicone or rubber bands offer more comfort and easy to clean of sweat, but they may not be durable like leather and even fabric straps.
Apps for biking and cycling
The best smartwatch for mountain biking would boast having full range of apps for outdoor rides. If you see the best gps watch for outdoor sports that is ‘fitness-focused’, they will obviously be limiting in biking apps. It all depends on your fitness goals and lifestyle.
Connectivity
The best watch for mountain biking will pair with other devices like heart rate monitors, cadence sensors and power meters, smartphones and more. A smartwatch with good connectivity would sync ride data easily. That is why you will see most outdoor watch manufacturers design Bluetooth compatible timepieces.
For example : A great Garmin smartwatch for mtb, comes with bluetooth, ANT+ and GPS connectivity, while other support WI-FI. I think most mountain bike watches with WiFi connectivity are the best, because they can sync your cycling data without phone.
Versatility
A serious biker would choose an outdoor watch that is well suited for multiple sports activities. A good multi-sport watch is designed with built-in sensors for outdoor use and for mountain biking, including altimeters, barometers, accelerometers, heart rate monitors, compasses and gyroscopes. These sensors are the basis for hiking, climbing, skiing, hunting and snowboarding.
Budget
Your best gps smartwatch for mtb depends on how much you want to spend. While an advanced strava, ANT+ compatible smartwatch with hr and gps may look like a luxury in terms of price, there are watches for outdoor biking that cost less than $300 with biking dedicated features.
In this review, having the best cycling watch under 300 dollars is been made easy for bikers today. If you want a smartwatch for professional mountain biking, here is the best watches for mountain bikers under 1000 dollars.
The best watch for mountain biking under 300 dollars
If you are cash trapped and looking for the best cycling watch under 300 dollars, we have done a good job for you. Lets get started right away.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 –
- Brand: Samsung
- Case Diameter: 40mm
- Case Material: aluminum
- Dial window Crystal Material: gorilla glass DX +
- Water Resistance: 50m
- Band/Strap/Bracelet: fluoroelastomer
- Band/Strap/Bracelet Width: 20mm
- Health: Heart Rate Monitor
- Navigation: GPS & GLONASS
- strava samsung smartwatch
- Durability: Military grade (MIL-STD-810G)
If you want an affordable and powerful smart watch for mountain biking, Samsung smartwatch active 2 is the first bike watch at a reasonable price under $200.
Like other sports watches, samsung active 2 comes preloaded with 45 sport profiles and activity tracking features which record workout stats, distance, calories burned, and sleep patterns.
While cycling outdoors, the Samsung Pay is going to make your shopping on the wrist easier. In addition to the wrist-based payment, this samsung bicycle watch comes with wireless connectivity to share data access with a smartphone.
For entertainment purposes, this samsung is a mountain active watch that streams music from Spotify and you can play it while on the move. It is easier for mountain bikers and runners to receive smart notifications – take calls and texts from their wrist, with this samsung smartwatch for mountain biking.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 is the best smartwatch for mountain biking under $300, with a design that is more suitable for casual mountain bikers.
Since it supports Android wear OS by google, you have got a variety of cycling apps from the Google Play Store to download and use. I recommend this samsung smartwatch to bikers on budget.
The Retina display, 64 bit dual core processor, automatic workout tracking, heart rate monitor with 8 photodiodes and the GPS & GLONASS system for location navigation, all these for half the price point for Apple watch for cycling.
The durability is military standards(MIL-STD-810G) as it offers military grade shock protection for outdoor purposes. This smartwatch is the best watch for biking that an android user can pick for the best ride in the woods.
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Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR – best suunto watch for cycling with heart rate
- Brand: Suunto
- Case Diameter: 50mm
- Case Material: Glass fibre reinforced polyamide
- Crystal Material: Mineral glass
- Water Resistance: 100m
- Strap Bracelet: Silicone
- Over 80 sport modes
- Gps Navigation (GPS&GLONASS)
- Long battery life
- Wrist heart rate monitoring
Suunto spartan Hr watch is a great, rugged looking sports smartwatch for outdoor exercises and trails. The built in GPS route navigation powers this watch to perform 24/7 activity tracking.
Featuring a stainless steel bezel, mineral crystal glass on dial window, and an outdoor grade color touch screen, this rugged smartwatch for mountain biking is a sport specific training timepiece every biker must own in his biking gear.
With about 80 sport modes focused on outdoor exercise including racing Suunto spartan HR is an absolute beast and awesome watch for every trails.
With a 100m water resistance, Suunto is suitable for both cycling and swimming, Its durability features a tough glass fiber reinforced polyamide case. And hard bezel. This suunto mtb watch can resist any beating when biking in the woods.
Its optical heart rate measurement offers mountain bikers some convenience both in daily cycling activity tracking and other outdoor sport activities. It will tell your rest heart rate and calorie consumption without you having need for a chest strap.
This suunto cycling watch is not very affordable like the galaxy Active 2, but it is the best watch for biking under 300 dollars which is designed for a data-driven mountain biker.
More importantly, this bikers watch is built for outdoor, with a lightweight design and has a battery life of 12h training with GPS. You can always check around to turn on or off settings that will conserve the battery juice.
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Fitbit Ionic Watch – best fitness watch for mountain biking and cycling
- Strap material: leather and plastic -Elastomer
- GPS Battery life: 10 hours
- Water Rating: 5 ATM
- continuous heart rate tracking
- variety of unique designs
- Store and play 300 plus songs
- Built-in NFC chip for non credit cards payment
Fitbit Ionic GPS smart watch is well trusted in the health and fitness industry, as the best fitness tracker for bike riding, running, gym workouts and many outdoor sports.
It is not a surprise to have this smart fitness tracker feature the list of outdoor cycling gears, especially as it was designed to be an outdoor GPS smartwatch for fitness.
Not well packed with much of the smart features of a smartwatch like third-party apps, Fitbit ionic is a fitness-focused smartwatch which is not going to be a distraction when biking down a slope on the mountain side.
The rectangular watch face is brightly visible, even when riding under the sunlight, the touchscreen is an added innovation and if your hands are wet or muddy, there are side buttons to help you navigate around.
The Fitbit Coach App is particularly very useful in providing guides on how to achieve fitness goals. People who are still starting out on cycling would find this app very helpful.
One and the most important features for outdoor mountain biking is the built-in GPS to track bikers pace, distance, location and the path taken. In addition to GPS, Fitbit Ionic has an integrated antenna and uses GLONASS which provide a stronger connectivity with global satellites.
One favorite feature that makes most outdoor smart watches ready to endure every beating is the water resistance. Light rains may get fitbit ruined when trailing in the woods, but that won’t happen since fitbit is 50m waterproof. It’s the best smart fitness companion for someone pursuing triathlon, running and hiking.
While riding up the mountains with this fitness GPS watch, you can make mobile payments. Thanks to the NFC Payment support. The price tag is relative cheap, so you can buy this smart cycling watch for under $300.
Apart from the slow syncing and the fact that its touchscreen sometimes goes unresponsive, fitbit smartwatch has a comfortable fit and it is lightweight thanks to the 6000 series aerospace-grade aluminum bezel.
While it tracks steps, distance, floors, active minutes and calories burned, it syncs the data with Mac OS, iPhone, iPad 3 , android 4.4 and and windows 10 devices.
I love this Ionic GPS watch for biking and cycling can fit small wrists of circumference 5.5 to 6.5 inches.
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Polar M430 GPS Running Watch – Best polar gps watch cycling and biking under $200
- Display: 128 x 128 px high resolution display
- Battery life: 8 hours(GPS mode), 14 days
- Connectivity: USB cable
- Automatic sync with strava
- Support smartphone notifications
- Apps: and social app
- waterproof up to 30 meters
If you have been wondering what is the best sport watch for runners and mountain bikers that does not cost expensively, Polar m430 is it.
Polar M430 is another cheap mountain biking watch with a reliable GPS, though it doesn’t have many navigation tools for most outdoor trails.
The M430 smart fitness tracker comes with an optical, wrist-based Polar BLE heart rate monitoring sensor, a reliable GPS navigation and a sleep tracker.
It is super-affordable and a versatile smartwatch specifically designed for sports enthusiasts , athletes and people who are fitness goal-driven.
Although M430 mountain bike gps watch lacks a fancy colour touchscreen, its display is clear and easy to read, even when biking or riding under sunlight. Like the polar M400, Polar M430 has a monochrome-style display screen.
If readability is poor under low light conditions like riding under thick wood or forest trees, you can always turn on the backlight to shine in the dark.
The M430 mtb gps watch is comfortable on the wrist thanks to a softer silicone strap that is also breathable with an ergonomic fit on the biker’s wrist. This comfort was lacking in the polar M400.
Outdoor sports fans appreciate that Polar M430 is one of the most accurate GPS watches with heart rate monitoring. This is one feature that I wouldn’t expect in an affordable smart sport watch under 300 dollars.
This watch tracks the rider’s activities with great bluetooth compatibility. You can use a free USB cable to sync data, but this polar outdoor sport watch can also automatically sync using applications like Strava and TrainingPeaks. This gives more convenience, if you want to share cycling and ride stats from your outdoor mountain biking and running activities.
Apart from heart rate, other activities this polar mountain bike watch tracks include polar m430 cycling cadence, calories burned, distance, sleep activity, speed, and steps.
Finally, since cash-strapped biking enthusiasts may want just basic functionalities for riding and cycling, I recommend Polar M430 as the best cheap smart sport watch for mountain biking and cycling adventures.
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POLAR Unite Waterproof Fitness Watch – best watch for biking under 200 dollars with long battery life
- Advanced wrist-based heart rate
- Connected GPS
- FitSpark daily training guide
- Nightly Recharge & Sleep Plus Stages
- Serene breathing exercise
- Phone notifications
- Sport profiles
- Watch face color themes
- Battery life:
Polar’s unite Fitness watch is another more budget-friendly, best smartwatch for mountain biking and cycling , that is very suitable for cyclists and bikers who are cash-trapped.
Just like is high-end premium models – the Polar Grit X and Polar Vantage V, this low priced polar mtb gps watch comes with good riding tracking features including sleep, recovery, and 24/7 activity logs, speed and distance and heart rate(via an optical sensor).
Unfortunately, the training features found in this durable and military styled polar Grit X are lacking in this polar unite smart watch for bikers. The good thing is that this inexpensive polar unite cycling watch has access to Polar Flow, so It can be a reliable smartwatch for cycling and running, to guide athletes through the Polar Fitness Test.
What I don’t seem to like here is bringing a smartphone for outdoor riding. This low-end mountain bike watch from polar, does not have onboard GPS, so cyclists are going to need to pair it with their smartphone before it displays GPS tracking data.
With about 80 hours battery life, polar unite is the best smart watch for biking and running at a very affordable price point.
I believe most outdoor cyclists who are on a tight budget, would pick this cheap lightweight smart watch, because it’s also great for basic fitness tracking when going for cycling or mountain riding adventures.
If you want a much more advanced waterproof fitness watch with accurate heart rate tracking and integrated(onboard) GPS navigation, check out this Polar Ignite Fitness Watch, which is also a smart sport watch for mountain biking and cycling, under $300.
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Garmin’s Forerunner 735XT – best garmin forerunner for cycling and running under 300 dollars
- advanced dynamics for running,
- cycling and swimming,
- HRM Run or HRM Tri Monitor
- VO2 max estimate, lactate threshold
- recovery advisor, race predictor
- Smart notifications,
- automatic uploads
- free watch faces,
- Appls: Connect IQ store
Are you looking for an affordable garmin multi sport smart watch to accompany you for mountain biking? Garmin’s Forerunner 735XT turns out to be one of the best garmin watches for cycling, bike riding and other multisport outdoor activities.
Some outdoorsmen like this garmin mtb watch because it has many bike-specific features that are common only in modern GPS watches.
Forerunner 735XT is a garmin GPS navigation watch for mountain biking and cycling, that you can control from Shimano Di2 buttons.
It is not common to find a garmin watch for biking that is more cheaper with multi-sport features like this one.
In Addition to its Strava live segments, this Forerunner 735T is a garmin wearable for cycling that also links to ANT+ sensors.
The forerunner for cycling has a multi-sport mode that’s great for most triathletes. It makes it easy and seamless to change activities with a single button.
There are many other cycling tech functions in this forerunner 735XT. The cycling features include an optical heart rate tracking sensor, GPS and GLONASS satellite navigation connectivity, water resistance and sleep tracking.
Since it supports up to 11-hour of battery life in gps mode , this forerunner is a great garmin for running and cycling everyday. Though it does not come with music like the garmin Venu, 735T is the best garmin forerunner for cycling adventures.
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Garmin Forerunner 235– best watch for running and cycling under 200 dollars
- Connectivity: GPS running watch
- Sensor: wrist based heart rate
- display type : sunlight visible, transflective memory in pixel (MIP)
- Screen: 44 percentage larger screen
- Battery life: Smartwatch Mode – 9 days. GPS mode – 11 hours
- ANT+ Chest Strap and VO2 Max
The Garmin Forerunner 235 is another cycling smartwatch that stands out among other sport watches for outdoor. It is low priced under 200 dollars, and a great fitness tracking watch for running and cycling.
If an athlete is going to need an affordable and dedicated smartwatch for mountain biking that provides training feedback and accurate heart rate tracking and analysis, garmin Forerunner 235 is the best and a cheaper option.
More specifically, this garmin wrist gps watch also doubles a running watch activity tracker with run, run indoor, cycle and other sports modes.
Like other cycling sports watches, forerunner 235 provides distance, time, calories, heart rate and even heart rate zone. For bikers and cyclists who are going to need to dig into historic performance, this mountain sports activity tracker watch, can accommodate up to 200 hours with ease of access.
Thankfully, cyclists can assess the quality of their sleep after a long haul, with this inexpensive cycling watch. Forerunner 235 also serve as a Recovery Advisor – helping outdoor sports lovers recover from their recent activities.
One thing, in addition to heart rate monitoring features is, you can also pair this cycling and mountain bike fitness tracker with ANT+ chest strap for more accurate cycling data collection.
While it can read an athlete’s average resting heart rate, it also gives the VO2 Max Reading – the maximum volume of oxygen usage. To me, it looks like best watch for cycling, biking and running with accurate heart rate tracking, at an affordable price under $200.
Don’t Miss Out To Check Latest Price & Reviews! On AmazonTo get more about this Garmin running watch, watch this video.
Amazfit Bip Fitness Smartwatch – Cheap ant+ smartwatch with longest battery life
- Display: always-on reflective 1. 28 inch color touch
- Protection: 5D Corning Gorilla Glass generation 3 + AF coating
- optical heart rate sensor for heart rate zones
- Sensors: geomagnetic sensor (compass), Air pressure sensor (barometer)
- Navigation: elevation GPS + GLONASS for route tracking
- Durability: IP68 rating – resistant to dust, rain and splashing
- Battery: 190mAh li-polymer battery
- Compatible Phone Models: Android 4.4, iOS8 +
- Operating System:Amazfit OS
Looking for a basic, GPS watch, Amazfit gps smartwatch is the best outdoor sports watch that has an astounding battery life. AMAZFIT Bip is equipped with a lithium polymer battery with a 190mAh charge.
If you try it out, you will discover you are not going to pick up a charging cord for weeks. It is thanks to the battery capacity optimization, low power-consuming display, and low power-consuming optical sensor,that the smartwatch battery endures up to 45 days on a single charge.
For typical everyday usage, Amazfit says the watch battery can endure for more than a month after a single charge. Provides detailed sports tracking for outdoor and indoor running, walking, and outdoor cycling.
Under the different sports modes, you can view detailed exercise data such as exercise duration, pace, maximum speed, distance, real-time heart rate, and upslope/downslope height.
It is the best mtb watch for cycling and hiking multi-days on the mountain or camping in the wild woods without any power source. Having this durable Fitness Smartwatch for indoor cycling means you are never going to carry power banks when going for an outdoor cycling or biking adventure.
The reflective always-on display is also easily readable under sunlight, so while riding, you can get your ride stats at a glance. Besides the phone’s app notifications , this Bip fitness watch is one of those multi sports watches that support outdoor running, treadmill, walking and cycling modes.
This smart sports watch can provide your detailed sleep tracking including duration, deep sleep and light sleep and awake times. If you want a rugged mtb smartwatch that can withstand tough environments like extreme cold (-40 F) to extreme hot weather, check out this Amazfit T-Rex Military certified smart watch.
How to pair Amazfit Stratos to Bluetooth chest strap or arm band
Amazfit works with ANT+ Bluetooth cadence sensor, to record the cycling data now and in future running and swimming.
COROS APEX
- Navigation: GPS, GLONASS or BDS satellites
- Heart Rate Monitor,
- Battery life: 35h to 100h in UltraMax GPS mode,
- Dial window: Sapphire Glass,
- Sensor:Barometer,
- Supports ANT+ & BLE Connections, Strava & Training Peaks
- Water resistant up to 100 Meters/328 Feet
COros Apex is another outdoor premium multisport GPS Watch with long battery life. because, it keeps up to 35 hours(extendable to 100 hours) in GPS mode, coros apex is the best gps training watch not only for cyclists but also for multi-sport athletes.
There are countless metrics, one of such is the blood oxygen monitoring and It’s compatible with ANT+, so you can pair it with third-party sensors. This watch has Bluetooth capabilities with smartphones.
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Suunto 5 Watch – best mtb gps watch with maps under 300 dollars
- Brand SUUNTO
- Material Synthetic
- Color All Black
- 80 customizable sports modes
- Wrist heart rate and VO2 Max
- Route navigation with Points of Interest (POI)
- customizable watch faces
If you are going to need the best smartwatch for mountain biking with topo mapping functions, suunto 5 gps is the cheapest gps map smartwatch. Its mapping tool is accessible through suunto app – Suunto Movescount.
While riding down the mountain, this watch can help you explore the heat maps to find popular biking routes and paths. There is more, you can use the watch to find or create new routes to your destination.
Compared to the widely used, expensive Strava -compatible Garmin Fenix 5, this low-end suunto mtb map watch is not the most advanced real time mapping tool.
For outdoor men who are trapped financially, this cheap suunto 5 gps biking watch is where to get started, especially for entry level mountain bikers who are riding in a new area.
Other features include optical heart rate sensor, integrated GPS, cycling mode and other modes for a wide variety of outdoor exercises. Personalized training plans and 80 built-in sport modes include running, cycling, swimming, gym and more.
The gps watch allows mountain bikers to sync their ride data or upload workouts to the app and into other third-party programs like Strava.
Many outdoor enthusiasts find that this 45mm suunto watch appears larger on wrist, and there’s not better fit to accurately measure heart rate. You need to bring the watch a little bit from the wrist bone up to accurately record heart rate.
For most cyclists, suunto 5 gps watch is the best suunto for cycling under $300, with maps. According to suunto claims, the battery life lasts up to 14 days in time mode.
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Garmin Venu – best garmin for running and cycling with music storage and Pulse Ox
- Brand: Garmin
- Batteries 1 Lithium Polymer batteries required.
- Display Size 1.2 Inches
- Display resolution 390 x 390
- Warranty 90 days limited warranty
- Voice command Touchscreen
Garmin Venu is a round face fitness watch with an OLED screen, built-in GPS, integrated heart rate and Pulse Oximeter, a barometric altimeter and magnetic compass. This gps navigation watch comes with some native apps, so your mountain biking, running and cycling activities are not restricted.
While it gathers your ride data, you can automatically sync your workouts or custom sessions with Garmin connect. Built for outdoorsmen, the gps smartwatch supports contactless payments.
For mountain bikers who want to be entertained with music , this watch streams favorite playlists from Spotify and Amazon music, in addition to its basic health tracking features like 24/7 hr and blood O2.
If you don’t like round face watches, there is another garmin model with large rectangular watch face, and a touchscreen display -it is venu Square GPS smartwatch.
This square face GPS mtb smartwatch is cheaper, and comes with more than 20 preloaded sports apps, including walking, running, cycling, mindful breathing, swimming and golf.
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Garmin Fenix 3 – best rugged smartwatch for mtb under $300
- Connectivity: USB, Bluetooth
- Compatibility: ANT+
- Screen: transflective MIP color
- Battery life: UltraTrac mode – 50hours; GPS training mode – 2o hours;
The Garmin Fenix 3 has since been replaced by the Fenix 5 (above) but they are still available and the price is going down. I wear a Fenix 3 every day and the watch is damn near bulletproof. It’s survived the rigours of riding, skiing, surfing, rock climbing, and canyoning without so much as a scratch on the screen.
On the bike it has all the hallmarks we look for in a GPS headunit, but in a compact and lighter weight unit. With a feature set similar to that of the Edge 520, the Fenix 3 offers support for power meters, external ANT+ sensors, features an ABC( built-in altimeter, barometer and compass), and access to GLONASS.
It doesn’t have optical HR like the newest crop of watches, but if you’re looking for ultimate accuracy you’ll want to wear a chest strap anyway.
Somerimes, chest heart rate straps are more accurate than wrist-based heart rate monitors fund in maby watches.
It’s also got Bluetooth, and when connected to a smartphone can upload activities directly to Garmin Connect, Strava, and Training Peaks, display notifications and receive firmware updates over the air. Unfortunately, Bluetooth support has not been extended to sensors.
Other sports training data in this garmin smartwatch for mtb are speed, altitude, heart rate, cadence, calories, distance traveled, temperature, and workout counters.
Finally, this garmin smartwatch for mountain biking can support up to 50 hours in UltraTrac mode, 20 hours in GPS training mode, and six weeks in watch mode. You can ride this garmin strava compatible watch for as long as you like, in the mountains, without running out of power. There’s even no need to carry power banks for your outdoor cycling adventures.
Again, this fenix 3 sports watch is the best rugged garmin smartwatch for mtb with great value for outdoor sports. The mountain bike gps watch is cheap and affordable under 300 dollars for most performance athletes who are on a budget
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Garmin Vivoactive 3 – best fitness watch for mountain bikers with music storage
- Connectivity: USB, Bluetooth
- Compatibility: Bluetooth, ANT+
- customizable free watch faces
- download up to 500 songs
- Garmin Pay contactless payment
- Music Player Controls
- Smartphone Compatibility: iPhone, Android
- Support: Built-in Sports Apps
- Heart Rate Monitor on Wrist
- Battery life: 7 days (13 hours in GPS mode)
- water resistant(waterproof)
Garmin’s Vivoactive 3 is another mountain bike fitness tracker watch with customisable colour touchscreen and built-in sensors. While it is designed for bikers and cyclists with small wrists of circumference of 5 to 6.5 inches, the GPS smartwatch has good music storage.
If you are looking for the best smartwatch for running with music, vivoactive 3 supports Spotify and comes with music controls. It runs activity tracking, sleep monitoring, automatic sync through garmin connect IQ, customizable alerts and VO2 max.
Bikers are going to need headphones enabled with bluetooth technology so as to enjoy phone free listening of favorite playlist. In addition to that, you can make convenient payments with mountain bikers watch.
if you are going to track cycling speed, altitude, heart rate, cadence, calories, distance, and temperature for half a day, you can’t run out of power. The battery life can support up to 13 hours while cycling in GPS mode. This outdoor smart watch also supports bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity for external sensors.
With more than 15 preloaded sports apps, including yoga, running, swimming, biking and strength training, this sports watch with music is going to keep you in the outdoor with variety of different sports options to try out.
This mountain bike fitness tracker keeps track on athlete’s fitness level, with VO2 max values, fitness age estimates, stress and estimated heart rate.
This Multisport GPS Watch comes with a polymer case that adds durability and flexibility on wrists. There are many sports apps you are going to enjoy, including SmartThings App and AccuWeather MinuteCast App.
Like Garmin Vivoactive 4 Gps smartwatch, I recommend this running watch with strava and music for those bikers who often like to go on solo biking trip.
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DO cheap multisport gps watches have accurate heart rate monitor?
If you are looking for the best multisport gps watch with heart rate monitor, pick any watch inc this review.
It is good to know that Some bikers have reported that their mtb watches have faulty HR values. Watches with built-in heart rate monitors work by shining LED lights through the skin to detect the blood pulsing right in the veins. So you must make sure cycling watch strap is in proper contact with your skin, to consistently record accurate heart rhythm when riding over rough terrain.
Wrap Up
If you are planning to go on your next road biking, selecting the best watch for mountain biking and cycling with built-in cycling features including compatible activity tracking apps can make all the difference in your outdoor adventure.
Even if the least you can do is run a single-track mountain biking, GPS connectivity, heart rate monitoring and a durable battery life are features that your cheapest gps bike watch must have. The good strap on your wrist would gives you added convenience wearing a smartwatch than having handlebar-mounted biking computer.
The mountain biking watches above are practical and affordable companions for serious competitive outdoor sports lovers. I believe than an avid triathlon racer who is on budget and wants a multitude of features in the best smart sports watch, would not leave this page without a gps smartwatch for his next cycling adventure.
I found fun in watches especially when I started having difficult time select wearables for my skinny 5.5 inch wrists.
Because of the amazing toolds embedded inside trackers and smartwatches, I fell in love with fitness.
Today I love to go out for gym workouts with my friends. Now am part of a sizable fitness community and I feel lucky.