Any cyclists here using the S3?

[Rengel79]

I'm at a cross roads as to whether I take the plunge and invest in a S3 with GPS/LTE so I no longer need to carry my iphone or use my garmin on the bike and have my watch record everything.

I also commute to work during the week with my bike and record those rides as commute rides with my phone currently. Roughly 60min each morning / night for the ride to work and home again.. would the s3 battery stand up for the day?

How has the experience been using the strava app on your s3? Any ideas of any new major releases and enhancements/new features for the Strava app or any feedback on the s3? I'd love to trial new routes around my area on some big rides but found that the garmin 500 struggled to 'guide' me... does anyone know if Strava would offer this in an upcoming release in conjunction with the s3?

What is the battery life like on the s3 when recording long rides? Is it accurate? Elevation, distance, etc? Anyone use a heat rate monitor in addition to the watch? Would you say its' a genuine contender to basically 'throw away' the phone and the garmin for all rides and runs?

Keen to hear your feedback...

Ralph

 

[d.b.c]

Afraid probably not going to be much help as I'm a cyclist using the S3 but not the LTE version but mainly use it for recording my commuter rides.

I struggled with strava app on the watch to a basic level of googling that it was a pain involving installing uninstalling etc so as soon as I hit issues with trying to launch it I gave up fairly quickly and now record everything on Activity on watch and then transfer the data to Strava using healthfit app which is very easy.

The only annoying miss for me personally compared to using strava on my phone - is that it doesn't autopause during rides. (Activity does for walking but not for cycling - really hope that gets sorted on future update soon) but that apart find the benefits of using watch (particularly with airpods) way outweighs this compared to using Strava on phone.

 

[NT1440]

S0 here, I tend to ride for 2-3 hours at a time at night. As long as I’m above 60% I know I’ll be able to record the whole thing in the Activity app.

Keep in mind I don’t use the 3rd party app, but given I’m using the original watch purchased about a month after launch I think you should be fine on much enhanced hardware compared to mine.

Hope that helps a bit.

 

[Rengel79]

Thanks guys that certainly helps. I’m trying to justify the s3 with lte, stainless steel with Milanese loop for $1,110AUD!
Keen to hear what other cyclists are wearing in terms of bracelet material also.
I see a few videos on the Strava app review for he s3 but nothing that really jumps out and says this is an absolute Garmin or phone “replacer” which is what I’m looking for. The Strava app for the watch doesn’t seem to have advanced that much either since it was first released is what I’m reading? Does the activity app export to Strava? Do you guys wear a heart rate monitor in addition to the watch to get a better BPM reading? Anyone using the wahoo TICKR heart monitor?

Keep the feedback and comments coming !!

 

[derf36]

I swim, bike, and run. Upgraded this spring from a S0 to S3 non-LTE.

Swimming - I record the swim using the Workout App which is brilliant, then I transfer the workout to Strava using the HealthFit App.

Running - I love leaving the phone at home. I record my run in the Workout App then transfer it to Strava using the Healthfit App. I've tried the Strava watch app but switched back to the Workout App. Flawless.

Cycling - I use my Garmin Edge 520 with a chest HR strap. I've recorded rides with the watch and it works fine but it's just not as good as the Garmin, for a few small reasons. First, the Edge is sitting on my bars right in my line of sight. The watch is strapped to my arm which obviously not as convenient. Yes I could mount the watch but that doesn't seem ideal. Secondly, my Garmin shows the fields I want: power, cadence & Strava segments. Lastly, is battery. Periodically I do some long rides and the Edge can handle any duration I can throw at it. That said, the watch has it's place. If my wife and I are going on a casual evening ride, and I don't want to look at any metrics, I'll just use my watch and the native workout app to shoot everything to Strava.

I have a few bands but use the Sport bands for working out. I want it pretty tight and secure, particularly swimming and running, and the sport and Nike bands work well for that. I also have the melanese loop but it's not my favourite. It's no good for sports and kinda tugs and pinches sometimes. I prefer my woven nylon & leather band for day to day but don't use them for activities.

btw, I approve of your upcoming purchase

Cheers, Rod

 

[d.b.c]

Ditto for bands - loved the look of the milanese but as soon as I realised not waterproof then they were out so just bought it with nike sports band as then easy to pick up another style of band later (and a lot cheaper if third party not apple).

 

[frugtkompot]

Cyclist here as well. A few observations that hasn't already been noted.

- It's not the best option for long, serious rides where you need to view data at all times. It's kinda fiddly trying to get the watch to display the information when you're going at high speed.
- It's perfect for commuting or other semi-workouts.
- The Strava app is not good. My main annoyance with it is the lack of customization.
- I recommend you look at two apps: Workouts++ and WorkOutDoors. The last one displays a map and is good for navigation and the first one displays data more alike Garmin Fenix.
- It's the best Heart Rate monitor I've tried on a watch yet. Easily more reliable than my Garmin Fenix 3 HR. Of course a chest strap will give you more information (especially for running), but for commutes, yoga and such I find it really good.
- The battery is excellent. For example: yesterday I did 1h45m of cycling (commute) and 1h15m of yoga. Ended the day at 58%.
- The nike sports band is good. Better than my Garmin Fenix 3. I'll look into getting the Nylon loop band I think because fabric is usually nicer next to skin.