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Due to modern developments in technology, the best watches for mountain biking are all smartwatches. This is because smartwatches can simply track so much more than a standard digital or analog watch, as well as making use of GPS trackers and various other supplemental apps to assist your overall experience.
Before the rise in popularity of smartwatches, cyclists were stuck with oversized and bulky cycle computers, similar to the way that photographers had compact cameras. You can still buy both of these things, but smartwatches and smartphones have largely destroyed these industries for good reason. The fact that you can fit all of your data into something the size of a slimline watch has made life much easier for everyone.
When buying a watch specifically for mountain biking, there are quite a few factors to consider mentioned below. Not only this, but just because a watch is good for swimming, doesn’t make it a good watch for cycling, and vice-versa.
Below we reveal the best smartwatches for mountain biking that you can buy in a variety of price ranges, from budget to expensive.
Table of Contents
What Is The Best Free Mountain Biking App?
There isn’t a best singular free app as people have different wants and needs. However, the best free MTB apps are listed below:
#1 Strava
#2 Trailforks
#4 MTB Project
In all honesty, there is not too much difference between these apps. You’re most likely going to choose which one you like best from your own user experience.
In short, they all show you various trails and give varying data points about each area you are biking in.
All of these apps can be used on both Apple and WearOS.
Is Strava Good For Mountain Biking?
Yes, although it can depend on the trail. Whilst Strava is 100% ideal for all forms of cycling and running, it depends on what you want to get out of it.
For the most part, Strava is a great app, you are able to instantly see trails, how long they are and how much time it took for the average person to complete them. In addition to this, Strava is a completely free app – you are able to buy extra features, but this is 100% optional.
The drawback of Strava is that due to the social nature of the network, you will find overly competitive people. This is bad in the sense that it can ruin a MTB trail if you directly come in to contact with them. Also, some people will cheat by using electric bikes to get the best time possible.
In summary, Strava is a great app for mountain biking, but some trail times should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Factors To Consider When Buying A Mountain Biking Watch
GPS
This is pretty much the most important feature you need when buying a smartwatch for mountain biking. The best kind of GPS watches are almost always the ones with the best coverage. There are a couple of ways GPS displays are used by your watch, with some being more accurate than others. For the most part, more satellites in different orbits give you better coverage. However, in general, as long as there are 3 orbits, the watch should be able to triangulate your position effectively and there is not too much more accuracy after this number is increased.
Battery Life
Secondly is the battery life of the watch. Although there are still some smartwatches with a battery life of a single day, this is starting to become unacceptable. For the most part, fitness-based watches are designed and made to a higher specification than a fashion smartwatch. As a result of this, you will find that even in GPS mode smartwatches can last over 24 hours and when GPS is turned off, can last significantly longer.
Water Resistance
Thankfully all fitness smartwatches are able to resist at least some degree of water. Even smartwatches that cannot be used for swimming can withstand almost anything rain or snow has to throw at them. Therefore this is not a big factor to consider when mountain biking. If a smartwatch doesn’t have sufficient water resistance to survive cycling, it has not been featured on the list below.
Other Apps
When buying a smartwatch for mountain biking, there are two main questions you should ask yourself. Firstly, will this watch be used for any other activities? If so, it might be worth buying a non-fitness smartwatch and instead something that can do a bit of everything. The best recommendation for this is an Apple Smartwatch. If you think you will make use of phone calls and the ability to make contactless payments, this would be a good choice since there are various cycling apps available for Apple watches.
Secondly, will you be using a specific app for mountain biking? Since most smartwatches use one of only a few operating systems, if you’re using a 3rd party app – you have no worry about compatibility. However, brands such as Garmin have a standalone app of their own which is already installed into the firmware of the watch.
Visibility & Glare Protection
More of an inconvenience than a major issue, it can be a pain if you’re riding your bike with the overhead sun glaring and distorting your vision. Generally with a smartwatch, the bigger the display, the easier it is to read – although this is not really worth sacrificing any usability or other features for.
Some watches already use an anti-glare designed material which is a thin layer placed slightly above the OLED screen, whereas other major brands will have specifically designed standalone anti-glare glass, similar to a protective glass you see people use on their cell phones.
Heart Rate Monitor
A 2018 found that smartwatch heart rate monitors were over 95% accurate, however, it should be noted that smartwatch HRM’s are not as accurate as a chest strap. In addition to this, only good quality smartwatches have been selected below, therefore this baseline accuracy should be the minimum expected. Cheaply made Chinese smartwatches may have HRM’s which don’t work to the same level as a Suunto smartwatch but are considerably cheaper.
In short, if you care about 100% accuracy, you should wear a chest based HRM, if you can live with a rough reading of your heart rate, a smartwatch meets requirements with ease.
Wearability On Wrist
Wearability and comfort is an area that is often overlooked but isn’t worth too much thought when evaluating smartwatches. The reason for this is because smartwatches are often created using the same materials and a silicone strap. In reality, there is not too much difference at all between the feel of various smartwatches compared to others.
Of course, some watches are larger than others, as well as coming in different shapes. However, other than this, they all feel more or less the same on the wrist.
Best Watches For Mountain Biking
Suunto Spartan
Suunto are a brand that is well known for making fitness watches to a high specification. The Spartan is not really an activity tracker, but more of a full sports watch – tracking over 80 different disciplines. As Suunto has so much experience in HRM tracking from their Finnish military background, it is no coincidence that they are front of the queue in terms of accuracy on this front.
With that being said, the Suunto Spartan doesn’t have as good battery life as some of the other smartwatches listed such as the Polar Vantage. It should however be noted that Suunto watches are extremely tough and rugged for smartwatches and will not break easily at all.
Garmin Fenix 5X
Arguably the best GPS fitness watch for mountain biking, the Garmin Fenix has everything. If you combine a fitness watch with a standard smartwatch that is convenient for everyday use – you get the Fenix.
The Fenix comes with a GPS, as well as pre-loaded maps, so you can guarantee a level of accuracy that other smartwatches do not have. Also, if you enjoy the mountain part of mountain biking, a blood oxygen sensor allows you to make adjustments for exercise at high altitudes.
Overall, Garmin have thought of everything with this watch, it is 100% ideal for MTB.
Apple Series 5
Although the series 5 of Apple watch is shown here, in all honesty, it doesn’t matter too much about which variation you buy. Granted the newer versions are faster and offer a more up to date user experience – but they are much more expensive.
Apple smartwatches are not the best watch for MTB, but they are extremely useful. The main selling point of this watch is that you will be able to use it for many other things – so it is not just a watch you will wear when cycling. Downloading something like Strava for cycling is easy and transforms this into your MTB watch, but it works just as well in everyday life with convenient apps such as Apple pay.
Fitbit Versa 3
5-10 years ago, Fitbit was really only suitable for swimming and cycling. Since this time, Fitbit has come a long way and developed far more powerful smartwatches which are suitable for almost every sport, including mountain biking.
As you can tell by the brand name, Fitbit is a company with the main focus of creating a fitness based smartwatch. The Versa 3 can synchronize with your phone and display all kinds of analytics, as well as provide you with GPS, HRM and other functions that you may need.
This is the best GPS MTB watch in terms of value for money and is significantly cheaper than almost all other branded smartwatches.
Polar Vantage
This is a fairly expensive watch for mountain biking but has a couple of main selling points that separate it from the competition. Firstly, the Polar Vantage has 40 hours of battery life in GPS mode and 7 days without. This level of battery is almost unrivaled in other smartwatches under $500.
Secondly, the heart rate monitor is one of the most accurate wrist-based HRM’s you can buy. Polar are a company which are heavy on design and innovation – creating the world’s first wireless HRM in 1982. They are not a company that simply copies the technology of others and truly are at the cutting edge of products such as smartwatches.
It comes with everything you will need as well as their own “recovery pro” app, which places an emphasis on what you need to do after a long bike ride, rather than anything else.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
Not a dedicated fitness watch, the Samsung Galaxy 3 is a smartwatch that still has all the capabilities you will need for MTB. Simply get an app such as Strava or Trailforks and you are well on your way to using this as your MTB watch.
Of course, the main benefit of this watch is not just that it can download cycling related apps. It still has a very solid GPS alongside a useful HRM. Although much like the Apple watch, the Samsung Galaxy 3 offers a whole lot more such as playing music without the need for a phone or any other device.
Coros Apex
Not a watch that was designed specifically for MTB or cycling in general. The Coros Apex is a general fitness watch that can be used for a variety of sports and primarily focuses on data analysis. Much like other high-end MTB smartwatches, the Apex has a 40 hour battery life in GPS mode, which is far more than you will ever need for even the longest of trails.
The case of the watch is made from hypoallergenic titanium with a silicon strap, meaning those that get irritated skin easily, need not worry with this watch. It also tracks your heart rate 24/7, so you can monitor what your body is up to whilst you sleep.
