Best smartwatches for cycling 2023: how to choose the right wearable for your riding

Here's our pick of the best smartwatches for cycling if you're thinking of tracking all your ride data from your wrist

One of the best smartwatches for cycling is shown here worn while cycling.
(Image credit: Future)

The best smartwatches for cycling are becoming ever more sophisticated. Even the mid-range ones are starting to outperform some of the best cycling computers: not only do they have the same level of functionality and post-ride data analysis but because they’re on your wrist they can be smarter, tracking what’s going on with your body when you’re off the bike as well as on it. 

Because they’re on your wrist they’ll track pretty much any sport you do, whether that’s running, swimming, hiking, rowing, skiing or even golfing! You don't need a bike mount (although that's an option with some) and don't need to worry about removing it from your bike when you stop. It's not going to get as mud-splattered as a computer if you go off-road either.

Just like bike computers, GPS smartwatches will pair with peripheral sensors such as the best power meters and heart rate monitors, and they now almost all have built-in wrist-based optical heart rate monitors. Depending on the model there's navigation too and top spec sports oriented smartwatches will supply all the metrics that a cycling computer does.

Our pick of the best smartwatches for cycling

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar which is one of the best smartwatches for cycling

(Image credit: Future)
Best cycling smartwatch for GPS and mapping

Specifications

Screen size: 1.3" / 33mm
Screen type: Colour
Control: Touchscreen and buttons
Weight: 53g
On board GPS?: Yes
On board HRM?: Yes
Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi

Reasons to buy

+
Automatically searches for GPS signals when you select an outdoor activity
+
Excellent battery life
+
Clear mapping
+
Quick navigation to screen you need

Reasons to avoid

-
Need to wear constantly for accurate diagnostics
-
Didn’t always automatically connect with phone

Garmin’s top-tier Forerunner 955 Solar is packed with features, making it more than just an activity tracker or GPS unit - though it does both of these things well, too. 

This watch measures a huge amount of data, providing feedback on your recovery, training readiness, stress levels and more. It does this thanks to two light diodes situated on the back of the watch, which track your heart rate and your heart rate variability. From here it can measure your performance ability, and then track your progression and recovery accordingly.

As for the mapping, we found that the 33.5mm circumference display made it easy to use and follow. By zooming in the maps clearly showed bridleways as well as splits in the route, certainly making it good enough to navigate by. Even when we tried to get lost, the zoom and scrolling features made it easy to get back on track.

As for battery life, during our four-month test it was nothing short of exceptional, lasting for over seven days per charge, even through the winter. The solar feature is likely to have a ranging appeal based on where you live and how much sunshine you see - the 955 is available without this function.

Read more: Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar smartwatch full review

Wahoo Elemnt Rival which is one of the best smartwatches for cycling

(Image credit: Future)
Best cycling smartwatch for race day

Specifications

Screen size: 30.4mm
Screen type: Colour
Control: Buttons
Weight: 53g
On board GPS: Yes
On board HRM: Yes
Connectivity: ANT+ / BLE
App: Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Simple to use
+
Reliable pairing and syncing
+
Accurate wrist-based HRM
+
Lightweight

Reasons to avoid

-
Doesn't have fitness tracking functionality (yet)
-
No touchscreen

The Wahoo Elemnt Rival shares the exact same user-friendly, intuitive functionality as Wahoo’s excellent cycling computers and uses the same app.

Not only that, but compared to other smartwatches it is lightweight and comfortable, the GPS is very accurate, battery life is incredible and the optical heart rate monitor could be the most reliable out there.

Wahoo calls it "radically simplified" – it doesn’t do navigation, sleep tracking or adaptive training guidance so you could say its functionality is limited compared to the more ‘wearable’ orientated watches, but Wahoo intends the Elemnt Rival to be a sports watch for more serious athletes who already know what they’re doing and where they’re going.

If you want a sports-focused watch with the trademark Wahoo clean design, reliable pairing and syncing, an intuitive app and exceptional battery life, the Elemnt Rival is it.

Read more: Wahoo Elemnt Rival smartwatch full review

Garmin Forerunner 255 on a table

(Image credit: Simon Smythe)

3. Garmin Forerunner 255

Best Garmin watch for sports and health tracking on a budget

Specifications

Screen size: 1.3in
Screen type: Transflective memory-in-pixel LCD
Control: Five buttons
Weight: 49g
On-board GPS: Yes
On-board HRM: Yes
Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+, WiFi
App: Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Effective heart rate monitor
+
Accurate GPS
+
Most of Garmin's premium sport and health functionalities
+
Lightweight

Reasons to avoid

-
Mapping not supported
-
No Training Readiness score
-
MIP display can look a little dull

The updates the Forerunner 255 received were huge when it launched in 2022, putting it up there in functionality terms virtually on a level with its big brother the Garmin Forerunner 955 as well as the Garmin Fenix 7 and Garmin Epix 2.

Most obviously it lacks mapping, but it does use the same multi-band GPS for activity tracking as the more expensive Garmin watches and it has the same wrist-based heart-rate monitor, enabling the same health monitoring that includes sleep monitoring, heart rate variability, training stress and VO2max estimates.

There's no danger of the Forerunner 255 replacing your cycling head unit since it doesn't have mapping, but if you're already in the Garmin ecosystem with your bike computer and just want to add health monitoring without spending a fortune, the Forerunner 255 has the majority of it covered. 

Since it's a mid-range GPS watch, the other thing the 255 lacks is an AMOLED touchscreen - it has a transflective memory-in-pixel LCD type. So if you want mapping and a brighter, crisper, prettier display it might be worth spending a bit more.

Read more: Garmin Forerunner 255 smartwatch full review

Garmin Epix which is one of the best smartwatches for cycling

(Image credit: Future)
Best all-round smartwatch for health and cycling stats

Specifications

Screen size: 1.3"
Screen type: Colour AMOLED
Control: Touchscreen, buttons
Weight: 71g (with sapphire glass)
On board GPS: Yes
On board HRM: Yes
Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+, WiFi
App: Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Superb touchscreen
+
Accurate GPS trace
+
Multisport functionality
+
Long battery life

Reasons to avoid

-
Not solar charged
-
Expensive

The Garmin Epix gives you much of the functionality of the Garmin Fenix 7, but with a much brighter, more colourful AMOLED touchscreen in place of the Fenix 7's MIP touchscreen. Although you don't get a solar charging option, unlike the Fenix 7, battery life is still good: around 6 days when using the GPS to track activities.

The functionality available mimics the best cycling computers and you can use the Epix for navigation as well as linking up to a power meter or other device. Heart rate monitoring and pulseox are built in.

Wear the Epix 24/7 and it will give you the whole range of Garmin's health stats from heart rate variability to recovery time and sleep quality. We were impressed enough to give the Epix a five-star review.

Read more: Garmin Epix 2 smartwatch full review

Apple Watch Ultra which is one of the best smartwatches for cycling

(Image credit: Future)
Best sports watch/smartwatch hybrid

Specifications

Screen size: 1.9"
Screen type: Colour OLED
Control: Touchscreen, buttons, digital crown wheel
Weight: 61g
On board GPS: Yes
On board HRM: Yes
Connectivity: Bluetooth, WiFi, cellular
App: Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Good smartwatch functionality
+
Pretty good as a sports watch
+
Large, tough touchscreen

Reasons to avoid

-
Battery life is not great
-
Needs an iPhone linked up for full functionality
-
Expensive

Designed to offer a longer battery life as well as being more rugged than other Apple Watch options, the Apple Watch Ultra is also larger, with a bright, always-on 1.9" sapphire glass touchscreen. 

The built-in HRM tracked a chest strap closely and the GPS trace followed a cycling computer well. There's also HRV tracking, pulseox, body temperature and ECG built in and the Apple Watch Ultra provides accurate sleep tracking.

At around 36 hours, battery life is still not as good as the best smartwatches for cycling though and it needs to be paired with an iPhone to get the full feature set, although there is built-in cellular connectivity so you can use it without a phone for mapping,  messaging and calls if you buy a SIM card.

Read more: Apple Watch Ultra smartwatch full review

Garmin Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar which is one of the best smartwatches for cycling

(Image credit: Future)
Best cycling smartwatch for functionality

Specifications

Screen size: 30.4mm / 33.0mm / 35.6mm
Screen type: Colour touchscreen
Control: Buttons/touchscreen
Weight: 58g - 85g
On board GPS: Yes
On board HRM: Yes
Connectivity: ANT+ / BLE / WiFi
App: Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Lots of functionality for sports and fitness tracking
+
Impressive battery life
+
Basemaps included
+
Good computer and mobile app ecosystem

Reasons to avoid

-
Quite large for smaller wrists

The Garmin Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar packs a lot of functionality into a watch-sized package. That includes not just GPS tracking, but Bluetooth, ANT+ and WiFi connectivity, optical heart rate measurement and pulse oximetry (measuring the oxygen level in your blood). That’s a lot of power hungry functions to keep running – a drain on your battery.

So Garmin has added a solar coating to the glass face of the Fenix 7 which turns the sun’s rays into a boost to the battery, offering up to 5 days of GPS tracking and 5 weeks in smartwatch mode. The Fenix 7 is available without solar charging too and in three different sizes, as well as with a variety of case and strap materials.

It does everything you might want and more, but once you’ve zeroed in on what you want to track it’s easy to use. Functionality includes basemaps, navigation and on-board music and there's a touchscreen interface alongside buttons, making it easy to use. 

The Garmin Connect app’s interface is nice and it too can be customised according to your sporting interests.

Read more: Garmin Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar full review

Male cyclist wearing the Suunto 9 Baro which is one of the best smartwatches for cycling

(Image credit: Future)
Best cycling smartwatch for smart battery management

Specifications

Screen size: 24.0mm (active)
Screen type: Colour
Control: Buttons/ / touchscreen
Weight: 81g
On board GPS: Yes
On board HRM: Yes
Connectivity: BLE
App: Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Robust
+
Good touchscreen
+
Value against Garmin
+
Decent battery life

Reasons to avoid

-
Mapping and navigation not as user friendly as competitors
-
No basemap when navigating
-
Less functionality than other smartwatches

The Suunto 9 Baro from the Finnish brand comes with a touchscreen and barometric pressure measurement.

It has a ton of functionality in a package that’s easy to live. It will give you as much data as you want to track your exercise and fitness as well as keeping track of your non-exercise activity during the day. The Suunto 9 Baro works as well for running, swimming, hiking or mountaineering: in fact, there are over 80 sport profiles available.

Suunto has impressive battery management tech. When using the Suunto 9 Baro for a mix of activity tracking, all day wear, and sleep tracking we were always impressed with the battery life. You can expect the better part of a week to pass before thinking about charging. 

Read more: Suunto 9 Baro full review

Female cyclist wearing the Garmin Venu 2 Plus which is one of the best smartwatches for cycling

(Image credit: Emma Silversides)
Best cycling smartwatch for voice commands

Specifications

Screen size: 33.0mm
Screen type: Colour AMOLED touchscreen
Control: Buttons/touchscreen/voice
Weight: 51g
On board GPS: Yes
On board HRM: Yes
Connectivity: ANT+ / BLE / WiFi
App: Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Long battery  life
+
Clear display
+
Fast recharge

Reasons to avoid

-
Slow GPS fix

The Garmin Venu 2 Plus boasts a very bright Amoled display which outshines many smartwatches and cycling computers and can be set to be always on or to light up when you move your wrist to see the face. There are