Suunto 5 GPS sports watch review

The latest smartwatches are giving the traditional cycle computers a real run for their money. The Suunto 5 can do everything the best bike-specific head units can, plus a lot more that they can’t

Suunto 5 GPS sports watch
(Image credit: Suunto)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

The Suunto 5 is absolutely rammed with intelligent features – though not all of them useful for dedicated cyclists – and makes a great training companion. We found the heart rate monitor to be temperamental but it may work better with thicker wrists.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    High level of functionality and loads of sports features

  • +

    Very accurate GPS

  • +

    Reliable syncing

  • +

    Suunto app is excellent

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Small screen for the size of the watch

  • -

    Unreliable optical heart rate monitor

  • -

    Moulded strap not ideal for smaller wrists

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.

Wearables, and that includes GPS watches like the Suunto 5, are becoming increasingly sophisticated, offering a whole raft of additional performance metrics using heart rate variability, sleep, stress and other data to track your condition – things that a computer, bolted to your bars rather than busily gathering data 24/7 via your wrist – is powerless to do.

>>> The best smartwatches for cycling: buyer's guide

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Simon Smythe

Simon Smythe is a hugely experienced cycling tech writer, who has been writing for Cycling Weekly since 2003. Until recently he was our senior tech writer. In his cycling career Simon has mostly focused on time trialling with a national medal, a few open wins and his club's 30-mile record in his palmares. These days he spends most of his time testing road bikes, or on a tandem doing the school run with his younger son.