Assigning default gear for individual activities

I just bought a pair of trail running shoes in addition to my road running shoes. I'd like to set up Garmin Connect such that when I choose 'run' on my Fenix 3, my road running shoes are linked and when I choose 'trail run' it knows that I'll be using the trail running shoes.

Currently I can only select 'other' when I choose an activity assigned to my trail running shoes, 'trail running' is not listed as an option under gear settings.

I have the same problem with my road and mountain bike.
  • On the GC webpages, can't you just go to the full page for gear, select "bike" and then "add gear"?

    It works for shoes... I don't have a bike, but it should work the same way.

    As far as assigning gear, in the activity tile, click on the "shoe" icon" and assign the proper gear. If you don't it may just use what you selected as the default.
  • Thanks Jim_m, but I am not sure I follow all you said! First I have added gear - I have each of my 3 bikes set up as separate gear. I think that is what you told me to do in your first two sentences, right?

    As far as assigning gear I of course don't have a shoe icon but a bike icon but it is not clickable? I click on gear and assign the proper bike BUT I have to do this for each ride, I want it to do it automatically. My edge knows what bike the ride was on why doesn't Connect pick it up and assign the ride to the proper bike?

    Possibly I did not understand your directions and do it right? Let me know.
  • Thanks Jim_m, but I am not sure I follow all you said! First I have added gear - I have each of my 3 bikes set up as separate gear. I think that is what you told me to do in your first two sentences, right?

    As far as assigning gear I of course don't have a shoe icon but a bike icon but it is not clickable? I click on gear and assign the proper bike BUT I have to do this for each ride, I want it to do it automatically. My edge knows what bike the ride was on why doesn't Connect pick it up and assign the ride to the proper bike?

    Possibly I did not understand your directions and do it right? Let me know.


    When setting up or editing gear, you can have a specific bike, etc, assigned to activites (by type) I keep this turned off for everything, and then pick which one to use (in my case, shoes). If you have auto assign on one bike, it could be why you can't click on the icon. This also could be (I'm simply guessing here) why the gear on the edge isn't being used - but the auto gear assignment is.
  • Auto Gear Assign

    OK, so I want to use the auto assign. Not sure how to turn it on? I can select in gear set up to assign "cycling " to that gear but then any bike I ride goes to that gear, so I have to go in and change the assignment.

    The main reason I want it to automatically go to the correct gear (bike) automatically is that some days I might ride 2 different bikes or I may not sync for a day or two so now I have to sort through which bike goes with what ride, it's a pain sometimes.
  • Garmin Support

    Well I just wasted an hour and half with Garmin Support trying to resolve this multiple bike issue (and a sync issue). Basically Connect doesn't recognize profileS, yes we set up this new great feature called Profiles but our Connect software doesn't deal with them. So the only way I can get each activity to be associated with the correct gear (bike) is to do it manually! Even though I set up profiles for each bike so I can track them individually I can't see that in Connect unless I manually assign them. DONT THESE PEOPLE THINK!

    Also I now find that the last software update to my Edge 1000 (last week) wiped out my totals for each profile (bike) so now the only way I know the mileage on each bike is to look at Connect, but if I don't assign each activity to the proper gear Connect is not accurate. PLUS THERE IS NO WAY TO PUT THE CORRECT MILEAGE BACK IN TO THE edge 1000. I wish I could take this dam thing back and buy from someone else.

    I HOPE THOSE THAT ARE CONSIDERING BUYING A DEVICE READ THIS AND SERIOUSLY CONSIDER OTHERS, NOT GARMIN, THEY ARE A MESS
  • Are there new news to this issue. I also want to have the possibility to add a bike to an activity.
    Manually editing the gear after each run is horrible.....
  • Can't even add it manually

    When I try to manually change the gear, all I get is my road bike even though I have my mountain bike correctly listed in the gear page. So even after a mountain bike ride I can only add the road bike under the gear.... grrr.
  • I also want to have the possibility to add a bike to an activity.
    Are you talking about Edge devices specifically, or in Garmin Connect more generally?

    Manually editing the gear after each run is horrible.....
    Now I'm confused. Are you talking about riding or running?

    Disclaimer: I don't have or use an Edge device; I use a Forerunner watch as the data capture device at the point of user activity.

    • As far as I can surmise, the gear (as in sporting equipment, and not the engaged setting of interlocking toothed wheels) items used is not among the data captured or transmitted by the device, irrespective of the activity profile set up and/or selected on it. It is therefore not possible to add a particular pair of shoes or a particular bike to an activity prior to syncing the device to Garmin Connect; the [FONT=Courier New]Gear
    • [/FONT] attribute (or field) of an activity exists only in the Garmin Connect service's database schema.

    _
    • The [FONT=Courier New]Gear
    • [/FONT] attribute for an activity is not freeform text, but a list of references to rows in a separate Gear data table. Since the end-user device does not hold an offline copy of the data table that is current as of the time of the activity, it makes logical sense that the device cannot assign gear items used to an activity, in the absence of the ability to perform a referential integrity check at the point/time of populating the data.

    _
    • Rule-based (and referential integrity checked) default assignment of gear items used can be performed by the Garmin Connect service based on an activity's [FONT=Courier New]Type
    • [/FONT] attribute, but only at the granularity of Running, Walking, Hiking, Cycling, Swimming and Other (as opposed to Street Running vs Trail Running for different types/pairs of shoes).

    _
    • So, adding a bike to an activity is possible (yes, I tested it), and automatically adding a bike to an activity is possible (yes, I tested that too). However, automatic anything means the user cedes at least some degree to control, without necessarily implying that automation mechanism will do exactly as the user wishes; the level of ‘intelligence’ in automation is a dimension unto itself.
      _
    • I don't understand why “editing the gear after each run” would be necessary. How many pairs of shoes and/or how many bikes do you actively use? I have eight pairs of running shoes, I use my favourite pair for about a third of my runs, so I make that a default gear item for running, then I only need to edit the gear for running activities two-thirds of the time.


    When I try to manually change the gear, all I get is my road bike even though I have my mountain bike correctly listed in the gear page. So even after a mountain bike ride I can only add the road bike under the gear.... grrr.
    That's strange. The only reasons I can think of why a particular piece of gear would not appear in the Edit Gear pop-up are:
    • The list of gear is too long, and so the user needs to scroll up to see the rest of the items; or
    • The First Use date of the piece of gear is after the date of the activity in question; or
    • The piece of gear has been retired before the date of the activity in question.
  • Are you talking about Edge devices specifically, or in Garmin Connect more generally?

    The use of 'also' implies to me that as other parts of the conversation referenced the Edge, this part in particular references Garmin connect

    Now I'm confused. Are you talking about riding or running?

    Is that information relevant to the issue at hand, or does it apply regardless of what a run is?
    Disclaimer: I don't have or use an Edge device; I use a Forerunner watch as the data capture device at the point of user activity.

    Ok, here's what I believe is relevant to the post then:
    • Edges have a list of bikes to choose from you can program. You might have "Daily Commute", "MTB" and "Track Bike"
    • Garmin connect has a gear function that more or less lets you know when you should swap out equipment. Chain > 3000k for example would mean time to switch it out.
    • The bike selection made on the Edge isn't communicated to Garmin Connect. If your Edge is set to "MTB" GC doesn't necessarily update the gear usage for the that bike.
    • Correct me if I'm wrong anyone?
  • Is that information relevant to the issue at hand, or does it apply regardless of what a run is?
    As much as it would be nonsensical to want to add a bike to the activity after each run, it is still possible to do that through rule-based gear assignment automatically in Garmin Connect. However, I'd really like to know why Achim_Schraud would want to do that.

    Edges have a list of bikes to choose from you can program. You might have "Daily Commute", "MTB" and "Track Bike"
    Are they just profiles, or are they actual bikes? Analogously, track running and track shoes are logically different types.

    Garmin connect has a gear function that more or less lets you know when you should swap out equipment. Chain > 3000k for example would mean time to switch it out.
    Only if you choose to create a separate Gear entry of type Other for every replaceable component (tire, wheel, chain, etc.) and can be bothered to add every component used to an activity after the fact. Otherwise, a Gear entry of type Bike in Garmin Connect simply has a single overall lifespan attribute in terms of distance, even though its physical components should have different useful lifespans in reality.

    The bike selection made on the Edge isn't communicated to Garmin Connect. If your Edge is set to "MTB" GC doesn't necessarily update the gear usage for the that bike.
    “MTB” as a profile means nothing in terms of automatic gear assignment to an activity in Garmin Connect, other than applying any default gear rules set for Cycling across the board. You haven't shown or convinced me that you can specify on an Edge device that using the “MTB” profile means you're riding a Canyon Exceed CF SLX mountain bike as opposed to a Scott Voltage FR_710. As Roypw reported above, Garmin Connect does not recognise profiles set up on Edge devices (and, in fact, has no visibility or record of the Profile data table), just as Edge devices have no visibility of the Gear data table set up in the Garmin Connect service's database.