Fenix and Edge Integration

Former Member over 8 years ago

Does anyone have information on whether Garmin is working on integrating their watches (such as the fenix) and the Edge series? Specifically in terms of syncing workouts and the Training Status metrics. I'm confused how the current "best practice" for getting comprehensive data seems to be to use your watch for everything, instead of supplementing the watch with a bike computer that is both expensive and better suited to the purpose of cycling.

I'm not a coder but this seems like it would be doable by aggregating the workouts and metrics from both devices in Garmin Connect, and then pulling that info back onto the device. I've noticed that Training Status is currently device-dependent in Garmin Connect, but I see no reason why this needs to be the case.

Isn't this sort of synergy between Garmin's various devices precisely the sort of thing they should be selling to their core audience who is willing to spend $600-800 on a Fenix 5?

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0 Former Member over 8 years ago

Hi NorthCascades, I'm not trying to pick a fight with you... I'm just pointing out that we have different perspectives on what value Garmin ought to provide for our money. I bought an F2 one month before the F3 came out. I immediately sold it for a big loss and bought an F3 and was very happy for a while. As I started to build out my Garmin-manufactured bike gear (Vector 2S, Varia tail light, remote control), I realized that the Fenix series isn't actually a very good bike computer for several reasons. 1) it does not support many of the cycling specific accessories. 2) It doesn't show as much data. 3) until the 5X it did not offer turn-by-turn navigation. 4) The 5X is actually more expensive by a fair bit, and I don't want to trash a $700 device in a mountain bike crash. The 820 makes me slightly less nervous.

So, I suggest that the F5 is not designed to be a bike computer, but to fill in for one if you don't want to do all of the things that the Edge series does well. I'm not telling you that your use case is wrong, but please don't tell those of us who value the features of the Edge series are wrong either.

Thanks,
Shep

I'm not trying to pick a fight with you, either. I'm here to figure out how to get the most out of my devices, and to share useful information.

You can get what you want (Firstbeat analysis of your cycling) by recording your bike rides on your watch. Or you can not get what you want by not recording them. My advice is to get what you want.

You don't have to stop using your 820 to do this. I use my Edge (mounted on the stem) when I do intervals because it's useful to see my power output in real time. For any other riding, I don't find the Edge useful enough to make sure it's charged in advance. I've got the rear-view radar, the watch vibrates on my wrist and I know there's a car behind me. A nice thing about recording on two devices is you have a backup if one of them goes nuts, my Edge has. As I said earlier, you set up a second Connect account for the Edge to sync to so it doesn't duplicate your statistics.

For the record, to your point #3, I've been using a Fenix 3 for turn-by-turn navigation for 2 years before I got my F5. You plan a route, send it to the watch, it buzzes before and at the turn with an arrow and the name of the road you need to turn on.

0 --Fred-- over 8 years ago

I think it would be a great idea to have a cheap "monitor only" Edge model, which would simply be an external ant+ device metrics are broadcasted to. It could be used on a treadmill or a bike.
Of course, such ideas might not make it past Garmin's marketing department.

0 stewa285 over 8 years ago

I think it would be a great idea to have a cheap "monitor only" Edge model, which would simply be an external ant+ device metrics are broadcasted to. It could be used on a treadmill or a bike.
Of course, such ideas might not make it past Garmin's marketing department.

Something like a ANT+ Extended Display in a Edge form factor: https://www.thisisant.com/developer/ant-plus/device-profiles#4099_tab
Essentially a Varia Vision, in an Edge form factor.
Since this is standardised ANT+, any vendor should be able to create such device.

0 PubBike over 8 years ago

Something like a ANT+ Extended Display in a Edge form factor..

For optimum flexibility, perhaps Garmin could add extended display mode to all their devices. The ANT+ site seems to envisage the watch as the remote display whereas we are discussing the opposite scenario. I think they didn't think about the use case that actually the watch is the more ubiquitous device since it is for every sport and includes activity tracking HRM etc., whereas the Edge is a dedicated cycling computer only.

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

Hello, it reassures me not to be the only one to meet this problem.

I also have a fenix5 and an edge1000. It is a shame not to benefit from the infos of FTP, VO2max etc on the fenix in relation to the activities recorded with the edge.

Why not record with fenix? Because I program complex sessions in bicycles (repetitions of PMA etc) and that it is more readable on the edge simply.
Have two accounts ?? I think about it but to have 1000 € of garmin material and have to "tinker" is a pity

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

For me, I'm reluctant to wear my f5x on a mtb ride, crashing the unit on a rock. Otherwise I would record on both at a time and discard the edge data, assuming (haven't tried it actually) that I can connect with both units at a time to my ant+ stages power meter and Garmin heart rate monitor.
So I definitely like to see data integration within Garmin Connect and syncing training results on multiple devices. Shouldn't be hard...

0 PubBike over 8 years ago

assuming (haven't tried it actually) that I can connect with both units at a time to my ant+ stages power meter and Garmin heart rate monitor.

ANT+ sensors broadcast so you can have as many head units as you like collecting data from the same set of sensors, e,g. Fenix, Edge, Virb, mobile phone etc.

Is BLE still limited to sensors being exclusive to a head unit?

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

That's nice, I believe BLE still has this limitation.

0 PubBike over 8 years ago

So maybe the answer is to have a mode in Edge devices that allows them to act as a remote display and allow button pushes and gestures on the Edge to be sent back to the host device (Fenix 5), which would be a useful feature for triathletes in particular.

I have created a thread in the Connect IQ forum regarding a possible extended display app.

0 srshaw over 8 years ago

I agree that Garmin are way behind the competition in integrating information from different devices. Fitbit and Polar especially work really well with several devices.

Surely it can't be that difficult for at least calories calculated on an edge to appear on a Fenix once synced. I suspect all the recovery information might be a bit tougher due to each device calculating differently. I don't understand why this could be done in connect. Training peaks manages to come up with nice graphs from information supplied from Garmin devices.

I personally don't like the idea of riding with a big Fenix 3 whilst cycling and only cycle with it whilst competing in triathlons, however the temperature is wrong due to sitting on the wrist. I suppose a Tempe would alleviate this issue. (Actually if the Fenix could read temperature from an edge 520 now that would be cool).