Bicycling: Steps and Flights

I spoof my Fitbit into counting steps while cycling by putting it in a trouser pocket so it detects the leg movement. The VA3 might record something similar if strapped around an ankle but it might struggle to measure heart rate (which is one of the reasons I bought the VA3). The accelerometers in anything wrist-mounted won't pick up much movement similar to walking as the hands and arms don't move much while cycling.

I spoof my Fitbit into counting steps while cycling by putting it in a trouser pocket so it detects the leg movement. The VA3 might record something similar if strapped around an ankle but it might struggle to measure heart rate (which is one of the reasons I bought the VA3). The accelerometers in anything wrist-mounted won't pick up much movement similar to walking as the hands and arms don't move much while cycling.

I've thought about pitting the VA3 around my ankle, but like you said, this defeats the HR monitor (which works pretty good without a chest strap).

As for stair flights, this is a no-brainer. Every 10' of climbing = one flight of stairs.

On the contrary. What if that 10' of gain is after a few hundred feet traveled? Or even a longer distance traveled? There's a two mile stretch of road I run where the elevation gain is 36' from one end to the other. Should I get credit for 3-4 flights of stairs? This doesn't come close to the definition of floors climbed.

On the contrary. What if that 10' of gain is after a few hundred feet traveled? Or even a longer distance traveled? There's a two mile stretch of road I run where the elevation gain is 36' from one end to the other. Should I get credit for 3-4 flights of stairs? This doesn't come close to the definition of floors climbed.

I get credit for floors climbed while hiking and xc skiing. Garmin should give credit for floors while cycling too. Heck, they can even make it optional.

Garmin should give credit for floors while cycling too.

But how can this be calculated? As I stated earlier, elevation gained over greater distances wouldn't give you an accurate floors count. You can't convince me that if I were to climb 7 floors in a building staircase or have 70' of elevation gain on a 3 mile run/ride that these two are equal. There's a big difference between elevation gain and floors. According to Garmin, the following is one factor to be met to be given credit for completing a floor:

• When walking outdoors, the grade of the hill needs to be at least 10% which is an angle of about 6 degrees.
  

We've only spoken about elevation gain. Floors are counted either by ascent or descent. Even if you met the 10% grade while descending, there is a huge difference from doing this on foot or while cycling as cyclist would most likely be coasting downhill.

On the contrary. What if that 10' of gain is after a few hundred feet traveled? Or even a longer distance traveled? There's a two mile stretch of road I run where the elevation gain is 36' from one end to the other. Should I get credit for 3-4 flights of stairs? This doesn't come close to the definition of floors climbed.

My request is to have any significant climb count as flights while using the bicycling app. I'm talking about "out-of-the-saddle" type climbs, not long false-flats and smallish hills. I don't care about descents counting for anything.

The VA3 is a very nice piece of equipment - but I just find it annoying that after a long, hard bicycle ride I STILL have to find the energy to walk and climb stairs if I want to reach my daily goals.

Maybe I'm missing something about my goals? Should I reduce the steps/stairs goal during bicycling season?

Maybe I'm missing something about my goals? Should I reduce the steps/stairs goal during bicycling season?

The steps goal will reduce itself over time. The stairs can be set to any number. Simple solution to a non problem.

My request is to have any significant climb count as flights while using the bicycling app. I'm talking about "out-of-the-saddle" type climbs, not long false-flats and smallish hills. I don't care about descents counting for anything.

I understand what you want and why. The questions I've asked is how? You say it's a no-brainer; a 10' climb = 1 flight of stairs. I gave you my arguments on why that shouldn't be the case. You now give an example of "out-of-the-saddle" climbs. How would your watch detect this? An "x" % grade, speed and distance traveled calculation? That may be possible and suggested to Garmin. And if I understand your last post correctly, you want steps and floors counted during cycling just to meet your Garmin Connect goals?

Also, when I'm XC skiing (and I use the XC ski app in my watch) I get steps and flights. Just sayin'.

You get steps and flights because just like walking, you swing your arms while cross country skiing. I guess we should swings our arms while cycling to record steps.... /s