If you’re a cycling enthusiast, the right smartwatch can be just as essential as your helmet or water bottle. Whether chasing personal records, navigating unfamiliar routes, or simply tracking your daily rides, today’s smartwatches offer a powerful mix of performance, precision, and practicality. In this blog, we’ve rounded up our favourite smartwatches specifically tailored for cycling enthusiasts. From GPS accuracy and heart rate monitoring to battery life and cycling-specific features, these watches will keep you connected and on track. No matter the riding style or budget, there’s a smartwatch for all. Let’s dive into our favourites!
Our Favourite Smartwatches for Cycling Enthusiasts
Garmin EPIX PRO Gen 2
The Garmin Epix Pro Gen 2 is an exceptional choice for cyclists! Its rugged 42mm AMOLED sapphire display ensures visibility in all conditions, while multi-band GNSS + GLONASS/Galileo delivers precise location tracking. With dedicated cycling metrics, the watch measures speed, distance, cadence (when paired with a sensor), elevation, and real-time stamina, making it easy to monitor effort and performance. Moreover, with TopoActive maps and turn-by-turn navigation, it keeps you confidently on course during long rides. The smartwatch also has up to 28 hours of GPS battery life, 100 metres of water resistance, and a built-in LED flashlight. This Epix Pro is a versatile, performance-driven companion tailored for cycling adventures. And priced at under £1000, it’s relatively affordable too!
Polar Grit X2 Pro Premium GPS Smart Sports Watch
The Polar Grit X2 Pro, in Night Black, is a rough and rugged outdoor sports watch that allows you to perform in any environment; with absolute confidence. It features a 1.39-inch AMOLED touchscreen display protected by sapphire glass, ensuring both clarity and resilience during any activities. The smartwatch comes with Polar Elixir™ Biosensing Technologies, offering precise monitoring of vital statistics, and dual-frequency GPS, which provides accurate tracking across various environments. The Cycling Performance Test helps you follow your progress. It also allows you to personalise your power zones and tells you your functional threshold power. However, a compatible power meter is required for this. Cycling functions aside, the watch includes turn-by-turn navigation, over 150 sport profiles, and sleep and recovery tracking, making it a comprehensive tool for both training and daily use.
Garmin Fenix 8 SOLAR Sapphire
The bright and bold fēnix 8 stands out with advanced cycling features tailored for serious riders. It features a 1.4″ solar-powered sapphire display and has up to 48 days of battery life; it’s there with you every step of the way. This Garmin supports power meter pairing (including Vector™ and Rally™), FTP training, and detailed cycling dynamics. Metrics like bike lap, max lap power, power curve, and power guide are available with compatible sensors. The wearer can also receive structured %FTP workouts and performance alerts. On the road, enjoy Garmin and Strava Live Segments, breadcrumb navigation, and round-trip course planning. Combined with VO₂ max, recovery insights, multi-band GPS, a built-in flashlight, phone support, and offline maps, it’s the ultimate cycling smartwatch.
Suunto VERTICAL Multisport Adventure Watch
The Suunto Vertical Black Sand is a durable, GPS-enabled adventure watch designed with cyclists in mind. It offers both indoor and outdoor cycling modes, providing cadence tracking, 3-second power averages, and Bluetooth connectivity for pairing with sensors, including SHIMANO Di2 and e-bike systems. Dual-band GNSS and offline maps deliver reliable navigation, whether you’re road cycling or bikepacking. It seamlessly syncs with the Suunto App, Strava, and TrainingPeaks for detailed performance analysis. With up to 60 hours of GPS battery life and over 95 sport modes, as well as HRV recovery and wellness tracking, it’s built for both everyday use and serious training.
What are your thoughts on our favourite smartwatches for cycling enthusiasts? Which model could you see yourself wearing? Let us know in the comments below!
