Fitness/GPS watch

[Wrfrk]

Just wondering if anyone has tried using these to track laptimes on a track? Don't want a Litpro as I want something that can do more functions such as track fitness for other training. Anyhow I've not seen any recent discussions on this topic, wondered if folks are seeing any good watches out there?

[FastLane17]

interested as well...

[jay bird1138]

Email kris@keeferinctesting.com he recommended me a watch a while ago it was a Garmin that had lap times built into it I forget the model. I’m pretty sure the one he recommended was discontinued so may have to buy used. They are expensive anyway

[Hans Schmid]

Polar M430, it's been the best tool I've owned since buying mine... 

[JARU]

I've only found watches while riding to be good at bruising/wearing out your wrist.  Though I think my Garmin Fenix is larger than the Polar M430.

[Wrfrk]

So can I assume the Polar M430 will record lap times on a track?

[Hans Schmid]

Just now, Wrfrk said:

So can I assume the Polar M430 will record lap times on a track?

Yup 

[Wrfrk]

awesome, think I may go track one of those down today, thanks.

[LRB]

I’m assuming you wanna track a ride not a run on a track?

If so, the Apple Watch will track that along with the route you take. Or you can use the Polaris Ride Command app (free) to track your ride by gps. It’ll tell you ride time, distance, and average speed. 

[Hans Schmid]

This is what a Polar M430 does... 

 

[LRB]

Looks like the Apple Watch records the same data as the Polar watch does. 

[Wrfrk]

I really want something that when I am at the track I can set a start position and track timing around the track. That way I know how long I am taking to get a lap in. And if I do 10 laps or 20 laps I can see how long each one took and what might average speed is

[JARU]

After looking into it a bit, because I don't do lap times on my Garmin Fenix, other dirt riders do use it for lap times.  You can set a track/lap distance and autolap. disable the buttons so you don't click a new lap but I guess it works.

[Hans Schmid]

1 minute ago, Wrfrk said:

I really want something that when I am at the track I can set a start position and track timing around the track. That way I know how long I am taking to get a lap in. And if I do 10 laps or 20 laps I can see how long each one took and what might average speed is

You can do it with this watch... 

[Wrfrk]

I tried getting one today but all the retailers around don't stock it but can order it, hell I can order it too. 

[Marylander]

All of these watches will track when you've gone a specific distance, like the general length of the track (e.g., if the track is 2 miles around the watches will call it a lap every time you go another 2 miles, not necessarily at the start line). If you're looking for actual lap times I think you'd need a transponder that clicks off a lap at the same point on the track each time.

[Max17]

I have a Garmin VivoActive HR watch that is supposed to do those things but it is quite inaccurate for anything moto (or urban) even though I set a custom widget for it.  All distance measurements are calculated from GPS data which is fine for walking or jogging in a fairly straight line but terrible for the speeds on an MX track or the twisty path of single track trails.  The biggest problem is that it doesn't update the position frequently enough and connects the recorded points by straight lines.  In a recent XC race I was in, it recorded the accurately measured 28.8 Km route at under 24 Km!  It was amusing later to see the GPX data from my watch and compare the overlayed data with the helmet cam video as I passed the Km markers on the track.  The GoPro GPS data was a bit better but still not great.

If you need the data while you're racing/riding, then you probably need something like RaceChrono, a smartphone, and a Bluetooth GPS receiver unless you get into an expensive Qstarz LT-6000S or something even fancier.  But if you are looking at the data back at your vehicle or at home then a helmet cam might be good for practice days.  Manually record the time stamp while viewing the video each time you pass the start/end point of your lap and then subtract the time from the next lap's time etc.  This can be very quick and informative if you use a spreadsheet.  The results are pretty accurate and very close to my transponder times from races.  It's also not very time consuming because you can fast-forward after each lap to near the end of the following lap to record that time, etc.  It's a bit low tech but it's cheap and it works. 

Monk's Polar M430 seems quite good also.  I haven't tried a Polar watch recently but my old HR one worked quite well.

[theuberacer]

On 8/17/2018 at 10:38 PM, Hans Schmid said:

You can do it with this watch... 

I have an M430, how are you getting it to record lap times?