Garmin Vivosmart 5

Garmin's Vivosmart 5 isn't cycling specific, but if you want an all-round fitness tracker that will record rides and your general daily well-being, in a smart but discreet package that looks just as at home with Lycra or your civvies, then it's a good choice. Its monochrome screen and lack of GPS is a compromise at this price point, though.

For its diminutive size the Vivosmart 5 is quite a capable piece of wearable tech. It's small and rather unassuming looking, just like a stylish watch, while busily recording your daily data such as heart rate, steps and sleep patterns, and using that to give estimates about calories burned and so on.

Heart rate is monitored via the wrist, and while this isn't as precise as a chest strap, I found it to be pretty accurate at various levels of exertion – definitely way more precise than some of the 20-quid jobs from ebay/Amazon that I have bought for comparison.

In fact, the Vivosmart can monitor quite a lot, either through data that you input or through sensors and algorithms such as body battery, pulse oxygen rate, sleep score, stress, hydration, respiration, women's health and fitness age.

I must confess I have a Garmin 530, a Forerunner 735XT and a Fenix 6 Pro, and I barely use any of this stuff, with just a cursory glance when it is uploaded to the Garmin Connect app. But if you are really focusing on things due to training or illness, it can be really beneficial.

On the bike

So, the reason you are here: does it work for cycling?

Well, yes, depending on how much data you want.

The majority of my rides are on the same roads or gravel loops week in, week out, so I really don't require much data while I'm on the bike, and the Vivosmart works for me.

> Buyer’s Guide: 10 of the best cheap GPS cycling computers

Selecting 'bike' in the activity menu, it shows distance, speed and ride time on the small screen once you are on the move, and once you've finished your ride, the 5 uploads everything to the Connect app which is actually very good.

While the watch will show you a summary of distance, ride time, average speed, average heart rate and calories, from a cycling point of view you'll get much more out of the app: you'll get loads of data from your ride including route map, and various graphs showing heart rate, speed, ascent and the like.

Wot, no GPS?

One downside of the Vivosmart is that it doesn't come with its own GPS receiver, so it has to rely on a Bluetooth connection to your phone for recording.

Fitbit's Charge 5, at the same price as the Garmin, comes with its own GPS which I prefer as it saves battery life on both devices; it also has a colour screen.

> Read more road.cc reviews of smartwatches here

While we're on the subject of the competition, Polar's Unite is 49p less than the Garmin, and also doesn't have its own GPS receiver, but it does come with a full size colour screen, which rather puts the Vivosmart's monochrome offering to shame.

Easy to use

The Vivoactive is easy to use, incorporating just a single button and a touchscreen that you mostly swipe. Once you've learnt the format, it's easy to navigate.

If you aren't recording things through your phone then the Vivosmart does have its own accelerometer fitted, which will auto record certain activities, but it is very much a guesstimate.

Battery life is decent for such a small device. Garmin claim up to seven days. I spend a large amount of my day sat at a desk writing and with that in mind I'd say that is achievable. During testing I gave the Vivosmart to my teenage daughter who walks about three-quarters of a mile to school each way, and is on her feet a lot between classes, as well as going to after-school activities like Army Cadets and Girl Guides. Doing all this, she'd achieve four to five days with it on 24 hours, monitoring sleep as well.

Occasionally the screen would get a bit glitchy after it had been on for a number of days, with blocks replacing digits on the clock, for instance. It's not a massive issue as a reset would quickly sort this, but should that be happening on a £130 watch?

Charging takes a couple of hours via a wall socket.

Just like any other smartwatch linked to your phone, it gives you access to notifications like texts, emails and various other apps, as well as the option of quick predetermined replies.

It also includes safety features, such as detecting incidents like you crashing or falling over and texting your saved contacts with location details. I've used this on various Garmin devices, and it is very handy.

Conclusion

Overall, though the Vivosmart isn't cycling specific, if you aren't bothered about huge amounts of data as you ride then it is a simple and cost-effective device, especially if you don't want a watch that screams 'athlete'.

It's comfortable to wear, and easy to navigate, but other devices such as the Fitbit do offer more for the money.

Verdict

A handy smart tracker that benefits from a good app, but lacks its own GPS receiver