The Pros and Cons of the New Cycling Updates on Apple WatchOS 10
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Most of Apple Watch’s major updates in the past year have focused on bettering the fitness tracking experience for endurance athletes. While WatchOS 9 offered enhanced metrics to runners, WatchOS 10 features big improvements for cyclists—and this is by design.
Last year, Apple Watch Ultra came on the scene, complete with more advanced features for athletes. With it, Apple focused on expanding the capabilities of endurance tracking, adding more advanced metrics, with the goal of also maintaining the ease of the basic workout app, Jay Blahnik, vice president of fitness technologies at Apple tells me in an exclusive interview.
The latest updates to the cycling workouts on Apple Watch include a range of custom data points, including heart rate, pace, elevation, and the recently added power meter and cadence metrics.
“What we’re thrilled about is that this could be used by a pro user, someone who really has all of the accessories hooked up and they prefer the display of their iPhone as their heads-up display,” Blahnik says. “[It’s] also great for someone who uses their bike for transportation or recreation, and has never been able to see that on the handlebars of their bike.”
An avid Apple Watch user for years, I’m familiar with the workout app and have been tuning into the more advanced run data since its launch last year. (I’m also one of those people who will hit a set of jumping jacks or walk around my apartment before bed in an effort to close my rings for the day.)
A former bike commuter in New York City, I also ride pretty squarely in the recreational category. I don’t typically go for speed or to hit certain power zones, but turn to cycling as a form of low- to moderate-intensity training and a chance to explore more ground.
With my ride style and goals in mind, I set out to try the different features of the Outdoor Cycling workouts on the Apple Watch ahead of the official rollout this fall. Because of the more advanced metrics, I also asked staff photographer and elite racer, Trevor Raab to test out WatchOS 10, so we can offer a full assessment of the benefits of these features and bring you the pros, cons, and lessons learned for casual and established cyclists alike.
Stand-Out Features on Apple WatchOS 10
Phone Pairing and Connectivity
Before we get into the specific features, it’s important to know with the WatchOS 10 update, your cycling stats will not only show up on your watch as you ride, but also your phone. Once you start a ride, you’ll see the session pop up on your home or lock screen.
By tapping it or opening the fitness app on your phone, cycling metrics take over your phone screen, displaying stats in real time throughout your entire ride. (If you find it distracting or you just want to zone out and ride with friends without worrying about your stats, you can also simply turn off the mirroring.)
The Outdoor Cycling metrics that display on the phone (and watch) come pre-set with numbers like ride time, heart rate, average pace, elevation, and distance, though you can customize your top stats to what you care about most. You can also scroll through to see more in-depth coverage of metrics, like heart rate or power zones, splits (which get broken into 5-mile segments), elevation, and speed.
What makes Apple Watch stand out from other fitness watches and cycling computers is the ease of connection. If you already have an iPhone, and are just diving into cycling (meaning you don’t have all the gadgets yet), you probably don’t need to spend more money on a bike computer with this Apple set-up. Raab, who has been using a cycling computer during race training for more than 10 years, agrees. “I think this is a big step forward for getting people to train on a bike without having to buy new equipment—you don’t need to buy a new bike computer if you already have a phone and a watch,” he says.
What’s more: Apple Watch will also record and offer data on cross-training sessions, like running, strength workouts, or HIIT sessions, so you get an overall picture of your fitness, in addition to your rides.
Power Metrics and Cadence Numbers
The update most experienced cyclists might love the most: The Apple Watch now connects with power meters and cadence sensors via Bluetooth. Both Raab and I had no trouble pairing these devices, using Garmin Rally power pedals and a 4iiii Precision crank-based meter. Simply go to the settings app on the Watch, choose Bluetooth, and as long as the power meter or sensor is activated, it’ll show up and connect. It should also automatically connect on future rides.
Even better, after five rides of at least 10 minutes and some intensity, Apple will estimate your functional threshold power (FTP), basically the highest average power you can hold for an hour, measured in watts. This is a key metric for training and tracking your progress.
Cycling coaches and avid cyclists use FTP to create power zones—like heart rate zones, these help you get the most of each workout. For example, if the goal of your ride is to build your aerobic fitness, you’ll work in zone 2. Or, if you want to push your lactate threshold, you’ll hit some zone 4 intervals on your ride, or sprinkle in some zone 5 pushes to work your anaerobic system and make faster paces feel easier.
Typically, to find your FTP, you need to complete an FTP test, which involves working at a very high intensity for at least 20 minutes—60 minutes for an even more accurate number. Instead of making you do that test, Apple created an algorithm using power meter data and heart rate info (among other stats), and tested it among pros and recreational cyclists, so the watch can now estimate your FTP and resulting power zones based on your regular cycling workouts.
In testing, Raab, who has more experience with power meter data and knows his FTP to a T, found this estimate to hit pretty low, about 80 to 100 watts below his typical numbers. However, the system gets to know you the more you ride and the more you hit high intensities—in fact, your FTP and zones get updated about every 30 days, according to Apple. (You can also manually input your FTP and power zones in the Watch app on your phone if you have done an FTP test.)
Keep in mind, FTP is a somewhat subjective number. You can use it to inform your training and measure your own progress, but it’s not the best for comparison to other cyclists. Your FTP will differ from mine and Raab’s, and not just because of experience, but also body size. (That’s why platforms factor in power-to-weight ratios.) Your FTP on an indoor trainer may also clock in at a different number than your FTP outdoors.
That’s all to say that when tracking your progress, it really comes down to using the same power meter and fitness tracker, in similar settings, so you can see how your FTP gets better over time. If you’re sticking with Apple Watch, you’ll be able to note whether your power climbs up or creeps down with your training, and that’s really the goal.
It’s worth noting the benefits of cadence here, too, which is a more straightforward stat: the number of revolutions you make per minute. While everyone has their cadence sweet spot, based on muscle fiber type and cycling fitness, if you want to smooth out your pedal stroke, enhance your efficiency, and improve your power, paying attention to cadence can help, especially if you’re a newer cyclist.
Custom Workouts and Alerts
Another benefit for those looking to conquer cycling goals with specific training rides: You can create a custom workout right in the Outdoor Cycling app on the Watch. To do so, open the Workout app, scroll to Outdoor Cycling, click the three dots at the top, and hit the pencil in “Custom Workout.” From here, you can set a warmup and cooldown, along with interval repeats or tempo work. You can set these intervals based on time or distance, and create alerts to keep you training in the right zone.
For example, set an alert for zone 2 power or heart rate when you want a lower intensity ride, which can be beneficial for those who tend to creep into zone 3 (as many cyclists do) or ride too easy (like me!). You can also set an alert for cadence if you’re working on drills to improve your pedal stroke. You’ll get an alert that pops up on your phone (and your watch, if you set it up) every time you go above or below your goal zone or cadence.
I found these alerts offered some eye-opening moments for my rides. For example, I figured I was mostly riding in zone 2 for my casual rides, either with friends or solo. Turns out, I was riding even easier, in zone 1, meaning I was working at more of a recovery effort than endurance building. (Noted for future rides that I need to kick it up a notch!)
I also noticed just how much my heart rate spiked as soon as I hit climbs, and the difficulty I had maintaining a higher heart rate and power zone when on flat ground. (Watching the in-depth zone metric screens also helped me spot these fluctuations.)
One thing Apple hopes to release with the official update is an integration with TrainingPeaks and other third-party platforms (cue the excitement!). This should make syncing data, along with custom workouts, super easy. Ideally, you’ll be able to hit start on the workout your coach designed for you for the day, complete with the metrics you need right in front of you to crush the goal. However, this feature wasn’t available in beta for testing.
Pacer and Race Route Workouts
I mentioned I typically ride casually, but one major goal I’ve always had for cycling: keep up on group rides. I haven’t gotten dropped yet, but that’s pretty much because I join no-drop rides. So, while I’m not training to win a race, I do have a goal to get faster—and I need a push to do that. The Pacer and Race Route functions give me that little shove.
Pacer, which you’ll find when you hit those three dots on the upper right corner of the Outdoor Cycling workout, allows you to set a goal speed for a set number of miles and then offers alerts when you hit above or fall below that speed.
For example, on one ride, I set my goal at 13 mph for 10 miles—or to finish a 10-mile ride in about 46 minutes. While I originally started pedaling on a flat route, I decided to test my limits with a tough local hill. I was ahead of the 13 mph goal on the flat first half, but my speed dropped way down on the climb. I spent the last few miles trying to furiously make up for falling behind—and smiled the entire way back to my apartment as I sped down the street and around city blocks. (Spoiler, I missed the speed goal by 0.1 mph. Next time!)
Race Route offers a somewhat similar function. If you ride the same path at least three times, you should see this show up under your Outdoor Cycling workout options. (It does seem like you have to follow the same exact route to get these to show! So if you take diversions on a somewhat similar route, you probably won’t see it listed.) If you have a go-to route you want to practice riding faster, though, this feature will help.
When using Race Route, you can choose between your last time or your best time, hit start, and fly through the ride. The workout view on this one is a stand-out: Not only do you see how far ahead or behind you are in seconds (or minutes), as well as mileage remaining, but you also get a elevation map of the route, so you can see what climbs you have coming up and a little bike icon shows where you are on that route compared to your past self.
Training solo can get monotonous but when you have your virtual self to compete against, it makes it a lot more fun.
What We’re Still Missing on Apple WatchOS 10
Fine-Tuned Power Measurements
As mentioned, your power numbers might seem off (at least at first).
Apple Watch is also missing more in-depth data, like normalized power. This power metric (which you would see on TrainingPeaks) smooths out your power numbers, accounting for intervals and other variations in effort, so you can see how hard you worked overall. Say your average power output was 227 watts for a ride, but you did super high-intensity efforts followed by recovery. Normalized power algorithms might bump it up to 283 watts to give a better picture of how hard you worked.
Apple power data also doesn’t take into account left/right balance if you’re using a dual-sided power meter. As Raab points out, these stats may be visible once the data syncs up with third-party apps, like TrainingPeaks, but in the native Apple Watch workout app you won’t see this right now. “I like to have data screens for some advanced metrics, like the aforementioned normalized power, which can paint a better picture of how hard a ride truly was as opposed to just average,” Raab says.
The other caveat here: If you don’t already have a power meter, they are pricey, with many coming in around $500 (some more expensive, some slightly less expensive). FTP provides a super helpful number, especially if you have your sights set on a race, but heart rate zones can also provide important training data if you don’t feel like shelling out the money for a meter. And Apple Watch will estimate your heart rate zones (and update them as it gets to know you) without extra equipment.
TrainingPeaks Integration
This could potentially be a game-changer for cyclists and, as Raab says, a pretty good reason to switch to the Apple Watch. Being able to just hit start on the workout your coach serves up—complete with interval updates—would certainly make training easier. But we’ll have to wait until that rolls out to give a full assessment.
Longer Battery Life
Apple doesn’t yet live up to the battery life of the Garmins of the world. Even with an Ultra, I typically charge the watch every other night, considering I do about an hour of running or cycling most days of the week and have the “always on” display activated (which means it always lights up, not just when you turn your wrist). While even the Series 8 should last you through a ride like a century, if you’re doing a multi-day bikepacking journey and can’t charge up, the watch won’t last.
Map Integration
One thing most cyclists use on their computers: route navigation. That’s not so easy on the Apple Watch, even with the phone pairing. Right now, you’d have to bring up your route on a map app, then switch between your cycling data and the map, depending on what you want to see at the moment. Or listen to the audio navigation cues if you keep the map app running in the background.
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