I’m doing an Ironman near weekend. I recently got a Garmin Forerunner 955 smartwatch, and I already have a Garmin Edge 830 cycling computer. I’m trying to figure out what’s the best way to track the race. Im familiar with the Extended Display Mode which allows me to use the Forerunner for tracking but project the display on the Edge during the bike leg. But I also prefer the familiarity of my Edge’s own data screens. I can alternatively just record the bike leg on my Edge (broadcasting HR from the Forerunner) but then my concern is combining all the data (power from Edge; everything else from the Forerunner) into a single race. Or I can just track the legs as three separate activities. I was surprised to find so little official guidance from Garmin itself (basically nothing in the manuals). What do others recommend?
So far I see three options:
Triathlon activity on Forerunner; for bike, use Edge in Extended Display Mode Triathlon activity on Forerunner; for bike, record bike activity on Edge with HR broadcasting from Forerunner Three separate activities (open swim and run on watch; bike on Edge) Any tips or insights are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
What is your reasoning for wanting them to be tracked as a single activity? I feel like most people would do them separately, especially as nearly any online workout log is unlikely to have a sport called ‘triathlon’ but most will have the individual sports.
My suggestion would be option 2. Record the triathlon on the watch in multisport mode, and use the Edge for viewing convenience on the bike leg, but Discard rather than Saving the ride on the Edge to avoid duplicates.
Extended Display is limited to 4 fields, although with some experimenting and rearranging of fields in the Bike activity on your watch, you should be able to get close to your preferred arrangement
The only real advantage of ED is that you can see total multisport time, or the low power drain if you have to check your bike in early and don’t have access to it overnight.
These days, the only time I use ED is for more complicated brick sessions. For a simple Bike> Run, or for races, I record on each device separately.
Triathlon activity on Forerunner; for bike, record bike activity on Edge with HR broadcasting from ForerunnerRecord the entire race on the 955.
Use your 830 on the bike as you normally would.
Save the 955 race file. All three legs.
Discard the 830 file after the race.This is what I do too. Use the 955 in triathlon mode and also record on the bike head unit. I like this for a couple reasons. First, it is closer to my regular routine. And second, the bike head unit is a handy backup if I screw up the watch (which I have done a few times).