All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

I wear a Garmin Tactix Delta all day, every day. Never caught it on anything riding or in daily life. It does everything I need/want it to. I bet I only use about 25% of its capability. I only track mileage and health stats for myself. I don’t ride to micro-manage myself on stats.

 

I felt weird wearing my watch while riding at first, but it's not been a problem. The only issue I have is it bumps in to the back of my hand on some rowdy descents and causes a sore spot. I usually don't wear gloves though, so it's easily not a problem if you wear gloves.

 

I don't think I've ever ridden without a watch - albeit an Apple watch, not one of the thicker Garmins. I've never even considered that it could get snagged on anything. Most people ride with elbows out, which puts your wrist interior of your elbow, forearm, and hand. You'd be much better off worrying about breaking your pinky finger.

 

Fenix 6. TF isn't an app on the watch, but syncs your planned routes. The watch uses its own mapping, with the planned route overlaid. It notifies you of upcoming tunes with different vibrations and sounds.

Never... Weird. I used to wear an Apple watch, but that thing broke and bounced around a ton. The Fenix is a tank.

I have the same problem. The Fenix is heavy, and bounces around a lot on jank. I occasionally have to swap sides, but that's not ideal. The silicone straps help, as you can squeeze them down tighter, but don't love that either. I've been thinking I might sell my Fenix (sapphire) which is pretty much indestructible and looks good as day 1, and get the 945. I love all the things the Fenix does and the battery life, but a lighter watch might be better for me since I have pretty small wrists.

 

I swapped to the Apple Watch style band on my fenix. My wrist sweats way less and I can snug it up nice and tight without restricting anything. I hate when my watches move. I believe the fenix x and some of their newer watches have a similar option from garmin

Abanen Hook and Loop Quick Dry Watch Band for Fenix 6/Fenix 5/ Fenix 7/EPIX 2, 22mm Woven Nylon Ultralight Sport Wristband Strap for Garmin Fenix 6 Pro/Sapphire,Instinct,Forerunner 955

$15 Abanen Hook and Loop Quick Dry Watch Band for Fenix 6/Fenix 5/ Fenix 7/EPIX 2, 22mm Woven Nylon Ultralight Sport Wristband Strap for Garmin Fenix 6 Pro/Sapphire,Instinct,Forerunner 955 (Black)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B092Q6KJ5D

 

On wrist the 945 feels like you’re not wearing a watch at all compared to a Fenix. For function I believe they are equals. The Fenix is certainly more robust, but the 945 will be durable enough for most anyone I think. The bigger change will be the display differences.

 

PSA for those that have Fox 34 Stepcast and do their own maintenance:

1. Get the right seal kit. The Fox 34 Stepcast that I have use 2 8mm crush washers. Some 34 seal kits (like the one I had from Push have an 8mm and a 13mm crush washer). Fortunately, I have a big bag of Rockshox 8mm crush washers (interchangeable with Fox 8mm crush washers). You will more than likely destroy the crush washers when hammering the lowers loose. Youtube rebuild videos won't show this detail.
2. You will need a thin wall, deep, 10mm socket. The Stepcast lowers are super close to the foot nuts for the damper and air spring and thicker sockets won't fit. While you're at it, buy the Fox Lower Leg Removal Tool. This tool is much safer and easier than cobbling up the right size sockets and extension to hammer the lowers loose. I buy mine from an ebay seller (mtnbiker4life).
3. Remove the air spring and clean the globs of slick honey that Fox puts in it. It blocks the transfer ports to the negative chamber.
5. Don't lose the 2mm bolt for the rebound adjuster. This is very small and easy to lose.

 

I have a Galaxy 4 classic, which is bigger than an Apple Watch but probably smaller than a Fenix. I’m not a fan of the silicon watch bands, they kinda irritate my skin.

I switched to one of these bands and it works pretty well

Nereides Compatible with Apple Watch Band Series 9/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1/SE/SE2/Ultra 1/2, Nylon Sports Strap with Woven Design for 49mm 42mm/44mm/45mm 38mm/40mm/41mm

https://www.amazon.com/Nereides-Compatible-Apple-Sports-Design/dp/B0BFZTXGMN. My only complaint is that I have to pull the Velcro pretty tight to keep it from moving around and I think I’m cutting off circulation a bit.

 

weird. i must have had an odd ride or something when it got caught and the band ripped (im on my 3rd or 4th, garmin just keeps replacing it for free. i send mine in with the broken/ripped band and they send me a new/refurb one).

im looking into getting a new garmin watch for the summer. im not a fan of how big the fenix is. kind of been looking at the new vivoactive, instinct, or a forerunner idk. ill have to try some on.

 

I have a fenix 5x that was my bike computer for several years before I bought a 530. Used this mount: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/11078 to get it off my wrist.

 

I hate wearing a watch, partly because my career has required a lot of typing and I bang them on the desk. I've tried, but I always end up taking it off and leaving it somewhere. But I do think the new smart watches that do some bio measurements are nifty, I just know I would lose it or not have it charged when I want to use it.

I asked for a 500 series Garmin several years ago, and my wife bought me the 800 series (I think it is an 810). Back then they came with no maps, so I had to find maps to load onto it (gpsfiledepot.com was a cool place for free maps). It's been good and still works, but you have to find map overlays with the actual trails on them if you really want to use the map. The touch screen does make using the map easy, and having Trailforks would be cool. If this one dies, I'll likely go with an 800 series again. I have a K-Edge stem cap I use to mount it, and I've never had it fly off.

 

Enjoying having the bed available for other things. New stickers, pedals, and saddle for my Evil. Also worked on tuning the suspension today.

 

revolution enduro just announced their schedule. haven't done an enduro before but am hoping to race either glorietta, powderhown, or keystone. keystone is low on the list, i think i'd rather just do a park day there. glorietta and powderhorn would be super cool though.
https://www.revolutionenduro.com/

 

Glorieta!

Hit me up when you come to SF…I’ll come cheer you on! Maybe ride if I feel like it’s not over my head! Hahah

 

Do you know what the differences are? The comparison tool on their site is confusing.

Had no idea they made that.

 

Sadly I don’t. DC Rainmaker and others have very good comparison reviews out there. Honestly I may have been comparing the 955 vs the Fenix 7. I just recall most ‘testers’ reporting the same conclusion that both watches were basically the same aside from the Fenix being more durable/robust.

After all my research and buying/returning 4 watches I settled on an OG Instinct. It does all I need and tons more I don’t need. The others were just mad overkill for me as I’m not a stat/data guy. Plus the Instinct comes in tactical tan

 

Specialized is having a sale right now... Unfortunately I need to do the Klarna program... But when I about to check out. It doesn't show how much APR rate...

 

The fenix watches are built like tanks. I weld and grind in mine regularly and the crystal is still perfect. Aside from the fact that wearing one is the equivalent of having a neon ‘I’m a wanna be fitness dork’ sign on your wrist, I really like mine. Super durable, good battery life, just a bit bigger/heavier than some others. The large screen is nice if you actually want to use the map functionality.

 

Thats good to hear, i had one crap out a couple months into ownership. Garmin warranteed it, new one seems fine but i'm always wondering how fragile they are. Sounds like i just got a dud.

 

That’s like a reboot of the sale they had last fall! I snagged a frame when they dropped their prices last year, looks like they’re dumping inventory again.