While the best choice for recording or routing a ride is likely one of the best cycling computers, a smartwatch, such as Coros Vertix 2S, can be a versatile alternative.
It makes an attractive proposition, not only because it can be used for other activities, such as running, swimming or even climbing, but it will continue to track performance metrics throughout the day and night.
The construction
The Vertix 2S has a solid, industrial look to it, exemplified by its titanium build and the two chunky buttons set either side of its oversized, robust looking crown. The crown, which both rotates and acts as a third button, can be twirled and pressed to navigate through menus and switch screens during activities.
The main function of the top button is switching the backlight on and off. The bottom button scrolls through daily metrics – steps, current heart rate, calories and so on – that are available when the watch isn’t recording an activity. It also acts as a ‘back’ button when navigating through menus and can record a ‘lap’ function during activities.
The sapphire glass watch face is a responsive touchscreen, a feature of many of the best smartwatches for cycling. Swiping up and down scrolls you through screens and menus, while tapping acts like the press on a phone screen or the click of a computer mouse. The controls are intuitive to use, but I did find the sheer bulk of the Vertix 2S on my wrist – it’s a full 50mm wide and 16mm deep – did take a bit of getting used to.
Coros has developed a companion smartphone app for syncing, displaying metrics, customising the watch face and integrating data with platforms such as Strava and TrainingPeaks. Pairing is simply a case of scanning a QR code that’s displayed on the watch face.
Watch face, display and activity screens
The 280 x 280 pixel LCD display is bright, clear and very easy to read – even when heaving your bike up a hill or running for a finish line. The watch face and data screens can be customised almost endlessly via the Coros app, which means setup takes a little time and experimentation. The benefit is that you’re served only the information that you want to see – useful when we typically only have a fraction of a second to glance at a watch while riding.
The ride
The Vertix 2S boasts a multitube of sport modes, including some seemingly niche activities such as bouldering, flat water, jump rope [skipping rope] and multi-pitch climbing. Of course, we’re interested in the bike mode, which is designed to ‘record, track and analyse data for your outdoor rides’ (there’s an indoor bike mode too).
Bike mode supports basic interval training, including settings for interval time, distance, warmup and cool down. A recent release means that, with the help of a power meter, it can establish your FTP too. The watch is equipped with an optical heart rate monitor, which includes an electrocardiogram sensor, and will communicate with third party bands over Bluetooth but not ANT+. This enables it to record and/or calculate a myriad of fitness metrics, such as heart rate, stress, VO2 Max, training mode, intensity, recovery and so on, bringing in on a par with top-tier watches from Garmin, Suunto and Polar.
Navigating with the Vertix isn’t so impressive. GPS accuracy is very good but the maps lack detail, such as place names, and if you deviate from your chosen route the Vertix isn’t smart enough to re-route you. A significant issue for fast moving cyclists.
Battery life appears to be a Coros forte. With standard GPS on there’s enough juice to last an astonishing 118 hours. In daily use, without GPS but with sleep tracking enabled the Vertix 2S will run for 40 days. Typically, I recharged the watch before I reached these limits but I don’t doubt Coros’s claims.
Specs
- Dimensions: 50.3 x 50.3 x 16mm
- Display Size: 35.6mm
- Display Resolution: 280 x 280 pixels
- Colours: 64
- Display Type: Touch Screen Always-On Memory LCD
- Materials: Sapphire Glass touchscreen. Titanium body
- Connectivity: Bluetooth
- GPS: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, QZSS
