Changes

* '''Pace and Distance'''. My testing has shown that the Stryd is stunningly accurate in its measurement of distance. It's the only [[Footpod]] that is accurate enough that it doesn't require calibration, something that greatly improves its usability. If you look at [[GPS Accuracy| my testing of distance accuracy]] you'll see that the Stryd is right at the top of the chart, and is far more accurate than any GPS device I've tested. This accuracy is also reflected in its measurement of current running pace. I think that this feature alone makes the Stryd good value for money. (Stryd doesn't use or provide GPS data, it uses accelerometers. Depending on the watch, the data from Stryd can be combined with the Watch's GPS data so that Stryd gives distance and pace, and the watch's GPS can be used for navigation.)

* '''Elevation. '''I suspect that Stryd is providing remarkably accurate elevation information. Due to limitations on data export I've not been able to perform any statistical evaluation, but anecdotally the data looks really good. Obviously, the Stryd cannot provide any absolute altitude information, but it does seem to be able to measure relative changes far better than either GPS or barometric altimeter's. At the moment, this information is not as directly usable as I'd like, as it's only available in real time via their, not their watch integration. If you use the Connect IQ data field, it will record elevation as a custom data track, and it is possible to copy this to the standard elevation track using plugins to Sport Tracks.

* '''Form Power.''' Stryd describing this metric as the "running in place power", but it's unclear what that really means more if it has any value. They suggest that a decrease in this value represents improved [[Running Economy]], but there is nothing to back that up.

* '''Cadence'''. Cadence is fairly trivial to measure for even a far simpler [[Footpod]], so Stryd nails this easily. It's arguably one of the most important running metrics, so you should pay attention to this. There are far cheaper ways of measuring cadence (like [[MilestonePod]]) but it's nice to have this included in the Stryd.

** '''Footpod with GPS'''. This is the ideal mode; you have your watch get all distance and pace data from Stryd, while still recording a GPS track. This will allow you to show where you've run, enable any navigation like back to start or breadcrumbs, and for things like Strava segments.

** '''Footpod without GPS'''. If your watch doesn't support the above "Footpod with GPS" mode, you have to set it to running indoors or treadmill mode where you lose all the GPS data. This works, but may not be what you want. (For watches that support Connect IQ, there is the option of using the "Stryd Race" app which will record GPS data along with Stryd data, but the features are a little lacking at the moment.)

* '''Cycling Power Meter'''. Stryd can send the same data that a cycling power meter would, so any watch that supports the cycling power meter will support stride in the same way. This gives some good support for power, and in indoor cycling mode you should be able to get pace, distance, and cadence data from the stride as well. There are a few annoyances with this approach, the biggest one being that you get your speed in MPH or KPH rather than min/mile or min/Km which would take some getting used to if you're a runner that used to thinking in terms of pace rather than speed. The other annoyance is that all of your data files will be considered as cycling rather than running, which could confuse your training log.

* '''Connect IQ'''. The advantages of Garmin's [[Connect IQ]] are shown in the ability for Stryd to add their sensor to any Garmin watch that supports Connect IQ. If you install the Stryd Connect IQ data field, it will show the power estimate, as well as recording all of the Stryd data into the fit file. Using this data field does not stop you using the Stryd as a normal Footpod at the same time. Because the Connect IQ only gives you the power, you still have two modes of Footpod integration, giving you two modes:

** '''Connect IQ + Footpod with GPS'''. The perfect solution; you get all the Stryd data, the distance/pace accuracy, and GPS for navigation.

** '''Connect IQ + Footpod without GPS'''. On the lower end Connect IQ enabled watches you have to set them to indoor/treadmill mode, so you get all the Stryd data, the distance/pace accuracy, but you don't have any GPS data.

Here's another way of looking at the options. I've ranked them in the order I'd use them, which is accurate pace & distance is the most important thing, then having GPS tracks for navigation, then having the power estimate, and lastly having the extra Stryd data.

{{:Stryd-Modes-table}}

Stryd supports both Bluetooth and Ant+, and both work well. Bluetooth has the limitation that you can only have one receiver talking to Stryd at a time, so you can't have it linked to two different watches simultaneously, or to a watch and your smart phone at the same time. (I have had occasions where the Stryd has stayed linked to my smart phone, so I've had to turn off Bluetooth on my phone to allow Stryd to link to a watch.) With Ant+ you can have as many watches linked simultaneously, and it's possible to have Stryd linked to both one Bluetooth watch and several Ant+ watches at the same time. If you're using Garmin [[Connect IQ]], you can have Stryd work as both a standard Footpod and connected via the Connect IQ data field.

=The App=

<gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">

File:Stryd App (3).png|The home page of the app shows you the recent runs and the "start training" button to run with the app.

File:Stryd App (2).png|When running on a treadmill you can tell the app how fast your running and what the incline is. I haven't been able to work out what this is for, so please let me know if you find out.

File:Stryd App (4).png|There's a calendar view to pick a run for a given day.

</gallery>

=The Web Site=

</gallery>

=Connect IQ Data Field=

[[File:Stryd ConnectIQ.png|center|thumb|300px|The configuration of the Stryd data field from within the Mobile App (you can configure it via the PC Garmin Connect app as well.]]

=Data Analysis=

** If you're pretending this is a cycling power meter, then everything should work just as it would for cycling power, but of course it looks like a cycling workout.

** If you're using the Garmin [[Connect IQ]] data field, then you'll need to have an application that supports importing customer data. I found that Golden Cheetah worked fine, as does SportTracks with the Custom Data Tracks plugin and the Garmin FIT plugin.

* '''Cadence'''. Cadence is well supported by pretty much any analysis application, unless of course, your using the cadence field for power. Note that the Garmin [[Connect IQ]] data field will record the cadence value from the Footpod in addition to any other Cadence device.

* '''Elevation. '''I've found it tough to get elevation data into an analysis application. I'll update you if I find a good way of doing this.

* [[Polar V800]], [[Polar M400]], [[Polar M430]]

** Pair as a normal footpod. Settings -> General Settings -> Pair and Sync -> Pair Other Device -> select Stryd. Then go to Settings -> Sports profiles -> Running -> Stride Sensor. Calibration=manual, factor = 1.0, sensor for speed=Stride Sensor.

** Remember this is using Bluetooth, so if you have a problem it might be because the Stryd is still linked to your phone.

** You can set the M400/M430/V800 to give distance and pace from footpod, while recording GPS tracks. The menu just says "speed source" but it sets distance as well. The menu talks about "stride sensor" as that's what the Polar footpod is called.

** There's less smoothing of pace in these watches compared with others, so the display is nicely responsive. (I know from alpha testing other devices that the M400 actually has pretty much no smoothing at all.)

** For the V800 there is native support for Stryd as a power device. You don't need to pair Stryd as two separate devices (foot pod & power pod), just pair once.

* [[Garmin 920XT]], [[Garmin Vivoactive]], [[Garmin Vivoactive HR]], [[Garmin 235]]

** Pair as a normal footpod. Settings -> sensors -> add new -> footpod. Under the sensor, set speed=always, distance=always, calibration -> auto calibrate disabled. (There's a full description of the process for the F5X on the review page.)

** You can set the speed and distance to always come from the footpod so you still get GPS. This is obviously important for navigation and the mapping features of the 5X and Epix are key reasons for buying those watches.

** I found some smoothing and rounding of the pace data, but not much.

** Occasionally I'll find the watch won't detect the Stryd at the start of the run. In those situations, I have to go into settings, sensors, Stryd, and select "connect", which time the watch connects fine and the connection persists when I go back to start the activity.

** Pair as a normal footpod.

** Set the "Foot Pod Speed" to "Always On". I expected this to just provided pace from Stryd, but it actually does distance as well. The GPS track is recorded normally and navigation functions are enabled.

** Pair as a normal footpod (don't pair as a bike power pod if you're using a higher end Ambit).

** You have to ensure that the sports mode you're using is set to use a footpod. If you don't see the Ambit3 search for a footpod when you start the exercise, you need to change the configuration on the Suunto web site. (I've tested the Ambit3 Run/Ambit2 R versions.)

** With the Ambit3, you need to disable auto-calibration, and the menu is a little hidden. Pair your Stryd, then hit the start button, select "exercise", then choose an exercise that uses a footpod. Ensure that the Ambit3 has found your Stryd, then press and hold the Next button to bring up the Activate menu. If you have a footpod active, there will be an option for disabling auto calibration.

** If a footpod is found, the Ambit3 & Ambit2 will get pace and distance from the footpod and override the GPS data. (This means you can use the Ambit2/3 in the lowest GPS accuracy mode to extend battery life while getting accurate pace & distance from Stryd.)

** The Ambit3 & Ambit2 both do quite a bit of smoothing of pace information, so it's not quite as quick to respond as other some other watches.

* Ambit2/Ambit2 Sport

** These two watches can support Stryd as both power pod and foot pod at the same time. (You can't do this with the higher end Ambit3 watches as the Bluetooth protocol only allows one connection.)

** If a footpod is found, the Ambit2 will get pace and distance from the footpod and override the GPS data. As above, you can use the Ambit2 in the lowest GPS accuracy mode to extend battery life while getting accurate pace & distance from Stryd.

** The Ambit2 does quite a bit of smoothing of pace information, so it's not quite as quick to respond as other some other watches.

* [[Garmin 620]], [[Garmin 225]], [[Garmin 610]], [[Garmin 910XT]], [[Garmin 310XT]]

** Pair Stryd as a normal footpod.

** You can't get distance from Stryd with GPS active, which means you have to run in indoor/treadmill mode.

* Smartphone apps. The Strava app won't take pace/distance from Stryd.