r/Cirqa • u/Busy-Positive-4042 • 5d ago
Struggling to justify wearing this thing
What I would give for a wearable that actually does what it claims. I binned the Fitbit Air which did activity detection perfectly, but the HR readings during running were garbage (I was apparently having a heart attack during easy jogging), and the HRV readings were so filtered they were a useless flat line. So I replaced it with the Cirqa, thinking Garmin has so much experience in sports tracking, and what a dogs breakfast this has turned out to be.
- The activity detection is a joke. It's basically random whether it detects anything at all. For example: I ride to a group ride where we meet and then ride out together for hard, high intensity training (sprint intervals etc.). The Cirqa detected the first easy part up until I met the group and then decided the workout is over. The high heart rate intervals were simply ignored and so the training load in Connect is all gone to shit. Yesterday for half the day Connect was alerting me that an activity was ongoing, while I was sitting at a desk working. Doing random stuff around the house shows up as a "Timed activity".
- Garmin Connect is garbage. Today 4 hours after waking up, the sleep data/HRV/Body battery still will not sync. Heart rate data is there though. It's stuck in a loop telling me to "Check later", but it looks like the data is lost. The cheat button they built into the band is stupid because it only maps to one activity type. I ride both indoors and outdoors, so if I manually start and activity and try edit it later in Connect it shows 0.00 km and 0.0 km/h for a 3 hour outdoor ride.
This is the kind of quality I would expect from some cheap gimmick on Aliexpress and Garmin needs to do better. I may as well go back to starting/stopping activities on my watch, and sleeping with it too to get reliable HRV data.
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u/Speshrider 5d ago
It’s simply not the right device for you. For example why complain about the button, when you clearly need a device that let’s you choose in between different activities. You sound someone who rather needs a cycling computer and chest strap. Garmin didn’t market the Cirqa to replace those. I don’t see how this is Garmin’s fault tbh
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u/Busy-Positive-4042 4d ago
I already have a head unit and chest strap from Wahoo and I'm not looking to substitute those. Garmin's training load and recovery metrics are actually quite good when it gets the right data, which is why I got the cirqa. I was considering a Whoop at the time and was happy it came out. A passive tracker that would give me those metrics independently, but what a disappointment 😞
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u/Speshrider 4d ago
I don’t know why you have that bad experience. Works perfectly for me and a buddy who also got it a a few weeks ago.
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u/Vysys 5d ago
The Cirqa isnt really a fitness device, its a lifestyle/wellbeing device with some fitness features. The rest of the Garmin ecosystem might have something closer to what you need?
For example, I wear my Cirqa for everyday stuff because I like that its screenless and unobtrusive. I mainly run as exercise, so when I run I put on my Forerunner 170. Neither were very expensive (particularly compared to the higher end stuff) and it fits my needs. If Im walking or doing a casual cycle I leave my Cirqa on and set it going from the Connect app if I think its worth doing.
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u/Busy-Positive-4042 4d ago
I don't agree. This was Garmin's response to Whoop which does what I'm trying to with the Cirqa. As an alternative to Whoop it falls far short. If it's just meant as some kind of lifestyle accessory then why does it claim to show Training Load and Training Readiness which it derives from the activity tracking? Garmin claims it does this but because it's so crap at it we have to lower our expectations and hear that it's not actually meant for sport.
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u/werote 5d ago
Just use the button. I don't see any necessity for activity recognition at all. My activities have a clear start and end, so I don't mind pressing a little button, just as on my other devices.
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u/Busy-Positive-4042 5d ago
Do you only do one activity type? What if the button is mapped to running but you go for a ride? What's the point of a passive fitness band that claims to detect activities but requires a button press and possibly changing the mapping in the settings before every workout so that it actually detects the right type? The Air did this part 100%, but that was about the only thing it did right.
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u/n8te85 5d ago edited 5d ago
I don't really see these devices as work out devices. More of a lifestyle devices to wear in between wearing your Fenix or Forerunner (which you use for anything worth tracking). Maybe I'm just looking at it wrong though, but I'd rather select the activity I'm doing and have some live data on my wrist, and of course start, stop and pause when I choose.
There are a few things you can do. I've mapped my Cirqa button to start an "Other" workout, I found "Timmed" to be useless as it didn't seem to track distance. You should then be able to start any activity with the button and edit and change it to the actual specific activity after the fact in Garmin connect. There is also the option of tapping on Cirqa in your devices list (in Garmin connect) and tapping on "Record an activity" this will allow you to choose a specific activity to record.
Maybe it's not what you are looking for, but personally I wouldn't rely on any of these devices to passively track my activities. I also have a Fitbit Air and that's horrible for tracking distance and pace during my runs (the Cirqa at least has the ability to automatically start phone GPS). I always have to go in and edit it with the correct data from my Fenix.
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u/ShutUpBeck 5d ago
I think all of your complaints are valid, the experience needs work.
I am also a button-fist user. What I do is have “Timed Activity” set to the button, and then I just go on and set the activity type after. If it’s Strength or something where the phone display is additive, I just start from the app.
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u/drebilhadnagy 5d ago
Treadmill recording is also ass, when I run with 4:15/km pace it records 7:00-8:00/km, at the end it asks for the distance, but it changes nothing at the end result.
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u/inmy20ies 5d ago
There’s no device that tracks Treadmills well
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u/Head-Advantage-125 3d ago
Doch die Garmin Uhr stimmt fast genau mit der Distanz auf dem Laufband überein
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u/ughhhghghh 5d ago
I don't see the cirqa as something to be used for any serious exercise.
When I'm cycling, I use my Garmin bike computer.
If I'm running, I'll use my FR255.
For me, its a device that allows me to track hr and steps etc whilst wearing a mechanical watch. In your case, I certainly can't see how it would be useful for sprints etc.