Cycling and Watch
few weeks ago i watch max video about a few unique microbrands from europe, one of them is a bravur grand tour. i never heard of them before but as max says the grand tour model is a watch made from cyclist and inspired from cycling event (giro italia, tour de france, la grand boucle).
im not usually excited about colorful watch but this idea really stuck into my brain, most of my collection are boring and safe choice usually consist of monochrome dial paired with unoffensive colour strap. but maybe i need something colorful and flashy for some sport activity.
in the modern day traditional wristwatch and sport activity didnt seems to get a long very well. most of my friends do wear a smartwatch when they do gym, cycling, running, etc. its a logical choice if you think about it because of their feature heart meter, gps, etc which is important for the sport activity. speaking about sports activity i do love to cycling every weekend with a couple of friends. currently im using my garmin cyclocomp for monitoring heart rate, cadence, etc but i do wear wristwatch too just to tell the time (my g shock gm2100). its a nice rugged watch for the activity but im not really bond with it very well. then i do a little bit research about cycling and wristwatch. and it turns out there are a few watch brands that do sponsorship or even had a cycling team itself.
like this tissot t race quartz that inspired by tour de france colour.
or this breitling endurance super quartz weared by tadej pogacar.
bravur grand tour do partnership with a few rider too like kevin geniets from fdj groupama.
mark cavendish with his richard mille, they do sponsorship too with uae team.
even tudor start their own cycling team with black bay chrono.
my original plan was to modified my gm2100 from various alixpress mod with flashy colour like red or yellow on the strap and on the hands but unfortunately alixpress has been banned from my country lately. then i remember that i got one more new watch that i intend to sell that is the brew retrograph (nobody's buying it even after one year advertised at local marketplace).
just like most of the cyclist watch its a chronograph with a little bit touch of colorful colour, the wr is sucks which is 5atm but i think it would do the job just fine. after some careful thinking i decided to sell the g shock and made the retrograph as my sportwatch. all i need to do is replace the original leather strap for a bright red rubber strap to match the chrono hand on the dial. and im very happy with the overall result. so what do you guys think?
do the brew retrograph also fit as the cyclist watch? and im curious what watch did you guys wear when you do sports activity? cheers🍺
Considering myself as a man of culture and taste
Are last pictures of yours (with Brew)? Looks super cool, professional photography. I bought a gravel bike last year for bikebacking travel (for myself and my gf) and was wearing a Casioak for most part, but now as you write it - idea of a nice chronograph does seem tempting.
Btw, I guess Breitling also has a cycling team or at least sponsors one - Q36.5 😉
Are last pictures of yours (with Brew)? Looks super cool, professional photography. I bought a gravel bike last year for bikebacking travel (for myself and my gf) and was wearing a Casioak for most part, but now as you write it - idea of a nice chronograph does seem tempting.
Btw, I guess Breitling also has a cycling team or at least sponsors one - Q36.5 😉
Thx, yes it is. My friend help me with the photograph, you're just like me. Im using casioak too before watching max video, but now a chronograph with rubber strap seems cool too. Let me know if you decided to bought a chrono for cycling, i want to know which one did you choose 🙌
Thanks for introducing that French brand ,I had never heard of them that’s why I love this platform. I’m a lifelong cyclist ,mechanic and bike shop owner ..always wondered how Cav or Alaphilippe’s RM’s survived some pileups.
Thank you for the insightful article. I use my bike everyday for commuting and sadly a mechanical watch of mine broke, because I was wearing it.
So now I am always considering which watches of mine are „tough enough“ for surviving and which I should leave in my pocket until I am at my desired destination.
People always talk about if one should wear a watch while playing golf, but I feel the topic of cycling is grossly underrepresented. I don’t think there are activities more strenuous for a watch than riding a bicycle.
Thanks for introducing that French brand ,I had never heard of them that’s why I love this platform. I’m a lifelong cyclist ,mechanic and bike shop owner ..always wondered how Cav or Alaphilippe’s RM’s survived some pileups.
Did you mean bravur? Sorry for not mentioning, they are swedish brand. Probably rm replaced it after the pileups? 😄. Did you wear the watch when you do cycling sir?
Thank you for the insightful article. I use my bike everyday for commuting and sadly a mechanical watch of mine broke, because I was wearing it.
So now I am always considering which watches of mine are „tough enough“ for surviving and which I should leave in my pocket until I am at my desired destination.
People always talk about if one should wear a watch while playing golf, but I feel the topic of cycling is grossly underrepresented. I don’t think there are activities more strenuous for a watch than riding a bicycle.
Thats right. I think its more safe to wear quartz watch if you do cycling
Did you mean bravur? Sorry for not mentioning, they are swedish brand. Probably rm replaced it after the pileups? 😄. Did you wear the watch when you do cycling sir?
I always wear a watch regardless of what I’m doing…although I usually stick to a rubber or synthetic strap when cycling,bracelets can end up disgusting after a while.I don’t compete anymore so I’m not planning any pileups…I did have a Casio taken off my wrist by a brake lever in a 5up breakaway sprint many years ago…..non contact sport?????😄
I've been cycling for over 50 years (competitively in the '80s) and have nearly always worn a watch - but never a mechanical one. In the '70s it was a Casio digital, in the '80s it was a Casio heart rate watch or an Alba diver, in the '90s it was a Polar or Timex heart rate watch, in the '00s it was an aluminum Victorinox on a rubber strap, in the '10s it was a Timex Ironman, and since 2018, its been an Apple Watch.
During a century ride last summer, I had the Apple Watch on one wrist (tracking data with the watch dial turned off) and a Casio Duro on the other for visually tracking time intervals since I was meeting people at different breweries along the route at specific times.
I lost my Casio heart rate watch at a race - I crashed hard (concussed) but remembered it still being on my wrist immediately after the crash... I slept some during medical treatment and when I was released from the medical tent later that day, the watch was nowhere to be found 😕.
I've been cycling for over 50 years (competitively in the '80s) and have nearly always worn a watch - but never a mechanical one. In the '70s it was a Casio digital, in the '80s it was a Casio heart rate watch or an Alba diver, in the '90s it was a Polar or Timex heart rate watch, in the '00s it was an aluminum Victorinox on a rubber strap, in the '10s it was a Timex Ironman, and since 2018, its been an Apple Watch.
During a century ride last summer, I had the Apple Watch on one wrist (tracking data with the watch dial turned off) and a Casio Duro on the other for visually tracking time intervals since I was meeting people at different breweries along the route at specific times.
I lost my Casio heart rate watch at a race - I crashed hard (concussed) but remembered it still being on my wrist immediately after the crash... I slept some during medical treatment and when I was released from the medical tent later that day, the watch was nowhere to be found 😕.
much respect sir 🙏🏻🙏🏻. damn casio made a heart rate watch at 80? thats is so cool, i also wearing a duro sometimes 😀
Great pics! The red strap and bright panda style look good with your kit. Great look vs a gshock or something else too basic looking. Being on bike is also about looking good 😜
I wear Grand Seiko, or Maurice Lacroix, or Seiko LXl on bikes. I use a Garmin head unit that links to PM and optical HR, so if I wear a watch on bike, its just to tell the time and look cool.
While I’m quite tempted by the grand tour Bravur models, a chrono on the bike would not be my first choice.
An automatic chrono is more delicate (quartz should be fine) and chrono is more in danger of sweat ingress or water ingress when getting a gentle wash afterwards.
So, 100m and a screw crown for my sports/ cycling watches.
Maybe the idea for those ‘bike chronos’ is that you’re watching a pro race (tv or live) you time breakaway gaps?
Like yourself- I avoid Leather unless I’m not going to be sweaty!
i really dig the maurice lacroix looks. very colorful 😍😍
i really dig the maurice lacroix looks. very colorful 😍😍
It’s probably the best watch for my generally bright kit. Nice that it’s light with a mix of plastic and rubber so no concerns if on a sweaty 5 hour ride!