Heart rate monitors

[Canuk]

Chest ones remain the gold standard for accuracy and take the electric signals to the heart.
However wrist-mount ones can work well: they work on skin flush and need good contact with the skin as watch vibration lets stray light in. Depending on handlebar grip, wrist dimensions, exact watch shape and even blood vessel position then they may work well or not at all for you when riding.

.

+1 on wrist shape /size and blood vessel. I gave my wrist HRM (Fitbit) to my niece and she could not get a bleep out of it, after numerous emails to the company they replied and said her blood vessels were too 'fine' to get an accurate reading. Apparently the thickness of the skin on your wrist and make a difference to a good reading also.

[Paulatic]

I've used a Wahoo TICKR HRM for a couple of years and been pleased with it. It has the advantage of being both Bluetooth and ANT+ and I've used both with different Garmin, Wahoo and Polar receivers without any issue at all - starts broadcasting immediately it's put on and is visible on both formats. Still on the original battery as well. Using it with an ELEMNT Bolt and a Polar M400 at the moment (but not at the same time).

+1 for W Tickr. Over 2 yrs now still on original battery and I’ve used both theAnt and ble on it.
Always needs a lick to get it going and in cold weather I’ve often to stop and give it another lick after a mile or two. That’s simply because I’m not one who easily sweats.

[rjb]

My experience of heart rate monitors is this :

1: You will wear it for about two weeks, after that the thought of licking the chest strap and applying it clammy cold to your beating breast will fade. Then you need to fiddle about with it to get a good contact signal. Then you need to buy 3 batteries (two for the strap and one for the receiver when the run out : £15)

2. It's a novelty, unless you are training to race. It will then sit in a drawer (I have two) for ten years after which the batteries will have died, and then you will get a sudden notion to buy a new one.

3. Then you'll remember the above, and remind yourself that ultimately even the £15 one from Laldi's will suffer exactly the same fate.

Don't buy it!

This mirrors my experience. A 5 minute wonder that's been relegated to the back of a drawer.

[Cunobelin]

Although you don't want steps, GOS etc, don't discount fitness trackers entirely.

You get a reasonable accurate heart rate, no chest strap, and also a lot less bulk than some specific HRMs

There is a site called DC Rainmaker who has reviews of a wide range of devices

[londoncommuter0000]

I'm thinking of getting one, but am bemused by the range of choice. Amazon, for example, lists dozens, many of them around £20-25, but the reviews seem mixed (but can you believe either the good or the bad ones? There's been so much cheating on this, with rival producers posting rotten reviews for other people's goods).

So does anyone have any recommendation for a (not too horribly expensive) heart rate monitor? I'm not bothered about other features like GPS (I have that on my phone), step measurement or blood pressure, etc, just the heart rate.

I haven't read all of this thread, but I have a 'around the chest' one sitting unused, since I got my Apple Watch. PM me your address and I'll pop it in the post.

I'll flash wipe it well before sending it, but of course, give it a clean before use.

[Cunobelin]

Always remember that these are a guide and NOT accurate

I use a Garmin Vivosmart for steps, heart rate and SpO2

Just for the sake of it, I wore a Fitbit Charge 2 and Vivosport on the same wrist compare

Heart rate was highest on the Charge 2, and lowest on the Vivosport - a difference of 12%

Steps were 20% greater on the Fitbit than the lowest recording Vivosport

Stairs were recorded on the Vivosmartt, but not the other two

[Cunobelin]

My experience of heart rate monitors is this :

1: You will wear it for about two weeks, after that the thought of licking the chest strap and applying it clammy cold to your beating breast will fade. Then you need to fiddle about with it to get a good contact signal. Then you need to buy 3 batteries (two for the strap and one for the receiver when the run out : £15)

2. It's a novelty, unless you are training to race. It will then sit in a drawer (I have two) for ten years after which the batteries will have died, and then you will get a sudden notion to buy a new one.

3. Then you'll remember the above, and remind yourself that ultimately even the £15 one from Laldi's will suffer exactly the same fate.

Don't buy it!

Your experience may not concur with of others who have bought one. Why would you want to lick
yours anyway? Weird ::

Oh licking is in all the manuals, that is if you want to get a good cold frisson of a Saturday morning in winter FWIW I find that wrist based HRM can range from 'not as accurate' to as much use as a chocolate fireguard. Garmin and Fitbit are getting closer to chest strap monitors, but even a cheapo chest monitor will knock spots off a wrist one, that is if you don't mind licking the cold rubber strap beforehand!

Licking rubber straps is best done in private!

[foxyrider]

Your experience may not concur with of others who have bought one. Why would you want to lick
yours anyway? Weird ::

Oh licking is in all the manuals, that is if you want to get a good cold frisson of a Saturday morning in winter FWIW I find that wrist based HRM can range from 'not as accurate' to as much use as a chocolate fireguard. Garmin and Fitbit are getting closer to chest strap monitors, but even a cheapo chest monitor will knock spots off a wrist one, that is if you don't mind licking the cold rubber strap beforehand!

Licking rubber straps is best done in private!

I've been using a Garmin chest strap for the last two years - i've never yet had to resort to damping the contacts. Indeed sometimes it even feels loose but it still picks up, the only time i've had an issue was caused by - well i've no idea but I think i'd got too close to the head unit!

FWIW I don't ride to the hrm numbers, rather I use the results to monitor my health, I can pick up a cold before it hits for example so I can treat in good time before it comes out. And of course I can see from the numbers how fit I am (or not) it's rare for me to be pushing hard enough to get much above 125bpm although a stiff climb might spike things upward to 160bpm which is still below my theoretical max.
It can be quite interesting looking at the trace when you see just how much variance even a slightly undulating road can make and in town riding is all over the place with all those stop, starts etc my biggest peaks are often setting off in traffic.

[ndwgolf]

I have two. Fitbit iconic and Wahoo Ticker. Both work extremely well and I love the fact that the ticker one syncs with my Wahoo Element giving me a nice big readout while riding.
Neil


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my wobbly bog brush using hovercraft full of eels

[ianrobo]

If this is just for riding then Scosche Ryhtmn ones are simply the best, got the two now and so far superior to anything else out there. Obvs this is just for rides and they are above your price range but top quality and do comfortable.

Oh thanks to DC Rainmaker of course for it

[Bonefishblues]

If this is just for riding then Scosche Ryhtmn ones are simply the best, got the two now and so far superior to anything else out there. Obvs this is just for rides and they are above your price range but top quality and do comfortable.

Oh thanks to DC Rainmaker of course for it

Why are they so good?

[Audax67]

My experience of heart rate monitors is this :

1: You will wear it for about two weeks, after that the thought of licking the chest strap and applying it clammy cold to your beating breast will fade. Then you need to fiddle about with it to get a good contact signal. Then you need to buy 3 batteries (two for the strap and one for the receiver when the run out : £15)

2. It's a novelty, unless you are training to race. It will then sit in a drawer (I have two) for ten years after which the batteries will have died, and then you will get a sudden notion to buy a new one.

3. Then you'll remember the above, and remind yourself that ultimately even the £15 one from Laldi's will suffer exactly the same fate.

Don't buy it!

Mine definitely isn't a novelty; 3 stents in, it's a medical necessity. I have very definite limits to observe.

FWIW mine's synced to my Garmin eTrex, and I have a program that displays graphs of a whole trip for altitude, heart rate, slope, speed, wattage and temperature, analyses heart rate vs time spent at that rate, and derives a fitness index based on average wattage and average heart rate. It also maintains a database of performance vs distance vs slope, which allow me to take the GPX of a ride I haven't done and inject my probable performance figures. Useful.

[Bonefishblues]

My experience of heart rate monitors is this :

1: You will wear it for about two weeks, after that the thought of licking the chest strap and applying it clammy cold to your beating breast will fade. Then you need to fiddle about with it to get a good contact signal. Then you need to buy 3 batteries (two for the strap and one for the receiver when the run out : £15)

2. It's a novelty, unless you are training to race. It will then sit in a drawer (I have two) for ten years after which the batteries will have died, and then you will get a sudden notion to buy a new one.

3. Then you'll remember the above, and remind yourself that ultimately even the £15 one from Laldi's will suffer exactly the same fate.

Don't buy it!

Mine definitely isn't a novelty; 3 stents in, it's a medical necessity. I have very definite limits to observe.

FWIW mine's synced to my Garmin eTrex, and I have a program that displays graphs of a whole trip for altitude, heart rate, slope, speed, wattage and temperature, analyses heart rate vs time spent at that rate, and derives a fitness index based on average wattage and average heart rate. It also maintains a database of performance vs distance vs slope, which allow me to take the GPX of a ride I haven't done and inject my probable performance figures. Useful.

Indeed, I have a 'proper job' too:

https://www.alivecor.com/

[ianrobo]

If this is just for riding then Scosche Ryhtmn ones are simply the best, got the two now and so far superior to anything else out there. Obvs this is just for rides and they are above your price range but top quality and do comfortable.

Oh thanks to DC Rainmaker of course for it

Why are they so good?

More comfortable than chest one and being hairy and very sweaty both Garmin and Wahoo did not last long.

Then according to Ray the most accurate and he uses it as his primary one and I believe him to be 100% independent

[Audax67]

My experience of heart rate monitors is this :

1: You will wear it for about two weeks, after that the thought of licking the chest strap and applying it clammy cold to your beating breast will fade. Then you need to fiddle about with it to get a good contact signal. Then you need to buy 3 batteries (two for the strap and one for the receiver when the run out : £15)

2. It's a novelty, unless you are training to race. It will then sit in a drawer (I have two) for ten years after which the batteries will have died, and then you will get a sudden notion to buy a new one.

3. Then you'll remember the above, and remind yourself that ultimately even the £15 one from Laldi's will suffer exactly the same fate.

Don't buy it!

Mine definitely isn't a novelty; 3 stents in, it's a medical necessity. I have very definite limits to observe.

FWIW mine's synced to my Garmin eTrex, and I have a program that displays graphs of a whole trip for altitude, heart rate, slope, speed, wattage and temperature, analyses heart rate vs time spent at that rate, and derives a fitness index based on average wattage and average heart rate. It also maintains a database of performance vs distance vs slope, which allow me to take the GPX of a ride I haven't done and inject my probable performance figures. Useful.

Indeed, I have a 'proper job' too:

https://www.alivecor.com/

That's nifty. Must see if my doc will prescribe one. Doubt it.