Heart Rate Measurement

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
You looked at the obvious - the Garmin version of fitbits etc, the Vivosmart? I have one, hr connects to Edge 520 seamlessly, have the edge set so that the hr zone I am in is constantly displayed, it all just works :-)
 
OP
OP
B

bpsmith

Veteran
You looked at the obvious - the Garmin version of fitbits etc, the Vivosmart? I have one, hr connects to Edge 520 seamlessly, have the edge set so that the hr zone I am in is constantly displayed, it all just works :-)
Interesting. Did look initially, but didn’t know how well they work. How accurate is the wrist based heart rate? I am guessing you’re gonna say fine, as you seem to be more than happy. Which model have you got?
 
Interesting. Did look initially, but didn’t know how well they work. How accurate is the wrist based heart rate? I am guessing you’re gonna say fine, as you seem to be more than happy. Which model have you got?
I'm defo happy with it, as I say, it just works. Tbh though I dont really know about how accurate it is. See Dc Rainmaker for his reviews where he goes into great detail on accuracy - I'm more bothered about consistency, if its out by a few beats it doesnt matter as long as its always out by a few beats, if that makes sense!

I have this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Viv...UTF8&qid=1513978483&sr=8-8&keywords=vivosmart although there is a newer model out.
 

Andrew_P

In between here and there
My experience with all bar the really old all rubber Garmin HR straps was they were influenced a lot by wind, and clothing. The Fabric Chest Garmin less so. I tried a Mio wrist one and its fine except when exercising on a bike.

Not tried the arm ones but maybe the same for that, I think the main problem is the lack of sweat in the wrist as well, so this might make the arm one have the same issues I had. If you do have any issues I did read that Bah-Bump (Electrode Cream) helps in areas that do not stay moist enough. When I was really in to it, I came across a base layer one but it was enormous £££'s
 

Tin Pot

Guru
The Apple Watch is fine, run the Strava Watch app if you want everything in Strava.

Use the Apple apps on your phone to analyse the heart rate data. You can see every data point so it’s easy to tell where the readings drop out or have misread unfeasibly high quite easily. Gives me a better sense of true HR imo.
 

Milkfloat

An Peanut
Location
Midlands
If you want to integrate with your Edge 520 you are looking for a watch with 'Ant+ HR Broadcast'. Watches like the Forerunner 35 and Vivoactive HR have it, but an Apple Watch does not.
 
OP
OP
B

bpsmith

Veteran
Cheers for all the replies everyone.

I agree with the consistency point. That’s most important to me, from a comparison point of view. DC Rainmaker is my first port of call for active product reviews.

Looks like I have two options, if I went for a watch. Stick to Watch and Strava App, or Garmin Vivoactive 3 with my Edge 520.

Vivoactive is quite a bit cheaper and still looks nicely designed in fairness. I do enjoy something well designed tbh.
 

Andrew_P

In between here and there
Cheers for all the replies everyone.

I agree with the consistency point. That’s most important to me, from a comparison point of view. DC Rainmaker is my first port of call for active product reviews.

Looks like I have two options, if I went for a watch. Stick to Watch and Strava App, or Garmin Vivoactive 3 with my Edge 520.

Vivoactive is quite a bit cheaper and still looks nicely designed in fairness. I do enjoy something well designed tbh.
They were either not around or early on in "Garmin" development cycle when I looked, and shows how fast stuff moves on quite a few Baselayers around now with the strap included, just attach the transmitter MyZone was one I just saw @ £69.
 

DRHysted

Guru
Location
New Forest
To save packing I didn’t take my Garmin chest strap on holiday this year in Scotland but used my Garmin Fenix 3hr on broadcast. I noticed that whenever I was out of the saddle to get up the “hills” (most of the time as I was on the single speed) my recorded heart rate would drop. As such I don’t use a wrist based hr when cycling, it doesn’t seem to be effected when running.
 

JhnBssll

Guru
Location
Suffolk
My wife was lucky enough to receive an Apple Watch (gen 2) as a Birthday present last year. She's an Apple fan (me not so much) and despite it being a bit of a novelty at first she now wouldn't be without it and is talking of upgrading it. She uses the fitness tracking elements of it a lot - she's a keen swimmer and being able to use it in the water is a definite advantage despite being understandably nervous about submerging it for the first few weeks :laugh:

Not sure if that helps but thought I'd share ^_^
 
U

User33236

Guest
Cheers for the heads up on JL.

Been looking into unreliable wrist based options and found the Scosche Rhythm+ forearm HRM. Not the cheapest, but the reviews are very good.

My main reason for the he HR reading is that I appear to have a very high heart rate. I can comfortable go for a blast for an hour and average 184bpm, with a max of about 205. Clearly not the usual heart rate for a 40 year old!

I bought a Scosche Rhythm+ about 6 months ago and love it. It’s so comfortable I often forget I’m wearing it. Accuracy, when I compared with a Garmin chest strap, was very good too.
 
Top Bottom