Heart Rate Monitors and Riding.

[merida901]

There has been a lot of discussion on this in many forums and it's about time we started it hear.

I use one when training and will use it when racing (not to far away for me now). I find that it is eaier to "zone" work on my trainer with the monitor than trying to do "percieved effort".

So really the question is do you use a monitor or perceivec effort?

[bda20]

I have just started to get into triathlons (in the last 3 months and only done 2) and really love the sport and the people. I have gone out and got myself a polar 625x heart rate monitor and bought the cadance and speed sensor to go with it then went and got a ir sensor so I can download it stright to the program it comes with.

Although it is all very dear I think it will be a great thing to have in the long run(if you are thinking of getting something like this look on ebay and save your self a heap)

It is great to see your heart rate,cadance and speed all on the one graph so you can see your best cadance and speed for saving energy.

It also has a foot pod with it that records your distance and pace and even altitude while running.

Once again a great piece of tech!! all I have to do now is all the training it doesnt seem to do that for you

[lugs]

hi,

For touring a HR monitor is great too, keep your heart rate under 130 and you can go all day long

good luck

[heavymetal]

I've never really bothered, I'm over 40, so if my heart is beating I am alive, and if it's not, then I'm in trouble.

I am starting to have an aversion to electronic stuff, it mostly never works, maybe it's my age.

[Rodney Olsen]

I picked up a discounted Sigma Sport heart rate monitor a few months back for $50. I needed a watch so I figured I might as well get one with a HRM.

I'm not expert at using it but it is quite interesting to monitor what's going on during harder rides.

[mikesbytes]

Are there any HRM that are confined entirely within the watch, ie they get the heart rate off the wrist?

[Rodney Olsen]

Are there any HRM that are confined entirely within the watch, ie they get the heart rate off the wrist?

I believe that Polar do a range of them but they're fairly pricey.

[mikesbytes]

Are there any HRM that are confined entirely within the watch, ie they get the heart rate off the wrist?

I believe that Polar do a range of them but they're fairly pricey.

By the time I get my act together, they will of come down in price

[bda20]

Are there any HRM that are confined entirely within the watch, ie they get the heart rate off the wrist?

I believe that Polar do a range of them but they're fairly pricey.

By the time I get my act together, they will of come down in price

the polar ones all have a chest strap even the bottom of the line ones

[mikesbytes]

So which heart rate monitors did everyone end up getting?

[merida901]

So which heart rate monitors did everyone end up getting?

I have a Polar CS200 CAD and use it all the time.

[matagi]

Hubby took delivery (last week) of a Garmin Edge 305 with HR and cadence.

Seems to like it so far, but then he is still in the "playing with all the nifty features" stage.

[LuckyPierre]

In my best Kylie voice: "Lucky, lucky, lucky....."

I want one too!

[europa]

Having just read all about heart rates in this neat book on bikes I'm reading, and how you're supposed to work at such and such a percentage of your maximum heart rate, how the hell do you work out what your max rate is? Go like blazes until you drop dead then back off ten beats per minute?

(I'm sort of serious actually. If I do buy one of these heart thingies, what sort of numbers should I be looking for?)

[mikesbytes]

You take a figure, something like 220 then you subtract your age and thats the supposed max heart rate. So if your 60 its 220 - 60 = 160. Then you work at 80% of that figure so 160 * 80% = 128.

In the end you are going so slowely that there are no endorphans being released, you get bored and trade the bike in on a widescreen TV/.

[europa]

Ahh, so diving in under the wheels of fast moving and very large mobile objects is still good for me because it gets my heart beating so quickly

Well, I bought one of these heart montitor thingies tonight ... off flebay. Cost me $0.01 Yep. Just one measely cent. But, of course, the wee gentleman in Singapore wants $20.99 to post it to me.

Yeah, it's a cheap and nasty. Tells the time and my heart rate and whether I'm technically alive or not and that's about it. I reckon at $21, it's a good entry into the game, will give me a chance to work out whether I'm going to use it or not. If it frustrates me, I'll know I need to spend a bit more and get a good one. If not, well, I can't really afford to put this $21 on the bike, let alone something more ... 'bells and whistles'y. Besides, I need a wrist watch

At 50, overweight, overlyfond of fermented breverages and underlyfond of sensible exercise, plus being blessed with a cycling heritage based more on 'head down, bum up, go like blazes' more than anything else, I'm probably in line to kill meself with a heart attack before I park myself under a truck - it's funny how I don't regard arriving home staggering and puffing like an old steam engine the way I did when I was younger. It's not insurance so much as a guide to what these things can do for me, a guide that'll help me decide what I actually do need.

[heavymetal]

Heartrate, as I move through the site the ads on the side change, but when I come back to this particular thread I get

Meet Cycling Singles, Ride like a woman, A bike designed for Women, and Heart Rate Monitor.

Either the Google Adsense has determined my computer is female, or the ads are grouped to make your heart race and then think you need a heart rate monitor.

[matagi]

It must be you - I get stuff about Polar Heart Rate Monitors and Vuelta Bicycle Computers.


[edit] Oops! I spoke too soon! Just got back to the thread after posting this reply and there on the top of the list was "Meet Cycling Singles". Hmm. [/edit[

[mikesbytes]

Ahh, so diving in under the wheels of fast moving and very large mobile objects is still good for me because it gets my heart beating so quickly

Well, I bought one of these heart montitor thingies tonight ... off flebay. Cost me $0.01 Yep. Just one measely cent. But, of course, the wee gentleman in Singapore wants $20.99 to post it to me.

Yeah, it's a cheap and nasty. Tells the time and my heart rate and whether I'm technically alive or not and that's about it. I reckon at $21, it's a good entry into the game, will give me a chance to work out whether I'm going to use it or not. If it frustrates me, I'll know I need to spend a bit more and get a good one. If not, well, I can't really afford to put this $21 on the bike, let alone something more ... 'bells and whistles'y. Besides, I need a wrist watch

At 50, overweight, overlyfond of fermented breverages and underlyfond of sensible exercise, plus being blessed with a cycling heritage based more on 'head down, bum up, go like blazes' more than anything else, I'm probably in line to kill meself with a heart attack before I park myself under a truck - it's funny how I don't regard arriving home staggering and puffing like an old steam engine the way I did when I was younger. It's not insurance so much as a guide to what these things can do for me, a guide that'll help me decide what I actually do need.

Let us know how well the cheapie works. I hear that sometimes even the expensive ones get confused signals and give wild figures, but its pretty obvious when it happens.

[europa]

I've got my cheapie. Had it on my wrist for about half an hour now. It doesn't give a continuous read out of your heart rate. You have to select the right mode then lightly hold your finger over a sensor on the watch. It's finiky and so far reads about 10-15 beats above what a finger pressed to the neck gives. Hmmm. Going to be fun seeing how it works on the road (stopping and checking seems to be the good move)

Richard

[europa]

Well, my elcheapo hrm is a complete dud. Even the watch function is a loss as it loses about two minutes a day The hrm function never gives within 10 bpm of what I count at my wrist or carotid and gives some wildly hysterical readings. And it's a mongrel to use. Twenty one bucks wasted.

Richard

[bleedin kneecaps]

i'm getting pretty lazy on my daily commute to work and back often cruzing until a hill wakes me up. Im hoping a HRM will give me some targets to keep me focused. Is anyone using the Echowell Elite T101 or the Echowell ruby 100? as per the Torpedo7 website? These are around the $50 mark. Any experiences appreciated.

[mikesbytes]

This one was recommended to me as a cheapie, by another rider. Perhaps I should get one.

http://www.torpedo7.com/page/australia/PROD/computers_heart_rate_monitors-accessories/echo-hmon-elit-t101

[europa]

I'd wait Mike. I've just taken delivery of last weeks special (and it's been on special before) - the Union XR. For $85, it's a normal bike computer, plus heart rate monitor plus cadence monitor ... all wireless except for the bike computer sensor. It looks good and the heart rate monitor agreed with the old finger against the carotid trick. Considering the Pulsar is over $300, this looks like a good buy.

Richard

[merida901]

Be careful with the XR as if you accidently drop it, you may find it will never work again. I had an Ecowell XR and somehow it managed to fall and land on one of its buttons and never worked again after only owning it for 2 weeks.