Zwift heard rate monitor question
08-18-18, 02:58 PM
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Zwift heard rate monitor question
I am currently riding on Zwift with a Garmin heart rate monitor strap. It of course will not show heart rate on the game itself so I have to have an Ant+ device on my handlebar to read heart rate. Question is, can I buy a bluetooth heart rate monitor chest strap and then it will show heart rate on the game? I use a Direto smart trainer, Apple TV for the app and then the companion app on my Apple SE phone to use as a controller. And, if so, would most any blue tooth compatible chest strap that I can find on ebay work? I am wanting to do this so I can free up some space on my handlebar to put a phone holder on it. Thanks!
08-18-18, 03:05 PM
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I faced the same problem when I started using Zwift with an Apple TV. I simply went onto Amazon and bought a Bluetooth compatible chest strap. Works perfectly. I live in Canada, so almost all these things are more expensive. I think that my cost including shipping came to about $35 CDN. If you live in the US, it would cost much less.
08-18-18, 09:04 PM
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The wahoo strap I have is both ant and Bluetooth.
08-19-18, 03:05 PM
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I had the same issue. I just go without hr for Zwift. If my chest strap dies again I will probably ditch it all together and use a power meter on my bikes alone.
08-19-18, 11:03 PM
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4iii strap is both ant+ and BT
08-20-18, 04:43 AM
#7
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Yes, you could use any Bluetooth heart rate sensor on Zwift. For Apple TV you will have to do one of the workarounds because ATV only supports 3 BT connections at a time and one of them is used for the remote control - you need three for cadence, heart rate and power.
The workarounds are well documented - either use the phone Zwift Companion app as a bridge, or use something like the NPE Cable Device (here) to trick the ATV. I've used both - on my Android phone, an Android update made WiFi drop out every now and then so I bought the NPE device and it works fine.
The workarounds are well documented - either use the phone Zwift Companion app as a bridge, or use something like the NPE Cable Device (here) to trick the ATV. I've used both - on my Android phone, an Android update made WiFi drop out every now and then so I bought the NPE device and it works fine.
08-20-18, 08:13 AM
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Yes, you could use any Bluetooth heart rate sensor on Zwift. For Apple TV you will have to do one of the workarounds because ATV only supports 3 BT connections at a time and one of them is used for the remote control - you need three for cadence, heart rate and power.
The workarounds are well documented - either use the phone Zwift Companion app as a bridge, or use something like the NPE Cable Device (here) to trick the ATV. I've used both - on my Android phone, an Android update made WiFi drop out every now and then so I bought the NPE device and it works fine.
The workarounds are well documented - either use the phone Zwift Companion app as a bridge, or use something like the NPE Cable Device (here) to trick the ATV. I've used both - on my Android phone, an Android update made WiFi drop out every now and then so I bought the NPE device and it works fine.
08-20-18, 11:22 AM
#9
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I don't know how the Direto works, but for most smart trainers only power and sometimes speed comes directly from the trainer - heart rate and cadence come directly to the ATV (or a PC or iPad, etc) from the heart rate and cadence sensors.
If you run the companion app on your phone, it acts as a bridge between Zwift and all devices - you connect the HRM and cadence sensor to your phone or tablet. That works fine on my iPad, but on my Android phone I kept having dropouts since an Android update back in April - many seemed to have this problem on Android, but all works fine on iPad or iPhone.
If you run the companion app on your phone, it acts as a bridge between Zwift and all devices - you connect the HRM and cadence sensor to your phone or tablet. That works fine on my iPad, but on my Android phone I kept having dropouts since an Android update back in April - many seemed to have this problem on Android, but all works fine on iPad or iPhone.
08-22-18, 12:25 PM
#10
SuperGimp
I used a garmin HRM and ANT+ for the first year I had zwift - you just need an ANT+ receiver. Easy if you use a PC, not so easy with Apple TV. It died and I got a dual ANT+/BT heart rate monitor because bluetooth works with more things.
You can:
1) get an ANT+ dongle for your phone and bridge to your apple TV
2) get a BT HRM and pair that with your TV
3) ignore your HR. (or do what you're currently doing)
You can:
1) get an ANT+ dongle for your phone and bridge to your apple TV
2) get a BT HRM and pair that with your TV
3) ignore your HR. (or do what you're currently doing)
08-22-18, 07:28 PM
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Option -- use ANT+ sensors with Apple TV by converting the ANT+ signals to Bluetooth.
There are two devices on the market. One is the aforementioned Viiiiva Heart Rate Monitor:
Viiiiva Heart Rate Monitor
The other is the aforementioned CABLE:
CABLE
Either device will receive the signals from your ANT+ devices and send a Bluetooth signal which Apple devices can read. And the CABLE, if not both, sends all the sensors it is reading as one Bluetooth signal, so multiple ANT+ sensors take only one Bluetooth slot on the Apple receiver.
There are two devices on the market. One is the aforementioned Viiiiva Heart Rate Monitor:
Trusted by pros and enthusiasts alike, Viiiiva is 10x more sensitive than most heart rate monitors, 5x more responsive, uses advanced beat-to-beat measurement, and can store up to 65 hours of data. The sensor also collects and transfers data from your other ANT+ products via Bluetooth to your iOS or Android device.
Viiiiva Heart Rate Monitor
The other is the aforementioned CABLE:
The CABLE (Connect ANT+ to BLE) is one of a kind stand alone device which converts ANT+ sensor data into industry standard Bluetooth Low Energy connections. The ANT+ data is then available in any application capable of consuming BLE profile data. This is the only stand-alone ANT+ to BLE converter on the market.
CABLE
Either device will receive the signals from your ANT+ devices and send a Bluetooth signal which Apple devices can read. And the CABLE, if not both, sends all the sensors it is reading as one Bluetooth signal, so multiple ANT+ sensors take only one Bluetooth slot on the Apple receiver.
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