terrymorse 

I got rid of my unreliable chest band heart rate sensor and now use this optical armband sensor from Polar.

Very accurate, connection to Garmin 830 never drops out, comfortable.

I wear it on my upper arm to avoid the handlebar vibration.

Litespud

That looks cool indeed. My connectivity issues with the chest band HRM is really a problem with the Garmin head unit itself (530), rather then the HRM. Although the HRM is also a Garmin (chosen to avoid issues with the head unit, ironically), the head unit won't recognize it. In contrast, connectivity with the rower (Concept2) is seamless and reliable, so I know that the HRM is going it's thing. The head unit has been a bit buggy all round, sometimes failing to find satellite signals and losing turn by turn. I sometimes regret not buying a different one, like a Wahoo, but it is what it is.

terrymorse 

In my experience, problems with Garmin head units are often firmware related. Garmin does not seem to be the best at writing or testing software.

Make sure you have the latest firmware installed, that usually fixes my 830's problème du jour.

PeteHski

That’s the one I’ve been using for a couple of years now. Hasn’t missed a beat (pun intended). There’s a new version of it available now that I linked in an earlier post. Pretty much identical, just longer battery life and improved strap.

Hit Factor

Upgraded from a couple of the FitBit models to a Garmin Fenix 6. Tons of features, and I like that. Battery life was the main driving factor to upgrade (fitbit had just hours of battery life, Fenix about a week). When exercising and riding I also wear a Polar H10 HRM strap.

PeteHski

Do any of the wrist watch type HRMs actually provide accurate readings while exercising?

I know my FItbit tracker is pretty useless once you start sweating. Which is why I wear a Polar HRM for riding. But it would be more convenient if one of the better Garmin, Polar or Apple watches has an accurate sensor that still works properly when you are working up a sweat. The Fitbit sensor starts reading very low once it gets sweaty. My optical Polar HRM doesn’t have this issue, so it can be done with an optical sensor.

Pairing with my Garmin head unit would also be essential, which is another fail for my Fitbit.

Murf58

Thanks everyone for the responses.
i should clarify that by “dumb watch” I meant simple monitors (watches/bands) that really don’t do much more than collect data and the analysis is done on a phone or computer.
I have some research to do but it seems that the Apple Watch is a favourite - except for battery life. Most reviews I’ve seen reckon there is not much difference between the 5 and 6 model so maybe I will just .get a series 5.
Surprised that there is not much love for Polar - and not even a mention of the whoop (although I know it’s not a watch).
I appreciate the input - thanks.

PeteHski

Ah, so you really meant simple tracker vs smart watch. I would definitely rule out Fitbit trackers as they are pretty poor as both an HRM and watch. So that really leaves you with the choice of an Apple Watch or a more dedicated sports watch from Garmin or Polar. Might be worth starting a new thread on that kind of comparison.

prj71

Garmin Foreunner Series.

terrymorse 

None of the wristwatch HRMs are accurate when cycling. It’s not the sweat, it’s the handlebar vibration that makes it hard to get a reading.

That’s why I wear a Polar optical sensor on my upper arm. No dropouts.

PeteHski

It's probably both. My Fitbit tracker is useless at home on the trainer as soon as I work up a sweat. Readings are all over the place.
I have the same Polar OH1 sensor as you and also wear it on my upper arm. It's a good solution that works 100%, but I just wondered if any of the wrist watch HRMs would work as well. I've read a couple of reviews and it appears not. So I guess I'm sticking with the armband solution for now.

Cougrrcj

I had tried the FitBit Charge 3 last year, and found it lacking. I had initially bought it to monitor my 'sleep', but it didn't monitor that so well... Then I tried to see how ell it did with a cycling commute v- it would record about half of my 45 minute one-way commute. It did, however monitor my heart rate for the whole commute and I recorded a max of ~140bpm. Not too bad for a near-Clyde moving at 18-20mph! FWIW, my resting heart rate (when awake) was in the low-mid 60s, and while sleeping one would think I was near death at 45-55bpm...

bikemig 

I’ve used the Fitbit 3 and now the 4 extensively. I found that it works well.

SJX426 

@Murf58 -You might consider the Wahoo I would consider this along with my Roam.

OldsCOOL

I’m retired. I don’t need a watch.

PeteHski

My Charge 3 also tries to tell me I've got a max HR of around 140 when my accurate Polar HRM is reading 170+
The Fitbit simply isn't reliable when exercising. The only time it reads accurately is when I'm just pottering around. I've had reasonable results with sleep monitoring as it happens, but totally useless for exercise HRM.

Cougrrcj

My FitBit WAS reading my heart rate correctly at 140 while riding (I checked it by manually taking my pulse). I did some other activities at the FB went up to 160+

I attribute my 'low' rates by saying that I have thick Scandinavian blood. Like pumping a higher viscosity fluid. I have high blood pressure, but low rate. It baffles the Doc somewhat, so I use my high-viscosity fluid analogy Then he 'got it'...

wolfchild

Electronic fitness gadgets aren't going to improve your fitness or health....I think they are all a waste of money..

PeteHski

Pointless thread comment alert.

prj71

The polar optical sensor worn on your upper isn't any more accurate than the wristwatch type HRM.

It’s not imperative to be exactly right, just close.

Heart rate measured by OHRM at the wrist and ECG-based HR measured via a traditional chest strap are acceptably close in a broad range of activities in a heterogeneous, healthy population, and showed initial promising results also in CAD patients.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5984393/

terrymorse 

The heart rate recordings from my rides disagrees.

The wrist-mounted sensor produced extended periods of no signal, especially when riding fast which produced lots of handlebar vibration. The upper arm-mounted sensor showed no signal dropouts.

Observations:

1. The wrist is a poor location for recording heart rate while riding a bicycle.
2. All things equal, a heart monitor that doesn't drop out its signal is more accurate than one that does.

PeteHski

That is most definitely not true in reality. Wristwatch HRMs are notoriously poor for biking (readings are not even remotely close and can be very erratic). Now my personal experience is only with a single Fitbit tracker, but having read reviews of high end wrist HRMs they all seem to suffer much the same issue.
The Polar optical sensor is in a different league and is always both accurate and consistent. It's comparable in results to a quality chest strap, just has a tiny bit of lag (maybe 5 seconds or so when your HR is ramping up) but that doesn't really matter. I wear the Polar on my upper arm as recommended. It doesn't get phased by vibration or sweat like my Fitbit does.

PeteHski

I would agree with that. Except my wrist HRM often drops up to 40 bpm lower during high intensity exercise. Is that close enough? But while pottering around it's generally okay. Just doesn't work on the bike or turbo when I'm working hard. I was hoping some of the more premium wrist HRMs would be better, but reviews are not looking great. I tend to follow DC Rainmaker's reviews on these things as he's very thorough in testing and has no axe to grind.

prj71

You're entitled to your own opinion but you aren't entitled to your own facts.

My wrist mounted sensor (Garmin Forerunner) has no dropouts or loss of signal. I just rode 101 miles this past Saturday and my wrist mounted device worked perfectly for the entire ride. It Broadcasts my heart rate to my Garmin Edge 530 perfectly the entire ride.

prj71

As noted in the link I posted above. Close enough.

And DC doesn't give a bad review...

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/06/...th-review.html