jzr756

So I'm in the market for a Heart Rate Monitor. ,So ide like to ask , which HRM do you guys use and/or recommend ? From my research looks like the chest strap variety is the most accurate? My understanding is both the strap and a watch is required to complete the package. I priced out REI both combined turned out to be approximately 240.00 and some change! Any particular Brands?

RChung

Depends on what you're looking for and the features. For barebones, right now the Wahoo Elemnt Rival multisport smart watch is on black Friday sale at Amazon for $99. Optical wrist-based HRM.

spelger

Mine pairs with my phone. Wahoo ticker. Got on sale 2ish years ago, about 45 bucks.

terrymorse 

Polar OH1+ optical monitor.

I wear it on my upper arm. It rarely senses weird rates or drops out.

When paired with a Garmin head unit, you can track respiration rate.

PeteHski

Another vote here for the Polar OH1. Mine has been as accurate and reliable as a chest strap and more convenient to wear on my arm. The current version of this HRM is now named Polar Verity Sense, but it is the same unit with an updated strap and even longer battery life.

You can pair it with any device vis BT or ANT+

MinnMan

I've always used classic chest straps, among which I have tended to prefer the Wahoo Tickr. Lately, I've found it quite frustrating though - many times (though not consistently), it gives bad data for the first 5-15 minutes of a workout. I can't quite figure out why. Fresh battery doesn't help. Neither does making sure the chest strap is tight and in the right place. Nor does electrode gel prevent the phenom.

So maybe I should read this thread carefully and find something better. I'd much prefer a chest strap, as I like my plain analog wristwatch just find and don't want to discard it..

Mtracer

I assume the monitor snaps into the strap and that the snaps are the electrical connection to the contacts on the strap. Try cleaning those snaps.

As for an HRM, I like the CooSpo brand I get from Amazon. They are currently on sale for $24. It has been rock solid, other than after a few years, I found I needed to clean the snaps as described above. My is 4+ years old. Just need to rinse the strap every so often. If I unplug one of the two snaps to the sensor and make sure nothing touches when not in use, a battery lasts about a full year. If I don[t unsnap, it the battery lasts about 6 weeks.

I pair it with my Garmin Edge 530 bike computer. I've also had no trouble pairing it with various indoor riding apps. Seems to be using standard protocols.

To be clear, this is just the sensor and strap. You need another device, like a bike computer or phone app to collect and see the heart rate.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

chaadster

I don’t know that I’m terribly discriminating about HRMs; I’ve used a few over the years, and they all really just do the same thing with apparently the same accuracy and reliability. Today I use Wahoo Tickr primarily, but still also use an ancient CycleOps unit.

I do prefer Tickr for a few reasons:

1. Chest strap is soft and comfy
2. it lights up when you snap it on so you know it’s working
3. It supports over the air firmware updates for extended functionality
4. nice looking, modern styling

MinnMan

Yeah, been there, done that. Doesn't help. Also wouldn't explain why the problems are limited to the first few minutes of a workout.
Good connection with the skin might be a better explanation, before the sweat helps, but with electrode gel, that also should't be a problem.

That one is new to me. Worth a look.

One of the advantages of the Tickr is that you pretty much can't take it off without unsnapping the electrodes. Helps with battery life.

PeteHski

I wear my Polar OH1 on my upper arm so it doesn’t stop me wearing a watch. I just find it more comfortable than a chest strap and doesn’t need any gels or wetting etc.

Trakhak

Same problem here: no reliable signal from chest strap on outdoor rides in cold weather until at least 30 mins into a ride. My guess is that some quality in my skin has changed as I've aged that reduces its electrical conductivity, or something. Whatever it is, it seems to track with temperature---the monitor is fine until the temps drop below 50 F or so. Monitor still works fine for indoor rides, with room temp in the low 60's.

Kai Winters

I have three...Wahoo, Garmin and Polar 9. Of the three I prefer the Polar. It is the most reliable and seems the most accurate. I've experienced dropouts with the Wahoo and Garmin which is frustrating. Never with the Polar.
The Polar is currently on a Black Friday Sale as is the H10.
I've been a Polar fan since the early '90's and still have a wrist model from then. It stopped working decades ago but I still have it...no idea why lol.

rm -rf

I had a Wahoo chest strap and liked it. But it quit working after a few years. I had to wet the sensors with water when I put it on.

Now I have a Polar H10. It has the most recommendations on forums. It's instantly working when I put it on, no wetting needed. The strap is very comfortable. It transmits to my Garmin.
It also has a phone app that can do recording. I don't need that, so I haven't tried it.

boozergut

I too have been having similar troubles with my Wahoo Tickr, so following.....

Carbonfiberboy 

The best wrist device my wife and I have ever had is the Polar V800. They work best with the Polar H10 Bluetooth chest strap. They are no longer made and long out of date, but they are still supported by Polar. Best gadget ever. And you can buy them for under $100 on ebay. There are always a few for sale there. I bought both of ours on ebay many years ago. Never had a problem with them, other than that the charging/data upload cable is finicky to hook up. It's a GPS watch. One uploads it using the Polar Flow computer application. Ours runs on Windows 10, don't know if there's an Apple version. One downloads the application from the Polar website. I also upload them to TrainingPeaks. A nice feature is that it'll take your morning resting and standing HRs and do HRV (heart rate variability), all in 6 minutes, under the Tests/Orthostatic test menu option. It won't make you breakfast, but otherwise it's pretty good.

Iride01 

I have been a long time Garmin Edge user. I have always used their Garmin Soft Strap in the various incantations it's come in over the years. I just purchased my third strap a couple months ago. My first strap was bought with my Garmin Edge 500 back circa 2009. My first strap only lasted about 4 or 5 years. They now sell just the strap and the pod from the previous strap can be used with it if it is not the issue that is forcing you to get a new strap.

Though you specified HRM, hear rate monitor. So are you really wanting to know what we use to see our HR or record it with? For me that would be any of the Garmin Edge products if all you do is cycling. Or their strap can be monitored with most any of their sport and fitness devices.

Speedskater

Does Wahoo have a chest strap for the Rival, or will it interface with other brands of chest straps?

Carbonfiberboy 

I, too use a Garmin Edge on the bike. My Polar V800 is for off the bike, hiking, running, gym, etc. When I first started cycling, I used a wrist device but I eventually converted to the Garmin.

Eric F 

Hmmm...I'm going to see if that interfaces with my Wahoo Bolt.

Eric F 

I read somewhere a while back that the bitter coating that some manufacturers put on CR2032 batteries can cause problems with HR some sensors, including the Wahoo Tickr. I don't know that it would cause your issue, but it might be worth trying a non-coated battery.

terrymorse 

I've paired it [Polar OH1+] with my Zwift Hub without issues.

Eric F 

I'm most curious about the respiration rate data. I need to see if that's an available option on Wahoo. The HR part should be very straightforward.

EDIT: Hmmm...I'm not finding any info about respiration rate on Polar's OH1+ page.

terrymorse 

Yeah, I don't think the OH1 reports respiration rate directly. Garmin apparently has some software that looks at HRV to estimate respiration. Although Garmin doesn't list OH1 as a supported monitor, I can attest that the Garmin Edge 830 displays respiration when I use the OH1.
From Garmin Connect website:

MinnMan

Hmmm.

Some time ago, I was on the trainer zwifting my heart out, and one of my cats jumped up on the table next to me. He picked up a used CR2032 battery and ran behind some shelving with his prize. I wondered if the bitter coating was going to disappoint him. I haven't bothered to move the damned shelves to recover the battery.

RChung

Did you move the damned shelves to recover the cat, or is it still back there, too?