Heart Rate Monitor advice

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Steelman
Posts: 48
Joined: Mon May 26, 2008 4:27 pm

by Steelman

I've been looking at heart rate monitors and need some advice on which one would be the best fit for what I am planning to do. First off I would like a wrist unit due to the fact that I will be doing some run training also. I would like for it to be GPS compatible. Not critical to have power or cadence.. Not looking to spend over $200.00. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

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istigatrice
Posts: 849
Joined: Sat May 12, 2012 8:32 am
Location: Australia

by istigatrice

Second hand Garmin 500 would be my pick

or a Bryton Ryder if you want new.

Both have decent battery life, and are fairly easy to use. Garmin plays nicer with strava hence the higher recommendation.

If GPS is not a must Polar units (which include protrainer 5) are also very handy. They also have a few fatigue tests that the garmin/bryton units don't have, so in terms of heart rate info they top, however you're very limited in terms of power meter options and GPS, and they're very expensive.

Basically, if I KNOW 100% that I don't want to use power, strava and JUST wanted to track my heart rate I'd get a polar unit. Pro Trainer 5 and their fatigue tests are a good way of gauging how your body is responding to your training in terms of fatigue (not necessarily your improvement) This is useful if you just want to know when it would be to take a rest day, but it may not be the best training tool. I'm sure you've heard that if you want the most efficient training you use a powermeter, that's why I'd recommend the Garmin/Bryton units over the Polar as you have a wider range of power meter options.
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zirxo
Posts: 296
Joined: Wed Mar 19, 2014 12:46 pm

by zirxo

If you want a gps unit that's wrist-worn, I'd try to get a used garmin 910xt, I think you should be able to get one for less then $200.00 especially now that the new 920xt has been released.
It'll give you the option for power and cadence along with heart rate, gps and some running metrics.

If you're mostly riding though you should really get an Edge 500 instead, the bigger display is really nice to have on the bike.

kulivontot
Posts: 1163
Joined: Sun May 16, 2010 7:28 pm

by kulivontot

Get the Tom Tom multisport Cardio,
it's got all the features above with a built in optical heart rate monitor that actually works (licensed from Mio).
One less strap to wear.
Check DCRainmaker, he's got a bajillion comparison charts for this kind of thing.

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