Heart Rate Monitors

[Andrew G]

Following the SCCU 25 thread in results has got me thinking about a HRM, I've never used one and only gone on how I/my legs feel - surely if my legs won't go any quicker it doesn't matter what the HRM says.

I'd be interested to know peoples thought's on them - good or bad.

- Do they actually help with the data you get from them, and would I gain any benefit from riding/training with one (as per Toks threshold sessions). Can't these type of sessions be done on "feel"?

- Do the chest straps irritate?

- If I got one does anybody have any recommendations (model or price guide)? Wouldn't want all the bells and whistles (and couldn't afford them) but equally wouldn't want something too basic to have limited use and be less reliable.

Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

Cheers,

Andrew.

[tel]

I personally find HRM invaluable for training. Anything by Polar would be good-I`ve an entry level monitor which I use on my racing bike, plus a dearer model for training. I think you can get a basic model for under 50 quid. Money well spent.

Terry

[Alan M]

I nearly always use one Andrew. I'm not sure of the absolute benefits but here are some observations.

It can create a further mild interest about what is going on with your body relieving some boredom particularly, on lone cycle rides - mine gives speed, distance, time, period in and out of training zones and some other functions that are too complicated for me to bother with. I like to know how hard I'm pushing it, so if I do a hill at 172 I know that I am giving it 100%, similarly on a TT, I am aware as soon as I am slacking although there seems to be about a 30 second delay between effort change and and heart rate change - sometimes, for example, if I am not aiming to do threshold stuff I peg back to a certain rate and keep it at that, posssibly useful for long winter sessions. Another benefit is that problems can show up in heart rate so I gather flu symptoms can cause abnormally high rates. Mine is a VDO hard wired - I have had problems with wireless ones. I guess I like to use it but I don't want too much clutter on the bars so a combined one is good for me.

[Dominic]

I've got one that my wife bought me and I use regulary but not slavishly. I find them handy at the start of long rides ( I sometimes do fairly long Audax rides eg 300 or 400k). I find it good to stop me starting too hard.

You asked about doing sessions on feel. The problem is feel is not specific enough. On feel, a recovery ride is usually done too hard where with a HRM you have the data to stop that. The same with all training sessions I guess.

This only leaves the problem of getting your levels right which can be done a variety of ways but is usually based on your maximum heart rate. How you get that is up to you ie either professionally or on your own going as hard as you can, but to get your maximum it has to be very hard (almost to puking) so they tell me. 220 - your age has been found to be wildy inaccurate.

This is the main problem with all this type of stuff IMHO. There is so much information on the right way and wrong way to do it. Not that in essence they vary wildly just they way that it is presented. I am a big fan of Mark Allen's thinking behind it because he keeps it simple for me.

Just google on HRM training etc and see what I mean

I think they are good and don't cost the earth. Decathlon's version which has got top marks in recent reviews is £35 I think, with all the bells and whistles you would need.

[Steve W]

Check out [url=http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=12112]Evans[/url] they have a wide range at reasonable prices.
Handy for checking your recovery times as well as how knackered you are
Straps are not too much of a problem. You occasionally have to wet the sensors before you set out but sweat usually takes over and gets them going once you are on your way.

Polar F5 does all you need and won’t break the bank.

[Yohan]

Good question Andrew.
I've never used one and I'm also thinking of getting one, but I'd need to fully understand the benefits first.
I always listern to my body, an try an push as hard as I can, but it would be good to know if what I think is 100% effort is actually off the mark. the strapping doesn't sound attractive tho, but I suppose u'd get used to it.

But by the sounds of Alans notes he guages his current performance on it, and adjusts accordingly, I thought it was for more info purposes than performance levels. Do people here 'adjust' thier riding to their HRM, i.e on a pre-defined type of ride,e.g threshold training?

[Ian A4size]

Yohan i will adjust my riding effort to suit my HR when i am on my own but when your in the bunch you just have to keep up. When you find your "zones" you can train a little smarter, its no good charging up a long climb at your max- you will not be able to sustain it- last friday i went up the Stelvio 2758m, i climbed that at about 160/5bpm all the way coz i know i can hold that for a couple of hours, thats about 30 beats down from my max. 25k climb and a freeze your nadgers off descent for about 16 miles it takes about 40 mins to get down as the hairpins are really tight- all 48 of 'em

[Andrew G]

Thanks for all the info, definately seems to be a vote in favour and lots of helpful info, no one has said they hated it and chucked it in the bin! Worth a bit of googling to find what I want and how to use it.

Useful comments Ian as I remember Huw saying something on here about being able to climb for long periods (TOSH I think) if he stuck to a steady HR. If I don't know a hill or can't see the top of it I sometimes struggle to judge my pace and either go too easy or too hard, or both and end up climbing in fits and starts. Not sure about the climb but the decent of the Stelvio sounds fun (on a warmer day).

[Jon H]

I stopped using my HRM whilst racing, as I found it distracting and I was concentrating more on the HR figures than trying to go fast. Now I race on feel which seems to have worked, certainly for the shorter distances (10s & 25s). Although it may have been beneficial using a HRM at the longer distances where you have to judge your pace a bit more carefully. I've also not used it out riding on the road either, but I tend to just go out and enjoy riding rather than specifically training. In fact the only place I do use it is on the turbo which is where the structured training happens, and for that it's invaluable.

[Snoop Doug]

A veritable smorgasbord of information - just gets better and better! So - I'm off to get me some kind of bike computer that measures ave speed and also cadence. I will now be able to use my hrm as a tool rather than a wristwatch wot measures me ticker too - which is nice. One more question if I may - I see a few mentions of power as a measure - whassat and how/can you measure it...? Sorry for being such a dumbass but I'm learning loads from all this.

Cheers - Snoop

[Matthew Ives]

The big problem with HRM's is that they are not always an indication of how hard you are going.

If you are overtrained or getting a cold, for instance, it will be hard to get your heart rate up to what you would expect. I know when I have used them on a regualr basis for intervals, you can go really hard one day and only be @ 80% of you max heart rate, whilst on the next day, with the same effort, you're @ 90%.
This is the reason that most serious riders use power meters now instead of HRM's. Watts are the real indication of how hard you are going, not bpm.

They are I believe more of a rough guide to what kind of effort you're putting in rather than a scientific tool to analyse your training and racing.

[Ian A4size]

Snoopage old boy,

Do a search on google for power tap or SRM power meters or Ergomo (sp?)
Verily ye will find mucho info. Mainly how to empty your wallet!
If you watched the various tours on the box you will notice Fraud landis and Phoneyak use the power tap , v. nice it is too, Vino uses the SRM system with a nice matching paint job on the cranks.
Power meters are the new black.
i want one as well.

[Ian A4size]

deleted double post

[Andrew G]

Matt - I think I fall well in to the rough guide type of rider I'm just thinking about trying to have a bit more of a clue and slightly more structure than my current slipshod method.

SRM, PowerTap - remortgage Shurely just a pro tool.

[Jon H]

This is an example of an interval session recorded with Powertap. It's meant to be 5 x 4minute intervals at 250Watts with a minute recovery in between (except I got carried away on the third interval and did 5 minutes by mistake).

The black line is power, red is heart rate, green is cadence, and blue is speed (pretty irelevant as it was on the turbo).

Anyway it demonstrates a couple of benefits of power over heart rate. Firstly, the heart rate takes a good two or three minutes to catch up with the effort you're putting in, so if you were doing these intervals on HR you would have to guess the effort to reach the target HR. Secondly, each interval ends up at a higher HR, so if you were doing them at a target HR the power you were putting out would reduce each time.
[img]http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/jrhemming/Intervals.jpg[/img]