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After some investigation into this training malarkey it seems that a hr monitor is a useful tool. I have a GPS unit already so don't want / can't afford to replace that.
British cycling website suggests 30-80£ should get a ok one. Money is tight so I would prefer less than 50 if possible. eBay thoughs up load of cheap 10£ ones that tether to phone and while it would be really nice to record data over time I also need to be able to see the data live on a watch or similar. Suggestions please as too many to be able to differentiate!
Decathlon do one for 13 squids including strap and watch. As long as you only want HR and won't be using it next to loads of other folks it should be just fine. Daughter of a friend uses one for hockey training
In the pre garmin days I tried those watches a few times without much success.
A lot of the value in HR data is being able to export it into connect or strava or some other analysis software the watches wont normally do that.
I would save up for a month or two and get whatever Garmin and HR strap is on offer and best suits your needs.
I forgot good old Decathlon thanks.
@wilburt. I was only planning on using it for zone training so don't see the point at the moment with adding the gps. As I said ideally it would do bluetooth to phone so I can see trends. Can't justify a £300 gps when I have one that is perfect for my needs, takes AA batteries, simple and rugged.
What GPS have you got? Is it compatible with ANT+
I don't know if it is ANT+!?! I doubt it. I bought it in a pawn shop while working in Canada.
It is a Garmin GPSmap 62s
Looks like it is. Just buy a garmin HR strap and it'll work with your GPS.
Interesting thanks, just been looking through manual. Will have to try and work out if it just displays or if it logs data as well.
If Bluetooth works for you then I can recommend the Wahoo TICKR. I went through a couple cheap Bluetooth HRMs before finally deciding to get a decent quality one. The cheap ones worked ok, but died after a few months due to heavy use on the turbo and sweat getting into where it shouldn't...
I'd 2nd the Garmin HR strap in combo with your existing GPSmap 62s. If it's mounted central to your handlebars I guess it will be easier to keep an eye on your HR there than glancing at your watch while cycling.
Get a heart rate monitor that transmits both Ant+ and Bluetooth Smart, then you can use it with your Garmin, or with your phone (or both at the same time).
eg the Wahoo Tickr for a chest strap. Or Mio Link if you prefer something on your wrist.
Yes, the Garmin GPSmap 62s should work with an Ant+ heart rate strap. It will display your current heart rate, and should record it in the GPX file, so you can upload it to Strava etc. I don't think it will display any zones etc.
I have an unused Bluetooth heartrate monitor from lidl, yours for postage, does mean you'd need to use your phone though.
Otherwise the wahoo tickr is a good bet as it works with ant and Bluetooth so whatever you want to use it for. Get on their mailing list they have discounts on their own kit every now and again, £30 off of the tickrx last week.
+1 for the Wahoo Tickr
Works great with Strava and bang on your budget (<£40) iirc from Wiggle
Thanks people I will check it out.
Do any of the phone apps do zone alarms?
Thanks difficult I think I will give that a miss as I want to avoid phone only.
Do any of the phone apps do zone alarms?
The Wahoo app does. Allows you to set your own zones and will alert you when you change zones
I've got a Mio link, it's fab. You can set your own HR zones and it's got a coloured LED on it that shows which one you're in.
I use sports track live [url]www.sportstracklive.com[/url] on an android phone with Blue tooth hrm - might have paid about GBP4 or so for premium - zones and good graphs
If you're going for the Garmin, see if you can get the older model with the rigid front.
I had the premium soft strap one and it slowly died after giving erratic results. Salt in sweat affects them. They last longer if you rinse them out but they seem to all go eventually.
The rigid one had been much better.