Smokin Slow

Thanks to a new insurance program the only way I can get credit for my cycle workouts is through tracking my HR or calories burned while on the trainer. I tried Strava yesterday on my fat bike outside but the cold shut down my Iphone so all was lost (in Wisconsin).

Looking for something that will track and allow uploads of needed data to the insurance site. The site is compatable with Polar and Garmin so my original though was a watch style HR monitor. After some looking wondering is a Garmin Edge 500 or similar might be a better option.

Thoughts on a good direction here, dont really need a new computer but the Edge series does way more than my current puter does.
I am a 52 year old recreational cyclist looking to improve my fitness and be able to ride with the "faster" group on a group ride.

GlennR

I have a Garmin 510 and use it for cycling and setup a profile for spin class that tracks heart rate and calories.

bikepro

The Garmin 500 would be ideal. There are some good deals on ebay.

scrming

Garmin is the way to go!

I have an Edge 500 and recently bought an Edge 810. If all you really need is your HR data, then I would say a 500 would be great choice. I've had a number of Polars over the years and they are fine if you are just looking for the end/total numbers. I know that some of the Polars will allow you to download the data but my experience hasn't been that good.... For actual HR data, i prefer the Garmin.

Carbonfiberboy 

I've been using Polar heart rate monitors for training for about 15 years. For the last 10, I've been using Polar products to upload my training files to my computer and various websites. Any of the products on this page:
Products | Polar USA
will upload data, though what data is included varies with the device.

The watch I'm using now isn't made anymore, but it's similar to the RS300X. Note that some of these devices have GPS and some do not. What I really like is that it's a watch I wear on my wrist, so it goes anywhere I go and records whatever I do. The watches without GPS have extremely long battery life compared with a Garmin device: years rather than hours.

I usually buy my Polar products from this website:
Polar Heart Rate Monitors: HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com

John_V 

If you're using a BlueTooth HRM with your phone, you don't need to have your phone out in the cold to capture your heart rate. If you want to be able to see what it is during your ride, you may want to look into a Wahoo RFLKT or RFLKT+ (if you have an iPhone 5 or 6). Way less expensive than a Garmin and displays any data your cycling app tracks.

nkfrench 

My company's wellness plan only accepts HR data from Polar devices that upload to polarpersonaltrainer.com
Polar's website training load graphs showing accumulated fatigue are useful.
It won't create the export files that feed into strava and it doesn't have GPS.
But my polar device does work in the swimming pool. Many HRMs are water-resistant but don't effectively transmit underwater. Mine does.
Unfortunately after an hour of swimming, the extra digits needed to show HH: with MM:SS result in smaller letters that are hard to see when doing intervals wearing foggy goggles.
The polar can talk to its proprietary cadence/speed sensors on a bicycle.
The buttons on the wrist unit can be accidentally pressed during normal wrist motions, causing problems capturing ride data. I have an ugly universal mount on the handlebars that works but takes up needed space.

I also use a garmin edge 510 on the bike, with its own speed/cadence sensors and GPS.
I enjoy uploading to strava and it also integrates with Runtastic then into myfitnesspal.com for tracking food/exercise calories.
Runtastic also interfaces to my company's fitness plan, but it's buggy and only gives a fraction of the credit earned.

As soon as I reach the maximum $$$ incentives on my company's wellness website, I discontinue using the Polar for bicycling for the rest of the year and instead use the Garmin heartrate monitor to get HR data integrated.

The polar HRM also talks to my fitness club's gym equipment so I don't have to look at my wrist to see the numbers while I exercise. I don't think the bluetooth HRM integrates as well, and bluetooth doesn't work in the pool. So the Polar does see some use year-round.

The phone apps suck the juice out of the battery and I keep it in a jacket or jersey back pocket. I've emptied the battery on rides then had no phone or GPS. I don't want to invest in a bluetooth HR transmitter that only works with the phone. They aren't supposed to be used in hot weather and will shut down in hot temperatures if the black case sits in the sun.

I haven't found a complete solution that uses non-proprietary protocols, uploads to common websites, has GPS, functions underwater, can provide elevation/grade, operates over 105F, takes up little space on the bike, is elegant, and gives me complete credit for my wellness plan.

bing181

In the absence of anything to beat it, I'd reluctantly recommend an Edge 500 as well. Kind of great unit, but the Garmin software is a pain - though of course, you can just use Strava or whatever.

If you're buying bits and pieces, you might also consider throwing in a Powercal - basically, a slightly more expensive HR strap which calculates power from fluctuations in HR. Not great for using as much of a reference on the bike, too variable, but over a longer ride, surprisingly accurate, and gives you some more data to input into Golden Cheetah or WKO or whatever to monitor training and progress. FWIW ...

Smokin Slow

Thanks for the input
i went the Garmin route but with a vivofit with HR. For $100 I get the hr and step data needed to register a workout on my trainer. The unit also does a decent job dangling carrots in front of me to stay active. Some day I can see a bike specific Garmin unit but this does what I need for now.

GravelMN

I just got a Mio Alpha 1 and have ridden outdoors in sub-freezing weather several times. Keep your phone in an inside pocket and all will be well. My mid-layer is a wool blend runner's jersey with a chest pocket that works great but I also tried a cycling jersey as a mid layer and put the phone in the center back pocket to see if it would still pick up the signal. It did without missing a beat.

John_V 

If your battery ran dead on your phone you either didn't have your phone optimized, you had apps running in the background, you had your screen on the entire time or a combination of any of these. I use an iPhone 5c with Cyclemeter connected to a Wahoo RFLKT+, a Garmin speed/cadence sensor and a Garmin heart rate monitor. At the end of one of my normal 45 mile rides, I have 75-80% battery life left. On a seven hour century I did in December, I had 35% battery life left. When you use a phone and a cycling app, you should really do some research on how to get the most out of the phone. An Internet search will bring up several different hacks that do this.

nkfrench 

My phone at the time was a iPhone 3G and it didn't have near the battery life as my iPhone6. It would go from 100% charge down to shutdown in less than 3 hours running cycle apps.
I took it to the Apple store and they checked settings then replaced it, but the new iPhone3G had the same battery life.
It wasn't connected to any sensors, I didn't have other apps running, but WiFi was enabled potentially taking too much draw.

John_V 

Well, that would make sense. I was under the impression that you did this with one of the newer phones. I too often hear posters say that phones are not a good thing to use as cycling computers because the battery's die before the end of the rides. Most of the old phones had this issue but the newer ones are just as capable as any Garmin or other wireless cyclometer out there. One of my riding buddies has a Garmin 510 and every long ride we do, the battery life on my phone, at the end of the ride, is pretty much the same as the remaining battery life on his Garmin. Nothing against Garmin, as I was thinking of buying one, but since I carry my phone with me on every ride I couldn't see spending the extra money to duplicate the same services. Besides, I get much better stats breakdown via Cyclemeter than I could ever get on a Garmin and I don't have to log into any web site to see the results of my ride.