Thanks for the info. I looked at the Vivoactive - it is wrist/optical. These can be inaccurate, especially the lower end or early ones. The newer ones are much more accurate.

Cadence is fine. So is speed - average, max or otherwise. Perceived effort is fine too.

If you want to get fit and fast without guessing and without wasting lots of time and money then get an accurate heart rate monitor. It doesn't have to be expensive. Training properly with heart rate is the most direct route to getting fitter and faster.

The best book is Precision Heart Rate Training by Dr. Edmund Burke. The book covers about a dozen sports. The section on Cycling is very straight forward and not long at all.

It is very simple to set up your heart rate zones and do some basic exercises to get fit and increase speed. You will likely surprise yourself.




-Tim-