Watch types?
 

I am thinking I want to know what my heart rate is doing. My wife is like athletic and stuff and uses a garmin but I was hoping a google watch that syncs w/ my google phone might be all I need. Any advice?

Garmin Watch with Garmin Connect on your phone.

Garmin Instinct is good choice.

I largely agree, but will note that my Garmin watch (Fenix 7) doesn't track HR very accurately while exercising. If OP wants a Garmin, it's probably best to go with one of the newest models which have upgraded HRMs -- e.g., the Instinct 3.

(I always wear a HRM strap when riding, which will give more accurate readings than ANY wrist-based device.)

It really depends on all the other stuff you might want your watch to do and what you will do with you HR. Do you just want to know your heart rate. Or are you expecting to be advised of any heart condition you may have. Which the latter will be impossible for the current technology to tell you very much. There are a few specific things they can alert you to.

If you want to use your HR information to help you with cycling, running or other sports, then getting a Garmin might make better sense as they amalgamate that and other information to display charts and other graphics to help you figure out stuff about your ability. There are a few other brands too that do that.

I've had a Garmin Vivoactive 3 with an internal HRM for a few years now. My doctor was impressed with how closely it matched his office equipment. It connects well with my iPhone and with my Garmin Edge 830 computer.

I get annoyed when I have to look at a watch while riding. HRM strap connected to a GPS (Garmin) is great, glance down and I know what my pulse is. It's always on, and always in the same place on the display. You could do the same with a chest or arm strap, or with a (good) watch.

Garmin Instinct is what I use and am happy with. Battery life is nearly a month on the Instinct 2 Solar. I have seen 42 days in summer when I am riding and kayaking a lot. It broadcasts HR data to my Garmin Edge so I see my HR on the Edge on the h-bar. Also can count pool laps when I swim, or do a GPS distance track on an open water swim.

Watch units used to be readily available with a chest strap. You did not need a phone or anything like that. Over the years I have bought Polar and Sports Instruments ones. I do not know if Polar still makes them, Sports Instruments went out of business years ago.

I currently use a Sigma ID.GO heart rate monitor, it uses a chest strap and a wrist watch, but I think they are now out of production.

My Garmin Instinct HR is always dead on the same as what all my doctors finger tip units show.

Do you guys think those Garmin HRMs are as accurate when you are exercising? I have a Garmin watch and find that, while the HR reading is accurate the rest of the time, It is not as good when I'm riding and my HR is high and fluctuating more abruptly.

This is why I love bike forums! These are products which came out approx 40 years ago.

DC Rainmaker does extensive testing with graphic overlays showing accuracy of wrist based devices. My Enduro 2 is really accurate for riding and most activities. For me I found I get the best results when using the elastic strap which came with the device. I understand. The latest sensor is even more stable and accurate as well. Provides EKG information.

I have read that chest straps are more second to second accurate, but that the watch type give you an OK reading. Not sure I would use it for training, but if I needed accurate training data I’d use a power meter, not HR.

Mine is a Fenix 7. I think the issue is that it doesn't take a reading as often as does a chest strap HRM, so it doesn't respond as quickly when doing, say, interval training. I've also read that the wrist-based HRMs work better for some people than others -- even skin coloration can affect the accuracy, apparently.

Thanks for your input - both of you!

Yes, I believe that it is pretty accurate. As I have no way to be certain, I can only answer this anecdotally. Here is a short story.

A few years ago, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. While I was getting my hormone and radiation treatments, I was encouraged by my oncologists to keep riding. But the meds that they had me on would play havoc with my heart rate. I had to keep my heart rate below about 135 bpm or it would quickly shoot up to 180 or so. Sometimes it would hit 200. Once my heart rate hit those high numbers, I was quickly wiped out. Wind and hills became my enemies. A number of times I had to quit rides and call my wife to come pick me up.

Once I figured out what I could, and couldn't do, I was much more successful. The Garmin helped me a lot with keeping track of my heartrate.

Yikes! You reminded me that I need to schedule my annual physical. Prostate cancer runs in my family, and I'm no spring chicken.

Glad the Garmin helped and that you are alright. Thanks for the input.

And i used it for an hour on the exercise bike at the gym two days ago. If you can find them, they work great.

I bought a few spares, have the watch unit on each of several of my bikes too. In the photo below, it is on a DIY bracket and a handlebar adapter for a watch on the left side of my stem cap on my road bike.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3dfb04067c.jpg

Google Pixel Watch might be an option if you are mainly interested in heart rate.

When I work out at the gym, the spin bike and elliptical have sensors on the handles that measure heart rate. They either match my Garmin Instinct 2 exactly or are within +/- 1-3 bpm of what my watch say.

You don't have to look at a watch while riding. Garmin watches will broadcast your heartrate to the Garmin Edge bike computers and you can glance down and see it on the display.

Yes. It matches the heart rate readings on the machines I use at the gym. Either exactly or +/- 1-3 bpm

Okay. So remind me, what's the benefit of a $300-1,200 watch over a $50 chest strap, if you're going to read the data from your Garmin Edge bike computer?

In my case, the watch was on sale for $100.

I find it to be more comfortable to wear than a chest strap.
I'm already wearing it so it pretty hard to forget to put it on.
It has the other smart watch stuff that I want. e.g.: Text message and email notifications, irregular heartbeat notifications, etc.
One fewer item to have to remember to charge or remember to replace batteries on.

I paid $250 for mine on sale.

Benefits of watch:

1.) Tracks heart rate 24/7
2.) Tracks Steps
3.) Tracks sleep and sleep patterns
4.) Tracks stress levels
5.) When not riding a bike I can track my hikes, walks, Indoor biking, kayaking, elliptical, swimming and many other activities I do that aren't bike related.
6.) The app has training/coaching programs if you have goals you want to reach.

One of my favorite things about it is that I sometimes forget to grab my bike computer off the counter on my way out the door, so I can use my garmin watch to log my ride.

Full detail here...

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/775697#specs

I use my Garmin watch when running around town on my commuter bike, since I don't usually keep a computer mounted to that one. And yeah, when I am using a computer, I leave the watch at home and wear a chest strap HRM. So, why did I pay $538 (wholesale cost) for the Garmin watch? Here goes:
1) Overnight data on HRV, Resting HR, sleep quantity/quality/stages.
2) Training Readiness score.
3) Recovery time predictor.
4) And all of the other smartwatch/fitness watch data that you would expect, much of which has been mentioned above.

For me, 1-3 above have had the largest impact on my training quality and overall fitness of anything I have purchased or done in years. In particular, the overnight data showed very clearly the effect of alcohol on my body (as well as late-night screen time and snacking), which led to dramatic behavioral changes: within a few months of purchasing the watch, I had cut my alcohol consumption about 95% -- which, within about four months, saved me more money than I had paid for the watch. At this point, I have (at most) 1-2 drinks per week and am considering quitting entirely.

Bottom line: If my Garmin watch broke or was lost today, I'd buy a new one ASAP. Though I can acknowledge that other people's use-cases may be different than mine; if I weren't trying to race as competitively as possible, I might not want so much data.

All of the features are outlined above. However, a big one supporting my Enduro 2 (soon to be Enduro 3) is my navigation and general backup when travelling, especially on a bike tour. If my Garmin Edge get damaged or stolen, I can easily mount the Enduro on the existing twist mount and have all the features of the Edge device replicated. For me, this redundancy is very reassuring.

Have a compact and subtle navigation device on my wrist is also very convenient. When navigating, it is much easier to quickly and more subtle to check your wrist than pulling your phone out or, even worse, pulling out a map.

None if all you do is cycling. I swim, so my $300 Instinct can count pool laps, lets me know when I've done 500 yards, sends the completed swim activity to the Connect system and onward to my activity tracker. It can do the same using GPS in an open water swim. Can track my kayaks and send those activities up, sends LiveTrack info when I'm in the boat, has weather and wind, which is useful, backups my Edge when needed.

A couple years ago, met up with an old friend who was riding (and winning) the 1050-mile Flint Hills Ultra. Spent most of the day riding with him in the event. He had a 1040 Edge Solar computer, but was also carrying a Garmin watch as backup. You never know what might happen.

btw, the Enduro 3 is sweet. Probably the best deal in the whole lineup right now.

There is nothing wrong with paper maps, I always have one on the top of my handlebar bag on bike tours. It can help a lot to get the big picture when you are wondering where you should stay that night on a bike tour, or where to go after ran into a road closure.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3e322e3d49.jpg

That said, the topic of this thread is heart rate monitors, we are a bit off topic. My heart rate monitor watch above has the red wrist watch band, but I have not activated it at the time of the photo, so it is only showing the time as early afternoon.

paper maps have been replaced by google maps on your phone or the navigation feature on the garmin edge computer.

I can't imagine carrying around a paper map anymore. Even the gravel race events I have been in lately have eliminated paper cue sheets. They just provide a GPX file now.