Smart Watch

[Davey B]

Thanks Derek...I'm generally in very good health and fitness, then it vanishes in a matter of days, then the build up back to good health and fitness begins again (bought a 2nd hand e-gravel bike from here last year which makes getting back into shape far easier...physically and moreover, mentally)

 

[steve hughes]

I seem to have gone thru HRM chest straps like they're going out of fashion and used to use them all the time when cycling. The watch will take away the need to use one
Anyway...watch ordered, will see how it goes.

Sorry to say you are wrong here Davey, your expectations are too high! . I use both HRM’s Polar and Garmin for over 40 years. I also have a garmin sports watch.

The two devices use very different sensors. The HRMs pick up the small electrical signals sent by the heart. As such they are accurate and quick to respond. Sports watches use a green light that passes through the skin and records the dilation and contraction of blood vessels. So there are two downsides if your exercise is vigorous eg whilst running or bumpy cycling the sensors cant focus on the blood vessels as the watch moves. When they do work they are laggy eg I can stop ( because I have to !! ) at the top of a hill and my garmin hrm might report 145 bpm and falling . My garmin watch may show 96 bpm and climbing.

However at moderate exercise and rest , both align, so your desire to measure recovery rate whilst sleeping will be fine. What the watch is doing here is determining the time your heart takes to resume normal resting heart rate and converts that into a “ body battery or recovery score” . Because you are only moving slowly the green light sensors can lock on the blood vessels and give you a consistent reading

When I had Covid my smart watch highlighted something was wrong before I even had symptoms, so they do have their place. But for measuring your max exertions on the bike or running / cycling / walking stick with the hrm’s

 

[Davey B]

Sorry to say you are wrong here Davey, your expectations are too high! . I use both HRM’s Polar and Garmin for over 40 years. I also have a garmin sports watch.

The two devices use very different sensors. The HRMs pick up the small electrical signals sent by the heart. As such they are accurate and quick to respond. Sports watches use a green light that passes through the skin and records the dilation and contraction of blood vessels. So there are two downsides if your exercise is vigorous eg whilst running or bumpy cycling the sensors cant focus on the blood vessels as the watch moves. When they do work they are laggy eg I can stop ( because I have to !! ) at the top of a hill and my garmin hrm might report 145 bpm and falling . My garmin watch may show 96 bpm and climbing.

However at moderate exercise and rest , both align, so your desire to measure recovery rate whilst sleeping will be fine. What the watch is doing here is determining the time your heart takes to resume normal resting heart rate and converts that into a “ body battery or recovery score” . Because you are only moving slowly the green light sensors can lock on the blood vessels and give you a consistent reading

When I had Covid my smart watch highlighted something was wrong before I even had symptoms, so they do have their place. But for measuring your max exertions on the bike or running / cycling / walking stick with the hrm’s

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. My expectations are that the watch will be better than what I use to measure my heart rate now....nothing. My first HRM was a Polar back in 2000...(it was what detected atrial fibrillation initially)
I'll see how I get on with it.

 

[steve hughes]

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. My expectations are that the watch will be better than what I use to measure my heart rate now....nothing. My first HRM was a Polar back in 2000...(it was what detected atrial fibrillation initially)
I'll see how I get on with it.

Polar’s are brilliant and where the gold standard for so long. I’ve switched to a Garmin hrm as its two quid to change a battery not the £50 I was paying in the 90’s/ 2000’s . Plus I bought it off here!

 

[Greenman14]

I have used a MyZone HRM on a wrist strap and it wasn’t very accurate for cycling, compared to using it on a chest strap. I normally ride with an Apple Watch and the MyZone HRM on a chest strap but I wouldn't trust the watch to be accurate. Having said that it’s better than no HRM, just beware of spurious high readings.