I'm trying to do more fitness rides these days and am thinking a heart rate monitor might be helpful to keep myself in a good zone. Any suggestions - I checked MEC.ca but just end up talking myself into a 500 dollar GPS toy.
heart rate monitors
But the GPS toy is soooo much fun! I have a Forerunner 405 that I use for running/riding and there is something oddly satisfying about hooking it up to the Garmin Connect web site and looking at the map with graphs of HR/speed/altitude (especially when you've ridden something new) but you're right, you don't need that.
But the GPS toy is soooo much fun! I have a Forerunner 405 that I use for running/riding and there is something oddly satisfying about hooking it up to the Garmin Connect web site and looking at the map with graphs of HR/speed/altitude (especially when you've ridden something new) but you're right, you don't need that.
I keep looking at the 705… but then I'm well past what my original intent of this thing was for. The 405 you mention might be an option… I do like the idea of mapping the routes after the fact.
I'm rockin the 705 … it's sa-weet but definitely a lil spendy. I hardly use the GPS function though since I'm always riding familiar routes.
If all you need is an HRM, go for something cheap to begin with … lots of peeps don't stick with it, so if you end up in that camp, you haven't wasted a bunch of coin.
:canada: :england:
Penny and I have the Garmin 305 Edge. We've been pretty happy with them. Of course not as cool as the 705, but they're $200 cheaper. It's pretty fun looking where you went on Google Earth.
I just picked up the Forerunner 305 from Costco for $199 on clearout. Can't stand the evil Costco but saved about $150…..and it rules.
I love the Edge 705. I've set up some familiar routes and I race myself on them. Put in a good mix of technical uphill and some technical downhill and it's a lot of fun to see how fast you can make yourself go. Plus you can get free topos for it, which is also nice for those times when you're exploring new areas.
Being cheap is OK. Being a clueless sanctimonious condescending douchebag is just Vlad's MO.
I keep looking at the 705… but then I'm well past what my original intent of this thing was for. The 405 you mention might be an option… I do like the idea of mapping the routes after the fact.
just spend a $100 on a basic hrm. the other toys are nice but after a while the novelty will wear off. kinda like the crazy dildo-vibrator thing you bought and were telling heatmizer about a few weeks ago.
We don't know what our limits are, so to start something with the idea of being limited actually ends up limiting us.
Ellen Langer
just spend a $100 on a basic hrm. the other toys are nice but after a while the novelty will wear off.
Basic HRM's are boring. Unless I was doing indoor trainer workouts I stopped using mine. It's fun looking at the data and the route you've taken.
Like everyone else says, don't drop big money on a HRM. A trip plotter is much more fun and useful. I found that a HRM is useful only to a point (notice nobody talks about cardiac training anymore). Eventually you will be able to dictate your tempo and pace by how you feel, rather than a beats-per-min number on the console. When you get tired of your GPS, you'll be lusting for a Power Tap to track your power output …
Eventually you will be able to dictate your tempo and pace by how you feel, rather than a beats-per-min number on the console. When you get tired of your GPS, you'll be lusting for a Power Tap to track your power output …
I found the basic HRM very usefull for getting that feel. After a few years you get pretty good idea of how hard your body is going. I found I used to ride too hard all the time.
Just my 2 Cents
Don't be an engineer, every one of them I've met is socially retarded
The costco garmin 305 is a pretty good deal, a fun toy and may even be useful for training. It is an hr monitor on steroids and EPO.
I bought one of these about 3 months ago after getting severe gps-techno-toy-envy. I also picked up a couple of the cadence monitors to mount to the road and mtb bike. This tool won't make you faster but it sure fun looking at the details on the garmin training centre after the ride. I admit it I am a graph whore now!
Graphing my heart rate against speed and elevation and comparing it to past rides on the same course has given me an idea of cardio progression (or lack thereof). It has allowed me to see avg heart rate and total calories burned on rides to help compare the training merits of each ride…this is useful information that every weekend warrior should have…do you think there is a multi-step self help program I'm ready to admit I have a problem.
A basic Polar pulse monitor is pretty cheap these days. I think the last one I bought was $60 or $70 and is an indispensible tool for trainning. A power metre is much better but they cost an arm and a leg. Of course some of the Garmin's have the pulse monitor as well so you get the combined stuff.
It's not easy to self gauge training effort without some sort of device that actually tells you that you are or are not going hard. Or that you are too tired.
Debate? Bikes are made for riding not pushing.
For a basic HRM, the Timex from MEC has worked great for me. Switch's bro also uses one, and hasn't had any issues. Plus you have solid warranty from MEC.
If you want a serious training tool and have the $$$, PowerTap or other power meter would be the way to go.
Garmins are great for mapping I guess. My routes are pretty basic, so no need to mount a mini-brick on my stem.
"The song of a bird…We used to ask Ennesson to do bird calls. He could do them. How he could do them, and when he perished, along with him went all those birds…"-Return from the Stars, Stanislaw Lem
"We just walk around, and sometimes we go out and dance, and then we listen to the environment."-Ralf Hutter, Kraftwerk
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