Heart rate strap trouble - once and for all
I think it's time we had some people who know help us out with the whole malfunctioning heart rate strap thing.
I'll lay my story out as an example: Like many folks, I use a Garmin. In fact, I have a watch and an Edge...that makes it straightforward to know that my HR problems are from the strap, not from the pickup.
My "symptom" is the HR strap cutting out together or reading unreasonably low. Here is a particularly bad trace: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/292555791 Sometimes, it reads nothing, or something stupidly low for a while and then kicks in to a normal value. I thought this was conductivity until I started seeing it going the other way.
I have heard people say that this can be caused by bad T-shirts. For the record, today, I biked and then ran wearing just bib shorts (well, socks and shoes....) That said, it does seem to happen less frequently when I run all bundled up outside.
I have heard people say this is a battery thing. I changed the battery 2-3 weeks ago.
Do these things (the transmitters themselves) just crap out after a year or two? (This happens to be the "latest greatest soft strap model")
Finally, if the Garmin straps are crappy, is there another brand that is less crappy?
Set me straight!!!
Comments
It is all correct. Little frustrated
.
All of it is true including the very last you said. It is time you throw it away. Get something else or new Garmin strap.
1-2 years is what I get from those. Two friends with whom I train, both work for Garmin, both are testers of all of their equipment models and gear. As mentioned in another post, all those issues affect the reading. One of these two guys coats his strap with something, don't know what, to reduce T-shirt effect.....But overall suggestions from both, straps don't last very long. Also, older model straps, according to them will outlast the new ones.
This is not "I have heard" or he say-she say, this comes first hand from peeps inside, that test gear all the time. They both show up with 3 different models of everything hanging everywhere off their bikes and arms with 3 different versions of firmware that we may see a year down the road.
I did voice clearly my displeasure with lack of quality with some of their products, like 910xt, but that is another thread.
Hope this makes you feel better. I feel the same when my 910xt fogs up.
Back in the day, the Polar and Timex HR straps were interchangeable, but not with Garmin, because the former two weren't "digital" or some such designation...but I guess anything ANT+ will do the job these days!
As to the "old straps never failing".... I remember having those plastic strap ones for much longer than the current generation ones seem to work as well. I switched to the soft strap because I had irritation issues with the hard ones... but now I end up with just as bad irritation issues with the edge of the soft strap, so I'm pretty open to trying another brand.
(I have found that a variation on the DC Rainmaker "bandage" solution for strap-edge chafing works for me...I use white cloth athletic tape. It lasts a lot longer for a sweaty guy like me.)
I'd have to agree with you and AT, these things just have a finite lifespan, but a very frustrating one in that they continue to work beyond a certain point, just very poorly.
I really, really, really need to get a new HR strap all together because I've simply stopped training with them do to the unreliability of the data, and now I have no data in that category. Mine is actually the opposite of yours, it reads way high, around 220, until I fiddle with it or it occasionally drops to my correct HR but inevitably spikes back up again.
Taking a step back and thinking about it, on one hand it's kind of amazing how big pieces of crap many of Garmin's products are. I have never owned a Garmin fitness product that I have not had to send back for replacement at some point. Never. My 405 (which I got rid of), my 310xt (been replaced twice), and my Edge 800 all have been replaced by Garmin at various points.
On one hand, I suppose that is not such a bad track record when consider the type of abuse these devices can take... but on the other hand, I think any informal poll of athletes will confirm that Garmin does not have a very good reliability track record.
The "black box" items like HR strap and foot pod are dodgier.
And your point about the abuse they get (and all the little sensors and whatnot with them) is fair, too.
I've had really good luck with the Timex HR sensors. I've interchanged two different models (the low end and more comfortable high end) over the past 3 years, they're both ant+ models and should be interchangeable with the gamins, but i haven't tested that. For the low end model which is a stiffer molded plastic, I need a lubricant to make contact with the skin until the sweat builds up ( I use a dab of KY) But for the softer high end model I've never had reading problems even cold and dry. my $ .02.
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/12/annual-public-service-announcement-how-to-fix-heart-rate-strap-dropoutsspikes.html
I "think" DCrainmaker did review of HR straps and thought the Joule one was the best.
Yes my older Garmin works well.
So far consensus here:: newer Timex, Joule, older Garmin. ???
Reading this post and the comments carefully, it appears that the STRAP, rather than the transmitter, is the problem. Assuming that's the case, this is a $20 problem.
Same implication here: http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=4270010;
Straps (only) From Amazon:
Plastic style straps (Stated as ANT+...not clear about some Timex models)
Full soft replacement straps (including transmitter)
I couldn't get Wm's links to work.
This page: http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Premium-Heart-Monitor-Strap/dp/B0029M3NSS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365086804&sr=8-1&keywords=garmin+heart+rate+monitor+strap
shows both straps. Hover over the words "regular strap" and "soft strap" to see the products. Amazon reviews make clear the Soft Strap starts to bug out in the cold or with prolonged (> six months) use. It doesn't matter WHY this is, point is, don't buy it. Click on Regular strap, it's $38, works with all ANT+ head units. AND, if the elastic band ever starts to fray or fall apart, it can be replaced for $10.
I have ordered a Polar strap to use with my Garmin transmitter (the $20 "solution") and will report how it goes. If it doesn't work, I'm going back to the plastic style straps as Al suggests.
I had read that DCR link I posted a ways back then had pretty much forgot about it without actually taking any specific action,
After re-reading it though, I have probably 3 older non-soft strap HR monitors sitting around from various older devices that I am going to try and revive. I also purchased an $8 bottle of Electrode gel from Amazon to prime the contacts on the HR monitor and see if that makes a difference. It may not be huge, but it's not a huge investment either.
I gave my non-soft-strap ones away to people who had gotten HRM watches without the straps. Oh well!
For whatever reason, all the amazon links dropped the ":" after 'http'. IF you manually type in the colon, the link will work.
On the bike, I don't use it all that much...just as a secondary indicator. I keep an eye on it more on long rides to look for trouble and when I'm feeling tired to see if it's out of whack (either unusually high or low).
For training on the run, I basically rely on pace unless conditions are bad (e.g., very windy or cold) or doing something like hills where RPE and HR tell you more than the absolute pace.
On the run in my distance triathlons, the secondary indicator is more important...I know what I "should" be able to run, but enough races are unusually hot or something so that the HR information is very useful for keeping just under threshold etc etc etc. I did two HIM races last year where the run was 90+ degrees. It's been about 3 years since I ran an open marathon, but the last one I did, I was keeping an eye on both pace and HR just to make sure everything was going as it should.
On the bike, when HR is high and power is low it's a secondary indicator that something bad is going on, excess fatigue, dehydration, nutrition, something. On the bike, HR is like the 'check engine' light on your dash in the car.
On the run it's a more valuable indicator since pace is obviously very relative, as William said HR is really important to me in really hot races where pace and RPE start to have a disconnect.
That said, I have stopped using HR all together for a while now and just been relying on Power/Pace respectively, while I've gotten by, I think I've suffered some for lack of those secondary indicators.
I don't really "use" HR at all. It's more something I look at after a workout and gives me a feel for how my body is working. I do have it showing on my Garmin screen on the bike but have I can probably guess based on power and RPE what the number will say, so I guess it's more informational. I've never seen it get out of whack during a race such that I did something different. I suspect if that happened I would respond based on RPE anyways.
The one thing I've tried to do is take Coach P's advice from last year and use HR as more of a primary metric for racing during the run, i.e. try to get the HR elevated quickly and not give up time at the beginning of the run. Truthfully it didn't really work for me the first time I tried it, but I will give it another go this year at 70.3 Kansas.
Boy I wish I understood it was as simple as this (for the deterioriation in these "soft straps") in the beginning. We should put a bit on this in the wiki.
Instead of the Garmin soft strap I got originally with my 310xt purchase in July 2011, and had it replaced a year ago under warranty, then was about to replace it a few weeks ago again, the store had 2 styles available with one being the same soft strap and another was a hard strap like my old Polar straps. The hard strap had a 2012 date on the box, while the soft strap had 2011 on it. I haven't researched the hard strap, but since I never had any issues with the old solid hard strap for my polar watches, I bought the hard strap (more bulkier version, but if it works it doesn't bother me) which was about $5 cheaper and for the past few weeks haven't had any problems with it. Hopefully things will keep working. I'm guessing this newer strap (although an older style) was an update on their soft strap since they have had so many issues?