Heart rate during bike rides.

[Noahma]

I was wondering if any other cyclists have noticed something with the heart rate. I found it strange that my band kept recording a max heart rate at 150, and then tonight's ride at 160. I very clearly hit higher than that during my ride, I hit 179 at one point but for some reason it did not get recorded. Any others with this issue?

 

[CliveSinclair]

The band and other wrist type (non medical class) HRM's are not accurate the higher the BPM. I've found over 140bpm, the band varies a lot, when compared to a dedicated chest strap.

 

[David Goldwasser]

I never look at my band during the ride, but if you are using the band's ability to show instant heart rate, that updates every second or two. The data recorded for the ride activity shows heart rate for every minute. Maybe your heart rate peaked only briefly, so they minute average may have been 160 vs. the 179 you saw?

 

[Nate Silver]

150'ish is about all I get, but the same holds when I use my Garmin strap. I suspect that at 60 years old and with BP meds, 160 or so is about flat out max for me anyway.

I suspect that you're not seeing those momentary spikes because the software is smoothing them out.

 

[bockersjv]

In bike mode it updates every second I think.

I have found it to be identical to my Polar Chest strap set up all the way to 170+. It's a lot more comfortable and convenient too.

 

[gadgetrants]

The band and other wrist type (non medical class) HRM's are not accurate the higher the BPM. I've found over 140bpm, the band varies a lot, when compared to a dedicated chest strap.

I'm tempted to agree, but should note that during running it's not unusual for me to see it climb steadily into the mid-170's and stay pretty stable. Now mind you, 180-something is "supposedly" my HR max, which means I should be near death, so I'm not sure I trust those readings. Or, more likely, my TRUE HR max is somewhere in the low 200s. Either way I see very similar HR patterns with my Garmin chest strap.

EDIT: here's an example of a 2-mile run from yesterday that illustrates what I'm describing -- though those loooooooooonng stretches of constant HR kind of beg the question.



-Matt

 

[pallentx]

In my comparisons, the Band reads a few bpm lower than my chest strap and records less granularly. So, if you sprinted hard and HR peaked and came back down between sample points, it could get missed. Mine has not had any problems reading up to 189.

IMO, the Band is not as precise second by second, but its accurate enough.

Garmin

Band

 

[Noahma]

The heart rate is staying above 160-170 for longer lengths than just a second, the band itself is showing the heart rate and its changes, but they are not getting recorded.

 

[Noahma]

I wonder if the band is calibrating itself over the span of a few rides. It showed pretty accurate in this last ride compared to the past couple. Will know more in a few more rides, if it ever stops raining here