Garmin

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Gobi 10 Jan 2:20pm, 10 Jan 2024 80,913 posts	0 Gobi Even Garmin recommend that when actually training you should use a strap. This comment came while in a Specialist sports shop in Amsterdam Even with the Fenix 6 I have very little positive to say about optical because whenever I do anything above easy it is SHIT Sometimes I look at the watch while I am on ZWIFT and frankly the data is pissed compared to my HRM strap. Sometimes I wonder why I care about either though as I have had some piss poor HRM moments
AndyS 10 Jan 2:23pm, 10 Jan 2024 2,563 posts	0 AndyS It's been my experience that optical is way more susceptible to cadence lock (I've experienced this with both my Fenix 5X and - to a lesser extent - with my Polar Verity Sense), but never with a chest strap. (It's easy to spot, since my usual running cadence is significantly higher that my max HR) I've also tried recording strap + Polar simultaneously - and the optical seems a little sluggish to change compared with a strap. e.g. I rowed 4x(500m/1:00r) earlier and got this. You'll notice that the HRM reacts more quickly to changes, whilst the optical tends to "smooth" things out a bit. If (like me) you're ok with a "ball park" figure, then that's not a problem. But if you're at the pointy end and looking for that last 0.1% performance gain, then it might be different. Now, I don't know enough about sports physiology to know if it's really that important - but I do know enough about numerical analysis to know that it's far easier to take precise data and smooth it out that it is to take fuzzy data and look at the actual detail.
Welshpoppy 10 Jan 2:35pm, 10 Jan 2024 3,483 posts	0 Welshpoppy I had a sports bra that was used with Polar HRM it was okay if I remember it clipped on the front of bra and you wet the sensor which were on the bra and this must be twenty years ago. I cut the strap of the HRM and stick it under bra and works a treat for me-Thanks to Shades advice on this.
Snail 10 Jan 5:13pm, 10 Jan 2024 2,621 posts	0 Snail If you want a different layout to your Garmin connect, there is now a more summarised version based on user preferences. Available currently as a Beta version which for me was available through both my online account and also the app
Snail 10 Jan 5:14pm, 10 Jan 2024 2,622 posts	0 Snail I found it easier to adjust some of the view preferences on my computer rather than my phone
larkim 10 Jan 6:46pm, 10 Jan 2024 22,947 posts	0 larkim Cadence lock is definitely an issue on some optical implementations, but that's not too do with the tech per se, it's to do with the fitting of the device. Hence why lots of people hate their watch for hr data. But use an armband sensor and that issue disappears. And once you've accepted you need a separate device for measurement, then the choice between band and chest strap becomes much more 50:50. There's no technical reason why an optical sensor should be more than a beat behind, if devices are slower to pick up and transmit that then it is due to the firmware on that device, not the technology itself.
SPR 10 Jan 7:07pm, 10 Jan 2024 43,456 posts	0 SPR There's no technical reason why an optical sensor should be more than a beat behind How do you know this?
flanker 10 Jan 7:34pm, 10 Jan 2024 21,095 posts	0 flanker larkim the cadence lock problem doesn't always go away with an armband optical sensor, even when tight-fitting. We both regularly get cadence lock with Wahoo Tickr optical armbands, both on the forearm and the bicep. It's especially prevalent when cold, probably because blood flow at the periphery is restricted. I also have a couple of tops that seem to have a far higher incidence of cadence lock with the Wahoo. The same tops used to have the same problem with Garmin chest strap. I do find this all strange, as the only reason I can see why static should impact an optical device is poor electrical shielding of the sensor's components?
Badger 10 Jan 8:14pm, 10 Jan 2024 16,875 posts	0 Badger The delay on a Tickr Fit is ten seconds. fetcheveryone.com/forum/garmin-11517/271 I think it might be a bit more complicated than you think, larkim. I wonder why Garmin have never made an optical arm band? Possibly someone high up banning it because it would suggest the watch sensors are not good enough (the current generation probably are good enough but the wrist is just not the best place to read it, IMO)
Bazoaxe 10 Jan 8:36pm, 10 Jan 2024 26,196 posts	0 Bazoaxe I find my chest strap and optical to give slightly different results. The optical has me at lower hr than the chest strap. Whilst I prefer the optical stats I trust the chest straps accuracy