Which HRM???

I'm thinking about getting a Heart rate monitor, to help training for this 300k round a lake ride. I'll probably only get a cheap little thing (moving house etc has left me a bit poverty stricken!) And I'll probably only use it 'till the summer - then I'll forget I've got it ...
Apart from the obvious heart rate, is there anything that a HRM MUST have. Is it best to get one that sits on the handle bars?
Do they all use a belt round the chest? Are they all wireless?
As you can see I have no idea what I'm looking for!

Hi James Godley,

I have done a lot of homework on the Polar HRM. To give my bit of info, I would recommend that firstly take a look at a Coded HRM. Reason being plenty of my friends moan about the cross-talk their getting from other HRM which influences the reading.

The Polars are wireless and you can also buy a Polar bike-mount. Depending on what you want to use it for you can get from the basic (just giving heart rate and avg heartrate) to very advanced that can give cadence, altitude etc.)

As far as I know all the Polars come with a transmitter and strap?

If you are like me looking for basic functionality without having the spend $$$, I would recommend the M21. The entry level in the Coded Polar HRM.

It basically determines your target exercise zone, tracks your calories burnt, feedback on exercise time, time in target zone, avg heart rate, fat % burnt per workout and has an exercise reminder.

It also gives the time, date stopwatch etc. So you don't need to put it aside and forget about it.

Anyway, that is my suggestion, but I can guarantee you the others will give you very usefull info as well..

Good luck with that 300k.

__________________
"pain is temporary, pride is forever"

All the good HRMs are wireless with a chest strap.

A decent HRM should have at least one zone with alarms that YOU can program. Forget having the thing do it for you you won't get the best result.

You can buy a bike mount for all of the polar monitors or you can just get a bit of foam rubber tube and fasten it over that so you can see it while you ride.

extra features like time in zone, calories burned, intervals and computer download are not essential but certainly make a good HRM a powerful training tool.

for a little more than the m21 you could get an S150 with the cycle computer built into it but no coded transmission which can be a pain in a pack

I still use an old Polar Sports Tester, perhaps the first that can download. Still running well after 8 years of use every day (with lots of polar services). Anyone else running this primative HRM?

Just some thoughts on HRMs.
I have owned 4 over the last 10 years, each time upgrading to a better model (currently S710). It would have been a lot more cost effective if I had just gone out and bought the higher end model to start with.

Leon

James
Whichever one you get you DO need a bike mount for it. Trying to read a HRM on the wrist is a pain on the road and near suicidal on a MTB! Don't buy a Polar bike mounting, it will cost nearly the price of a basic HRM! Make something up with some plastic and tape or whatever. Not too difficult.

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"How can I soar with the eagles when I'm surrounded by a bunch of turkeys?!."

They must be really gouging you in South Africa, here in Australia the Polar bike mount kit is about $20! (The monitors are in the $200-700 range)

The Polar Power sensor, now that's an expensive bit of equipment!

I think the M-series are great, I was about to get one (I got an S710 second-hand instead).. the main difference between the M21 and M51 is that the latter lets you program (or let it program) two heart rate limits instead of one, has the OwnIndex fitness test thingy, and can store personal info to switch between two users. Those extra features might be worth paying the bit extra for.

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Peter
Cannondale Synapse Carbon Scalpel Cyclocross Ultra