Don't Like Wearing Chest Strap Heart Rate Monitors?

20 thoughts on “Don't Like Wearing Chest Strap Heart Rate Monitors?”

1. You haven’t convinced me to switch from a chest strap…..even though I find chest straps only seem to last about 10,000km. (Have not tried Polar)
   As for Coros, based on the real tech reviewers like Lama and DC they have a long way to go to get some credibility with their head unit and consequently I wouldn’t touch them

2. I suggest you avoid getting outside one's lane. in this case measurement science and experimental design. "Polar Product" is not a "Gold Standard" for cardiac. Presentation has all the pitfalls of an anecdotal.

3. I have am issue with my chest called pectus excavatum which is a dip in the chest caused by the cartilage joining the ribs to the sternum doesn't grow properly as a teen and leaves the sternum behind essentially creating a dip so, naturally, a chest strap doesn't work for me and i use an arm band but really question its accuracy .

4. when precise HR data is important I use a chest strap, have tested it against different wrist solutions and they all are not as precise and take time to show somewhat reliable data at all. When it's not so important I use my Garmin watch – so no need for that sensor: For those who don't own a sport watch (probably not many active humans…) the arm strap would be an option, when it is not to expensive – but then the BT-only concept is a no go for some applications, they absolutely should include ANT+, shouldn't be a big deal anyways

5. I ve got one if these by coospo brilliant been using it for a while.. I had whoop and ditched it.. I don’t like chest straps ? Pete ???

6. well, thanks. I had 2 Wahoo chest straps, and both lasted about 1 year before stopping completely. I have a Withings watch, not ideal, now I know why. Always hated chest straps. Will seriously consider the arm strap.

7. After several HRM failures after replacing the battery or drying out on cooler winter days I decided to go with the Coospo arm band unit after reading the review on Roadcc. It’s been super reliable with few if any drop outs over the 2 yrs that I’ve been using it.
   I for one will never go back to a chest strap HRM.

8. Semi-serious question – Do skinny road cyclists need at least some bicep bulge to hold it in place without cutting blood supply to the arm …?

9. Coros bike computer is a great paper weight I hear

10. I have had the best result with a Tickr Fit arm strap. The HR reading lags the effort by about 10 s, but I think it peaks out at around the right HR.
    With chest straps I found that I got so sweaty, or something, that they'd stop reading just when I was really getting into it after an hour or so, which it why I went for the arm band
    For a lot of rides I just use a Fenix 6 – seems OK if I'm just commuting and throwing in a few intervals along the way

11. I find the best spot is the upper forearm for the polar OH+ and scosche rhythm. Only problem is garmin uses hrv to do calculations which neither of them transmit

12. I have the polar verity, IMO, not as good as the chest strap, but it feels a lot better. Wear it a lot on days i just want HR, but not important, and if I happen to forget, I still have the Garmin watch, which is not as good as the polar arm band

13. I got a question for Neill and the community: Has anyone experienced Sesamoiditis or pain around that area under the ball of the foot? Could cleat postion or cleat type be a reason? Or not enough arch support?

14. Nice news about the bike computer… as mostly a runner the arm band has had plenty of traction from that market. I’ll have to get their bike computer so everything will be Coros. Edit, forgot to add my Coros arm band turned up this week.

15. Have used various arm straps and in general they do not work as well as a chest strap. The chest straps tend not to drop out, have longer battery life (Magene, moofit ). Recall a prior arm strap i used where the explanation given for why it was not working well was: I had hair on my arms and my skin color was black.

16. Using arm strap for last 7 years or so – no way back to chest strap for me. DCR tests showed that until very extreme cases – optical on the arm is good enough. But tried for some time to exchange it with just garmin fenix – this was very unreliable. So optical is in principle very very good – but the location plays a huge role.

17. Wahoo Ticr ftw, the armband could have a notch grippier velcro because in weight training tends to rip it open often

18. I have used the Wahoo Ticker armband for over 1 year now, I found it to be very accurate. I am thinking about trying this Coros Unit.
    Thanks Cam for showing another option. Anyone try a Core temperature sensor or a sweat sensor ?

19. Well yeah, I have shied away from chest straps because I hate them. I would definitely use one of these, in fact, I probably will buy one

20. It’s a shame the bluetooth only connection is a deal breaker for me!

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