Thinking of scrapping the Garmin for IMCdA. It’s been acting up lately, it’s big as hell, and the battery life sucks. Is there a cheap, no thrills HRM out there that won’t pick up signals from other racers HRMs? All I need is heart rate and time. Nothing else. I don’t care about uploading data, splits, nothin. Waterproof would be cool so I don’t have to mess with it in T1, but not necessary because I can strap it on the bike before the race. Needs to have a small strap because I have a narrow (32 inch) chest.
I’ll probably just use the Garmin because I’m tired of buying stuff for this race, but if there is a good cheap option it would be dandy.
I’ve got a Timex HRM that works pretty well. It cost me $90 at REI.
Now that I’ve posted it here, It’s only a matter of time before someone bursts my bubble by saying it’s a piece, but whatever, it’s worked well for me thus far and it was cheap.
A Polar would be the best all around one since most gyms are Polar compatible. Polar’s are easy to use also. Hit one big red button to start and lap times. The one I use is about $79 at Performance and includes a bike mount with speed sensor. Its a S150.
I did get a friend of mine a Timex HR and she does like it. Its the Timex for mid size wrists and I thought the Polar would have been too big for her wrist. The Timex use a different transmission technology and do not suffer as much interference issues as the Polars do (Under power lines…). Timex cost was $90 at REI.
You have some cheap Polar HRMs out there… very basic… nothing fancy at all for about $50 (the FS1 and was $59 Canadian I believe If I recall correctly)…
I borrowed it from a friend this winter and it was fine… the only problem for me was that it did not beep when I was outside of my HR zone (min and max only) and it was a bit an issue when running by 5/10 F…
The S210 is a good unit. Never had any interference issues with other wireless devices on the bike. Can’t upload anything onto the computer. Can hold one full file of lap data (up to 99 laps) and four summary files. Believe it or not, this qualifies as “no frills”.
I also have a timex HR watch. They have models that are for ladies, which means the watch itself is slightly smaller designed for smaller wrists. I got mine off Amazon for around $50. The transmission does not get effected by power lines and won’t be effected by other people’s HRM’s. Watch is waterproof and has standard features of Ironman watch + HR.
The flip side, the first watch I got didn’t read HR so I had to return to Timex. They replaced promptly. The one I have now works okay but will occasionally freeze on erroneous high readings like 240 beats per minute. The strap is not well designed either.
My GF just bought a New Balance strapless (isn’t that sexy) “on demand” HR Watch. Very tiny (made for a woman) and less than $75. Of course…it’s “on demand” which may be a deal killer depending upon how you want to use it, but she likes it because she’s very new to HR training (although she is a 2:44 marathoner). She just couldn’t run with a strap with her skimpy tops she likes wearing…
Hey jodi!
I use a no frills polar running edition one. I think it is the rs 100 which has heart rate, avg, oh and calroies burned…just a few basics. small for the wrist and no downloading…i just transfer the info into my polar calendar.
I also use the rs100… & this unit is fine for me (didn’t want to spend tons of money on the HRM) however it is twice as much as the FS1 I mentioned in a earlier post.
I got a good deal on a polar with free shipping from heartratemonitorusa - it was a newer model that used the t31 strap that is wearcoded so no interference; didn’t have all the upload stuff. I think I paid like $70 or 80 for it. Am glad to use it every day now and have it for backup.
Don’t buy anything yet. I have a polar just like is described above that you are welcome to have on Friday. Should fit but we will see…you can always buy after Fri (I’ll give you a local place where I bought this one).
My Timex Bodylink died one week before IMOO last year. Picked up this polar for $50 and it worked great on race day. I don’t use it anymore.