The past few days i’ve spent some money on bike stuff since the LBS (haha did i do that right? sorry im still new to ST) had a huge 50% sale on almost everything. Bought the 2009 Specialized Trivent shoes and a Specialized Elite Wireless Cyclocomputer thingy that was reg $80.
I then decided id like to buy a heart monitor as my next upgrade. Money isn’t too big of an issue since its almost the beginning of the school year and i’ll have a farely large sum of money to play around with. So my question here has two part:
Im racing my first HIM (this is only my second season of tri’s as well) in Muskoka on Sept 13 which is only 2 weeks away. Is there really any real advantage to picking one up before this date since i’ve trained so long without one? The bike computer i just bought for $40 has most features on it including cadence, speed, time and i think even temperature…so im definitely alright on the bike aside from getting a heart rate measurement but it would be nice to have a reading during the swim, bike and run. Keep in mind i don’t mind overlapping functions between the computer and HR monitor as i can easily sell the computer or give it to my sister.
If I were to buy one what stores online or in person should i go to? Is now a good time to buy or should i wait a bit longer till the season is officially over for any kind of better deal vs. the need to use it now for the remaining of the season?
From your experiences with heart rate monitors such as Garmin and Polar, what do you guys find to be the best models and features that i should aim for? Im a bit addicted to new gadgets and technology so the more features the better most of the time.
I would say wait. You’ve gone this long without it. I’ve sorta used one this past year, and it just kind of distracts me cause I always want to know what my HR is. I would much rather have a power meter on the bike, and I can run off mile splits and perceived effort
For training, I don’t think that it will give you a huge advantage. However, I really regret that I didn’t buy my garmin 305 before my first race. Having a detailed, second-by-second, report of your speed, cadence, heart rate, etc from a race can be invaluable for training for future races.
What was your cadence going up that hill, was it too high, too low?
What was your heart run coming down that hill on the run? Were you pushing yourself too hard? Not hard enough?
etc.
People love the Garmin 305. I just got it, and even though it’s huge, I’m starting to really like it. For the price, it probably cannot be beat.
Note though: If you get it, do not get the quick release. I found that the plastic bit on the quick release for the watch, actually bruised my wrist. And there have been more than a couple of reports of the bike quick release ejecting the device at high speeds.
Don’t know the specifics of your situation, but I love my Garmin 305. I use it to train and to race. Yes, there are times when you don’t want/need it for either, but in the midst of a big race or big training block it can give you valuable information. As others have stated it is big, but the GPS is better than any previous product they made. I really see no reason to upgrade to the 405 as it has it’s own issues right now. I have a Polar as well, but as far as I am concerned they are quite a bit behind right now. Hope that helps.
I don’t do HR during racing anymore… but I do in training. I love the GPS feedback of current pace and average pace, that with perceived effort tells me if I’m pushing hard enough on the run.
I train with the HR monitor… Use it more for feedback, rather than train certain zones, but sometimes I do slow my pace if I’m trying to go easier. I think it’s also valuable to measure progress / trends…
So 2 weeks out - no need for it. But the GPS might be beneficial.
“Money isn’t too big of an issue” Get a Garmin 705 for the bike. The screen is easy to read with 5 read-outs. I keep the speed, average speed, time, distance and grade. Then get the 310XT for the entire race. I just upgraded (yesterday) my 205 to the 310XT and can’t wait to try it out. Nice screen, comfortable, and water proof.
Make sure it uses ANT. This will give you more options for the future. You can move between Garmin, Powertap, Timex (at least some new ones), etc. Polar does not have the cross platform capability as far as I know.
Hey I got the Garmin 310XT a week before Ironman LP, It took a second to learn how to use, and it worked great durning the whole Ironman.You can set it so with a hit of a button, you can go through Swim, T1, Bike, T2, and run. The only down fall for me is that it does not work well at all in the water, it keeps the time fine, but it said I swam 3.9 miles not 2.4, it also did that on my training swims also. But I love it.
That would be really cool if I could swim 3.9 miles in 1:12, I would quit tris and become a pro swimmer!! LOL
Really the watch rocks and if you have a chance to get one get it…
I have the FR305 and Polar sd800. They both have thier ups and downs. If you have been training without heart rate then I do not think you need it for shorter races. For your half it would def pay off. Just knowing your pace is worth it to me.
Thanks everyone for the replies. This thread has been extremely helpful. I’ve decided Running Room is a complete write off for this kind of shopping, prices are beyond ridiculous. Im looking at some refurbished 305’s on tigerdirect right now for 180 or so (im in Canada.) Im trying to find something cheap and i could possible own within the next few days.
Again thanks for all the great info! I’ll let you know what i end up getting.
