HRM, cadence etc - much use if just really commuting

[w00hoo_kent]

Cheers, for that. I did have a bryton 50 or something but I dont really get the time to analyse my data post ride so never collected it.
I am intrigued that you got the touring version that does HRM, as I cant understand why someone touring would want to measure HR, cadence yes but not HRM. I guess its just data to analyse.

The Touring + had better features than the Touring (I can't remember which, but looked in to both and made that decision at the time) and we were primarily buying it to help with leisure rides because we'd meander out and about and then get lost and spend ages looking at maps etc. and knowing how handy satnav was in the car it just seemed the way to go. Because we had it I added it in to my commute habit because I'm a bloke and so like crunching data. That it could do HRM was a nice bonus when I decided to give HRM a go but if it couldn't I'd probably have just bought something that could (or used it as a ludicrous excuse to get a 1000).

If it could do cadence, then I'd probably log that to, as I say, I like looking at the squiggly lines on the graphs. I find cadence's main use is as a quick kick that you are backing off. dropping 5-10 rpm is easy for me to do without really realising I've done it and if I'm trying not to ease off then the cadence meter means I'll pick that back up again. It was also interesting (to me anyway) how it related to which gears I was in, so there's a step between (probably) 3rd and 4th which equates to around 10rpm on both of my 9 speed cassettes, if I'm trying to keep the cadence up, then I'll pay more attention to when I choose to take that step thanks to the meter. I'd imagine HRM is probably argued as more of a health thing than a training thing with the Touring+, possibly enough people want to know which zone they are in and to moderate that through their ride more than they feel they need a box to tell them how fast they are pedalling. But that's just a guess.

 

[G3CWI]

Ideal cadence is 80-110 on the flat (big range).

Such a large range that you don't need a techie gadget to measure it. Surely it will be pretty obvious if you are outside those limits?

 

[moo]

On commutes where I need a rest I've found the HRM invaluable. I'd slow down to a crawling pace if necessary to keep the heart rate at Zone 1 or below. Without the HRM I would have pushed too hard. The result was getting to work feeling fresh despite legs being completely shattered from the previous days effort.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

You don't need HRM or CadenceM to help lose weight by cycling.
Keep the cycling going, try to up the amount of days you are commuting (I commute 35 mile round trip 5 days a week) eat healthy and cut back on the booze. The weight will then drop off you like nobody's business,

If you want a GPS. Get a Garmin 200, plat a route/course on Bike Hike or RideWithGPS, upload to the Garmin and follow.

all I'd add, and this was my weight loss downfall, cycling wise, is, as the weight comes off, you have to up the intensity or the duration or you'll plateau.

 

[samsbike]

thanks, I may just wait for the touring plus to come on sale or something over the next few months. I already have a HR belt just have never used it.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

thanks, I may just wait for the touring plus to come on sale or something over the next few months. I already have a HR belt just have never used it.

I presume it's ANT+ compatible.

 

[samsbike]

Yep it is but only does Hr as far as I can tell

 

[w00hoo_kent]

I meant the HR belt, the Touring+ will be only ANT+ because it's a Garmin and yes the only external input is HR.

 

[samsbike]

Yes its a bryton one

 

[MrGrumpy]

all I'd add, and this was my weight loss downfall, cycling wise, is, as the weight comes off, you have to up the intensity or the duration or you'll plateau.

I`m not so sure that even works for me, I hammer it in during spring summer and extend my commute and can do between 150-200miles a week. Weight was the same for about a year. Then on the run up to Christmas I noticed on teh scales that I had dropped about 3 Kg since end of summer ??? Diet never changed however my cycling rate did as I had slowed right down due to the dark/winter/crap conditions ?? So starting to think there is some science which has been discussed all over the net with regard fat burning zones etc

 

[david k]

i enjoy data so id say es go for it, just adds a little more interest to looking back at the ride

 

[youngoldbloke]

For future leisure rides buy a MAP, spend an hour or 2 actualy reading it. Find out where you are in relation to other places. Plan your rides in advance - use Bikehike online, print out your route. You don't need any more than that. I use HRM, cadence etc. It is interesting, and the HRM is useful for me as I've been through cardio rehab, but not necessary.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

So many talk on here of HRM, Cadence etc but barely ever of hearing the birds tweeting or feeling the sun on their backs.

I'm riding for utility and commuting and just the sheer damn heck of turning the pedals over, no goals, race times, strava segments or etc nowadays, so this is purely from that perspective & I'm much the same as you, kids and life steal my bike time, so when I get the chance I want to soak it up not fix myself on some arbitary numbers on some little screen or kick myself hours later because the spreadsheet tells me I wasn't quite as good as a week last Wednesday.

 

[MrGrumpy]

So many talk on here of HRM, Cadence etc but barely ever of hearing the birds tweeting or feeling the sun on their backs.

I'm riding for utility and commuting and just the sheer damn heck of turning the pedals over, no goals, race times, strava segments or etc nowadays, so this is purely from that perspective & I'm much the same as you, kids and life steal my bike time, so when I get the chance I want to soak it up not fix myself on some arbitary numbers on some little screen or kick myself hours later because the spreadsheet tells me I wasn't quite as good as a week last Wednesday.

and there are some for the very reasons you give need to make the best of their free time to maximise what time they have out on the bike........ thus come to rely on the detail.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

and there are some for the very reasons you give need to make the best of their free time to maximise what time they have out on the bike........ thus come to rely on the detail.

Absolutely, that's why I said it was from my particular perspective. Each to their own an all that.

Just putting an alternative viewpoint to another somewhat tech heavy thread.