Everything to Look for in a Great Heart Rate Monitor for Cycling
A heart rate monitor is a basic yet excellent piece of training technology for cyclists. Monitoring your heart rate on the bike can tell you how hard you are working, how you are improving, and how well you have recovered.
There are a few basic style options: the traditional chest strap, an arm band, and also wrist-mounted options integrated into fitness monitors or workout watches.
Unless you are using a workout watch, you will need a bike computer to see and record your heart rate. Heart rate monitors work on ANT+ and often Bluetooth, and thus are compatible with any brand of bike computer.
How does a heart rate monitor work?
There are two primary types of heart rate monitors: electrical and optical.
The traditional chest strap is electrical, and works by measuring the electrical current of your heartbeat. These electrocardiography straps feature two sensors that lay flat against your skin, and work best when there is a bit of moisture to help electrical conduction. Some people use conductive gel; many riders just lick the strap sensors before putting it on.
The arm band and wrist band monitors are optical. These work by using infrared light to detect your pulse through your veins. Smart watches with heart rate measurement and the Oura ring are also optical.
What are the different types of heart rate monitors for cyclists?
There are three basic types of heart rate monitors you can use for cycling: the traditional chest strap, an arm band, and a wrist-mounted strap or watch.
The chest straps use a coin cell battery that must be replaced periodically but last for many months of heavy use. The arm bands and wrist straps and watches use rechargeable batteries and must be plugged in to recharge more frequently.
The chest straps are the most popular because they work easily and reliably, they don’t require recharging, and they are not visually obtrusive. The arm- and wrist-band models can work well too, but must be somewhat tight in order to obtain a consistently accurate reading.
Is it worth getting a heart rate monitor for cycling?
You can certainly enjoy riding a bike without any data! But many cyclists enjoy tracking their heart rate for training and general health purposes. A heart rate monitor is a relatively small investment for something that will last for years and provide daily, actionable insight for workouts and general recovery.
How can a heart rate monitor help you with your cycling goals?
A heart rate monitor can help you achieve your cycling goals in a few ways. First, training by zones is a foundational principle of virtually all cycling programs. Cyclists use heart rate and power zones, usually on a seven-zone scale. These scales are created based on percentages of the maximum effort you are able to sustain for an hour. This is called your threshold. So Zone 1, for instance, is less than 55% of your maximum sustainable heart rate.
By using a heart rate, you can follow a training plan that calls for certain intervals to be ridden at a certain heart rate range.
The next way a heart rate monitor can help you achieve your goals is by measuring improvements. For instance, if it initially took you 10 minutes to ride your local climb at an average heart rate of 160bpm, and after training that same 10-minute climb could be done at a 140bpm heart rate, you have improved your fitness and efficiency, and could thus climb faster.
Another way a heart rate monitor can help you achieve your goals is by giving you objective feedback as to whether you are recovered or not. ‘Recovered’ can be defined as how you were able to bounce back from one hard effort on the bike, and also how your body is feeling after a night of sleep. If you slept terribly, for instance, your heart rate might be measurable off its normal rate when you are riding, and that is a good sign that you need to take it easy that day.
While training stress is part of getting faster, recovering well is another critical part of the equation. A heart rate monitor can help with both.
What to look for in a cycling heart rate monitor
Personal preference on the location of the monitor can play a part, for sure. Some women take the shape and size of a monitor into account regarding compatibility with a sports bra, for instance.
Beyond how a given product looks or feels on the body, making sure it is compatible with your bike computer or smartphone is key. For riders who have a bike computer, that is virtually a given, as all bike computer work on ANT+ and most work on Bluetooth. For riders who are only using their phone as a computer, making sure the heart rate monitor has a Bluetooth signal is critical.
Introducing the Hammerhead Heart Rate Monitor
The Hammerhead Heart Rate Monitor is designed for fit and comfort, including conductive rubber electrodes. The adjustable, elastic strap is washable, and the entire unit only weighs 43 grams.
It comes with a CR2032 coin cell battery that lasts about 900 hours.
Not only does it work on ANT+ and Bluetooth, but it can broadcast on two Bluetooth channels, which is handy for indoor cyclists who want to send a heart rate signal to their bike computer and indoor software like Zwift or TrainerRoad. (Most Bluetooth devices only send a single signal, so you cannot connect to multiple devices at once.)