Wrist Based HR that will work with Strava

sprinter2012

I've had a FitBit Charge HR for ages and recently bought a Garmin Edge 520 which is great. The FitBit could never sync data with Strava anyway so I've sold it with the intention of replacing it with a Garmin equivalent (to save running 2 apps).

But before I get another tracker, is there currently any Garmin wrist wear that will allow it's HR reading to be shared with Strava to give a suffer score/add HR data to rides? I know the Garmin Connect app can receive and sync data from two devices at once, but will this translate across to Strava?

I'm looking specifically at either the Vivosmart HR+, Vivosmart HR or the new Vivosmart 3 as it needs to be something small form factor for 24/7 wear.

I'll actually be using this for mountain biking but I figured you guys would have more experience with this kind of thing!

Joshgav

I have the Vivoactive HR (great device and I wear it all the time). I think it can do Strava Sufferscore on device but I don't have Strava premium so don't use it. It can live sync to Garmin connect but don't know how that works with live updating Strava. Maybe order one from somewhere you can return it if it doesn't do what you want it to do.

herb71

My fitbit surge syncs really well with Strava, including heartrate, suffer score etc. The main reason I bought it was for GPS as I prefer not to carry a phone when I run. I use it on the bike as well.

I have to say though, I am not convinced wrist based heart rate monitors are as accurate as a chest strap. They give an indication, but if you are intending to use the data as anything other than a guide, you need the right tools for the job.

maryka

Yes if you use a Vivo HR, it will connect to a 520 and then that will be recorded in your file which Garmin Connect will then upload to Strava.

Whether that HR is actually accurate or not is a different story... I've tried it on the turbo instead of a HR chest strap and the results were pretty hit and miss.

Joshgav

maryka wrote:

Yes if you use a Vivo HR, it will connect to a 520 and then that will be recorded in your file which Garmin Connect will then upload to Strava.

Whether that HR is actually accurate or not is a different story... I've tried it on the turbo instead of a HR chest strap and the results were pretty hit and miss.

The accuracy of them really depends on you (how tight you wear it, skin tone, hair etc.) I tested mine against a Garmin chest strap and it was within 1 bpm at all times.

sprinter2012

I don't really need GPS on the Wrist Band as the Edge 520 will take care of that so the new Vivosmart 3 was looking like a good bet.

I don't need it to be 'super' accurate, just to give repeatable baseline figures from day to day (which any HR monitor will do).

The only HR figure I generally pay attention to is the resting average, but if I'm wearing an HR monitor it makes sense to have one that's Strava compatible.

Sounds like as long as it's a device which is compatible with that Garmin multi-device sync feature it should add the HR data to the file before uploading to Strava then!

wongataa

Sprinter2012 wrote:

I don't really need GPS on the Wrist Band as the Edge 520 will take care of that so the new Vivosmart 3 was looking like a good bet.

I don't need it to be 'super' accurate, just to give repeatable baseline figures from day to day (which any HR monitor will do).

The only HR figure I generally pay attention to is the resting average, but if I'm wearing an HR monitor it makes sense to have one that's Strava compatible.

Optical wrist HR monitors can be hilariously inaccurate, often when cycling. Check out DC Rainmaker for reviews which contain accuracy sections and comments on how to make them as accurate as possible.