UKC

I've just got a new Garmin Premium/Soft strap HR monitor, and it is working fine most of the time - at rest, running, cycling on the flat or uphill, but every time I cycle downhill the HR reading spikes to 250 bpm or more! I'm not hammering it down - just free-wheeling at 30-50 km/hr, and I'm not changing my riding position - getting into a tuck, etc. I wasn't getting these HR spikes downhill with the old plastic strap monitor.

Anyone else had this problem? Should I just return it as faulty, or can you think of anything that could be causing interference in the reading?

Thanks

In reply to Nick Smith - UKC:

Do you have a cadence monitor too? Perhaps some cross pollination going on?

In reply to Nick Smith - UKC:

Do you use gel on it to maintain a good contact?
It's probably caused by your T-shirt and the associated static caused by rubbing. Try a different T-shirt?

I use one and can't fault it.

In reply to Nick Smith - UKC: My garmin gps clocked me at 150Mph going down hill once.

Just saying.

In reply to Nick Smith - UKC: I used to have an HR watch which would always spike to 200+bpm whenever I ran past a particular house. (No, not the one where the statuesque blonde used to sunbathe topless!) It behaved impeccably everywhere else and at all other times. Apart from mucking up the max HR reported for the run it was livable with, but it did get sold when I upgraded to a Polar (now also sold).

Static is an interesting suggestion. Fast-moving air can lead to static build up, and could dry the skin/strap as well causing poor contact with the sensor.

Simplest solution would be to get it exchanged as possibly faulty and see if the replacement does it too. If not then conclude that the original was indeed flaky.

In reply to Martin W:

I was out on my bike the other day and got a max of 256bpm from my Garmin Forerunner 405 on a tough uphill climb. I do a lot of trail running though and never get anytihng like that even on significantly long, steep climbs. Can only assume as suggested it was a dodgy contact. I never use gel, just wet HRM strap a bit before using it.

In reply to Nick Smith - UKC:

Supposedly it gets upset by wind down the shirt.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/04/troubleshooting-your-heart-rate.html

In reply to Gone: Thanks everyone, very useful. I'll try zipping up the shirt to see if it is the downhill wind! I do have a cadence sensor, so I'll also try removing it to see if that helps.

Cheers

In reply to Nick Smith - UKC:

I have seen several reports of air flow causing static which upsets softstrap monitors.

I was getting some funny readings with mine when I first got it. I don't know if the problem was static or poor contact, but I found that wetting it thoroughly (not just saliva on the electrodes, soak the entire electrode section of the strap under the tap before you put it on) and/or a good dollop of ECG gel on the electrodes seems to keep it in check.

Another tip is to use one of those antistatic tumbledryer sheets. Wipe down the inside of your top with it before you put it on to minimise the static from synthetic fabrics.

Some people have also reported that it works better for them if they wear it with the electrodes on their back (I believe you have to put the transmitter upside-down for this to work but I sorted my problem out before I got as far as trying this).

Good luck!

In reply to Nick Smith - UKC: Hi Nick, I've seen the same problem for the first time yesterday with the old style Garmin strap. Like you was when going downhill. Have a mate that also saw the same problem (again when going downhill and with the old style strap). Wonder if the hot/dry weather has anything to do with it? Seem to remember lots of comments about this on the Garmin support site, so you may want to check there...

Andy

In reply to sandy: That's exactly what I've had the last couple of days too. It must be taking exception to only wearing one layer instead of the full winter woolies I've had to have on up to now!

In reply to Nick Smith - UKC:

They seem quite sensitive to having wet then dry then wet across the sensor pads.

Annoyingly my double sensor lost its RPm today as it got joggled out of line. Guess what calorie consumption data is based on, YUP RPM.. so doing 17 mph for an hour burned about 110 kcals as i re-adjusted the sensor at a level crossing.

In reply to Nick Smith - UKC:

Common problem with garmin soft strap, have a look at this page

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/08/solution-to-heart-rate-dropoutsspikes.ht...

The garmin hr monitor just clips on the front, works for me, both running and biking.