Next up in the Cyclingnews Awards, our collective pulses are racing for the exciting(!) world of heart rate monitors. Okay, maybe they’re not all that exciting, but they are very useful in the context of sport, performance, and even everyday health. And while some are really simple in their operation – literally measuring heart rate and passing it to a bike computer or smartwatch – others bring aboard a potentially life-changing mix of features and functions, such as sleep tracking, atrial fibrillation detection, stress management and more.
Our guide to the best heart rate monitors is one I first wrote in the spring of 2022. In doing so, I spoke to all the main chest-strap heart monitor manufacturers, plus a few of the wrist-only options, and got my hands on the latest models from Wahoo, Garmin, Polar, Whoop and (many) more.
In the time since, I’ve acquired more still, including more smartwatch options from Garmin and Apple, I’ve spent many a ride wearing at least two at a time, and I feel I’m in a pretty good position to not only understand what makes a good heart rate monitor but also decide which is the best.
Of course, as with most products, there’s not a best-for-everyone option but for the 2023 Cyclingnews Awards, I’ve taken the dozens I’ve used and filtered them down to just three winners: a ‘value’ option, a ‘best overall’, and an ‘honourable mention’ based on their features and specs, price, ease of use, comfort, reliability and more. I’m even going to take in that oft-unquantifiable metric of ‘personal preference’, because that in itself can be quite a significant sign.
Best value
Some heart rate monitors try to live life in the fast lane, packing in the features and tracking all the heart-related metrics you’ve never heard of. Others take the slow lane, keeping the price down and the functionality simple, but focussing on doing the simple things well. The Polar H9 is one of the latter. It’s not the cheapest on the market; the Wahoo Tickr beats it on that front, nor is it the most accurate; that claim is…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…