I’m fine with dual record and HRM.
Besides the individual differences in HR that will require judgement based on individual HR max and not peer group ranges is the fact that HRM start to go bad and freq will give spurious data before they outright fail.
Many HRM are expensive and people don’t want to buy a new one if they don’t have to.
I had a HRM that seemed to work, most the time, but I noted times that I was pushing but my HR wasn’t as high as I expected.
I replaced numerous batteries.
Finally just bought a new cheap one and will replace early next time.
I want to see people thrown out of a race for power or HR abnormalities.
Having rules with no enforcement does not deture cheating.
Heck, right now, I guess people don’t even have to be a good cheater.
Maybe that’s better and the event organizers want to be able to adjust results after the fact.
The problem is, even good HR monitors will throw occasional zeros just from shifting position, removing a shirt, etc. - and disconnects are common, and because it doesn’t change in-game behavior, people don’t notice to try to fix mid-race.
I think what most race organizers are doing in making them mandatory but not kicking from the race immediately is right. Most people riding without one are just riding without one, not trying to hide cheating.
That’s what I use, it has been very reliable, not bad given the amount of use it has.
Given the amounts people spend on cycling kit, bikes, power meters and trainers that’s not particularly expensive.
I know people can falsify power and HR but controls to make HR required in racing should still exist. And follow it up with checks across the entire Zwift to filter out unrealistic power.
If someone wants to ride at 500w for 5 hours, fine, you can do it alone and not qualify for any leaderboards or segment. And they won’t get their vEverest in 4 hours.
[quote=“Tim, post:41, topic:611264, full:true, username:Tim_Camden_C”][quote]
Many HRM are expensive and people don’t want to buy a new one if they don’t have to.[/quote]
Yeah, CooSpoo is my go to HRM.
The moment it gets funny, it gets replaced.
The chest strap monitors are basically soaked in brine every ride.
No wonder they fail
I notice that I get a little corrosion on the terminals (they aren’t as shiny silver).
Sometimes cleaning with steel wool will bring it back to life.
I disconnect it from the strap after every ride and wipe it dry.
I probably should order a stand by.
I disconnect the transmitter after the ride and wash the strap in the shower.
Wahoo HRM still going strong after almost 7 years. The only problems it’s ever had were due to low battery.
The only regular things I’m doing is changing the battery (CR2032) because I’m just using the cheap Ikea coin batteries. With the Garmin HRM Pro it’s also worth being careful with the screws, it’s easy to round out the tops of them if you don’t use good screwdrivers.
42min on Alpe du Zwift with constant 140bpm HR, 204w and 5.1w/kg and 92rpm (power, HR and cadence never changed). That heart rate versus w/kg is even better than Matej Mohoric on Zwift…
It shouldn’t be that hard to catch out false heart rate and power.
Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like there is much interest in doing anything about it.
You ask these questions like there are no good answers.
Your reasoning is quite poor.
“There’s no set weight of an apple, no one weight that all apples weigh. Therefore an apple can be any weight at all, and it’s impossible to tell me that something weighs more than an apple.”
I don’t know if you know this, but there are actual cheaters on Zwift. There’s one guy, for example, who seems to really hate Zwift and people who ride and race on it, but all of his spare time seems to be consumed with cheating and posting Youtube videos about Zwift. He makes fake accounts just to come on Zwift and cheat–sometimes he crops up here to be a clown. Everyone else just laughs at him (not ‘with’ him), but I see it as really sadly pathetic. Imagine finding this one platform, and getting kicked off of it, and deciding to turn that into what your life revolves around. Like stalking the girl who dumped you. Most people have other parts of their life that are enjoyable, but he obsesses with this place that he got himself booted from. Amazingly pathetic.
So we have people like that guy, and plenty of others who are desperate for their 30 seconds of internet glory, which is why there are rules in place. Hope that helps.
They are soaked in sweat
I think moisture may enter into the battery compartment and I see one of the external terminals start to take on a golden hue instead of the bright silver when new.
I will touch it up a bit with Emory cloth but usually if I’m fussing this much with it, I just buy a new one
They last about 3 maybe 4 years.
When I only road outdoors, it last at least 7.
Back then, the monitor was only used 6 months or so so they do get more use but I think it’s a moisture and salt issue.
Change over to the current yellow Garmin that is intended for triathletes. It’s what I use and it is very reliable. I only need to change the batteries.
No external terminals either.
If you don’t have them, use a 450mm industrial fan or a couple of them - they will help a lot with sweat. The normal supermarket home pedestal fans are useless. Not enough airflow, you will drown in sweat with those.
I use 2 of the Honeywell fans.
I ride in an unheated garage.
The fans aren’t set to run on high because I get chilled
They are on remote control.
I’ve actually started Zwifting while wearing a base layer so I may just need to turn the fans up.
The fans blowing on sweaty skin in the cold garage was uncomfortable.
Not everyone sweats the same and not just volume wise, what’s in the sweat varies and I think those who go through HRMs much quicker than others just have a different make up to their sweat, eg more acidic.
I’m going on 8 years with the same HRM and sweat profusely but I also rarely have salt stains on my kit.