New Garmin - FR225 with optical heartrate

overpronator · 12-05-2015 5:22pm #1

DC-Rainmaker introduces it here.

I didnt think that I would be bothered upgrading the FR220 for a long time, this may change if the optical HR proves to be robust. Thoughts?

davedanon · 19-05-2015 12:45pm

overpronator wrote: »

DC-Rainmaker introduces it here.

I didnt think that I would be bothered upgrading the FR220 for a long time, this may change if the optical HR proves to be robust. Thoughts?

I want one.

chickey2 · 19-05-2015 9:14pm

It certainly looks good. I was thinking about getting a 220, but think I'll wait and see what kind of reviews this one gets.

Woden · 22-05-2015 10:54am

Saw it yesterday and skimmed the DC-Rainmaker review. Think its killer app from my perspective. I've an FR 410 and I don't like wearing the strap. I'll probably take the plunge.

donnacha · 05-06-2015 9:34pm

So anyone buy one yet? Would love to hear how people are getting on with it. Really tempted myself as I hate wearing my heart strap with the 220.

hot buttered scones · 12-06-2015 5:14pm

I haven't got one yet but it's on my list. I did buy a mio link alpha for â‚¬99 which I'm using with my Garmin 310xt. I have to wear it on the same arm as my watch, or I keep getting signal dropouts so it looks like I'm wearing two watches. You also have to wear it a bit tight to get a good reading. I find it accurate enough and it's way more comfortable than the chest strap and I don't have to keep adjusting it every 5 minutes or cover it in spit so it has that going for it. I'll probably try and sell it second hand and put the money towards the fr225, but I'm happy enough with the optical heart rate.

davedanon · 13-06-2015 3:44pm

Put my name down for one today in the Cycle Superstore in Tallaght. Not expecting delivery for 4-6 weeks.

chickey2 · 13-06-2015 4:37pm

davedanon wrote: »

Put my name down for one today in the Cycle Superstore in Tallaght. Not expecting delivery for 4-6 weeks.

Do you mind me asking how much they're charging for one Dave? Amazon and Sweatshop are both offering it for 239.99GBP which converts (today) to 331.63 euro. Sweatshop says its in stock 26th June while Amazon says 17th July.

Think I'll wait though. I really want to see some real life reviews before I commit!

davedanon · 14-06-2015 1:40pm

chickey2 wrote: »

Do you mind me asking how much they're charging for one Dave? Amazon and Sweatshop are both offering it for 239.99GBP which converts (today) to 331.63 euro. Sweatshop says its in stock 26th June while Amazon says 17th July.

Think I'll wait though. I really want to see some real life reviews before I commit!

I asked, but he didn't have prices. I'm not locked in to buying, though, he's just going to give me a shout when they're in stock.

Belkin1975 · 14-06-2015 8:29pm

chickey2 wrote: »

Do you mind me asking how much they're charging for one Dave? Amazon and Sweatshop are both offering it for 239.99GBP which converts (today) to 331.63 euro. Sweatshop says its in stock 26th June while Amazon says 17th July.

Think I'll wait though. I really want to see some real life reviews before I commit!

harvey Norman says they'll be in on June 28th with a price of €306

davedanon · 01-07-2015 12:32am

Belkin1975 wrote: »

harvey Norman says they'll be in on June 28th with a price of €306

I think they arrived in today. That is, yesterday.

davedanon · 02-07-2015 12:03pm

Bought one yesterday in HN for €306. I'm no good at waiting when I want a new toy. Unfortunately I'm too bloody busy to use it!

sconhome · 02-07-2015 1:18pm

davedanon wrote: »

Bought one yesterday in HN for €306. I'm no good at waiting when I want a new toy. Unfortunately I'm too bloody busy to use it!

Be interested in hearing what you think of it. Do you have a chest-strap watch you can compare the HR readings with?

davedanon · 02-07-2015 11:26pm

AKW wrote: »

Be interested in hearing what you think of it. Do you have a chest-strap watch you can compare the HR readings with?

Yeah, I've got my garmin 210 hrm. Interesting idea, I suppose they'll work ok independently of one another, since they're using different systems on different parts of the body. Comparing the two garmins' time-keeping efforts would also be interesting.

So far I can tell you (quick 4-miler in the park squeezed in today) that it locks onto the satellite pretty quickly, and the dial is impressively readable in very bright light and at acute angles. Also its Records feature is cute; after the run it went "3 PB'S! FASTEST MILE! FASTEST 5K!! AND (my favourite) LONGEST RUN!!!

davedanon · 05-07-2015 4:08pm

I strapped the two watches on each wrist (225 and 210) today for a walk with the dogs. They seemed to be showing identical results for a while, but a discrepancy of about .05 of a mile appeared at some point. The elapsed time stayed pretty much identical the whole way, which just goes to show again how the Garmins 'measure' distances differently. The route was mostly open, but there are some trees and bushes along the way. Little or no complete cover, apart from a bridge underpass.

chickey2 · 05-07-2015 4:10pm

How do you find the heart rate monitor?

davedanon · 05-07-2015 4:35pm

So far, it's been inconsistent. On one run it spiked to over 200bpm when I checked it, but it soon settled down so I forgave it, but on the tymon parkrun it reported a max bpm of 216 and an average of 182, which just seems wrong to me. My max heart rate, according to a VO2 test, done admittedly in 2011, is 173, and I've never had a race rate of 216. Has to be wrong, doesn't it?

tunney · 06-07-2015 12:04pm

accurate to 5%............

Heart rate is 155bpm
FR-225 says 147 to 163..........

davedanon · 06-07-2015 4:51pm

I'm thinking this should really be on the Garmin megathread, but I don't know if that can be done. Anyway, I ran a test today, with the two garmins and a chest hrm. It was an easy 7 miler, and while the main metrics were pretty much the same, the 225's hrm had a hissy fit at the start. While the chest strap had a steady progression from about 60 up to the low hundreds, the 225 had me at 160bpm. It settled down after a half mile, but then seemed to overcompensate and dipped to 92 bpm while my 'actual' rate was a more credible 120-something. I tightened the watch-strap by a notch, and that seemed to help, as thereafter the two tracked each other pretty closely. Here are the two reads:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/825301040

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/825306316

I'm going to delete the 2nd Garmin now, lest I miscount and get accused of cheating on the 1000 mile challenge.

rom · 06-07-2015 9:44pm

davedanon wrote: »

I'm thinking this should really be on the Garmin megathread, but I don't know if that can be done. Anyway, I ran a test today, with the two garmins and a chest hrm. It was an easy 7 miler, and while the main metrics were pretty much the same, the 225's hrm had a hissy fit at the start. While the chest strap had a steady progression from about 60 up to the low hundreds, the 225 had me at 160bpm. It settled down after a half mile, but then seemed to overcompensate and dipped to 92 bpm while my 'actual' rate was a more credible 120-something. I tightened the watch-strap by a notch, and that seemed to help, as thereafter the two tracked each other pretty closely. Here are the two reads:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/825301040

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/825306316

I'm going to delete the 2nd Garmin now, lest I miscount and get accused of cheating on the 1000 mile challenge.

I find exactly the same experience with my Scosche Rhythm+ Pulse with garmin 920xt. I used my HRM strap for the last marathon even though I have the wrist strap. It just can't be trusted. The cheststrap cut me like cheese wire but I rather accurate data if I am using it as a feedback during a race. Thanks for the info. You also need to have the watch on tight to your wrist and any light leakage will mess it up.

Running pass streetlights, railings or under trees can all mess it up. basic dramatic light changes.

tailgunner · 07-07-2015 11:35am

I'm looking at getting my first Garmin, and have the 225 pre-ordered but not paid for yet. Am I better off going for the 220 with a chest strap instead, if the 225 is really that unreliable?

davedanon · 07-07-2015 5:18pm

tailgunner wrote: »

I'm looking at getting my first Garmin, and have the 225 pre-ordered but not paid for yet. Am I better off going for the 220 with a chest strap instead, if the 225 is really that unreliable?

I suppose it depends on whether you intend to train by hr or not. I will let you know how I get on over the coming days (or weeks, if you have that long before deciding). Tonight I have a race. We'll see how it performs.

tunney · 07-07-2015 5:58pm

davedanon wrote: »

I suppose it depends on whether you intend to train by hr or not. I will let you know how I get on over the coming days (or weeks, if you have that long before deciding). Tonight I have a race. We'll see how it performs.

If you do want to train by HR - get the 220 and a chest strap.
If you don't want to train by HR - get the 220 and save money.

tailgunner · 07-07-2015 8:40pm

davedanon wrote: »

I suppose it depends on whether you intend to train by hr or not. I will let you know how I get on over the coming days (or weeks, if you have that long before deciding). Tonight I have a race. We'll see how it performs.

I don't intend to train by HR immediately, but I want to have the option in future.

I'm leaning toward the 220 now, but I have till Sunday to decide, so I'd be interested to see how you get on with the 225 in the meantime. Best of luck with the race.

davedanon · 08-07-2015 10:45am

I checked the hrm stats from last night's race, and the results aren't good. After less than a mile it had me breaching my previously-established max of 173, and peaked about 193. While this is conceivable given actual race conditions and the fact my V02 test was a few years back, the early spiking is worrying. Even worse is the fact that just as it was showing me at 193bpm after 2 miles of hard racing, the graph suddenly falls off a cliff, down to no more than threshold pace, around 130/140 bpm. It putters along then like that to the finish, when in actual fact my eyeballs were popping out. All in all, very disappointing then. It looks as though I might just have bought a very expensive 220, given that the optical heartrate is the usp of the 225.

Anyway, I went onto a Garmin forum, and this is definitely an issue. There are many disappointed 225 owners out there. One thing I can say is that the watch seems to perform better when higher up the arm. The wrist is too bony, and light-leak seems to be critical, so it needs to be strapped on as tightly as possible. It's possible that new firmware/software might fix this, as the 225 uses Mio's optical heart monitor, rather than its own, and it has a good track record, seemingly.

tailgunner · 08-07-2015 11:17am

Thanks for that, very disappointing alright. I had all but decided to go for the 220 instead based on more research this morning, but said I'd wait to hear how you got on first. That's my mind made up!

overpronator · 08-07-2015 11:30am

Thanks for guineapigging yourself Dave think I'll be holding off!

aquinn · 08-07-2015 11:40am

tailgunner wrote: »

Thanks for that, very disappointing alright. I had all but decided to go for the 220 instead based on more research this morning, but said I'd wait to hear how you got on first. That's my mind made up!

Stumbled on the 220 this morning and diverted to here. If you find it for a good price please let me know.

tailgunner · 08-07-2015 12:10pm

I went with Amazon. £158 with the chest strap, and around €235 for delivery to Ireland.

Actually just found it for £146 at www.handtec.co.uk but I've never heard of them, and not sure if they deliver to Ireland.

Arsenium · 08-07-2015 12:11pm

http://www.fitnessdigital.ie/garmin-forerunner-220-black-red/p/10004402/

Pretty good price in all fairness !!

aquinn · 08-07-2015 12:16pm

tailgunner wrote: »

I went with Amazon. £158 with the chest strap, and around €235 for delivery to Ireland.

Actually just found it for £146 at www.handtec.co.uk but I've never heard of them, and not sure if they deliver to Ireland.

Arsenium wrote: »

http://www.fitnessdigital.ie/garmin-forerunner-220-black-red/p/10004402/

Pretty good price in all fairness !!

Wonderful, thank you both. €189 much better than what I found. All twitchy now to buy. Thank you.

tailgunner · 08-07-2015 12:21pm

Just make sure it includes the chest strap if you need one!

aquinn · 08-07-2015 12:29pm

tailgunner wrote: »

Just make sure it includes the chest strap if you need one!

I don't think it does. I have one already and have only used it once so not worried if it doesn't. Thanks though.

tunney · 08-07-2015 1:58pm

Arsenium wrote: »

http://www.fitnessdigital.ie/garmin-forerunner-220-black-red/p/10004402/

Pretty good price in all fairness !!

Or you could buy from Ireland for 199

http://gottarun.ie/index.php?rt=product/product&path=95_104&product_id=577

mossym · 08-07-2015 2:00pm

fitness digital isn't an irish store, it's an .ie paged version of a Spanish site. given you can get it from a proper irish retailer for almost the same price i'd not be buying from a Spanish site

davedanon · 08-07-2015 9:14pm

UPDATE! Tonight's twin-Garmin test run was an unqualified success. Positioning the 225 further up my arm, with the 210 below it, and tightening the strap, made a huge difference. I'll get into the details later, about to have dinner, but the parallel hrm tracking was actually quite impressive. Laters.

davedanon · 08-07-2015 11:54pm

As promised, details of tonight's run. The links are below, and I reckon they mirror each other almost completely. The two devices agreed on the distance, average and peak HR, are a second out on pace, and, over 7.6m, mere seconds apart on time. I wasn't particularly concerned about anything other than the HR, but I wonder did having the two watches side by side on the same wrist have anything to do with the pace/distance/time convergence. You do hear people opining that the motion of the arm bearing the device has some sort of effect. The only time the devices disagreed was at the very start, when they were 10 beats apart just before I started actually running.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/827308118

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/827312781

tailgunner · 09-07-2015 3:50pm

Glad to hear you had a better experience with it last night.

davedanon · 09-07-2015 5:20pm

Took it out on a walk with the dog today. It stayed in place and performed well again. Maybe I haven't bought a pig in a poke after all.

PJD · 09-07-2015 8:28pm

Just to jump in on this one. I bought this as an upgrade to my forerunner 10. I would regard myself as a beginner (more a cyclist with identity issues!) and do not have any other hr to compare it to but have been pleased so far. I have a Garmin for my bike and am pretty familiar with their products and software. I wear it nice and snug just above wrist bone as directed. I have not experienced any spikes or fall offs. My data shows a nice steady line which correlates with my steady run commute. Haven't tested it with intervals yet. Re gps lock on- its super fast which I like. I hated waiting for satellites to lock. Pleased so far and the only negative worth sharing is that you have to wear it tight but id rather have it on my wrist than a chest strap.

davedanon · 09-07-2015 8:55pm

At the track tonight. During the warm-up it was fine, and for the first 5 or 6 800s the values look pretty good. However, at the end of the 8, I noticed that the watch had slid down my arm with the sweat, and sure enough the last 3 show spikes over 200bpm. I pushed it back up for our cool-down, and it seemed to do the trick.

aquinn · 13-07-2015 1:22pm

Another mini-hijack by me.

So I've ordered the 220 with HRM and as previously mentioned the one I've had I've only used once but people swear/recommend HR training so my aim, like a lot in life, is to try this at some point.

Then reading this got confused was Dave testing the 220 or 225 (I know as the name suggests).

What would recommendation be for 220 v 225? I have to say I did love the dcrainmaker review on the 220.

Thanks

chickey2 · 13-07-2015 1:38pm

aquinn wrote: »

Another mini-hijack by me.

So I've ordered the 220 with HRM and as previously mentioned the one I've had I've only used once but people swear/recommend HR training so my aim, like a lot in life, is to try this at some point.

Then reading this got confused was Dave testing the 220 or 225 (I know as the name suggests).

What would recommendation be for 220 v 225? I have to say I did love the dcrainmaker review on the 220.

Thanks

I don't own either but my understanding is that the 225 is the updated version of the 220, the main difference being that the 225 has an optical hrm so you don't need a chest strap. I think dave was comparing the two. The 225 costs a lot more than the 220 though.

Dcrainmaker does a good review of the 225 (think it's in the op) and compares it to the 220.

davedanon · 13-07-2015 2:19pm

chickey2 wrote: »

I don't own either but my understanding is that the 225 is the updated version of the 220, the main difference being that the 225 has an optical hrm so you don't need a chest strap. I think dave was comparing the two. The 225 costs a lot more than the 220 though.

Dcrainmaker does a good review of the 225 (think it's in the op) and compares it to the 220.

That's correct, I've been reporting on the 225. If you care to read through previous posts, the 225's optical hrm has been unreliable, but seems to work fine when worn further up the wrist, ie in a fleshier area, and buckled as tightly as possible. I will post ingoing reports of its performance.

davedanon · 14-07-2015 5:22pm

A tempo run today, with a 2 mile warm-up. As far as I can see, the ohr performed perfectly. You can see the progression up to the 2 mile mark, then the jump when the tempo starts, and another orderly progression up to a high of 163 bpm, which is just about right. Again, the only issue is needing to keep an eye out for slippage when the arms are slick with sweat.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/833060441

donnacha · 18-07-2015 5:31pm

davedanon wrote: »

Again, the only issue is needing to keep an eye out for slippage when the arms are slick with sweat.

Thanks for posting your experience and device comparisons. Your watch slippage issue - is this something your have experienced with other garmins? The reason I ask is that I've never experienced it myself with the 110 or the 220 band I'm wondering if it relates to the addition of the sensor underneath the watchface on the 225 that causes the watch to move.

davedanon · 18-07-2015 8:05pm

donnacha wrote: »

Thanks for posting your experience and device comparisons. Your watch slippage issue - is this something your have experienced with other garmins? The reason I ask is that I've never experienced it myself with the 110 or the 220 band I'm wondering if it relates to the addition of the sensor underneath the watchface on the 225 that causes the watch to move.

No, I think it's because I'm wearing it higher up the arm, and it naturally tends to slip down to where the arm is narrower. There's a rubber light-seal around the sensor as well.

GeneralC · 28-07-2015 11:32am

Best deals on the 220 with strap and 225 out there?

woodie136 · 05-10-2015 7:25pm

Hi just jumping in here. Have u ran in the rain yet. I lost my last Garmin to a very wet run and I'm a bit concerned about the optical hrm getting exposed to rain on the 225. I was very disappointed to lose my last watch and don't want to spend a load of money if it's gonna happen again. This thread is real good though thanks

davedanon · 05-10-2015 7:31pm

woodie136 wrote: »

Hi just jumping in here. Have u ran in the rain yet. I lost my last Garmin to a very wet run and I'm a bit concerned about the optical hrm getting exposed to rain on the 225. I was very disappointed to lose my last watch and don't want to spend a load of money if it's gonna happen again. This thread is real good though thanks

I've worn it in all weathers, including the Half in Charleville where it was absolutely teeming down for much of the race, and had no issues. I've had no issues of that sort since my very first 110, which used to get condensation inside the face.

burgerland · 07-10-2015 5:33pm

I have this watch since July and have no complaints to date. I have lost the heart rate a couple of times, once when in the rain. Initially I thought the rain was causing this but in hindsight I wasn't wearing the watch high enough over the wrist and tightening the strap. Never had this issue since once the watch is worn correctly as indicated in the instruction manual.

The optical sensor is usually covered in sweat at the end of a run and this has never affected the watches performance. It picks up satellite signal really quickly and its overall functionality is excellent. Well worth the buy if your looking to ditch the heart rate strap.

New Garmin - FR225 with optical heartrate

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