Jerseys & HRM

zzzzzzzz

I've been having a bit of trouble recently on windy days with my jersey hitting off the sensor for my heart rate monitor - basically it gives me readings of 110 - 130% because of the jersey... Any ideas how to stop it doing that?

smithslist

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

I've been having a bit of trouble recently on windy days with my jersey hitting off the sensor for my heart rate monitor - basically it gives me readings of 110 - 130% because of the jersey... Any ideas how to stop it doing that?

im , your jersey should be tight, i don't see how it can be hitting of your HR sensor, maybe your batteries in your HR sensor are low.....and not your jersey

rp

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

I've been having a bit of trouble recently on windy days with my jersey hitting off the sensor for my heart rate monitor - basically it gives me readings of 110 - 130% because of the jersey... Any ideas how to stop it doing that?

Weird, never had anything like that, except when near electric trams or trains - you haven't been racing the Luas, have you?

Anzer123

unlikely that its you t-shirt causing that...but as rp says...riding past things like pilons and electrical cables can definitely cause the monitor to give crazy readings! When i cycle past a mobile phone mast it gives similar readings

blorg

I've had this as well, it is definately the jersey and happens on windy days if the jersey is flapping a bit.

bwardrop

I don't get it - what type of HRM strap are you using? Is it a strap around your chest or is it attached to the jersey?

zzzzzzzz

Nah, it's definitely not interference from anything.

I doubt it's the battery on the HRM - only got it a couple of months back. It's a Polar CS200 - the normal chest strap.

The jersey fits fine, it's just a slight movement when it's really windy.

I'm positive it's the jersey causing it. And I have a couple of different ones - this happens with all of them.

When I put my hand on the jersey at the sensor to stop it moving the reading settles down.

I was thinking about using a padded plaster or something to stop the jersey hitting the back of the chest strap directly but I guess I'm looking for something a bit more permanent than that.

bwardrop

Thats a new one to me - I have never heard of clothing interfering with a chest strap before, and I have worked with them pretty much every day for the last 10 years.

I don't mean to sound patronizing, but are you sure you are prepping the strap correctly? Before you place the strap on your chest, you should wet the back of it to ensure good conduction between your skin and the sensors. The strap should sit very snugly to your chest just below your nipple line with the Polar logo sitting atop your breastbone.

Normally, you start to sweat soon after exercise begins and this aids conduction (rather than the water you initially placed on the strap). You mention that this phenomenon usually occurs on windy days - it is possible that your sweat is evaporating in these conditions, leaving the skin drier than is optimal or that you are not sweating as much? This combined with slightly poor fitting could easily lead to intermittent loss of signal... just a thought.

Alternatively, if you have a particularly hairy chest it is critical that you wet the strap well and have really good placement, as the hair can interfere with signal conduction. In this case it would be preferable to shave your chest - buy a cheap hair clippers and give it a blade 3 or 4. This will leave your chest looking normal, but hugely improve how the strap functions.

blorg

The general suspicion is that it is caused by static electric buildup in the jersey from the flapping in the wind. Solutions include sticking a bit of inner tube over the top of the bulge on the sensor. Fabric softener also fixes it but apparently damages the wicking properties of your jersey. To be honest it happens to me so infrequently that I haven't bothered doing anything about it but I am just posting to assure you, you are not imagining it.

bwardrop's advice about making sure the sensor is moist is spot on, this is essential for proper functioning of a HR strap. You can get conducting gels for this purpose but I just lick it; this does me until I have built up enough of a sweat to keep it going by itself.