Best Heart Rate Monitors

There is an article here about the advantages and disadvantages of using heart rate monitors for cycle training.

• training with heart rate monitors
  

Basically heart rate monitors can offer useful guidance to progress in training. If you wish to do interval training or train at a certain level of aerobic fitness then heart rate monitors can be invaluable.

Different Types of Heart Rate Monitors

• Heart rate monitors at Wiggle

At the low end of the market, you can get a basic heart rate monitor which just displays your heart rate.

The Smart Heart Rate monitor £32

Polar, is the most popular brand of heart rate monitor. The starting part of the brand is the Polar F5. At £45. it offers a reliable guide to your heart rate, but, only a small number of features, such as setting different training zones. More info on Polar F5

Because Polar is the market leader, you will end up paying a premium for the brand name. There are cheaper alternatives for a basic heart rate monitor, such as, X-Train V3 20 Function. This has more features than the Polar F5 but is also about £10 cheaper.

Top of the Range Heart Rate Monitors

Polar Heart Rate Monitor with GPS tracking - Polar RS800G3 Heart Rate Monitor With GPS Sensor

Polar S625X (£230) This has all the features you would expect from a top of the range heart rate monitor but also enables data to be downloaded to your computer from close analysis. It is also compatible with other forms of exercise. It claims to be able to tell whether you are fully recovered from your last session.

• Polar S625 at Amazon.co.uk

Cheapest Heart Rate Monitor

The cheapest heart rate monitor I could find is this Oregon, basic heart rate monitor at only £17.99. I also saw a similar priced heart rate monitor at Tschibo.
Cheap Oregan Heart Rate monitor at Amazon.co.uk

Oregon Heart Rate Monitor