PRO member Kay asked a very good question about ANT+
... I'm also wondering about Heart Rate. If the bikes are ANT+, will they only pick up ANT+ Heart Rate Monitors? I noticed that the new Schwinn did not pick up my Polar HRM
Thank you for your comments!
Kay
The short answer is; No. Indoor Cycles with or without ANT+ consoles will detect and display most Heart Rate straps.
It all comes down to the type of HR strap you are using, but it can get confusing. I'll try to explain.
First let's identify the three players:
- Analog (Low Frequency) HR Monitor straps
- Digital/ANT+ (High Frequency) HR Monitor straps
- Hybrid HR Straps that offer both High and Low Frequencies
Analog HR straps & monitors have been around for years. I guess you could say they are the generic version and any inexpensive HR monitor is Analog. For many people they work just fine but they have two problems:
- They will "Cross Talk" with other monitors as they are indiscriminate in which signal they will choose to display.
- Battery life of the strap can be relatively short (measured in months of use) due to the amount of power they consume broadcasting their low frequency (5000Hz) signal. It takes comparably more energy to generate low frequencies vs. high frequencies - think how much work a Tuba Player expends vs. the Piccolo Player in a marching band and I'm not referring to the weight of the instrument.
To solve these two problems HR manufactures introduced Digital HR straps and monitors using a very high frequency 2.4gHz or 2,400,000,000Hz which is what is referred to as ANT+ or some like Polar describe it as "Coded".
- ANT+ receivers will lock onto the source - commonly known as "Pairing", they will reject other competing signals once they have been successfully paired.
- Battery life is measured in years - Garmin says their strap's battery will last over 5 years, operating one hour a day.
ANT+ has another ability that Analog doesn't, the ability to transmit and receive multiple data sets over multiple channels. Where your Analog monitor can only understand; Beat...Beat...Beat, ANT+ can transmit an incredible amount of information that's really limited to the engineer's imagination. I'll bet that that CycleOps PowerCal Power Meter that uses only heart rate data from the users chest strap to estimate Power Output is transmitting a lot more than just Beat...Beat...Beat
Examples of ANT+ HR straps are:
- Everything that Garmin makes is only ANT+
- The Polar WearLink+ W.I.N.D - which I've now been informed is a version of low power bluetooth, incompatible with anything else.
- The Wahoo soft HR Strap
- The Spinning Fitness Tracker uses a Garmin ANT+ strap and ANT+ iPhone Dongle
So ANT+ looks like the perfect solution, except for one little problem... every piece of fitness equipment on the planet is designed to receive and display Analog signals. But this is changing and Garmin as an article here that lists the change with more and more pieces of equipment adding ANT+ technology.
Enter Hybrid HR straps that transmit in both the high ANT+ and Low Analog frequencies. This give the user the option to display their HR on a club's treadmill, while at the same time only pairing with a compatible ANT+ device.
Hybrid HR Straps include.
So back to your question about not being able to see your HR on the Schwinn AC, Kay. Either the Schwinn AC MPower Console or FreeMotion's should display your HR, regardless of what strap you were wearing. I have a Hybrid Polar strap which works just fine on the Schwinn, but not an exclusively ANT+ strap - so I don't have first hand experience.
I've asked the question to both companies and will update this post when I know more.
UPDATE: Schwinn Master Instructor Julz Arney got back to me with:
Yes, the wireless technology used by the MPower console is ANT+ (owned by Garmin.) Any HR strap using ANT+ should connect. There are a few hints to make it easier:
-Have HR strap on and functioning before turning on console-Be on the bike saddle (i.e. in close range of the console)The console looks for a HR signal for approximately 30 seconds from when it's turned on. If it doesn't find a signal it will stop looking. The rider will then need to turn off the console and turn it back on.)
I hope this helps!
Both the Schwinn AC and FreeMotion have a limited time for the rider to pair to the console. The S1.9 will only connect during when the console shows Warm Up.
Sally Edwards has a great article you can read that adds additional detail on choosing a digital or analog Heart Rate monitor here.
Originally posted 2012-10-17 10:09:58.
John is a member on the AFS (Association of Fitness Studios) Advisory Council.
Holding certifications from; Schwinn, Heart Zones, Team ICG and Life Time Fitness, John's held regularly scheduled cycling classes between 1998 and 2015 when he moved to Florida.
When the weather permits, you'll find him riding and leading outdoor groups by himself or with his Tandem partner (wife) Amy.
- ICI Podcast 234 Coaching (not teaching) a class with cadence - January 13, 2025
- ICI/Podcast 128 Introducing Threshold Field Testing to your class with Karen Bernardo - January 4, 2025
- Indoor Cycling Class As One Long Climb – Very Nice! - December 29, 2024
What a timely post…..I think.
My mid-week am class members are, for the most part, not quite the Honey Badgers of the IDC world…..but I do have a very small number who’ve been getting the idea of accountability in a workout etc. and… *gasp* … a couple who’ve actually purchased their own HRMs. They happen to have chosen the high end Garmin as opposed to consulting me about what they needed for use on a bike that doesn’t move…..and the buggers don’t work.
Although I’ve been using an HRM for, lo, this past 10 years I’m not embarrassed to admit that I’m a techno-doofus when it comes down to what makes these gizmo work. I’ve got the cardiovascular physiology down but not the mechanicals.
I’m now even more confused about what I think I ought to know.
The topic came up today and the members who were having a problem with their high end Garmin and Suuntos (HRV & GPS notwithstanding) decided that it’s like microwave/oven combos…..trying to get too many options together doesn’t do the business.
Given that a basic continuous read Polar HRM costs under $50 and change (plus shipping and handling) I can’t see a reason to get too caught up with technology when the limiter is physiology…..
I think.
Vivienne
Vivienne I call those folks; Victims of Advertising.
All,
When Sally and I were trying to nail down our Blink heart rate monitor for ZONING, we finally agreed that for most folk who ride on a bike that don’t move, or dance in class, the limiting factor was that most of the time people were in close proximity to each other.
While the number of indoor cycles with the ability to sense heart rate has increased lately, each manufacturer has considered – as John mentions – the wide variety of straps out there. So if you are lucky your low end Polar will work as will others.
It was the crosstalk problem that we saw in our workshops that frustrated users so much that Heart Zones/ZONING’s latest purchase of new hardware (Blinks) is one to one analog to digital.
Getting our riders to wear HRM’s is hard enough without the frustration from crosstalk and which bike or treadmill will read what strap.
I just tell everyone to bring and strap their wrist monitor to the handle bars. ANT+ not required.
A quick clarification on ANT+ and the Polar Wearlink + W.I.N.D
W.I.N.D is essentially built on the BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) hardware architecture but is NOT the same as BLE. A frequency bandwidth does not necessarily describe the data protocol being transmitted across a frequency. A good example is Nike+ which formerly used ANT. *Note that I didn’t say ANT+*. Nike’s version of ANT is proprietary because the protocol uses a “key” to access the data. This makes the data useless to any ANT+ device other than there own.
Likewise, Polar uses two types of transmission depending on the strap, as John mentions above, they send out analog signals using good old 5.3 KHz which the console (FreeMotion and Schwinn) can pickup but is highly susceptible to interference and cross talk. They also have a proprietary 2.4GHz transmission calls WIND that no device outside of Polar can read… even the one’s the say ANT+ (it’s that “key” access again).
It is speculated that one day Polar may be able to convert W.I.N.D device to BLE and allow them to communicate to other BLE devices but that is to be determined.
So, I can’t speak for the Schwinn MPower console, but with the FM console if you have the Polar Wind device and it happens to pick up your heart rate that is because you’re in a low noise environment (not much signal flying around, like in your basement at home). It’s doing this via 5.3, but remember it is very susceptible to cross-talk, interference and spotty reception. This has nothing to do with bikes, treadmills, stairclimbers..etc, it’s the signal choices from the hrm manufacturers themselves.
I hope that helps!
Thanks for clarifying that Cameron. Interesting how Polar’s site makes no mention that their stuff doesn’t play well with others.
I’ve added Julz Arney’s comments about Ant+ to the article above.
Yes John, the whole proprietary technology thing gets very cumbersome at times. I find it hinders progress and innovation. Even though I’m a total Apple chic I get annoyed when devices are intentionally designed to NOT interface with one another. Where’s the fun in that?