Just got myself a Tymewear VitalPro breathing/HR strap that records ventilatory data.
Anyone else use one and seen good fitness improvements using the ventilatory threshold information they track?
No - but I’m very interested to see what people think about them.
I have one and been using it for about a month. So far I have mixed reviews and want to hold off for a few months to give a thoughtful opinion. I will say that for anyone that buys one the strap needs to be tighter than a typical heart rate strap. If not the readings will be worthless and the work put into testing will be a waste. At this point their app needs a lot of work and more integrations for it to be really viable as a standalone training platform but I think it will get much better. I am using it as a confirmation point more than anything else. Doubt this helps but all I have for now! 
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This is my stance too, almost using it as more validation as to whether I am training the right areas. I’ve done the threshold test, just had the data back and it says I have a balanced profile so I am in a good place to do some VO2 work 
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I quite liked the strap needing to be tight, I often run my normal HR strap that tight anyway. Totally agree that the app needs a bit of work, or at least the data needs to be more easily shareable/usable with platforms such as intervals and on Coros and Wahoo head units. Having to go back to Garmin, really hurt. Felt like going back 30 years to the days of mobile phones with keypads having to figure out how to use Garmin 
Would be awesome if Trainerroad could pull through the data too one day.
When i emailed Tymewear, they suggested emailing Wahoo and Coros to highlight the demand with those companies’ head units.
I’ve had one for a couple of weeks.
Initially I couldn’t get the strap to connect to the app but there was an update to the firmware which sorted it.
I did a submax test just to see if everything was working and went off to be analysed before I could stop it so their system thinks I hit VO2max ay 189W and has set my zones accordingly.
It pairs perfectly with the their Garmin App so I did a proper test using that and have interpreted the results myself (hopefully correctly) and have set then up in Intervals.icu where @Iñigo Tolosa has produced a great chart for looking at the data.
As someone earlier has said the strap has to be tighter than a HR strap and has to be positioned as close as possible in the same position every time. I got some very low readings whist doing a maximal effort the other day and only realised that the breathing sensor at the back had got caught on the slats of the chair at the coffee shop and dragged it down quite a lot for the rest of the ride.
I’m finding it very spiky out on the road and it it reacts quite markedly to changes in position, getting out of the saddle etc. It does however return very quickly to where it should be. Having said that I’m finding it very useful to set and help me control my intensity during intervals outside.
Overall I’m quite pleased with it. Whether it’s worth the money only time will tell. It’s already confirmed what I thought was my major limiter and it’s nice to get some numbers that back up my feelings. If it helps me get off my 2/3 year plateau then it will have been worth it.
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@carytb so tell me more about how I look at the data in intervals??? My intervals looks to my Strava for the rides and sessions I record on my Garmin, do I need to do something else (as I assume the ventilation data won’t pass through Strava to intervals?
It does feel like the strap will be inherently fragile or sensitive to the correct position each time. I have marked the holes on the strap with a blue pencil so that it’s the same tightness every time. Unless my weight changes.
You’ve got to get the data straight through from Garmin, you are correct taht Strava is no good for that.
There are a few threads on the Intervals forum where it says what to do if you look for Inigo Tolosa he has some good info about how to go about it. The information is mixed up in a few post about Tymwear and AlphaHRV.
You then find the Chart in Activity Charts in an activity. After youve enabled it you have to Reprocess any old activities you want to be included.
You can also construct your own activity charts in the usual way using the data from the Custom Streams you have set up
You’ve got to enable some Custom Streams to get the data from your Garmin as its in the fit file if you are using Tymewears Garmin App.
Hope this helps
I have been using the TymeWear Vital Pro for a few months now. Initial reaction: I like it!
I have done a couple of step tests to determine the various zones. Outcomes are similar to lab tests I have done in the past.
I started using the device with my iPhone to capture the breathing data and then used other devices to capture, power, cadence, pace, etc. I was a bit of a pain. It’s possible to merge FIT files so everyone is to get, but not optimal. When I started running everything through my Garmin 1050, life got a whole lot easier. All my data in one place. Data goes to all my apps including TrainingPeaks, Strava, TrainerRoad, Garmin Connect, WKO and the TymeWear app. With WKO I can now analyze the data myself, either each event or rolling up data over time. What I see myself doing most is the step tests monthly and then watching how I accumulate time in each of the zones. I can do it during the ride or after.
Tech support has been excellent. I’ve posted up multiple questions and I get a response back, typically within 24 hours.
Happy I bought the product.
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Hi folks from Australia.. again. In October 2023 I started a topic regarding a request for integration of the ‘CORE’ body temperature sensor into TR. Had a little look back at that topic and some very smart people along with the usual naysayers from the peanut gallery seemed unreceptive to the prospect.
….. fast forward two years. Have been using a core sensor for regular heat sessions. It works. I think thats been established by far more accomplished minds than mine.
As a back story Im an old guy and love my gadgets. Ive been racing since the early 80s and had one of the first very big clunky polar heart rate monitors. Here I am in my 60s still racing and embracing personal improvement after some health challenges. We are in a consumer driven society and TR is in a competitve marketplace and is selling a product. I prefer numbers to video games so thats why Ive stuck with it. Accordingly Ive purchased a few of the gadgets out of curiosity to crash test them on myself. To date Ive used all the power meters, the core sensor as already stated and have recently been playing with the following toys…. A Tymewear breathing sensor; (only had it a few weeks but Im impressed); A ‘Calibre bio’ breath analysis mask (very interesting and informative) and also played with AeroSensor as well. Oh and also playing with an ‘Isocapnic’ respiratory trainer.
…… So did a TR session the other day and it did upload into my Garmin Connect but didnt push across to the Tymewear sensor. So I emailed tymewear they are very receptive and suggested I ask Trainer Road for some type of functionality to push my sessions into their platform, as we know many of the competing companies collaborate.
As an old guy I simply got these toys are they are relatively inexpensive for what they represent i.e. physiological and performance information, definitely dont take myself too seriously but find the info keeps me interested and motivated. While Im a bit shy about my numbers as they sadly suck (compared to my 20’s and 30’s) I have seen very significant improvements in some key markers, seen confirmation across several platforms of numbers like V02 (in Tymewear, Garmin and Calibre) and commensurate substantial increases in my blood HCT after some solid work with the Core sensor.
….. so over to the cheap seats for some thoughts a few years on and asking the TR brains trust for some thoughts on functionality over some of the other gadgets coming on line. All with the underlying caveat of it is getting me off the couch and Im in the old man trying to laugh at myself category.
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Thanks @carytb will see if I can follow it all when I get a spare moment!
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I always dual record my TR sessions on my Garmin so that I get the data that not included in the TR fit file. I started doing it to get the AlphaHRV data. Like you I’m just interested all this stuff
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Thanks for the information. Can you please let me know how how you set up WKO to see the data. Im recording now my sessions with my garmin 1040 but the data is not visible in WKO e.g. ventilation, …. is not visible.
You need to connect the Vital Pro equipment to your Garmin device. It requires a Connect IQ field. It’s a bit complicated, but Tymewear has a post on it here: Garmin Bike Computers – Tyme Wear™. The part I stumbled on for a while was making sure the sensor ID is changed from the default 0000 to your device’s ID. Once that is complete, you should see the Tymewear info in the WKO Channels.
Thanks will set up the channels in WKO as Garmin is all set