For the last couple of years, I’ve used a Garmin Epix (Gen 2) Sapphire Edition and a Wahoo TICKR X for running. I’ve always had cadence data that looks like this:
I switched to a Polar H10 HRM on September 1 and started seeing cadence like this, where sometimes I get 160, sometimes I get 80, sometimes I get 40, and way too often I get zero:
So it occurs to me that I don’t know whether my running cadence is reported/gathered by my Epix, or my HRM chest strap. It’s clearly a new behavior, and I thought it was from the Polar, but apparently/maybe not.
So where does it come from? And how do I troubleshoot it? Bad data drives me bonkers.
Both the Epix and the TICKR X can do cadence. I would guess you were getting it from the TICKR X before and the watch now. Maybe the TICKR used to be connecting via ANT+ and now it’s Bluetooth?
It’s weird that this only started happening once you got the Polar strap…
When you went back to the TICKR X did you “forget” the Polar strap from your Garmin?
Are you certain that your watch was using the TICKR for cadence data when you went back to it, or could it have been using watch data for some reason?
I’d try clearing your watch of all its sensors and then repairing the TICKR to see if the good cadence data comes back. If it doesn’t, I’d reach out to Wahoo.
No idea whether the HRM straps are connected via BT or ANT. How do I determine that? (I’ll try to find the answer online too, but just in case anyone knows right off the bat.)
I will delete all sensors and pair only the TICKR right now (I think it’s the only one I have with me on this trip). How can I choose whether the Epix or TICKR is used as a data source for cadence, so I can test both?
And @eddiegrinwald, why the Stryd? What’s the big advantage over just using the watch and HRM?
It also brings more running data to the table which I appreciate. It’s not necessary if you’re only looking for cadence and HR data, but I’ve learned to really like mine.
Removed all the sensors, re-paired my TICKR X, and took off my watch for a few minutes during my run. Seems pretty clear that the good cadence data is coming from the Garmin:
Curious how you’ve found the HR data from the Epix? I run with one myself and it works, most of the time, but I still get runs where it’s not accurate.
Can’t say, really… I’ve heard/read so often from trusted sources that wrist-based HR is not accurate that I avoid it. I always wear an HR strap during a workout.
When I was running, I always used a ‘foot pod’ so I knew what the data was coming from. They seem to be gone, but Garmin has something like that on steroids: The ‘Running Dynamics Pod’, which gives me FOMO I have to say…
The HRM strap I use has some of that capability, but knowing where the data is coming from becomes vital for some data. It works with Garmin watches, but also syncs with Connect. (I still do have a Garmin foot pod, just in case I have to run more often)
The pod came out in 2017 and only really still exists because people dont want to wear a strap when their watch gives them hr. The hrm pro and pro plus have all the same run metrics from what I recall as the run pod.
Oh, it does! I use their HRM-Pro Plus strap and knew it did some running data, but not how much it does. Nice… Makes the Pod kind of a non-starter if someone needs a new strap. IF someone needs a new/different strap.
I wonder if the HR straps detect running dynamics as well as the shoe pods do. Certainly the watches’ HR function is far less accurate than the chest straps… so I don’t see it as automatic that the straps can detect running dynamics as well as something on the shoe.
(I still do have a Garmin foot pod, just in case I have to run more often)