Oh, the frustration... Got my Quarq power meter, still no head unit. Bah.

You should just ride near someone with a 705 and have them call out your watts....

I thought about borrowing one, but I don't know anyone with a 705...

Considering the ship date for the 310XT keeps getting pushed back and back, I'm considering finding a refurbished 705, using it till the 310XT shows up, and selling it used... If I knew it would be another week I probably wouldn't do that, but now it's looking more like a month...

The impatience got the better of me... Ordered a cheapie refurbished Edge 705 to get started with--will add the 310XT whenever it gets here--but I'm not holding my breath...

HA !!!!   I remember a race where I didn't have a bike computer,, I would ask the people next to me how was we were going,,,  Most people were pretty cool,,, some weren't....

I'll keep you in mind...

Did a 1-minute interval workout with the 705 and the Cinqo today--everything worked flawlessly. It was a little depressing because my 1-minute power is nowrhere NEAR where it was when I was crit racing, but at least now I can track the progress...

I'm very impressed with the 705 as well--very nice computer!

nice to hear.

i'm getting a quarq with 705 installed saturday.

thought about the 310xt, knew I would do what you did.... 

believe it 

Yeah, I'm almost contemplating just keeping the 705 and my 305 considering the not-too-widely-advertised fact that HR and GPS don't work in the water even with the 310XT...

You'll be pleased, I think. The Quarq/705 combo is pretty flippin' sweet. Which cranks did you get? Mine are the SRAMs....

No HRM works in the water.  The monitor and the receiver would have to stay in the same medium.  Because your hands come OUT of the water during the stroke and your hand is generally where you keep the receiver you won't get HR data no matter WHAT HRM you use.  The main point of the 310XT was to make it water proof enough to be worn during the swim so that people wouldn't have to stop in T1 to put it on.  People wanted ONE watch they could wear the whole race....the 310XT can do that.

I'm not sure why the GPS wouldn't work in the water.  I've put my Garmin in my swim cap many many times and gotten GREAT open water swim GPS data.  I would imagine that you could get enough satellite lock while wearing it in the water.  I never tried WEARING mine in the water only because it wasn't waterproof enough.

I had always thought that Polar's HRMs worked while swimming... Perhaps maybe not.

As for the GPS signal, yeah, it kinda works, but apparently (and I'm not an expert here) GPS signals don't penetrate water, and even the depth of a good freestyle stroke is enough to screw up the data--several people have reported wacky distances, tracks that are all over the place, etc. Basically not reliable enough for Garmin to say that the 310XT will work in the water. The only feature they support in the water, in fact, is timing.

Nope.  I own one that I use for racing and the only HR data I get for the swim portion of a tri is whatever time I am standing up out of the water...i.e. running from the water to the T1 timing mat.

HR isn't really useful in swimming anyway.

I never wore it on my wrist, but if I wore the Garmin in the swim cap it worked GREAT.  I tend to think that your wrist would be out of the water enough for the Garmin to get some signals...it will be an interesting experiment.

I got the FSA Team...cannot wait....tomorrow is so close, but so far....

how much does a power meter cost?  i am always curious about one of those. 

My Polar 520 worked fine at IMAZ, checked it several times during the swim.    HR in the water was useful to me for pacing purposes.  Other than an IM, for me it's not useful

My Polar HRM worked fine during Tri swims/pool, didn't need or want the data but it was there....beeping at me like crazy telling me to slow down, lol.

brand new, with 705 head unit, your looking at 2300 or so for quarq.

add in wko+ sw for another 99. 

you can get a wired power tap for under 1000.

used ergomos can be had for around 500-800.

SRMs, which is what quarq directly competes with, are around 3200 or so...yuou can find used wired SRMs on ebay for 1500-2000.

all have pluses and minsus...in the end I chose quarq because:

-crank based
-head unit is GPS for speed/elevation gain (new SRMs have elevation, I think, but speed is sensor based--which was a concern for me due to switching up wheels)
-wanted wireless
-didnt want a powertap due to current HED3 rear wheel, and didnt want to get a power tap disc as its use would be limited for me.
-I can train/race on any wheels I want and not have to worry about power....if I want to rent a disc for a race and have power, no problem...if I want to train on another wheel, no problem....
-positive feedback from users I spoke with
-positive feedback from authorized dealer

Most older HRMs work just fine while swimming. I used an old one on my last race and was checking it quite often to make sure I wasn't pushing too hard as the race day rush makes it hard to tell.

The newer units use higher band frequencies which is good for bandwidth but bad for penetrating through water.

And it's certainly useful to review after the race is over even if you don't watch it while swimming.

They're expensive and if you don't make the effort to learn how to use it in your training they're essentially fancy speedometers, but with a little bit of practice you'll find yourself really maximizing every minute you spend on the bike--it keeps your hard efforts hard and your easy efforts easy, and is great for pacing during a TT or a bike leg in a tri. It also eliminates all the fudge factors that make HRMs less than precise.

For instance, if you're doing 1-minute intervals, what happens with an HRM is that you go all-out trying to get your HR up, peter out 30 seconds into the interval, and then by the end of the interval your HR is where you wanted it, even though in reality you quit halfway through the interval! With a power meter, you crank up the power to your target and no further, get feedback within 1-2 seconds that you're where you need to be, then hold that power for the entire interval. The first time you do this, make sure you record HR with it and you'll be amazed.

It's an expensive toy, but if you're serious about using it, you'll gain more speed than from a set of aero wheels or anything like that.

My Quarq Cinqo with SRAM cranks was $1895, and you add to that the price of whatever head unit you buy--The iBike, Garmin Edge 705, and now the 310XT are pretty much your options. I chose it for the same reasons as cusetri--Crank based, cheaper than SRM, choice of head units, good company with outstanding service, and lots of happy racers out there using them.

Edited by DrPete 2009-07-10 4:32 PM

The Suunto T6C works in the water - or, more accurately, the Memory Belt it comes with (included with the "Triathlon Pack" or available as an optional extra) does. It records the Heart Rate for the swim on the integrated chip for later analysis, which is all we really need - right?. With the possible exception of interval work in the pool, no-one's really going to actually check their heart-rate mid swim. 

With the SUunto I like the fact that I can use ONE watch for the whole race and monitor speed/cadence/HR (it also pairs with SRM power meters) on the bike and speed/pace/cadence/HR on the run without having to change settings half way through.

Emma Snowsil is quoted on the Suunto website:

"As a triathlete Suunto offers the most versatile solution; it's perfect for swimming, cycling and running."

"It's also easy to use. The watch picks up speed and distance information when cycling, and automatically switches over to the Foot POD when I run - no need to fumble with settings. I've also customized the display so I can easily see the exact information I want."

I have bought one and can't wait for the FedEx guy to ring the doorbell. Now, if someone can explain exactly how it works with SRM... I really hope I can use it as the Head Unit... then I might buy the SRM :-)

Edited by tribern 2009-07-11 4:22 AM

Problems with Suunto:

-No Mac compatibility.
-Not compatible with power meters.
-I know for sure I'd lose that stupid GPS pod at some point.

I agree, though, that the memory belt is a good idea, and I'd really have no interest in knowing my HR during the swim, so it's a pretty decent compromise.

Wired PT's can be easily gotten for 500ish includes wheel, head unit and USB cradle.  Put a wheelcover on it and viola you are set.