Garmin - Cadence Question

BeeerRunner

I was wondering how accurate the Cadence readings are on the Garmin watches. I have the 230, and within the past week, I had 2 issues with the watch reporting a very low cadence (116) several times during my run. Looking at the data, there was a slight drop in pace, but not so much that my cadence would drop to 116. There are other times during the same run where I'm running at that very same pace with a cadence of 190.

I'm not using any foot pods, but I never had issues with these drops previously. I have been focusing on softer landings, but I can't seem to find where others have these issues. I did email Garmin's customer support, but I was wondering if anyone else has had these issues or if I need to get the foot pods if this is something I decide I want to track accurately.

Here's a pic. The dots are my cadence, and the line is my pace.




Thanks in advance for your feedback!!

dewd2

Mine has been very consistent since I got my 630 but I believe it is getting the cadence from the HRM rather than the watch. I sometimes run with a footpod and don't see any variance.

scorpio516

230 here. I've never had anything like that, all my drops are directly related to stoplights:

BeeerRunner

Until Monday, I've never had anything like this either. Then when it happened a 2nd time, I thought I would ask. I've had the watch since June.

I don't think the cadence has to do with the HRM though. I sometimes forget to wear my HRM, and I still get a cadence reading. However, I did wear mine yesterday, and I still got a reading. There definitely isn't a correlation in heart rate and cadence:



My brother thought it might be tracked by arm swings. He said this because he can get his to track cadence on an elliptical if he swings his arms like mad. I have been trying to keep my arms more relaxed / less tense lately, but I don't think they were not swinging at all. I thought it maybe sensed some sort of movement with the impact of the foot hitting the ground because about the only thing I get when on an elliptical is heart rate. It doesn't even count my steps on an elliptical. However, I don't typically use the arm things on an elliptical either so it could be arm swings. Anyway, after my HM this weekend, I think I'll keep the cadence view on one of my screens during one of my easy runs to see if I'm doing anything different if I see it drop. If it is something with the watch, I'll want to exchange it.

dewd2

I just double checked and my HRM does measure the cadence. It is the new HRM4 (HRM RUN) strap. The older HRMs leave it up to the watch (or footpod). The only variances are the couple areas where I guess were water stops. I'm sure my stride changed while I was trying to not wear a cup of Gatorade.



FWIW, I do not swing my arms much at all when I run.

EDIT: Now that I look at the distances I believe the odd ball cadences were at the turn around areas.

BeeerRunner

@dewd2 Thanks for the feedback! I think my HRM is the HRM3 version. I looked at my Amazon.com order, and someone mentioned it was HRM3 in some comments. It's listed as "Garmin Premium HRM (Soft Strap)."

Good to know about the arms. I sent an email to Garmin product support yesterday, but I'll probably end up calling them next week.

It's so weird, especially since it's happened twice now. My normal cadence looks more like yours where there are a few blips here and there, either from turning, someone not getting out of my way, or jumping over something. However, in Monday's and Thursday's cadence charts, the "blips' in low cadence lasted for around to 2 minutes straight. From the pace I was maintaining, I don't think it's humanly possible to have a cadence of 116 spm for approximately 2 minutes non stop while maintaining an average pace during the 2 minute blip in the 8:20 min/mile range. I would have had to have some sort of super bouncy shoes or wings or something. LOL!

Here's a normal readout just to give an idea.


So far, it doesn't seem like anyone else has experienced this. I wasn't sure if it was something in tweaking my technique or something wrong with the equipment.

Vladimirnapkin

MY 220 has been very consistent.

dewd2

You can tell if it is the new HRM4 strap because the HRM is permanently attached to the strap. If it comes off then it is an older model.

BeeerRunner

@dewd2 Yes, mine snaps on and off the strap. Thanks again!

@Vladimirnapkin Thank you for sharing your experience.

scorpio516

BeeerRunner wrote: »

I don't think the cadence has to do with the HRM though.

It doesn't. The 230 only gets cadence from the internal accelarometer or a foot pod. All the official info says it won't receive cadence or anything else from a HRM-RUN / HRM-RUN v2 / HRM-TRI. Only the 6xx and the Fenix can.

BTW - if you have a HRM-RUN, you'd know because it's got a little running guy on the sensor. The HRM-TRI has a big red rubber border. The HRM-SWIM has a big blue border

MobyCarp

Interesting thread. I've used a 620 and a 630. The 620 produced cadence even when I didn't put on the HRM; I think I dimly recall wondering at lack of cadence the day I forgot to put on the HRM with the 630. I knew I wouldn't get vertical oscillation, but it does make more sense to get cadence from chest movement than wrist movement. Yes, a footpod should be more accurate; but I've never used one.

FWIW, I've never seen unexplained glitches in my cadence as described in this thread. All of the cadence I've seen is explained by pace, stoplights, and other stuff that was really going on as I ran.

BeeerRunner

Just as an FYI, this is the response I received from Garmin:

Thank you for contacting Garmin International.

I’d be happy to assist you. Sorry to hear your run cadence is off on your Forerunner 230. The Forerunner uses the internal accelerometer to calculate cadence based on arm movement and can become inaccurate when the arm the watch is on does not move. It is possible that if you changed your running behavior the run cadence may change as well. The run cadence on the Forerunner 230 is fairly accurate but not as accurate as using a foot pod. If running cadence is an important data metric for you I recommend using a foot pod as it will be more accurate. I have included a link below:

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/prod15516.html


Please let us know how we can further assist you.

Just thought I would share.

dewd2

Interesting.... FWIW, I have the footpod and use it occasionally. I got it for the dreadmill which I try to avoid.

Also, I'd like to correct an earlier post I made. The HRM4 is a snap on monitor. It is the HRM-RUN that is permanently attached to the strap (and includes the running dynamics).