Suunto Race: Heart Attack or Yoga?
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A 20% incline, zone 5, my legs are on fire; every pedal stroke feels like my heart is about to leap out of my chest and land on the handlebars. My lungs are protesting, my knees are demanding democracy. But what’s Suunto Race doing? “72 bpm – you’re good!” it says. I mean, what kind of peace is this? Is it measuring my pulse or my inner tranquility?
I can’t take it anymore, so I pull the bike over. Picture this: I’m climbing in zone 5, and I’m checking my chest with my hand: “Is my heart still beating, or did I just slip into eternal rest?”
Just then bam! Suunto suddenly hits the panic button: “Oh right, there is a heartbeat! Here’s 150 bpm for you!”
A little late there, Suunto, I was about to write my obituary!
I recently purchased the Suunto Race and noticed a serious issue with heart rate accuracy while cycling. During intense efforts (zones 3–4), the watch displays 72–85 bpm, which is clearly incorrect. When I stop pedaling, the heart rate jumps to 125–135 bpm—more in line with actual exertion.
I tried restarting the activity, rebooting the watch, tightening the strap, cleaning the sensor, using cycling mode, and confirming firmware is updated. Nothing helped. The first 2–4 minutes are somewhat accurate, but once I increase intensity, the readings drop and freeze.
This cannot be an excuse. I used a much lower-end Garmin for years and never needed a chest strap.
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@ayoworks I find the same. The built-in heart rate monitor in the Suunto Race is so unreliable and inaccurate, it might as well not exist. You do need to wear a heart rate strap to get accurate heart rate.
FWIW, Race “S” has 2 heart rate sensors with consequently better reliability and accuracy.
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To be honest a lot of watches struggle with HR measurement during biking, some more, some less. I would get a HR chest or arm strap.
