ANT+ Advice

It’s been a week since we announced version 6.0 of Cyclemeter, Runmeter, and Walkmeter, and the enthusiastic response from our users has been very gratifying. The first email we received after the release went live simply said “Wow!”.

We are often asked what equipment to buy to use ANT+ for heart rate monitors and speed/cadence sensors. Here is some advice.

Cyclists Wanting Speed/Cadence and Heart Rate

Buy the Wahoo Bike Pack and the Wahoo Soft Heart Rate Belt. This gives you a bike case, a speed/cadence sensor, and a heart rate monitor. Consider their new optional extended battery, too.

Install the bike case per Wahoo’s directions. By default, our app supports Auto-Lock, the ability of the iPhone to turn off the display after a short period of time. You can set our app to keep the display on by changing More > Advanced > Screen On to When Recording rather than Auto-Lock. Note that this will burn the battery about twice as fast, so we don’t recommend it for longer rides. In that case, you can manually shut off the display by pressing the top lock button on your iPhone.

Runners & Walkers Wanting Heart Rate

Buy the Wahoo Run Pack. This gives you a Wahoo Key, and a heart rate monitor. To carry your iPhone, I recommend the iFitness Neoprene Running Belt, which helps keeps your iPhone safe and the Wahoo Key snug. String your Apple Earphone & Remote inside your shirt. Within our app, set More > Remote Control to On, and use remote control to start and stop the app, and get on-demand announcements.

An Alternative To Using A Bike Case

A great way to use our app when riding is as follows. First, purchase the Wahoo Run Pack, a Wahoo Speed/Cadence Sensor, and an iFitness Neoprene Running Belt. When you’re riding, wear the belt with the iPhone behind your back and under your jersey or shirt, with the earphone and remote cable underneath your jersey or shirt. For safety, only use one earphone, and make it the one with the remote. Set an announcement to go off every 5 miles or km using More > Announcements > Distance Interval. Turn on remote control using More > Remote Control and set on demand announcements for On Every Click so your music stays off. Then every 5 miles you’ll get your stats, and if you want them on demand, just click the remote. As a bonus, you can take a call while riding, though keep your attention on the road. And you can use Voice Control to make calls, ask what time is it, and other commands.

What About Other ANT+ Products?

We have tested our apps to work with:

  • Wahoo Bike Case
  • Wahoo Key
  • Wahoo Heart Rate Monitor
  • Wahoo Soft Heart Rate Belt
  • Wahoo Premium Speed and Cadence Bike Sensor
  • Garmin Heart Rate Monitor
  • Garmin Premium Heart Rate Monitor (Soft Strap)
  • Garmin GSC10 Speed/Cadence Sensor

Other ANT+ heart rate monitors and combo speed/cadence sensors may work, though we have not tested with them. Write to Wahoo or us to check compatibility of such devices.

We do not currently support the Wahoo Footpod (but stay tuned), nor do we currently support powermeters. We listen closely to feedback, so if you have any particular device you want us to support, just write to email hidden; JavaScript is required and let us know.

Set the Settings

Be sure to adjust some settings to add your sensor readings to the display and announcements. Tap the gear icon on the Stopwatch to add any stat you want, and go to More > Announcements to adjust the announcements. You can also adjust your Twitter, Facebook, and dailymile posts to include your sensor data. (Stay tuned for 6.0.1, which will include many more displays and announcements, including previous split and interval averages for sensor data.)

Keep Our App In The Foreground

Under iOS 4, any app using the Wahoo system must be in the foreground. If our app is placed in the background, the Wahoo ANT+ system is powered down. Make sure our app is on the screen before the display is locked, and that our app is in the foregorund after you happen to run any other app. This will be rectified in iOS 5, and will require a software change in our app, probably in our 6.0.1 version, so stay tuned.

And Improve!

Best wishes for your training efforts. With our 6.0 sensor support, you have even more options to measure your fitness, and anything you can measure, you can improve.

 

October 12, 2011 at 7:49 am | Cycling, Running, Uncategorized, Walking