Garmin FR60 Heart Rate Monitor

The Garmin FR60 heart rate monitor is an intermediate/advanced heart rate monitor. The beauty of this heart rate monitor is that its capabilities can be increased by pairing it with additional accessories such as a foot pod and/or a speed/cadence sensor for bikes. For example you may start off by using the Garmin FR60 only in a gym. Later on, if you find that you do a lot of running or biking, you can always add more functionality to the basic unit. Note that unlike other Garmin Forerunners, the FR60 is NOT GPS-enabled. Its speed and distance capabilities are given by the foot pod or optional speed/cadence sensor for bikes. Note that the foot pod may or may not be included depending on the package.

The main features of the Garmin FR60 heart rate monitor are:

• Continuous Heart Rate Monitoring
• Heart rate zone with alerts can be set. You can set up to 5 heart rate zones, each with your own individual limits
• Time alert can be set for a specific duration of time
• The calorie counter is heart-rate based: hence it is much more accurate.
• Stop watch with up to 100 laps
• Interval workouts based on time
• The wrist watch can show up to 5 data pages. Each page can have up to 3 fields. Each field can be customised to show the data you want. You can then cycle through the pages to see the data desired. You can see that this is highy configurable.
• Data that can be shown include e.g. heart rate, current heart rate zone, calories, time elapsed, current time, various averages etc
• Autoscroll - if this is turned on, the data pages are shown one after the other automatically. You can also select the scroll speed
• Session data is saved automatically. Up to 20 hours of exercise data can be saved.
• Time and date keeping, alarm, two time zones
• Backlight
• Wireless heart rate monitor composed of a chest strap transmitter and a wrist watch receiver
• Water resistant to 50m. However, don't operate the buttons under water.
• Batteries are user replaceable
• USB ANT stick to wirelessly transfer data between the Garmin FR60 and the computer. No cables are necessary.
• Use the Garmin Connect online software or the Garmin Training Center desktop software to analyze or store your training data
• Foot pod sends speed and distance data to the wrist watch unit. Foot pod may or may not be included depending on the package.
• GSC 10 speed and cadence sensor for bikes (optional)

These are the extra features the Garmin FR60 will provide if you get the optional foot pod:

• Display data page can be set to show cadence, distance, pace and speed etc
• Alerts for distance, calories, speed, pace and cadence (strides per minute) can be set
• Virtual Partner - it lets you set the desired pace of your run. While you are running the display lets you know if you are behind your chosen pace
• Interval workouts based on distance
• Auto Lap: laps are marked automatically triggered by distance
• Auto Pause: the timer is automatically paused and restarted depending on your speed/pace

Here are the additional features you get with the optional speed and cadence senor for bikes:

• Display data page can be set to show cadence, pace and speed etc
• Alerts for speed, pace and cadence (rpm) can be set
• Virtual Partner
• Auto Lap: laps are marked automatically triggered by distance
• Auto Pause: the timer is automatically paused and restarted depending on your speed/pace

Note: On Garmin web site or manuals, the words "heart rate monitor" are used to denote the chest strap transmitter. This is in contrast to standard usage where "heart rate monitor" either refers to the wrist watch unit or to the combination of both the wrist watch unit and the chest strap transmitter. So please be aware of the difference to avoid confusion.

Summary

The Garmin FR60 is actually an intermediate/advanced heart rate monitor with a host of optional features that can be added on with the purchase of a foot pod or cycle cadence sensor. Unlike many Garmin heart rate monitors, the FR60 is not a GPS unit. If you require speed and distance measurements, then you need a foot pod or cadence sensor.

The Garmin FR60 comes in different colors and sizes. In addition it is supplied in different bundles. Some bundles have only the wrist watch unit and the chest strap, some include the USB ANT stick, some also include the foot pod. As a result, the prices vary, depending on what optional extras are included.

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Useful Information

Not sure which heart rate monitor is right for you? Take a look at the Which Heart Rate Monitor page.