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Newbie Venu 3 cycling questions

DavidZ
over 1 year ago

Hi -- Just got my Venu 3 yesterday, and trying not to be intimidated by its insane range of capabilities. It's also my first smartwatch. My primary use for it is to track heart rate activity when I'm on my (road) bike. I am coming off an ablation for afib last Feb., and the ECG app was one of the big draws for me. But I also want to monitor my heart rate to see what zone I'm in -- warm ups, I'm told, are a good way to avoid re-triggering Afib. 

I did my shake-down ride with bike and watch today, and found that when I selected the Heart Rate App, it didn't stay there very long -- it quickly reverted to the watch face. Is there a way to make it stay in the heart rate app until I want to change it? Related: is there a way to pair the Venu with my Wahoo Elemnt so the heart rate appears on that? 

Another possible issue I foresee is sunblock. I tend to slather on Blue lizard in the middle of rides. I remember advice from Garmin about not using the watch on a wrist with sunblock. Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with this? I also bought a heart rate strap but prefer not to wear it - I assume that is a work-around for the heart rate, but I also wonder about gunking up the Venu's sensors. 

Any other tips road cyclists may want to pass along for using the Venu 3 will be greatly appreciated. For example, I see there is a "Cycling Activity" feature -- what does that do? Thanks!~ David

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    Regarding heart rate during an activity, the Bike activity has the HR zone gauge turned on by default. When in the bike activity, swipe up or down until you see the heart rate screen. If you leave it there, it will stay on that screen until you dismiss it. or end the activity.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Scott

    Scott, very helpful, thanks. Since posting, I figured out how to pair the Wahoo Elemnt bike computer with the "broadcast heart rate" feature on the watch. It's easier/safer that way, I think. I'll have to road test it! -- David

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    Scott's suggestion works for keeping an eye on the HR zone gauge and you can edit the data fields and create your own workout too, and of course download new data fields from Connect IQ app. Checkout Connect IQ for data fields, there are many.

    Regarding sunscreen, I usually don't apply it under the watch area (Garmin doesn't recommend too). It is greasy and over time it can stick to the watch like a white patch and I am not sure if it can affect the HR readings (unless you apply a seriously thick coat). But if you want sunscreen, then I would recommend the sunscreen milk type, those are non sticky, and apply it 10-15 mins before wearing your watch. Having said that, I do wash my watch at least once a week, under RO water and Garmin recommends washing it and drying it after every exercise. You can use tap water if your water is not hard.

    Do's and Don'ts for Garmin watch: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/watch-fit-and-care/

    Scroll down that link and look for things to avoid. If you have enough time, read it entirely once. It is helpful.

    The bike activity workout will use your watch GPS to show you a map of your workout, along with distance, HR zones, max HR% and many more (customizable). You can also create new laps by just pressing the Back button (the third button).

    Venu 3 manual: https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-9CC4A873-E034-4A06-B2E0-636DCFE760EE/EN-US/GUID-10835D5E-CDD4-42B7-9592-632C063C41F8.html

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to PRK91

    PRK91 -- Thanks for your help! -- David