On any normal year, today would be the kickoff to new announcements at the annual Consumer Electronics Show – CES. But this year, it’s being held virtually. Which essentially means a whole slew of people don’t have to drag themselves around Las Vegas sleepless for a week trying to keep up with all the news. Myself included.
Yet, we still get the goods. Or at least, some of the goods: New sports tech products!
The first one in the hopper is an announcement from Scosche of their new Rhythm+ 2.0 optical HR armband. The unit is somewhere in transit between California and the Netherlands, and hopefully I’ll be able to give you some hands-on testing feedback later this week, likely pitted up against a few of the more popular options. But till then, here’s what’s new.
The Rhythm+ 2.0 builds on their two existing Rhythm optical HR sensors (the Rhythm+ way back in 2014 and then the Rhythm24 three years ago in 2018), with some modest updates around battery life and an updated sensor. Think of it more as evolutionary than revolutionary. Here’s the topline specs:
Battery life: 24 hours
Connectivity: Dual ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart
Optical HR Sensors: Custom Valencell PerformTek sensor with two green and one yellow LED
Waterproofing: IP68, so good to three meters of depth
Armband: Removable clasp system (versus Velcro on original)
Pricing & Availability: $79 and next month (February 2021)
For those that have been long-time followers of the site, you’ll know that for many years the original Scosche Rhythm+ was my favorite optical HR sensor, and in many ways one of the best optical HR sensors ever made. It’s sorta-successor, the Rhythm24, a few years later never really made me as happy. That was primarily due to the accuracy not being as good in my testing, as well as the increased cost for features that didn’t work well initially (a long time actually).
Whereas the Rhythm+ 2.0 aims to go back to the roots of just being a dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart optical HR sensor that works well without all the features you’ll probably never use on the Rhythm24 (like NFC or HR zones or cycling cadence). Here’s a sheet they have that compares all the features. It was for other purposes, hence the Amazon tidbits/reviews aspect of it. Also, all the images in this post are from Scosche’s PR kit.
The Rhythm+ 2.0 uses a custom Valencell integration of their optical sensor, which is basically one of the two ways that Valencell works. You can buy one of their off the shelf offerings that you just slap into a unit. Or, you can do some custom integration work for any number of reasons (perhaps size, battery consumption, features, etc…). Generally speaking, I see good accuracy levels with Valencell integrations/packages, but ultimately, we’ll have to see how it holds once FedEx drops it into my delivery box and I get out onto the road with it.
As you see above, it includes dual green LEDs and a single yellow LED. Companies typically use different color LEDs to penetrate different skin tones and depths better. Which doesn’t always mean it works out – but generally speaking some of the most accurate on-device results I see are from blended colors like this.
Of course, one thing that helps something like the Scosche Rhythm+ 2.0 or even the Polar OH1 is simply the placement – being on your arm (in any number of locations). It’s FAR easier to get accurate optical HR data in places other than your wrist (such as a watch would). There’s no close-up bones to deal with on the remainder of your arm (compared to the wrist bone right below the skin near where you wear a watch), which means better readings.
The Rhythm+ 2.0 has five different color strap options, and assuming it’s like the previous ones, you’ll be able to order extra straps in different colors if you want, enough to vary your workouts on five different days.
Fun tidbit: I’m curious to see which color band they sent me this time around. For the Rhythm24 unit they had handed over a purple strap, and a lot of people thought that was the only color, and actually didn’t buy it purely based on that. Seriously. I’m not kidding.
Interestingly, the company also has a charging case in addition to the charging clip that you normally get. This charging case is both a carrying case and a charger thingamajig. I don’t have any photos of it, but kinda a cool concept that’ll be useful for travel once we get to do that again. One of my complaints of the original Scosche Rhythm+ was that I’d often find it got turned on in my luggage. The Rhythm24 largely solved that, but still, I like the idea here.
With that – stay tuned for some hands-on testing, hopefully later this week or next week at worst. Never know what gets tangled up in customs these days! Plus, probably time for a refresh of this arm-band shootout post!
Oh, and stay tuned for a few other CES2021 tidbits. I wouldn’t expect huge news this week, merely because there’s little motivation for any of the big companies to make announcements this week that’ll get buried in the news cycle. Since there are no reporters roving the halls of the Las Vegas convention floors, there’s no chance of snagging a random reporter in hopes of increased coverage. Plus, the big companies were shifting announcements away from CES anyway.
Ok, I’m distracted – more to come!
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Hopefully you found this review useful. At the end of the day, I’m an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase – so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device. The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so it’s a fair bit of work (and labor of love). As you probably noticed by looking below, I also take time to answer all the questions posted in the comments – and there’s quite a bit of detail in there as well.
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Thanks for reading! And as always, feel free to post comments or questions in the comments section below, I’ll be happy to try and answer them as quickly as possible. And lastly, if you felt this review was useful – I always appreciate feedback in the comments below. Thanks!
Very first line – I hope that you are not actually a “toady”, Ray.
I hopped right over that. 😉
I bought the Rhythm 24 based on the promise of swim download to Garmin. Didn’t seem like this was ever delivered and I gave up waiting. Would be really hesitant to purchase anything based on promised features from this company
Well, I bought the original Rhythm+ ages ago, and it’s still going strong. No complaints at all about the product nor the company based on that experience. Just a counterpoint.
Yup, I think a lot of people found that the app aspects of the Rhythm 24 either never really lived up to the promises, or, took a heck of a long time.
The good news is that this sorta ignores that entirely, as there’s no downloadable aspects here like in the Rhyhtm24. It’s more like the Rhythm+ in that respect – just simple broadcasting that’s (hopefully) accurate.
Looking forward to seeing this. I bought the scorsche Rhythm+ based on you loving it back about 5 years ago and it’s still going strong (and I love it as well). So must be due a replacement soon!!
Sorry I don’t get it, why has a device without a screen such a short batterylife? If u buy a device without a screen u would expect a longer lasting device than one with a screen but 24hours only, every activitytracker has that!
Agreed. It’s the same size as my Garmin, which does a lot more and has worse battery life!
Umm…it’s a 24hour battery life while powered on for workouts. It’s just akin to a heart rate strap. It’s not a watch. Same class of device as a Polar OH1+, TICKR FIT, and previous Scosche devices.
Because it’s a real time sensor maybe?
Most of the watches aren’t sending every micro second of heart rate data, but every few seconds. The watches don’t tend to last more than a handful of hours when actually tracking in real time with the screens on.
Scosche do what they do so well and 5/6 years later my rhythm is still going strong and used every day, without battery fade
So? My Garmin Fenix 6 also records my heartrate all day and in september I rode to Switserland and had 3 days of 12 hours recording and had most days 30% left and that was WITH navigation on screen!
I’m still using my rhythm+, but I’m having a hard time finding replacement bands. They don’t seem to last long.
And my bet, a super easy one in fact, would be that if you were outdoors riding, the accuracy of this would easily best the Fenix 6. Not even close.
Still, I don’t really think you’re the core use case to be honest. I suspect it’s people that don’t have a Fenix 6 (or whatever) and want more accurate data. For example, I rode Zwift tonight, and sure, I could have paired my FR745 to Zwift, but ultimately – I used a Polar H9 chest strap. Sometimes I use a Polar OH1 Plus.
And why would u need a more accurate heartrate? Heartrate in it self is subject to so many things (fitness, enough sleep, cafeïne,…) so why would u care if it reads your heartbeat a couple of beats more or less it doesn’t mean a lot only if the differences are way off will it matter! That’s why pro-cyclists stopped training on heartrate it isn’t accurate enough! But yeah it’s also that I don’t care much about whole day activity tracking, another thing I don’t really get, are people really looking at data from what they did a whole day? I try to get my daily steps and I record real activities (cycling and running) and put them on Strava and that’s it. If you aren’t doing competition just try running/cycling for fun and don’t get to obsessed by the numbers!
“ just try running/cycling for fun and don’t get to obsessed by the numbers”
This is what I do. I don’t have a watch or wear a HR monitor, I just go run. It’s fun and I don’t have to look at my Garmin Felix 6 all the time. Or wait for a GPS signal, or upload my run, or charge a watch.
I just do it for fun.
You should try it, you know cycle or run without a watch that costs as much as a couple of nice running shoes.
Why would you even need a Garmin Felix 6?
It’s supposed to be fun.
Yeah, I’ve tried it. When I “just do it for fun” I have zero motivation and either don’t end up doing it or I’m miserable the entire time I’m doing it. I need numbers or something to chase. People are different from you. I’m glad you’ve found something you enjoy, let other people do things that they enjoy. Have a good day.
If you don’t care about numbers then this probably isn’t the website for you. And if the device isn’t something you care about, next time just move on to something else rather than complaining and wasting the writer’s time. You, a random commenter on the internet, aren’t going to change any reader’s training strategy.
If I use my fenix6 when broadcasting HR over ANT/BT the battery goes much quicker than when using my dedicated Rhythm24,
which is actually annoying because charging the fenix6 is annoying due even with the alternate charger after a year and half it’s not great…
I need accurate HR for zwift racing!
Head shot! You made my day. 🙂
Koen- Glad that your watch’s HR monitor is good enough for you. Despite everything I’ve tried, my watch’s OHR is fine when at rest- but not when running- or even hiking. It picks up my cadence, and is just way way off. I guess I have a boney wrist without good blood flow there. The arm bands work fine, and I have to wear one. Cyclists still use HR, but they train using power because they can, and it’s more accurate. But- running power isn’t yet sufficiently mature in its technology and as far as I know, swimming power doesn’t exist. So- HR is all we’ve got. Many of us structure our training based on HR, using performance manager charts and the full gambit of HR based training metrics. I had the original Scosche Rhythm+ until it died, and now use a Wahoo KICKR FIT for activities, and my Fenix’s OHR for the rest of the day. Works fine.
In that why do you visit a sports tech review website? Just curious.
I like to record the km’s I do in a year and I like to make new routes and follow them and find them back a few months later and think about how fun that ride was.
“wait for a GPS signal”, really that doesn’t really happen anymore, as soon as I press on it has signal.
“Upload my run/ride” again it’s coupled with my phone and/or wifi so I only need to press stop and save and it automagically uploads it to strava.
First of all u can’t decide that a website is for me or not (because it is, I like gadgets, I have had about 4 garmin bike units and 2 garmin watches), and as I wrote (mayeb read the whole thing next time) I do care about my data from a ride or a run but I don’t care about my daily data.
Also I’m not trying to change anyone, but u can always TRY a day without data.
Ow I have very small and boney wrists, therefor I use velcro straps (u can find them very cheap on Aliexpress, just search garmin quickfit) and they are great!
And about HR, I know straps are more accurate BUT heartrate in it self is very inaccurate so if u want to train with HR (and I know that’s still the best way for running) u should always use zone’s never a very strict number (and also listen to your body) because of this it really doesn’t matter how accurate a heartrate sensor is (if it’s not completely off).
Again read my comment fully I never said I don’t use devices or data.
And IF I wouldn’t, I could still use reviews here to see how a gps mapping/navigation is on a device for example that has nothing to do with data.
Firstly… It’s hard to tell… But my question was for ATate.
Secondly… I meant no offence, nor was I deciding that this excellent website was or was not for someone but was interested to find out what someone like ATate takes from it.
If you are in Europe – there is a european Scosche located in Denmark. link to scosche.eu
I’ve bought a couple of bands from them – i “hacked” the bands for my garmin 735xt as i was allergic to the silicone they used for the 735xt. And i’ve actually grown rather fond of that hack. It gives me really nice contact to the skin without having to tighten the band in 3-5mm increments. And i still use my rhythm+ whenever i go on the bike. For runs/hikes i’m ok with the wrist measurements of my 735.
With the Scosche Rhythm 24, i don’t think I have exceeded 12 hours of use during multiple workouts, similar to the mioPOD. That makes me wonder when the claimed battery life is 24 hours, under what condition was that tested. I can only get the mioPOD to last 24 hours without elevating my heart rate, that is, under non-workout condition.
I had the original rhythm+ and liked it. When it eventually died (had a good innings) I couldn’t get the 24 for love nor money.
I really wanted it for the promised swimming, but that never happened…
The fact that this has no HRV means it’s DOA for me. That was one of the reasons I didn’t just buy another Rhythm+
Out of curiosity, why does HRV matter here?
HRV during a workout with optical HR sensors is still iffy at best – and only really works at rest (which is when Garmin, Polar, and others leverage). Since this isn’t used at rest, it’s sorta sidestepping the issue.
Now, the one area it could matter would be if you’re trying to get accurate LTHR values from a Garmin, but that would have required a chest strap anyway.
My Garmin Fenix 3 + Rhythm24 gives me LTHR…
There are several use cases for recording HRV for some minutes in the morning while still in bed or during the day while sitting (HRV4training, Elite HRV,…).
A band like Scosche is better than a HR belt from a usability perspective because it can be used without a water tap (for making electrodes wet before measuring/washing it afterwards). And Scosche is the only manufacturer offering HRV in an optical sensor.
I got into using the HRV4 training app a while back, but it was a bit of a pain waking up and having to put on my HR strap before using it. Whereas the arm strap is a lot easier.
As I understand it, it’s also HRV that is utilised for the recovery figures on Garmin devices?
I’ve recently purchased a Fenix 6 and am following the training recommendations.
Truth be told, HRV4TRAINING works perfectly with the smartphone camera on your finger no need of a strap! That said, if I had to put on a HR strap on my chest every morning – I just wouldn’t do it!
thank you Ray for the blog post. Indeed as highlighted by others the rhythm24 works really well in HRV mode for resting measurements first thing in the morning, as shown here: link to hrv4training.com – hence a great alternative for morning assessments of physiological stress.
Another application where the sensor is really helpful is biofeedback, where you take even longer measurements as you do deep breathing exercises to strengthen the parasympathetic system (typically at least 20 minutes per day according to standard protocols). Also there we have quite a few people using the rhythm24 as for such longer measurements the camera can be less ideal (a brief intro to the topic, covering the difference between morning assessment and biofeedback is covered here if anyone is interested: link to hrv4training.com)
Real pity that this functionality is not present in the new sensor, seems a step back
I had two Rythm+ and loved their accuracy and the fact that they worked well in cold/dry weather where I would have a hard time making a chest strap work without gel.
What I did not like is that, when running in the winter with long sleeves, the armband would often get in the way and rub against the sleeve.
And because wearing an armband never felt totally natural with me, I would usually remove them as soon as I finished training. That’s how I lost both of them… probably forgetting them on the side of the track after stretching… ?
“Haptic alerts”. Surprising that manufacturer puts that into comparison chart when none of their products have it.
Do you know whether the firmware will be updateable? I have the rhythm+ and i love it. But one of the issues with this unit was, the firmware was not updateable initially. One had to send the device to them. And there were a couple of updates at the beginning (one because suunto watches were not working properly with it due to no dummy hrv being sent, and another one to improve the switch on so that the device did not got powered on accidentally after a short button press)
When/if you do the shootout, will you have a mioPOD ion there as well? You’ve mentioned it a few times, but never had a review (that I saw anyway). As for the 24, I sent that back when they never got it working on Android (at least before my return window). “Well, get a friend with an iPhone to update it for you!” was not the answer I was looking for.
I’m also waiting for the Mio Pod review, usually no review means it’s not recommended? This product doesn’t appear to have any compelling new features other than extended battery life?
The main reason I never finished the MioPod review is that the app back then didn’t allow you to export out saved workouts, rather, only allowing upload to Strava and Apple Health at the time. It made it super clumsy to do any sort of analysis.
I believe that’s been changed, I’ll have to update firmware and such and check.
@Andrew: I have the mioPOD. I bought that before purchasing the Scosche Rhythm 24. The mioPOD has a published battery life of 24 hours BUT that’s only if you’re not using it for workouts. Using it for workouts (I ride my bike on the trainer), I have not been able to get the combined battery life over multiple workouts to exceed 11 hours. I complained to Mio Lab and was told the sampling rate during a workout is higher and therefore it consumes more battery. If you are wearing the mioPOD the entire day (and/or during the night to monitor your sleep) and you’re not doing any activities that increases your heart rate to the point that the mioPOD increases its sampling rate, the battery does last over 24 hours.
Same, I got one on the promise of the swim download and it never happened – or at least it never happened before I ended up with my third unit with build quality issues and I gave up and went back to my trusty old garmin chest strap. Pretty wary of Scosche now after having three units develop cracks or other damage to the casing!
Any chance to see a forerunner 955 soon?
I’m waiting for this to come out too. making do with my 920xt until DC writes a review on this
Ray, any chance you can actually check how well the sensors work on people with different skin tone? There is a ton of emerging literature in the medical world about how pulse ox technology doesn’t work as well in darker skinned patients than lighter skinned patients (which obviously creates big patient care issues), and it would be interesting to see if the “our multiple colors make these things better” claims actually stand up.
If you’re looked into this before I apologize…
I would suspect skin tone doesn’t matter as much for HR, as it does for spO2. In spO2 you’re looking a specific measurement value in the light returned to measure Oxygen – you can easily see how transmissibility of light through skin (affected by color) would be an issue. However for HR, you just need to a difference in light – not the perfect measurement back itself. So long as the device works (light coming back), then it should be able to work across skin tones. Think of it as a difference of identifying which specific pitch a note is, versus being able to tell that two notes are different – the latter is substantially easier.
Indeed, while 3-5 years ago we saw more issue with darker skin tones and optical HR sensors – we haven’t really seen much concern since then. As K K noted, it’s a bit easier to do that than SpO2. Most companies have figured out how to solve for it, either through ancillary light colors, or increasing the brightness on their existing LED’s.
As for SpO2, honestly, when it comes to SpO2 sensors in wearables, the accuracy is incredibly variable on all skin tones. :-/
The Rhythm 24, which you didn’t like the accuracy, also used the two green one yellow leds. Since that paragraph comes directly after talking about 24 and it’s sensor and accuracy readers might think this is a new thing for the 2.0 that could improve accuracy when it is now. A reword might avoid this.
well, i get one unit, it stop working , they send me another ine and it fells from the chair and stop working, i hope they improve the shok resistace os something that should resist sport use…
I actually preferred the Rhytm+’ Velcro strap. The plastic case failed on my early 24 unit (I think the first batch they made), and needed replacing (thankfully with great support). The new one worked for a while, but eventually needed a hack (superglue to keep a pin in).
Rowing was the 24’s real Achille’s heal, however. I wound up switching to the Polar OH1 — which works quite well.
Any idea if we will ever see a optical armband HRM that has the Garmin running dynamics?
“It’s FAR easier to get accurate optical HR data away from your wrist than on your wrist.”
You might edit that one. 😉
I must admit I had to read that sentence twice, but decided it was okay as is
While technically correct, I agree it’s a bit confusing. Fixed it up!
Damn I am excited for this. My original Rhythm+ could so do with an update. And COLOURS!
Pete I’m guessing your British/Australian as you know how to spell colour. Pipe down everyone I’m just jesting. I digress they do offer coloured straps for the original +. I recently sold sealed packets of green and blue straps on the bay. They do pop up from time to time
Or you could buy one of the ultra-cheap generic versions on Amazon which are equally accurate (or inaccurate, depending on sport). I’m surprised that you’ve never looked at one of these – not all your readers can afford the latest and greatest the moment it’s released.
Generally speaking, when I’ve tried generic optical HR sensors – they’re pretty horrible. Heck, even some name brands are pretty horrible.
If you have a specific one that you’ve personally tried and find accurate, I’m happy to give one another poke. Cheers!
You just convinced me to cancel my coospo optical HR order. Ha ha
I have a Rhythm24 to use on zwift and I am pretty happy with it, I don’t care about the other features except getting HR simultaneously over BT and ANT (when i am on zwift i have my garmin recording too for backup at the same time) and it has been working well.
In the meantime, I had a wahoo tickr X that only survived a year and a Garmin HRM Tri that went to garbage after 2 years during race day.
For all the abuse I (and my son who is a keen zwifter) give to the rythm24 on Zwift it does handling it pretty well..
Their support is top notch too, great guys!
(PS: I have no affiliation to scosche just an happy cust)
I own a Rythm24, a Polar OH1 and a H10. The Rhytm24 is by far my favorite. I barely notice it, the removable band is very handy when switching from upper arm to lower arm, and it seems to go on for ever. Big fan.
Any chance of a schedule of posts for the coming week of CES announcements? My refresh button is wearing out so would be useful to know when posts will be dropping even if you can’t say what they are. I’m hoping there are at least a few more coming.
Looking at FCC it seems there might be a big one this week that will need me to upgrade from my trusty 5 plus!
No particular schedule. Everything is all kinda wonky and last minute this year, almost feels like some companies are deciding last minute (including shifting out a few weeks at the last minute).
It’s funny in that compared to past years when companies usually had to have semi-functional units on-hand at CES (or at least, behind a glass case), this year they can basically fake everything and still announce. Yet at the same time, with no real motivator, we’re seeing companies say ‘On second thought, we’ll do this in a few weeks’. I’ve got a few things in-hand that have slid already.
There’s also one or two minor things that I may hold on the initial announcement and wait till the unit arrives (also slated this week). We’ll see.
Dagnamit I need a new Fenix now!
To be fair, Garmin are sending me a replacement 5 Plus as we speak due to “Bluetooth issues” which I’m pretty sure is “firmware issues” given how many others are having the same issue with music all of a sudden. Oh well, we can but play their game.
Thanks for the update, I’ll keep adding to your clicks every 10 minutes for the next few weeks in that case
I feel like I need a primer on the advantages/disadvantages of optical vs chest strap. I have a Rythm24 which I like just fine even if it’s not as cool as promised. I also have a Garmin HRM Dual which I’m more likely to wear them the Rythm but both seem about the same for accuracy. I usually just take which ever one I haven’t misplaced the night before.
But other than optical working better in the winter, should I care?
Some people find an armband more comfortable than a chest strap. I generally use an old style hardshell Garmin chest strap, but I also have a Rhythm 24. I find both about equally as comfortable (I barely notice either). Since the Rhythm 24 insists on pretending its a cycling cadence sensor, about the only time I use it is for cross country skiing. Occasionally I’ll forget to put the chest strap on when getting ready to go out on a ride and then it’s easier to put the arm band on than to remove a bunch of clothing to get the chest strap on.
there might be several. – but I’m a “BIG” lad over my chest, so any HR Monitor on my chest simply feels incredibly annoying, and it slides down. This might not be a problem if you are “smallchested”, but for bigger guys, this is very real. Using the rhythm+ for the past 4-5 years on the upper part of my lower arm makes it so much less annoying to wear. Don’t care about accuracy – as long as it is consistently inaccurate at worst. 🙂
Options are always good :-). I prefer a chest strap for cycling and running, but find that when cross country skiing or ski touring any chest strap will slide all the way down to my stomach within 15 minutes… unless I make it so tight that it becomes uncomfortable (even sore). Once it slides down, it’s very inaccurate.
So looking with interest at this.
I had the original and it was great – when it worked.
They company gives you 3 year warranty, and during that time I had to claim warranty 4 or 5 times. At least 1 time was related to broken charger.
Once the warranty ran out, I was tempted by the 24. But after the experiences with the Rhythm+ I decided to get a Polar ohrm+. I do not love the polar battery life. Wish it would last was longer.
If this one is as accurate as the original and the charging thing is not horrible, i might get this one.
I bought a Rhythm24 when it first came out, and based on DCR’s review. I loved my original scosche and the new one had better battery life plus some other features (I liked the idea of cadence for spin class) and have used it now for 4+ years. The battery still gets almost 18 hours of use (which I tested in an ultra).
But with the Polar OH1 getting so much love I got one of those this Christmas. But I am not sure I like it any better than the Scosche. It’s smaller, so that’s nice, but the battery is only 12 hours max so the size comes at a cost.
@Brian: My Rhythm 24 is quite new but I have not been able to get the battery to last over combined 12 hours in multiple workouts in a span of about 2 weeks. I suspect the battery is being drained even when it’s not in use.
Rhythm 24 is only 3 years old. I’ve had mine since Nov 18, might have got 2 weeks out of it back then, now more like 8-10 days (so 10 hrs tops).
Sorry if this is slightly off topic, but is there an iPhone app that will show the heart rate from any BLE heart rate monitor? I used to use Wahoo Fitness for the TIKR, but that doesn’t seem to work with my Garmin HRM Dual (either that the HRM is working with ANT+ but not BLE).
I’ve owned one since these first came out because my prior Mio died right around the same time. The company was good about support when I had one of the first batch that suffered from the plastic housing breaking.
It’s been a very decent heart rate monitor. The battery life has been good and I’ve used it pretty extensively with good results.
The only negatives as most others have noted was that everything that was promised beyond heart rate has been hot garbage. I’ve tried it as a sort of cadence footpod in Zwift. It isn’t great but isn’t terrible It gives horrible cadence results for cycling in Zwift. The ability to record HR and transfer from swim never reality materialized. It has two buttons but no real means of addressing most features without accessing the phone app as far as I’ve been able to ascertain. So for example to go from HR to cycling or run sport modes requires your phone rather than a couple button pushes on a HRM that has two buttons. (It does have a triathlon mode but I’m talking about Monday riding, Tuesday running as an example)
But it has been a pretty good heart rate monitor.
One of the big problems I have with the 24 is that you can’t use it in HR only mode when cycling. The instant it pairs with an Edge or a Fenix in cycling mode it “helpfully” switches itself to cycling mode, no matter what you’ve just told it to do. You can, of course, tell your Edge to ignore it and use your real cadence sensor instead, but that takes an extra step. I’m glad to see this new one doesn’t try to be a cadence sensor. Once or twice when I was using a hotel exercise bike it was actually useful to have the Rhythm 24 act as a cadence sensor (and its big limitation, the inability to do zero cadence right, didn’t matter then), but mostly it’s just an annoyance to have that capability.
The simplest way to get rid of the annoying cadence sensor that always turns itself on in cycling mode is to initially pair the cadence sensor with your Edge.
Then once its paired, disable that cadence sensor on the Edge – it never shows up ever again.
I agree, that’s one annoying thing about the Rhythm 24. Another one is it disconnects/reconnects to all the ANT+ devices connected to it every few seconds during the initial 45 seconds right after pairing with my Edge 520/530.
@Matt: The issue is not that it shows on the Edge bike computer. The issue is the Rhythm 24 runs in cycling mode as soon as it’s paired with the Edge bike computer, and it does not matter what mode the Rhythm 24 was in prior to the pairing. To maximize battery life, Scosche suggests running it in heart rate only mode, which can only be set using the app. And guess what, as soon as it’s paired with my Edge 520/530, it switches to cycling mode.
Oh nice! I do loved my old Rhythm+, thanks to your recommendation. But it died sometime last year and now I’m using a Polar OH-whatever. Works, but I so hate the charger. I’m already at my second as I seem to have misplaced the first one somewhere.
Curious what other new stuff will be coming. Especially looking at fitness trackers/small all feature watches from Garmin and Fitbit.
I wish they would make good on the Garmin Swim pairing of HR data. I bought one and returned it immediately since this feature was not there as promised. If they could update the R24, and make good on this promised feature, the would own the market. This should be easy to do.
Same… except I decided to wait until the feature was there to purchase… because I’m “older and wiser” (or mistrusting) and don’t trust empty promises.
Shame they never went through with it
To be fair I never really much liked the Rythm+ and I never found comfortable wearing a non-elastic band!
I own the rhythm24, as soon as I switched to it from a wrist optical and chest strap I never looked back. I bought it for the HRV feature over polar but I never even use the feature. It’s a great upper arm optical. I’ve had mine since Nov 2018, for me I charge it whenever it gives me the low battery notification which generally is every 8-10 days.
I am wary to buy a product from Scosche again. They didn’t reply emails when my Rhythm plus started to have a cadence lock. Only with the introduction of the Rhythm24 here on this channel the Scosche customer service was suddenly present here in the comments since. I have the Polar OH1 and the Wahoo Kickr fit now, and for me the Wahoo is the best successor of the Rhythm plus
Guys,
do you know what happened with wahoo tickr? All wahoo tickr producst are unavailable…. I wanted to buy just the tickr, but its just sold out everywhere. What is going on?
Something that combined the features of this and a Whoop strap, without the monthly fee, would be killer
Wonder if it has the hardware to do blood pressure as they come with updated hardware link to valencell.com
Ray, is there any way to test or find out the distance these optical bands transmit over ant+?
I just got a headwind and it had a hard time finding my oh1 then dropped out 3 times in an hour.
I’m off to test again shortly but wondered if this kind of thing was published?
I can look at signal strength using RSSI. Though, I’ve never seen dropouts with the OH1 and signal.
And in the case of the Headwind, I’d certainly assume that’s closer than the Apple TV I use (which is behind the TV double the distance of my fan).
Typically speaking though, ANT+ connections are often tens of meters in clear line of sight. Bluetooth not terribly different. Of course, indoors it gets questionable quick with signal interference, reflections, etc…
Hi Ray – any idea when this will be available to the public? I suddenly find myself in the market and as an original Rhythm+ owner would love to try to the 2.0.
Can you download data from the strap when offline (via Bluetooth) or is it all cloud-based?
For the Rhythm+ 2.0 – there’s no storage on the device itself. So in that sense it’s basically just like any other HR sensor/strap.
The 24 hour autonomy is verified? It is a big criterion of choice for me, I find the autonomy of my polar OH1 insufficient (i think max 10h)…
Any update on this or the optical HR roundup promised Ray? I think my Rythm+ is on its way out so I’ll need a replacement at some point.
Do any optical bands allow more than one Bluetooth connection do you know? I want to connect to Apple TV and phone.
Thanks
He said in another thread that the new Rhythm isn’t even shipping yet and doesn’t have final firmware, so that’s probably at least one thing blocking the shoot out.
Indeed. I have been using it though, and you’ll find the data in various recent reviews, including the Enduro one yesterday. You’ll also find Mio Pod & Sense data in there as well.
I’ll probably drop another review in the coming days with more Scosche data too.
Once I get confirmation that the R2 is ready to ship, I’ll validate if it’s final firmware or not, and then go forth.
Thanks ! any update on availability?
March 15th – same day my review will drop.
Have you had a chance to have a hands on with the new Scosche + 2.0?
Yup, review coming up Monday, the 15th, their ship-date (unless said ship date slips).
Is there an app that connects with the Rythm + 2.0 that can track your heart beat without recording data? I had the Samsung Gear Fit 2 and that tracked my heart beat when I was active, without myself recording the data and heartbeat at the moment.