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File:Stryd Comparison (2).jpg|Looking sideways you can see the Stryd and Garmin Footpods have similar openings for shoe laces.
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=Testing Running PowerEstimate=
It's important to realize that Stryd is not a [[Running Power Meters| Power Meter]] in the way that cyclists have power meters. Stryd does not measure power in direct, absolute terms, but creates a mathematical estimation based on running pace and incline (and possibly other factors.) This means that you can't easily use Stryd to evaluate improvements in running form or [[Running Economy]], though looking at the power estimate against heart rate might give some interesting insights. However, I've found Stryd's power estimate to be quite useful in the real world. It allows for far more accurate pacing over undulating terrain than pace or heart rate. It can be a bit of a shock to see just how slow you have to go uphill to maintain an even effort! Earlier versions of the Stryd firmware tended to dramatically underestimate the effort of running downhill, but as of 1.1.2, the estimate seems far better. The graphs below are showing my runs up and down a local hill. It's not a very long Hill, but it is fairly steep, averaging 6% with sections nearer 10%. In these tests, I'm aiming to keep an even effort based on the Stryd power estimate. You can see that not only is the Stryd power estimate reasonably stable, but so is my heart rate, indicating that the Stryd estimate is doing a remarkably good job across dramatically different inclines. Though this is still a modeled, estimated power intensity, it's far better than anything else available to us and is good enough for real world usage. If you need to accurately pace yourself on undulating terrain (Boston marathon anyone?) Then I'd heartily recommend using Stryd. Of course, you'll need to work out what your estimated power level should be in order to match your target race time, and this is something you'll have to do by trial and error. Simply run a course of the mirrors the race terrain and compare your average pace to your target pace. If you're too slow then your power target will need to be a little higher, and vice versa.
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I've found Stryd to be particularly useful in [[High Intensity Interval Training]], especially when using the [[Polar V800]] that has a native power support. With the V800, I can set the watch to display the maximum power for the current lap, which gives me a far better idea of how hard I'm pushing it on each interval than is possible any other way. You can see in the graph below that in short HIIT intervals the heart rate is a lagging behind power estimate, and my heart rate is still rising after I've slowed up.
[[File:StrydHIIT.jpg|center|thumb|400px|A HIIT interval from my [[Katana Run]] workout.]]
==Statistical Analysis of Power Estimate==
I've not performed any statistical analysis of Stryd's power estimate, mostly because I can't work out a reasonable way of doing this. Ideally, I'd be able to compare Stryd's power estimate with VO2 measurements from respiratory gas exchange, but I don't have the equipment, nor is it likely to be practical. The approach I've used above is to compare Stryd's power estimate with heart rate, but while heart rate is a well-established method of measuring exercise intensity, it's flaws (as noted in detail below) me know that he can only be used for relatively short periods of steady state exercise. (I'm hoping that someone will come up with a portable VO2 meter that will measure oxygen and carbon dioxide in your breath.)
==Stryd Power Estimate or Heart Rate?==
The use of heart rate for training has been established for many years, and heart rate based training has some useful advantages, as well as some significant shortcomings. I think the Stryd estimate of power output overcome some, but not all of the issues with heart rate based training. Personally, I don't see this type of power estimate completely replacing heart rate based training, only augmenting it.
{{:Stryd-Modes-table}}
==Watch Specifics==
Here's a mapping of the modes above to specific watches. In all cases, I've prioritized accurate pace/distance information over either GPS data or the power estimate. I've put the detailed notes of how to pair Stryd with specific watches and how well they work at the bottom of this page.
{{:Stryd-Watches-table}}
==Bluetooth or Ant+==
Stryd supports both Bluetooth and Ant+, and both work well. Bluetooth has the limitation that you can only have one receiver talking to Stryd at a time, so you can't have it linked to two different watches simultaneously, or to a watch and your smart phone at the same time. (I have had occasions where the Stryd has stayed linked to my smart phone, so I've had to turn off Bluetooth on my phone to allow Stryd to link to a watch.) With Ant+ you can have as many watches linked simultaneously, and it's possible to have Stryd linked to both one Bluetooth watch and several Ant+ watches at the same time. If you're using Garmin [[Connect IQ]], you can have Stryd work as both a standard Footpod and connected via the Connect IQ data field.
[[File:Stryd And Ultratrac.jpg|center|thumb|200px|Here's the GPS track, and hopefully you can see the straight lines that you get when the watch is in UltraTrac mode and only checking GPS infrequently. On the way back I had normal GPS mode.]]
=Calibrating Stryd=
Most devices that support Stryd as a Footpod will allow for calibration. I would strongly recommend that you don't attempt to calibrate Stryd as it's so accurate, I think you're unlikely to make things better rather than worse. =Using Stryd With Your Watch=Here's my notes on the compatibility testing I've done so far. I've had occasional issues with devices connecting to Stryd at the beginning of a run. I've not found any pattern to this, and it seems to impact both Bluetooth and Ant+ devices, so make sure you have a connection before starting your run. I've also occasionally forgotten to turn off auto-calibrate, which is another gotcha. {{:Stryd-Watches-table}}* [[Garmin Fenix 3]], [[Garmin Fenix 5X]], [[Garmin Epix]]** Pair as a normal footpod. Settings -> sensors -> add new -> footpod. Under the sensor, set speed=always, distance=always, calibration -> auto calibrate disabled. (There's a full description of the process for the F5X on the review page.) ** These watches have the best Stryd support, but note that Garmin has abandoned the Epix, so there's no firmware updates. ** The [[Connect IQ]] data field gives power display, and it records all the other Stryd data like Ground Contact time. ** Pair the Fenix 5X via Ant+, not Bluetooth for the Connect IQ to work. ** You can set the speed and distance to always come from the footpod so you still get GPS. This is obviously important for navigation and the mapping features of the 5X and Epix are key reasons for buying those watches.** These watches support Stryd for cycling power, but I wouldn't use that unless you want alerts for power being out of range. ** I found some smoothing and rounding of the pace data, but not much.** Occasionally I'll find the watch won't detect the Stryd at the start of the run. In those situations, I have to go into settings, sensors, Stryd, and select "connect", which time the watch connects fine and the connection persists when I go back to start the activity.** Note there are credible reports that the Fenix 5 and 5S (but not the 5X) have Ant+ connectivity issues. I'd recommend connecting them as Bluetooth Footpods, which means you will not get the Connect IQ support. * [[Polar V800]], [[Polar M400]], [[Polar M430]]** Pair as a normal footpod. Settings -> General Settings -> Pair and Sync -> Pair Other Device -> select Stryd. Then go to Settings -> Sports profiles -> Running -> Stride Sensor. Calibration=manual, factor = 1.0, sensor for speed=Stride Sensor. ** Remember this is using Bluetooth, so if you have a problem it might be because the Stryd is still linked to your phone.** You can set the M400/M430/V800 to give distance and pace from footpod, while recording GPS tracks. The menu just says "speed source" but it sets distance as well. The menu talks about "stride sensor" as that's what the Polar footpod is called. ** There's less smoothing of pace in these watches compared with others, so the display is nicely responsive. (I know from alpha testing other devices that the M400 actually has pretty much no smoothing at all.)** For the M400/M430 you have to choose between cadence and power display, and as this is Bluetooth, you get 210 watts displayed as a cadence of 21. This feature may get removed in the future. There's no cycling power support in the M400/M430, or other native power pod support.** For the V800 there is native support for Stryd as a power device. You don't need to pair Stryd as two separate devices (foot pod & power pod), just pair once. * [[Garmin 920XT]], [[Garmin Vivoactive]], [[Garmin Vivoactive HR]], [[Garmin 235]]** Pair as a normal footpod. *** 920XT: Settings -> sensors -> add new -> footpod. Under the sensor, set speed=always, calibration factor -> auto calibrate disabled, factor=100.0. ** Connect IQ gives power display, and it records all the other Stryd data like Ground Contact time.** You can't get distance from Stryd with GPS active, which means you have to run in indoor/treadmill mode. (The 920XT/235 can have pace from Stryd with GPS, but not distance).* [[Garmin Fenix 2]]** Pair as a normal footpod. ** Set the "Foot Pod Speed" to "Always On". I expected this to just provided pace from Stryd, but it actually does distance as well. The GPS track is recorded normally and navigation functions are enabled. ** You have to choose between cadence and power display. (Power-in-cadence requires the iOS Stryd app and this feature may be removed in the future.) * [[Suunto Ambit3]] (all models), [[Suunto Ambit2| Suunto Ambit2 R]] ** Pair as a normal footpod (don't pair as a bike power pod if you're using a higher end Ambit). ** You have to ensure that the sports mode you're using is set to use a footpod. If you don't see the Ambit3 search for a footpod when you start the exercise, you need to change the configuration on the Suunto web site. (I've tested the Ambit3 Run/Ambit2 R versions.)** With the Ambit3, you need to disable auto-calibration, and the menu is a little hidden. Pair your Stryd, then hit the start button, select "exercise", then choose an exercise that uses a footpod. Ensure that the Ambit3 has found your Stryd, then press and hold the Next button to bring up the Activate menu. If you have a footpod active, there will be an option for disabling auto calibration. ** If a footpod is found, the Ambit3 & Ambit2 will get pace and distance from the footpod and override the GPS data. (This means you can use the Ambit2/3 in the lowest GPS accuracy mode to extend battery life while getting accurate pace & distance from Stryd.) ** You have to choose between cadence and power display. For the Ambit3 (Bluetooth), you get 210 watts displayed as a cadence of 21. The Ambit2 (Ant+) is rather unusual in that it will halve the value of the power, so 210 watts will be displayed as 105. (Power-in-cadence requires the iOS Stryd app and this feature may be removed in the future.)** If you follow the Stryd instructions for the Ambit3 you'll get power but won't get pace/distance from Stryd. The only way to get power is from "power-in-cadence" as noted above. ** The Ambit3 & Ambit2 both do quite a bit of smoothing of pace information, so it's not quite as quick to respond as other some other watches. ** With the higher end Ambit 2/3 (above "Run" models) you can use the Stryd in bike mode and get the power estimate that way. However, I strongly believe that accurate pace and distance is vastly more useful than an estimate of power, so even the higher end watches should be used in run mode with power in cadence. * Ambit2/Ambit2 Sport** These two watches can support Stryd as both power pod and foot pod at the same time. (You can't do this with the higher end Ambit3 watches as the Bluetooth protocol only allows one connection.) ** Pair as a normal footpod then pair again as a bike power pod. ** You have to ensure that the sports mode you're using is set to use a footpod and the power pod. If you don't see the search for a footpod and/or power pod when you start the exercise, you need to change the configuration on the Suunto web site. ** If a footpod is found, the Ambit2 will get pace and distance from the footpod and override the GPS data. As above, you can use the Ambit2 in the lowest GPS accuracy mode to extend battery life while getting accurate pace & distance from Stryd. ** The Ambit2 does quite a bit of smoothing of pace information, so it's not quite as quick to respond as other some other watches. * [[Suunto Spartan Ultra]]** To pair, scroll up to settings, select connectivity, select pair sensor, select Pair Foot POD, pair to Stryd. ** Ensure you are using a sports mode that has the footpod enabled. ** If you want to see power, you have to set the Stryd to use "Power In Cadence" on the iOS app. This feature is not supported in the android app, and Stryd have said they will remove the feature in the future.** Like the other Suunto devices, there's quite a bit of dampening that reduces responsiveness. ** * [[Garmin 620]], [[Garmin 225]], [[Garmin 610]], [[Garmin 910XT]], [[Garmin 310XT]]** Pair Stryd as a normal footpod.** You can't get distance from Stryd with GPS active, which means you have to run in indoor/treadmill mode.** You have to choose between cadence and power display. (Power-in-cadence requires the iOS Stryd app and this feature may be removed in the future.)* [[Leikr]]. I could not get the Stryd to work with the Leikr. * Smartphone apps. The Strava app won't take pace/distance from Stryd.
