Calibre Biometrics

My experiences with the Calibre Biometric Tracker (regular VO2Max and FatMax testing)

10 months ago (edited)

I ordered the Calibre Biometric Tracker (US) from Germany and will receive it today (shipment duration approx 10-12 days with default Fedex shipment option). My goal is to analyze VO2Max and FatMax in the context of cycling on a regular basis. If any of you are interested in the device, feel free to ask questions or comment on your experiences here.

By the way, ordering directly from Calibre Biometric (US) was easy, but keep in mind that you will have to pay additional import duties and processing fees. For me, that was 102.29 EUR. But still a fair investment compared to VO2Master or similar devices. I am looking forward to my first test sessions.

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· 10 months ago

€443,95 EUR + 100 EUR + in fees sounds a lot but FatMax and RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate Protocol) are special and maybe worth the money... I´d love to have a good VO2Max Tracker that i can wear all the time... What do you all think about the Apple Watch VO2Max Tracking quality?

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· 10 months ago

@andy O2Max numbers from smartwatches are only "calculated" base on heart rate (and performance metrics, e.g. power measurement on the roadbike). If you want real numbers you must use a device based on respiratory gas analysis.

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· 10 months ago

@brgmn

Curious to hear how satisfied you are with it! It would be great to compare it against a proper spiroergometry test at some point to gauge its accuracy.

I did one on an ergometer at years.co two weeks ago, but to be honest, it wasn’t the best experience given my current training routine. I usually lift heavy weights twice a week and do 2x Zone 2 and 1x VO2max interval run per week, so using a bike felt quite off. My legs got sore quickly since the stimulus was very different from my usual training, mostly targeting my lower body.

In Germany, a lab-based spiroergometry usually costs around €199–259. So if the device turns out to be within 3–5% accuracy of that, it would still be a really solid value.

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· 8 months ago

UPDATE: What I discovered in my testing with the Calibre Bio:

  1. The device must be charged at least 30min before you can use it. This warms up the oxygen sensor. Without that the device doesn't get ready to measure correctly.

  2. The calibre bio device is really sensitive to external air sources. You can't even use a fan when doing VO2max tests on your indoor bike and it won't work outdoors.

  3. The power button feals too cheap/plastic. It's really hard to find out if you put off the device correctly.

But besides that downsides: the measuring just works and I really like the possibility to check my VO2Max and FatMax based on the live measuring in the calibre bio app. Really cool!

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· 8 months ago

Updated my Calibre Bio to the new 2.0 firmware. Upgrade was easy and fast. Don't know if it has something todo with the firmware but my battery issues are gone (device did not show more than 30% battery even when charged for ours).

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· 8 months ago

Ahh. This is cool! You can export your calibre bio sessions as csv and let ChatGPT build graphs (e.g. my short indoor bike session test this morning). I'll try to combine my Garmin Edge data with the data from the Calibre bio based on the heartrate next. Stay tuned.

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· 5 months ago (edited)

UPDATE after some weeks of testing: Calibre Bio is really great when you get used to it. I use it regularly now to measure my FatMax and VO2Max (separate things and testing sessions). Here's my fatmax testing workflow:

- Eat normal the day before. Stop eating 14 hours before the test in the next morning.
- Start charging your Calibre Bio device (non accelerated USB-C charger)
- Calibre Bio with Polar H10 attached (heart rate is important to get the sync with garmin performance data later)
- Garmin Edge, Garmin vector watt measure pedals, Garmin Forerunner 965 (for heartrate in the garmin session)
- 14h hours after stop eating - e.g. at 08:00 in the next morning: Push Calibre Bio button for 10 seconds to initiate the calibration/warmup
- At least 30min later: Start your FatMax protocol from the Calibre Bio website
- Export your Calibre Bio Session as csv
- Export your Garmin Session as tcx
- Let Chatgpt sync and analyze the files by using the heartrate as sync values.

See the screenshot attached for details (didn't follow the protocoll exactly but just did a slow ride on my indoor bike to find out my fatmax)

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· 5 months ago (edited)

Hey @brgmn thanks a lot for your in detail report! I bought the Lactolevel last year and made a video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBwu-EAKsno&t=6s

Unfortunately the company doesn't exist anymore. It looks like Calibre had a better market fit. Based on what you write it feels quite similar to the Lactolevel. It's not easy to use. Only after some sessions you are familiar with the device.

I compared my Whoop, Garmin and the Lactolevel VO2Max. All three were similar (+-2).

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