Yep, currently use Strava App on my phone.
I would like to see my HR whilst riding as well as then uploading to Strava (for post ride analysis).
I’ll have a look if a ANT+ adapter for my phone is available.
What’s an optical HR monitor?
I find that using my phone for Strava is very heavy on battery life and I prefer having the phone for emergencies (or checking the cricket score when at the cafe 😀 )
The newer Garmin units let you chose what data you want to see on screen, you can have different screens for different bikes (called profiles in Garmin speak) so I have one for MTB, road bike, commuter, etc. You can also have activity profiles so if I’m doing a HR zone ride I just have HR and cadence showing – the device beeps at me if I stray out of the predefined limits; for mountain biking I have an activity profile with auto-pause turned off; etc.
Something like this http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/garmin-edge-510-hrm-performance-bundle/rp-prod95984?gclid=CKf3tZLIhMMCFQPHtAodjy4Ahw&gclsrc=aw.ds has everything you need.
An optical HRM is one that uses a small LED aimed at your skin and detects changes in what’s reflected back rather than “traditional” ones that rely on picking up the electrical pulses that trigger each heart beat.