Heart Rate monitor or not?? - Page 6

Polar 150. Does all I need it to do (on me and for my rides). Measures MPH, distance, lap time, and has exercise sets so I can determine max heart rate, percentage of same (for my threshold), but stops short of telling me how many calories I burn. I think that is with the 720i... anyway, didn't cost me an arm and a leg, and works (which is the litmus test of good gear for me).

Got it on my bike for the rides, and also used the watch and heart rate monitor in spinning classes (when the weather is @#$R and also during my three weekly spin classes). Only pain is the contact points from the watch to the bike-monitor.... have to REALLY cinch it down otherwise it resets all the time.

And if ANYONE out there knows how to reset the bloody distance biked setting, please do tell.

D

Does not have computer download capacity, which is why I bought the 725.

__________________
The greater the knowledge, the greater the doubt.

Yeah,

Polar S150 doesn't have the computer d/l capacity.... but it also costs significantly less, and I just threw down $3500 for my bike and accessories, so I am kinda watching more expenses. Probably will get a computer-capable heart rate monitor in about 6 months...

Dave

I went the other way around. I bought a more “value” oriented bike (with full Ultegra) so that I might purchase equipment, clothing and the like. I am one of those "come back to the sport types" after a 20 year stint of non-cycling.

I some times wish I had taken your route instead.

__________________
The greater the knowledge, the greater the doubt.

I have a Sigma PC14 as well and it's been excellent for keeping me motivated, especially when on a trainer. It was relatively cheap (about $150) as well and seems to have features that would cost you a lot more in the polar range. My Sigma cycle computers have all run really well too - BC1200 (no cadence) and BC1600 (cadence) and were well priced.

Sigma PC-3 is still going strong here after almost 2 years and 8K miles. It's basic, no alarms or averages, but dead simple to use....and cheap. My old HRM had alarm settings, but found I rarely used them. With the PC-3 on the handlebar of the bike, it's very easy to read at a glance, so I don't miss the alarm at all.

The "averaging" feature would be nice; as well as time spent above a settable threshold. Currently I just write down my guess at the average and max HRs for my ride, or if it's a hard ride, I estimate and record time spent over 85 or 90%.

I will be switching to the cyclesport HAC4 because:

Dear Mr. Hulme,

Thank you for your email. We apologize for the delay in responding to
your message, we are experiencing a high volume of inquiries at this
time.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused.

The S725 does not have the autostart feature.

We do not have a monitor with both autostart start and ascent feature.

If you need further assistance please feel free to contact Customer
Service
at 800-227-1314 or 516-364-0400.

Thank you for choosing Polar.

I don't think the hac4 has autostart either - i always have to hit the button to get it to start reading. Perhaps there's a setting somewhere I don't know about.

From their website it is listed (see below).
So, I hope it has it. (But you never know)
How do you like it (HAC4) has it worked well for you over time ?
Thanks
G


Altimeter (barometric)
- Current height
- Home altitude storage
- Daily altimeters (cumulative st)
- Total altimeter (cumulative st)
- Maximum daily altitude
- Current rise / speed (m / min)
- Average rise / speed (m / min)
- Maximum rise / speed (m /min)
- Number of runs resp. ascents
and descents

Bike computer
- Current speed
- Average speed
- Maximum speed
- Auto. Start / Stop
- Daily kilometres (adjustable)
- Total kilometres
- Daily riding time
- Total riding time
- Time/distance comparison (sec.)
- Current rise / descent (%)
- Average rise / descent (%)
- Maximum rise / descent (%)
- Actual performance (Watt)
- Average performance (Watt)
- Maximum performance (Watt)
- Option for Cadence Kit

All in all I love the HAC 4. I've had a few problems with one of mine with the heart rate sensor, but I was able to fix it by opening it up and messing around inside (I think the mountain bike was too much vibration for it). The features are great, especially the recording features, as you can compare your performances with past rides. It's an outstanding training tool - make sure you get the computer interface kit. I haven't noticed the autostart feature, but then again I've never looked because I always want to start the recording features at the beginning of the ride, which starts all the sensors as well. The cadence feature is good, but you need to run a wire to the chain stay, which is kind of bogus, so I took it off.

The only other complaint I have about it is that the main heart rate display shows "--" when the HR goes above 200, which is quite frequent for me, and very irritating. The power estimating feature is worthless, but you'd expect that because it is just guessing based on your weight, speed, incline, etc. The altimeter and thermometer features are great.

Sigma Sport PC14 - great little watch for a decent price.

Polar 720i that i download to the pc. Hoping to add a PT SL this winter.

Yes, it's an old "SuperGo" bike shop product. Just had to replace the battery in the bike module, the heart monitor is still ticking but it will need a battery soon too.

I use it to monitor my effort level on solo rides, so I can keep my heart rate where I want it for the given ride. 160-170 for hard days, 150-160 for long ride days. I also use it to guage when to drop off the back of the fast pace group and find my own pace for the rest of the ride on group days (170+ and I'm off the back).

This is an old thread, so forgive me if this is a bit out of date, but I believe that with the S725X that no auto start/auto stop refers to the stop watch function but that average mph for a ride excludes "zero" mph values. Happy to be corrected if I'm off base.

I've used a Polar 720i for a few years now and I'm still very satisfied with it. I have only two negatives for it: it doesn't have a 'current ridden km's' and the battery must be changed in an official store.
The first one isn't a real problem as I myself don't look at the km's but the hours and I can see the km's on my computer when I upload the ride to it.
And actually the battery change isn't actually a problem as I had to change it for the first time in two years a few weeks ago. (cost 15€) And still if you don't change the battery at an official dealer you just void the warranty which I think is shorter than the battery life

I was going for either a HAC4-cycling computer or this one and even though I don't know if I made the better choice I know I got a good HRM.

Overall I find a HRM a good training companion and to the the people complaining that it fluctuates greatly based on temp., fatigue, etc. I say that you shouldn't really follow just your HRM in training but use it more as a guideline.

__________________
It never gets easier, you just go faster
Oton ATK Sandisk Mp3-soittimet ja Koss kuulokkeet