Questions about Polar s-725

rule62

I have the s725 and am loving it. I collect information on a Latitude using its integrated IrDA with no problems, and use the Polar USB IrDA interface on another XP Pro desktop system with no issues.

Only thought so far is that I may actually like the style T31 transmitter better than the new flexible WearLink version. That's not a big deal though, just a bit of personal preference.

Otherwise, I am gathering and using both speed and cadence data. Down the road, like maybe if Santa brings it to me, I could see getting the Power Output sensor as well. The Precision Performance software is pretty easy to use and provides all the information that I would want. The graphs are terrific and have helped me a lot when I come back to the computer and analyze my ride.

Hope this helps.

serottarider-ny

Don't do it if you need accurate data. I am about to send mine back to the vendor because it is too inaccurate to use as a coaching tool. If you just want a general idea of how much you did that day the Polar is fine.

For example my coach had me do 4 intervals the other day for power testing. 3 of them were done on a very slight grade with brisk winds. #1 and #3 were down the grade with the wind (27-28 mph) and I was putting out some good wattage. #2 (same road, other direction) was into the wind and up the slight grade (about 17-18 mph) with significantly lower wattage! Heart rate was about the same for all if the intervals.

One other thing to consider is that it is very difficult to install. One problem that I had was that it was impossible to install within their spec. I run a 12-27 most of the time due to my high cadence training and the local hills. The chain has to stay between 10-30 mm of the sensor. If you use more than a 32 or so it won't be in that range. In my test above the chain was running in that range.

Just yesterday I was putting out almost 250 watts soft pedaling down a hill and 275 going up a steepr one! It seems that it has problems at higher speeds. I would highly recommend looking into the Power Tap if the purchase is performance driven. The only thing missing there is the altitude but it nice that with an extra $60 sensor you can move it easily between bikes. I also takes data samples more frequently which helps with accuracy also.


I like my s725 for everything else but just a friendly caution on the Power option. Good luck!