polar power unit installation

[mdplayer]

Does anyone know of someone who can "professionally install the polar power kit" looking at the comments it seems pretty damn hard. Someone in Victoria, Australia.

I must say that I was rather concerned on the install job as well, but just watch the video first, it gives you a really good idea on how it is done and how to route the wires (in manual that comes with ths unit is usless). The key to the install is getting the main unit at the right level (between 5mm and 10mm I think)....other than that...piece of cake

 

[gavinb]

voila ! it fixed the problem. i had assumed that since it was almost 1 year newer than my other unit that the battery could NOT have been the problem. i was wrong and could have saved weeks of fiddling around by spending $4 - $5 on a new battery.

I seem to need a new battery every month on average! 60-70hours or riding time. Is this normal?

 

[shootek]

Could someone please give the link for the instalation. I was trying to instal the unit for 1 hour but found out that:

If i try to put the middle on the unit on the middle of the chain stay I can't shift to the small ring front (I have Ultegra 6603).

I cannot put the candence sensor close enugh using the suplied rubers. Will have to make something custom tommorow.

tnx
SHooTEK

 

[Woofer]

Could someone please give the link for the instalation. I was trying to instal the unit for 1 hour but found out that:

If i try to put the middle on the unit on the middle of the chain stay I can't shift to the small ring front (I have Ultegra 6603).

I cannot put the candence sensor close enugh using the suplied rubers. Will have to make something custom tommorow.

tnx
SHooTEK

http://www.polarusa.com/consumer/powerkit/installvideo.asp

I found the cadence magnet a weakling and replaced it with a rare earth magnet I got on EBay. Radioshack has smaller ones that are more powerful than the Polar cadence magnet as well.

 

[squidwranglr]

If i try to put the middle on the unit on the middle of the chain stay I can't shift to the small ring front (I have Ultegra 6603).

Install the power sensor (the main unit) so that the front derailleur just clears the unit (and the wires that come out of it) when it moves to the smallest chainring. Then line up the cadence magnet on the crank with the mark on the power sensor (and, as another posted pointed out, you may want to get a rare earth magnet from Radio Shack or the like).

The most important thing is to get the vertical spacing between the sensor and the chain as close as possible. The chain should essentially be rubbing on the surface of the sensor in the small chainring/small hub combination. Take the time to get that right. Also make sure that the chain crosses directly above the section of the sensor right by the "red circle" of the Polar logo and the midpoint mark in as much of your useful chainring/hub combinations.

Here are some useful links (in case you missed them from earlier in the thread):

http://www.polar.fi/polar/channels/...LiftupAttachment/Power_installation_quide.pdf
http://web.archive.org/web/20030422.../rechung/wattage/installation/s710photos.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20030609112142/mywebpage.netscape.com/rechung/wattage/

Good luck!

Berend

 

[czigmond]

what did you find out?

[email protected]

If you have been reading or even care, I started a thread about power units, polar vs the others. I went with the polar unit mostly on cost and the fact that I could be the test rabbit for my shop (being we sold both SRM and the power tap to customers). So I installed it as close to instructions as possible, but there was a little problem that arose. I put the power sensor 7 mm lower than the chain (instructions say between 5mm and 10mm). The problem is, when ever I am in the small chainring in the front and the 3 or 4 smallest cogs in the rear (I use campy record 10spd) the chain rubs on the unit. Is this normal? I am just concerned that it might wear marks in the unit. I put a brand new chain on the bike so chain stretch isnt a problem and everything works perfectly (all sensors read fine), I just didn't think that the chain should touch the sensor due to the magnet pulling it there.

A quick point may be made that the bike has only been in a mechanics stand and not on the ground yet (being its -5 F here in Maine and im not going out in that).

I will be calling polar or emailing them tomorrow, depending on my repair schedule at my bike shop, but I was just curious if anyone out there had this problem and what was done about it....This is the first polar unit we installed and I want everything done properly incase there is another customer who would want one.

Thanks
Mike

 

[mdplayer]

what did you find out?

[email protected]

as far as the wear marks, I put about 4 or 5 zip ties over the entire unit so the chain wont actually touch the unit, it just rubs on the zip ties. I put that unit on back in the winter and with 3000ish miles on it i havent broken one zip tie yet. once there is pressure on the chain from pedaling, there isnt much of a problem
However, the problem i have it the magnet that comes with the unit for cadence sucks. It is the worst setup i have seen to date. They should have made a better system for that. I regularly have to move the magnet so it work....currently i am in search of a different system. ill let you know if i ever find anything

Thanks

 

[Woofer]

as far as the wear marks, I put about 4 or 5 zip ties over the entire unit so the chain wont actually touch the unit, it just rubs on the zip ties. I put that unit on back in the winter and with 3000ish miles on it i havent broken one zip tie yet. once there is pressure on the chain from pedaling, there isnt much of a problem
However, the problem i have it the magnet that comes with the unit for cadence sucks. It is the worst setup i have seen to date. They should have made a better system for that. I regularly have to move the magnet so it work....currently i am in search of a different system. ill let you know if i ever find anything

Thanks

The crank magnet is so weak it has to be very close to the sensor. If you put a strong magnet on there it will attract the chain or pick up the chain while pedaling if the magnet is offset by much from the crank. I was able to glue a rare earth magnet on my crank arm and cover it with electrical tape for better results.

 

[rltaylor]

Could someone please give the link for the instalation. I was trying to instal the unit for 1 hour but found out that:

If i try to put the middle on the unit on the middle of the chain stay I can't shift to the small ring front (I have Ultegra 6603).

I cannot put the candence sensor close enugh using the suplied rubers. Will have to make something custom tommorow.

tnx
SHooTEK

I am having the identical problem installing my polar power sensor and cadence magnet on my bike with Ultegra 6603. Had you found a good solution?

BobT

 

[Woofer]

I am having the identical problem installing my polar power sensor and cadence magnet on my bike with Ultegra 6603. Had you found a good solution?

BobT

I cut up some old inner tubes and made enough material to build a *stack* that would put the Polar cadence magnet right on top of the sensor. Then it hit the chain. Doh.

 

[rltaylor]

I cut up some old inner tubes and made enough material to build a *stack* that would put the Polar cadence magnet right on top of the sensor. Then it hit the chain. Doh.

Here is a thread a started on rec.bicycles.tech
>>
>> BobT wrote:
>> I'm having difficulty installing my Polar power sensor.
>>

>> "Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>> Probably don't want to hear this but get a refund and get a Powertap
>> Pro rear wheel. More accurate, easier to set up, all around a better
>> system that relies on chain frequency.

Thanks, but you are right, I didn't want to hear that. In fact, I would love to have a Powertap Pro (or SRM for that matter) but I paid $250.00 for my Polar unit compared to $900.00 plus a wheel build. Based on head-to-head comparisons I've seen on the web, I'm hoping to get reasonable results with this much less expensive product.

"JayofMontreal" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> There is no rule with regards to the mounting of the magnet, nor what
> magnet to use. Try a rare earth magnet. They are very powerful and you can
> mount it quite a distance from the pickup and still get a reading.
>

I tried using several rare earth magnets I purchased from Radio Shack to no avail. The problem is that the chainstay is 4 cm from the inside of the crankarm where the cadence sensor needs to be. If I mount the power / cadence sensor on top of and parallel to the chain stay, I'm going to need a really strong magnet. In fact, when I put 4 of the 1/8" Radio Shack rare earth magnets in place, they pulled the chain against the crankarm magnets but didn't trigger the cadence sensor.

I have reached a solution that I will post here for others who might have this problem in the future. For the shape of my chainstay and my chainline (Onix Orbea, Shimano Ultegra 10-speed triple), I need to mount the power / cadence sensor at an angle to the chainstay with the front of the sensor outboard. I made a spacer that I zip-tied to the outside of the front of the chainstay. I then zip-tied the front of the sensor to the top of the spacer positioning the front of the sensor much closer to the crankarm. I think one could make a spacer to move the front or back of the sensor up or down or inboard or outboard.

I made the spacer out of wood. Plastic like Nylon or Delrin might be better but I couldn't find any locally. First, I measured how much above the top and how much outboard of the outside of the chainstay I needed to position the sensor. I used a contour gage to transfer the shape of the chainstay to a small block of wood. I then used a Dremel tool to shape the inboard side of the wood to fit the chainstay. I then shaped the upper outboard part of the block to fit the sensor at the correct position. I cut a shallow channel for the zip tie. I finished the wood to protect it from the elements. Now the system works!

BobT

 

[Woofer]

Here is a thread a started on rec.bicycles.tech
>>
>> BobT wrote:
>> I'm having difficulty installing my Polar power sensor.
>>

>> "Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>> Probably don't want to hear this but get a refund and get a Powertap
>> Pro rear wheel. More accurate, easier to set up, all around a better
>> system that relies on chain frequency.

Thanks, but you are right, I didn't want to hear that. In fact, I would love to have a Powertap Pro (or SRM for that matter) but I paid $250.00 for my Polar unit compared to $900.00 plus a wheel build. Based on head-to-head comparisons I've seen on the web, I'm hoping to get reasonable results with this much less expensive product.

"JayofMontreal" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> There is no rule with regards to the mounting of the magnet, nor what
> magnet to use. Try a rare earth magnet. They are very powerful and you can
> mount it quite a distance from the pickup and still get a reading.
>

I tried using several rare earth magnets I purchased from Radio Shack to no avail. The problem is that the chainstay is 4 cm from the inside of the crankarm where the cadence sensor needs to be. If I mount the power / cadence sensor on top of and parallel to the chain stay, I'm going to need a really strong magnet. In fact, when I put 4 of the 1/8" Radio Shack rare earth magnets in place, they pulled the chain against the crankarm magnets but didn't trigger the cadence sensor.

I have reached a solution that I will post here for others who might have this problem in the future. For the shape of my chainstay and my chainline (Onix Orbea, Shimano Ultegra 10-speed triple), I need to mount the power / cadence sensor at an angle to the chainstay with the front of the sensor outboard. I made a spacer that I zip-tied to the outside of the front of the chainstay. I then zip-tied the front of the sensor to the top of the spacer positioning the front of the sensor much closer to the crankarm. I think one could make a spacer to move the front or back of the sensor up or down or inboard or outboard.

I made the spacer out of wood. Plastic like Nylon or Delrin might be better but I couldn't find any locally. First, I measured how much above the top and how much outboard of the outside of the chainstay I needed to position the sensor. I used a contour gage to transfer the shape of the chainstay to a small block of wood. I then used a Dremel tool to shape the inboard side of the wood to fit the chainstay. I then shaped the upper outboard part of the block to fit the sensor at the correct position. I cut a shallow channel for the zip tie. I finished the wood to protect it from the elements. Now the system works!

BobT

I think whoever posited this solution effectively burned the difference between the Polar and PowerTap in time and effort spent. And keeping the Polar working for a year will burn up the difference between the SRM and Polar.

You will never know when a Polar system is actually working. There is no way to calibrate a Polar except to put another *calibrated* power measurement system on the same bike and compare the readings.