Polar HRM Died .. best replacement?

DinaElla

PolarCS300 watch has died after much use and abuse ... anyone recommend a good replacement? Was looking at the Garmin but always had a polar up to now as mainly measure HR. Not that I'm monitoring much in this weather ... turbo trainer en-route from shop hopefully.

Cheers in advance for any suggestions ...

Home:Ballyhoura

Did it die completely or just the battery? Also I believe the CS300 is a watch style computer isn't it? Would you want to replace it with something similer? I now have the CS200 myself and find it great but if it did give up in the morning I would definitely be buying one of the new Garmin Edge 500 computers (good review here thanks to Tau. Cheapest place around at the moment is Evans at €225 including the SAVE10 discount code. Maybe this is a bit over your budget. Let us know what you had in mind features and price wise and if you only really want to stay with Polar. Best of luck

DinaElla

Thanks for the reply, its now hanging for about 5 hours when you select any function or the back light .... its served me well and I have no complaints as its certainly worked perfect for a few years.

Yup, this is the watch one and i'm not too fussy about what I replace with and was actually looking at the CS200 for the bike just now - I mainly work on HR for training ... i'm not cycling too long and struggling so only use the HR function and Polar seem to be the more recommended for that.

The Garmin Edge 500 looks very good and perfect for what I want - its a bit over my budget as just ordered the TACX Flow trainer (hopefully that was the right buy) but might be worth pushing the extra cost having read that review .... very good review and very detailed.

Fingers crossed I can get the flow trainer together now as i'm not getting out while this ice age lasts ...

Thanks again !

fran oconnor

DinaElla wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, its now hanging for about 5 hours when you select any function or the back light .... its served me well and I have no complaints as its certainly worked perfect for a few years.

Yup, this is the watch one and i'm not too fussy about what I replace with and was actually looking at the CS200 for the bike just now - I mainly work on HR for training ... i'm not cycling too long and struggling so only use the HR function and Polar seem to be the more recommended for that.

The Garmin Edge 500 looks very good and perfect for what I want - its a bit over my budget as just ordered the TACX Flow trainer (hopefully that was the right buy) but might be worth pushing the extra cost having read that review .... very good review and very detailed.

Fingers crossed I can get the flow trainer together now as i'm not getting out while this ice age lasts ...

Thanks again !

i have the cs 200 myself,i had a few problems with it tbh..first of all i only had it a few days and the battey ran dead,its also a right pain in the arse to transfer your files. you are supposed to be able to send your files to your pc,or to the polar web site for training programs etc but you have to transfer them by bloody radio waves its so annoying i must say..if you dont need it for any of the above, the HR function is very good i got the one with the cadence sensor..i also got a TACX trainer not the posh flow one:) but the satori and its very good imo.

Home:Ballyhoura

fran oconnor wrote: »

i have the cs 200 myself,i had a few problems with it tbh..first of all i only had it a few days and the battey ran dead,its also a right pain in the arse to transfer your files.

Actually the first two I got from wiggle had a similar problem. The first arrived completely dead. The second one (replacement) used to crackle away to itslef even when turned off and is what caused that battery to run down too. Got onto the Polar forums for this particular model and there were others with the same problems. A friend came up to me at a race and asked how I found my CS200 as he had the exact same problem (bought from Wiggle too). Well, now we both have got replacements and they have worked 100% perfectly ever since so maybe it was a bad batch and I hope since then they have well fixed the problem. I was quoted it had something to do with the piezo whatever that is.

Also, it is a pain to transfer files. The Polar software doesn't work with my Mac computers so I can't even use the noise emitting transfer which seems to be very fiddly. There was a nice training program which I did come across (a trial so you had to pay for the real version) so I tried out the transfer there and it was OK but lacked the lap function data uploads so I decided to go against it. Hope this helps (by the way I still love my CS200, it has been so so good for me for about a year now and I have since bought sensors and mounts for all four of my bikes which is very handy. I would just consider myself unlucky! )

Paul Kiernan

I bought this recently and am very pleased with it. Does everything, HR, speed, cadence, altitude, gradient. Even has USB interface and PC software.

Gives you this sort of info:

fran oconnor

Home:Ballyhoura wrote: »

Actually the first two I got from wiggle had a similar problem. The first arrived completely dead. The second one (replacement) used to crackle away to itslef even when turned off and is what caused that battery to run down too. Got onto the Polar forums for this particular model and there were others with the same problems. A friend came up to me at a race and asked how I found my CS200 as he had the exact same problem (bought from Wiggle too). Well, now we both have got replacements and they have worked 100% perfectly ever since so maybe it was a bad batch and I hope since then they have well fixed the problem. I was quoted it had something to do with the piezo whatever that is.

Also, it is a pain to transfer files. The Polar software doesn't work with my Mac computers so I can't even use the noise emitting transfer which seems to be very fiddly. There was a nice training program which I did come across (a trial so you had to pay for the real version) so I tried out the transfer there and it was OK but lacked the lap function data uploads so I decided to go against it. Hope this helps (by the way I still love my CS200, it has been so so good for me for about a year now and I have since bought sensors and mounts for all four of my bikes which is very handy. I would just consider myself unlucky! )

i did get a replacement from the super store which is grand now and my last one suffered with that bloody crackling sound also,i still cant seem to transfer files though,the cs 200 is still good,i just wish i could use all the function's though,what type of mic did you use with it?..the guy in the shop said to me he was able to transfer tiles with his pc speakers,could this be true??.

fran oconnor

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

I bought this recently and am very pleased with it. Does everything, HR, speed, cadence, altitude, gradient. Even has USB interface and PC software.

Gives you this sort of info:

i should have went for something like this,id have liked one with altitude, gradient on it also..did you pay that price for your's??.

Paul Kiernan

Yes, I paid £80, supposedly they retail at £199.

They have some cheaper models which are also quite good but you don't get the PC upload and software. The HRM strap is a standard Polar compatible so you can use a Polar strap if you have one and buy something like the 4.3A for £29.99 which comes without the strap.

DinaElla

Thanks All.

Re the CS200 upload .. I had the same problem with the 300 and could not get the PC to pick up the sound so entered it in manually (i used a beginner tri site to track all the training). Would not put me off the 200 as happy to enter it manually .. just want accurate HR but the Garmin extra's are a real attraction.

About to try and set up this Tacx trainer and do not have a clue and the instructions are not exactly made for idiots like me.. so wish me luck.

Just on the side is it worth getting an extra tyre/wheel for the trainer? guy in the bike shop offered me a wheel with training tyre?? for 100 euro today .. but was not sure if needed it.

fran oconnor

DinaElla wrote: »

Thanks All.

Re the CS200 upload .. I had the same problem with the 300 and could not get the PC to pick up the sound so entered it in manually (i used a beginner tri site to track all the training). Would not put me off the 200 as happy to enter it manually .. just want accurate HR but the Garmin extra's are a real attraction.

About to try and set up this Tacx trainer and do not have a clue and the instructions are not exactly made for idiots like me.. so wish me luck.

Just on the side is it worth getting an extra tyre/wheel for the trainer? guy in the bike shop offered me a wheel with training tyre?? for 100 euro today .. but was not sure if needed it.

id advise getting a second wheel alright the trainer will wear tyers out fairly quick,i got one off chainreaction for fairly cheap,think it was no more than £40 with cassette,its there bottom of the range wheel but grand for what i want...good luck with the new trainer..

DinaElla

Thanks Fran, I eventually got it set up today (once I got the frozen water pipes defrosted) and it was actually not too bad to set up .. the instructions are a little misleading and hard to read but everything is in there .. just not in a logical order.

I only did a quick session - I found it difficult to judge how much pressure the 'brake' should be applying to the Tyre .. i'll keep experimenting ... be cool to have something like a YouTube video on setting these up to look at when your doing it.

This is my first time on a trainer and I read all the comments on here about how hot you can get on them but I never imagined it would get that hot .. need to find a cooler spot for this as I was sweating buckets

I'll start in anger on it tomorrow and see how it goes - I think the spare wheel is a good idea.

Home:Ballyhoura

DinaElla wrote: »

I never imagined it would get that hot .. need to find a cooler spot for this as I was sweating buckets

Get a big fan...its really the only solution. I got a tower version from Aldi/Lidl cheap enough and it does the job very well. My indoor thermometer shows it can be on occasions around 17 degrees before I start on the turbo and go anywhere up to just above 20 in about an hour. Just did 60mins on mine there and it started at 18 and ended up at 19 even though the window was open and -4 outside. I find a mirror is very good for motivation too along with good music or videos. Also, my Craft base layer really helps with the moisure absorbtion and minimizes the sweaty clammy feeling! Hope this help...best of luck and enjoy it

uberwolf

Home:Ballyhoura wrote: »

Did it die completely or just the battery? Also I believe the CS300 is a watch style computer isn't it? Would you want to replace it with something similer? I now have the CS200 myself and find it great but if it did give up in the morning I would definitely be buying one of the new Garmin Edge 500 computers (good review here thanks to Tau. Cheapest place around at the moment is Evans at €225 including the SAVE10 discount code. Maybe this is a bit over your budget. Let us know what you had in mind features and price wise and if you only really want to stay with Polar. Best of luck

great links there Bally:h.
It seems to do what I want (or think I want)

a few queries for the uninitiated. With a flightdeck on board, the additional cost of the cadence/speed censor isn't much use to me? I could dump the 10 year flight deck of course - it has served it's time.

The principal other question is around my ancient mac laptop. It seems from peeking at the Garmin site that I can connect the device - which isn't automatically the case for polar from what I've seen. Does the bulk of support software hosted online, or will my old PowerPC processor hamper me (even new Apple software is now passing me by...) due to the requirement to run the s/w locally.

3rdly - one of the comments on the reviews confirms a suspicion - that you could build the parts up comp, premium strap, sensors by buying them separately.

I have access to the states for buying these things - should I be looking over there?
premium strap - $42 from ANT
sensor - unsure if this is the right one - $38
edge 500 without sensor - Part #: 010-00829-00 - amazon.com $249

total price - €227 and a wait
vs.
€253 on Evans for the poorer HRM strap & postage
and
€251 on CRC incl. postage

blorg

@DinaElla- worth checking if Polar will replace/repair out of warranty for a reasonable fee. Garmin do this on a no fault basis, I have crashed writing off my Garmin several times and they replace it with a new one for a fraction of the retail price- RRP on my 705 is almost £400, they replace it for £100. You get a refurbished one back which is just like new.

DinaElla

The review has me sold on getting one but going to wait a few weeks before ordering ... hopefully some better deals by then.

BallyH : Dragged out an old fan from the attic and working, thanks ... done a few sessions on the turbo and enjoying it but finding it way tougher than the road ... either that or slipped back way further than I thought but certainly no hiding when your on it .. legs are feeling the sessions ... has to be good for me right?

going to mix in some running when the weather clears .... need to lose some weight ..

DinaElla

Thanks Blorg, I'll drop them an email this evening and see what they come back with. Cheers.

blorg

@uberwolf- one of the benefits of the Garmin is that you can have it all on the one device and it is all graphed when you download it. So if you are interested in cadence, you can have it on the FlightDeck but then it wouldn't appear on the graph of your Garmin record. The speed bit is completely unnecessary BTW, it is only for indoor training. The head unit will NEVER look at it outside, (other than to auto-calculate wheel diameter- which it only needs anyway for indoor training.) It goes 100% off the GPS. I don't think I have ever seen it pick it up even going through a tunnel.

I am not sure building up in parts would be cheaper, rather than just buying a package? E.g. even if buying from the US would you not get a package cheaper. I am presuming here that you are guaranteed to avoid customs... for €30 difference is it really worth it?

I think it works fine with Mac, many people use a program called Ascent rather than the included Training Center (which isn't great.)

blorg

DinaElla wrote: »

finding it way tougher than the road ... either that or slipped back way further than I thought but certainly no hiding when your on it .. legs are feeling the sessions ... has to be good for me right?

It is way tougher, no question about that. While sitting on it tonight as the will to live was being slowly sapped out of me I was contemplating giving up cycling. It's so much easier on the road, even pushing yourself.

uberwolf

blorg wrote: »

I am not sure building up in parts would be cheaper, rather than just buying a package? E.g. even if buying from the US would you not get a package cheaper. I am presuming here that you are guaranteed to avoid customs... for €30 difference is it really worth it?

for the yanks it seems that it is slightly cheaper for them to build, and they get the benefit of the better strap.

I'll have a poke around ascent - no immediate ref: to the edge 500 in their compat guide, but it does seem like it would work with the lap