[BigJV]

Does anyone have any experience with Polar s710 heart rate monitor? I read only good reviews of it, yet every good review also states several things that don't work great. Particularly with the cyclo functions and the fork sensor/magnet being a pain, needing to be really close to the watch monitor at all times, sticking out funny from the fork and being hard to get it mounted without lots of zip-ties and tape.

How about Vetta V100HR. This looks good and is cheaper, but doesn't download to computer which seems kind of neat.

Ideas?

 

[Heidi]

Sorry, no. I have the Polar NRX and have no problems with it.

 

[El Jefe]

Originally posted by Heidi
Sorry, no. I have the Polar NRX and have no problems with it.

OK, so then he isn't talking to you now is he? (Nice to see you back from France Heidi)

 

[Heidi]

Originally posted by El Jefe
OK, so then he isn't talking to you now is he? (Nice to see you back from France Heidi)

Well, I thought someone should answer him so he didn't think we were cliquey.

 

[BigJV]

Hmm. It sounds like you are in fact kind of cliquey (did I spell that right).

Who are you anyway? Do you guys actually race?? Not to be whatever, just would like to know whose advice I am taking.

Also, I have never heard of a Polar NRX and subsequent web searches don't turn anything up either. Does it have HRM, Cycling features in one unit, with download?

 

[monkeywrench]

I've had one for years and have never had any problems and I do race.

 

[BigJV]

You've had one what? Ie what model HRM, the s710 which I originally asked about...that has only been on the market less than one year. Are you talking about the NRX? If so, how come I cannot find it on any web sites?

 

[Heidi]

I gotta tell ya BigJV, you come across like you have a real attitude.

The 710 is way more advanced than the NRX. Polar is a great company and I don't think you'd go wrong with any of their products.

Oh, I almost forgot my qualifications:

This is my second year racing
I raced Sport last year and won every single race.
I finished 1st in the Brian Head Epic 100.
I race expert women 19-29 this year and have podiumed 5 times so far.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

Originally posted by Heidi
I gotta tell ya BigJV, you come across like you have a real attitude.

Um, yeah.

I have the A5. HRMS are for monitoring your heart. It does it's job well.

 

[BigJV]

Hiedi (and others) -

Sorry if I came across a little rough around the edges. I'm just a little stressed out about this purchase decision. I really enjoy training with HRM and think it is key. I have a pretty crappy one right now that basically gets the job done, but not great.

This one is supposed to be so great, and it costs like $300 and its the one I want, but I am afraid it will suck. I have gotten real mixed reviews on it from researching around. Very frustrating. It seems real hit or miss. Some love it, some hate it. I just want it to be seemless and totally sweet. I will know if it is totally sweet if I never have to think about it. If it just helps me stay powerful and smooth, keep winning, and silently killing every other rider out there.

I'm not meaning to call anyone out, its just if I'm gonna take advice from strangers on a board, I wanna know what they are all about. Don't want some recreational beginner rider or excuse maker who can't even finish a ride, giving me advice.

Heidi - From your resume, you are clearly qualified to give advice, but 5 podiums this year alone? thats a ton of races. How many have you done overall this year? You must have had some off days, dnf's, mechanicals in there somewhere. I don't doubt you totally, but your resume is a little too pristine to be believed.

That's all. Hopefully this HRM will help me continue to dominate my race class.

 

[BigJV]

and mtbikerchick

just one more thing, yes we know HRMs are for monitoring your heart. thats why the h stands for heart and the m for monitor. good advice. thanks

i'll keep that in mind when purchasing a heart rate monitor and i'll only buy one that has functions for monitoring the heart's rate.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Originally posted by BigJV
and mtbikerchick

just one more thing, yes we know HRMs are for monitoring your heart. thats why the h stands for heart and the m for monitor. good advice. thanks

i'll keep that in mind when purchasing a heart rate monitor and i'll only buy one that has functions for monitoring the heart's rate.

(this is MBC logged in as IAB)

 

[BigJV]

shucks. there i go again, slipping into bad guy mode. its just that i am so stessed out about this decision.

the HRM (heart rate monitor) must be a precision instrument, and integrate seemlessly into my training regimen.

anyway mbc, you gotta admit, your post was pretty stupid, unless you are trying to be cute or it is some kind of like cliquey board thing that you guys do, which i wouldn't know, because i am new to the board, and i am getting the picture that I don't fit in here.

anyway, if you were trying to be cute, it actually is pretty cute and i retract my post in good spirits, if not trying to be cute, then its still stupid and my post stands

 

[I Are Baboon]

Well you know... if you didn't come through here TWICE like an idiot insulting people you don't even know... you might find out that I know a thing or two about HRMs.

.....But I'm not an expert racer so you probably wouldn't want to talk to me.

One more thing, MY post still stands.

 

[KrusteeButt]

BigJV, just to let you know, the "cliquey" reference is a joke from a thread that was started a while ago.
Now then, refusing to take any form of advice from anyone other than elite racers makes you, in fact, a little cliquey, no? Don't take that as jumping down your throat...just a little "stones and glass houses", knowhatahmean?
I'm not going to spout anything about HRMs because I know nothing about them...I don't use one because I don't race. I am, in fact, a recreational rider.
But regardless of my experience, I would NEVER accuse someone of padding her racing resume. Personally, I just think that's rude. Many of us have gotten to know Heidi relatively well (or at least as much as you can on this medium) and we know that she rides and races with a passion...and that she doesn't suck. I have no problem accepting that her word is true.

Now, on the other hand, I am curious: is price an issue for you if the precision is also an issue? I believe strongly in "you get what you pay for". You want precision and lots of uses...well, typically speaking with any piece of electronic equipment, that means you need to forget about concern for price.
Is it possible to go to your LBS (I assume you have a particular one that you go to) and ask to try a couple different ones so you can make a better informed decision?

 

[Sabine]

Is this thread for real? Surely an hrm buying decision can't stress someone out so much that you end up being inadvertantly rude? As if unknown people in an internet forum owe some kind of obligation. Too funny.

Figure out what you need from the heart rate monitor.
Do you need target zones? How many?
Do you need to record time in zones?
Do you need to download the data?
Do you need to record laps?

etc etc. Once you figure out what you need, you can consult one of those matrix thingies that are found in any catalog that sells hrms and narrow your choice down.

Do you really need all the bells and whistles of the s710? If you do, great. I find that unnescessary features just make an hrm that much more difficult to work with. After years of using hrms with lots of features, I find myself back to a basic model that shows me my hr and tells me when I'm out of zone.

 

[BigJV]

Okay. Now we're getting somewhere.

Again, sorry for being rude. If there are beginner-ish riders out there who know alot about these things (or preferably actually used the exact one I am asking about) I am all ears.

You're right, its not that big of a deal. Sabine and Krsuteebutt, thanks for the tips. I have consulted all the matrix thingies and basically in this case, I want all the bells and whistles that the s710 has. I realize I don't NEED them, but I think I would enjoy them enough to make it worth the money (in this case close to $300).

Particularly I like

HRM and cyclo functions in one unit
Multiple zone tracking capability
Huge memory to store rides
Downloadable to computer for later anaylsis
All wireless
Altitude (which I realized will not be that precise, but something is better than nothing)
Temp
Polar reputed quality and design


Problem is the reviews have been really patchy, with some claiming this thing is like the sweetest thing ever made for training. And others saying the wireless pick up was sketchy, everything had to be co-located really close like the watch can be no more than 18 inches from the fork sensor, it dropped lengthy sections of rides totally, it was not well designed and a pain to mount on the bike, etc.

So it is frustrating. What if someone told you that a certain bike, say a Titus RacerX, was the best bike ever, and then someone else, with seemingly similar level of expertise and a well-thought out and reasoned opinion told you it had all kinds of problems. Kind of a mess.

Heidi - I hope I haven't pissed you off so you won't post any more advice. Your resume is impressive and I could learn from you. I am not doubting it so much as just surprised. I mean to have even finished five races this year, in only your second year racing is impressive, let alone podium 5 times. and I am just wondering if you are like super-woman on wheels or if you have also had some tough days out there. If you're really kicking butt as an expert in just your second year, how long until we see you in the pro ranks?

 

[monkeywrench]

I'm amazed that someone, even newer than myself to these forums, would come here looking for advice and act like a total son-of-a-b!tch. This place is a good time and a great source of information on whatever topic.

 

[KrusteeButt]

It's cool Mwrench...he apologized, no worries.
Certainly one can understand that if he's been on other boards asking questions, he's probably used to getting responses from a bunch of idiots. Not here...those guys hang out in the DH'ers forum! (nobody take offense...that was meant to be funny! )
It's all good now!

 

[Heidi]

Originally posted by BigJV


So it is frustrating. What if someone told you that a certain bike, say a Titus RacerX, was the best bike ever, and then someone else, with seemingly similar level of expertise and a well-thought out and reasoned opinion told you it had all kinds of problems. Kind of a mess.

Heidi - I hope I haven't pissed you off so you won't post any more advice. Your resume is impressive and I could learn from you. I am not doubting it so much as just surprised. I mean to have even finished five races this year, in only your second year racing is impressive, let alone podium 5 times. and I am just wondering if you are like super-woman on wheels or if you have also had some tough days out there. If you're really kicking butt as an expert in just your second year, how long until we see you in the pro ranks?

No biggie, I answered you about the HRM via PM a while ago, guess you never got it.

Oh, and the Titus Racer X IS the best bike ever!

 

[Spud]

Uhmmm I'm getting Lasik surgery done Tuesday, and want to know how soon to get back on my bike. You know I really only have to worry about the wind getting in my eyes (dust isn't an issue when you're way out ahead of the other poseurs... Don't bother replying unless you race. And uhhmnn dang you guys sure are cliquey...

 

[Heidi]

Originally posted by Spud
Uhmmm I'm getting Lasik surgery done Tuesday, and want to know how soon to get back on my bike. You know I really only have to worry about the wind getting in my eyes (dust isn't an issue when you're way out ahead of the other poseurs... Don't bother replying unless you race. And uhhmnn dang you guys sure are cliquey...

Stirrin up the pot huh?

 

[Spud]

Moi?

Feeling feisty, got into it with the Ex over dog issues (joint custody) , getting the surgery manyana... Didn't take much to set me off...

See you guys with a new set of peepers on Wednesday.. Maybe I'll wear my HRM into the surgery center.....

 

[BigJV]

Man, I stirred it up big time with my first few posts. Anyway, hope that is all over now.

I have looked over my previous posts, and I am an idiot. Its certified.

Thanks for the advice and for those who have defended me in my character turnaround. Maybe I'll kill BigJV and come back under a different name...

I got the s710. Spent the weekend trying to figure it out, and used it this morning for the first time on a training ride, 15 minute warmup and cool down, with intervals up a very steep paved hill.

Its about what I was expecting. The features rock, but the design, interfaces, set-up, and just figuring it all out are a pain in the ass. I think in the end, it will work out just fine, but here are the highlights and lowlights thus far from my training ride this AM:

Total time 1:08:00
Total Distance 12.8 miles
11.4 mph avg speed
31.8 mph max speed
780 feet avg altitude
1190 feet max altitude
290 feet min altitude
61 deg F avg temp (60 min, 66 max)
1840 ft total ascent climbing
HR in, below, and above three different target zones (basically 5 zones together, spare the details here)
667 Cal burned
824 data samples (5 second increments for whole ride, data points for software download to create graphs, etc, that is tonights project)

BTW, altitude function appears to work really well. The absolute altitude may be off, but the relative altitude is great. If you go down a small bump, like 15-20 feet, you can actually see it tabulate it. Seems really accurate, which I wasn't expecting.

Lowlights:

Speed sensor is clearly built for road fork, can make it work on mtb, but they should have a seperate one for us.

Magnet is huge and I can feel it offweighting my wheel a bit.

Range on wireless function is pretty bad. It barely will pick up the speed from the fork to the bar where the unit is mounted. It needs about another 12 inches of range there. And, HR unit has low range too. Can't get signal if you get off your bike a few feet.

Main watch unit is very large, too big to wear as a watch for most.

Handlebar mount bracket is ackward.

Pictures in book don't match unit so set-up is confusing.

Tons of features for letting the thing guide you through interval and recovery workouts, lots of self-administered fitness tests, etc. These may be cool in the end, but they really make it hard to learn how to use at first.

So, Im a happy boy for now. More later.

 

[KrusteeButt]

Gonna give it a couple more tries before making a final decision?
I've noticed the same thing with my wireless computer...really not very lenient on the distance issue.
On first impressions, are the cool things enough to balance the pain in the butt stuff?

 

[BigJV]

yes, based on set-up and one ride's worth of use, in the end i will be very happy and i think it will provide me with tools that a) help me make the most of my workouts, b) help me in races, as I use HRM religiously in races to monitor how close I am to burnout, how much I have left, etc, now especially with distance built in, i can use that to time attacks, etc, and c) just give me something fun and interesting to play with that will keep me motivated and having fun.

if the software setup goes well, overall, it will kick but and be super smooth.

right now, it is picking up heart and speed satisfactorily, so if i can get the mount set-up better, or even better, figure out a way to put it on the bar without the mount, i think it is a go.

all that data together with 5 second sample rate on a computer graph is a ton of info.

if you do buy ever buy one, or any polar product for that matter, i highly recommend going on ebay, contacting one of the merchants off line, and getting it that way. I got overnight shipping and with lower price, no tax, etc, I saved about $90 on the monitor and the computer interface over buying it from Performance or another big retailer.

 

[Topaz]

I use the 510 without any attachments (no where to mount it on a lefty). In training I mostly use my hrm to prevent myself from going to hard on a long ride (i try to keep it below 160) and to know when/if I can go harder in a race. If I feel like poo in a race but my heart rate is only 180 I know there's another 10+ left in the tank for the top of the climb.

I also only hit 190 when I'm in peak shape as you can see from my previous race results