Big Disappointment: Polar S720i Heart Rate Monitor

Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote:
Meanwhile I'm in London for another short
stint this week. Gotta get back to Brick Lane for some more of that curry.

A bientôt,

Il y a toujours des bagels a Brick Lane?
They were the best you could get..
Bon séjour
Dan Gregory

Tom Keats wrote:

Now, I'm on record for my preference for the back-to-the-basics,
simplist's approach, and for my dislike for gadgetry.

It has occurred to me more than once that the simple, original Sigma HRM
and bike computers, costing together less than 100€, were the only ones
that never failed me except when outright broken, and that even with all
the hi-wiz stuff, I still need the Sigmas to cross-check!

chances are you, like myself, have what Myers-Briggs calls an
"analytical" personality type.

INTP and yes, data freak.

Having to undergo such razmatazz just to make a gadget work, just so
one can enjoy bicycling, rather puts the lid on the biscuit tin.

But don't you get it? I _don't_ enjoy bicycling! Any excuse to get out
of it! It's just another of my obsessive-compulsive behaviours. The
gadgetry is a palliative to despair. It helps to keep me motivated, and
serves as a kind of exagerrated, external tribal identification, as if
to say, see here I'm a Cyclist, when in my heart I know I'm the truest
Couch Potato that ever lived.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, fret, gather data, write in
newsgroups and throw money at the problem. It's Works without Faith.

Oh, well. I guess this thing has posed a challenge to you, and now
you simply, pathologically /must/ rise to meet (and best) it. I can
relate to that. Bon chance! :-)

Thanks!

EFR
Ile de France

Dan Gregory wrote:

Il y a toujours des bagels a Brick Lane?
They were the best you could get..

Didn't know they had bagels there. I would have thought the
neighbourhood was rather differently persuaded, but I'll have a look.
One of my dearest memories of my native New Yawk is the matzoh ball soup
and lox and bagel sandwich at Shades Delicatessen. I haven't found
anything like it in all my years of expatriation, and I miss it terribly.

EFR
Exiled midst frogs and snails in Ile de France

In article ,
Elisa Francesca Roselli writes:

But don't you get it? I _don't_ enjoy bicycling!

Yes, you do.

Deal with it.

I hate pulling weeds outa the garden, but at the same time
I love doing so.


cheers, & for some reason Robert Johnson's "Milk Cow's Calf
Blues" sounds appropriate (feed yer Jones,)
Tom


--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote:
I like to track my own fitness data on my bike trip to work and on the
exercycle I use in the winter. For this I have been using a Sigma HRM
and a separate bike computers for several years. I keep track of the
readings in my Palmtop and from time to time save the files onto my
computer. But I still "haven't gotten round" to writing that PERL
program that would extract the data to table form that will go into
Excel and produce lots of lovely graphs.

I compete with myself on the trip out to work. It is always the same
distance, and I enjoy it when I can break a time record, although this
depends on factors beyond my control such as traffic lights as much as
on my riding. Recently, the very nice and functional Sigma BC1600
computer on my folding bike Flyzipper broke when the sensor wire got
caught in the pedal as I was unfolding the bike. This led me to the idea
that I should get a wireless computer for Fly.

On paper, the Polar S720i Heart Rate Monitor and Bike computer answered
all my dreams. It has wireless captors for speed and cadence, a high
spec HRM with all sorts of exercise configurations, and comes with a
software program to do the extraction of the speed and heart data into
graph form. It also captures elevation information and temperature, two
details I was very interested in as I am a caloriphobe and as the trip
to work is quite hilly. Another plus is that it can store files over
about a week, so that I do not have to transfer information immediately
at the end of every exercise session.

I had, however, certain queries about the use of the wireless sensors on
the 20" wheeled folding bike with its extra-long reach. Some people in
these forums had warned me that some cheap wireless sensors do not work
on this architecture of bike.

The Polar is anything but a cheap tool, even on Ebay approaching 300$
with its optional extras of cadence sensor and infrared USB interface
for downloading files to the computer, but I did my homework carefully.
I contacted the Helpdesk in Finland and posted queries in these bike
newsgroups, and everywhere the same, satisfactory information came back:
the capture range of the Polar sensors could be extended by the
repositioning of a jumper switch to up to 110 cm.

I bought the tool new at the beginning of July. I put it on my bike. The
distance of the watch on the handlebar mount to the speed sensor on the
front wheel is about 80 cm, and to the cadence captor on the frame at
the nearest point to the pedal crank is about 1m.

Sure enough, the HRM captured no data coming from the bike. The captors
were working with their magnets, because they obediently flashed their
little orange light when they were passed by the crank or the wheel
spoke. However, the watch on the handlebar mount was too far away to
pick up any data. There was some highly spurious data in the exercise
file - cadence at 183, I think not! - and some speed readings that
seemed applicable to the morning ride, but for which the distance given
was only 500 m (the actual trip is 9.25 km).

I do not like the trip home very much as the traffic is far too heavy by
that hour, and it is down some very steep hills, making it difficult and
dangerous without much use as a workout. So part of the way I ride on a
suburban train or RER. I quickly noticed that the HRM would go haywire
as I approached the end of my journey, with readings of 230 bpm (my max
being 176). Even turning off the exercise reading well before I
approached the train line yielded this result. So it would not capture
speed data 80 cms away, but a train line at 100 m would send it crazy.
There are also warnings in the manual to keep it away from strong
magnetic fields such as cars! Now, I would love to keep away from cars
on a commute to work, but even leaving the house at 6:30 AM I just can't
get them to keep away from me!

Accordingly, I contacted the Polar Technical Support about having the
sensors readjusted. I wasn't going to try anything myself, because that
would invalidate the guarantee.

The Technical Support is in Biarritz. There is no local help available
in the Paris region. They are also a bitch to contact because it is one
of those systems in which you are shifted from one recorded message to
another for half an hour, without ever being able to speak to anything
human, and they charge you 0.34€ the minute for all of this. In the end,
the recorded voice just tells you there is no one available to answer
you, so call again later. It took me well over a week just to get
through, and of course this is business hours only so it had to be on my
mobile phone and from my office - not only expensive but bad for
professional image.

So I sent the captors back for readjustment. They returned, I spent
another afternoon getting them set up on my bike, but the results were
exactly the same as they had been.

Another week trying to get through to Technical Support. They finally
tell me I have to send the watch unit in with the sensors. This I do.
The three items come back 10 days later, I spend another Sunday
afternoon in setup, and still the same results.

Finally, the guys at Biarritz tell me that in fact the maximum range is
not 110 cm but 80 under "optimal conditions" (i.e. no brake in the way),
that the Finnish information is from a marketing, and not a technical
point of view, and therefore misleading, and that in essence, the tool
is "not designed" to work on this architecture of bike. They make it
sound as though the case of a bike with 20" wheels and a fork only about
2" wide is so abstruse that it can be ignored. In other words, it's once
again, MY FAULT for having a "non-standard" bike.

As far as I know, practically all folding bikes - Dahons, Bromptons,
Moultons - have wheels of 20" or less. Many BMXs and mountain bikes are
also concerned. The class of 20" bikes is by no means insignificant.
Because of the convenience of folding, many touring and commuter bikes
are also in this category.

And if Polar wireless monitors will not work on this entire class, THEY
SHOULD DAMN WELL SAY SO IN THE PRODUCT INFORMATION.

There is not a breath of information to this effect anywhere on their
Web site, or in the manual, or on any product literature.

Further experiment has shown that I can get a speed reading if I strap
the watch unit directly over the fork. Cadence reading, forget it - I'm
still apparently pedalling at 190 rpm. Of course, in that position, the
watch monitor is completely invisible and useless for navigation. Upon
downloading the exercise file into my computer, I also notice that there
is no heart reading for the whole time that I am on my bike as opposed
to walking. With the monitor on the fork it is now too far away from the
transmitter on my chest. So there is NO POSITION at which the monitor
will simultaneously read speed, cadence and heart information and at the
same time be visible.

If this product worked as it is supposed to, it would be the answer to
my prayers. As it is, I call this a badly supported, dishonestly
marketed, time-wasting, money-wasting piece of ****.

EFR
Ile de France

This is where having a good LBS comes into play. My LBS guided me to a
wired system. They had not had the great success with wireless and
recommended a cheaper, slightly heavier and (for them) harder to
install system.

Last night I won an Ebay auction for a Timex Bodylink with GPS and data
recorder. I also found a supplier in Italy of the bike mount unit and
sensor wire for the initial Sigma BC1600 computer that broke. So I will
have a number of systems running concurrently and will be able to do a
battery of cross-tests.

Are there no decent bike shops that you can buy locally from? It's great
learning & saving $$$ on the 'net, but sometimes it makes more sense, when
in uncharted territory, to buy from a place that knows what the product can,
and cannot do... and that you can return it to if it doesn't work. Might
cost a bit more initially, but could save a lot of aggravation.

Speaking as a bike shop owner, trust me, I have lost a *lot* of hair over
the years, for the benefit of my customers. I lose mine, so they can keep
theirs. An awful lot of product that we sell ends up becoming non-profit due
to the amount of time we have to (sometimes) spend getting things to work,
or discovering after many hours that it simply won't work for a given
application. Part of the job. It's the consumer's decision whose hair should
be lost, and how much value that hair has.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com


"Elisa Francesca Roselli" wrote in message
...
Bob C wrote:
I also had problems with a Polar 725X. My initial setup had the sensors
on the opposite side of the bike to the watch. As my road bike has a
steel frame, the magnetic signals from Cadence and Speed were being
"soaked up" by the bike frame. When I repositioned the watch and sensors
onto the same side of the bike. "Normal transmission" was resumed.

Mine were on the same side at the outset, but as I said, I have now put
the watch directly over the fork, i.e. in the middle, so "side" should no
longer be applicable. However, Flyzipper does indeed have a chromoly steel
frame, in addition to his offending architecture. Interestingly, the Polar
Helpdesk does admit that these units will not work on _carbon_ frames. But
they say nothing about steel.

You know what, I'm going to try putting the watch on the seatpost! Of
course it will still be completely invisible and useless for navigation,
but it is that already.

Last night I won an Ebay auction for a Timex Bodylink with GPS and data
recorder. I also found a supplier in Italy of the bike mount unit and
sensor wire for the initial Sigma BC1600 computer that broke. So I will
have a number of systems running concurrently and will be able to do a
battery of cross-tests.

EFR
Ile de France

In article ,
"Mike Jacoubowsky" writes:

Speaking as a bike shop owner, trust me, I have lost a *lot* of hair over
the years, for the benefit of my customers.

Watch out. Hair loss can be a testosterone thing ;-)


cheers, & I wish I didn't have this huge mop of hair with which I'm
inflicted (pass the testosterone,)
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

Tom Keats wrote:

Vancouver, BC, Canada has all that.

As for lachs, this is the place where it comes from.
The indigenous folks here invented it.

Ahem. Look up your etymology.

That statement ranks with Dubya saying "the French have
no word for Entrepreneur".

Note followups.

--
not me guv

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:

Are there no decent bike shops that you can buy locally from?

Not really. They have only the most backward, basic, standard equipment.
Even inner tubes for my bike need to be special ordered, and I have
never found accessories suitable for my riding style or in my size
without systematically having to go through the UK, the US or the
Netherlands.

A few simple examples:
No bike shorts in my size (USA)
The Specialized BG gloves that I wear and love are not available for
women here (UK)
No helmet-mounted rear-view mirrors (USA)
No decent rack-bags designed for supermarket shopping (Netherlands)
No bike-specific arch supports in 39 (UK)
No Cane Creek Thudbuster seatposts (UK)
No replacement Sigma bike computer mounts sold as a separate item (Italy)

The list goes on and on. The Timex I won last night isn't sold in
France. Neither is the Polar in the s720i model. I would have been
forced to get the s725 and it would have cost at least twice as much in
a shop as I paid for it. Besides, there would be absolutely no guarantee
that the bike shop would help me get it set up. In fact, my experience
has been very much the contrary, with rude, arrogant know-it-all staff
that constantly puts me down for not being their standard customer. The
shop near me that sells Polar always treats me as if I'm an idiot when I
speak about my bike and its requirements. "Mais voyons madame, cela n'a
jamais existé !" But they are so "expert" in their field that they
haven't even heard of Dahon.

I had a Gestalt moment with an LBS that I have since broken dealings
with when I asked for a woman's comfort saddle and they vehemently tried
to get me to buy a man's sport saddle. Never mind the difference between
comfort and sport - apparently even the difference between man and woman
was beyond their marketing nous.

And with Ebay if you don't get on with a product you can always just
sell it on. You take a loss but you get to play with a lot of things and
have a much better idea of what the product really will and won't do
than those ignorant, conceited shop attendants.

EFR
Ile de France

Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote:
Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote:

Well, that seems to work! By positioning the watch under my _arse_, I
can get plasible readings for cadence, heart and speed.

But after downloading the file into the computer, I once again see that
the heart reading cuts out evey time I actually get on the bike. It only
reads when I am off the bike and pushing.

EFR
Ile de France