Question how Polar 7xx records ride Time & Avg. Speed

I'm under the impression that Polar units record "exercise time" as opposed
to "ride time", and wonder how that affects Average Speed. For those of you
who use the cycling features of the Polar:

If you ride 20 miles in 1 hour, but have 5 2-minute stops along the way
(say, for 5 traffic lights), what does the Polar report for Time and Average
Speed?

Does it report 50 minutes ride time, at 24.0 mph average speed? This is
what a regular cycle computer would report, taking into account distance,
and the actual time your bike was moving.

Or, does it report 60 minutes "exercise time", at 20.0 mph average speed?

Or, does it report something else?

I'm interested in the answers, because I'm attempting to add a Polar
"import" feature to my CycliStats ride log program. But, I'm having a lot
of difficulty resolving apparent discrepancies in the data (i.e., getting
Distance, Time, and Average Speed to agree).

--
~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

The 720i has an auto start/stop option that starts the timer and recorder
when the wheel begins to roll, and stops it when the wheel is stationary.
This option can be turned off -- for instance, when the bike is on a trainer
and the front wheel is not moving. Since the 720i has settings for two
bikes, that can be named, I have it set up to use on my bike outdoors (or on
my rollers) with the autostart function enabled, and on my trainer indoors
with the autostart function disabled.

My suggestion would be to download the users manual from Polar's website so
you can familiarize yourself with all of the different options and
capabilities of the monitor.

"GaryG" wrote in message
...
I'm under the impression that Polar units record "exercise time" as
opposed
to "ride time", and wonder how that affects Average Speed. For those of
you
who use the cycling features of the Polar:

If you ride 20 miles in 1 hour, but have 5 2-minute stops along the way
(say, for 5 traffic lights), what does the Polar report for Time and
Average
Speed?

Does it report 50 minutes ride time, at 24.0 mph average speed? This is
what a regular cycle computer would report, taking into account distance,
and the actual time your bike was moving.

Or, does it report 60 minutes "exercise time", at 20.0 mph average speed?

Or, does it report something else?

I'm interested in the answers, because I'm attempting to add a Polar
"import" feature to my CycliStats ride log program. But, I'm having a lot
of difficulty resolving apparent discrepancies in the data (i.e., getting
Distance, Time, and Average Speed to agree).

--
~_-*
...G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

"Doug" wrote in message
news
The 720i has an auto start/stop option that starts the timer and recorder
when the wheel begins to roll, and stops it when the wheel is stationary.
This option can be turned off -- for instance, when the bike is on a
trainer
and the front wheel is not moving. Since the 720i has settings for two
bikes, that can be named, I have it set up to use on my bike outdoors (or
on
my rollers) with the autostart function enabled, and on my trainer indoors
with the autostart function disabled.

My suggestion would be to download the users manual from Polar's website
so
you can familiarize yourself with all of the different options and
capabilities of the monitor.

Thanks for the reply. I understand that the Polar unit displays ride time
and average speed while you're riding, but my question concerned what gets
saved when you upload to the Polar software. I have the software manual,
but it is pretty sparse as regards ride time and average speed.

Unfortunately, the values reported for Distance and Time don't seem to mesh
with the reported Average Speed.

For instance, one user reported the following from their Polar softwa

Ride Distance: 17.8
Ride Time (hh:mm:ss): 00:53:33
Ride Average Speed: 20.1 MPH

Something doesn't add up here, because a 17.8 mile ride, in 00:53:58 has an
average speed of 19.944 mph, not 20.1 mph.

Ride Distance: 14.95
Ride Time (hh:mm:ss): 00:45:14
Ride Average Speed: 19.2 MPH

Likewise, something is odd here too. Based on distance and time, this ride
should have an average speed of 19.831 mph.

But, perhaps the person I got this data from reported it incorrectly (e.g.,
reporting Exercise Time, instead of Ride Time). Do you have some sample
ride data (distance, time, average speed) from your Polar software that I
could check?

--
~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists


"GaryG" wrote in message
...
I'm under the impression that Polar units record "exercise time" as
opposed
to "ride time", and wonder how that affects Average Speed. For those of
you
who use the cycling features of the Polar:

If you ride 20 miles in 1 hour, but have 5 2-minute stops along the way
(say, for 5 traffic lights), what does the Polar report for Time and
Average
Speed?

Does it report 50 minutes ride time, at 24.0 mph average speed? This is
what a regular cycle computer would report, taking into account
distance,
and the actual time your bike was moving.

Or, does it report 60 minutes "exercise time", at 20.0 mph average
speed?

Or, does it report something else?

I'm interested in the answers, because I'm attempting to add a Polar
"import" feature to my CycliStats ride log program. But, I'm having a
lot
of difficulty resolving apparent discrepancies in the data (i.e.,
getting
Distance, Time, and Average Speed to agree).

--
~_-*
...G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

Gary:

Depending on sensors installed (cadence, power, etc) it plots a graph with
time as one axis, vs speed, cadence, heartrate, power, altitude.

In terms on on-bike display, it has three rows and can display time, elapsed
time, altitude, cadence, speed, avg speed, distance, etc on the top row, and
speed, avg speed time, elapsed time, etc on the middle row. Heartrate or
Avg heart rate displays on the bottom. You can scroll through the various
display options while riding.

"GaryG" wrote in message
...
"Doug" wrote in message
news
The 720i has an auto start/stop option that starts the timer and
recorder
when the wheel begins to roll, and stops it when the wheel is
stationary.
This option can be turned off -- for instance, when the bike is on a
trainer
and the front wheel is not moving. Since the 720i has settings for two
bikes, that can be named, I have it set up to use on my bike outdoors
(or
on
my rollers) with the autostart function enabled, and on my trainer
indoors
with the autostart function disabled.

My suggestion would be to download the users manual from Polar's website
so
you can familiarize yourself with all of the different options and
capabilities of the monitor.

Thanks for the reply. I understand that the Polar unit displays ride time
and average speed while you're riding, but my question concerned what gets
saved when you upload to the Polar software. I have the software manual,
but it is pretty sparse as regards ride time and average speed.

Unfortunately, the values reported for Distance and Time don't seem to
mesh
with the reported Average Speed.

For instance, one user reported the following from their Polar softwa

Ride Distance: 17.8
Ride Time (hh:mm:ss): 00:53:33
Ride Average Speed: 20.1 MPH


Looks like it "meshes" to me.
Something doesn't add up here, because a 17.8 mile ride, in 00:53:58 has
an
average speed of 19.944 mph, not 20.1 mph.

Ride Distance: 14.95
Ride Time (hh:mm:ss): 00:45:14
Ride Average Speed: 19.2 MPH

Likewise, something is odd here too. Based on distance and time, this
ride
should have an average speed of 19.831 mph.

But, perhaps the person I got this data from reported it incorrectly
(e.g.,
reporting Exercise Time, instead of Ride Time). Do you have some sample
ride data (distance, time, average speed) from your Polar software that I
could check?

--
~_-*
...G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists


"GaryG" wrote in message
...
I'm under the impression that Polar units record "exercise time" as
opposed
to "ride time", and wonder how that affects Average Speed. For those
of
you
who use the cycling features of the Polar:

If you ride 20 miles in 1 hour, but have 5 2-minute stops along the
way
(say, for 5 traffic lights), what does the Polar report for Time and
Average
Speed?

Does it report 50 minutes ride time, at 24.0 mph average speed? This
is
what a regular cycle computer would report, taking into account
distance,
and the actual time your bike was moving.

Or, does it report 60 minutes "exercise time", at 20.0 mph average
speed?

Or, does it report something else?

I'm interested in the answers, because I'm attempting to add a Polar
"import" feature to my CycliStats ride log program. But, I'm having a
lot
of difficulty resolving apparent discrepancies in the data (i.e.,
getting
Distance, Time, and Average Speed to agree).

--
~_-*
...G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

drop me an e-mail and we can figure out what data you need?