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Submitted by
tyler weiss
a Racer
from seattle
Date Reviewed: February 20, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | chubb | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | rei | | Strengths: | none | | Weaknesses: | inconsistent heartrate display;difficult to replace transmitter and watch batteries;outside interference plays havoc
| | Similar Products Used: | cardiosport | | Bike Setup: | trek 8000 and spec. rockhopper | | Bottom Line: | This is my second HR monitor and I think it is a piece of junk. The display is erratic and inaccurate. My last HR monitor was a cardiosport,big as an old transistor radio and it broke in a crash. It worked pretty well and the battery was a cinch to change.I thought the Polar would be a step up.Was I wrong! The service from Polar has been nonexistent. I've tried conductive gels and it still stinks.Considering Polar is the most expensive on the market, I won't touch their trash again. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shelly
a Cross Country Rider
from Lexington, KY, USA
Date Reviewed: August 27, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | Dick's--price match | | Strengths: | Not too complicated, easy to start. The bars on the side that appear for every ten minutes are great, so you don't have to try reading the small numbers on the bottom of the screen. | | Weaknesses: | Default beeping. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bottom Line: | This is a really good HRM for someone who wants a good, reliable, quality one but doesn't want the really high-tech, complicated ones. I use it for running, too. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John Philion
a Weekend Warrior
from Saanichton, B.C. Canada
Date Reviewed: December 21, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | "The Running Room" | | Strengths: | Light weight, good display, clock feature, alarms, water proof | | Weaknesses: | Difficult to get a reasonably priced replacement battery. Have to mail the watch 4,000 miles for battery replacement. Cost is very high about $45. The firm that replaces the battery says that you also have to buy another transmitter for the unit to work properly.
Battery doesn't last more than 12 months if you use it on a regular basis. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | I use the Polar pacer because I have a severe heart disease and have to monitor my heart rate to ensure it doesn't go above certain limits. | | Bottom Line: | Worth buying if you can put up with the aggravation and expense of getting a replacement battery and transmitter every year. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul Waxon
a Cross Country Rider
from Coon Rapids, MN USA
Date Reviewed: June 12, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$79.00 | | Purchased At: | Nashbar | | Strengths: | Simple, easy to read. | | Weaknesses: | Default to beep. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Road, ATB, Cross. | | Bottom Line: | It will do exactly what you paid for it to do. No Hassle. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
K WG
a Cross Country Rider
from Sacramento
Date Reviewed: January 23, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay (NEW & DELIVERED) | | Strengths: | Big display, can alternate with time;
Easy to set high/low settings (only 1 zone;
Beeps when you're out of the zone. Tells you total time in the zone. Strap is easily adjusted and I don't notice it when I ride. | | Weaknesses: | Buttons are hard to press But I have the older style with recessed buttons not like the one pictured. I ride at night and the light only stays illuminated for 10 seconds and the buttons are hard to press through gloves in the dark. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | I have the handlebar mount which works well. | | Bottom Line: | Works wells. Has just enough features. Now that I'm training more seriously, it would be nice to have more zones to set. I only use it when I ride on my road bike. I haven't tried it mountain biking since the terrain is so varied it's too hard to keep a consistant rate.
Ride on. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Leonard Migliore
a Weekend Warrior
from Mountain View, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: November 21, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Palo Alto Baylands | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Purchased At: | Mike's Bikes, Palo Alto CA | | Strengths: | Shows heart rate in big numbers. You can make it stop beeping. Shows total time at desired heart rate. Has no extraneous information. | | Weaknesses: | Defaults to beeping when it starts up. Goes berserk under power lines. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Trek hybrid | | Bottom Line: | A heart monitor is the most important tool in my conditioning program. The Pacer provides the information I need and nothing else (unless I want to know what time it is). The unit is comfortable and reliable. The folks at Mike's were right when they said "this one is all you need". | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Radar
a Racer
from Barberton OH
Date Reviewed: September 20, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Vulture's Knob | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$24.00 | | Purchased At: | Nashbar | | Strengths: | Nice way to train a little smarter, comfortable, quality Polar name. | | Weaknesses: | Not many features for the $$$, occasionally it shows a totally inaccurate reading. | | Similar Products Used: | No other HR monitors, but various Cateye computers. | | Bike Setup: | Fisher hardtail | | Bottom Line: | I got this amazingly cheap at the Nashbar tent sale, and I wasn't even thinking about buying one until I saw it. Occasionally it shoes my HR is something like 230 when I'm just cruising downhill. Weird, but it's not often. My only other complaint is that most people are going to be paying $100+ for this, and only having time, current HR and time spent in target zone is a slim function list for a mid range monitor. I have seen "lesser" brand monitors that are half the price with more functions, like average heart rate and other features like a lap counter. I have heard that those show erratic readings much more often though, so it's a trade off. Do you want accuracy or features?
I'll give this a value rating of 3 because of the slim features, but overall of 4 because of the good quality.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Slingshot Bohiminee
a Racer
from Dallas, Tejas
Date Reviewed: July 13, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | All of em' | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Accurate, relativly inexpensive. | | Weaknesses: | You have to yank the chest strap very tight.. but that's the case with all HR-Monitors | | Similar Products Used: | CatEye HR monitor and the Performance Axiom | | Bike Setup: | FRS M4 for Dirt, Trek 2300 for Concrete | | Bottom Line: | It has a high/low alarm so you can pick differnet HR zones to train in. I have a hard time "going for a slow ride" so the alarm keeps me in line for recovery training days. I won't wear it during a race anymore, too many different things to worry about withough looking at your heartrate all the time. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John
a Racer
from San Diego, CA
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Time spent in target zone. | | Weaknesses: | Needs EKG cream for best results (like msot ther heart monitors) | | Bike Setup: | Lemond Zurich (road) & Fisher Big Sur (MTB) | | Bottom Line: | I developed my own training program (by reading books on the subject) to improve my performance and this monitor was the key to achieve my goals (the time spent in the training zone is a good measure of the intensity of any given training). I wish I would have chosen a model that gives the average, as it is useful for other purposes. But this model works very well. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
DEX
a racer
from AUSTRALIA
Date Reviewed: February 4, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
Just started using a HRM again now I'm getting closer to 40! The pacer is easy to use provides the best features for the price. Workout time and zone is all that's needed. Reliable and robust. Five stars on price and features. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ron Austin
a weekend warrior
from Rutland, VT 05701 USA
Date Reviewed: June 6, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I bought my PACER as part of a cardiac rehab program after suffering cardiac arrest at the age of 44. The blockages were cleared and it was time to get back in shape. I found the unit invaluable for maintaining my target heartrate while doing the rehab workouts. The unit agrees with the hospital equipment perfectly and gives me a level of confidence while working out at home that I would not otherwise have. I even wear it for lawnmowing and other activities. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rusty
a cross-country rider
from Brisbane, Australia
Date Reviewed: March 26, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Tried a few other brands, and the pacer doesn't jump around like they did.
A bit on the expensive side($250). The chest strap is a thow away item (@$120) after 2 years of use. Except for the chest stap it is excellent. Found it was an excelent training aid, as I dont have to run a set course. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Don
a cross-country rider
from central New Jersey
Date Reviewed: October 17, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
Recently tried a Polar Pacer HRM. This is (I think) the second most economical model. I gives me all I really need to know; current bpm. I've been using it on a stationary bike (in a lab setting), so I don't know how the wireless transmitter performs under outdoors conditions. However, in the lab it worked like a gem. I had the opportunity to compare it to the good ol' method (count heart beats by pulse) and an EKG reading. The Polar unit was right on the ball. An excellent training device. | | Overall Rating: |
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