Heart Rate Monitors

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PedroMx

Member

Jan 12, 2001

48

0

• Sep 3, 2001

• #1

Hi:

I want to train better than I've done before and for what I am reading one of the ways is getting and using a HRM.
Sadly my knees only tolerate bicycling and rowing and for the little time I have per day I have to maximize training time.
I need some advice on this issue: models, features, etc.

Thank you guys for any help.
:)

 

A

Anssi

Member

May 20, 2001

868

0

• Sep 3, 2001

• #2

I just have to promote a Finnish product (and let's face it, these guys make the heart rate monitors).

Polar

They have some product finding features on their site. I run outdoors and row indoors and usually just use the timer and hr monitoring, but even the most basic models have all kinds of fancy features.

The only penalty you pay for getting one of the neater ones is in currency, they are not heavier or anything.

 

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YZr1der

Member

Aug 17, 2001

74

0

• Sep 3, 2001

• #3

Polar HRMs are great. we have to use them at school during our fitness class.

 

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P_Taylor

Uhhh...

Jun 17, 2000

106

0

• Sep 3, 2001

• #4

I have a basic Polar and a Vision Fitness , no problems with eithere of them.

I would suggest one with alarms to let you know when you are getting out of the zone you are trying to train. If you have the alarms you don`t have to keep looking at it to keep track of what your heart rate is doing.

 

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KDXDan

Member

Oct 17, 2000

186

0

• Sep 5, 2001

• #5

PedroMx I have a Polar Protrainer NV. The NV means you can read it at night. I never use the light. All the Polars are waterproof somewhat. If use one offroad in the mud its an important feature. Don't get one that just tells you your heartrate. You have to constantly look at it and then do the calculations in your head. A buzzer (or beep) which tells you you're above or below your heart rate zone is important to me as I MTB and don't always look at it. Mine has target zones and records how much time I spent in my zone, below zone and importantly above the target zone. I wish it had maximum heartrate so I could look at it say after a MTB race and see what the maximum rate was. This is important to figure out what your correct target zones are (recovery zone, max, 70% etc). Mine also has a feature that will allow me to record laptimes. You do have to press the button every lap.

 

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PedroMx

Member

Jan 12, 2001

48

0

• Sep 6, 2001

• Thread starter
• #6

Thanks guys!

I have another question, a friend told me that the band on Polar hrms is sealed and that you cannot change the battery when it gets discharged. The bands are very expensive here, and the salesman from the bike shop said that he has both the Polar and a Cardiosport (in this make the band has a replaceable battery) and that they are about the same.
What do you think about this?

 

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Anssi

Member

May 20, 2001

868

0

• Sep 7, 2001

• #7

The Polar bands are sealed and you can't replace the battery. However, it lasts for years, and the other HRMs are of inferior quality in my opinion. You have to make this decision for yourself.

 

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KDXDan

Member

Oct 17, 2000

186

0

• Sep 7, 2001

• #8

Good point about the bands. There not cheap either. Also when the watch battery dies you should send it back to Polar for replacement. They replace the battery and install a new o-ring. My sister took hers to the local watch shop and they stripped the screws.

 

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buffmaster

Mi. Trail Riders

Member

Apr 11, 2001

558

0

• Sep 7, 2001

• #9

I used to work in a bike shop and I've dealt with these things quite a bit. Polar's ARE the BEST. Period. The prices do reflect this, but so does the quality and features. There are many different brands out there, some of which a quite nice. One thing you'll want to think on is how serious about this you want to get. If you just want to keep track of your max heart reat and to make sure that you're within your target heart rate(where you get your best physical workouts/advantages), a basic model from any of the major brand will work(I've got a Schwinn model from my ex-father-in-law that works great for that). If you want to get a little more in-depth, like charting your workouts on the PC and/or doing some serious anerobic workouts, then go with Polar.

 

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PedroMx

Member

Jan 12, 2001

48

0

• Sep 7, 2001

• Thread starter
• #10

Again, thank you very much for your answers.

I will be on the Polar side, after close inspection the quality is very good.
The point in getting one is that with work and other obbligations all I have is about 1 hour every other day if I get lucky (so I have no chance of riding).

:):):):)