Polar cs200

Price Paid:  $100.00 at LBS

Favorite Ride:
Bif Sur

Summary:
Works well (at least it did); the soft fabric heart rate monitor is reasonably comfortable. However, Polar products seem to die after about 18-24 months. I have a drawer full of their nonfunctioning units.

Weaknesses:
Short lifespan

Price Paid:  $125.00 at Performance

Favorite Ride:
Any

Bike Setup:
S-Works E5, Full Ultegra

Summary:
I bought this almost a year ago and it worked great for the summer. Letely, the speed sensor has been pausing for no reason. I adjust the sensor and it works great for a most of the ride. Then, wham! no speed again. The batteries on the speed and heartrate transmitters are supposed to be good for over 2,000 hours, which I am nowhere near. Plus, you can't replace the batteries in these anyway.
The controls for the functions is complicated and the buttons are difficult to press with gloves. Push the wrong button and you're off in some strange screen wondering how the hell to get back to what yu want.
The heartrate function has worked flawlessly. Just make sure you wet the electrodes before putting it on. I just lick my finger and wipe it on them.

Strengths:
Good functions
Easy installation
Heartrate function is good

Weaknesses:
Speed sensor fails erradically
Batteries in transmitters cannot be replaced.

Price Paid:  $380.00

Bike Setup:
The CS200 took about 30minutes tops to set up. Easy.

Summary:
Initially this unit worked well, however it has a annoying problem, that I gather from the bike shop I purchased it from is common, in that it pauses for no apparent reason. It fault mainly happens when speed/cadence drops such has going up hill. The frequency of the pausing has now increased such that it is pausing for about 10-30secs 10-15 times in the hour.

Strengths:
Easy to set up.
Clear display.

Weaknesses:
Backlight function at night is only on for a very brief period 1-2secs - not long enough to read and comprehend all the information.

Price Paid:  $340.00 at Probikekit

Favorite Ride:
No Fave's

Bike Setup:
Colnago President with Dura Ace Groupset Zipp 808 Wheels

Summary:
Considering the price paid, this product is a letdown. The computer mounting was very tight and within 2 weeks of installation, one of the 3 fixing lugs on the case sheared off making it unstable. After about a month the heart rate and speed readings were notoriously inaccurate though the cadence never faltered. To the credit of the Polar servicing agents in Auckland NZ they cheerfully replaced the Main board and the case under warranty, so it arrived back as new.
The unit continues to be overly susceptable to interference from other HRM's, overhead power lines, and sites with radio frequency outputs. i.e. the airport, vehicle service stations, telephone exchanges to name a few. (I have used cheaper units with less trouble).
The speedometer cuts out at about 12kph so big hill climbs don't get recorded. Too often the HRM has to be reset during rides after electrical interference thus negating any averages recorded.
Generally there are too many functions that make the unit cumbersome to operate. These functions may be ok for the indoor/gym based trainers but we, who ride real bikes on real roads really only need the basic speed, distance, heart rate, and cadence readouts, plus immediate memory functions for the same. If these functions were independantly accessible, the unit would give much better feedback of data.

Strengths:
The design appears robust,is compact and the mounting options idea are very good. Displays are generally good though the secondary data display is a bit small and tends to be shadowed by the case.
The handbook has all the information required.
Wearlink works with my old "Cheapo" HRM
Warranty & Servicing excellent in this case.

Weaknesses:
Price.
Too susceptable to interference.
Too many functions/settings. Operation buttons not sensitive enough
Clearing data too complex and slow.
Haven't been able to use the computer uplink. (Anyway I don't want my personal information going to any central data processors).

Similar Products Used:
HE800, Cateye cc-mw100, (Still in use); Cateye Mity 200, Trek Incite, Cateye mity, Flightdeck. (These all wore out or were smashed accidentally).

Price Paid:  $200.00 at Bike Barn/Webster

Favorite Ride:
Seabrook to Angleton

Bike Setup:
Road Bike with tough tires for commuting, adorned with various pretty weaved carbon and shiny aluminum bits...

Summary:
This wireless unit has been reliable and measures accurately (tested against Google Maps and timing of HR and cadence on watch and against another HR monitor). Sometimes setup with these units can be a royal pain in the arse but the CS200cad was simple enough. I don't give this unit a "5" because there aren't many perfect products in the world...

Strengths:
Wireless, good documentation (compared to the friggin' joke included with the Trek Incite ACH), easy set up, OK installation difficulty, reliability, measurement accuracy, remivable head, highly flexible mounting locations (bars, stem, even top tube if you want), good memory for storing lots of memorable rides, attractive looks, interference doesn't seem to be a problem.

Weaknesses:
Menus can be a little awkward to go through - make sure you read the manual to make sure you know how to access everything. Given its wireless nature it has only freaked out when passing a Union Pacific switcher that was being operated by radio (engineer standing outside with the radio unit).

Similar Products Used:
Cateyes (wired), family members have used Trek Incite ACH digital (stay away from this unit)