Sports Instruments Circuit 5 HRM Heart Rate Monitors

Average Rating: 2.75/5
MSRP: $
# of Reviews: 4

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Product Description

Circuit 5 HRM

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Reviews 1 - 4 (4 Reviews Total)

User Reviews

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Submitted by bug753 a Racer from The Dalles

Date Reviewed: November 17, 2002

Strengths:    Mine has done what it is suppose to and dosn't pick up too much interference.

Weaknesses:    So sctratched up its hard to read.

Bottom Line:

Well unlike some other peoples, mine is still working, after a year. My only problem has been that I did use it for a watch for a short time, and during that time the face got so scratched up I can barely read it now. I don' t think I'm that hard on my watches and have never had this happen to any other watch, so I figure that SI must use a really soft plastic for the screen cover.

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Price Paid:    $50.00

Purchased At:   SuperGo

Similar Products Used:   Polar (crap), CardiSport (I have one that is 5 years old and still kicking, I got the SI for some extra data, should have spent the extra bucks and got another Cardio)

Bike Setup:   Colnago Ovalmaster (Captain America paint job), DuraAce

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Submitted by douggernaut a Racer from Austin

Date Reviewed: July 12, 2002

Strengths:    Worked for a good solid year. Customer service good.

Weaknesses:    Couldn't keep up with 5-10 hrs a week riding. Never found my max HR because it would give up before I did.

Bottom Line:

It was reliable and accurate until the warranty expired. It never worked while running, and now it is pretty worthless even using HRM electrode cream. I wouldn't buy it again.

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Price Paid:    $60.00

Purchased At:   Nelo's Pro Cycles

Similar Products Used:   None

Bike Setup:   Quattro Assi "Attack"

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Submitted by Lou Wheeland a Weekend Warrior from Allentown, PA

Date Reviewed: January 24, 2002

Strengths:    Large easy to read numbers, even in darkened room without my glasses, accurate heart rate, lots of features,

Weaknesses:    Calorie counter inaccurate

Bottom Line:

I noticed all the participants in my spinning classes using HRM's and thought, I needed one too! A quick survey showed everybody using Polar units, but this WEB site pointed me to the ECG3. I visited an LBS in my sales territory, close to 100 miles from home and bought my ECG5 on the advice of the shop owner. Added features such as time in and out of zone, calorie counter and night-light all seemed worth the extra $30.00. I thought the night-light would be an asset since we "spin" under subdued lighting.
Well, when I opened the package, parts stated flying off like a Gary Larson "Far Side" cartoon in the operatng room. The dealer exchanged that one on my next trip and it has worked well, but with some interesting issues. During the first week of operation, the clock was very inaccurate, loosing as much as 2 minutes over 12 hours. Wouldn't expect that from digital technology. Secondly, the calorie counter showed 3-4 times as many calories used as I normally see from all the other apparatus at my gym. I had to reset my weight to half to get it close! All that said though, I like the product and will recommend it, though the ECG3, to anyone who asks about it.
Incidentally, the instructors I have are from the Lehigh Valley Velodrome and are really tough on us 55 year olds!

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Favorite Ride:   Anywhere my Recumbents will take me!

Price Paid:    $140.00

Similar Products Used:   None 1st time user

Bike Setup:   Barcroft Virginia GT Recumbent, Rans Rocket "Bent", Schwinn "Spinning" Bike at local gym

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Submitted by matteoga3 a Racer from carbondale, IL

Date Reviewed: December 31, 2001

Strengths:    The blue color matched my Boston t-shirt well, and they were quickly replaced. It worked when I ran with it.

Weaknesses:    they break, and sometimes wouldn't read when I was biking

Bottom Line:

I really don't understand all these 5/5's. Everyone is talking about how thier watch broke and are still giving high ratings. I went through 3 of these in about 6 months, one broke the day before the Boston Marathon (great timing), and another broke while I was stretching before a race. I'm glad I have a good relationship from my shop, but from what I've been reading it didn't really matter, it would've been fixed. If a product is defective, as these have seemed to be (this is the older version, by the way), it shouldn't be touted as something that is great. I've noticed that they've changed their design since I had this watch, and I'm sure they fixed the problems. I'm not willing to wager $150 on that, though. Just be warned about their old watches, and don't buy any of them.