Back to Polar and Goodbye Garmin (NOT)

[jberenyi]

For five years I had a Polar CS200CAD unit and it has worked flawlessly. It always worked and never let me down. I got talked into buying the Garmin Edge 500 by fellow cyclists and paceline forum members only to deal with nothing but issues on a brand new unit. I bought the bundled package and the issue I'm having is speed hops. This unit is constantly in flux whether the I turn the GPS on or off. I have read the manual and tried everything but it just has a mind of its own with respect to speed. I am so bummed and wish I never bought the thing. I read everywhere on the net all these problems people have with this product and it doesn't give me a warm fuzzy to own such technology. If I can't figure this out I'm going back to old technology... at least it works... all the time :(

PS. Things I've checked; magnet alignment to sensor, firmware upgrade, pairing of the unit, and on and on.

[thegunner]

out of curiosity - why would turning off the GPS help? I always thought the combination of sensor and gps made things more accurate...

[MattTuck]

Can i ask where you bought the 500? If somewhere like REI, you should exchange it. It sounds like you got a bum unit.

I have a 705 and it works consistently. Only problem I have is if I knock the cadence sensor out of alignment, I don't get cadence data.

I wouldn't have any reservations about buying another garmin unit... but I'd buy it form REI.

[jberenyi]

out of curiosity - why would turning off the GPS help? I always thought the combination of sensor and gps made things more accurate...

I thought if I divorce the headunit from the sensor maybe it would read accurately thereby denoting that the sensor was bad.

[dekindy]

Can you not return it under warranty?

[eippo1]

Hah, sound like the exact reason I ditched Polar. Owned two different units and found them both very unreliable. Switched to Garmin and have lived happily ever after

[jberenyi]

Can you not return it under warranty?

I'm going to try tomorrow. I hope I can exchange it.

[jberenyi]

Can i ask where you bought the 500? If somewhere like REI, you should exchange it. It sounds like you got a bum unit.

I have a 705 and it works consistently. Only problem I have is if I knock the cadence sensor out of alignment, I don't get cadence data.

I wouldn't have any reservations about buying another garmin unit... but I'd buy it form REI.

I bought the unit from Western Bike Works.

[regularguy412]

Try the RCX5B Polar unit.

Disclaimer: I've never owned a Garmin, but my buddy did and he hated it. He went back to his CS200 Polar unit.

I've personally owned several different Polar units over the years, Vantage XL (top of the line for ANY HR monitor back in 1993), S150 and the Polar Beat (very basic unit). I own and still occasionally use the Cardiosport Limit. It has a few features like hi/low limits and whether you are in, above or below the zone you've chosen.

My Vantage XL lasted 20 years before it finally died last year. I looked around a lot before I chose what to replace it with. The RCX5B fit the ticket nicely. It has options for cadence (pedaling), cadence (running) and GPS and others. I chose not to get the any of the additional items. The price is affected by how many add-ons you choose. I got mine with the fork sensor, head unit, chest strap and transmitter for $261.00 shipped. The batteries in both the transmitter and head unit are user-replaceable.

The RCX5B is a multi-sport watch. I not only use it for cycling, but also for the Boot Camp workouts I've been doing thru the winter. It can track up to 6 different sports and each sport has approximately 40 different measurements from which to choose, e.g.: current hr, avg hr, time in various zones, exercise time, lap time, etc, etc.

I think it's worth a look.

Mike in AR:beer:

[jberenyi]

Just got back testing the unit inside the car with the wife driving. The unit works flawlessly at all speeds. It must be the speed sensor that is bad.

[11.4]

I'd have to say that with many riders on Garmin and four 500s of my own on both track and road, it's the most reliable and bulletproof system out there. I don't even see defective units. It really comes down to setup or user error. There are a few problems with Polars but frankly they're damned reliable too. A store will take your Garmin back but honestly, there's some problem with the setup. I'd suggest you work through the problem. Spikes happen occasionally when using GPS because of problems with the signal -- that's no fault of the unit. If you want reliable speed data, use the speed/cadence sensor and save the GPS for routing. Sometimes for a joke we'll use a 500 with GPS on the track, and it's one of the few units that can actually measure speed on a track -- since you really aren't going anywhere from a GPS standpoint, it's a good joke on newbies from the road.

To reiterate, work out your problem with the Garmin. You'll end up on a unit that does a superb job.

[Jaq]

send it to me for a second opinion. I'll do a 6 - 12 month evaluation and get back to you.

[laupsi]

I've had issues w/my Garmin, I have an Edge 800. My issues are not w/speed, the GPS, once synced, works very well indeed. My issues are w/HR. Never had issues w/HR on my Polar, but on just about every ride I get a spike in HR to levels not humanly possible. At least not by this human. I've had this unit for about 3 years, perhaps I need a new belt? Any feedback is welcome.

[jberenyi]

Just wanted to followup. The speed/cadence sensor was defective. It had a loose wire inside the unit accordng to Garmin. The new replacement works great now. But you would think Garmin would make a blade spoke magnet that fits the Racing 1 Fulcrum wheels..gee whiz.

I'd have to say that with many riders on Garmin and four 500s of my own on both track and road, it's the most reliable and bulletproof system out there. I don't even see defective units. It really comes down to setup or user error. There are a few problems with Polars but frankly they're damned reliable too. A store will take your Garmin back but honestly, there's some problem with the setup. I'd suggest you work through the problem. Spikes happen occasionally when using GPS because of problems with the signal -- that's no fault of the unit. If you want reliable speed data, use the speed/cadence sensor and save the GPS for routing. Sometimes for a joke we'll use a 500 with GPS on the track, and it's one of the few units that can actually measure speed on a track -- since you really aren't going anywhere from a GPS standpoint, it's a good joke on newbies from the road.

To reiterate, work out your problem with the Garmin. You'll end up on a unit that does a superb job.

[shovelhd]

The magnets with the plastic back stink. They're always breaking. I picked up a set of small neodymium magnets and glue them to the spokes. Works great. One per wheel of course.

[Likes2ridefar]

I've had issues w/my Garmin, I have an Edge 800. My issues are not w/speed, the GPS, once synced, works very well indeed. My issues are w/HR. Never had issues w/HR on my Polar, but on just about every ride I get a spike in HR to levels not humanly possible. At least not by this human. I've had this unit for about 3 years, perhaps I need a new belt? Any feedback is welcome.

Generally this is caused by a few different things

1) you are very cold
2) descending and very windy/flapping clothes
3) friction/static electricity
4) a hairy chest

there are probably other reasons but those are what I've found to cause issues and not only with a Garmin

try putting water or spit on the sensors before using the belt. there is also a gel available that may help however I've never used it

[1centaur]

I've had issues w/my Garmin, I have an Edge 800. My issues are not w/speed, the GPS, once synced, works very well indeed. My issues are w/HR. Never had issues w/HR on my Polar, but on just about every ride I get a spike in HR to levels not humanly possible. At least not by this human. I've had this unit for about 3 years, perhaps I need a new belt? Any feedback is welcome.

When I've seen spikes on the Garmin HR I've found three possibilities, all of which trace back to intermittent reading that the algo grosses up to high bpm:

1) Weak strap battery - replace.

2) Loose connection to body - tighten belt and lick the contacts.

3) Heart skipping beats, maybe dehydration/electrolytes. Take salt and potassium.

[parallelfish]

out of curiosity - why would turning off the GPS help? I always thought the combination of sensor and gps made things more accurate...

No, GPS always has some error.

Without the sensor, speed and distance is generated via GPS.

If a sensor is present, speed and distance is generated via the sensor readings.

The sensor allows for the setting of the wheel circumference manually, or letting the GPS calculate wheel circumference at the beginning of each ride. Most accurate would be to measure and set the circumference yourself, thus keeping GPS totally out of the speed/distance calculations.

[mike p]

Glad you got to the bottom of it. I've had mine for one year with no issues at all.

Mike

[jberenyi]

The magnets with the plastic back stink. They're always breaking. I picked up a set of small neodymium magnets and glue them to the spokes. Works great. One per wheel of course.

I had to comment on your statement: I bought these babies last week for the spoke and crank. All I can say is WOW! What a huge difference! Best investment I ever made to make sure no signal is lost.

[tpalmer]

The magnets with the plastic back stink. They're always breaking. I picked up a set of small neodymium magnets and glue them to the spokes. Works great. One per wheel of course.

Great idea. What kind of glue do you use?

[jberenyi]

Great idea. What kind of glue do you use?

I used Clear GE Silicone Adhesive. I bought two magnets, put a bead of silicone on one side, held it in place with the other magnet on the other side of the blade. Works very nicely and if you have to remove, the silicone will come right off. Of course I'm not using two magnets for the effort, only to install it. You can use tape to hold in place if you desire.