Customer Reviews

Polar CS100 Cycling Computer Heart Rate Monitor

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I don't think the negative reviews of this are fair. I have never seen the problems the others have described. It took about 10 minutes to install, and worked the first time out, with one small adjustment to move the speed sensor closer to the spokes. The HR monitor, as expected with Polar, works perfectly. The computer functions are not "Apple like" intuitive, but after about 5 minutes you should be able to use most of the functionality. The only complaint I have is that the setting function (time, bike, date, etc) only seem to go forward, so it is a pain to set the time to something like 7:49. It does far more than most riders will really need, computing calories burned based on entry of the persons weight, average speed, lap feature to divide a ride, total mileage, etc. I am very happy with mine and glad I made the choice. I do wish they included the rubber o-rings the manual mentions as options (probably more paint friendly) to using the zip ties.

I've had a CS100 for almost 3-1/2 years now and has worked flawlessly since day one. I had to replace teh batteries of the chest strap just once during this period, everything else is still original. Now after almost 3-1/2 yrs it seems the speed sensor has gone out of service. I am taking away one start because the battery on the speed sensor can not be replaced by the consumer, which seems trivial in this day an age. It takes a bit of effort to initially set it up, but once you know how it works pressing the 2-4 buttons at the end of each ride to get the stats is no problem. The buttons are a little stiff though and if you are riding in winter with padded gloves you have to take them off to press any buttons.

After reading the reviews on here I was a little hesitant to get this for my trek 3700. I will say this would have gotten 5 stars if the speed sensor would have worked with my bike, but I did purchase it knowing that there was the chance that it wouldn't work. Shipping was quick, heart rate monitor is top notch. Strap is a little small for bigger guys but it still works fine. I've been using it about 4 weeks now and it's really improved my performance biking. I'd definitely recommend it!

I purchased this from a local bike store on their recommendation and was alarmed when I read many of the reviews here, almost took it back. I got the unit for the heart rate feature and ability to add cadence. I already had a "CatEye" that worked well. The CS-100 is a bit tricky to set up on the front fork to get the sensor close to the magnet on the spoke for speed readout. A bit of fiddling was needed, but now that it's set it works fine. The Heart rate feature works easily with no tricky set up. I later purchased a cadence sensor, also a bit tricky to position, but also works fine and is reliable. I mounted the computer on the stem of a carbon fiber road bike. The mount was easy enough to set in place and the computer is easy to take off and on.

The computer can be tricky to use as there are button sequences to set up and get information from. But there's only one square inch of screen space and 3 buttons! It was necessary for me to read the manual multiple times to get a handle on how things work. Once it's set up and put on "auto-start" it's very easy to use while riding and the display directly shows heart-rate, speed, and cadence on one screen. I'm happy. At the end of the ride, there is a sequence of button pushing to get the info about average speed, average cadence, max heart-rate, average heart-rate, calories burned...... but you can open the instructions and follow the steps if needed.

So, I'm pleased with my CS-100 and recommend it

Works well and provides a lot of information. The heart monitor works great. One small problem is that I have pneumatic forks on my bike, so it was difficult to get the sensor on the wheel high enough to be within the distance limits. I had to put the head unit right against the handlebar stem with the sensor as high as it would go.

This cyclometer is exactly what I needed at a reasonable price. If fitness is your goal the "Own Zone" feature provides constant feedback and keeps you riding at the intensity that's just right. This monitor provides useful riding information without being excessive. Serious athletes might want a downloadable function or possibly cadance information, but for me this cyclometer would be my choice again.

I have been using this computer for 2 weeks, so this may change over time.
I was a bit worried about buying the cs100 after some of the reviews on here, however, after spending about an hour getting everything set up correctly it works great. The speed/distance sensor setup is tricky! I have it mounted on a fox 100rlc. The instructions specifically give you the maximum distance from sensor to computer and they MEAN IT! I had to mount the sensor at the very top of the fork lowers to get good communication, I would guess that it will not work on more than 100mm travel. Also mounted the computer to the stem as the bars would have been too far away to get a reading(I prefer it there anyway). So the spoke magnet is just above the spoke nipple, and the sensor is turned 90 degrees from the front of the fork(I actually have to tilt the wheel to install/remove it now)
Now on to the computer... Setup was fairly simple. I did use the polar uplink tool for the settings(I highly recommend doing it this way) and it's a very simple computer to use. The heart rate display is large and easy to see while riding, but the speed and distance, not so much. No worries for me though, I don't need to see that until after the ride anyways. I have used it for 2 races and 200+ miles of single track riding and all is well. For 100.00 you can't really go wrong(unless you have more than 100mm of travel, or a lot of spacers on the steer tube). My previous computer was a sigma 1706, I wouldn't recommend that one(A lot of issues, including losing the HR reading almost every time I rode, even with fresh batteries, BIG PROBLEM) Finally, I am a little disappointed that you can not change out the battery on the chest strap, but will address that when it goes out.

This product is amazing, but the page information is not good, because it was not explicit in saying that it was not necessary to buy the cadence sensor and bike mount. Spending more money. but also I must say that I get the agreed time, in fact before which left me pleasantly surprised as ever.

best regards

Roberto

I've been using one of these for two years now. Until recently it worked great. While I did have an occasional glitch, that I think might have been due to wireless driveway alert systems, it was pretty much flawless....

...Until it started pausing due to 0 MPH while I was riding. It has become increasingly worse over the last month and since it's losing .2 to .5 miles on previously ridden 10 to 30 mile courses, is essentially useless as anything other than an HRM.

I confirmed the magnet and sensor are set to specs. The sensor to computer distance is also within specs, and worked fine for 2 years. I emailed Polar service about the problem, no reply. I've bought a new speed sensor, still glitches. I've changed the battery in the computer, still glitches. At this point it appears the computer itself is bad, which means I'm going to be without one for who knows how long while I wait for Polar service to take a look at it.

Bought the CS100 with 2 speed sensors - one for each of my road and mountain bikes. The performance on one is inconsistent - on the other it simply doesn't work. Have replaced both with basic computers, and wear a separate (NON-Polar!!) HRM.