Customer Reviews

Polar CS200 Cycling Computer Heart Rate Monitor

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

 

 

I have had this product for a month. The machine itself is great and is both a pleasure to use as well as highly useful for improving your cycling.
Less can be said, however, for the software. I have been plagued by problems in uploading data and have wasted hours on it. Next time I will go for something with USB accessibility as the sonic port system is very troublesome.

I highly recommend this computer, I have used it for about 1000 miles so far. I purchased the cadence package, and among every thing else the wireless cadence works perfect. The wireless speed also works great, and the unit saves alot of info into a file you can access on computer itself or transfer to a pc. The computer saves 7 files max fyi....

As far as heart rate, what can I say, it is a polar... It can pick up a mouses heart rate if you attached the sensor to it, works perfect. I really like the chest strap as it uses cloth sensors, as opposed to my last hr computer that used plastic sensors that did not work well.

For the price range this works great. I picked up mine for about $159 + tax with the cadence, it comes as a bundle. If spending more then $200, I would consider the Garmin series for nav but in this price range this is one of if not the best.

I wrote this same review for the CS200cad, which is the unit I actually owned. Since the base unit is the same, this review applies here as well.

I used this monitor for about a year, until I got my Garmin Edge. The main problem I had with the Polar product was it's inability to accurately track my heart rate. It would fluctuate (while I was riding) from ~55 to ~220. It almost seemed as if it were measuring 1/2 my heart rate, or double my heart rate. It would sporadically jump from what I thought was about right (120-150 bpm) to around half that number, then stay there for a while, then go back to the range I expected. Then jump to around twice the bpm, then back down. I don't mean to say that it continuously did this. It would also track my heart rate accurately (or, at least in a reasonable range) for some periods. But the periods of inaccuracy were substantial, like 20 to 30% of my ride (usually 1-2 hrs of riding, so 15 to 40 min of incorrect readings). Enough so that I ignored all the results dependent on heart rate.

I was surprised by this - I think Polar is in the business of tracking heart rates. I thought their parent company made health care equipment?? I tried everything I could think of to correct the problem. New batteries, making sure the contact was good (moist) on the strap, limiting distance from strap to the unit, etc. Nothing helped.

Anyway, suffice it to say that my Garmin Edge 305 (which I've used for 4 years now, usually 5-10 times per week), has never had any of these issues.

I tried to Craig's List the CS200 a while back, but to no avail. I just tossed it out - an expensive experiment.

I liked the Polar's chest strap more than the Garmin's. That's why I gave the unit 2 stars instead of one. I wish I could use it's strap with the Edge.

Great tool for the avid bike rider, using all the new technology. The Cadence sensor is a must!

I have an overall good opinion of the unit itself. It does what it advertises it will do on the bike and it does it well. It's a bit fussy to use at first, but once you get the button sequences down it is pretty straight forward. The display is big and bright and easy to read even with polarized sunglasses on. The buttons are well placed and provide a nice positive feedback when they are pushed. However, one of the reasons why anyone would buy a heart rate monitor is to be able to analyze the data afterwards.. This unit fails this category completely. They have ZERO support for any mac users and I have found nothing indicated on their website that would hint at them developing. This is the age of web 2.0 and there are hordes of Mac users out there now. I fail to understand how a company that can produce a fine computing unit like the CS200 (or any other unit really) cannot develop a simple piece of SW for the Mac. I guess this speaks volumes about what they think of their "valuable" customers.

Anyone interested in this unit (Even PC users) should maybe check out offerings by other companies if using the Polarweblink SW is important to you.

I have had this HRM for about a year now. It has preformed pretty well for me. I did have a problem that after my first ride, I put the bike in the back of my truck and drove home through a big thunderstorm with the computer getting very wet and highway speed wind and the computuer stopped working. They promptly replaced it and the second one has been working great. Make sure you read the manual and get the wheel size set correctly.

yes your getting a great price but polar wont honor warranties from non polar authorized dealers. these people buy from 3rd parties thats why the price is so low. so if some tech prob goes wrong just throw it in the garbage because you wont be able to fix the problem.

I give the computer 3 stars - almost a 2. However, this is just for the computer. Polar customer service has been very awesome to me in my ownership of this device and I rate them 5 stars.

The review:
I have used this computer for the past 3 years and when it works it works great. I ride around 5,000 miles per year, and this computer usually functions for around half of those miles. My frustration with this product is with the fact that I am on my 3rd unit (yes: three, tres, trios). The first unit lasted around 9 months, at which point the screen simply blacked out - never to work again. Polar kindly honored their warranty even though I purchased this particular unit on ebay (your warranty is normally void unless you purchased from an authorized Polar dealer). They sent me a new unit and sensors - sweet.

My new unit was great for about 4 months, at which point the plastic nubs that attach the computer to the handle bar mount chipped off - my computer then rattled around violently each time I rode with it. Shortly after, the computer stopped reading speed and cadence. After countless hours of tying to adjust sensors, I just sent my unit in for repair. Surprisingly, Polar sent me a brand new head unit and replaced batteries for the sensors. They did all of this free of charge. I should note that they tried to charge me $94 for a new unit and battery replacement, but I kindly told them that I was unsatisfied with this product and would prefer to reinvest that money into a computer from a different company (I basically told them to keep the piece of junk). They then offered it to me for 50% off ($47) plus free shipping. I accepted this offer. I called them a few days later because I hadn't seen a charge on my credit card yet and wanted to make sure they had received payment (and, more importantly :), that my unit was on its way to my house). They then notified me that due to my difficulties with their product they decided to provide everything on the house - wonderful.

My poor experience with Polar might be unique, but their customer service is remarkable. The real frustration is with the fact that it takes months for me to actually find the time and effort to send the unit it, so I end up going 2-3 months without a working unit each time it breaks. That plus it takes around 2-3 weeks to send it in, have Polar repair it, and sent it back. That's a pain.

I do a lot of training for road races and long distance events, so it's important for me to have a computer that works consistently throughout the year. I've had my new(est) computer for a little over a month and no complaints yet. None of my Polar CS200 computers in the past have worked so well. If you're on a budget, you should be able to snag one of these for around $150 and hopefully your experience is a little more pleasant!

I have had the CS200 for a couple of months. It performs exactly as it says it will in the owners manual. Very impressive!

I bought this to replace a old but functional Echo W-1 that doesn't have heart rate monitoring capabilities. Installation was as expected, though the mounts for the CS200 are cheap and cannot be adjusted after the unit and sensors are installed. This is disappointing considering that much cheaper cycling computers have better mounts. I was never able to get the speed sensor to work. The computer never got a reading, despite spending an hour trying different mount configurations.

Ultimately, I chose to return this. Lots of message boards complain about broken/erratic Polar speed sensors, so I've remounted my old but reliable bike computer.