CS300 HRM Cyclometer

by Polar

Product Features

• Wireless sensor that provides current, average, and maximum speeds.
• Easy attachment and aerodynamic design.
• Cycling Energy Output: Cycling workload as kcal/h and kcal/km. With this feature you can foresee your calorie expenditure and secure sufficient intake on a long ride. This feature is also useful for comparing and analyzing the loads of various training types. It also measures how economical your training is.
• Estimated time of arrival: Set the distance you are going to ride, and your cycling computer calculates the estimated time of arrival based on your cycling speed.
• Speed Pointer: A feature that points out the difference between average speed/pace and actual speed/pace on the display by up/down arrows.

Product Description

The Polar CS300 heart rate monitor bicycle computer is a cycling computer and fitness monitor all in one, providing valuable feedback on or off the bike. Wireless speed, distance and heart rate provides for proper pacing during training, or cardio-focused workouts. Calorie expenditure, fitness test, and automatic target zones based on how the body feels each day makes the CS300 the perfect solution for cross-trainers, beginner tri-athletes, and fitness cyclists looking to stay in shape.

Product Details

• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• ASIN: B0055J358A
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great HRM for Cycling and Exercising, April 14, 2008

By 

TPop (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: CS300 HRM Cyclometer (Sports)

I feel I really have to write a review... after all, I felt I took a bit of a gamble on this product given some of the negative previous reviews. Yet this HRM had all the features I wanted - an HRM that can be used to keep track of cycling exercises and could also be used independently of the bike at the gym or when running.

I've used this product for about 3 months now. I've biked close to 400 miles and have completed over 40 exercises with it (both biking, gym, and running). I am very happy to say that it has functioned flawlessly in all conditions... it has been used:

- in the rain
- in freezing conditions
- in the city
- in the gym

The watch has not frozen or restarted. I was very afraid of this from a previous review.

I have confirmed the distances it has calculated by GPS - and have used it on 2 of my bikes. Each time after setup it worked well.

I have also used this HRM with the optional cadence sensor which has worked fine as well.

So the roundup:

*** PROS
- Has worked flawlessly in all conditions and during all workouts
- Provides all features as documented
- Intuitive and easy to use interface
- Free Polar web software to track exercises and stats

*** CONS (all minor)
- Wireless data transfer can takes time to setup - It took me a while to get it to work with my laptop. I think I spent about an hour futzing with it, but once I got my setup it works every time.
- Polar website is slow and doesn't export data to CSV or Excel.
- The buttons feel a little cheap (but hey, they work fine).

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great upper-entry level cycling HRM, July 29, 2009

By 

B. Rogers (Syracuse, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: CS300 HRM Cyclometer (Sports)

I'm very pleased with the CS300. I purchased mine with the optional wireless cadence sensor.

I've used a number of generic, low-end, heart rate monitors for cycling in the past. When I decided that it was time to step up to a cycling specific HRM, this is the one that I picked.

I used the CS300 to not only upgrade my HRM, but also to replace my existing cyclometer and cadence sensor. It's slightly bulkier on the handle bars, but getting rid of the wires to the speed and cadence sensors on the old cyclometer is a real plus.

PROS:

--Very reliable. Had trouble with it displaying apparently erratic heart rates at first, but that turned out to be the fact that I wasn't wetting the contacts on the chest strap enough before starting my ride. Now I just run it under water before putting it on, and it has never had another problem.

--I love the "OwnZone" function, which selects an appropriate target heart rate zone every time that I ride based on my max heart rate, heart rate above my resting rate, etc. I find it to be very accurate. If it says that I haven't fully recovered from the hard ride the day before, it is always right. In the cases that I've tried to overrule its judgement, I've discovered that my legs really weren't ready for another intense workout. And on the days that I want to just go out and crank, I can set my own manual limits.

--Distances are extremely accurate. I've checked it against GPS, and it is dead on.

--The upload to the Polar training diary website works well, once you fiddle with it a bit. Polar training website allows you to record and chart a huge variety of data elements.

--The wireless speed and cadence sensors work very well.

--I like the fact that it differentiates between cycling workouts and non-cycling workouts, and is still able to run the estimated calories burned for each.

--The VO2max estimation function is great!


CONS:

--Only a single target heart rate zone. I wish that it had multiple zones, as other more expensive units have, but that's a tradeoff that I made knowingly.

--I wish I had the ability to pause recording during a ride (such as when stopped at the mini-mart for a Power Bar) so that the stopped time didn't dilute my average speeds, heart rates, and cadence. It's possible that the unit will already do this, but I haven't found it yet. I've only been riding with it for a few weeks, and the multiple functions of each button, depending on mode, can be a bit confusing at first.

--I wish that the volume on the audible alarms went up just a little bit higher. In a strong headwind it can sometimes be difficult to hear.

--I really wish that when I uploaded the stored workouts from the HRM to the Polar training website, that the website would recognize workouts that had previously been uploaded and deduplicate them. At the moment I have a number of workouts on the HRM that I don't want on the training diary. It automatically uploads all stored workouts every time, and I have to go into the online diary and delete those workouts. It would be nice if it didn't upload those workouts again the next time. Minor irritation.

SUMMARY:

Overall, a very, very good cycling heart rate monitor. It doesn't have the features of the $700-$800 dollar units. But it doesn't have the price tag either. And it does everything that I realistically need it to do. I'm not Lance Armstrong. I'm just an over-40 guy who likes to ride a couple hundred miles a week, and improve his general fitness level.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars poor quality control, August 27, 2007

By 

H. T. Reepmeyer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: CS300 HRM Cyclometer (Sports)

If this product worked as advertised I would be very happy, but Polar has replaced the watch three times in six months under warrantee because of defects. First the watch would not produce audible sound (chirp) in order to transfer data to my computer; then it acted erratically displaying clearly erroneous speed data and turning off while riding (among other things). This last watch could not be reset to work with the speed and cadence sensors so it would not accept any speed or cadence data.

It it worked the CS 300 would be great, but Polar's quality control problems make me wish I had purchased from another company.

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