Polar CS200cad Cycle Computer

ozbiker2

I've had mine for 2 years & 25,000km. Here are my experiences.

1. Positioning of the cadence sensor was critical. On the steel tourer, mounted on the seat tube did not work. Mounted on the down tube worked.
2. Positioning of the receiver is critical. On top of the stem works. On the bar same side as the cadence sensor works. Other side does not work.
3. I have had no problems with wheel sensor positioning.
4. Cadence sensor failed after one month and replaced under warranty. It appears this is not uncommon so make sure you buy from a local supplier to ensure your warranty is useable.
5. Don't park at the coffee shop with the wheel or cadence sensor adjacent to the magnet. According to the computer, I once rode 200km while having coffee!!!
6. Of course auto start will result in no-recording below a certain speed - that is how it is supposed to work. If you walk up a hill then there is no record. Turn auto start off and get used to not forgetting to manually start/stop.
7. Calorie burn is underestimated. Polar do it differently to everyone else and of course, they think their method is the best. It's all a guess anyway so don't get too hung up over it.
8. MaxMR used by the computer is based on the "formula" - 220-age. This is the wildest guess anyone ever invented. The history of this formula can be found on the web (and other sources). I have a graph of 10,000 maxHR figures for real people plotted against age. It looks like a mad woman's breakfast. Someone has drawn a straight line through it representing the "formula", and the line more or less sits arbitrarily in the middle of the cloud of data points.
I use this method - maxHR is the maximum you can achieve (this is the definition). It is mostly genetically determined and is not a measure of athletic performance. The value of the Polar is that you can keep redefining your maxHR as you find ever steeper hills, and so accurately determine your training zones.
9. Best feature - it always works and the battery is never flat. When I do a long Audax ride I take the Polar and the Garmin 305. When the Garmin's battery is flat (after 12 hours) the Polar is still going.
10. Data download to computer - I don't think it is possible with the CS200. You can upload from the computer to the Polar easy enough using the computer's speaker. There's hardly enough data to make it worthwhile anyway - I write it down in a training log book after each ride and it only takes a couple of minutes.

Hope this helps someone.

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46kgToDate

Great post thanks.

I had actually forgotten about this thread.
I have new news on my Polar. I went to a reliable LBS and they told me they had sent 4 units back to polar, to get checks on the batteries etc because of unreliability and Polar charged $80 for each - nice earner!

However,
the problems I was having have been solved by two things:
1. My trainer at my gym, who is an elite mens cyclist, removed the Polar magnet and put a bigger, Cateye magnet on the wheel, suddenly its now recording speeds as low as 2kph. Friends, you can get one of these for under $10 at the LBS and it solves all the problems!!

2. Ride faster.
It records better at higher speed than lower speed.

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quickbuck

Bang ON!
It is pure fluke that mine is actually 220-age!


Should be.
I have the RS 200 (running watch) and do it via a microphone.
The software is downloaded from the site.

find it very useful....
Well, a useful toy.

ozbiker2

Great. You just reminded me of a neat trick for cyclists if you lose your sensor magnets. Dead CDROM drives are plentifull. Dismantle the laser head and inside you will find four small focussing magnets. They are rare earth magnets and exceedingly powerfull and work just fine taped to a crank or a spoke.

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Bigbananabike

Polar CS200 - really like mine. No problems with it turning off up hills(my lowest speed is say 11kph). Only once it blanked out after a ride(cell phone tower near it?) and I had to reset the clock etc.

As I train on a SingleSpeed(not fixed gear) its good/interesting to see the ave cadence and top cadence too.

I like the way it fits on the stem - looks better centralised.

I think the calorie counter over rates cal used(see other thread) but otherwise its great

Glen75

I also have a CS200CAD, i have done just on 700Km's with it and it has been faultless, only about 2 months old. I have recently upgraded to a GPS, so my CS200CAD is for sale if anyone wants one-Perfect cond, and purchased locally for $340-open to reasonable offers.

kapurkk

The Polar CS is unreliable. Its quite easy to change the battery with a small jewellers screwdriver and a 2032 battery - but if thechines made unit is malfunctioning it will suck a new battery dry in 24 hours.
Polar has terrible support and if this is the quality fo their products dont buy POLAR again. My watch and belt worksfine but the bike sensors and bike computers are a DISASTER.

Bigbananabike

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I can agree....a friend had a CS200 that played up so he went away from them for a couple of years(partly because the shop were not helpful). I see he's got one again and its doing fine .
My Polar S150s speed sensor has packed it in....

Rich8P

CS200 is rubbish! I bought one and have sensors on both my MTB and racing bike.

On the MTB, the wheel and cadence sensors have to be so close to the wheel and the pedal arm that they are always getting pushed out of the way. Move them further away and they don't work. I've had some success with bigger magnets from other applications but these are difficult to mount.

On the racing bike it is just plain unreliable. The unit switches off "paused" sometimes when I'm barrelling along.

The calorie counter must be something of an approximation because I rode just less than an hour last weekend with my Polar F55 watch and got 700 calories and 1042 with the CS200 (same heart band).

I'm thinking of changing to Garmin Edge but isn't it a pity to be carrying a GPS that doesn't navigate. Sooner or later someone will figure out one unit that does all and it will probably have a wire to the cadence sensor!

Apteryx

That's pretty unlucky. I too have CS200 on both my road & mountain bikes - it has never failed, stalled or anything similar. I don't use the cadence sensor on the MTB as that's a bit optimistic given the activity that goes on, otherwise all good.

As far as service is concerned, I managed to break all the mounting clips off the base of the actual unit - my fault, pushing the bike under a gated entrance and bashed the unit - the local distro replaced the case for me free of charge nothing much wrong with that for service. (I skipped the LBS & went direct as I though it unlikley I could get a replacement at all - I was obviously wrong!).

ozbiker2

BS. Seems some people can't be satisfied by anything.

The CS200 is for road bikes. Put it on a MTB and of course it will break!!!! It works fine for almost everyone, so maybe the problems are a user issue.

All calorie counters are an approximation, and a very rough one too!!! A power meter will get you a "closer approximation" if you spend a grand.

The Edge is NOT a navigator and is not advertised as one. Carry an IPaq or a TomTom if you want to know where you are and you are cycling so fast you can't follow the scenery. The Edge is a TRAINING AID, and a b..y good one too. You can however use it as a very effective route director for Audax rides, etc. if you know what you are doing and have the appropriate software and know how to use it. The Edge is not designed for this task but does perform it quite satisfactorily.

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"Live today as if it is your last, plan for tomorrow as if you will live forever"

Rich8P

Really, you'd think that Polar would make that clear in the advertising material then wouldn't you????

Seems strange, considering how many bikes in my two LBSs come with Polar advertsing material taped to the bars.

Why do you think that "Polar is proud to sponsor Australia's premier mountain bike event" (http://www.wildsidemtb.com/sponsors.html)



Tut, tut, not been reading the past entries on this topic???

If the unit is fitted according to the manual and doesn't work (bad signal, pedal magnet falls off easily...) then it is not good kit. Accessories should clip on and work.




25% difference on a 2 hour ride between to HRM from the same company is certainly very rough, I'll give you that.

TrekDedicated

The Polar CS200... or in expanded view is "Polar Complete Sh*t 200".. I've had this for almost a year and the relationship started off pretty well. But, now the honey moon phase is over. The moment I go out of my HR zone and I have the sound on, my speed is cut in half or doesn't register, and the monitor stops recording. Then, it goes off and on, off and on. Only once I go back into the designated zones the computer work properly.

Now, if the sound is off and I go out of the designated zones, it works much better. However, I need the sounds to keep my in check as a I train. Why the heck is this a problem is beyond me and it shouldn't be.

Rest assured, once I save up, a PowerTap will be my next purchase and never will I work with Polar again.

If anyone else has experienced this, please let me know.. I'm calling Polar this week about it, but it's just another thing on my to due list and it pisses me off.

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jur

I have a Polar S150 and it is a miserable piece of sh*t. I have to mount it with the strap so tight it is deforming the strap hole, almost tearing out. Any looser and it is intermittent. And it stops recording intermittently too, like the Stop button was pressed. It is very frustrating to do the Alpine Classic 200 only to find that 15km wasn't recorded.

After reading this thread about the CS200 I guess Polar won't be seeing any more of my hard-earned.