Polar hrm vs garmin

[Li Mu Bai]

Garmin don't give you Vitality points for training... Just saying.

 

um, each race nets you up to 5000 Discovery Vitality points via SA Active, no need to panic about gathering little bits here and there...

[dracs]

Also moved from Polar (ok the entry level CS300) to Garmin (E500). Garmin all the way! Battery is really no issue since its so easy and quick to charge.

 

A big plus on Garmin vs Polar is the fact that Garmin is ANT compliant (so compatible with 3rd party hardware) and its file formats are compatible with third party software. Polar is proprietry in both the way it links its HRM and other sensors and also its software needs to be converted to be of any use to non-polar software.

[The Ghost]

Also give these sites a read:

http://bike-gps-review.toptenreviews.com/

http://www.heartratemonitorreviewstips.com/best-heart-rate-monitors/#Cycling

[rouxtjie]

Also give these sites a read:

http://bike-gps-revi...tenreviews.com/

http://www.heartrate...nitors/#Cycling

I see the bottom link still says the edge 500 doesn't have workouts / interval training functionality. It now does, was a software update not so long ago and works a charm.

[The Ghost]

Heres another one:

http://www.heartratemonitoradvisor.com/garmin-edge-500-review.html

 

If you all have more to add please do, Im looking to buy in the next few days and all help is appreciated.

[rouxtjie]

There is only one review for these goodies

 

check it

 

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/11/garmin-edge-500-in-depth-review.html

[The Ghost]

Thats great, thanks.

One thing Im not sure of is the map setup.

Am I right that with the 500 you cannot load maps made by others (even just breadcrumb), but you can with the 800?

Also, I see the road maps on the 800, but what about off-road map made by others, can they be loaded?

[rouxtjie]

Thats great, thanks.

One thing Im not sure of is the map setup.

Am I right that with the 500 you cannot load maps made by others (even just breadcrumb), but you can with the 800?

Also, I see the road maps on the 800, but what about off-road map made by others, can they be loaded?

Yes you can with the 500, but its not a turn by turn map...its breadcrumbs that you must follow...tried and works well for me

[solly]

http://www.polar.fi/sites/default/files/CS500plus_frontleft_2.png

 

Price is just over R 2K from bikeinn.

 

where is bike in??

this looks good

[Paul Ruinaard]

You may want to look at this thread below - I was wondering similar but compared to Bryton. I have a Garmin 800 and it rocks. Also the OPen MTB Maps mentioned in these posts are great. Cost me nothing.

 

https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/114101-bryton-50-vs-garmin-805/page__fromsearch__1

[The Ghost]

What would be the best 3rd party software for Garmin devices and Mac?

[rouxtjie]

What would be the best 3rd party software for Garmin devices and Mac?

I like Sporttracks3, its like 20 dollars for a license and it gives you two keys for 2 installations.

 

Trainingpeaks I have heard is also good especially if you have a powermeter, bit more pricey. Don't know about the others to be honest

[dracs]

I like Sporttracks3, its like 20 dollars for a license and it gives you two keys for 2 installations.

 

Trainingpeaks I have heard is also good especially if you have a powermeter, bit more pricey. Don't know about the others to be honest

Can you use sportstracks offline or is it web-based? Is the $20 once-off or are there also annual licence fees?

 

Also, re equipment tracking, does it automatically allocate downloads based on bike 1 2 or 3 as selected on the Edge 500 or do you need to manually allocate each download? Also, can it be set up so bike 1 defaults to road and bike to to MTB for eg - as I was surprised to see that this seemingly is not possible in Garmin connect or endomondo?

 

thanks

Edited April 24, 2012 by dracs

[Spinnekop]

I am running Trainingpeaks. Works well with the little Garmin 500.

['Dale]

I recently moved from a Polar CS500 (after many years of Polar HR monitor usage) to Garmin 800. Thoughts: Garmin = forward thinking technology, use your data wherever you like, no issues using with my mac, much better interface, customise display of workout data on the device, industry leaders for GPS Polar = shockingly broken software and worse than useless Apple compatibility, regular loss of workout data during transfer, cannot use data on most sites (Strava, Endomondo etc), heads firmly up 4rse, no signs of improvement in four years of usage.

 

More or less same here...

 

Polar to Garmin = Upgrade.

[rouxtjie]

Can you use sportstracks offline or is it web-based? Is the $20 once-off or are there also annual licence fees?

 

tks

Its "offline" so no internet connection needed. $20 odd is once-off, you can also do bulk imports if you have saved your .fit files...very nice feature.

 

Plugins are the key that makes sporttracks so cool in my opinion