Opinions on Aldi wireless computer with HRM?

MarvintheAndroid

I bought one of these after I saw it mentioned in one of the forums here.

The unit started to play up during the first ride, it was raining at the time but only very lightly. The thing started to re-set itself to zero, and after a while the buttons stopped working. I tried re-setting it as per instructions but it got so bad I couldn't complete inputting the setup data before the buttons stopped working.

Good as gold, Aldi replaced it for me the next day.

Now it has been out twice, in dry conditions each time, and today the HR sender has packed up. It does not seem to be transmitting at all. On opening the HR band battery cover to check the battery (2.94V) I noticed small droplets of moisture inside the casing, which could only have come from condensation or similar. I would have thought that a piece of kit like this, worn under the shirt, should be designed to cope with a little moisture !!

I have contacted the manufacturer MCP and - good as gold - they are replacing it for me; but I guess they will be unwilling to send me a new unit every week.

Anyone else had good / bad experiences with these ?

[Edit] Please specify how long you have been using it.

Marv

mba007

It is the best £12.95 I've spent for a long time. The only issue I have is that the HRM band sometimes does not make good contact with my skin, but then I'm not the thinnest person in the world [I'll leave the rest to your imagination!]. If you put it on and you wait ~30s and it still isn't receiving, then slightly wet both contact bands ... it always works for me. But then, I may be lucky.

MarvintheAndroid

Yup, tried that - I must have looked right old sight hitching up my shirt and spreading saliva all over my chest...... I hope nobody was looking !

Marv

mba007

comsense

Mine works great ( 6 months). Wish I'd bought a few of them. Did lose contact on one ride but that was it - and I don't think I want to know what heart rate I hit that day but thats a different story.

Red Panda

Sorry to hear you're having problems with yours Marvin, my partners is going well and she's bemused with its number of functions, especially the back light (dimmer than a dim thing). I hope you end up with one that actually works!

I have a Cateye Strada Wireless and was amazed to see how similar the two devices are, albeit different in build quality. My Polar HRM chest strap is quite a bit better for range and signal holding than the Aldi job but the whole Aldi bike computer was cheaper than my Polar chest strap so it's unfair of me to criticise I'd say. All in, the Aldi job can't be faulted for value but let's see how it does longer term. My Polar HRM is over 10 years old and still works great.

overmars

I have it. But I've never used the HRM! Love how it takes the temperature!

MarvintheAndroid

Well, this seems encouraging, when I first had problems I did a trawl of the internet and found a lot of bad press. I am waiting for the (second) replacement unit to arrive from Germany, hopefully it will be better.

Keep posting your experience of these things, I'm sure Aldi will be selling thousands at that price and I was hoping to get a larger sample of opinions.

Marv

Mjolnir

Bought one myself, Couldn't find fault with it for the money but I didn't expect too much from it. So far its not let me down at all. Even in the rain its worked well although lets face it, for £12 its not going to be particularly waterproof. I went back and bought another for my girlfriends bike.

No idea how long it will last but as confucius say: 'You buy cheap you buy twice'.

GT-Dave

I got through 3 of them in as many months, each one gave random fluctuating readings for the speed (sometimes clocking 100+mph whilst stationary) and heart rate readings that would be fast even for a guinea pig!
Gone back to a Cateye one which is much more reliable.

MarvintheAndroid

Think I'll buy a Polar CS100.

Marv