Polar vrs Blackburn Delphi vrs Garmin Computers

milese

After having to return my 2nd YPK Cronopulse to wiggle due to it being rubbish I thought I should spend more and get something better.

Sorry if this has been covered a thousand times but after buying something that doesn't work very well I would like some owner opinions. I'm quite new to serious cycling and have just started training for a 100m sportive so all the help with training intensities / performance monitoring will be helpful.

I want a computer that:
All usual speed, ave, distance etc
HRM
HRM zone warnings / monitoring
Back light
decent easy to read display

Would like if worth while / cheap enough:
cadence
altimeter
computer upload

Would also be nice if I can easily transfer it over to my MTB as well.

I've got an old Polar watch HRM with T31 HRM band, will this band work with the Polar HRMs that have the HRM band as an option?

I know that the Garmin Edge is probably the bee's knees, but is obviously more expensive than the others, but does have extra features. Do people tend they use these features and think they're worth the extra dough?

Their are some good deals around on the Blackburn Delphi 5.0 & 6.0's, anyone got one? Any views / problems? How does wired cadence work? Where does the sensor go?

Any other options / suggestions / recommendations would be great.

Thanks all.

brit66

Well, I've got a Blackburn Delphi 4.0 and since late week, a new Garmin 305 and I have to say the Garmin will do all you want and more.

The screen view is editable so the things that are important to you can be made more conspiquous by choosing one of several templates. Another great advantage is that you just turn it on and off you go - no imputing wheel sizes, adding a wheel sensor, etc. A direct spin-off of this is you can move it from bike-to-bike no problem; it's even supplied with two bike mounts.

e999sam

I’ve got a Polar 200cad and wouldn’t recommend it the speed sensor has to be ridiculously close to the magnet and has to be as far up the forks as possible and still sometimes it packs up which is very frustrating.
I've also tried to contact Polar about the problem and they have not botherd to return my email.

Garybee

Another vote for the edge 305, very impressed with mine. With a new model coming out they should be relatively cheap now too.

milese

Thanks.

From an MTB point of view there is nothing more annoying than losing your speed sensor after going through puddles / streams, so the Garmin would be excellent.

Any idea where they are cheapest?

Is the software on them easy to use, and the directions / downloads easy? It still seems like a lot of dough for a cycling computer though!

spasypaddy

ive got a garmin 205 and two delphi 4.0. I like both equally! I only ever take my garmin if im doing a ride where ive planned where im going or if im going on a long run where i want to check my stats and where ive been. It has one annoying feature which is remembering to turn it on, ive forgotten too many times which is why i will always ride with a computer that gets switched on when my wheels start turning (hence the blackburns).

Each has its benefits and each has its drawbacks. If i was only to own one it would be the edge as it is obviously the better piece of kit £150>>>>>>>£15.

Get your edge off ebay, i got a 205 for £70 including p+p

milese

Thanks for all the help.

Whats the difference between the 205 and 305?

Could you use them to map off road routes?

spasypaddy

205 doesnt have cadence/HRM i didnt get the 305 because i already have cadence from my delphi 4.0

i dont know about off road routes as im a roadie, you'd be better asking that in the MTB section surely?

stevebendall

I've had no end of problems with Polars, both with the units going wrong, and the quirkiness of set up of the sensors, so I've now decided to go down the Garmin route

Getting it later this week for £140 if that is within your budget, will do all the Polars ever did and more, and I hope more reliable, and due to it being GPS, no set up of sensors needed

Doom

stevebendall wrote:

I've had no end of problems with Polars, both with the units going wrong, and the quirkiness of set up of the sensors

Flip side of that coin is that including myself there is a group of 5 of us using Polar CS200 monitors all with cadence and one using a Polar S725x monitor with speed and cadence. All to a man rave about the devices, the ease of set up and the outputs they produce. I really dont understand they set up issues some people make reference too as I run my unit across several bikes and swop wheels quite frequently without any issue.

I have had several type of Polar products with only one giving me issues in terms of buttons breaking which resulted in Polar replacing the entire unit quite quickly.

To the poster who moaned about Polar not replying by email try calling the original retailer and getting them to do the leg work for you.

milese

Thanks for all the advice. I ordered the Cateye HR200 last night from Ribble, it looks to have all the features i really need and is much more in line with what I can afford at the moment.

As I didn't ask for any experiences of it, I hope its going to be alright!?