Best Polar RS300X Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Black) Deals

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List Price: $169.95
Sale Price: $89.00
Today's Bonus: 48% Off

For some reason, Polar requires that these units be sent back to replace the battery, which costs $25 + shipping. On top of the annual cost of maintenance, this ship to replace policy leaves you without a heart monitor for about 2 weeks once a year.

The other issue I found is that the reception range is not very good, so the unit won't work well mounted on a bicycle.

Finally, Polar has decided to arbitrarily remove the % fat burn function from some of its watches. This watch does not have it, so keep in mind you will not know what % of your calorie burn was fat.

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UPDATE: Tuesday, September 8, 2009 1:36PM

After a couple more workouts and a few hours of trying to figure out this product... well, their user documentation is horrible, which means you must spend hours discovering almost everything on your own.

I like the RS300X for its ability to track and store training data. (But, finding the data is a hassle thanks to poor documentation with no examples. Ultimately, I will have to spend time creating a navigation chart myself.)

I like the chest band with its detachable transmitter and easy-to-replace battery.

I don't like the molded one-piece watch-band that forces you to wear the watch atop the wrist. I prefer to wear the watch on the side of my wrist where I can glance down to read, rather than having to raise my entire arm to read.

I still don't like the display because of its obnoxious glare and requirement of perfect up-close vision to read it.

Based on my experience with the RS300X and other Polar products, I would now raise my 2-star rating to 4-stars (if I could). Without excellent and useful documentation that SAVES MY TIME & FRUSTRATION I can't give it 5-stars.

All my other Polar products have been reliable and of high quality construction. I assume the RS300X will be the same or better.

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Sunday, September 6, 2009 11:25AM

I received my new Polar RS300X a couple days ago. I shoulda shopped around...

I've been using Polar Heart Rate monitors since 1986. and have been pleased with them all... Until now.

I bought this RS300X because I loathe the hassle of sending the equipment in for new batteries.

While the RS300X electronics seem to offer many features, the smaller display is utterly crappy a significant obstruction to my workouts!

You must try to read the tiny display info through TWO glaring reflections off the clear plastic lens (glare NOT SHOWN in the photos). What good is the real-time feedback info if you can't read it while running?!?!

I assumed I would love this new product.

Unfortunately, after only two uses, I hate this RS300X. If I change my mind after more usage, I'll change this review.

Mike

Best Deals for Polar RS300X Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Black)

Nobody loves the Polar Brand more than I do. Actually since 1995 I haven't used any other brand. I have always used the basic model to get the largest screen and font. At the White Rock Expo 12/09 in Dallas I purchased the RS300x w/ the foot pod.

Pros: + the foot pod is incredibly accurate, much better than any GPS technology that you can afford

+ nice looking watch / monitor (although I don't use mine as a watch)

+ chest strap will fit smaller chests ( my children can use the new chest strap)

+ heart rate registers without recording so you can read your heart rate prior to or after your run but it doesn't skew your run data.

Cons: -With 3 lines of text on each screen, You cant read the screen during a run. Particularly the tenths of miles. (This blows the whole deal, what's the point of info you can't read)

-too many screens to go through, just overly complicated a good thing.

What is the value of all that information that you can't read during a run. I get home from a run and realize the thing wasn't on.

There should be a way to opt out of some of the bologna. 99% of athletes don't need that info and don't want it.

I still love Polar and I'm still trying to love the RS300 but its not easy. I guess it like buying a book and when you get home you realize the font is too small to read.

Honest reviews on Polar RS300X Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Black)

So far, I've found the RS300X to be an accurate, easy-to-use HRM with a nice set of features. At the Amazon price, it's a very good value.

By way of background, I've had several previous heart rate monitors. They include about 4 previous Polar monitors, as well as monitors by Garmin, Suunto, and Timex. Polar has always seemed the best at measuring heart rate during activity, especially if you use the Wearlink(fabric) transmitter belt. And since I often work out at gyms, the compatibility with most treadmills and other aerobic machines is an advantage. However, but all my previous Polar HRMs had unintuitive interfaces and poor instruction manuals. Timex was just about the opposite; they had the best receiver (watch) with large, clear displays and easily navigated menus. But I had to return both Timex HRMs that I ordered from Amazon because the heart rate function never worked. It seemed that the transmitter never made good enough contact with my skin, even when I used electrode gel.

My Suunto (model T3C) is a pretty good HRM and the receiver unit looks good, at least if you like the look of a conventional watch. The main display item (eg heart rate) is very easy to read, but the smaller lower display (time or whatever you choose to show) is tiny and hard to read when you're running. If you ordinarily use reading glasses you're out of luck. Also it doesn't display much information, perhaps because the main display item has such large pixels.

The Garmin FR60 is an excellent and generally reliable HRM but the receiver is thick and unattractive. I just sent it in for the 2nd time because it stopped working. Garmin customer support, however, has been excellent. I got the model with the foot pod for measuring distances but I've never actually used the foot pod. Its interface is not entirely intuitive but it isn't bad.

The RS300X is easily the best of these. I wasn't looking for a lot of features, only basic heart rate measurement and convenient lap timing. I wore it on a long run today and it rapidly determined my heart rate and seemed to be completely accurate the whole time. Some reviewers have complained that the display is hard to read for older eyes; I didn't find that a problem at all even with sunglasses. The menus are logical and there are hints to direct you to what to do next when you're scrolling through options. One of the most attractive aspects of this model is that it's so easy to do lap timing. So when you're running a marathon, for example, it's very easy to check your pace each mile while continuing to monitor your heart rate, and it is great for interval training. It shows the lap time, cumulative time, and heart rate on a single screen.

I'm also enjoying some of the features that I never thought I'd use. For example, the "Polar Index" is basically a measure of your resting heart rate that is supposed to correlate with MvO2. It isn't hard to measure your resting heart rate, but this feature offers a convenient way to get an average heart rate over 5 minutes not something you'd want to do by checking your pulse for that long. It does a really nice job of defining training zones automatically and reporting the time you spend in each zone.

Although I call it basic this HRM has all the features I need for training and racing long distances. Polar has always had good technology but in the past was weak at interface design. They've made great strides with this model.

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I have had this for about one month and it is great. It is the first time I have owned a watch like this and it is excellent.

Pros I would suspect it provides as detailed info as possible as it asked for age, height, weight, and sex. Watch is not ugly so I can wear it at work. It is pretty easy to use. While you have to/should take it to a Polar Dealer or mail it to Polar to change the battery in the watch (not uncommon for these things), I love the fact that you can put the watch in sleep mode to conserve battery power.

Cons easy to use but not so easy you could pop it out of the box and strap it on. But one read of the manual should be enough. The funtion keys and menu are okay but could be easier.

The one thig I with it could be is give me a read-out of calories burned while I am actually working out. For example, if I want to burn 400 calories in a workout I can't check while I am working out. I would need to stop my session and then read it. Minor issues though, I would buy this again in a second.

Sram XG-1090 X-Dome Red Cassette Reviews

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What can I say...Super light, very quiet & fast shifting and it is made out of meterial thats made to last. and got my Fuji under 16lbs :)

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Great cassette for Triathletes. Very light and a good product for TT bikes. Sram red technology is almost the top.

Best Deals for Sram XG-1090 X-Dome Red Cassette

First let me say that this RED cassette is absolutely excellent. I upgraded from a stock cassette, and the difference in ride performance was like night and day.

With that said, when I first received this cassette it arrived in the correct box and was sealed as if it came from the factory. I was about to take it to my bike shop for installation, but decided to open the box to take a look first. To my surprise, there was a SRAM PG1070 cassette in the SRAM XG1090 box! The XG costs about $200 more than the PG, so as one might imagine I was quite upset. I called Amazon and they took care of it very quickly, so no long term complaints, but it just goes to show that you can't always trust the box that your product gets delivered in.

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Great delivery and wait until you get it off the box. It is also super quiet... You need to experience it, if you need to upgrade, you won't regret getting this one. PS. Works well with SRAM RIVAL.

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There is nothing better than this cassette for your SRAM setup. I have full 2010 SRAM red grouppo and needed to upgrade the cassette. This 2012 SRAM red works flawlessly with the older set and makes it much quieter to shift. This is incredibly light too. You won't believe how light it is when you pick it up out of the box. Fantastic craftsmanship, not cheap, but excellent upgrade if you need a new cassette.

Best Surco BT300 Spare Tire Rack Deals

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I recently bought this rack to fit on our 2004 Toyota RAV-4. It installs pretty easily you have to take the spare tire off to mount it, and the first install can take up to 45 minutes when fiddling with the spare. But I especially like that I can keep the mounting hardware connected and still replace the tire cover. That way each time we travel we only need to slip off the tire cover and attach the main rack (what you see in the photo).

The bikes secure like a sandwich the top piece which secures the bike frames to the rack comes with two securing bolts, one of which is lockable (key included). Which is nice if you want to stop for something to eat (or some other errand) on the way back from your ride.

The bikes felt very secure during our drive on the highway.

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We sought a spare tire bike rack to use with our '05 Honda CRV and this rack fits the bill par excellence! This rack works great. It's solid, easy to install, and includes lock-down security which is a real plus. The rear gate also readily opens and closes when bikes are on the rack.

Security is two-fold: 1) the bike rack itself can be locked down (using the padlock of your choice we use a secure, hard-to-cut padlock) and 2) the bikes can be locked onto the rack with the supplied locking bolt. (Only 1 key is included for the locking bolt, which I thought was an error so called Surco who'll send a spare at $5 each; we opted to get a 2nd one made through a locksmith which also cost $5.)

This rack installed with no problem and is SOLID -the bikes don't budge once tightened down into the rubber-padded wedges between two plates. While the two bolts do take a while to fully tighten or loosen to remove the top plate it's also possible (if only 1 or 2 bikes are on the rack) to just loosen the bolts enough to slip the bike frame to or from the inner or outer wedges, and lift the bike through and off of the bike rack.

I also like that the rack is easy to remove while keeping the rack plate bolted behind the tire AND the spare tire cover fits (without having to remove that plate bolted behind tire).

Lastly, because CRV spare tire is off-center, when loading 2 or 3 large bikes, one or two may extend past the side of the car a bit, but that hasn't been a problem (other than maybe causing some drag, but not bad). Most important is that the bikes are SOLID and SECURE. We highly recommend this bike rack.

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I just completed a 500 mile trip to Maine with three bikes on this rack. It was attached to my CR-V. We encountered all types of road surfaces from high speed highway to dirt roads and the rack preformed very well. The bikes (two mountian and one kids) were held firm and without any sway or wobble. To mount and dismount the rack was a piece of cake. The only thing I had to do was purchase a conversion tube for my daughter's bike as it is of the modern kids style that has a large frame tube.

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This is my second Surco Spare Tire rack had a Jeep about 10 years ago and loved the one I bought then. Now I have another Wrangler and just got a new BT300. Both were excellent. The pros:

solid and secure no jiggling or shaking like the ones that insert into the hitch and are not snug.

can fit 3 bikes

has locking mechanism

no worries about getting in the way of the tailgate opening

Cons:

the screw-down mechanism for securing the bikes is not as quick as a strap-down model but there's a real sense of security with this mechanism

my first one had a little rust, we'll see how this one fares.

All in all, I think this is the best set-up for folks with spare-tires on the back.

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I bought this for my 2005 Toyota RAV4. Like the other reviewers stated, this is easy to install. It is solid, and I love the fact that there is a key to lock the top bar down. When the weather turns bad it will be easy to remove post and put the tire cover back on. Two thumbs up!

Cheap Park Tool HHP-3 Home Mechanic Bearing Cup Press

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List Price: $79.95
Sale Price: $69.95
Today's Bonus: 13% Off

Hmmm, looks suspiciously like a piece of threaded rod, two washers and two nuts. Waaaaait a minute...that is exactly what it is! In fact, this is exactly the set-up I use for a headset bearing installation tool. Only I bought a piece of threaded rod (3/4 dia.), two thick washers, and two nuts from a hardware store. And it only cost me about $5.00.

Well, the handles welded to the Park Tool nuts means you don't need a wrench, but with the $50.00 you save by buying the threaded rod, washers, and nuts yourself, you can buy a nice wrench set, eh?

Oh well, I suppose if you have money to burn, this tool is for you. For the rest of us, buy the threaded rod, nuts, and washers yourself and save $50.00. It will work just as well. I know, because that is what I do.

I am sure the Park Tool works fine, as I own some Park Tools and they are all good tools, but this particular tool is incredibly over-priced for what it is. So it gets a one star rating.

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I bought this hoping to save some money on shop services, but this thing was an absolute nightmare to use. I was pressing in a a zero stack Cane Creek headset and it took two guys to get this thing to press it in. Save yourself a ton of trouble and get the Sette one, it is the same price and it has a quick release on one end (real pain to screw this thing on and off) and it has an incrementally sized press plate cone that would hold the press in place on the cups. The biggest problem with this thing is that it slides on the cups causing them to tip. The threads are also coated with something that makes it nearly impossible to twist the handles the first time on. Anyways, I hated this tool, wish I could return it...worthless.

Best Deals for Park Tool HHP-3 Home Mechanic Bearing Cup Press

I have lots of Park Tools and many of them are nice, but this one was dead on arrival. By that, I mean, one of the handles will not even screw onto the threaded rod. It goes on a few threads then won't budge. What burns me up the most is that the factory sent this to me without even checking to make sure all the parts work together. I could make a fuss and return the item, but considering the cost to ship it back I think I'll take it like a bad meal in a restaurant...no complaints, but no second meal either. Sorry Parky.

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I considered the more expensive, shop quality head set cup press but decided this would suffice for this low frequency repair. The tool works great!

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I haven't bought this tool, but $50 for a threaded rod with some washers is ridiclous. I suppose if it cost Park a lot of research and development capital to make this tool, maybe it would be worth that.

I just went to Home Depot and built my own. One 1' length of 1/2" threaded rod, two 1/2" nuts, two 1/2" washers, and two 3/4" threaded washers. Total cost was less than $4! Perhaps I should buy a welder and start welding handles to the nuts, then sell these in direct competition to Park at half the cost, and still make a profit...

Cheap Toy Story 3 Bike (16-Inch Wheels)

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First, It arrived in excellent condition. The box containing the bike was in a large Amazon box with plenty of packing to protect it.

The quality and graphics detail of the bike itself is really great for the price.

Assembly was exceptionally easy....should take no more than 15 minutes (really!). Follow the pictorial instructions on the side of the bike box. Its really as simple as only 5 steps. You attach; the front wheel (2 nuts); the handlebar (1 bolt); the seat (hand screw and clamp), the training wheels (2 nuts); and the pedals (2 nuts). You will need only an medium size adjustable wrench for assembly...a socket set would be a bonus and make everything but the pedal attachment a bit easier. Last but not least...you need to put some air in the tires and adjust the seat to your child's height. Before riding ...a helmet is a must. I also purchased the Toy Story child's bike helmet and pad set from Amazon which is also great quality and matches the bike perfectly.

Use the included written instructions only as a guide if they are needed as they are generic instructions with too much detail for this particular model (but are a good reference if you need them).

TIP: The only non-intuitive part of assembly is attaching the pedals. They are specifically marked left and right with small removable labels. You absolutely must use the correct pedal on the correct side of the bike and attach them by tightening in the correct direction. The right pedal has right-hand threads. Tighten it in a clockwise direction. The pedal marked "L" has left-hand threads. Tighten it in a counterclockwise direction. I believe most of the pedal problems are due to the fact that people are not installing them correctly.

If for some odd reason the pedals do come loose; head to your local hardware store and buy some LocTite (you would simply remove the pedals (turn in the opposite direction of what I noted above) and apply LocTite to the threads of the pedals and then reattach (remember to tighten in the correct direction noted above).

If your child like Toy Story and Buzz LightYear this bike will be a big hit!

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I'm not sure why the other guy had such a hard time putting it together. Maybe lack of competence on his part, but it wasn't hard to follow the directions and get it assembled. Although, I'd prefer a center pull front brake system, instead of a side one. It's a fine bike, that should last the few years I need it to. Great for the price.

Best Deals for Toy Story 3 Bike (16-Inch Wheels)

I'm not sure why the reviewer from 12/2010 had such a hard time putting together this bike, but it took myself and my 4 year old son < 10 minutes to put it together. I took one look at the included instructions and tossed them aside. Since it comes in 8 pieces, using basic common sense, everything went together smoothly. You can even reference the picture on the box to figure out what goes where! Honestly though, I had a socket set, and my 4 year old was pointing out what pieces went where. Slap on the training wheels on the rear, hand tighten; put the front wheel on, hand tighten the nuts, stick the handle bars in their hole, hand tighten that bolt, and slide the seat into the only remaining hole, don't bother tightening it down as you'll have to adjust to your child's height. Next, tighten everything down and you're almost done! The only really tricky part to be aware of (as another reviewer pointed out) is that the pedals are specifically made for the left and right side. I only noticed the "L" sticker on the Left pedal (this could have been because my son decided to peel off the "R" sticker, but I'll never really know). Using deductive reasoning, I figured out that the only remaining pedal would go on the Right side. You'll need to be aware of the thread pattern for each pedal (Right threads right, Left threads left). My 4 year old had the Right side pedal about half way threaded before I could get to it. Not that hard! After it was all said and done, and the seat adjusted to his height, he was off to the races. The bike seems very well built, the graphics look awesome, and the twinkle in his eye when he looked at his new Buzz Lightyear bike made my day. Overall it's a great quality product that should last a long time. The price was right, and the shipping was fast.

Honest reviews on Toy Story 3 Bike (16-Inch Wheels)

This bike came with a pedal that didn't fit and weeks later it is falling apart piece by piece. BUT my son begged me not to return it so I kept it. he learned how to ride his first bike with one pedal.

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My 5 year old son received this bike for Christmas and loves it. The bike came in 3 or 4 pieces and was very easy to assemble. The training wheels seem to be very sturdy as well.