Training & Nutrition - Heartrate Monitor

I was thinking of getting a new HRM and wondered if anyone out there has tried the Ciclosport HAC-4 model. It has a ton of features. All the normal HRM features plus capable of being used for bike info too. It does cadence, pc download and will also measure both your rate of climbing as well as the grade of the climb. I thought this was a very cool set of features and wanted to know other peoples experiences with it.

Chasbo

Oh, I've heard of that before. I think the USPS team is using them for training and the races. It looks great and has lots of function, much more than the Polar S710. I'm not sure how well it works though. I don't think there's any distributors over here in Singapore.

Chasbo: I've been looking at different HRM's lately and finally settled on the Cateye MSC-3DX. It does not have all of the features of the HAC-4 but I'm not really interested in altitude info, plus it's considerably cheaper. The MSC-3DX isn't wireless though. If you want to check out the cateye computer here: http://www.cateye.com/detail_mod02.php?products_id=59

Zack

Originally posted by oxologic
Oh, I've heard of that before. I think the USPS team is using them for training and the races. It looks great and has lots of function, much more than the Polar S710. I'm not sure how well it works though. I don't think there's any distributors over here in Singapore.




I thought the 710i was bunged with features.... what could this one possibly have that the 710i doesn't?

HAC-4 features are as follows:

HRM Functions:
1.current, average and max HR's
2.upper/lower limits (2 ranges)
3.recovery HR
4.HR Bar graph
5.Acoustic signal (wireless)
6.Auto HR/time manager
7.HR Comparison

Altimeter Functions:
1.current altitude
2.Home altitude
3.daily and total cumulative altitude
4.current/avg/max rise vs. speed
5.number of ascents and descents

Bike Functions
1.current, avg, max speed
2.auto start/stop
3.daily/total trip distance
4.daily/total ride time
5.time vs distance comparison
6.current, avg., maxrise vs. descent
7.current, avg, max wattage output
8.cadence

Watch Funtions
1.time, date, stopwatch and alarm
2.2 seperate countdowns
3.intermediate split times
4.64 laps

plus....
1.night light
2.current , avg, max temperature
3.skier/snowboarder speed
4.64 hours storage
5.pc downloadable


thats everything I think. 420.00 U.S. for the whole shebang. US Postal does indeed use it by the way.

Chuck

Originally posted by Chasbo
HAC-4 features are as follows:

thats everything I think. 420.00 U.S. for the whole shebang. US Postal does indeed use it by the way.

Chuck



I think the 710i will do me..... any differences are either not useful or negligible.

the HAC4 is awesome!

i got one this year and last night i downloaded all my data from my rides --- got to see my HR and altitude and speed right on the same graph. and for example in my race 3 weeks ago i can tell i started off too fast as my HR average started high and wen down the whole race... the software is pretty decent and the hookup easy.

i also have the CM414Alti which is like the HAC4 but without the HR monitor. and most of my friends have the HAC4 (it's a German company, plus my friends all all mountain bike junkies or MTB Guides like me)

special notes with the HAC4:
* for whatever reason the unit itself seems to break somewhat often, but it's no problem as unlike many German companies they have EXCELLENT SERVICE and anyone i have ever heard of who has had a problem has just gotten a direct exchange on the spot! no hassle no cost!
* just from personal experience, i would recommend tying or taping the unit to your handlebar (i use a small piece of dental floss what i loop it through). like many other removable cyclye computers (i lost a Specialized Pro last year on a downhill) they can fall off, but it is pretty easy to tie it on by the top metal holder.
* i had a slight problem with the sender and when i was at the Bike Festival in Lake Garda 2 weeks ago i checked with the guys for a while... and it turns out the battery that came with mine was dead (probably my LBS sold me an one that had been on the shelf a while) - they gave me a new battery and changed it out for me
* oh, you can also change ALL the batteries yourself and it does not void your waranty like Polar or other companies who make you send stuff in to change the batteries.
* it does use batteries - about every 12-16 months you have to replace all 3 batteries - the unit, the receiver and the sender - but they don't cost much and they are standard batteries you can buy almost anywhere and you can change them yourself, so no big deal
* i also bought a new computer this year (Windows XP) and needed new drivers for the CM414Alti. i emailed Ciclo and got a full response with links to the download the next day, plus a follow-up email the next wekk to see if i had gotten everything (the download was right on their webpage, but i missed it somehow)

probably the only other "disadvantage" with the HAC4 is that it has so many functions you have to actually read the manual to figure everything out. but the manual is good (in English as well as like many other languages). But having all the fucntions is pretty decent allowing you to display 2 readings at a time (e.g. HR and speed or altitude) and the average/max/min are easily accessible for almost every value.

the Altimeter is REALLY good in both the absolute value and measuring the "vertical gained/lost". in accuracy it rivals my Finnish Suunto altimeter i bought a while back for mountaineering (the Avocet and Suunto are like THE standard for wrist altimeters) and on the bike actually measure vertical gained/loss better than the Suunto which is more set up travelling by foot i guess.

oh, and the skiier/snowboarder speed is pretty useless, but whatever. they assume like an average %grade and then estimate "speed" based on your rate of vertical descent...

wow, US$420... hm... i know the Dollar is weak against the Euro, but it's still cheaper than that here (but then i'm local as it's designed in Munich at the Ciclo headquarters about 15km from my apartment)

but i can definitely recommend the HAC4. here in Europe it is pretty much without question the BEST and race orgainzers use it to store and graph the race vertical profile (ok, some have now switched to GPS)

anyhow, any other questions and i'd be glad to give my opinion. honestly i think every one of the 20 or so MTB Guides in my guiding club have the HAC4. it is just that good. (note: i don't have any kind of advertising relationship or whatever although maybe i should?)

Originally posted by nathank
the HAC4 is awesome!
Do you have any trouble with interference from power lines causing interference, i.e. maxed out HR?

not that i recall --- hm... i'm thinking if i have ridden near power lines... in my downloaded data from about 15 tours this year there didn't appear to be any interference... but then i just don't seem to ride near power lines much here in Europe (in the US it happenend all the time - for example the end/sprint stretch of our criterium course at Portland International Raceway had power line inteference on my Polar)

but... i also have a strange set-up: i use the Polar chest-band from my old Polar ive had for like 3 years now with the HAC4 (ok, i'm a dork and i also register my HR on my old polar wristwatch - i'm just accustomed to having it on) and now somehow i lost the HAC chestband, but the Polar one works with the HAC4...

just guessing, but i bet if the power lines are high-enough power it will still create interference --- i mean the thing just uses radio waves and power lines create all kinds of interference...

sorry i can't give a better answer...

Originally posted by nathank
just guessing, but i bet if the power lines are high-enough power it will still create interference --- i mean the thing just uses radio waves and power lines create all kinds of interference...sorry i can't give a better answer...
I bet you're right. Especially if the Polar transmitter works with the HAC4 (same frequency and encoding).

Arghh. :irritated