So this thing has a footpod and a speed sensor…but you need to push buttons to change.
Does this work during a race, or would I have to start new measurements? Can I swap from B1 to Runspeed without stopping the timer?
Well, I just played with it on my wrist and I had to go back to the main watch screen to get it to go to options where you make the change. I use it on run mode all the way b/c the cateye takes care of the bike. But if you want to download the data you will have 2 data files minimum and have to start and stop.
You can hit the lower left button once, then use the lower right one to change modes, from bike to run, you’ll have to press several times to go from B1 to B2 to No Speed, then Run (It would have been nice if they thought about the order of it for triathlon - bike, then run. Even smarter would have it switch modes just by touching the watch to the footpod or bike sensor.) Then you can press the red button to continue. It sounds like a lot, but you can do it while you begin your run. It’ll show up as two separate files. The good part is, your watch is already linked to the strap, it doesn’t have to reestablish it.
Shortcut from Polar’s website:
Swapping the Speed Settings (–, ru, b1 or b2)
In the Measuring mode press and hold the down button. Release. Repeat until Run speed, Bike 1 or 2 or Speed Off is displayed. You can now exercise with the chosen settings. From running to cycling and vice versa can be swapped in the BasicUse (E0) mode, if the exercise is paused. A new file is created if you change the speed settings.
You do have to remember to hit pause.
You have to hit the stop button, but it can be switched quickly. Press and hold the bottom left button to cycle through speed settings.
eh, nevermind. What was said above
I have a 625x. I was just experimenting with this a few days ago.
I had heard about the capability and I want to use it for bricks. I’d never do it in a race. For me it’s just another distraction I don’t need. I don’t even wear a watch in a race, except for IM.
I’ve got the 625x too, and have done it in a tri, but it’s not really that convenient. I also have to turn on the foot pod, and that’s just an extra thing to do in T2.
But it is possible to hot swap the speed settings and have them all on one HR file.
Okay, the dummy just figured it out - its the whole “push” versus “hold” thing regarding the buttons. I have had it so long I forgot about that.
Since you guys are expert in the area here is another issue that started about 4 months ago. The results on the watch (i.e., time, distance and pace) don’t match the results when it is downloaded to the performance software – and – the watch is right – not the download. I have some verified courses and the watch is dead on for distance and pace. For example, on a 6 mile run the download reduced the miles to 5.7. Any ideas?
Don’t know, but I’ve seen the same thing. My guess is the watch, being small (large for a watch, though), calculates the display results from the data with a lot of rounding. The computer software takes the same data and calculates results with a more precise formula. I’ve noticed, my distance interval is set for 1 mile, but when displayed on the computer, the intervals are always less than a mile and therefore, my pace is slower on the computer than what the watch says. Some are as low as .96 mile – close enough for my level of fascination with the data. Your watch is probably a coincidence that its inaccuracies better reflect real world than the software’s precision. You could probably adjust for it by determining a percentage difference between the computer and the watch, then applying that difference to the calibration entry on the watch. It’ll make the watch appear less accurate, but the software will report more accurate numbers. Does that make sense? (After reading it myself, I’m not so sure… .oh well.)
I think the watch is more accurate. It is accumulating time and distance continually. When you download the data, only 5 sec (at best) samples are sent. The samples have either the current or average (not sure which) speed (rounded also) for that period. The software has to reconstruct the total distance from the samples (speed * 5 sec). I think that is where the errors occur.
I’m not at the computer I download my watch data to check it out, but I don’t think the data has speed info. I think it has distance traveled for each time period (5, 15, or 30 seconds) and speed is computed from that. You may be right, though, about the watch displaying real time data, not data derived from the stored numbers, and that certainly would account for a difference.
I think this is the data the software uses. I believe it is HR, speed (x10), cadence, and altitude. Therefore the software is recalculating the distance travelled in each sample, and then adding it up.
91 132 81 995
96 145 89 995
96 148 85 995
98 154 87 995
98 156 87 995
100 164 88 995
101 164 85 995
104 159 82 995
106 158 82 1000
108 153 79 1000
109 157 83 1005
111 174 91 1005
112 183 90 1000
113 197 90 1000
111 189 0 1005
111 171 76 1000
112 164 89 1005
114 163 92 1005
114 169 90 1005
114 173 90 1005
I stand corrected. But, that seems like a retarded way to do it. Do you think the speed is an average for the interval duration or the speed you are going at each tick? Be easy enough to determine: set it for a 30 second interval and roll along for 25 seconds and then come to a complete stop.
I would have thought it was the average for the 5 secs., but I read somewhere that it was at the moment. It does seem to be a back asswards way to do it. I would have stored the number of ‘ticks’ (magnet passing sensor), along with the calibration setting.