Timex Ironman Heart Rate Monitor (30 lap)

Triathlon Forum
1

I am in the midst of having a poor experience with this model of HRM and wished to steer others away from it.
Here is the exact product I’m talking about: Selling at REI for $90

I’d heard that Timex could be flaky, but I had REI dividend bucks to spend, and it seemed the best fit from their product offerings. I just wanted:
*Easy to use
*Continuous HR display with min/max/avg for workout
*Lap split capability w/ avg HR for each split
*ability to set heart rate ranges w/ audible alarms
*countdown / restart timer to remind me when to eat on long rides
*double as sport watch a.k.a. not too dorky looking.

It came and I was excited. It has every feature I’m looking for, plus the (dubiously accurate) ability to count calories, it looks great, yada yada yada. It does NOT talk with most equipment in the gym (treadmill, elliptical, spin cycles, etc), but that’s not a deal breaker - I can look at my wrist.

I put it on in the gym for my first workout with it: a treadmill run and get no signal. Slather the saliva onto the cheststrap for a good connection (something I didn’t need to do with other HRM’s I’ve worn), and it begins picking up something. 38, 133, 75, then it pegs to 240 and refuses to budge. Hm. I think that perhaps it’s interfering with other equipment in the gym. Several more attempts to use it - outside away from all other interference - produces similar results. Flakiness where the HR bounces up and down by 20 to 80 beats - I mean bounces by every two seconds a new number is appearing: 120, 175, 142, 148, 88. Just odd. For a time I try to see patterns and infer what the “right” heart rate really is: “So, if it was skipping every fourth beat, then my real heart rate must be…” But before I can complete the math, it’s on to some other fictitious reading. Frustrating.

So, I shrug. I got a bum unit, It happens, No problem. REI has UNPARALLELED customer service, by the way, and a new unit is handed over.

So unit number two is pressed into service and it is certainly better. It settles in and will give accurate heart rates for minutes at a time. It does have a few quirks tho. It really prefers to measure heart rates over 150. Anything under that and it begins to lose focus and wander about. This is annoying because I run a recurring test that has set distances at set heart rates. My first two sets are (supposed to be) at 140 bpm and 150 bpm, and this second unit just doesn’t have the accuracy in that range… It just would wander. My sets at 160, 170, and 180 were rock solid, reliable readings. So, I decided it must be a connectivity thing with the chest strap - it’s not reading me unless I’m good and sweaty - but no, even after it’s reading wonderfully, as I cool down it begins to skip around a bit. Every workout is guaranteed to have a max HR reading of 240 and a min HR reading in the 30’s.

I’m actually very easy to please, and so was still working with this faulty monitor because I really don’t require that much from a HRM, and it’s occasional accuracy is enough to keep me happy… But then it’s performance began to degrade further. In the middle of workouts it would decide to lose signal completely for no particular reason - “NO HRM DATA” showing on the display. What is really ironic about that is that it has the ability to read the chest strap even after it is taken OFF. That’s right. Workout is done, chest strap is taken off, rinsed, hung to dry, and I shower. While showering I notice my heart rate is still reading - usually between 31 and 45 bpm. Nice. I shave and am still getting readings. It’s not until I leave the bathroom that I finally get a beep and NO HRM DATA. So, it can’t read it while I’m wearing it, but take it off, and it’ll still get phantom heart rates until it’s 10 feet away from the chest strap.

I decide that having gotten two flaky units already that chances are high that returning this one to REI would likely set me up with yet another unit that went thru the same manufacturing process and odds are not high that it will be substantially better. So, I call the manufacturer. Very polite lady at the help desk, very helpful bordering on apologetic. Can’t come out and admit that their product sucks on a recorded line, but does explain that they have “seen a few issues with this model, have identified them, and have some units that have been tested” that she will mail me complete with an envelope for returning my existing one.

Very cool. I’m a happy customer again. They will make it right. I wait expectantly by the mailbox.

Days pass.

I call back 2 weeks later and again speak with a courteous customer service rep - she looks me up and verifies that I do indeed have a new watch on order, and no it has not shipped yet, and she has absolutely no idea when it will. I press a little and she says that they have another shipment “en route” to them. I ask whether the shipment “en route” to them holds enough replacements for everyone in front of me on the list - or will I be waiting longer? “Courteous” slips to just “curt” as she tells me she has absolutely no way to know, no way to give me an estimated time of replacement.

I just got the sense that they are overwhelmed by the volume of returns right now. They’re doing their best, and I believe will stand by this product and make it right, but there’s going to be some delays while they do.

Some delays you probably don’t want to step into the middle of.

So, buy something else.

As for me, I think I will give Timex a couple more weeks, (hey I’m patient), and if nothing comes (or is faulty when it arrives), then I will return it back to REI for a different brand - and have to pay for the upgrade, I’m sure…

2

I had the same monitor, had the same problems. I was as patient as I could be…but enough was enough. I returned it to the store where I bought it and exchanged it for a Polar. Problem solved.

When I returned it, the manager said I was the fourth person to return a Timex monitor that month.

I’ve been wearing Timex watches for over 20 years, and will continue to do so, but not ones that double as HRMs.

3

I’m sorry to hear this…I was hoping they’d have fixed it by now.

I bought a Timex HRM about a year ago and had the same problems. After getting a new chest strap (in about a week from Timex on the phone), which didn’t help the problem, I called back and someone told me that you need to use a contact lotion on the sensors to get the chest strap to read right. I went to my local running shop and sure enough was something made specifically for it. I tried it again and haven’t had problems since. It even works in the swimming pool. I have since used basic lotion (lubriderm or such) and that works as well.

I love my Timex because it has 30 laps yet is still small enough to fit on a woman’s wrist. I do, however, wish they’d work like normal HRMs! Anyone from Timex out there?

4

FWIW, Polar HRMs are the best. Lastly, they all need to be pretty wet (the contacts in the strap that is). If you can, get some ultrasound gel and use a little squirt each time as you will get perfect readings then. In the cold on a slow run, I don’t sweat enough and after a 2-3 hour run, even my new Polar has trouble with pick-ups (hence the gel).

5

I have used 2 different models of Polar and also the ECG5 by Sports Instruments, and I agree that the Timex cheststrap is the pickiest about picking up the heartrate. It needs more gunk (saliva / sweat / gel) than any other HRM I’ve ever used.

When I first got the second unit and it began showing the same flakiness as the first, I questioned whether it was just chest strap connectivity (user error). So, when I called Timex it was not with an attitude of “Your product sucks, give me a new one” it was with an attitude of “Am I using this right? Should I try special gel? How can I make this work?” I really suspected that it might be me not the product - another reason I didn’t just swap it out at the retailer again.

However, the Customer Service Rep asked me questions regarding the symptoms, then did NOT question me regarding connectivity to the chest strap, did NOT ask me about possible interference, did NOT ask about layers of clothing, did NOT ask me to change the battery, instead she DID ask for a 2-character code stamped into the back of the watch (mine is N7), and as soon as she heard that, there was NO MORE QUESTIONS. Her response was immediately, “oh yes, we’ve seen these symptoms, and it often occurs after a couple of months of operations. It is definitely the watch unit, not the chest strap - I’ll have a new one sent out to you.”

It was cut and dried, they’ve seen this problem. My experience with the second customer service rep, where they have no idea when they can send me a new watch, no idea when they can get a new shipment from the factory to fill the demand for returns, tells me that they’re seeing a high volume of this problem.

At the very least, if anyone chooses to buy this HRM then pick a retailer with good customer service and a good selection of other brands that you can swap to if it doesn’t work out. Save your receipt and original packaging.

6

I’ve used that same unit since December '04, never had a single problem with it. It’s probably been the most reliable electronic device I’ve ever owned, although I usually lose such things within the first year anyway. I always rub saliva on the contact pads prior to use, and it reads accurately. Sorry your experience hasn’t been as pleasant.

7

That just sucks. :frowning:

See, this model has the perfect mix of features at the right pricepoint for me - and I like the look/size of it. I love everything about it except its tendency to not work. So, to hear that you have one working fine…well that’s just rubbing in my bad luck! :slight_smile:

Here’s hoping the next one will be error-free!

8

If it makes you feel any better, I’ve wasted hundreds of dollars on a Dell PDA (lost it within 2 months), lost and broken cell phones, and broken watches that apparently required an engineering degree to change a battery.

9

Bad news for me… Mine worked great for a year and a half (it was the GPS / HRM model) but it started going funky on me so I sent it back several weeks ago. I was wondering why they’d cashed my check but hadn’t sent me a new watch yet - maybe now I know.

10

No idea with the GPS models. I entertain hopes that their higher end stuff isn’t troubled by these issues. Good luck!

11

Yesterday, I received my replacement watch from Timex. So, essentially a 5 week wait from my first call to them on 2/3. I guess that’s within the “allow 4-6 weeks for shipping and handling” that you see on many things.

It seems to operate much better than the previous one during its trials today. It hasn’t lost signal, hasn’t pegged at 240 bpm, picked up my heart rate immediately after I put it on. It actually worked like a HRM is supposed to. I was astonished. :slight_smile:

To nitpick, this unit has a very different feel to the buttons. While the first two units I had were like other Timex watches I’ve had in the past, but this one has very stiff buttons that have a “click” to them and you have to press them quite firmly to get a response. A vague annoyance to think you’ve taken a split only to later find out you didn’t press hard enough.

12

Sorry to hear of your experience. I have had Polars, Timex and others, and while everyone touts the Polars, my Timex w/GPS had been very much less tempermental than my Polars, and has worked GREAT! I had the first generation, which was poor, but they traded me up to the second, and it has been excellent. My Polar experience was similar to yours, with it deciding it would never work in a race. I even had the factory rep test it and work on it in Kona, and it cotinued to malfunction. I think the Timex system works great, but the ones I speak of are the higher end units. When you realize how important they are, and how many years they will last, I feel you should spend a decent amount and get one that gives you consistent, usable results.