OK, twice now I’ve bought high-end downloadable HRM’s, a Polar Accurex and more recently a HAC4. Both are really nice pieces of equipment, with loads of features and all the data you could want. Both times, I’ve used them for a season, then come the start of the next year never touched them again. The HAC4 is still on my bike, but I can’t be bothered to change the battery. I guess the reason is that I had all this data sitting in the computer, but it was pretty useless for helping me figure out what I needed to do in training. Racing provided better feedback.
Now I use an old, cheapie HRM, works fine. In some ways a bit better since it has a calorie counter, which I use as an indicator of workout stress (ie compare a long easy ride to a short fast ride). So now I have no idea what my distance or average speed for a ride is, and I don’t look at the graphs. I just go by intensity and time. And I kind of like it that way, plus I can get rid of that massive box sitting on my handlebar.
Anyone else have the same experience, where you bought into the high tech hype only to find that you didn’t need it?