This week we received the Polar RCX5 Tour de France GPS heart rate monitor, the “Official Tour de France Training Computer.” The box pretty much sums up our immediate first impressions, “Yellow is Everything.” Unlike other heart rate watches this one doesn’t try to go low key – it goes straight for yellow.
While it will likely take a lot more than the RCX5 on your wrist to get in yellow, it certainly could help you train better. Over the years we’ve tested a fair share of heart rate monitors and this one is also more than just clock, calorie counter and pulse meter in a flashy package.
After noticing the packaging’s bright yellow, attention-getting box, we were impressed by the weight. That might be an odd thing to note in a heart rate monitor but this box is loaded down with everything to get you up and running, biking or swimming with the RCX5. The package include the training computer, a Wearlink + Hybrd heart rate sensor, CS cadence (sensor W.I.N.D.), G5 GPS sensor, universal bike mount, data link and GPS clip, along with manuals and zip ties.
Setting up the unit is straightforward. Users enter time, month and usual data, plus height, weight and age. From there it is a matter of picking what you’d like to do. So far we tested the RCX5 with a quick spin on the bike and a quick run.
As a cycling computer the RCX5 can be worn on the wrist like traditional heart rate monitors, or mounted on the handle bars. Just from a short 10 mile ride one thing became apparent… there was almost too much data transmitted. It tracks current speed, average speed, calories burned, current heart rate and average heart rate. It does this through multiple screens, which also made it overwhelming and new users would be advised to keep the eyes on the road.
It is hard to say which will work better – one the wrist or on the handlebars. Personally, this reporter likes cycling computers on the handle bars and heart rate monitors on the wrist. But this hybrid does both so well.
After the short ride, it was time to hit the bricks with a run. As a wrist heart rate monitor this one is pretty good. It does all the above information – minus the speed, but because it has GPS functionality it goes beyond what most heart rate monitors can do. Turns out my usual three mile run is a bit short of three miles, so I’m not getting faster it seems – just running a shorter distance.
Unlike the Garmin cycling computer this watch needs a separate GPS sensor – the G5. This is a small enough item that it isn’t much of a problem to bring along. In fact it can be clipped on a wearer’s shorts, or even stashed in a pocket. For running this keeps the G5 in close proximity to the RCX5 but when biking the two can become separated. This is only an issue in that it might mean needing to re-sync up the two if you step away from the bike for a minute. Beyond that it is incredible to get GPS so easily paired with a heart rate monitor.
We still need to set up the CS cadence on the bike, and play with the DataLink to track our results on the computer. But in our one day quick test the RCX5 is a winner!
Check back for a full review in a couple of weeks after we’ve done some real training with this heart rate monitor.