Hi eclectic

I have the Polar S625X which was their top of the range heart rate monitor when I purchased it around 2 years ago. I had to buy a speed sensor for my bike separately, but the model I purchased did come with a running pod for my runners that allows me to track how far, how quickly etc I've covered ground.

The current model with polar is the S725X I think. It has a speed sensor and cadence sensor that you can attach to your bike, as well as a foot pod. I'm not sure of the cost of the current model, but must admit I paid around $400 Australian Dollars for mine a couple of years ago.

This pretty much covers everything that you need - the watch in run mode is a heart rate monitor, lap counter, distance counter (if wearing the foot pod) the watch in bike mode is a bike computer, that will measure speed and cadence. You can use the watch with two different bikes. I only have the one, so just fit it to my bike when biking and take the watch of the handlebar mount when wanting to run. It’s also waterproof so you can use it for swimming as well. The heart rate sensor is comfortable to wear, and I've had mine in excess of two years with probably average usage. I've only just recently replaced the battery in the chest strap.

The watch has an infrared sensor so you can upload your run/bike/swim data to a computer. I find this a great way to keep track of what I'm doing, how long its taking, how far I'm going and whether I'm improving my performance or mileage. It also has the ability to set different interval training sessions, so if you are doing speed work etc, you can set it to beep at say 1 minute, then 30 seconds after, then 1 minute, then 30 seconds etc, which allows you to do interval training and not having to look at your watch all the time.

I guess what you need to consider is what you really want to do with the information that you are getting from your HR monitor. If it’s just to measure your heart rate, then just get a simple model and don't spend the $$$$. A friend has a polar one especially designed for females (in pink) and she loves it. I'm the sort of person who likes to pick things apart, so therefore love the ability to analyse data etc and to track my progress on a computer. Bit of a tech geek as well as a want to be tri geek.

I love my heart rate monitor and when I originally purchased it didn't use all the functions, but as I've started training more and getting into the three different sports, found that its been an extremely useful tool and worthwhile investment.

light_sabe_r - with regards to the infrared connection for your heart rate monitor, you can normally get these from computer stores etc. **** Smith sells one for about $60 AUD that plugs into a USB port. Often this is a cheaper option that purchasing the one made by the manufacturer of the watch. If you want further information, let me know.

Mel