Online Purchases - good and bad experiences

[antigee]

Has anyone else noticed the BikeBug website is now terrible to use. The filters are hard to find (on mobile at least) and the more info button still cuts off a lot of the information.

Yes. The idiot who built the Pushys web site must have been making changes.

took me quite a while to find some 20" tyres for folder today as I failed to find anyway to filter by size...added 2 tyres to basket...basket said 2 items...clicked on the "sale item" tab (bad habit) added an item to my basket and the tyres had disappeared...went to history and found the previous basket, used search to find and add the sale item definitely a painful experience.

[Aushiker]

I used SCVImports contact form ...

[blizzard]

Purchased a Castelli Perfetto light rain jersey on sale from Open Road Cycles. I had never heard of them but the price was good $99 + $10 shipping. Seems to be a physical store with a website which can be hit and miss dispatch times but they posted it the same day and used express post so arrived next day.

Also needed a new heart rate monitor as the pod on the Garmin I had disintegrated, 99Bikes near my work only had the same Garmin unit which I wasn't happy with as it has no status LEDS and required a special screw driver to remove the battery, or a Wahoo Tickr X which was $120ish and I had an original Tickr that was unreliable. I bought a Magene H303 on Amazon, I had a $10 voucher so was $37 shipped, it's been flawless so far, and has a status LED and tool free battery cover. I would definitely recommend it.

[jasonc]

Purchased a Castelli Perfetto light rain jersey on sale from Open Road Cycles. I had never heard of them but the price was good $99 + $10 shipping. Seems to be a physical store with a website which can be hit and miss dispatch times but they posted it the same day and used express post so arrived next day.

Also needed a new heart rate monitor as the pod on the Garmin I had disintegrated, 99Bikes near my work only had the same Garmin unit which I wasn't happy with as it has no status LEDS and required a special screw driver to remove the battery, or a Wahoo Tickr X which was $120ish and I had an original Tickr that was unreliable. I bought a Magene H303 on Amazon, I had a $10 voucher so was $37 shipped, it's been flawless so far, and has a status LED and tool free battery cover. I would definitely recommend it.

all these people who buy new HRMs every year or two. I'm still on my original heart rate monitor I bought in 2012. It's a Garmin HRM-1G. I have to replace the rear elastic strap every couple of years. But the actual heart rate monitor unit still works. A few years ago I bought a couple of spares as they were around $20.

[Mr Purple]

Purchased a Castelli Perfetto light rain jersey on sale from Open Road Cycles. I had never heard of them but the price was good $99 + $10 shipping. Seems to be a physical store with a website which can be hit and miss dispatch times but they posted it the same day and used express post so arrived next day.

Also needed a new heart rate monitor as the pod on the Garmin I had disintegrated, 99Bikes near my work only had the same Garmin unit which I wasn't happy with as it has no status LEDS and required a special screw driver to remove the battery, or a Wahoo Tickr X which was $120ish and I had an original Tickr that was unreliable. I bought a Magene H303 on Amazon, I had a $10 voucher so was $37 shipped, it's been flawless so far, and has a status LED and tool free battery cover. I would definitely recommend it.

I've used Open Road Cycles quite a few times - good customer service, good prices (especially on clearance) and very reliable.

Jason, you've definitely had good luck or chosen the right HRM there! I'm on my third warranty replacement Tickr Fit in two years. The first two both broke in different ways (one just stopped working, the other had a plastic connection break).

[blizzard]

You must be the exception Jason, most people seem to run through a HRM every couple years. My first Tickr lasted 2 years but would have drop out issues and wouldn't reliably give correct heart rate readings, despite changing batteries, straps etc.

The Garmin was much more reliable but the lack of status LEDs and tool to change battery was annoying. The last battery change all the screw holes just disintegrated when going to replace the screws, despite not applying any torque to the screws.

[jasonc]

look on ebay for Garmin HRM-1G. buy one and try it

[Andy01]

I (and my wife) use an arm-band HRM - Polar Verity Sense (I started with the older OH1+) and both have been good. I use it daily and have been for a few years now - same strap, same holder, same device. It is rechargable, so just pop in the USB cradle after the ride, and it downloads the data and charges. It is 100% sealed, so no battery replacement, and is fully submersible (can be used for swimming). Fuss free, and no issues like the chest type moving or slipping (arm is more comfortable, especially for women), especially on particularly sweaty days. It has also connected flawlessly to every device I have tried - various iPhones, various Bryton computers and current Hammerhead Karoo 2. Wait for Polar's EOFYS sale.

[Tim]

all these people who buy new HRMs every year or two. I'm still on my original heart rate monitor I bought in 2012. It's a Garmin HRM-1G. I have to replace the rear elastic strap every couple of years. But the actual heart rate monitor unit still works. A few years ago I bought a couple of spares as they were around $20.

Yep. I'm still using a the same sensor supplied with my Garmin Edge 800 from around the same time.
Been through countless replacement straps but I just buy the eBay Chinese cheapos for less than $10.00 ea.
Come to think of it, the little button batteries last for an amazing amount of time too. The last changeover must have been at least 2 years ago.
The trusty and faultless 800 is still working perfectly but the battery is slowly fading out. A two hour ride sucks about 50% of it's capacity.
Still, not bad for a 12-13 year old piece of tech.

[caneye]

look on ebay for Garmin HRM-1G. buy one and try it

i see there's quite a few of them on ebay.

my only concern is the "pod" and the material that it's made of.

I had an old Polar HRM with a similar composite pod material. after a number of years, the pod just snapped (elastic strap was still good). the composite material appeared to have hardened over time.

[jasonc]

look on ebay for Garmin HRM-1G. buy one and try it

i see there's quite a few of them on ebay.

my only concern is the "pod" and the material that it's made of.

I had an old Polar HRM with a similar composite pod material. after a number of years, the pod just snapped (elastic strap was still good). the composite material appeared to have hardened over time.

it's plastic across the front



no screws. undo the battery holder with a 20c piece
https://static.garmin.com/pumac/HRM_Ins ... ns_Web.pdf

[CmdrBiggles]

I would give any HRM strap with plastic on it a miss: the chest contact area will become sweaty, causing it to slip down, and tightening it only introduces constriction which is uncomfortable.

Garmin's Dual HRM strap is a neat piece of engineering with a snap-on ANT+/BT Tx/Rx (1 x button battery) and very user-friendly contact pads on the rear side (these can be jellied if desired to block sweatiness that can affect pickup of all HRMs). Have used this since 2019, before that a Bryton HR which was a very uncomfortable affair.

[jasonc]

I would give any HRM strap with plastic on it a miss: the chest contact area will become sweaty, causing it to slip down, and tightening it only introduces constriction which is uncomfortable.

the plastic isn't to everyone's liking. But I've used it that long that I don't know any different

[g-boaf]

This is the one I use:

https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/garm ... te-monitor

It works well. I have had that for a very long time. Also have the blue version which is just ANT+ only.

[ningnangnong]

I can back up jasonc - I've had the same model for 10+ years now with no issues.