You’d be far from ashamed to be spotted with the Timex on your wrist. The pink buttons might not be to everyone’s tastes, but it’s a compact and well put-together little package. It’s not as chunky as some monitors and would suit women or men with smaller wrists.
Operating the monitor requires quite a bit of referring to the manual but, once up and running, syncing is easily on a par with the top manufacturers. The strap is a bit crude and stiff but, when you’re wearing it, feels fine and doesn’t rub or chaff. The handlebar mount costs an extra £6.99 so we made do with a piece of foam pipe lagging.
The readings are consistent without dips and spikes and responded promptly to changes in intensity. On the bars though, the small size of the Timex let it down. In clear conditions and good light it’s hard enough to see, but in rain or poor light it’s as good as invisible. Also, the buttons are way too small if you’re wearing gloves.
Once back at base the recall on the monitor is good but, with the wireless Data Xchanger USB, you can download all your training data onto the excellent Training Peaks software. However, having the Data Xchanger does bump the price up by £50 and, although it does immeasurably increase the potential for training analysis, you have to question if it’s worth it to you.
