# Polar m450



## nickcarll (Sep 4, 2007)

Is anyone using one of the new polar units? The m450 specifically? 
What are your thoughts? Looking for something other then my phone for rides both in the woods and on the road. The garmin 25 seems ok too but the battery life bothers me for those long days in saddle on the road. Or charity rides where you can charge the unit between rides 

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## primoz (Jun 7, 2006)

I'm using v800, my wife has m400, but they are multisport watches (as for neither of us cycling is main sport) not cycling computers like m450 is. On the other hand, their functionality is pretty similar to m450, and so is operation (based on this what I saw on few reviews of m450). I'm with Polar since my active racing days (xc skiing) and their first PE-300 HRM, and I had just good experiences with them and their product's quality and how much beating they stand (their Sport tester was with me for last 10 years of my pro career, which means 2 training/day at all sort of conditions and not taking much care of "some HRM", yet it still works today, even if it was made in 1992  ). So honestly, I never even though about Garmin or something else, especially since biometrics that Polar has and their knowledge about this subject, is, also due their 30+ years of exclusively this business, more advanced then anyone elses on market.
PS: Is m450 already publicly available?


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## gpeden (Nov 17, 2014)

primoz said:


> PS: Is m450 already publicly available?


It is now...
Glen


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## Ranger Pride (Jan 21, 2005)

Just got mine. For the life of me cannot figure out how to shut it off. Someone help me before I throw it into a brick wall. The instructions suck!


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## Ranger Pride (Jan 21, 2005)

It finally shut off on its own last night. I played with it this morning some and like the simplicity. Still can't figure out how to shut it off though so I will call Polar for a little help this morning.


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## nickcarll (Sep 4, 2007)

Sweet deal. Could you post in a couple weeks see how it's going? Still in the market for a GPS for my bike. And would like some real world info on the polar 


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## Ranger Pride (Jan 21, 2005)

Talked with Polar on how to shut the unit off. You don't shut it off. It goes into sleep mode and basically shuts down after 20 minutes. That would explain why I could not find a way to shut it down myself.


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## CO-Clyde (Jan 30, 2010)

Any updates on the M450? I have a M400 but seriously thinking about adding the M450 for the bigger screen and easier mounting on multiple bikes.


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## Bjdraw (Jun 3, 2012)

Received a M450 from Amazon yesterday and it's pretty impressive. I may return it though, because I haven't figured out a way to view distance measured from my speed sensor. I emailed support, but it appears the M450 only judges distance based on the GPS, which only samples every second. And since the trails I ride have many sharp turns and ups and downs, this isn't good enough (@10MPH you travel 14ft per second).

My only other complaint is that it only comes with one mount that uses a rubber band to secure it. I'm sure this is fine for a road bike, but it's only a matter of time before I lose this $140 gadget on a trail.


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## Rally88 (Jun 18, 2008)

I use Polar speed sensor (Bluetooth) and it works perfect. You must pair the devices.
Extra mount are available to buy, and secured best with cable ties.


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## Bjdraw (Jun 3, 2012)

Where are the extra mounts available to buy from? Good point about the cable ties, I'll use them instead of the band. 

Can you elaborate on "works perfect?" Can you see the speed and cadence data on the display while riding? Does it show up in the graphs when you analyze your rides on your computer? (A screenshot would be helpful).


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## Bjdraw (Jun 3, 2012)

Finally got the M450 to measure distance via the speed sensor instead of GPS. Basically the problem was my sensor was previously paired with my phone, which was causing a conflict. Once I disabled BT on my phone, the bicycle icon showed up on the pre-workout screen and all worked as expected. I was still able to enable BT again right after without an issue. Really appreciate that I can use the same sensors with my phone and use BT to sync my sessions via my phone.


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## machine4321 (Jun 3, 2011)

Ive been trying to choose between the edge 25 (like its size) and the 450. It looks to me that the 450 is a better unit. The baro sensor and larger screen are a nice touch. 

Hows it been work out for you guys?


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## CO-Clyde (Jan 30, 2010)

According to Polar, it only uses gps for distance... I was all set to get one so I sent a message. 

I asked:

I currently own a Wahoo Blue SC Speed/Cadence sensor. Will the M450 work with it? Also, will the M450 use the sensor data to calculate distance or will it just use GPS?

Their response:

The two devices are compatible and will work fine together. It will use the M450 GPS to calculate the distance.


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## CO-Clyde (Jan 30, 2010)

Ya know... Polar's response does make sense... I sent a follow up simply asking the function of the speed/cadence sensors with the M450. Stay tuned...


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## CO-Clyde (Jan 30, 2010)

I just called Polar. The M450 does default to the sensors when present. I'm going to order one today...


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## gpeden (Nov 17, 2014)

I received my new M450 a couple of days ago. I'm glad that I didn't want to setup and go the same day, because it took some fiddling to get it going. I had no problems getting it to pair with my laptop, iPad, and iPhone, but every time I tried to sync, it would report a minor error and suggest I install the firmware update. I recall it repeatedly asking me to sign in, but I believe that was part of the larger issue. Every time the firmware update failed, it would revert to the previous state, reset, and ask me to setup the device all over again. Fortunately all fields except the language choice were auto-filled. Judging by the number of "welcome to Polar" emails I received, it took *EIGHT* tries to get it setup. After that successful setup and sync, I then updated the firmware, which generated the ninth welcome email 

Once I successfully updated the firmware, it would not sync/recognize the iPad. The iPad still showed the older firmware version. I had to un-pair/re-pair bluetooth from the iPad to get things working again.

During this process I tried the usual stuff, including restarting the computer and finally installing the latest El Capitan update. And I switched from FireFox to Safari. I can't really remember what transpired during my "one last attempt", but I seem to recall quitting all apps including web browsers and let the Flowsync app open the new default browser Safari. Now it works just fine.

It baffles me why such thick and long O-rings were included in this kit for handlebar mounting. To fit my new bike handlebars I had to stretch the rubber past the desired hook and over the side hooks of the mount and under the hook where the other end of the rubber was sitting.

Also, with two headset spacers above the stem, the headset cap was too tall to allow the mount to be installed on the stem because the M450 would hit it when twisted into place.

All THAT aside, the M450 worked just fine on my first bike ride. It was nice to not have to deal with the iPhone when the rain started. The ride data was uploaded into my laptop via USB and it was then uploaded to the Polar Flow site, where it joined years of previous data that had been auto imported from the older polarpersonaltrainer site.

Sadly, one great feature of the somewhat obsolete polar personal trainer site (M450 won't work there), "training load", is slightly changed and does not integrate recovery status data from the Polar Beat iPhone app according to posts I've read on the Polar Forum. I use Polar Beat for things like hiking and cross country skiing. I almost cancelled my order when I learned this, but I have decided that I can live without it because I can sense when I am overdoing it anyway. And since I am likely getting a fat bike for next winter, most of my workouts will be on a bike, whether mountain, fat, or stationary. XC skiing caused an issue with my bum knee, biking fixed it

What I really wanted was an independent, small, simple to use handlebar mount fitness tracker (bonus to integrate with existing Polar fitness data) and that's what I got. It was really nice to get the iPhone off my handlebars and into the safety of my backpack. From there, the roadID app still sent breadcrumbs to my wife and much, much less battery life was used.

I had considered a more exotic device and would have preferred a downloadable map display as well. But if I really want that, the quad lock mount for my iPhone is still installed on the handlebar for those days. And what the heck, one display for fitness and another for a map is kinda cool Despite those initial setup issues, I am quite happy with this purchase.

Cheers!
Glen


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## Arseni (Jun 28, 2010)

Just got mine. Works perfectly with both H7 belt as well at Wahoo Tickr.

But I have a problem getting in to work with speed/cadence. I have noname BTLE s/c sensor, that works with Strava and other apps w/o issues on both iPhone and Android. 
M450 does pair to it and shows up in list of paired devices.

But no speed nor cadence data is coming from the sensor. Looks like m450 just ignores it in pre-training and training modes.

Would somebody suggest a proven speed ( or speed+cadence ) sensor, that is compatible. Particularly with latest 1.1.5 firmware of M450? I like wahoo for their size BT/Ant+ feature and would try to avoid native Polar sensors if possible.

just to me clear: I have disabled bluetooth on all of my phones, so there is nothing, that would affect BT link between my s/c sensor and m450


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## personaX (Feb 26, 2008)

I have a Tacx BT/Ant+ speed/cadence sensor and it works without issues with my Polar M450. 
http://www.tacx.com/en/products/sensors/speed-cadence-sensor


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