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I updated the V800 firmware last night (details here) with some excitement (yes I am a very sad person 😉 or, at least, easily pleased). Finally a proper run with the V800 and STRYD!!!!! TA DA !! The definition of a ‘proper’ run means that POWER data is shown properly as POWER in WATTS in a running profile on the V800.

Summary:

Generally it seems VERY GOOD.

Here’s What I Expected

• V800 would be 100%,
• FLOW would be fine as would Golden Cheetah BUT
• I expected to have problems importing the data into SportTracks 3.1.

Here’s What I ACTUALLY Found

• Flow seems to allow proper selection of multiple power-based metrics for RUNNING profiles. YAY!!
• Power Zones & Zone lock functionality is NOT available for RUNNING
• But Zone Lock functionality would be GREAT to have for power (ie it beeps+vibrates when you go above/below a zone that you set mid-run/ride). This would be similar/better than STRYD’s new Garmin CIQ app – PowerRace
• Only HR and pace/speed are seen as zones on the V800
• PACE DATA DOES NOT APPEAR WHEN BEST GPS is set as source of pace for me on the V800 (see image below YET comments further below suggest this might just be my problem??). Presumably the same issue would be found for lower quality GPS too. (Yet PACE DATA appeared later in Sporttracks but not in FLOW…very strange) Edit: 3rd run and this time no data with STRYD for pace…hmmm.
• PACE *DOES* appear on the V800 if STRYD is set as the source for pace
• Display of a single POWER metric seemed slightly laggy in updating itself compared to Garmin/Sunnto – I could be imagining this. I’m just talking of a 3-5 second delay, that kind of ballpark.
• I did not look for stride length data – the metrics can be selected and displayed.
• Bizarrely SportTracks 3.1 imports the pace data correctly and the power data correctly. ST3.1 doesn’t import power for Garmin sourced power data from a FIT file directly from a Garmin device when a stryd data field is used. sigh!!
• Golden Cheetah was of course fine with the power data for running (nice CP curve – not shown)

What this actually means

With all the previous workarounds, where various channels were taken over by STRYD to display, I only really used those devices a few times. The impracticality of how power was THEN displayed and subsequently handled meant it was just more bother and time that I was prepared to commit. So I used a Suunto or Garmin instead. NOW that’s all different with Polar. POWER is NOW usable SUPER-EASILY USED on the V800.

Sadness: Power does not appear as a selectable option for the M600 or M200. The M200 is unlikely but there is some limited hope for the M600. I’ll tell you about the M430 next week when I get one to play with properly. I would REALLY HOPE AND EXPECT it to support POWER. *IF* it does then that is properly bringing power to a mass market running device…that starts to get REAL exciting REAL quick – IF it happens.

CHARTS

Here is the missing PACE data clearly shown (well, NOT shown) in FLOW.

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And then here is the same data miraculously in sportTracks 3.1 (It was fine in golden Cheetah too). The power zones are probably wrong in my ST3.1 – ignore those.

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Here are the bits that show FLOW setting can be modified to add power

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