what is your cleaning protocol?
Wet wipes then a dry wipe, but I’d never came across this problem (rusting connections) until I tried the TickR a quick google suggested it was quite common though :-/
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I loved my polar… Sadly, I left it in California back in October…
The garmin chest straps are VERY accurate, but man… they are a pain and they do not last… I washed mine as they said I should… lasted less than a year… At least Garmin did replace it.
Used Dawn dish soap with water and a little brush. Hairdryer to displace any excess moisture then air dry. Dielectric grease on the contacts. Hand wash and hang dry the strap.
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I’m thinking a lot of this comes down to where you sweat and the type of sweat. I’m getting 1.5-3 years out of a Garmin strap. My helmet straps get salty and require frequent rinsing, but I never see any salt stains on my jersey or bibs. Always rinse the strap in water after every ride, toss in the washing machine every other week or so (about 8-12 uses).
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I was afraid if the washing machine… But i will give it a go
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same load as my kits. Toss strap in a bag with my gloves.
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- Garmin HRM 2017ish - worked great, lost it after a few years
- Wahoo Tickr 2020 - eventually got lots of dropouts and warrantied in 2021, new strap seems to work well overall
- Magene H64 2023 - seemed to track HR changes quicker than Tickr, better in cold temps, quicker to connect to devices, but eventually corroded between the snap on the strap and snap on the unit, still need to clean up and maybe apply dielectric grease?
I have a Wahoo Tikr. Works as described on the box. Coin battery replacement. Had no issues
I had a Wahoo Tickr X (edited to be specific). After a few months, it gave me nonsensical readings. Tried changing the battery, then the strap, then support sent me a new Tickr. Eventually, that died too, so I had two Tickr Xs over 2 years. Then I got a Polar H9 in early 2023. So, it’s on its second season. I hear good things about Polars. The thing is, these are little plastic pods that sit in a very sweaty environment and they have to have a door to replace the battery. So they are in kind of a harsh environment, and I think nothing is going to last forever.
I think some are missing an important distinction in the tickr series. From previous posts about heart rate straps folk have had less issues with the plain ol’ tickr but the X model seems to be far more prone to failure. I’m not sure if that’s still the case for this thread but I would be curious for tickr owners lamenting their choice making sure to specify regular or X.
I did want to throw out there that a battery flip is worth trying for those whose sensor is acting up. While my tickr regular is comparatively old as dirt it has not been without some occasional weirdness. But just like a 4iiii power meter, installing the battery upside down for about 10 seconds or so then putting it back in properly has solved my issues on most occasions.
It’s specifically second generation TICKRs from my experience, X or non-X.
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Wahoo Tickr X. I occasionally use the storage / download capability but probably not within the last year and probably not worth the extra cost.
I used to have. Scosche Rhythm+ specifically for indoor and it worked great until the battery stopped holding a charge. Bought a used one that was “tempermental” until it died a little while ago. Tried the Rhythm24 but it had more dropouts than I could count.
Ended up just using the Tickr X both indoors and outdoors.
Its just the plain old TickR that I had and I suspect that the other posters had the plain old too. If it were the X I have specifically mentioned it, but given it was the regular old one I didn’t. Its a bit like any up rev of a product, if you don’t mention the revision its likely the unrevised version.
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There is NO WAY to draw conclusions about the population from a discussion like this. Selection bias is through the roof. There are tens of (hundreds of?) thousands of people out there happily using X, Y, or Z product. Who knows what the failure rates are in the aggregate?
My n=1 is that I’ve been a happy Wahoo TICKR user for years. No problems. I’ve lost a couple, so I’m on my third, but none has broken down on me and stopped working. Currently on a TICKR X, not sure when I bought it.
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Polar H10.
After 4 years I am now getting a new strap, but the electronic part still works. I hear Wahoo/Garmin straps usually last only a couple years. The straps sit really well and are easily adjustable and come in two sizes. They work incredibly well, I remember my old Polar from when I was jogging a bit like a decade ago, I always wet that before going out, with the new ones I just go and I think the only issue is at the start when it’s very cold, then either wet it or it’ll take a bit of time.
Very rarely do I have issues, and when I do it sorts itself quickly. In fact, maybe all the issues I remember are when the battery starts to die. It won’t just go from working to dead, it will start to sometimes read funny.
Battery life is good, I did buy some better Panasonic ones recently and the first one is going strong. Might even reach 400 hours. Currently at 206 hours, and I checked somewhat recently and it said 50% left. So I think that is decent, but I am not sure how this really varies, i.e. if you put the same batteries in different products, do some products drain battery more? I’ve had cheap batteries last less, one was only 175 hours. But yea, I don’t know if the actual unit has much impact or it’s all down to the battery.
How do you know when it is a strap that needs replacement vs. the electronics unit going bad?
This is a very good question, and the lack of a good answer is part of the HR monitor follies
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With Garmin it’s always been the strap, for me, since 2017.
A good question. When the HRM reads funny, my procedure is:
- Change battery, see if that helps
- If in warranty period, contact support. Be persistent but polite. Do what they say. They might offer to replace the strap first, which is fine.
- If not in warranty period, replace strap.
- Toss unit in trash.
Went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Polar H10. Synced right up on TR on Ant+. Could not get it to pair to the polar app until I completed my workout. My Fenix 6 was the only sensor showing up. Finally was able to unpair that and the H10 jumped right in there. Looks like there is some interesting data to look at during training on the Polar app
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