The Garmin HR that came with my 830 bundle has statrted to faulter, even with a new battery. On indoor rides @ about an hour it starts reading way less that it should. Sometines defaulting to 72 bpm during hard efforts.
Who else has this problem?
What brand or type should i upgrade to?
Per the instructions on my Garmin HR strap, I wash the strap after every ride. Wash with my kits about every 2 weeks. My straps last about 2-3 years.
At some point, the strap needs to be replaced. That is true of every brand of HRM that I’ve tried.
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I’ve had this exact same problem for the last week with an old Wahoo Tickr. Works fine for about 45 minutes, then freezes. I’ve tried replacing the strap and battery, neither of which resolved the issue.
Strangely enough, it worked prefectly on a 2 hour outdoor ride this morning, so I’m reluctant to pull the trigger on a new purchase if it’s not needed.
I was wondering if there is a bluetooth issue with my phone, but I’ve had the same problem using an iPad as well, which suggests the fault it with the HRM (or the TR app).
2-3 years for me too. And I rinse it off religiously after every ride. Once I replace it I try to figure out if it is the actual HRM or the strap and hang onto which ever one is still good. I’ve come look at them like other consumables on the bike like tire, chains, cassettes etc.
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Wet the contacts.
You would think the contacts are moist by 1 hour:
Likely over years of use, the strap has built up enough body salts to interfere with accuracy. Replace the strap is usually the solution.
Sometimes I pull the strap up and away from my chest, and let it fall back against the chest. Do that several times. Start a workout on my Apple Watch and compare to chest strap.
At some point within the next month I order a new strap, toss the old one in the trash, and the problem goes away for 2-3 years.
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Not sure which generation HRM you have, but the Garmin HRM Dual is trash. I went through 4 or 5 of them in a year back in 2020, and it was definitely the HRM failing, not the strap. It got to the point that Garmin would warranty replace them for me without proof of purchase because it was a “known issue” that they would fail over time. I switched to Wahoo and haven’t had any issues with the HRM itself, but ironically I’ve found that it performs better with a Garmin strap (it works!).
I have the dual. 1 year and no issues.
Polar ones were not good. Had to replace the strap every 4 months.
I rinse the strap after every ride.
You can try putting some KY or other water based lube on the contacts.
If my strap is not tight I can get drop outs when climbing against the wind when I’m trying to be as compact as I can.
I have the dual (2 of them actually) and the transmitters are still fine, but the straps fail after a while. You can buy no-name straps online for very little money, and snap the transmitter onto the new strap.
Also, make sure the snap contacts between the transmitter and strap are clean – perhaps steel-wool them if they show signs of rust.
I have a dual, 6 months old and it’s terrible.
My old Garmin ant+ HR monitor is still going strong.
I need to send it back and likely will pick up the more expensive but highly rated polar strap
I have the same problem. Time range varies but my Gramin HRM Dual will flatline to 72bpm after 45 min to 1.5 hrs. I can’t predict why or when. I’m riding in an Australian summer right now and I know the chest strap is wet. It’s the second Garmin HRM that has done this for me. Lesson learnt I’ll buy a different brand next time.
I took the back off on the weekend and shoved some folded tape in behind the battery to make the force pushing the battery onto the contacts firmer. I was wondering if it was loose and causing the issue. No idea if that will help or not.
I had an issue with with my wahoo tickr a few weeks ago. It is a few years old so I changed the battery with no luck. One thing that I tried that hasn’t been listed was cleaning the metal contact points. And I mean scrub them with an abrasive green kitchen dish cleaner. It fixed it right away. I don’t know if a film develops or what but now when I get done with a ride, I wash the strap and then also scrub the metal contact points.
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Wahoo Tickr issues are well documented at Wahoo Tickr Problem
I switched to a Polar H10 two years ago. Rinse the strap while in the shower after every workout. No corrosion, no issues.
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I’ve posted in several places that Tickrs are pretty unreliable things. Touch wood, I’ve had no issues with my Polar in coming up to 2 years. I wash the strap every few weeks.
Ultimately, if I get 2 years’ and 1000 hours use out of a £60 item, that’s 6p/hour or 60p a week; I think that’s a fair lifespan for such a thing.
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