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Garmin HRM has failed (with Garmin 800). Alternatives?
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Today, my Garmin HRM (the fancy strap one) has stopped working. When I began the ride, it was reading 71BPM for about 20 minutes, then slowly sped up to my actual HR. It worked well for about 1.5 hours, then stopped working again entirely (0BPM). The HRM is about 3 years old but has only be used the last 3 months. I tried replacing the battery and tried multiple little tricks to get it work; no luck.

So, do I just buy a new HRM from Garmin? Do I buy the Wahoo Tickr? What's the general consensus at this point; just keep rebuying an 'expendable' item?

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Confused Fitness Addict -- Biker first, Nutrition second, everything else third.
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Re: Garmin HRM has failed (with Garmin 800). Alternatives? [idle] [ In reply to ]
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The Garmin soft straps do have a finite life, I seem to get a couple of years out of them. 3 months seems short though. I had Garmin warranty one for me that died after about six months.
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Re: Garmin HRM has failed (with Garmin 800). Alternatives? [idle] [ In reply to ]
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If I ever buy another HRM, it'll be the Wahoo TICKR. The Garmin straps all suck for longevity. I've been through so many of them. But, now that the new 735xt and 935xt watches all have wrist-based HRMs, I doubt I'll ever wear another chest strap.
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Re: Garmin HRM has failed (with Garmin 800). Alternatives? [rowancbrown] [ In reply to ]
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rowancbrown wrote:
The Garmin soft straps do have a finite life, I seem to get a couple of years out of them. 3 months seems short though. I had Garmin warranty one for me that died after about six months.

Technically, it was about 4 years old and went unused for about 3.5 years.

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Confused Fitness Addict -- Biker first, Nutrition second, everything else third.
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Re: Garmin HRM has failed (with Garmin 800). Alternatives? [idle] [ In reply to ]
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I have been using the same HRM-Run strap for the last 5 years, with no issues. Finally got one of the new HRM-Tri straps, but in training I often still use the old one. Heck I have only had to replace the battery in the old strap once, but it is the old version with the removable pod, so I take it off the strap every time I am done.
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Re: Garmin HRM has failed (with Garmin 800). Alternatives? [nickwhite] [ In reply to ]
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I bought a Wahoo Tickr and use it with all my garmin products. So far no issues.
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Re: Garmin HRM has failed (with Garmin 800). Alternatives? [idle] [ In reply to ]
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I bought the Wahoo strap and after just a couple of months the plastic end is coming unbonded. For now I unclip the other side. So either I got a bad one or........
Last edited by: Juanmoretime: Aug 16, 17 2:49
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Re: Garmin HRM has failed (with Garmin 800). Alternatives? [idle] [ In reply to ]
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I recently switch to the Scosche, which goes around the upper part of your forearm, and been very happy with it. I've never liked having a strap around my chest. The Scosche is optical but it does seem pretty accurate. It's rechargeable and the manual says the charge lasts around 8 hours of activity, so that may not work for you depending on the length of your events. But just another option to consider.
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Re: Garmin HRM has failed (with Garmin 800). Alternatives? [idle] [ In reply to ]
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Scosche+ optical for training. You gotta wear it tight but once you do so, it's rock solid. Mine has been solid for nearly 2 years now, with zero loss of it's excellent HRM capture.

It has sucked for racing for me though - I dont' want to lose it off my arm in the chaos of a wetsuit swim (despite the 360 deg velcro) and if I leave it it T1 or T2, it seems to turn itself off and refuse to turn back on likely due to all the other HRM signals in the area. (Yeah it's weird - I've tried it multiple times in multiple races, but it literally won't turn on on the racecourse with other racers in the vicinity, but if I'm all alone and/or after the race and in my car, it turns on immediately. I of course pair it with my Garmin before the race, so it's not the issue of initial pairing - it drops the pairing as my Garmin departs with me on the swim.)

I'm going to buy a dedicated HRM strap and use it just for racing. But for training, the Garmin HRMs die in about a year, every time for me. I've gone through like 7+ of them, all versions. The worst part about the Garmin chest strap failure is that it's gradual - so you feel like you should keep using it since you're getting like 90%, then 80%, then 70%, of your data, and only after you've suffered annoying drops more and more for like a month, you realize you should probably get a new one. And no, changing the pod doesn't solve it, nor does changing the battery individually, or the soft strap portion individually. After a year+, nothing will save it.

I've also used replacement compatibile straps from Polar, and same deal - failure after a year, maybe a bit more. The Polar strap lasted longer for me but also suffered more regular drops so it wasn't better at all.

The Scosche still will likely require a replacement soft strap every year if you're using it a lot - $15. (Battery is USB charged, built-in, no need to replace that.)
Last edited by: lightheir: Aug 15, 17 4:41
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Re: Garmin HRM has failed (with Garmin 800). Alternatives? [idle] [ In reply to ]
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I've had 3 Garmin straps. The first was the classic strap with the hard plastic part that wrapped most of the way around your chest. It came with my Forerunner 305 in around 2008. It only got occassional use until I started cycling again in 2011 but then lasted a couple more years. It still worked last time I tried it but hasn't been used in quite some time. Then I got a 910XT and which came with what they called their premium strap (with the clip off pod). That worked solidly for about 2 years and then suddenly failed - no gradual decline as described by others. I currently use a Garmin Tri strap that came bundled with my current 920XT watch for cycling and some swims and runs. It's been rock solid so far. For running I now mostly use the Scosche Rhythm+ that I got early last year. It seems to differ person to person depending on skin tone, fat distribution, etc. Most people seem to be able to find a good spot. For me it's just above my bicep with the sensor at the front of my arm. It's normally very reliable with zero drops during most runs. Occasionally I don't get it positioned quite right or have the strap too loose and get drops. It's easy enough to fix if wearing a T-shirt. More problematic when wearing long sleeves and multiple layers in winter! I really do prefer not wearing a chest strap when running. it used to really annoy me. I'm fine with a chest strap on the bike.

Summary: If you don't like running with a chest strap, I'd recommend the Scosche Rhythm+. I've only had 1 out of 3 Garmin straps fail to date and it was after more than 2 years solid use. I think that's fairly acceptable.
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Re: Garmin HRM has failed (with Garmin 800). Alternatives? [Juanmoretime] [ In reply to ]
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Juanmoretime wrote:
I bought the Wahoo strap and after just a couple of months the plastic end is coming unbonded. For now I unclip the other side. So either I got a bad one or........

For what its worth. I emailed Wahoo and they are warrantying my strap. I'm thinking it was a one off defect. Kudos to their customer service.
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