Garmin HRM Issue

pippi_langsamer-2

Either there's something gravely wrong with me, or my Garmut softstrap HRM seems to be reading 10-20 beats lower than what I would expect.

Is this a dying battery issue, or a dying HRM issue (or a dying me issue...)?

cougie

Mine is either flawless or zero or 224 bpm. Mainly flawless though.

Why do you think its reading low ? Have you checked ?

lostboysaint

Maybe you're fitter than you think!

cgfw201

Mine got sweat in it and gave off some mental numbers a few years ago. Had to replace.

pippi_langsamer-2

I know where my HR usually is for a given zone/ power.

On the turbo and on the road, it's started to read low. Not silly low, just definitely lower than it should be.

Guess I'll swap the battery out anyway and see if it improves...

redvision

My old style garmin hr belt started showing lower readings than I expected, even after changing the battery. Upon closer inspection I found one of the sensors to have a split in it.

I replaced it for the new style and not had any problems with odd readings.

Bumo_b

Mine gave the odd really weird reading, especially at the higher end. Bought one from Decathlon with ANT+ and never had any more trouble. More comfortable as well

Man Of Lard

The cloth part of the assembly has a finite life. Depending on the composition of your sweat & your care regime they wear out typically after 12-18 months.

Many brands of strap (minus the active part) will slot in. Personally I have had good experiences with the Polar Softstrap - used to retail for a tenner - now around £15.

pippi_langsamer-2

Man Of Lard wrote:

The cloth part of the assembly has a finite life. Depending on the composition of your sweat & your care regime they wear out typically after 12-18 months.

Many brands of strap (minus the active part) will slot in. Personally I have had good experiences with the Polar Softstrap - used to retail for a tenner - now around £15.

Ah, that's interesting. Well, it certainly isn't the battery as I desired it out at the weekend and get the same issue.

Maybe try a new strap then

pilot_pete

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

Man Of Lard wrote:

The cloth part of the assembly has a finite life. Depending on the composition of your sweat & your care regime they wear out typically after 12-18 months.

Many brands of strap (minus the active part) will slot in. Personally I have had good experiences with the Polar Softstrap - used to retail for a tenner - now around £15.

Ah, that's interesting. Well, it certainly isn't the battery as I desired it out at the weekend and get the same issue.

Maybe try a new strap then

Funn old thing but both mine and a mates started playing up on a recent cycling trip. I had an old strap at home and swapped the sensor over and problem solved. Purchased the Polar strap which gets better longevity reviews, as did my mate based on my research. Jobs a good'un.

Mine has lasted about 2.5yrs, washed but certainly not every seven rides as Garmin recommend, but I have read of similar failures even when following that washing regime. I think the strap and sensor pads just don't last that well full stop.

Sadly, my mates Garmin 1000 has failed (again). He has had two refurb units sent out to him now and all three have gone the same way. He is not a happy bunny and has taken it back to Evans and demanded either his money back or a new one. Each time the units were just over a year old, which may well be their warranty but this does not mean that the unit has lasted a 'reasonable length of time' for the cost so I reckon he has a strong case.

I seem to have been lucky that both my old Garmin 800 and later 1000 have been pretty much trouble free, save for the odd reset required once or twice.

PP

trivial_poursuivant

when you say SOFTSTRAP do you mean the plastic POS or the fabric one with the press studs to detach the reader?

If you mean the former they are notorious for sweat getting inside and pretty much rotting them out. The detachable ones are a massive improvement and a lot more waterproof.

pippi_langsamer-2

Well, after trying new battery to no avail, I conceded that the thing was goosed, so have replaced with a new wahoo tickr.

I'm wondering where my laziness with the old strap and putting out in the washing machine a couple of times perhaps led to premature demise of the electrode strap.

Hand wash only for the new one...

pippi_langsamer-2

Well, the Wahoo Tickr is a PoS too. Little over a week old and it's going back :?

veryslowtwitch

Have you checked your HRMs against the actual pulse in your neck? It is a a very simple check and will immediately confirm if it is working.

Perhaps your HR is in fact lower than you think it should be. Otherwise I suspect every HRM may read below what you expect.

cougie

Hang on. You machine washed your strap ? I've had HRMs for thirty years and I'd not dream of doing that.

If you have the Garmin bit with the press studs a polar strap will work and costs about a tenner at decathlon.

pippi_langsamer-2

veryslowtwitch wrote:

Have you checked your HRMs against the actual pulse in your neck? It is a a very simple check and will immediately confirm if it is working.

Perhaps your HR is in fact lower than you think it should be. Otherwise I suspect every HRM may read below what you expect.

Of course. My resting HR is IRO 40bpm, and max is IRO 180. Readings of +200 while warming up on the turbo ain't right. Neither are readings 20 bpm lower than I know they should be in the middle of intervals.

So I guess I killed the Garmin strap. The replacement Tickr was just a dud.

pippi_langsamer-2

cougie wrote:

Hang on. You machine washed your strap ? I've had HRMs for thirty years and I'd not dream of doing that.

If you have the Garmin bit with the press studs a polar strap will work and costs about a tenner at decathlon.

First time was a mistake and it seemed to have no I'll effect. Second time wasn't a mistake, and I guess had I'll effect lol.

The Tickr was brand new and failed after a week.