Heart rate monitor straps

I currently have Coospo and Wahoo HRM chest straps working with a Garmin 1030. In recent weeks I’ve noticed both, especially the Coospro, getting unreliable with implausibly low HR numbers appearing on the Garmin. An example is a sprint up a hill showing a max HR of about 90, when in reality I could feel my heart pumping at more like 150. Does anyone else get this?

If I replace the current straps what would people recommend, with ANT for the Garmin and Bluetooth for occasional iPhone usage?

Yup pretty standard.

Before giving up on it there are 2 things to check. Battery replacement, it’s cheap. A replacement strap without electronics is only about £10 on Amazon. After a while the straps seem to get clogged with salt or the sensor pads delaminate (not really sure which) and this also gives dodgy readings.

I’ve got the Coospo HRM and that’s exactly what it does when the battery is getting low. A fresh one will fix it, washing the strap in sports wash will help too but I’ve never had issues with it even when it’s got properly minging from Zwift use.

Defo try a new battery. If they’re both dead and you need Bluetooth connectivity don’t be tempted with the garmin dual hrm strap – I had 2 and both just stopped working with Bluetooth after a while – they’d connect but no send any hr data. Known problem that garmin deny is an issue with their hardware.

I switched to a wahoo one and haven’t looked back.

New battery is the obvious try, and check the contacts on the strap are getting good skin contact, it might seem manky but try giving them a good lick before strapping it on, good old conductive dribble might help cut through the chest wig.

Thanks for the comments guys.  Just to be clear I am getting a signal from both the Wahoo and Coospo, it’s just that it doesn’t seem to follow my perceived heartrate.

After a while the straps seem to get clogged with salt or the sensor pads delaminate (not really sure which) and this also gives dodgy readings.

The Wahoo strap looks clean so I am now trying a new battery with that, although it doesn’t seem along ago since I replaced it.   The Coospo strap sensors do look quite manky, so it’s in the washing machine today!   I’ll see how they work on Saturday’s ride before deciding whether to go for:

A replacement strap without electronics is only about £10 on Amazon.

Do you remove the electronics bit & give it all a quick rinse/dry?

I killed a Magene one, as I never took the electronic bit off & the contacts rusted.
With my current Coospo one, I separate the strap from the electronics after every ride, run the electronics under a gentle stream of cold water & then immediately dry it. I then give the strap a rinse while showering, drain most of the water off while being careful around the sensor pad bits & then hang up to dry.
Seem to be getting good lifetime out of this one (it will probably die now).

I’ve used a Polar chest strap for a couple of years with my Garmin HRM and not had any issues.

I always separate the electronics from the strap and then the strap gets a rinse in the shower.  But I’ve never cleaned the electronics capsules – interesting, I’ll take a look at that.

When I say “clogged with salt” I guess I should have said I don’t actually know what’s wrong with it. It’s not visibly salty or anything, that would be gross! Originally I just used to wash the strap in the shower after each ride. Then I started washing on sports wash every week(ish) on garmin advice. now they still fail about every 12-18 months. I may try one of the polar straps next time as they are supposedly better quality, but for now this cheap £10 one has lasted over a year.

Regarding the getting signal but not tracking heart rate, yup that’s a pretty classic sign of low battery. I think on my garmin it used to still transmit maybe 74 or 72bpm when really it was well over 160.

Thanks for your suggestions everyone. Batteries replaced and straps washed – both HRMs seem to be working ok now.

Got the harm dual HRM…have rinsed the strap twice in the 2.5 years of owning it…changed battery on hrm unit once (think it will be needing it in another couple of months).

Should the strap be getting a more frequent wash? If so, what do I do with it to wash it?

I recently had problems with my Garmin strap. False low readings compared to my watch. Garmin Connect told me the battery level wasn’t low, so I just washed the strap under a running tap for a minute or so. This has fixed the issue. That was the first time in 2 years so if it’s working properly, I wouldn’t worry.

Not too relevant but very impressed with Wahoo.

I had a 3 year old Tickr that started reading 225bpm and sticking there.  I tried a fresh battery and the reset but it didn’t work so I dropped them an email to ask for tips.  Was asked for proof of purchase and got a new one 2-3 days later!

The newer Garmin straps have a label on them saying wash every 7 – http://www.garmin.com/HRMcare . That said, if you’ve got 2.5 years out of it no drama I’d definitely keep doing what you’re doing rather than what I am!

Wash after every 7 uses and rinse after each one? WOW!!!

I think I’ll maybe do a rinse in the shower once a month or once every 2 months…it is all still working, so probably not quite needed.

I do put a bit of gel on the contacts – ultrasonic gel – and that seems to keep a very good signal, but it doesn’t get rinsed at all. I’ll start doing that now though.

Wahoo user here.

Never had an issue that wasn’t fixed with a new batery.

I remove the Unit from the strap and rinse the strap through in the shower after a workout.  Was and dry the Unit too.  Never had rusty contacts or strap/sensor pad problems.

As another ex Wahoo user, changing the battery usually solved the problem.  But the strap ate batteries at three or four times the rate of all the other straps I’ve tried.  I’ve stuck with the cheapest Garmin strap which seems to be fairly bomb proof

I’ve never washed my 4 year old Wahoo. Unless you count licking the contacts before putting it on.

I have a Garmin one. Seems pretty accurate.

Coospo user here, I rinse the strap in cold water maybe a couple of times a year. Other than that, I wipe the contact points on the strap and unit after each use.

If a new battery doesn’t sort the wahoo then open a support case. Worst outcome will be a hefty discount code on a new one via the store.