I’ve had a Garmin HRM for 5+ years. Recently it has had trouble connecting.
I’ve changed the battery but it’s no better.
Has it come to the end of its life?
Is 5+ years a good innings?
What should I replace it with???
Hey Dame Christine you asked a wildly appropriate question because I had the same problem as well last year and decided to get a new HRM after my strap snapped into half. I ended up buying the HRM Dual.
The original one I have is still working, just that at times, while cycling, the HR reading just disappears or, my watch is telling me that my HR is at 130+bpm but the HR read out on my head unit is like 96bpm or so.
But a question though, did you notice if there was any form of liquid leaked from the coin-style battery?
P/s: I had my first HRM for a good errr 7 years? Money well spent I supposed 
1 Like
No… No leakage! 7 years is a good stint. I’m currently looking at replacing the Dual with a Tickr as it seems to have an extra connection.
I’m going to try the husbands (slightly gross!) today and see how it get on 
1 Like
I’ve had several Tickrs. None have lasted longer than a year.
Before that I had a few Polars. They always outlasted the watches they came with, so I replaced just with the new straps when I got a new watch. The Polars were always flawless.
Currently on a Garmin Dual. A few months and ok so far…
1 Like
I have had a Polar H10 for over 2 years. Almost daily use. No problems so far
Umm… Thanks for the feedback.
I’m currently riding along without HRM as both the Dual and Tickr are having connection issues.
I guess it’s not the HRM after all!!
Will ask minions…
I’ve never had one last more than about 2 years - I’ve tried Tickr, Tickr X, Garmin etc and they all become unreliable after a while. I don’t know if there’s anything I’m doing to them, but that is what I’ve come to expect.
1 Like
All sorted. The new WiFi extender was the issue. Dual still going strong. Back to the old extender with the door open… Brrrr!!
Who said life was simple?!! 
4 Likes
Has anyone tried the HRM from Decathlon? Are they any good?
There’s another brand Megane, not sure if anyone has heard of tried it before too.
Who would’ve thought of that?! 
1 Like
Do you mean Magene? They’ve been around for awhile in fitness land, though I haven’t used any of their stuff. They popped up in my head though due to being one of the recent companies offering a radar solution for outdoor cycling (previously Garmin was the only option).
1 Like
I have an 12 year old Garmin HRM (not deluxe) and it’s still working reliably. I’m on the third elastic strap for it. You reboot it by leaving the battery out for a while, or putting the battery in upside down which shorts the two battery connections together (it doesn’t apply reverse voltage). One time it quit working so I left it open in a warm spot to dry out and it’s been working a few years since.
4 Likes
If you can get a new strap (without the monitor part), I’d try that. Usually it’s the strap that wears out, rather than the HRM itself.
1 Like
My longest survive 4-5 years. In general, I am happy with 3.
One thing I’ve noticed is that the Dual gets a little cantankerous after washing. It takes a few times of wetting and it comes around to working just fine.
1 Like
Oh yes yes! Magene.
Forgive the Magane, it’s an amazing car to drive in the driving sim I play too.
I have seen the Magene speed and cadence sensors around for quite sometime now and it’s definitely a cheaper option as compared to the Garmin ones.
Currently, I am using their ANT+ dongle and so far no issues for me
Yeah same here. Unfortunately the local Garmin distributor here sells the entire HRM set and there’s no way to buy the strap exclusively on its own. My old strap is still with me and am wondering if it would still work if I attempt to stitch it back together.
I’ll add that my ancient Garmin HRM is different from most current ones in that the transmitter and chest contact patches are all one piece of rubber roughly 10" long. Most newer straps have the contact patches in the elastic strap and connect to the transmitter via snaps. It think the former design is more robust.
You can find aftermarket replacement straps for both types. Amazon lists many.
2 Likes
Hi @Christine-B !
What are you having trouble connecting to? Does that trouble extend to having problems connecting to multiple devices or just one? Is it the HRM Ant+ or the HR Dual?
I’ve had great success repairing these, but it’s not something I would attempt unless it’s packed up completely. Essentially you scroll around the edge seem of the HRM plastic transmitter (carefully so as to retain your fingers) 
until you are able to insert a slightly heavier blade or jewellers screwdriver inside to prize the unit apart - cutting more with the blade as necessary.
You will then see that the contacts inside have a slight about of corrosion or look dirty.
Clean them and then while holding the two halves together, use a soldering iron to plastic weld them together in one or two places and then test it. If it works as expected - complete the plastic welding process around the full circumference of the seam. Smooth it down so it doesn’t catch on your skin 
Over the top maybe, but I like a challenge and I’ve had 100% success rate (4 or 5 HR devices repaired for friends)
I’ve no experience of Wahoo Tickr but the Garmin ones have all lasted well for me.
5 Likes
Wow… DIY man if the year there! My issues turned out to be simply WiFi extender related so all sorted thanks
2 Likes
Thanks for the suggestion! Will look it out on Amazon and see if they ship it to Malaysia or not.
And yes, the HRM I have are the ones which snaps on to the strap.
It’s really interesting that we can actually DIY repair it as @Tim-The-Enchanter mentioned it.
I am curious though, would the HRM remain water resistant after repair it? I did notice there are some gunk at the snaps on my transmitter.
Depends entirely on the quality of your plastic welding skills
1 Like