I can already picture the UCI officials hanging off motorbikes measuring “zipper drop” against a new regulation.
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I’ve had great luck with the new Wahoo TICKR, with the rechargeable battery. It not only means no disposable batteries to replace/throw away, but eliminates the main point of sweat ingress. Of course it doesn’t do anything for strap longevity. I rinse mine in fresh water after every workout and hang it up to dry, straps seem to last multiple years. YMMV depending on how caustic and copious your sweat is…
My 15 year old Garmin classic strap is still working well. It’s the type where the electronics and contact pads are all one piece of flexible rubber. I had to open the battery compartment and let it dry out a couple of times, but it still works well. Of course I replaced the elastic strap a bunch of times, but it’s just cheap elastic. For a while I was using Scosche optical monitors but that didn’t work out. After getting them replaced a number of times under warranty I gave up. Since I’ve been using a Polar Verity Sense optical sensor and that has been solid. I just got a Garmin watch with HRM so I’ll see how that goes.
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That makes sense. I started unclipping a few months ago and battery life goes to the roof 
You can really feel the difference.
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Am I the only person who almost never changes HR strap batteries? Literally once every 2 years at most
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I’ve has this generic Garmin heart rate monitor since 2011.
I remember that these came under other brand names also.
This was good until this season and I alway ride with heart rate.
It still work now but at random in the beginning of rides it will send a signal saying that my heart rate is at 211 bpm until it feels like working properly.
From this I went to a Kickr first gen and that only lasted a season now I’m on a Garmin, let’s see how long that one will last.
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I’ve has this generic Garmin heart rate monitor since 2011.
That’s like the one I have since 2010 and is still working well. I did mention I had to open it up and let it dry out a few times. Like any strap, I get erratic and typically high readings if the pads aren’t making good contact with my skin, which is more usual in cool dry weather. I moisten the pads (lick them) to prevent that.
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That’s the one that lasted longest with me, I got it in 2006 and it was still working when I moved here in 2012 and I think I got a few more years out of it). I thought it was prone to spikes on each ride but on hindsight it probably wasn’t and was consistent with my subsequent maxes on other straps adding on 1bpm per year. My TickR never lasted long at all and Wahoo replaced it during that time. When they had to again, I gave up and bought a H10
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Yes 100%, on cool days once you have a good sweat going the heart rate reading is on point.
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Last time I started getting dropouts on my Garmin hr I took a gamble on a £5 strap (that I could still clip in my Garmin into) and everything is going well so far.
Maybe the random heart rate readings some people are getting are from the stress of wondering if their heart rate will work this time.
Looks like I got mine in 09, I bought my hrm pro in 2022 and I’m not sure if that is when it finally died or another one I had but it was around over 10 years. I killed the elastic, replaced it and that died, still kept it for indoor rides only. When it finally died I think it just stopped connecting after replacing battery so I figured I got everything I needed out of it. The soft strap that came after (2013) got me through 2022 for running and outside rides I know for sure and I think I messed up a screw or something when it needed a battery, that one caused me actual scars I still have so no love lost but lasted a long time.
I don’t train as consistently has many here but 2 have lasted 10 years (while splitting duty). 3 years on my hrm pro now and I think I replaced battery once? no other issues. I’ve gotten better and wash this one every week.
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The Polar H10 has a warranty, I can’t remember if its 1 year or 2, but I had mine warrantied in Jan 2024. Total turn around time was about a week, it was really fast.
For the Polars, you can also try a hard reset if its not working right–take the pod off, pull the battery and then hold both of the snaps for 30 seconds. Reinsert the battery and you should be good to go.
Good to know about the reset. Definitely worth trying! I already tossed it and replaced with a generic one from amz. Next time I’ll see if I can invoke warranty. Sometimes I’m just too impatient for that.
Just to add one more voice here, my experience is similar to the OP, I gave up diagnosing and just accept that HR straps need replacing every 18-24 months in my case.
Used to use Garmins, then switched to Polar. I replace the straps first, but the pods become flakey as well shortly after. I tried resetting, fresh batteries etc., the problems always come and stay after 18 months. Maybe it has something to do with how we sweat? To be fair also, I use the HR strap almost daily…
Had the same experience with both Garmin and Wahoo chest strap HR monitors. Also chest straps are annoying to put on.
Switched to a Coospo HW807 bicep strap one just for laughs on a random AliExpress order (you can buy these from Amazon now) and it’s been awesome for 1yr and 7 months! Rock solid HR data for 6 activities each week.