Best HR strap

A light bike doesn't replace good fitness.

Moderator: Moderator Team

Post Reply
TidyDinosaur
Posts: 83
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2022 6:48 pm
Location: Central EU

by TidyDinosaur

TidyDinosaur wrote:
Tue Oct 17, 2023 8:46 am
T65 wrote:
Fri Sep 15, 2023 6:59 pm
I just cannot imagine people get multiple years of use out of the strap. I use Garmin and the sensor almost lasts forever on the same battery. But the strap goes bananas within a year. I always rinse it after workouts. Replaced Garmin by Polar soft strap but the same experience. I'm now using a Magene strap that feels really cheap and costs even less. Will see how long that one survives. But I hate throwing non-recyclable stuff in the bin...
Same here, can't seem to get the H10 straps to last a year... Kind of expensive straps like that :(
Little follow up: I started wearing my strap in the shower after every training and stopped putting it in the washing machine. It had been much more reliable since...

pushpush
Posts: 322
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2023 5:10 am

by pushpush

TidyDinosaur wrote:
Fri Dec 08, 2023 9:48 am
Little follow up: I started wearing my strap in the shower after every training and stopped putting it in the washing machine. It had been much more reliable since...
What HR zone do you shower? hahahah

I always rinse mine off in fresh water after training. It never even occurred to me to put it in the washer.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



TidyDinosaur
Posts: 83
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2022 6:48 pm
Location: Central EU

by TidyDinosaur

pushpush wrote:
Fri Dec 08, 2023 9:30 pm
TidyDinosaur wrote:
Fri Dec 08, 2023 9:48 am
Little follow up: I started wearing my strap in the shower after every training and stopped putting it in the washing machine. It had been much more reliable since...
What HR zone do you shower? hahahah

I always rinse mine off in fresh water after training. It never even occurred to me to put it in the washer.
I do remove the sensor before showering :)
In the past I would rinse the strap every 3-4 trainings and put it in the washing machine once every six weeks or so. After about a year the strap started to lose connection... Since I have started to wear the strap in thwe shower the problem has diasppeared (it is also fall here so most of the training is done indoor these days)

BdaGhisallo
Posts: 3282
Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2004 1:38 pm

by BdaGhisallo

TidyDinosaur wrote:
Sat Dec 09, 2023 9:24 am
pushpush wrote:
Fri Dec 08, 2023 9:30 pm
TidyDinosaur wrote:
Fri Dec 08, 2023 9:48 am
Little follow up: I started wearing my strap in the shower after every training and stopped putting it in the washing machine. It had been much more reliable since...
What HR zone do you shower? hahahah

I always rinse mine off in fresh water after training. It never even occurred to me to put it in the washer.
I do remove the sensor before showering :)
In the past I would rinse the strap every 3-4 trainings and put it in the washing machine once every six weeks or so. After about a year the strap started to lose connection... Since I have started to wear the strap in thwe shower the problem has diasppeared (it is also fall here so most of the training is done indoor these days)
My HR belt goes in the washing machine with all my riding clothes (helmet pads included) after every use. I don't have any issues with connectivity or longevity.

Using a Polar H10 with Polar belts.

hendrik
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Mar 27, 2024 8:58 am

by hendrik

I recently got myself a cheap Coospo and so far it is just as good as my Garmin Dual at half the price. Let's see if it lasts!

naavt
Posts: 534
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2018 6:58 pm

by naavt

MrCurrieinahurry wrote:
Thu Dec 07, 2023 5:57 pm
I'd want a fully sealed (so it's actually waterproof) wireless rechargeable unit which shows battery life and signal strength on my wahoo head unit and screen for zwift.


Basso Diamante rim Campagnolo EPS 12 Bora WTO 60's
I suspect that such a tiny device with wireless rechargeable batteries will need to be charged often.

I'm a Whoop user and the charging system is a clever one (you don't need to take it off your wrist), but even then, recharging it every couple of days is a PITA.

For that reason I'll happily stay with a coin cell for now.

voicycle
Posts: 178
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2021 8:38 am

by voicycle

pushpush wrote:
Fri Dec 08, 2023 9:30 pm
TidyDinosaur wrote:
Fri Dec 08, 2023 9:48 am
Little follow up: I started wearing my strap in the shower after every training and stopped putting it in the washing machine. It had been much more reliable since...
What HR zone do you shower? hahahah

I always rinse mine off in fresh water after training. It never even occurred to me to put it in the washer.
I used to put my Tickr V1 strap in the washing machine once a week with other kit (pod removed) with great results. That was the second strap I'd bought for it and it outlived the pod (after never washing the first strap until it corroded and fell apart because I didn't know any better).

When I switched to Garmin HRM Pro I was disappointed to discover I couldn't remove the pod to wash the strap. I messaged DCRainmaker about it on twitter and he said he just wears his in the shower. Pretty sure I've seen him advise the same elsewhere since, so I guess this is now 'the way'.

I usually spend 20-60 minutes doing stretching and strength after my bike session though, so I've taken to just removing the HRM and flinging it on the shower floor. Then once I'm ready to shower it gets a good rinse whilst the water warms up. When I get in the shower I just give it a little wipe down under the shower head and then hang over the shower door to dry.

Biggest shame of it all is I got the HRM Pro because I started running a bit as part of my training and it can serve as a running power meter in conjunction with a Garmin watch. The power numbers are basically useless though - they bear no correlation to my bike power so I'm just as well ignoring that data. I'm not doing interval training or anything - literally just running off the bike for 15 minutes once a week to get some impact into my routine - but I wanted a more accurate TSS estimate in order to track overall training load better. Some of the other running dynamics data might be interesting to look at someday, but ultimately I'm just wasting the useful life of a more expensive device when I don't actually need anything more than a reliable BPM data field on my bike computer.

I think I actually preferred my Tickr V1 setup with washable/replaceable strap. I'd grab another Wahoo as my spare/daily driver but DCR doesn't like V2's reliability, which is a shame. H10 is just a bit too expensive to be a secondary HRM, otherwise I'd grab one of those to use for everything except the days where I'm running.

Post Reply