Wahoo heart rate monitor issue

Question

I've gone through 3-4 wahoo HRM this year. They start off fine but then start reading 40-50 BPM after a few weeks. Does anyone else have this issue? Should I just get a more expensive / higher end HRM?

Thanks!

Answer 1

It is 2020, and we have had heart rate monitors for quite some time. Additionally, we have had the Bluetooth and ANT+ communication protocols for some time.

Note that this answer is primarily based on reasoned opinion - we tend to prefer more objective answers on Stack Exchange, but we have no basis for such an answer. My instinct is that by now, reliable enough HRM straps with wireless transmitters should be a commodity product, i.e. they're easily mass produced. I'd expect consumers to be able to get an HRM strap of any price point from any reputable brand and not worry about its reliability. You shouldn't need to pay for a premium HRM to increase reliability. If you are getting a low-cost monitor from an off brand, e.g. something generic from eBay or Aliexpress, I would be more concerned about reliability - but note that all our electronics are made in China anyway, so I'm not calling out Aliexpress solely on its national affiliation. Your experience does suggest that Wahoo might be having some design issues with its devices or that you are, for some reason, unusually harsh on your HRMs, which will be briefly discussed later.

If you ask about brand specific information on the web, it can be hard to parse out the noise from the actual signal. It is probably impossible for us to objectively point to reliable brands based on actual data. I could point you towards review sites like Cyclingtips, DC Rainmaker, Bike Radar, Velonews, probably some triathlon sites, the list goes on. The issue is that those reviewers will often not have a review device for long enough to surface many durability-related problems, and moreover they will only have one device at a time. I would expect that even for a low-reliability brand, the proportion of HRMs failing in the first year should be low in absolute terms.

You could, if you deem the effort worth it, continue to pursue a warranty claim with Wahoo. They should warranty the strap. They have generally made reliable products in the past, so I am surprised to hear of your continued issues - albeit I have had one Tickr X warrantied for a similar fault as yours (mine either reported a heart rate of 122-124 BPM regardless of effort even though it looked like reasonably random data, or else it appeared to work for a few minutes then reported a constant 225 BPM). If you don't want to stick with Wahoo, then obviously you should not. Per our FAQ, we don't do specific product recommendations, so I will not recommend a specific brand here.

You did not indicate if you have a chest strap that reads electrical signals or an optical HRM. Electric signal-based HRMs are considered to be more accurate than optical HRMs. However, the durability of the straps on electric HRMs might be a limiting factor, and some people might be unusually hard on their straps - do note that with electric HRMs, the strap contains part of the sensor assembly. One of these might be your sweat composition. If you are one of these people, you might consider an optical HRM, where all of the necessary sensors are in the HRM unit and the strap is just a strap. Be aware that skin tone, hair, and other factors can affect the accuracy of optical HRMs. Also, I believe optical HRMs draw more power than the electrode-based ones; the former have to generate enough power to shine a light through your skin. Thus, they typically rely on rechargeable batteries, which require recharging more frequently than the coin cell ones used by electric HRMs.

Answer 2

My problems with erratic readings from my Wahoo Ticker almost had me putting in for another warranty replacement, until.... I tried a little experiment of turning off my cell phone radios by putting it in airplane mode. Worked perfectly again! Likely too much RF interference from my Bluetooth audio.

Suggest at least turning off WiFi (if you're on the road anyway) and Bluetooth first and give it a try. If HRM is still erratic turn off your mobile carrier radio as well (full airplane mode). If still bad could be the TICKR battery or the unit itself. Good luck.