Heart Rate Monitor issues April 2022

In the last month i’ve encountered issues with my Garmin Dual HRM. Its worked flawlessly for months yet now showing my HR as excessively high. I’d barely start cycling and it would read 180-200, I hadn’t even broke sweat plus I would know if my HR was that high. Sometimes it just drops out altogether. I start using the Wahoo Tickr yet it regular drops out then stops as well.

Finally anyway that Zwift can allow us to pair or even re-pair our HR whilst moving to help resolve issues with HR? Why should be grind to a halt because a HR is playing up?

You can usually do this in the pairing screen while continuing to cycle. Accessing this varies depending on the system type you’re running Zwift on.

For what it’s worth, I’ve had bad luck with both Garmin and Wahoo HRMs.

Wahoo seems to have chronic connection issues (not just Zwift, even to something like a Concept2 rower) and Garmin HRM pods die prematurely for no reason which seems to be a longstanding design flaw. I switched to a Polar H10 and it’s been perfect, for several years, through multiple battery swaps. (I owned a dozen or so Garmin straps and there are many other reports of issues online)

In the meantime though, my usual tips are to wash the strap and NEVER, ever use any kind of lotion, body-glide, moisturizer, sun-screen - even a hint of it on the HR strap will “clog” the sensor pads and cause inaccurate readings. Hair conditioner, and fabric softener can be culprits, and if your jersey/shirt isn’t wet, it can generate a static electrical charge that can interfere with ECG HRMs. (I soak my strap before use and this seems to help)

Further, they’re generally sensitive to orientation - pod has to be upright, and some straps work best when oriented in a particular way. (with Polar, the clip goes just to the right of the chest, long end wrapping around back)

Thanks for the reply. I use Apple TV and when i tried to re- pair my HRM, my avatar had stopped cycle yet my legs were turning over all the time. I wash all my cycling gear in a specific sports washing liquid with no fabric conditioner.

Everything Ive done or used has been consistent for months of not years. Maybe they are just coming to the end of their life. Will contact Garmin & Wahoo direct for any other guidance.

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