After the endless issues I've had with previous Wahoo HR straps, I won't be trusting them again any time soon. Am gonna wait and see how they fair in a year or so. Thanks for reviewing though, thorough as always. 👍

Have used Wahoo straps and HR pods for years and years, no issues. I’ve always preferred their design flexibility, keeping the pod & strap separate. That separation allows, as you say, for easy & cheap replacement of just the strap, should that need come up - I’ve even gone the AliExpress route a couple of years ago, buying a strap there (just the strap). It was less than $5.00US as I recall and it’s been great. No troubles at all, and basically extended my investment in the Wahoo TickrX pod part. And a suggested hack for any strap slippage - just buy some anti-slip fabric glue (marketed for use with toddlers & such, to use on their socks to ensure solid footing on wood floors, for ex) and apply a good dose of that glue into the inside of that strap (away from the HR transmit area obvi) and that strap won’t move at all. And that glue thing also keeps you from having to over-tighten the strap to keep it in place. Just some thoughts ^^.

my tikr has been solid for over 4 years now, had to replace a strap but nice to see a good upgrade option is available

Wow, that Suunto Race S HR data....

Thanks for the great video. I just bought the Garmin HRM Pro Plus for CHF 90 (~EUR 90) recently. I get the HR memory and the running dynamics for my Garmin watch. It's true, that the watch itself can measure running dynamics, but I'm not sure about its accuracy, and from the strap I get ground contact time balance, that the watch can't measure. So, with a Garmin watch, I would not go with the Trackr.

I like the idea that you can get affordable replacement straps as they can get a bit worn and nasty after a couple of years of use, even if you do wash them regularly.

I've had my TICKR 1 for many years, and I have never noticed it being bad. The strap that came with it was bad (the connection was in the centre), so im using it with a Lezyne strap. I have never considered it would need a replacement, given how simple devices they are. Just change the battery when it starts to drop out and on you pedal. I also never remove the tracker from the strap, apart when washing the strap, and have no issues with it discharging.

My Garmin Edge 500 and HRM haven’t missed a beat, pun intended, since 2010. Just works

Great video! Battery compartment on Tickrs is a horrible design! Wahoo even sent me a replacement after the first two broke in less than 18 months. That third one went in the bin within 6 months. Rechargeable might be the feature that brings me back.

I've had my Wahoo tickr since 2019. Still works fine. I'm not super fit. I ride about 3000km in fair weather, and use the trainer 2-3x/week in the winter months. Maybe I just got lucky.

Des, have you tested arm based HR during XC skiing or rowing? Wondering how the arm movements would affect accuracy.

Both my tickr and polar straps didn’t last a year each…. Got a really cheap magene one that’s outlasted them all 😂

Des, any experience with the lower end HRMs from XOSS like the XOSS X2 Pro (also rechargeable) and even Magene?

Changing the coin batteries on my Tickr has been the biggest issue: the tiny locking tabs are fragile, the o-ring has failed after several battery changes, and the seal will not prevent ingress of ultrasonic gel, which causes the Tickr to short out. (yes, I stopped using the gel) I welcome a sealed heart rate monitor!

Considering most optical heart rate straps can wrap around your bicep, is there a market for someone to produce a specific strap for our watches, to fit around your bicep and so increase the accuracy of the readings. I'm having issues with my 955 watch, where on easy runs without a HR strap, the readings are virtually unusable. The usual spiel from garmin is to tighten the strap, but considering most metrics on watches these days relate back to HR, I don't want the circulation cut off to my hand 24/7. The way I see it, if we can't see the OHR light, it should be capable of a proper reading. Anyway rant over, excellent video as always Des.

The first strap I owned was a tickr and like many others I found it to be extremely inaccurate. I’ve since used a polar H10 which has been rock solid. The only issue I’ve had with it was that sometimes the battery would drain even when the sensor was removed from the strap. I’ve also worn out the strap so I’ve just ordered another for £60 here in the UK. I see that the trackr is £90 and to me it’s overpriced.

Great review from a reliable source, but Wahoo has burned me with crappy product (HRM) and I won’t be in any hurry to get another one.

when you said the tickr was not as accurate as the tracker were you reffering to heart rate? i thought the tickr was a accurate heart rate monitor.

Anyone know anything about release date? Seems not yet available (even via the affiliate link).

The wahoo v2 only last 1 maybe 2 years

The real question is: is it finally durable?

i like Polar h10 more

The major increase in price is a bit disappointing...

No thanks, had issues in the past with Wahoo and Garmin, so now it’s Polar for me.

It's a weird renaming. Like they're embarrased about the family name. It doesn't track anything. If they kept the TickrX metrics then I could understand it, or even add onboard storage.

waiting for wahoo to show something more ineresting than hr monitor.... as i like wahoo they're no competition for garmin in bike computers segment :(