Drew Eckhardt 

I'm upgrading from a Polar CS200 CAD (nice soft strap, no data download, and interference prone RF) to a Garmin Edge 500 (strap not included, data download, and ANT+ which won't play with my Polar) and I'd prefer a similar configuration.

People report that the Garmins are unreliable but work better with the Garmin sender on the Polar Wearlink strap until the terminals on the Garmin part rust.

Do any alternatives work better? I also have a Powertap ANT+ strap that'll work if I'm waiting for a metaphorical slow boat shipment from China.

https://www.thisisant.com/modules/mod...-directory.php

All of the following have soft straps and are Garmin Edge 500 compatible according to the official ANT+ product directory.

Addidas
Bontrager
Garmin
Geonaute
O-Sync
Wahoo Fitness

Some are probably the same OEM perhaps with tweaked industrial design.

kf9yr

I like the new Garmin premium heart rate strap that came with my Edge 800.

I haven't seen the slightest rust on it. I ride almost every day but I wash my helmet, heart rate strap, etc in the kitchen sink after every ride.

I just use a little dish soap, rinse them off and leave them to dry. Takes 5 minutes and my helmet, strap, and ID bracelet don't smell... The salt from sweat is very corrosive!

BetweenRides

I've been using the Garmin strap for over 3 years without issues.... And I'm known as the rainmaker on rides.

luv2climb

I have used the older Garmin hard strap for years with no issues. I purchased a Garmin soft strap back in January. Works great. Very little rust, I don't wash after every ride so washing more frequently would prevent the rust as was mentioned.

The Power Tap strap will work too.

Cjzoller

Have you considered the new Polar CS500?

I work for Polar - let me know if I can help in any way.

Pug

The CS500 looks sharp next to those handlebars. What kind are they?

Drew Eckhardt 

Sure. That has great industrial design but

- Is not compatible with my Powertap
- Will not download to Golden Cheetah (like Training Peaks WKO+ but free and runs on Linux + Mac)
- Has no backlight
- Has no GPS to correlate recorded data with geographic land marks
- Uses a properietary protocol instead of ANT+ so I can't re-use the same sensors if I change head units (say to a Garmin with navigation because I start riding to unfamiliar places or to a Droid application using the native ANT+ support in current chipsets)
- Requires a proprietary wireless adapter for downloads instead of a simple USB cable.
- Costs about the same as a Garmin Edge 500 which does all that

So I bought a Garmin Edge 500.