I’ve been a big fan of Wahoo’s TICKR ever since I bought my first in 2015, replacing the two Garmin HRMs I had destroyed in a single season. While it’s quite rare for a simple product like a heartrate monitor to inspire a dedicated Zwift Insider tribute post, the TICKR left me no choice – it just worked too well, and took all the abuse I threw at it!
The original TICKR was released in 2014, and it has since become a hugely popular heartrate monitor – certainly the most recommended HRM if you ask the Zwift community.
Today Wahoo released long-awaited updated versions of the TICKR and TICKR X. Simple labeled “TICKR V2” on the back of the unit, the new TICKRs are incremental but welcome upgrades to an already established and hugely popular first generation line.
New Features
The TICKR and TICKR X include the following new features:
- Increased battery life: Wahoo claims to have increased the battery life of the new TICKRs by nearly 50%, meaning you’ll get up to 500 hours of use on a single battery. If you ride 10 hours/week with 2 weeks of vacation annually, that means you’ll only need one 2032 coin cell annually!
- Slimmer and lighter: most athletes want to be slimmer and lighter… why not ask the same from our heart rate monitors? 😃 The pod itself is about the same depth as before, but lighter in weight. The strap ends which attach to the pod are much thinner, making the whole assembly thinner. (Note: although Wahoo claims these are the lightest HRMs on the market, DC Rainmaker says otherwise!)
- 3 Bluetooth connections: most Bluetooth devices only allow themselves to be connected to one device at a time – so (for example) you could pair the old TICKR to Zwift Companion, but not your Apple Watch at the same time. The new TICKRs support up to 3 different Bluetooth connections – like the Wahoo KICKR and KICKR Core smart trainers do after last year’s big KICKR firmware update.
- LEDs more visible: the indicator LEDs have been moved to the top of the unit for easier visibility, so you can easily check to make sure your TICKR is connected and recording data.
All nice upgrades, though probably not significant enough to get anyone to go out and buy a replacement for an already-functioning HRM. The multiple Bluetooth connections is a feature rarely seen in HRMs, though, and it can come in handy if you’re running two training programs concurrently (eg, Zwift and Trainer Road) or want to connect to your watch or phone as well as Zwift via Bluetooth.
In addition to the upgrades above, TICKR X includes these new capabilities:
- Enhanced ANT+ running dynamics: enhanced running dynamics data can be transmitted to compatible smartwatches (Garmin watches, basically) via ANT+, giving runners real-time access to their cadence, vertical oscillation, and ground contact time. TICKR X also offers runners a proprietary Running Smoothness ® score through the Wahoo Fitness app, helping to improve their efficiency and form.
- Expanded memory: TICKR X can also store up to 50 hours of workout data (up from 16 on the original TICKR X). This data will sync to your smartphone via the Wahoo Fitness app.
TICKR X is especially popular with runners – most of the features it supports beyond the standard TICKR are run-specific. It can even transmit your running pace to Zwift, which is handy if you don’t already have a RunPod, NPE Runn unit, smart treadmill, or some other way to get your pace into the game.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a new heartrate monitor, I can’t recommend the TICKR enough. Read this post for a list of the 7 features which made me love my original TICKR, then go buy a V2 TICKR yourself! Retail price is $49.99US for TICKR, $79.99US for TICKR X.
Note: this post contains affiliate links to Wahoo. Zwift Insider makes a small commission on purchases made from these links, so please shop through them to support our efforts!
I have experienced significant issues with both my original Tickr and my Tickr X…both having major issues right after the warranty period expires. This was happening ride after ride after ride, even after getting a brand new strap installed. I just switched to a Garmin HRM dual unit only days before this new Tickr launched, which is a shame because I would have given it a try- I want to stay in the Wahoo ecosystem as much as possible as I have several of their other products (KICKR, ELEMNT, RPM). So far the Garmin has worked flawlessly but I really… Read more »
Expanding on this a little more, I think the 3x Bluetooth channel functionality on this new one is going to erase a HUGE amount of the frustration I was having before… such as not getting the Tickr X to get picked up by Zwift while trying to connect with the companion app. I think the Tickr had a tendency to get locked on to another device and then be invisible until you either reset the battery (massively annoying) or cycled bluetooth on and off on all your other devices to force it to unpair.
Re: bluetooth pairing… that’s normal behavior for Bluetooth. Once it’s paired, you can’t pair it to another device, until you unpair it from the first one. So yes, this eliminates that hassle!
Interesting to hear… I have got almost all my Wahoo equipment replaced recently: Kickr Core, Kickr Climb, and Tickr. I bought all of it in October and November 2018. In March and April this year, within just three weeks, the belt of my Climb snapped, the bearings of my Kickr Core broke, and one of the press buttons of my Tickr strap broke out. Luckily, we have 2 years of statutory warranty here and the Wahoo support has been very kind an quick (I even got the better Kickr as the Core wasn’t available), otherwise I would have lost a… Read more »
Any idea if TickrX would work w/an elliptical? Right now I use an old cellphone’s accelerometer to broadcast movement when on the E.
No idea! You could ask Wahoo support.
FWIW, Yahoo sez won’t broadcast from elliptical to Zwift.
I have had the original one for years and it never lets me down. The new one looks great. I wish Wahoo made power meters.
[…] came across a news article from Zwift Insider about the new wahoo tickr x. I had the old version of the wahoo tickr x and I lost it. What I assume happened is my son took my […]
Article states: “The new TICKRs can be paired with to 3 different Bluetooth connections at once”
Shouldn’t that be: “The new TICKRs can be paired with 3 different Bluetooth connections at once”
???
Thank you for the good news!
Be safe!
Or perhaps “paired with up to 3 different….”
This is excellent Eric! Thank you again for the great news. Mine was beginning to rust out on one of the terminals.
Fixed, thanks!
Hi Eric, does the original Tickr X alone enable you to run on Zwift, or have I missed the point?
Yes, it does!
Wow, not a huge fan of running but will go once round the block.
Thanks Eric.
So you can use the TICKR X to enter data into Zwift, but in order for it to work, you have to be running out somewhere where a pace can be recorded via GPS, right? So why would I need Zwift if I’m running out in the world? Or is it just for the sake of adding virtual miles to a Zwift profile while getting real-life miles? Am I missing something? Neither Wahoo nor Zwift have anything easily searchable about how to make this all happen.
No, it’ll give you pace on the treadmill. Probably not very accurate compared to a good runpod or other solution, but it works better than nothing.
FWIW, DCRainmaker also disputes the “10% thinner” claim.
I use a Tickr to ride, but can’t wear it to run for anything but zone 1/2. If I do intervals, the strap is either so loose that it slides down or I risk popping open the button. I thought I was just too stupid to use it the right way, but a quick online search found several other users reporting the same problem.
The pod itself isn’t 10% thinner, but when the strap is connected that whole assembly is definitely thinner—probably more like 20%, in fact!
About time they addressed the battery life issue. Now they just need to change the actual straps. No matter how tight I make them, they slide down my body during rides. Fortunately, the 1st Gen pod clips right to my old Garmin straps, which I don’t have an issue with. Problem solved…
The strap IS a bit different, although Wahoo doesn’t mention this in their literature. I’m testing to see if it stays tighter than the old strap does, which I’ve also noticed needs tightening every couple weeks.
I had always assumed i was losing weight. Allusion shattered 🙁
My 2016 Tickr is still going strong. I thought it had stopped working but learned I just need to pour a little water on it before a ride. I’m curious how much the new version weighs? Mine weighs 47g-not a lot too lose.
Importantly is the battery change as easy to do as it is with the original TICKR?
Yup. And way easier that Garmin’s crazy “4 tiny screws” assembly!
Anyone have thoughts or experience on if the TICKR X will retroactively fill in gaps of data if the Bluetooth connection cuts out for a bit while using Zwift? I use the TICKR and find the Bluetooth connection fairly stable when Zwifting, but occasionally the signal will cut out resulting in no data transmission and the HR line graph to plummet to 0. Given the TICKR X has its own memory, for me it would be worth the upgrade if when the connection repaired itself, if the TICKR X was able to fill in the missing data, repairing the gap.… Read more »