The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered what to do with all of the coolness that people write, and while I share a lot of it on Twitter and Facebook, this is a better forum for sending it on to y’all. Most times these different streams don’t overlap, so be on the lookout at all these places for good stuff!
So with that, let’s get into the action!
DCRainmaker.com posts in the past week:
Here’s all the goodness that ended up on the main page of DCRainmaker.com this past week:
Here’s a handful of the topics discussed in this past week’s podcast:
– Ben’s selling the Airstream
– My Dad and LinkedIn
– Will we see new metrics like blood saturation level on Garmin devices?
– Quantifying left/right leg balance on trainers
– Swappage of cassettes on trainers or not?
– Where the heck is my Garmin Edge 820 review?
– And the Edge 820 touch screen
– A new and cheap Bluetooth Smart footpod
– Where the heck is Recon?
– What about a new Polar V800?
Listen to the full podcast here on the Podcast player, or just download the audio file from the same spot.
February Sports Tech Sale Continue:
In case ya missed it a week or so ago (details here), here’s the list of active sports tech deals going on over the next week or so.
This is the go-to sale price for the Fitbit Charge 6. It happens often, but it still doesn't take away from the fast that it's argueably the best bang for your buck fitness tracker out there.
This is a good deal, especially since it's gotten virtually all of the Edge 1050 updates, and then a boatload more. That said, it wouldn't surprise me to see this drop further to $449, as it did this past summer.
⚡⚡This is the lowest price we've seen on the Garmin Edge 540 to date, which has gained virtually all of the new Garmin Edge 1050 features as well. This is kinda an insane deal for this unit.
⚡⚡This is the lowest price we've seen on the Garmin Edge 840 to date, which has gained virtually all of the new Garmin Edge 1050 features as well. This is one of my main units I use daily.
⚡ This is the lowest price to date for the Garmin Epix Pro series, likely due to the Fenix 8 coming out a few months back (Epix as a brand was merged into the Fenix 8 branding). Still, if you don't care about diving or voice bits, this is an incredible deal.
⚡⚡⚡ This is a crazy super strong deal. Note the Epix received all of the software updates of the Epix Pro. While we saw a slightly better deal at $399 for a day back in October, this is otherwise the lowest price we've seen it sustained at.
⚡ This is the lowest price to date for the Garmin Fenix 7 Pro series, likely due to the Fenix 8 coming out a few months back. Still, if you don't care about diving or voice bits, this is an incredible deal.
This is the first time we've head a meaningful sale on the Forerunner 165, released earlier this year, down to $249 for the Music edition, and $199 for the non-music edition.
This is Garmin's mid-tier running watch, and is a very polished option with good multi-band GPS, and of course, a boatload of running metrics. This model also includes offline music such as Spotify and Amazon Music.
This is one of Garmin's most popular running watches, and it's down to a very strong price. I often use this in my accuracy testing comparisons when validating other watches, due to it's very strong GPS performance. Note this is the base edition without solar. It'd be hard to find any better deal in sports watches today, from any company (given this has full mapping, tons of new features even this week, etc...). I say '$100ish', because it's usually been on forever sale at $499, so $399 is a strong price, though, it dipped to $319 for Amazon Prime Day.
This is the lowest price we've seen ever on the Forerunner 965, since it's launch. It's still Garmin's top-end Forerunner watch, and I expect it to stay that way for a while. It's one I often use in comparative testing as a reference device.
This is a solid deal. Garmin Instinct 2X - $100 off!It's best thought of as an Instinct 2.5, as it has almost enough features to really be more of an Instinct 3 (which doesn't exist at this point).
This is the largest discount we've seen to date on the Tactix 7 Pro unit. Note the other Tactix 7 Pro units/variants are also on sale for 20% off too (this link takes you to all of them).
The new Hero 13 just came out, which mostly just adds a bunch of new accessory options. If you don't plan to purchase those accessories, then this is a solid deal.
This is a great deal for this tiny little thing, which should really be named the Go 4, given how many new features it has (including 4K). It also has all the Insta360 sport integration features with Garmin & Apple, to overlay your Garmin/Apple data automatically on your footage.
This is something I use frequently when shooting out and about and I need to re-charge a crapton of drone batteries, action cameras, or just cameras and such. I also use it on trips to Eurobike and elsewhere to keep equipment charged. I've even bought a solar panel to hook up to it (surprisingly effective). Heck, I've even powered a KICKR trainer ride from it!
I mean, I guess. Really, I don't see why anyone would buy this trainer at any price above $299. With the JetBlack Victory at $399 being more accurate, quiter, including WiFi, including Zwift Cog support (or mechanical cassette), including dual-Bluetooth, including Race Mode, and...one could go on and on.
This is the go-to sales price for the NEO 2T, though has become more frequent over the past year. It's still an incredible trainer, and is the top-end non-moving trainer from Garmin/Tacx.
This package includes the KICKR CORE with the Zwift V2 Cog, but notably now also includes the Zwift Play controllers. Basically, this saves you about $100 or so, and is the first time we've seen them bundle it.
⚡⚡ This is actually a very solid deal, and the first time we've seen this discounted. In fact, frankly, this is the first time in years it feels like Wahoo is actually doing a legit sale on something. Kudos.
This is lowest we've ever seen the KICKR SNAP priced. While the trend has moved towards wheel-off/direct drive trainers, this is still really solid deal if your budget it tight. That said, if you're in Europe, Decathlon has the D100 on sale for $199 also, and in my testing, I'd go with that almost every time.
And of course, using any of the links above helps support the site. Enjoy!
YouTube Videos I Published:
Here’s some YouTube goodness that I published this past week:
Stuff that I found interesting around the interwebs:
Here’s a not-so-small smattering of all the random things that I stumbled on while doing my civic duty to find the end of the Internet.
1) NBA bans teams from using wearable data in contract negotiations: Seems like a bit of an odd ruling to me, and one that likely won’t stand the test of time. Plenty of other sports use sports tech data in hiring, such as cycling with power meter data, or even the speed a pitcher throws a ball in baseball. Not sure why this would be categorized any differently.
2) Verizon announces their own Android Wear watch: Kinda comes out of nowhere…yet not surprising at the same time. The carriers are constantly trying new wearables, and have an entire division of folks dedicated to trying to stock just the right ones. I’d look at this as a random experiment the company is doing, more than any strategic direction.
3) Suunto opens up Summit 2017 application site: This is the summit I mentioned a week or two ago, designed for ‘passionate’ Suunto users/fans. Note that this would be a bit different than a media event.
4) Baby Climbing Mockumentary: A short and funny video about competitive infant climbing. Any new (or probably even old) parents will enjoy and likely relate.
5) AirDog opens up funding round: With SeedInvest you can actually put down your money for a stake in the company. So it’s like Kickstarter…except you actually have ownership vs just a project reward. Interesting to see the numbers of units shipped. I hope that’s early Q3 2016, but would have expected it to be higher by now.
7) Paris offers runners a way to water plants: Or…something like that. These public urinals will in turn water the flowers. One probably needs to understand that in Paris it’s completely normal to see folks peeing on the side of buildings/windows. We *see* it happen at least once a week at the DCR/Bertie’s Cake Studio locale. And that’s only the times we witness it.
8) Jawbone to pivot to medical space: In a move that should surprise no one, Jawbone will likely soon end their consumer focus of activity trackers and instead focus on the medical side of the house
9) TrainingPeaks updates on API, and backtracks a bit on WKO closures: TrainingPeaks has made a bunch of API changes, and then they had previously announced that older WKO+ users would no longer be able to install the software they bought on new computers (i.e. moving to a new computer). Since that announcement, they’ve come to their senses and will now allow users to install for another year.
Sports Technology Software/Firmware Updates This Week:
Each week I quickly highlight some of the new firmware, app, software and website service updates that I see go out. If you’re a sports technology company and release an update – shoot me a quick note (just one liners are perfect, or Tweet it at me is even better) and I’ll make mention of it here. If I don’t know about it, I won’t be able to post about it. Sound good? Oh – and if you want to get a head start on things, this page is a great resource for watching Garmin firmware updates.
Stryd Power Meter Update: Some improvements to the cadence algorithm, as well as other tweaks. This is good, because I haven’t seen the indoor accuracy previously being all that great. As an aside, TrainingPeaks now offers running power zones with an update this week.
Tacx Neo Firmware Update: This one isn’t really detailed anywhere yet. But, it includes what they call ‘Smart’ Cadence, which will calculate the gear ratio and store the values. They’ll in turn use that data to cross-check speed and then allow more accurate cadence calculations. Next, there’s been changes within Erg mode, which should both increase the speed of power adjustment but aimed to minimize overshooting the power goal during large shifts, they did this by decreasing the virtual mass (in ERG mode specifically) to minimize the overshoot. Lastly, for downhill simulation, they increased the limit from 30KPH to 40KPH, including adding this when unpowered. Also, they made tweaks here that ensure that if you accelerate during downhills, that it’s accelerating from 40KPH and not from 0KPH (in terms of power).
Coming up tomorrow. Sorry, pool closures for holidays was a bit unexpected. Couldn’t get the final shots I wanted on Thurs/Friday. :( First up tomorrow morning.
Yeah, the little one isn’t in regular school yet – so I didn’t expect the school closures (which is odd because last time they were open longer for the school holiday days…sigh.).
Nope, I haven’t quite written anything yet. I just did the unboxing video and will go from there into some sort of review likely.
As for the final two minutes…it’s what happens when you get distracted editing and didn’t put in the marker for that section to come back to it to finish. Doh!
Ray, wahoo also updated the firmware on the Kickr (Gen1) to 1.5.63 (from 1.4.47). I’ve been unable to locate patch notes but I’ve noted that it does provide progressive resistance now when powered but not connected to any external device… dumb trainer mode.
I just did the update but could not find any patch notes.
It also offers an advanced spin down in the wahoo utility. (Android version)
If you choose that option the app warns you that after that adv. spin down the strength gauge will be disabled permanently. Seems like they switch it to the New Kickr mode.
I didn’t do it because of the warning that it is not reversible. I wanted to do some research first but couldn’t find any information on that feature nor patch notes.
Any infos on that patch would be very welcome.
Just found out that you can turn on the strain ( not strength – sorry for that) gauge again via an option in the hidden menu of the app. There is also a short patch note in the hidden area ->
improved power measurement
improved responsiveness
Studio mode has been added
But it does not tell you if you should do the advanced spin down.
I do not have a power meter to compare the two modes.
It would be great if somebody could test both options and post the differences.
Ray. I have a suggestion/request of kind: Just like you did here, with the Neo sw, if would be really nice, if you could give a line or two, about Garmins updates. And yes, I know there is A LOT of products and a LOT of updates. Not asking you to rewrite their change log, but “just” a brief mention, when there is a noteworthy fix/feature for their top of line products. Like Edge 1000/820/520, Fenix 3/5 and Forerunner wysf (what you see fit)
Like Edge 1000 11.10. It added IQ 2.2 support. But what does that really bring to the party?
Like Edge 1000 11.20. “Improvements to Workout Data Screen”. Could be a big thing. Could be “not worth the upgrade”
The Garmin sw seem to just be left with the link. It goes a long way, in most cases, but it’s hard to find more info than what Garmin posted. Other that starting poking around with the unit. This request to save us all from having to do that, to figure out what the changes are.
Did we gain any clarity from Polar/Go-Pro if the V800 update would include the GP4 Session models? Would be nice for them to still service this great little camera.
Training Peaks has offered running power zones for a few months now. I’ve had mine set for a while. The link you listed simply says that they now offer to calculate them using the methods in Jim Vance’s Run With Power book.
Using the Stryd Connect IQ data field power shows up just fine in Training Peaks now and it’s so much better than it was last year when you either had to use the Connect IQ App or send the data through their website.
Re: the unlockable firmware features, this is pretty common in many industries and frankly makes a ton of sense for the manufacturer. Hardware is really expensive to make, especially in low volumes. Having a one product – one feature feature set is indeed a simplified model . But the ability to offer meaningful feature differences to address customer needs / price points via software and not have separate hardware can benefit everyone: customers, dealers, and manufacturers. While customers may view it as annoying or a money grab (they built it already, why don’t they give it for free?) it can allow them to only pay for the features desired. Dealers benefit from a reduced number of items they need to order, stock, and display. Manufacturers benefit from lower development costs as noted in the article, and this in turn helps keep prices down for the end consumer.
An example is the high-volume printer market. In the old days you had to change the internal gears to get different speeds. Different speeds = different models with production, stocking, etc. Now an “engine” (industry term for the part that puts marks on paper) is often designed to one standard, and can print at different speeds via a software license. The customer decides how fast they want to print and pay for that speed. It’s really handy when they have a peak print volume at certain times of the year and can buy a temporary speed license to meet the demand. (Maybe go from 150 pages a minute to 300 ppm). The customer benefits because they meet their demand with the same product, but are not paying for a service that’s not needed the rest of the time. The manufacturer benefits because the only design a single physical product. And the dealer benefits from having to stock only one box, and apply a license when it goes out the door.
I think these software-license models are going to move from more business-to-business products and start showing up more in the consumer market, but it will take time for the markets to adjust.
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FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
You probably stumbled upon here looking for a review of a sports gadget. If you’re trying to decide which unit to buy – check out my in-depth reviews section. Some reviews are over 60 pages long when printed out, with hundreds of photos! I aim to leave no stone unturned.
I travel a fair bit, both for work and for fun. Here’s a bunch of random trip reports and daily trip-logs that I’ve put together and posted. I’ve sorted it all by world geography, in an attempt to make it easy to figure out where I’ve been.
The most common question I receive outside of the “what’s the best GPS watch for me” variant, are photography-esq based. So in efforts to combat the amount of emails I need to sort through on a daily basis, I’ve complied this “My Photography Gear” post for your curious minds (including drones & action cams!)! It’s a nice break from the day-to-day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
Many readers stumble into my website in search of information on the latest and greatest sports tech products. But at the end of the day, you might just be wondering “What does Ray use when not testing new products?”. So here is the most up to date list of products I like and fit the bill for me and my training needs best! DC Rainmaker 2023 swim, bike, run, and general gear list. But wait, are you a female and feel like these things might not apply to you? If that’s the case (but certainly not saying my choices aren’t good for women), and you just want to see a different gear junkies “picks”, check out The Girl’s Gear Guide too.
What happened to the AW Series 2 review coming Thursday or Friday?
Was kind of wondering about that too. I thought it would have been posted by now.
Me, three! Where the heck is the Apple Watch Series 2 review? :-D
Coming up tomorrow. Sorry, pool closures for holidays was a bit unexpected. Couldn’t get the final shots I wanted on Thurs/Friday. :( First up tomorrow morning.
Awesome; thanks!
In my experience, it’s not the closures that are unexpected, it’s the unexpected holidays. “Oh, yet another ‘pont’ again.” :-D
Yeah, the little one isn’t in regular school yet – so I didn’t expect the school closures (which is odd because last time they were open longer for the school holiday days…sigh.).
Did I miss the NB RunIQ blog-article? I like your Hands-on video, especially the last 2 minutes :-D
Nope, I haven’t quite written anything yet. I just did the unboxing video and will go from there into some sort of review likely.
As for the final two minutes…it’s what happens when you get distracted editing and didn’t put in the marker for that section to come back to it to finish. Doh!
Ha… I figured you were “over it” by the time you got around editing and said screw it… I’m leaving it in… Good stuff.
While that was probably true, it wasn’t international to leave there.
The actual unedited unboxing was over an hour. Lots of stuff I ended up cutting around pairing/etc because it was just so clumsy.
Ray, wahoo also updated the firmware on the Kickr (Gen1) to 1.5.63 (from 1.4.47). I’ve been unable to locate patch notes but I’ve noted that it does provide progressive resistance now when powered but not connected to any external device… dumb trainer mode.
Just did some digging, here’s the firmware page for the KICKR: link to support.wahoofitness.com
I had created an alert on the ELEMNT one, but didn’t have one setup for the KICKR. Added…
Hi,
I just did the update but could not find any patch notes.
It also offers an advanced spin down in the wahoo utility. (Android version)
If you choose that option the app warns you that after that adv. spin down the strength gauge will be disabled permanently. Seems like they switch it to the New Kickr mode.
I didn’t do it because of the warning that it is not reversible. I wanted to do some research first but couldn’t find any information on that feature nor patch notes.
Any infos on that patch would be very welcome.
I just submitted a request on their web page to publish the patch notes.
Let’s hope for some info.
Just found out that you can turn on the strain ( not strength – sorry for that) gauge again via an option in the hidden menu of the app. There is also a short patch note in the hidden area ->
improved power measurement
improved responsiveness
Studio mode has been added
But it does not tell you if you should do the advanced spin down.
I do not have a power meter to compare the two modes.
It would be great if somebody could test both options and post the differences.
Just got this answer from Wahoo support.
Hello Robert-
Thanks for using the KICKR. The update notes will be posted shortly to this link: link to support.wahoofitness.com
This video outlines the features of the new update.
link to youtube.com
Thanks,
Dub
Ray. I have a suggestion/request of kind: Just like you did here, with the Neo sw, if would be really nice, if you could give a line or two, about Garmins updates. And yes, I know there is A LOT of products and a LOT of updates. Not asking you to rewrite their change log, but “just” a brief mention, when there is a noteworthy fix/feature for their top of line products. Like Edge 1000/820/520, Fenix 3/5 and Forerunner wysf (what you see fit)
Like Edge 1000 11.10. It added IQ 2.2 support. But what does that really bring to the party?
Like Edge 1000 11.20. “Improvements to Workout Data Screen”. Could be a big thing. Could be “not worth the upgrade”
The Garmin sw seem to just be left with the link. It goes a long way, in most cases, but it’s hard to find more info than what Garmin posted. Other that starting poking around with the unit. This request to save us all from having to do that, to figure out what the changes are.
Looking forward to that Apple Watch review!
Seems like the run Iq watch video needs a bit of editing! Quite fun though, shows us a bit of behind the scene…
Had not seen you already adresses the issue, sorry
Is the Garmin Forerunner 35 review on the docket for anytime soon? I have had mine almost since release but Im curious to see what you think about it
Hey Ray,
Did we gain any clarity from Polar/Go-Pro if the V800 update would include the GP4 Session models? Would be nice for them to still service this great little camera.
Kind Regards
Garry
Ha ha – the last two minutes are priceless. The #reboxing was funny too. Glad you kept all of that in there.
Training Peaks has offered running power zones for a few months now. I’ve had mine set for a while. The link you listed simply says that they now offer to calculate them using the methods in Jim Vance’s Run With Power book.
Using the Stryd Connect IQ data field power shows up just fine in Training Peaks now and it’s so much better than it was last year when you either had to use the Connect IQ App or send the data through their website.
Re: the unlockable firmware features, this is pretty common in many industries and frankly makes a ton of sense for the manufacturer. Hardware is really expensive to make, especially in low volumes. Having a one product – one feature feature set is indeed a simplified model . But the ability to offer meaningful feature differences to address customer needs / price points via software and not have separate hardware can benefit everyone: customers, dealers, and manufacturers. While customers may view it as annoying or a money grab (they built it already, why don’t they give it for free?) it can allow them to only pay for the features desired. Dealers benefit from a reduced number of items they need to order, stock, and display. Manufacturers benefit from lower development costs as noted in the article, and this in turn helps keep prices down for the end consumer.
An example is the high-volume printer market. In the old days you had to change the internal gears to get different speeds. Different speeds = different models with production, stocking, etc. Now an “engine” (industry term for the part that puts marks on paper) is often designed to one standard, and can print at different speeds via a software license. The customer decides how fast they want to print and pay for that speed. It’s really handy when they have a peak print volume at certain times of the year and can buy a temporary speed license to meet the demand. (Maybe go from 150 pages a minute to 300 ppm). The customer benefits because they meet their demand with the same product, but are not paying for a service that’s not needed the rest of the time. The manufacturer benefits because the only design a single physical product. And the dealer benefits from having to stock only one box, and apply a license when it goes out the door.
I think these software-license models are going to move from more business-to-business products and start showing up more in the consumer market, but it will take time for the markets to adjust.