As promised from yesterday’s post, a slate of new deals are live as of today, including Garmin’s holiday deals, as well as Suunto’s deals. These encompass a huge swath of wearables from both companies, but also cycling items from Garmin. And a few other sports like golf stuff or something. Oh, and inReach devices. Those are cool.
These deals that start today, in conjunction with a handful of Vivo-line deals that have been listed by various Black Friday outlets, encompass all of Garmin’s holiday deals. Said another way – no, there are no Fenix 6 deals on tap this year. But hey…there’s always 2020!
There’s a ton of items down below all sorted super pretty, but here’s the gist of the biggies:
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- $100 off Garmin Forerunner 945 and 935
- $200 off Garmin Vector/$100 off Vector S
- $100 off Garmin Instinct
- $150 off all Garmin Fenix 5 PLUS variants
- $100 off Garmin Venu (Black Friday Weekend only)
- $150 off Garmin Edge 1030
- $50 off Garmin Edge 130
- The Tacx NEO 2T, Flux 2, Flux S, and Flow Smart Trainers have all been added to 20% sale
- The Saris H3 (Hammer 3) is now at 25% off instead of 20%. Boom!
- $70 off Suunto 3
- $170 off Suunto 9
Because it’s late and I’m tired of typing long preambles this week, we’re just gonna get right into things – sorted by categories.
Watches & Wearables:
This covers anything you can wear that’s watch-like or activity band-like. Generally speaking, you’ll mostly find deals here that are on things I’ve written about in the past. So you won’t find a deal on some random non-sports tech watch here, or on socks. Unless the socks have some crazy sensor or something in them.
| Product | Sale Price | Amazon | Other site | Sale Notes |
 | Apple Watch Series 10 - $50 off
$399/$499 (cellular) | $349 | Amazon | | |
 | Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium - $75 off | $725 | Amazon | | This is a nice little deal for this unit which just came out. |
 | Fitbit Ace LTE Kids Activity Smartwatch - 22% off | $179 | Amazon | | This was just announced this summer, and is their first full smartwatch focused on kids activity tracking and gamification. |
 | Fitbit Charge 6 - 38% off!
$159 | $99 | Amazon | | 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. |
 | Fitbit Inspire 3 - $30 off | $69 | Amazon | | |
 | Fitbit Sense 2 - $70 off | $179 | Amazon | | |
 | Fitbit Versa 4 - $40 off | $119 | Amazon | | |
 | Garmin Epix Pro Series - 20% off!
$899/$999 | $649 | Amazon | REI | ⚡ 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. |
 | Garmin Epix Sapphire/Titanium (Gen 2) - $400+ off! | $399-$429 | Amazon | | ⚡⚡⚡ This is a crazy super strong deal. Note the Epix received all of the software updates of the Epix Pro. This deal keeps floating between $399 and $429 - frankly, at either price it's an awesome deal. |
 | Garmin Fenix 7 Pro - 31% off (All Variants)
$799+ | $549+ | Amazon | REI | ⚡ 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. |
 | Garmin Forerunner 165 Music - $50 off! | $249 | Amazon | | 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. |
 | Garmin Forerunner 255/255S - $100 off | $249 | Amazon | | 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. |
 | Garmin Forerunner 255/255S Music - $100 off!
$349/$399 | $299 | Amazon | | 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. |
 | Garmin Forerunner 265 - $100 off | $349 | Amazon | REI | This is the first time we've seen the Forerunner 265 on sale, and it's solidly priced right now at $349 |
 | Garmin Forerunner 265s - $100 off | $349 | Amazon | REI | This is the first time we've seen the Forerunner 265 on sale, and it's solidly priced right now at $349 |
 | Garmin Forerunner 955 - $100ish off! | $399 | Amazon | | 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. |
 | Garmin Forerunner 965 - $50 off! | $499 | Amazon | REI | 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. |
 | Garmin Instinct 2X - $100 off! | $349 | Amazon | REI | 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). |
 | Garmin Tactix 7 Pro - 20% off | $1,049 | Amazon | | 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). |
In addition, per a pile of Black Friday deal sites I’ve confirmed the following additional Vivo related deals for Black Friday sales specifically (Nov 28th+):
- Garmin Venu will be $100 off, down to $299USD
- Garmin Vivofit Jr 2’s will be $20 off, down to $49USD
- Garmin Fenix 6 will most definitely not be on sale. Neither will the Fenix 7 or Fenix 8.
I’ll tidy up the above listings to actual reviews/etc in the coming days. And hey, I might even get myself together enough to drop my Garmin Venu review prior to that sale. Pretty solid chance in fact, since I’ll be able to stop playing data entry dude for the last few days.
Cycling Gear & Trainers:
Got a bike? Then this section is for you. Everything from bike computers to bike lights to trainers, it’s all here. I won’t generally be adding things like brake cables or bike seats here, but if I find a good deal on a cassette to stack on that new direct drive trainer you just bought, I’ll probably list it here.
| Product | Sale Price | Amazon | Other site | Sale Notes |
 | Garmin Edge 1040 Cycling GPS - $100 off! | $499 | Amazon | | 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. |
 | Garmin Edge 540 - $100 off | $249 | Amazon | REI | ⚡⚡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. |
 | Garmin Edge 540 Solar - $100 off | $349 | Amazon | REI | This is the lowest price we've seen on the Garmin Edge 540 Solar to date, which has gained virtually all of the new Garmin Edge 1050 features as well. |
 | Garmin Edge 840 - $100 off | $349 | Amazon | REI | ⚡⚡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. |
 | Garmin Edge 840 Solar - $100 off | $449 | Amazon | REI | This is the lowest price we've seen on the Garmin Edge 840 Solar to date, which has gained virtually all of the new Garmin Edge 1050 features as well. |
 | Garmin Edge Explore 2 - $40 off
$299 | $269 | Amazon | Competitive Cyclist | This is a great little unit, though, with the sales on the Edge 540 and 840 series, you might want to look at those instead. |
Other Sports & Fitness:
Anything else that’s sports and fitness related that I think is interesting will be here. It may not be super techy – but it’s stuff that most readers will be using in pursuit of their running/cycling/swimming/hiking/whatever.
There are no deals currently.
Action Cameras & Drones:
Wanna record it? No better way than an action camera. Anything that’s action camera related or drone related you’ll find here. That’s especially true of action camera mounts, which are often found for great deals around the holidays. Same goes with drone and drone accessories. Usually a great time to pick up an extra battery or extra props.
| Product | Sale Price | Amazon | Other site | Sale Notes |
 | GoPro Hero 12 Black - $100 off! | $299 | Amazon | | 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. |
 | GoPro Hero 13 Black Bundle - $60 OFF! | $339 | Amazon | REI | This is the first time we have seen the newly announced GoPro Hero 13 Black on sale. Solid deal, this is my daily use action cam! |
 | Insta360 Ace Pro Action Cam - $50 off | $299 | Amazon | | This is the previous edition, as the Ace Pro 2 just came out a few weeks back, but this is still a very solid camera from a year ago. |
 | Insta360 GO 3S Tiny 4K Action Camera - $60 off! | $239 | Amazon | | 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. |
DCR’s Random Gadget List
This is basically the mostly totally unrelated gadgets and things I think are cool deals that I’ve likely bought one or five of (you can never have too many, right)? Some of it’s probably photography stuff. Some of it’s random stuff like chargers and battery packs that I use daily, fun camera gear I use to make videos like sliders and turntables, and well…just random things you’ll find around the DCR Cave. It’s all random…but it’s all awesome randomness!
| Product | Sale Price | Amazon | Sale Notes |
 | Jackery Portable Power Station - $60 off! | $199 | Amazon | 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! |
European Deals!
What’s that? You’re not in the US and still want a deal? No problem! First off, you should note that some retailers do send some items overseas. For example, Clever Training can send many products overseas, and do so at a flat-rate $29USD shipping cost. You’ll want to check the individual item. For some deals, that could be a huge savings!
Beyond that, I’ll be tracking Euro-specific deals here. These will mostly include both Clever Training Europe (UK) as well as Amazon European deals.
Woot – important! The Clever Training Europe deals below can be combined with the DCR 10% discount coupon code DCR10BTF. Boom! So yes, another 10% savings on top of these prices! Plus free shipping in Europe for orders over 75EUR (almost everything in the list from CT).
Note: On Amazon Europe deals, generally speaking, you can order from any Amazon European country site (I.e. Amazon France) and have it shipped within the EU (I.e. Spain). Thus, many times deals are duplicate across the sites.
Remember these days refresh each day for the most part, and usually only last a few hours. Jump if you see something you like!
There are no deals currently.
Got all that? Good. As always – anything you buy from the above helps support the site – which we greatly appreciate (we being, me and The Girl).
In addition, you can support the site with purchases from any of the below three retailers – no matter if it’s sports tech, or toilet paper. Just click on the link and you’re off!
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Thanks for reading and supporting the site! And remember to keep checking back regularly. I’ll be posting updates to Twitter, so that’s probably the best place to follow for new updates.
Also – feel free to post sports-tech specific deals down below, however, if I think they’re spammy – I’ll zap them. Good? Thanks!
Have a good weekend!
Note that for the AirPod Pros from Amazon, delivery may be pretty far out. For delivery to California, their page says both:
“FREE delivery: Dec 11 – Jan 2” and “Usually ships within 1 to 3 months.”
Yeah, I do find that tends to be all over the map with Amazon & Apple chipping. Sometimes it’s close, sometimes it’s far. Sometimes it says far and then ships close.
I was planning on getting the Elite Suito with the sale this season, currently using a Tacx Vortex and wanted to upgrade to direct drive. Some of the other slightly more expensive deals are enticing, anyone have feedback on why it’s worth the extra cash to go to a NEO/TICKR/H3? I’m a bad weather (Ohio) Zwifter that rides 3-4x per week. I’ve read through the DC reviews multiple times but have decision paralysis :)
I think it’s probably worth the cash to go from Suito to H3. The H3’s at $750 right now, versus the Suito at $639. The H3 is probably a hair bit louder than Suito, but far better ride in terms of road feel. Also, it seems to have less manufacturing teething issues right now (as in, none).
Obviously, the next jump would be the KICKR CORE at $899 minus 20%, but honestly I think you’d get the vast majority of that benefit going from Suito to H3.
Garmin Venu is on sale NOW at Best Buy for $299.
So looking unlikely for an Edge 530 or Wahoo Roam deals?
And big thanks to you and the girl for doing this. The post looks pretty simple but I’m sure it is a ton of work.
Nothing on the Garmin side, not sure about the Wahoo side yet (they tend to wait till Black Friday/Cyber Monday).
Nice deal on Garmin 945, unfortunately, shipping it to US and paying import tax basically destroys the discount :(
But do I understand correctly that they are now on-par with Fenix 6X Pro?
No, they are not on-par.
They don’t have Widget Glance, Energy Saving Modes, Map Themes, they are stuck on the “old widget style” (look here link to dcrainmaker.com for the weather widget), don’t have day-to-day breathing tracking (don’t know if its on F6 either yet) and Garmin only delivered PacePro so far.
Looking at the F6, I wouldn’t recommend the 945 beside of budget reasons.
Though, keep in mind the price difference between the FR945 (with the $100 discount), and the Fenix 6 Pro (which has the maps like the FR945) does become substantial.
I listed in the previous FR945 post which features are planned to come.
Yes Ray, you listet what is planned. But (had to use a translation site, I hope they got it): paper doesn’t blush!
As long as the majority of planned features still wear the tag planned, the FR 945 is far away from being “on-par” with an 6X Pro feature wise.
I did recognize my mistake above, I meant “Looking at the F6 PRO, I wouldn’t recommend the 945 beside of budget reasons.” Im still not used to the pro tag in the Fenix 6 lineup.
The only thing that I would like to have from this list is obviously Energy Saving
Considering that I’ll keep using Apple Watch as a daily smartwatch and rely on Garmin only for sports (specifically – running, triathlon and multiday long-distance hikes) I can live without map themes, widget glance and, probably, day-to-day breathing.
AW3 seems to be 129$ at Walmart.. That would make a nice deal.
Indeed, saw that one as well. Have a small pile of things like that to add in. Though, the Series 4 was available for $189 too, and that has quite a bit better HR tracking (and the bigger screen).
Where is the series 4 for 189?
Apple Watch series 4? Where?
Great work and some interesting deals.
FYI for the Garmin Forerunner 945 you link to the Fenix5 instead and Clever training does not seem to have the discount.
Thanks – links fixed!
I see the correct price on CT right now, can you double-check again?
CT shows only regular price 599 and Discount Restrictions
That’s super weird. When I use this link here: link to clevertraining.com
And choose ‘Watch Only’ from the right side, it shows one option at $499. Do you have a screenshot by chance?
Just a heads up, I think the link for the “Garmin HRM-DUAL (ANT+/Bluetooth Smart Strap)- $10 off ” deal takes you to a different review for the Forerunner 620.
Quirky little bug – fixed – thanks!
Thank you very much!
Wating for the VA4 and VENU full review to clear my mind!
This is awesome – thanks so much for such a clear and concise list!
Am I stupid?! I want to buy the garmin Vector 3, but both Links do not work for me..
Clever Training: 999€
amazon: 960€
How to get the deal?
Those deals are on the US site at the time, not the EU site. However, certain products can actually be shipped overseas for a $29USD flat-rate. You’ll have to sort out import fees for your specific country on arrival. So you’ll need to do the math there.
I will have EU deals as we get closer to BF. Typically we see the US jumpstart the deals, and then the EU follows (apparently here in Europe we haven’t yet been bit by the ‘buy everything right now all the times!’ bug yet.). ;)
Thanks for the support!
Do you have any predicition when the deals for us in the EU will be available and whether they will be comparable to the US deals (specifically for the Garmin watches)?
Up till 2018, the EU deals generally sucked. They were all mostly old stinky stuff that companies were trying to offload. But in 2018 we saw really strong EU deals from all the majors on current-year devices. I’ve gotta believe that’ll continue.
Though, it’s largely Amazon-led. Meaning, it’s Amazon going out and taking the hit on their margins, with only a handful of deals being ‘supported’ by the retailers. If the aggressiveness of Amazon US in the last few days is any indication – it’ll be a good year for the EU as well. But, it could quite easily be two entirely separate teams with differerent goaled metrics.
Just a fyi Saris H3 only comes over at 20% off and not 25% when you put it in the cart still. Just tried it.
See the notes – the 25% off deal is only for REI, not CT (yet, soon…). Cheers!
Here’s that H3 REI link: link to bit.ly
Hey Ray,
I have seen this issue on CT and emailed them about it but got zero response. The list the
4iiii PRECISION Power Meter Shimano XT M8000 with 170 and 172.5 options. As far as I am aware there is no such thing as a 172.5 XT crank arm. I think they mean 175. Anyways, it prevented me from ordering in the past.
I’ve escalated this to get a bit of clarity here. Thanks!
The CT link for the radar does not seem to work, still $199 for me.
I think this is all good now. Thanks for the heads up!
Garmin Varia radar on Amazon UK costs 99GBP only
Hi there. Can you please clarify?
Polar OH1 Plus Optical Sensor – Normally $79 – CT link shows $79.95, strange discount :)
Another confusing thing is doubled Scosche RHYTHM 24 Optical HR Sensor (Dual ANT+/BLE with memory) and Scosche RHYTHM+ Optical HR Sensor (Dual ANT+/BLE)
With the OH1 Plus, you’ll need to use the CT VIP discount (20%) to get it less expensive. :)
For the doubling, yeah, it’s because technically there’s two sales. I know, kinda confusing but also useful for folks if they want to pick one up and used their VIP one-item on something bigger.
So basically you can save $10 the regular way sale. Or you can save a bit more with the VIP sale using the 20% coupon.
Thanks for clarification! :)
Got the garmin forerunner 245 since it isn’t on sale anywhere, but no points added to my account :( Was thinking I could then use said points for something else. (I was logged in since I was using previous points as part of the purchase)
FYI The Garmin radar shows as $199 on the product page but does have the $150 when added to cart
That’s odd on the FR245 points, reach out to CT – I’m sure they’ll take care of you.
As a distance runner only (no need for cycling or swimming functionality), moving from 50Ks up to 50 milers and beyond, my Polar M430 just doesn’t have enough battery. Not committed to staying on the platform – and noting the sales – which is the better watch for me at the price: Garmin 945 for $499 or Suunto Baro 9 for $419?
I’m hesitant on the Suunto stuff now, especially with yesterday’s announcement that Movescount goes away from Suunto 9 users sometime next year. Go with the FR945.
Thank you, Ray. The Amazon price dipped even further to $473, so I will be the proud owner of a new 945 tomorrow!
Sweet – thanks for the support! And Enjoy!
With these sales I am torn on which trainer. Which would you choose, Saris H3 or Kickr Core? Price is only $30 difference.
If you’re a TrainerRoad dude, go H3. If you’re more of a Zwift person, I’d probably go Core and get a quieter trainer.
Hmmm. I was holding out faint hope the F6 would get a discount. Wasn’t there a discount on the new F5+ models last year?
That was – but the Fenix 5+ came out nearly 3 months earlier last year (June), and unlike now – the Fenix 6 is still backordered for certain (mainly Solar) SKU’s.
Now that the FR935 and Fenix 5 are the same price, how do you see the trade-offs?
FR935 vs Fenix 5?
Or FR945 vs Fenix 5 Plus?
Hi! I’m finally running away from Fitbit and wondering what to choose – Fenix 5s Plus (got tiny wrists) or Fenix 6s (non Pro). Won’t be listening to music, but I like hiking, so can’t decide between maps or longer GPS battery life… Cheers!
I’d love to know your answer to this comparison either way. While I don’t need music, having it as an option is nice. Right now the 5+ is only 50 bucks more, so I’m not sure if the main difference would be simply aesthetics. On the same trend, the Fenix 6 Pro is 560 with the 20% off, so I think that would drop the 5+ from the running, or am I wrong? Also, would the only difference between the 6 Pro and 945 be aesthetics and weight?
amazon uk showing a healthy 48% discount on the vivoactive 3 if you are starting a Euro table Ray!!
Awesome – thanks! I’m gonna start collecting Euro deals tomorrow. Nothing like the fun of tracking 5-6 different websites as once…
John Lewis showing an even cheaper price for some variants of the Vivoactive 3. Down to £139 in some cases, but they don’t claim a crazy discount like Amazon do for the same product.
link to johnlewis.com
Hi Ray
Do you have any further info about EU & UK deals? Specifically looking for triathlon watch Garmin 6 pro or Forerunner 945 and there don’t appear to be any deals on Amazon. Cheers, appreciate all you do on this. Alan
Just started adding some in! There was a smoking good Fenix 6 deal earlier in the week, but it’s gone now. Right now Amazon.de does have the Fenix 6X Pro for about 60EUR off, which isn’t horrible: link to amzn.to
I have a funny feeling (with zero inside information), we’ll see Amazon randomly put some Fenix 6 on a solid sale this weekend.
I’m trying to add the GoPro Hero7 to my cart in Clever training, but nothing happens. Anybody else having this issue? I’ve reached to CT
But now I just saw the BF Hero8 deal…. 260 vs 330… decisions decisions…
Did you get sorted from CT on the Hero 7?
As for your other decision…that’s super tough. Both are really good cameras. Really really good. The Hero 8 has better image quality, but the Hero 7 doesn’t have the annoying AF battery door situation.
Yes CT did reply back. It’s weird, the page does nothing but after a while the item shows up in the cart. I’m sleeping over my decision and reading your reviews again. Haven’t decided yet. Tks for the reply.
FYI – the Polar H10 link has been showing “This item is no longer in stock and not available for purchase.” since yesterday morning.
Thanks for the heads up Jay! Found the new link and updated. In stock. :)
Here’s that link: link to clevertraining.com
Ray, have you heard anything about Garmin Swim 2? will it be on sale later?
thanks,
Oleg
No plans there. These are all the Garmin sales there are for the year.
Thank you.
Just ordered Elite Tuo Wheel On Smart Trainer. Never been on a trainer before. Let’s give a try.
Looks like Favero won’t include the Assioma UNO/DUO in the sale? Shame, I was holding out for that price to come down a little.
Now I’ll have to go back to debating whether a FR945 scratches the “Fenix3hr replacement” itch, or whether I really want that Fenix 6 Pro…..
And where are my manners? Thank you Ray for putting this all together!
No inclusion there year unfortunately. Totally a Favero decision.
Personally, I think you’ll find the FR945 a massive upgrade over the Fenix 3HR. Huge massive. I like the FR945 a ton, but I also prefer a smaller/lighter watch than the Fenix, though honestly these day’s it’s not that much different size-wise. And the widget glances are just so much better.
Thanks for that input. Do I understand correctly the glance-able widgets are a fenix 6 exclusive?
At the moment. I’ll check and see the Latest plan for other units.
Ok, I dug through some e-mail. Glanceable widgets was on the ‘definitely’ list for the FR945. I’ll circle back on Monday and see where that and some of the other things sit in terms of timelines. Roughly speaking there was a timeline plan that extended from Sept to Dec for different features to be included. For example, with the PacePro recently. So I’ll see what the current schedule looks like.
(Note: That definitely doesn’t mean there aren’t features after Dec, it was simply in reference to the timeframe for the Fenix 6 features as of late August. Like any company, timelines can easily change, as well as features. As you might remember at launch Garmin was undecided on some features and was looking at user feedback, no on others, and yes on more.)
Do you think/know if Favero will offer any BF discounts, perhaps closer toward the end of the month? Have they done so in prior years? Thanks for all your great detailed info!!! :)
Nice sale prices at REI on bike trainers. Went online and was allowed to apply the 20% discount but detail on the 20% offer says that bike simulators (their term) are not included. Online chat with an REI agent confirmed that the bike trainers are not included. Dang!!
I just checked, discount still works as before (lots of folks have checked out too). Remember to add the coupon code to your cart at checkout.
I just tried REI for the Tacx Neo 2T but website states “product not found”. Can’t even add it to the cart. Link in chart above is also invalid. Maybe they took it down?
Looks like they might have sold out. CT was able to match it – so that option is still on the table (link above).
just bought one on REI with coupon for store pick up.
Randy see biketiresdirect.com for Neo 2 at $999. :)
Got a recommendation/opinion between a H3 and Neo 2(T)? I am more of a TR guy but do zwift quite a bit, probably 60/40 TR. Assuming money is not an issue as I know they’re priced quite differently. Currently have a Core (the girls’) and og Direto but looking to upgrade that unit.Thanks!
It honestly depends. The H3 is definitely louder, but it’s ERG mode is far better than the NEO 2T (at least now, I suspect that’ll improve – if for no other reason that Tacx is gonna get tired of me saying it). Personally, I’m gonna use the 2T merely because I like the road feel and quietness of it. But I also probably am 80/20 Zwift/TR. If I was more heavily weighted TR, I’d go 2T.
That said, if you’re thinking of 2T – I wouldn’t wait much longer. Like, buy now in the next few mins or hours, return later type decision tree. I don’t think that deal will last long.
Anyone had any luck getting the price on the Kickr Snap below $499 on Clevertraining? That’s where it’s been sitting and I can’t seem to get the code to apply (if it does). I’m logged in and a VIP member.
The code is for the VIP program, to get signed up. Once signed up then it’ll automatically apply.
Dear Ray,
thanks for accompanying my sports goods purchases over the past years.
With Christmas being an opportunity for upgrade, I am wondering if a European Santa can still expect a deal on a Kickr or whether whatever happens on the Cyber Monday is going to be more for the other side of the ocean only.
Because if Santa waits too long, it may then be late for delivery under the Christmas tree.
Thank you!
So I went back and looked and Wahoo themselves didn’t run any EU/UK Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals last year that I could find in my database or e-mails.
However, a handful of smaller bike shops did run some 10-20% off deals that popped off that day.
Im after a NZ I am looking for a multisport watch, the FR935 is on sale for approx 290usd, where as the best price for 945 I can find is approx 557USD. Is the 945 really going to be worth the extra money? great list you have put together. Cheers
That’s tough. It’s all relative. The FR935 won’t see anymore meaningful updates, but its also a fantastic unit as-is. Lots of people are super happy there.
The FR945 will continue to get new features for probably quite a while. Just a case of whether those new features it already has (like music and maps) as well as things like PacePro are meaningful to you.
I had and loved my 935 for almost 3 years. I wondered whether or not the upgrade to the 945 was worth it. I rarely use music and my competitive running days are behind me, so Pace Pro is not critical. I finally sold my 935 and bought a 945. Yesterday I did a long hike on uncharted trails, and I used the maps for the first time. For me, that alone made it all worthwhile. If you use mapping, go for the 945, you won’t regret it.
I was thinking of getting the 735xt a few months ago, but then I saw the VA4 was coming out and thought of waiting to see if it was a better buy. What do you think? (some context for the advice, I usually do triathlon but was also looking for a decent smartwatch/activity tracker that could handle some rough use) thanks man.
For triathlon the VA4 would be a bad choice unfortunately, as it has no multisport mode.
My recommendation would be the FR735XT or the FR935, or even a Fenix 5 series. I saw Best Buy is going to be offering some for $299 on Black Friday, though its the 5X (which is the biggest one, Sapphire). Personally that’s too heavy a watch for my tastes. Anything else that’s offered would be older (since it’d be off-MAP – Minimum Advertised Price, as Garmin’s MAP listings are locked/done).
I’m sure I’m in the minority, but I’d love an updated 645 (655?) with LTE so I could ditch the phone. I use livetrack for the SO quite frequently so it’d be nice to have it built in. It’s a bummer the only good option would be the verizon VA3 since i’d have to change phone plans for the AW4 and the Samsung Active 2 has terrible GPS. Plus, I’d like to stay in the garmin ecosystem. Still holding on to my F3 at the moment…
Folks at REI told me last week that “cycling simulators” were excluded from the 20% sale. They said that that probably meant no smart trainers on sale. Haven’t had a chance to go there yet (ordered a Kickr Core from Clever Training instead). Are the REI deals on the Tacx Neo, etc. confirmed?
Yup, lots of folks have picked them up as recently as a couple hours ago.
Aj, see bikrtiresdirect.com for Tacx Neo 2 $999 :)
If I theoretically wanted to do a 24 hour endurance run is the best watch for battery the Suunto 9 on sale, Or fenix 6 / suunto 5 not on sale!!!
Tempted to pick up the Garmin Edge 1030, but given that its 2+ yrs old, is it likely to get updated soon?
Nothing soon I’d suspect. Garmin tends to group almost any cycling announcement to one of two events:
A) Sea Otter (mid-April)
B) Eurobike (late August)
It’s incredibly rare (as in, never) that they announce something cycling-only outside of those two timeframes, except in the days of Interbike – but that was still generally tied to Eurobike a few weeks prior.
Agree with you regarding new product announcements, but I have rarely seen discounts this good on Garmin Edge computers unless they are clearing inventory for a new product. Clearing inventory during the holidays in advance of an April new product release would not be surprising. Last year it was the 520 and 820 models with the deep discounts this time of year. Retailers are still sitting on a lot of 520 and 820 inventory they are trying to unload. Maybe they’re trying to help retailers by moving the inventory now before the new model is leaked and sales stall.
There has been some talk about the 1030 plus from decoded Garmin software files (Incl. Fenix 955 / 955 LTE and many others)
link to the5krunner.com
But release time absolutely unknown.
Best Buy will have the fenix 5X Sapphire for $299
link to bestbuy.com
Yeah, I’ve been skimming through ads the last few days working on some stragglers that are specific to given retailers (meaning, off MAP, Minimum Advertised Price). Plus a bunch of Samsung/Apple/Fitbit/etc… deals too.
Any idea what store/site will have the Venu for 299?
Clever Training will, as will Best Buy. I suspect others. But I’ll have the links here to whomever does (plus it supports the site with a single click). Enjoy!
I may pick up the Venu @ CT even though it’s having the usual not ready for prime time issues that Garmin is known for. The display is what sets it apart from the VA4 and the $ difference is minimal @ this price.
Thanks for the post Ray, super helpful as always.
Do you think Stryd will run a Black Friday deal on their new v4 run power meter footpod? Have they done any sales in previous years around this date?
Many thanks!
I’d be surprised if they don’t.
They announced a black Friday deal in the newsletter, supposedly for next week. If you go to the website right now, they say the same thing, but no one knows what it will be yet…
Is quarq not included in the clever training sale? I’ve tried to put them in my cart a couple of times but it always gets auto removed saying it can’t be added.
Unfortunately Quarq/PowerTap (under SRAM) are not included, per manufacturer restriction. :(
:( indeed. was hoping to get one because i’ve heard great things about the quarq powermeter especially with Shane’s recent video!
Ordered the H3 at REI from your link. Nothing like a locally-made turbo trainer :) I’ve been reading your site for a long time and never had a chance to contribute. This seemed like a good opportunity to support a local company and your site.
The Garmin InReach price is legit also.
Cheers
Ray,
I just got an email about a deal at Jenson USA for the 945 on sale for $419, and jumped on it and was able to purchase it at that price. Not sure how long the deal will last, and the site did say not to expect shipping for 1-2 weeks. Hope this is helpful! Left a note on your FB page as well.
Best,
Jim C.
Realistically, it won’t get fulfilled. :( Though – I hope for your sake it does! That’s a sweet deal!
Here’s why: If they e-mailed it out to everyone, then Garmin’s sales teams also got it. Which means they’ll get slammed by a MAP violation, which means they’ll get inventory turned off for the FR945 for 6 months (I believe that’s the current penalty duration right now). Since they don’t have any stock (given the 1-2 week delivery timeframe), they can’t ‘ride the wave’ like Amazon often does based on existing stock.
So Amazon for example will take a MAP violation sometimes, knowing they have 10,000 units in stock, enough to cover them for that SKU for the violation drought.
Still, hope it works out!!
(Note: Almost all US companies work the same way, so it’s not really a Garmin thing. You can lookup news stories on Amazon’s epic GoPro MAP violation drought a year or two back and the ramifications of that.)
That’s a huge bummer! I still hope it works out too but I guess the odds are quite slim. I was pretty surprised they could beat everywhere else by such a solid margin given I don’t think they’re that large of a retailer. On a different note, I remember you had reviewed the Rylo action cam pretty favorably for ease of editing and stabilization, (not for true 360 footage) and I’d been watching for that. I saw Best Buy has it for $200 with the action case included. Does that seem like a pretty competitive deal for what it is? Thanks!
Jim
Yeah, I think $199 is very appropriate price-wise for Rylo.
Have you gotten any updates about the watch? Mine was still backordered, but it’s supposedly going to ship today. We’ll see what happens I guess. -Guillermo
CT VIP sale only lists Stages power meters for shimano 105 7000. I was looking for a 4iiiis power meter for 20% off. Seems weird.
I’m in Canada. If I ordered a Kickr from Clever Training would Wahoo honour the warranty if something went wrong with it, even though I bought it from an American retailer?
CT is offering 20% off, which is probably way better than any Black Friday deals we’ll see here in Canada, even with the exchange rate.
You mention inReach Mini “now as of recently also connects to the Garmin Edge devices” but I see no other references to this anywhere on the web, including Garmin inReach Mini compatible products list. Can you confirm this?
Ask and you shall receive: link to dcrainmaker.com
Thanks Ray! I just ordered by inReach Mini. I’ve been waiting for this sale!
Awesome – thanks for the support!
Thanks, Ray, for your very informative reviews. I was wondering if you’ve heard anything on Garmin releasing a Forerunner 955 anytime soon. I read an article on Techradar that mentions this. Here’s the link: link to techradar.com.
I’m on the fence about purchasing the 945 during the holidays or waiting for the 955 if released in 2020. Any information will help me make a decision. Thanks again.
Not sure. But, I’d be incredibly surprised if Garmin were to somehow shift the Forerunner lineup to a 12-month refresh schedule. They’ve always been at approx a 2-year schedule. While I have no doubt that tightening up that a little bit might be possible, it also seems incredibly unlikely.
As for code products, I wouldn’t overthink it. Garmin’s naming scheme leaves little for the imagination for future products, so I can tell you eventually they’ll be a Forerunner 975. Just not imminently so. Garmin has simply just finally unlocked the ‘People actually care’ achievement, whereby folks on Reddit now reverse engineer files to look for hints. Previously, that never happened to Garmin and was largely reserved for the Apple’s of the world. So those names often sat around for years in the app. :)
Despite all the rumors folks like to spin, Garmin is still a very fiscally conservative Kansas company that’s incredibly easy to predict product release cycles based on historical data.
Cheers!
Once again thanks for your thoughts. Your opinion is very much appreciated by us, the general consumer. Keep up the great work!
will order the Saris MP1 NFinity Motion Platform instantly once it gets available on the EU sites.
Will clever training have it here as well?
Seen a rough demo at Eurobike 1.5y ago. Wanted it ever since.
Yeah, they’re supposed to be loading up all the new Saris products on the EU site as well here shortly. There was a distributor change apparently.
Hey Ray, I’m interested in GoPro Hero 8 bundle you posted that will be on sale on Black Friday weekend – that deal should be available via the links you posted then from both Amazon and Clever Training? The current links I believe are just for the camera and not the bundle.
Yeah, it’ll be available everywhere. One way or another I’ll post the best deal up above that I can find for that.
No deals for the favero pedals or the powertap p2 model???
No, Favero decided against it last year, and PowerTap is now under SRAM after the Quarq acquisition – so no sale participation there.
Wiggle are offering 21% off the P2 pedals at the moment (at least in the UK anyway)
link to wiggle.co.uk
I see some one-off deals floating around on the Garmin Edge 530 (most in the 10% off range on amazon and the like), do you think there will be any more significant discounts on it this holiday season?
That’s actually not a Garmin sanctioned sale – that’s just Amazon flyin’ wild. Which is great for us consumers. Whether or not they’ll decide to go any longer is a complete mystery honestly.
Oh – and deal added above to table. Also for both the Edge 530 & Edge 830 btw:
Garmin Edge 530 link to amzn.to
Garmin Edge 830 link to amzn.to
Buy anywhere but Amazon. Happy Holidays!
Anything on Garmin speed and cadence sensors combo?
The old GSC-10, or just a combo of the new ones?
Combo of the new ones.
I’m going to get my first trainer. Since I’m not sure how often I would use it during the winter, I try to spend just a few bucks. The cheapest smart recommendation is the Tacx Flow Smart. As of right now it is on sale in Germany so I can get it for 200 € shipped from Germany or buying local.
On the other hand the Tacx Vortex Smart is on sale as well. For around 230 € but with delivery from the UK – risky with brexit and a possible support if I have to send it in.
Is the difference in features (1% more incline / 150 watts) worth the extra money and the possible trouble with a uncertain support?
Or waiting for a even better price for the Vortex with shipping from Ger?
Has someone tested both trainers head-to-head?
I’d probably go Vortext Smart over Flow Smart. Given the minimal specs on the Flow, for the extra 30EUR, that’s a substantial bump.
Not sure it’s been highlighted yet, and appreciate the Europe page is coming, but the Elite Suito is £549 at Sigma Sports in UK, £100 less than general availability.
I’d pull the trigger but I need the full review first, we all know the rules, no DCR review, no purchase! (and shame can’t get through CT Europe as I have done previously with watches)
Would the sales on Garmin 5 series get any better on Black Friday or Cyber Monday versus the current discounts you’ve listed? I’m a first time buyer of these types of watches, so not sure what the sale trends are throughout the year.
I suspect we’ll see some stronger base Fenix 5 (non-Plus) deals, since I don’t believe that’s under MAP anymore.
Do you anticipate any deals on the Favero Assiomas? I know they’re already priced well, relatively speaking, but can hold off on a purchase if there are no deals to be had.
No, I don’t expect any deals there. Favero explicitly requested to be excluded.
Hi DC – I am looking for a trainer, are you able to suggest among these please.
1) Wahoo Kickr or 2) Tacx Neo 2
Thanks much!
Honestly just depends on which features you prefer. For example the NEO 2 has roadfeel, the KICKR doesn’t. But the KICKR can connect to the Wahoo CLIMB for up/down movement – the NEO can’t.
Check out the ‘High-end’ section of my 2019-2020 Trainer Recommendations guide for my full thoughts:
link to dcrainmaker.com
Is this available in Canada?
So it turns out they won’t ship a Wahoo Kickr Core to Canada.That’s very disappointing.Any suggestions? Europe’s covered….USA is covered….why not Canada?
Do you think the Fenix 5s plus will get any further discounts during Black Friday or cyber Monday? Wondering if I should just go ahead and order it now. Also do you think it worth getting the Fenix 6s pro over the Fenix 5s plus. This will be my first gps watch besides my Apple Watch 2. Thank you!
If you are looking for a deal in the US on Fenix 6 try LL Bean…they are currently running a 25% off sale. Got 175 off a fenix 6.
Wait, what? Usually these 25% off’s don’t apply to Garmin and some other major brands. They have the 6S, but it says backordered and neither adding to the cart nor checking inventory works at the moment. If you got it, you got a heck of a deal, IMHO.
It’s just LL Bean going wild. Like you said, if you got a deal – it was purely due to mistake on their part. But nobody that’s backordered would likely get it.
Hey Ray, thinking about purchasing the Saris MP1 NFinity Motion Platform. Looking at your preproduction review looks promising but it looks like they platform itself and mechanism of side tilt and fore/aft simulation has been changed substantially. What’s your opinion on the new iteration and is it safe to buy?
I don’t have the new one yet. Still waiting…
For the fellas in Europe you can get the brand new Fenix 6 for a pretty decent price. 150€ Off the price
Here is the link link to amazon.fr
Awesome, great find!!!
Ray, I hope I didn’t wait too long! Ordered the H3 from REI yesterday and it is on “backorder.” Any ideas on the likelihood I will have my new training for my Minnesota winter?
Thanks for keeping us all up-to-date and happy!!
I suspect you’re all good!
However, as of about 10 mins ago, CT just matched the price as well. So you could always order there and then once you get shipping confirmation go ahead and cancel REI.
I had been looking at wheel-on trainers originally, but I just picked up the Saris H3 on CT for 20% off the already discounted $749.99 sales price. What a steal at $ 599.99!
Wow, how did you get the price down to $599? It is showing up for me as $649 before tax.
Thank you for your continued work on the BF Sales!
Could you clarify Tacx NEO 2/T under “Trainer Control” re: “Supports Bluetooth Smart FTMS (TRAINER CONTROL STANDARD)”? On your review charts it shows the 2 as Yes but the 2T as “No, but supports most apps”.
Also, the chart is blank for Cadence, but your reviews have quite a good bit of cadence notes which are very helpful! :) Is there any update for cadence or is all good with the Tacx built-in cadence measurement?
Many thanks!
Ahh yes, bit by my own database updates.
The NEO series all match for FTMS. I had updated the description in the 2T at the request of someone to be a bit more detailed. But didn’t think to update the 1/2. Will do now.
Cadence was something I added later, it didn’t initially exist when I loaded the NEO 2 (or 1) in there. And was something I did to try and apply pressure to Wahoo to add cadence support. Which…they did now. Given everyone else has cadence support – not sure there’s a need for that line item. Either way, I’ll go add it as yes now.
Thanks!
Holiday deal for Spot tracker $50 off from Spot’s website:
link to findmespot.com
Do you anticipate the Garmin virb ultra 30 action cam being marked down any more than the current $298 price on amazon? Should I buy it now?
Hmm, I haven’t heard of any plans there.
Thanks for great post, Ray.
For those like me like me at North – Costco have pretty good deal for Fenix:
Fenix 5/5S – 399 CAD
Fenix 5/5S Plus – 529 CAD
Disclaimer: I’m not affiliated, just was looking for my VA3 replacement.
Garmin Vector 3 appears to be down to $749.99 on Amazon at this point.
Can we expect any deals for Elite trainers in Europe? Or is the price already as low as possible?
In the UK halfords.com have some good deals on Elite trainers with Zumo currently £399 and Suito, Direto 2 and Drivo 1 all about £550.
Sadly I also recognise that the UK is hanging on to membership of Europe by its fingernails at the moment so folks in mainland Europe may not be able to get those. I think the Zumo is the only one actually on a Black Friday deal.
Direto X is 729 EUR MSRP and available at 679 EUR.
The older one at 550 GBP = 641 EUR is not enough of a difference.
Still quite a few days until the real Black Friday, have to be patient.
Any sales, even small ones, on Apple Watch Series 5? Target offers 5% with their Credit card. Other than that I don’t see anything else. Thanks for the service you are providing us all.
I thought I saw some deals a few days ago, but they were a flash in the pan. I’ll be keeping an eye out for them.
Ray – you think the KICKR CORE is an upgrade over the H3? I was on the fence between these two, but it based on reviews/comparisons, it seemed that the H3 had the advantage w/ max resistance, max incline, and build quality/lack of post-release issues…
It’s complicated, the CORE is definitely quieter than the H3 – and while it has ‘lesser’ max resistance specs, I think most people never actually hit those. Whereas for TrainerRoad, I think the H3 is the better bet. Also, the CORE does support multi-channel Bluetooth connections now, which can be handy.
Of course, there’s virtually zero chance of hitting a hardware issue as you noted with the H3, wheeas the CORE seems to still spit out the occasional lemon.
Hi. I purchased the Garmin Fenix 5S Plus over the 5 Plus because I was thinking the 5 Plus would be too bulky on my avg. female wrist. But now I’m really questioning the battery life on the 5S Plus and if I should return for the 5 Plus. Did you find a big diff in the battery life btwn the 2? Concerns w if I have to charge the 5S Plus every other day, will the battery life in 2-3 yrs get run down where I’m charging it everyday? I’d mainly use it for everyday wear, music at the gym 4-5x a week and summer/fall 3-5 hr hikes (w/o map usage) and running outside (w map usage). Appreciate your thoughts?
There’s definitely a difference there. But, you definitely shouldn’t be charing it every other day. With what you’ve noted, my guess is that you’d need to charge it 1-2 times a week depending on how long that music usage is.
Thank you. Would you recommend the Forerunner 945 over the Fenix 5 Plus?
Just received an email from CT for a VIP Second Chance for “20% off up to 5 VIP eligible items”. What?!! Not just one item, but 5 at VIP 20% off? what’s the catch?
It be real! I got the note as well, no catch, just an expansion. And if you already bought one item, you can go back for another four!
Stumbled on a Edge 1030 deal today (for Europe)
€ 432,13 · Bike-Discount · (www.bike-discount.de)
Garmin Edge 1030
The Gamin Varia UT800 light is almost half off at $99 on Garmin
And for the Euros among us, Chain Reaction Cycles and Bikester both have Black Friday deals
I was going to buy Favero Duo pedals later int the year due to their dependability and pricing. However now that Vector 3s are within $150 I’m rethinking my choice.. Has Garmin got the problems resolved with them? I like the cleaner look of Vector 3s but don”t want to give up dependability. Your thoughts? Thanks
Just tried to order a Neo 2 from CT (after joining VIP program), but no discount showed up – have they discontinued this sale? (Maybe because REI isn’t offering the Neo 2 any more…)
Did you use the coupon code? Sale recently changed to let you get up to 5 things at 20% and switched to coupon code as far as I can tell. VIP20 (it’s on the website too)
Didn’t see the code until logging out/in again. Used the code to buy the Neo2 with 20% – thanks! Training this winter will be much more enjoyable with Zwift and the Neo2 :-)
Rob see biketiresdirect.com the Tacx Neo 2 $999 :)
Ray –
Is there a generic referral link for REI? Poked around and didn’t see one. I just got the KICKR Core by using the ref link from one of the other REI links you posted and attaching that to the REI URL for the Core. Hope you get credit!
Setting it up now. Thanks for all the hard work!
Bruce
Thanks!
Yup, this link here: link to avantlink.com
(Also, it’s at the bottom of this post, the REI logo).
Ray ! I couldn’t find any durability tests for pedal based power meters like the Powertap P1 or the Assioma. Aren’t the pedals the most worn part of a bike ? what would happen if the pedals wear out ? the power meters would go to waste right ?
No durability tests I’m aware of. Realistically those aren’t easy to do. Mostly because while I could just whack pedals against the ground a bunch, that’s not really how durability on a road bike (or any bike) would occur. It’s really more longer term aspects, including things like weather and battery casings/etc…
Durability wise though against crashes/whacks – I’ve heard/seen no issues from any of the three major pedals (Vector/Assioma/PowerTap).
Ray if I go to the main sale page, sort by price low to high, the click to page to I lose the sorting. FYI.
Hi Chufi-
Sorry, quick question – what sale page has sorting? The CT one, or somewhere else? Just want to make sure I’m asking the right folks.
Thanks!
well i checked on clever training and no 20% off for me as it looks. Core is still 899.-
I assume you’re looking at CT US? And is this after you added it to your basket and signed-in as a VIP member?
I just write with the same issue. I am a VIP and signed in. the “exclusions” noted in sale conditions show trainers are excluded.
Hi Doug & Santiago-
Sorry for the troubles. They’re having a technical issue, but those are definitely still included. To work-around it for now, simply use code VIP20 upon checkout to get the discount applied.
Thanks for the support!
-Ray
Decathlon in Germany still drops the 935 for 299 + shipping
link to decathlon.de
I recognized it two days ago, frome time to time it is not available but just e few minutes ago it was available again. I just bought it.
hopefully it was the right decision ……
FYI – For the cycling trainers you show on sale (20% off), according to CleverTraining’s site, these are not eligible for the 20%. (and I am a VIP member)
same. sale was working earlier in the week but went back today to buy kickr core and its gone. is sale dead?
Hi All!
Sorry for the troubles. They’re having a technical issue, but those are definitely still included. To work-around it for now, simply use code VIP20 upon checkout to get the discount applied.
Thanks for the support!
-Ray
Hi, the November 28th GoPro Hero 8 bundle deal has disappeared? Did something change?
Yeah, it sounds like it was a mistake. The main deal now is basically just $50 off.
Too good to be true……..
Will the Fliiiight review drop before the sale ends?!?
I got a Fenix 5x for $300 at Best Buy. If I can live with the size, did updates resolve enough of the issues discussed in the review comments to make this worthwhile?
Would be replacing a VA3 and maybe using it on bike instead of getting a dedicated unit.
Although I see the 735XT is under $300 above so maybe need to reread your reviews.
i see the Fenix 5X on BestBuy listed with 600 $ , i suppose i’ve missed the deal , right ? :)
Any possibility the Fliiiight review drops before Sunday? I’m down to the wire on my decision making.
I’m anxiously waiting for the Fliiiight review too. I have one on order and it looks like it’s right for me but without a single review online for it i’m a bit nervous. I would love to take advantage of the CT sale on another trainer if this one is a dud.
I doubt I’ll have the full thing written up by Sunday (honestly, it’ll probably trip to Monday). Though, the Fliiiight just went on sale today for $499 with a Viiiiva HR strap (will show up in the database in a second). So that’s only a $19 difference compared to the sale.
As it stands now – I’m basically going to say ‘Good for ERG mode, not awesome for regular Zwift riding’. Accuracy I’ve gotta run through Analyzer still, but looks good I think. More rides tonight/tomorrow/Sunday.
Thank you so much for your early thoughts. It’s such a cool looking trainer but since I am most interested in casual riding in Zwift, I think a Kickr Snap may be a better choice for me in this price range.
Any update on this review’s post date? Thanks!
I run and the longest distance I’ve run is a half marathon and I run about 3 halves a year.
I bought an Apple Watch Series 2 a few years back hoping that would replace my old Garmin at the time. Ended up running with both watches…the Apple Watch for music and the Garmin for my running. Upgraded to the Garmin 630 a few years ago and am still running with both a Garmin and an Apple Watch.
My plan was to retire the Apple Watch and Garmin 630 and purchase the successor to the 645M, but I’m intrigued by the 945. I only do running, so does it make sense to purchase the 645M, the 945 or wait for the 645M successor which should come out next year?
Unless you can get a really good deal on the 645(M) I would probably suggest staying clear, I have one and whilst it does everything I need it to do and more probably, it’s not only been a bit slow and laggy, sometimes taking 5-8 seconds between screens but I also feel that it may be in a bit of a development cul de sac.
Whilst the 735xt has retained a place in the lineup, I think mostly through price, with the 245 having the majority of features that runners need I’m not sure that the 645(M) has enough USPs.
That said I did purchase via Clever Training Europe and got the usual DCR discount so my price at the time was not too high, but CT Europe don’t always manage to get all the stock
Q
Amazon.co.uk now has deals on polar. 31% on m430, 39% on vantage M and 47% on Vantage V
I’m confused about the Saris MP1 NFinity entry. It says above that it’s 25% off (I don’t see that on CT) and that the sale price is $767. CT’s price is 1199.99, so 25% off would be 899.99, right?
I’m scanning for a new computer + powermeter. Best prices so far (but still holding off a little)
Garmin Edge 530 EUR 255,99 at Bikeinn.com (NL)
Garmin Vector 3 EUR 741.25 at Bikecomponents.de
Favero Assioma EUR 659 (yes fiftynine) at Mantel.com (NL)
Haven’t seen m cheaper
Did the deal go away on the Saris TD1 Trainer Desk with USB/AC Socket? It is no longer 211 and back to full price.
If I grab one of those optical HR monitors will it work with my Garmin 935 to give me dual HR readings wth the app?
Yup, no problems there!
Since you reviewed both of these do you have a preference between the Forerunner 735 XT and the Instinct?
Looks aside (and i like the way the instinct looks) they seem to have comparable features, except that the 735 is a 2016 watch which sounds outdated, though it was high end at it’s time so maybe not.
My main use would involve running, hiking and cycling. as well as daily activity tracker stuff.
Thanks=)
Yeah, the biggest difference is the baro altimeter (Instinct has it, FR735XT doesn’t). That said, if you made me pick one – I think I’d actually go FR735XT. Mostly because it supports Connect IQ better, as well as a few other things I’d use personally like power meter support.
Thanks for your help. The comparison feature on the site was is truly wonderful.
Hi Ray, just want to let you know that the Edge 530 link led me to 520.
Thanks – fixed!
Hi all,
Just to point out. It’s maybe not a real BF deal, but at decathlon Belgium (Europe that is) the edge 520 Plus is only 200 euro (in NL that is 270 euro – 26% discount) and the Garmin FR935 is priced at 299 (instead of 399 at decathlon NL – 25% discount).
I’m heading there tomorrow to get my edge 520 plus.
What would you say is better-coros apex or forerunner 245. Leaning towards the forerunner 245 but would be interested to hear your view. Does the coros undershoot distances by quite a bit? Thanks
Hi Ray; thank you for all of your in depth reviews and for creating these lists!
I’m looking to upgrade from a Fenix 3HR to a Forerunner 945. My only concern is scratch resistance for the 945. How have you found the Gorilla Glass DX on the 945 comparing to the sapphire crystal used on some of the Fenix line. I ask because I plan to use the watch for ultra runs and hikes in the mountains. Sometimes, the watch face may hit a rock or branch. I’ve seen no major scratches on the Fenix 3HR over 3 years. Thank you!
No issues there for me, and I beat the crap out of my watches. I know I hit many a rocks on the FR945.
Would you recommend a glass screen protector for the 945? My 235 took a beating in a fall on concrete a couple years ago and wish I’d had a screen protector on it…though I’ll say that 1) some things just can’t be protected against and 2) in its defense, screen didn’t crack, just lots of scratches in places that make it challenging to see sometimes. It’s also not holding charges as long and having trouble with catching GPS before start (3-11 min!).
Been waiting to upgrade from 235, thinking I’ll go with 945 for more features/battery/sports.
Thanks for all the great reviews and work Ray, been appreciating for years.
Looking forward to your AirPod Pro review/comparison, hopefully you can get that out before the $15 “sale” goes away.
Yes! I put a screen protector on my 945 and right away the protector took a hit and cracked but the watch face is protected! Good luck! -Beth
Thanks Beth!
Which protector did you get? (and after it got cracked, do you take it off and put a new one on?)
Hi MJ – I had to look it up (and sorry mine is 935 – lol) – I got this on Amazon – Poyiccot (2-Pack) Garmin Forerunner 935 Screen Protector Glass, 0.3mm. I did not replace the protector because the cracks don’t interfere and I wanted to see how much longer it held up – it’s been since March this year with no further cracks but some scratches (guess I’m klutzy!). :)
Hey guys…. for those in UK…. Garmin 645 Music on sale at Argos at £199, which is quite sweet. They have been selling loads since mid last week
It’s available for €230 from Argos in Ireland, if only I didn’t have a 645 already!
945 on amazon down to $475
Yup, I’ve even seen it flirt occasionally down to $459 a few times on Amazon for a few hours at a time. Amazon’s just toying with all our wallets.
Just received an email from Polar: Vantage V Titan down to $419 from $599. Vantage V is $299 and Vantage M $167.
Seconded – link to polar.com
Note the $167 Vantage M is only the Neon Green/Black band variant and the $299 Vantage V is the Orange banded variant, the others are $195 and $349, respectively.
Good catch. I certainly don’t need it (when did we ever need any of this stuff?), but I’m intrigued by the Vantage V Titan at $419. I’m happy with my 945 and Apple Watch 4, but the Polar metrics are interesting.
Best Buy has a Hero 8 bundle. Is it the same as the one you had posted?
Does anyone know of any upcoming deals for cycling road shoes?
The withings body+ is on sale again on amazon for $49 (down from $99.95).
Greetings. I am looking for a solid watch that I can swim in and not ruin the watch (primarily for triathlon purposes). Would any of the Garmin Vivoactive (3 or 4) watches or the Garmin Venu accomplish this? If so, would I be better off getting the Vivoactive 3 (with music) or the Venu during the Black Friday sale? Would love a superior watch than these but not yet at that stage physically or financially. Would like to stay $350 or less for now and would prefer a smartwatch style if possible. Thanks in advance. Been a fan for a long time.
I wouldn’t recommend the Vivoactive series for triahtlon, because they don’t actually have a triathlon mode (nor an openwater swim mode). Meaning, in triathlon mode (technically called Multisport Mode), you can string together different sports as a single activity. Otherwise you have to start/stop the entire sport between each leg of the race.
The FR735XT is a good option, and in fact, so is the Polar Vantage M – which just dropped down to $169 actually today. Kinda crazy.
Ray – with all the recent deals, I suspect there are a lot of new smart trainer owners who are in the market for trainer apps (myself included). I would expect this would be a crucial time for trainer app companies to want to snatch up a lot of new subscribers.
1) Are you aware of any upcoming holiday deals or discount codes for any of the trainer apps (such as Zwift, TrainerRoad, or Sufferfest)?
2) Have the app offerings and features stabilized enough that you could do a brief buyer’s guide/shootout for the apps?
Perhaps you can collaborate with GPLama or some attendees of the Open House to make quick work of that! ;-)
You can try some of those apps. I believe Zwift has a 7-day trial and trainerroad has 30 day money-back policy, for example.
For further comparison, you can have a look in this post here: link to dcrainmaker.com
even though it’s some years old, and some of the data is outdated (fees etc), most of it hasn’t changed and you might get a pretty good overview.
Yup, I’m in the midst of working on a complete app round-up actually. Getting pretty close. Just need to knock out two more apps.
Why did you say that DJI OSMO Action cost 249?
It’s 319 on the page your gave…
248 for the used one…
Nope, it’s $278 at this very second (it fluctuates multiple times a day on Amazon right now) – brand new, not used.
There’s four boxes on the Amazon site. Ensure you select the one without the SD card. See attached. You could also wait another day and see if it flops back to $249. It was that way most of Sunday and into Monday morning.
Garmin Vivosmart 4 deal on Amazon.es 89.99 from 139.99 EUR.
Is the Hammerhead worth it at $150 off? Looks like a good deal even without the beeper for the Varia.
I think it is actually. If you can set aside the beeper issue (which, is admittedly kinda tough), but still, it’s strong.
At $150 off I’d say def worth it for the kind of cyclist it’s targetted at.
I only ever saw it in later (and current) iterations and really like it. It has some innovative stuff onboard from the order in which sensors are connected through to unusual yet well-designed displays and varia. And it’s very pretty.
The sound omission is a big negative to those who want it (Vantage M has no audibles either) but you can pair the karoo to a Bluetooth speaker (helmet or handlebar-mounted boombox…ok no-one will do that)
LL Bean is back up w 20% off for Garmin Fenix 6 Sapphire but on back order. $160 off if anyone is interested. Same for Garmin 5 Plus but w 20% off it’s still more than sales elsewhere, not worth it there.
Now that the 20% off coupon is invalid on CT you might want to update the Black Friday list. I didn’t notice at first.
FR 945 is now $470 on amazon…. not sure when to pull the trigger, especially since my VA3’s Bluetooth no longer works and I have to sync via USB. What are the odds it will be less on Friday? Also need to see if AAFES (Army Exchange) has any deals as it will save sales tax (about $35).
Interesting – Just went back to Amazon and FR 945 is back up to $499 when I search via Amazon, but $486 when I access via my wish list and also shows as $486 via Google Shopping.
As of Wednesday morning US time, certain versions of Vivoactive 3 non-music were $130 + tax on Amazon.
The Tacx Neo 2 has dropped to $999 plus about $50 back towards a future purchase at biketiresdirect. I’ve used them for a few years and customer service is aces!
TrainingPeaks cyber discounts are:
cyberathlete25 = 25% discount off premium
wko5cyber30 = 30% off WKO5
cybercoach19 = $0 startup fee for new coaches
cyberassistant2019 = $0 startup fee for adding assistant coaches
I’m looking to get a new watch to replace my Fitbit Ionic, which I had replaced twice and then they finally just offered me a coupon for a Versa after it died again. I liked the features (and that it stored music) but they definitely have issues with that unit as it kept dying and from the online forums, I wasn’t alone. I do mostly sprint triathlons (maybe 1 olympic/yr) and swim open water once a week May-Oct. I probably wouldn’t use most of the specialized tracking/analysis features on the more expensive tri watches but there doesn’t seem to be too many that have music storage, open water swim and triathlon functions. Is my best bet to suck it up and pay for the Forerunner 945 or is there something cheaper that has those functions for someone that doesn’t analyze every workout with extreme detail? Thanks.
GoPro is offering $349 hero 8 bundle including sd card, shorty tripod, spare battery, head strap and free 2 day shipping.
Been looking at the CORE/Zumo/Suito/Direto (X) range of things and this is sort of my impression:
* CORE (best, but mfg issues)
* Direto X (good, proven, no issues)
* Suito (better ERG than Direto but massive mfg issues)
* Zumo (pretty OK, only available at very few shops)
I hate dealing with returns, so the Direto is attractive just by being likely to “just work”. Right now the Direto X is available for effectively the same price as the Suito – €620, a good €180 cheaper than the CORE in my country. This seems like a deal, right?.
Where did you find the Direto X for 620€?
I am in almost exactly the same position, where Halfords in the UK have a number of these, especially the Elite models, at competitive prices.
The Suito is my preferred trainer but I need a full review, though I suspect the manufacturing issues may force me to one of the others, and to be fair the Zumo may be good enough
futurumshop.nl has the suito for 550€, not sure about shipping cost to other countries but that’s a good price, I think. The Direto X is 650€ there.
link to bikeshop.se – unfortunately the webshop is Swedish only as far as I know.
I noticed nearly 30% off Neo2 here link to westernbikeworks.com
For what it’s worth the kickr core reconditioned units are £480 in the UK at the moment. I know they are reconditioned but do come from wahoo with full 2 year warranty.
Seems like a decent deal but don’t expect it to last for long (I suspect until stocks run out.
I’m a bit wary of those when reading comments like this: link to dcrainmaker.com – 4th unit on it’s way… Super deal IF it works out!
Hammerhead Karoo is $249 through their website (Black Friday deal). Use code KAROO$239 for extra $10 off.
$199 when you sign up to their Email newsletter to use promo code “KAROOWELCOME”
Garmin Edge 1030 – EUR 429.99 at Bike Discount Germany
Regards Rüdiger
Any news about discounts in Europe (Garmin Forerunner 935 or Fenix 6)?
Cycliq is also running a 38% off Black Friday Sale on the Fly 6 CE gen 2 and the Fly 12 CE. Link initially sent to e-mail registrants:
link to cycliq.cmail20.com
Ray, any idea if Garmin will bring out an HRM Tri ‘dual’ in the next month or so? My hrm tri seems to be dieing after multiple dropouts & trying 4 different batteries. Wondering whether to hold off or pull the trigger on a HRM Dual tomorrow.
Thanks!
Garmin Index scale on Amazon.de just 93 EUR.
A HUGE THANKS to Ray, Shane & The Girl for putting this all together! Not only was I able to score an awesome new (as in “first”) power trainer – this morning I was spinning along as saw them fly by me on E. Min’s Zwift Thanksgiving Day ride with Chloe Dygert!!!! Best. Thanksgiving. Ever!!! Thumbs up all around!
Awesome! Great to be able to virtually ride with you!
Any feedback on this? link to mielectro.es
Some better deals on Amazon actually – for example the FR735XT is lower. Check it out above in Euro table. Cheers!
Hi Ray,
Two questions..
1. which is better HR strap for Garmin vivoactive HR where I also want running dynamics data?
2. If i want to upgrade from Vivoactive HR, whats the good watch to go far (run, bike, hike and swim). I got a smaller wrist though.
This will help me a lot.
-Mahesh (India)
I’ll comfirm the Quarq SRAM Red DZero Power Meter Crank Arms that are on sale. Just ordered one for $540. Today is the last day.