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!
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. This deal keeps floating between $399 and $429 - frankly, at either price it's an awesome deal.
⚡ 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.
DCRAINMAKER.COM Posts in the Past Week:
Here’s all the goodness that ended up on the main page this past week:
– Sea Otter is off…then on…then conflicts with their own event?
– Pro teams migrate to indoor trainer apps
– What could TrainerRoad do to partner with teams this season?
– And perhaps Sufferfest too?
– Strava’s “What’s Old is New Again” 2020 campaign continues
– Wahoo drops price on BOLT
– Then Wahoo drops a new BOLT!
– Is there actually ebike integration demand?
– Garmin drops price on Edge 1030/130/Varia Radar.
– GoPro Hero 8 charging door test!
Listen here, or four options for where to find the podcast:
A) iTunes: If you’ve got an Apple device, we’re there!
B) Google Play Music: Yup, we’re here too (and on Google Podcasts app)
C) Spotify: Of course we’re on Spotify now – you can even cache it on your wearable too!
D) RSS Feed: Follow along using the direct RSS feed
Stuff 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 (and in this case, some of these are from the past few weeks…as my backlog is a bit longer):
1) Apple Watch appears set to add blood oxygen detection and improved ECG: Among many other vNext Apple Watch or WatchOS features that seemed to have leaked out. I’m not however convinced that Apple will be able to do SpO2 any better than Garmin/Fitbit/etc. It’s easy to do sitting still, it’s really hard to do in movement (the FDA certification doesn’t even attempt to deal with at movement).
4) France looks at fines and jail time for e-bike modification: This seems a bit over the top. A lot of this really does seem to stem out of the slightly bizarre displeasure in certain circles against many of the bike sharing companies, which has in turn spilled out into e-bikes in general.
5) Ironman’s comments and plans for the upcoming season: Realistically, the short version could be ‘Everything is basically off till further notice. We’re rescheduling eventually, and your race fee goes to a future race. Roughly.’
7) Sister company to LifeQ shuts down: As a reminder, LifeQ makes optical sensors that are approved by Qualcomm for use in Google Wear devices (which are, in turn, on the approved list by Google for Google Wear devices). They used to make TomTom running watch optical HR sensors way back when. These days the most notable watch for them is the recent Suunto 7. While it might sound bad that their sister company HealthQ is shutting down, this is really about refocusing on LifeQ. So in this narrow focus, it’s a good thing for LifeQ. I think. Hopefully. (Thanks Matthys)
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 and a few other firmware updates.
[Things be pretty slow in the sports tech world right now. Part of that is seasonality, but a very real part of that is COVID-19]
The fact that Ironman is not even considering refunds, shows to all those who were still wondering what a terrible profit maximizing corporation they have become. Postponing the event into fall? What if you already have another race lined up in fall? Just do both?
In tough times like these you discover the true nature of a person/company.
You can also defer your entry into the 2021 race if the rearranged date is not suitable, so that solves that problem. Also, regarding refunds, as someone who has an IM entry this year, I’d love a refund if my event doesn’t go ahead, but if they end up refunding millions in race fees, there might be no more IM in the future. Companies are struggling to survive right now, and we all need to pull together to get through this. IM are not alone as I’ve had other races postponed and cancelled with no refunds. They are tough, unprecedented times.
For its price range, it was falling out of potential customer’s radar…
and yes, more updates are coming… for instance, it is time to update your emoticons archive:
Speaking of Peloton (OK, you mentioned them once…), they’re offering a 90 day free trial of their app which I think is related to the C-word. I’m in Belgium and I can’t sign up on the website (the only regions offered are US, CA, UK, and DE; my card is in BE and the website does not accept my postcode). I also can’t find the app in the Google Play Store.
Am I being stupid, or is it actually just not available in Belgium? Does anyone know?
There’s a new firmware update for the Sigma ROX 12.0 out as well (as I discovered when trying to figure out why mine was no longer connecting to Sigma Cloud).
I’ve not tested the quicker charging yet, but that could be a real bonus when I’m bikepacking with a dynamo and power bank.
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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.
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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.
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The fact that Ironman is not even considering refunds, shows to all those who were still wondering what a terrible profit maximizing corporation they have become. Postponing the event into fall? What if you already have another race lined up in fall? Just do both?
In tough times like these you discover the true nature of a person/company.
You can also defer your entry into the 2021 race if the rearranged date is not suitable, so that solves that problem. Also, regarding refunds, as someone who has an IM entry this year, I’d love a refund if my event doesn’t go ahead, but if they end up refunding millions in race fees, there might be no more IM in the future. Companies are struggling to survive right now, and we all need to pull together to get through this. IM are not alone as I’ve had other races postponed and cancelled with no refunds. They are tough, unprecedented times.
– What is a diagnosis of people who see the main problem of diseases from an economical aspect?
– Monetary mental retardation…
Why the price slash on the Garmin Radar unit? Are they releasing a new model this year?
For its price range, it was falling out of potential customer’s radar…
and yes, more updates are coming… for instance, it is time to update your emoticons archive:
Speaking of Peloton (OK, you mentioned them once…), they’re offering a 90 day free trial of their app which I think is related to the C-word. I’m in Belgium and I can’t sign up on the website (the only regions offered are US, CA, UK, and DE; my card is in BE and the website does not accept my postcode). I also can’t find the app in the Google Play Store.
Am I being stupid, or is it actually just not available in Belgium? Does anyone know?
Yeah, the countries you list are the only countries they sell the bike – and thus, the only countries they make the app available. :(
I agree, it’s largely stupid.
There’s a new firmware update for the Sigma ROX 12.0 out as well (as I discovered when trying to figure out why mine was no longer connecting to Sigma Cloud).
I’ve not tested the quicker charging yet, but that could be a real bonus when I’m bikepacking with a dynamo and power bank.
Good Morning, Mrs. Maker! Can you release Peanut1 to the playground, please?