Heads up!!! Here’s your massive Cyber Monday sports tech deals list! This includes the Garmin Forerunner 965 for just $499, Garmin Epix for $429, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for just $619, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $299, (or Hero 13 bundle for $339!) and plenty more! Go check out the full list of 100+ deals here!
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In Depth Product Reviews
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Read My Sports Gadget Recommendations.
Here’s my most recent GPS watch guide here, and cycling GPS computers here. Plus there are smart trainers here, all in these guides cover almost every category of sports gadgets out there. Looking for the equipment I use day-to-day? I also just put together my complete ‘Gear I Use’ equipment list, from swim to bike to run and everything in between (plus a few extra things). And to compliment that, here’s The Girl’s (my wife’s) list. Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!
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Messenger app?? Surely not an iOS version.
EDIT. Never mind. Read the rest of the post!!
“available” seems putting it strongly for the favero mx – i got the email saying i could pre-order and the website words it as “booking” to purchase in a months time. still, its progress trowards availability
When are Favero releasing a road pedal body for the Por MX? Instant buy at that point (well, it would be if there was a huge increase in availability!!)
Hey DC,
I was wondering if you are familiar with Forto Powermeters? They are a Dutch company with a stages/4iiii type powermeter with competitive prices. They are already selling an 11s 105 crank powermeter for €219,-.
Was wondering if you had a chance to test them already?
link to fortocycling.nl
Interesting, no, I haven’t tried them yet.
Even though it’s traditionally only used for InReach, do you think the Messenger app is a signal of LTE capabilities coming to a new watch soon?
I strongly suspect yes. Money is on Epix 2/3 with LTE.
It’s pretty interesting. I believe we’re currently at a hardware “lull” from a technology standpoint at Garmin, especially on the Fenix/MIP side of things. Battery technology obviously improves, but optical HR (current gen) and GPS chipset (dual band) is pretty darn accurate. Screens are bright, good sized. MIP screens could further reduce reflectivity with solar/sapphire, solar technology could advance a bit to be incorporated into AMOLED devices. I could see the Instinct 3 getting a color MIP screen, new sensors, etc – brining it more to a “plastic Fenix” vs the previous Forerunners – which are now more “plastic Epix”.
From a software side, there still could be *many* improvements, but some/most of them would require a more powerful chipset, which could be the focus of Garmin in subsequent releases. I don’t know that I’ve ever thought “wow, this interface is fast” on a Fenix or Epix, but they also definitely lean toward power savings vs performance in that regard.
Well I wouldn’t call the gen 5 OHR sensor accurate. Sorry but this is far from reality, especially in case of HIIT sessions. At least my watch is lagging around 45″ behind, which in terms of interval training is a no go. You start an all-out run and watch shows you in Zone 2, you finish after 30″, still in Zone 2, and while in recovery you get 160BPM :) This was never the case with Apple watch though, which is unfortunate for Garmin.
The sensor has inconsistent performance depending on all sorts of physiological factors, for sure. For me running, it’s generally spot on, with a few seconds of delay. For weight lifting, it is less consistent but generally pretty darn close.
Newest Forerunner 955 beta finally gets JetLag advisor. Also an interesting note about dynamic HR data. Probably really tough to test, but interested to hear what it does
Adds the Jet Lag Adviser glance.
Adds support for the Garmin Messenger app with a glance and app.
During an activity, use GPS to navigate to the point where a phone lost connection.
Adds heart rate dynamic source switching to select the best heart rate data source (watch or chest HRM) to improve accuracy during running activities.
Fixes “Lock On Road” setting not being honored.
Fixes intermittent crash in music control.
Fixes persistent notification vibration for incoming calls.
Fixes inconsistent activity profile ordering between Connect and device.
Various UI improvements and fixes.
Also curious about the Dynamic Heartrate: Is it instant switching during the activity? Or will it record both HR sets then compare & adjust them after the activity?
I wear my Polar H10 during runs b/c of HR issues from my FR265. Occasionally I adjust my strap and it’ll give a ~5sec of bad reading during the activity. Ideally Dynamic Heartrate instantly swaps from strap to watch in that moment (so no alert about low HR), or at least just replaces those outlier data points with watch data after the run.
It’s doing it during the activity, live.
I’ll dive into more of the nuances is an upcoming something, it’s actually super interesting what they’ve done. Not like earth-shattering, but more clever than they’re letting on.
Is it to calibrate/learn the wrist sensor from the external strap…?
It says it switches during running activities. So does it not apply the same switching for cycling and other activities? Seems weird that it would only apply to running.
It’s all workouts.
Running is simply where it’s most interesting, because typically that’s where cadence-lock comes into play (and inversely, for chest straps, where connectivity issues on dry/cool issues come into play).
Interestingly, the 255 received the same update, with Jet Lag advisor and Messenger app.
Is there a way to tell when it has been done or to even tell what the source is? I had a race on Sunday and didn’t have time to check prior to make sure the chest strap was setup. I think it was, but can’t see a way in Connect to even see it?
It’s technically in the FIT file, but isn’t visually displayed anywhere for a consumer. I’m working to get it added to the DCR Analyzer.
That said – if you’re just looking to see if the chest strap was there, you can do that on Garmin Connect. On the website side, it’ll show it on the right side (for a Garmin strap), and on the mobile app, it’ll show it on the first page of your activity summary.
If you’re trying to see if a non-Garmin strap was connected, the DCR Analyzer will actually do that today already (for ANT+ straps).
Thanks for such a quick response!
What heart rate averages do people see during a half marathon I wonder?
My average last year on same course as this year was 171 with 190 max. I didn’t have a chest strap that year though.
This year I did 160 average with 176 max. I did a much better time, 1:43 though.
Just wondering if this indicates I have more in the tank to use up maybe and push myself further. My joints are aching today so I know I pushed myself. But maybe I could have gone even harder, I didn’t feel breathless aside from some coughing (so maybe I was!) but that could just show how much fitter I am.
Until the DCR Analyzer is updated, you can upload the .fit file to fitfileviewer.com and view the chart which can show both wrist heart rate/external heart rate/heart rate (which is the data stream used for the final file)
I couldn’t find a setting for this feature anywhere. It would be great if there was an option: only a chest sensor. I’m not sure that combining accurate data from a chest sensor with inaccurate data from an optical sensor will result in super accurate heart rate data.
Not sure how it works for different watches, but on my Epix gen 2, you can configure a “power mode” for each activity (or for smartwatch use).
For example, to disable wrist HR for running:
-start a run activity
-long press menu
-scroll to and select “power mode”
-select “jacket mode”, which by default turns off the wrist HR.
all runs will be in jacket mode until you revert. wrist HR function in other activity types, or in smartwatch mode, is unchanged.
you can also configure jacket mode, or other power modes, from the main menu. menu > power manager > power modes
If you got a Forerunner you as of now have to turn off the optical sensor manually before starting the activity, and remember to enable it again after…
Preordered those pedals, can’t wait 😀
For the lack to put anywhere else:
Are you going to test the Magene PES P505 powermeter?
I know, gplama gave it a ride, and it looked quite good… if that holds in a full DCR review, it’s redefining the price point for spider based power meters.
I might give it a whirl, crankset ones are always a bit messier since I’ve gotta get/ensure a bike that’s compatible with it sorted.
That’s one of its big advantages… It’s compatible with shimano standards 😊
Since we are talking about power meters here anyhow: looks like stages is no more?
link to bicycleretailer.com
Any insights?
Ray, are pedal wrench power pedals like the mx2 or the looks less likely to round out? Having that problem now with my 5 year old assioma duos.
I think as long as you use a good pedal wrench (that’s the exact fit, and not oversized), and ensure that you take the extra second or two, to ensure that it doesn’t slide inwards on the spindle, then it’s good.
FYI the pre-sale registration is now active and I managed to purchase one as of April 23. Shipping is 7-10 days.