Friday Tidbits: Spring’s gonna be busy for new toys!

February 25, 2011 by |Uncategorized|Comments (15)

image(Side Note: I have no idea what on earth this clipart image is depicting.  I was searching for random images to use for this post using the Microsoft  Word clipart selection and out of curiosity entered ‘triathlon’ – and got this image.  It looks like a member of the Flintstones feeding a dinosaur on a bike…roughly.  Either way, it was too good to pass up – so it stuck.  Ok, that’s all I have on that.)

–

It’s very clear that this spring is gonna be busy around these parts!  The number of review and related requests over the last week or two has really taken off.  All things focused on new products coming out over the next few months – tons of really cool stuff on the way.  I’m gonna need one of those 1990 style PDA’s (personal digital assistant, not public display of affection) to keep track of everything.

Looking at stuff that’s on the way, here’s a bunch of quick updates from many different fronts:

1) TACX Trainer Coming Soon: The folks at TACX are sending me one of their units to put through the paces.  You may remember my brief time spent on it back at Interbike – so I’m really looking forward to seeing how it compares to the competition.

2) CompuTrainer Updates: I had a good call Wednesday night with the owner of CompuTrainer regarding issues seen with HR monitor dropouts in the CompuTrainer setup (as I posted in last week’s Slowtwitch Mailbag).  He noted that they believe they fixed these with a new hardware component (R982-207-02) sent out last month.  He’s sending one my way for me to give try out.  Additionally, he let me know that RacerMate One is currently now slated for April 2011.  I’ll be getting that to try out once it gets a bit closer as well.  Plus a bunch of other little updates…

3) Suunto Pow-Wow: Early Thursday morning I spoke to the Suunto folks in Finland.  Well, they were in Finland, I was still in DC.  Hmm, now to think of it, I’ve never been to Finland…but I’m guessing it’s rather cold there.  Oh…anyway…lots of stuff coming down the pipeline there on a number of fronts.  Look for the first of those items to manifest themselves around here in the next few weeks.

4) LeMond Revolution Trainer: Looking forward to both testing out the full LeMond Revolution Trainer here shortly as well.  Should be arriving on my doorstep any day now – as well as a few other goodies that I’ll get to show off that they’re sending along.  Really looking forward to these items.   You may have remembered my first look at it back in September.

5) Power2Max: I believe I mentioned this previously…but a Power2Max ANT+ Power Meter unit is working it’s way from Europe to the big US of A.  Once it arrives – I’ll be sure to let ya know!

6) A lot of stuff still under NDA (non-disclosure agreement): For now, there’s a slew of items from a variety of companies that are either working on products for this spring, or beyond.  Some pretty awesome stuff here from virtually every major player in the biz.  But that’s all I can say about that!

7) The pile: The pile of other smaller products that I’ve either bought or been sent is still sitting in my home office.  Now that I’m home a bit more I can hopefully get some shorter reviews out the door on a variety of items like TuneBug and others.  I have actually been using that lately on all my outdoor rides (I figure I probably don’t need to wear a helmet indoors on my trainer).

Ok…that’s what I’ve got for now.  Well, I probably have more…but my brain is full and thus I can’t remember what else I was supposed to write about.  No worries, that’s what Saturday is for (well…that and sleeping in).

Have a good weekend all!

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15 Comments

  1. Shamrock
    February 25, 2011 at 9:15 am #1

    love the pick, its obvious to me its a hydration system, albeit a heavy one!!!

    Reply
  2. Anonymous
    February 25, 2011 at 12:59 pm #2

    Looking forward for Tacx review, hope Bushido or Vortex

    Reply
  3. N. Price
    February 25, 2011 at 1:15 pm #3

    What Computrainer hardware component did they send out last month?

    Reply
  4. Eric Melcher
    February 25, 2011 at 1:26 pm #4

    Waiting anxiously for the tacx review. Curious about tunebug as well.

    Reply
  5. Duane
    February 25, 2011 at 6:58 pm #5

    I have the newer wireless heart rate pickup device for the computrainer and I can confirm that it has no drop out issue. This has been a sore point on the CT forums, but it looks like they have resolved it. I can’t wait to hear your impressions for the tacx solution.

    Reply
  6. tunney
    February 26, 2011 at 6:08 pm #6

    I got one of the new CT HR cables, its improved but still drops HR a lot.

    Reply
  7. pdais97
    February 26, 2011 at 6:41 pm #7

    Anyone can recommend the following ANT+ devices, Heartrate monitor,
    Cadence, Speed?
    Have the monitor but not the devices so I´m looking for good and cheap ones :)

    Reply
  8. Ray Maker
    February 26, 2011 at 6:52 pm #8

    RE: CompuTrainer HR

    They released basically a new dongle for the HR. I updated the link above with the deets.

    RE: ANT+ Sensors

    The cheapest and kinda ‘gold standard’ ones are the Garmin ones.

    The GSC-10 speed/cadenece is $30 and works without issue.

    The HR strap wise, you’ve got two basic choices:

    Classic: Usualy about $30
    Premium: Usually about $50

    The 2010 premium version that you can buy directly off of Garmin.com is the best overall one – but not all the reset of the premium ones you’d find from other dealers can have issues in colder weather. In time the 2010 version will replace the older ones elsewhere, but it’s gonna take a while.

    Good luck!

    Reply
  9. britrict
    February 26, 2011 at 11:47 pm #9

    Hi Ray, I am very interested in your review of the tacx fortius. While I like the product conceptually I have reviewed the forums and there seems to be tons of issues and very poor customer service. I am very interested in your experience with the multiplayer feature as lots of people have reported issues since the 3.1 release. If multiplayer via internet doesn’t function well then I would probably buy the computrainer. Brian

    Reply
  10. Anonymous
    March 1, 2011 at 4:57 pm #10

    Now that the new Computrainer software has been delayed until at least April, would you recommend purchasing a Computrainer now or waiting for the Racermate One release? I was hoping to avoid two sets of software installations. Thanks.

    Reply
  11. Ray Maker
    March 2, 2011 at 2:47 am #11

    Regarding the CompuTrainer purchase – it’s a wash either way since anything after June 2010 gets the upgrade for free.

    Installing the software isn’t too big of a deal, so I wouldn’t worry about it – it’ll likely only take a few minutes to complete.

    Reply
  12. Anonymous
    April 1, 2011 at 2:35 am #12

    Hi, should i buy a Suunto T6d or wait “incase” they bring out something with integrated GPS?

    Reply
  13. bradyb23
    May 29, 2011 at 5:54 pm #13

    Hey DC. I see that someone else asked about the Suunto t6d a few months back. Any word on when/if you might review this product? The FR305 I’ve owned, used and abused for just over four years just died (permanently), and I’m looking to replace it. The FR610 looks interesting, but my experience with Garmin as a company has been spotty, so I’m doing some extra investigation. Anyway, I just discovered your site and I love it, and am very interested in your take on the t6d — especially the training/physiology software! Thanks.

    Reply
  14. The Florio Family
    July 16, 2011 at 7:08 pm #14

    Any word from Suunto about new product release? Any idea when they will use ANT+?

    Reply
  15. Ray Maker
    July 20, 2011 at 1:31 am #15

    I haven’t heard anything from them unfortunately. I’ll poke them here over the next few days and see what’s up.

    Reply