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, Facebook, and Google Plus, this is a better forum for sending it on to y’all. Most times these different streams don’t overlap, so be on the lookout at all these places for good stuff!
So with that, let’s get into the action!
DCRainmaker.com posts this past week:
Here’s all the goodness that ended up on the main page of DCRainmaker.com this past week.
Stuff that I found interesting around the interwebs:
Here’s a not-so-small smattering of all the random things that I stumbled on while doing my civic duty to find the end of the Internet:
1) The 8 Stages of Running a Marathon:Yup, that pretty much sums them up. Now just tack on the 112 miles of cycling and 2.4 miles of swimming and it’ll be just like all those competing in Kona today. (Via Wahoo Fitness Facebook)
5) A Strava Flagging Proposal: DJ brings up some good points about flagging segments in light of the government shutdown actually making some segments much safer (vehicle traffic banned). Good read.
10) Yikes, sporty US stamps banned! Apparently cannonballs are considered too dangerous for kids, and thus the little stamp-drawings of kids cannonballing has lead to the entire batch being destroyed. This story, you’ve gotta read. Height of stupidity all around. (via Joe Lindsey)
13) Rutgers Women’s Soccer Team uses HR training tech in detail: Pretty interesting look at how Rutgers is using some of the functionality (including group aspects) of the Polar system. This is similar to the educational system The Girl used to use when she taught High School students in a class about heart rate training. (via Polar Twitter)
14)Ski season…in North Korea! Yeah baby, waiting for that action-cam skiing video. All three chairlift’s worth of the new resort set to open this weekend.
15) Kona 2013 “Bike Count” numbers:These are tallied up each year and cover everything from bikes to hydration equipment to power meters.
This is a bit of a new section. Most of this content used to be found within the main section, but I figured I’d just call it out up here and make it easy to find. I regularly sift through Kickstarter and Indiegogo (plus a few others on occasion) looking for sports projects. Note that as always with crowd funded projects, assume the project will be late and will under-deliver on features. Thus far, on the numerous products I’ve helped ‘fund’ (except a leather bike handle), that’s been the case.
Sports Technology Software/Firmware Updates This Week:
Each week I quickly highlight some of the new firmware, app, software and website service updates that I see go out. If you’re a sports technology company and release an update – shoot me a quick note (just one liners is 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?
Site/Firmware Updates:
Mio Alpha Update: They’ve updated the units that were sent to Kickstarters. Details are slim, but in the backer-only post they noted “With this update you can expect that your Kickstarter Mio ALPHA will show improved HR reliability, accuracy and responsiveness.”. The link at left only works for those who backed the project on Kickstarter, but, this really only applies to you if you’re in that category anyway.
Elite myETraining App: Elite Trainers released this to connect to some of their trainers and provide data logging/visibility. This version is optimized for the iPhone (versus the previous for the iPad).
Garmin announced API for Corporate Wellness programs: Creating the API for the corporate side (health insurance plans that pay for devices) is Standard Operation Step 1 towards moving into the health/activity monitoring space (i.e. FitBits).
iPhone App updates this week:
iPad App updates this week:
Android App updates this week:
Windows Phone app updates this week:
(No WP app updates this week for my phone)
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Thanks for reading!
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Anything planned with trainer software? I see all of the reviews. Would be great to have some recommendations on best available (I’m mainly interested for my Wahoo Kickr but I’m sure everyone is interested)
I’m in the process of trying to hunt down an application similar to the Cycleops version that’ll allow me to ride routes or Strava segments at home on the trainer. I’m currently using the Cycleops SuperMagneto Pro and would rather not buy a new trainer if I don’t have to. I’m using a SRM powermeter and am hoping I can simply connect to the app (either desktop, OS or iOS…non Windows) via an ANT+ plug/key…I know I won’t have trainer wattage control a la CompuTrainer or Kickr but that’s ok.
A quick read of the hardware requirements on your latest app review “Virtual Trainer” has lead me to conclude that since I’m an Apple user, this app won’t work for me….
Do you have any alternative suggestions that might work with how I’m looking to use the app (described above)?
They’ve just come out with an iPad version, and you can use that to connect to a speed sensor and get some of the same stuff. Check out the link to my August post on it where I show some of that in practice.
For the most part what you see here is really just a culmination of things I read frequently. Hence why you see some of the same ‘sources’ (i.e. Outside Magazine or CyclingTips) frequently.
Not much in the way of Sports Tech. I do for GPS Tracklog (link to gpstracklog.com) as a good source of GPS world happenings, and that crosses into some sports fitness stuff.
Hi Ray, not sure you already covered in your previous posts the firmware upgrade recently issued on Garmin 910XT (ver 3.0).
It focused especially on improving stroke and pool count detection in pool swimming, and in my case it made the difference between being almost useless and being accurate. I am a bad swimmer and I frequently make pauses, and also following your precious recommendations I wasn’t able to get an accurate detection of pool count/length. Now with this upgrade to 3.0 version it rocks and also in my case it’s very accurate and makes no big mistakes.
Thanks, ciao,
Alfredo
DCR, you’ve assembled a fantastic amount of practical, in-depth information. Wow! As I’ve become more serious about running, your site has revealed how much fitness tech is available for data analysis – and how many incompatible choices there are.
I’ve been an iPhone/Runkeeper user for a few years and that’s been fine for tracking my modest runs and a bit of social support. But, now I run with an H7 bluetooth HR monitor, my smartphone, the WahooFitness app, and record everything into TrainingPeaks with a quick upload from my phone wherever I finish my run. I really need to get accurate pace feedback on the road beyond the inaccurate GPS of my iPhone5. Is there a Smart Bluetooth option for accurate pace while training? Or should I just go with a separate, but more accurate GPS watch for pace and accept that my speed won’t be coming through my headphones with my HR and distance updates?
I suspect there will be a cluster of Smart Bluetooth products coming around the corner. Ideally there would be an accurate Smart Bluetooth GPS watch that would take the place of my iPhone and upload my HR data, pace, and route info when got into wifi range at home or work. But I’m just a lazy runner and want to just drink my chocolate milk and pat myself on the back when I get done with a good run.
There’s no accurate pod that I’m aware of today that works with any of the apps out there. I do think we’ll probably see something though. I know the Wahoo folks and I have chatted that they find that piece slightly frustrating at times, since their units are subject to iPhone GPS accuracy.
I think long-term we’ll continue to see convergence between what is defined as a ‘Smart watch’, and that as a ‘Running watch’. Right now, the FR220/FR620 gets fairly close there – and had they opened it up to 3rd party uploads (i.e. from watch to app to 3rd party sites – such as Strava/TrainingPeaks/etc…) then I think people would be happy.
Hi Ray, minor thing, but the embedded videos sneak ‘under’ the sidebar on the right… Yes I know I can go watch them elsewhere, just askin’ if its easy to fix? Chris
Strange – typically if on a iPad and/or desktop computer it should be fine. Some other devices may have trouble as I have to hard-set some of the embedded videos resolutions.
Out of curiosity, what device is it showing as over?
Cheers Ray, it seems very churlish to mention! Its happening to me on Safari (MacBook Pro if that matters). It isn’t really that important though… Chris
Hello Ray, Sense (bike light) is an interesting kickstarter project and it has a functioning prototype (they claim). It is so different from other products you tested and other lights, because it monitors motion, orientation and light. Why not test it?
Generally I try and focus mostly on technology products, just because I’ve only got so many hours in the day (I have day job), and there’s so much interest in the other tech products.
That said, it’s a cool concept and I look forward to poking at it someday, even if not part of a review.
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FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
You probably stumbled upon here looking for a review of a sports gadget. If you’re trying to decide which unit to buy – check out my in-depth reviews section. Some reviews are over 60 pages long when printed out, with hundreds of photos! I aim to leave no stone unturned.
I travel a fair bit, both for work and for fun. Here’s a bunch of random trip reports and daily trip-logs that I’ve put together and posted. I’ve sorted it all by world geography, in an attempt to make it easy to figure out where I’ve been.
The most common question I receive outside of the “what’s the best GPS watch for me” variant, are photography-esq based. So in efforts to combat the amount of emails I need to sort through on a daily basis, I’ve complied this “My Photography Gear” post for your curious minds (including drones & action cams!)! It’s a nice break from the day-to-day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
Many readers stumble into my website in search of information on the latest and greatest sports tech products. But at the end of the day, you might just be wondering “What does Ray use when not testing new products?”. So here is the most up to date list of products I like and fit the bill for me and my training needs best! DC Rainmaker 2023 swim, bike, run, and general gear list. But wait, are you a female and feel like these things might not apply to you? If that’s the case (but certainly not saying my choices aren’t good for women), and you just want to see a different gear junkies “picks”, check out The Girl’s Gear Guide too.
Are you planning a 2013 review if cycling trainers? I’m trying to decide on a high end VR trainer. Thanks
Yes, later this week.
Anything planned with trainer software? I see all of the reviews. Would be great to have some recommendations on best available (I’m mainly interested for my Wahoo Kickr but I’m sure everyone is interested)
Yes, it’ll be part of the same post.
I’m in the process of trying to hunt down an application similar to the Cycleops version that’ll allow me to ride routes or Strava segments at home on the trainer. I’m currently using the Cycleops SuperMagneto Pro and would rather not buy a new trainer if I don’t have to. I’m using a SRM powermeter and am hoping I can simply connect to the app (either desktop, OS or iOS…non Windows) via an ANT+ plug/key…I know I won’t have trainer wattage control a la CompuTrainer or Kickr but that’s ok.
A quick read of the hardware requirements on your latest app review “Virtual Trainer” has lead me to conclude that since I’m an Apple user, this app won’t work for me….
Do you have any alternative suggestions that might work with how I’m looking to use the app (described above)?
Thanks,
They’ve just come out with an iPad version, and you can use that to connect to a speed sensor and get some of the same stuff. Check out the link to my August post on it where I show some of that in practice.
Thanks Ray. I really appreciate your reviews. Its obviously a lot of work. Thanks again.
It would be awesome if one of your blog posts outlined other blogs or daily/weekly reads that you would recommend that are somewhat similar to yours.
For the most part what you see here is really just a culmination of things I read frequently. Hence why you see some of the same ‘sources’ (i.e. Outside Magazine or CyclingTips) frequently.
Any other blogs you recommend relating to fitness electronics? If there are any..
Not much in the way of Sports Tech. I do for GPS Tracklog (link to gpstracklog.com) as a good source of GPS world happenings, and that crosses into some sports fitness stuff.
Hi Ray, not sure you already covered in your previous posts the firmware upgrade recently issued on Garmin 910XT (ver 3.0).
It focused especially on improving stroke and pool count detection in pool swimming, and in my case it made the difference between being almost useless and being accurate. I am a bad swimmer and I frequently make pauses, and also following your precious recommendations I wasn’t able to get an accurate detection of pool count/length. Now with this upgrade to 3.0 version it rocks and also in my case it’s very accurate and makes no big mistakes.
Thanks, ciao,
Alfredo
DCR, you’ve assembled a fantastic amount of practical, in-depth information. Wow! As I’ve become more serious about running, your site has revealed how much fitness tech is available for data analysis – and how many incompatible choices there are.
I’ve been an iPhone/Runkeeper user for a few years and that’s been fine for tracking my modest runs and a bit of social support. But, now I run with an H7 bluetooth HR monitor, my smartphone, the WahooFitness app, and record everything into TrainingPeaks with a quick upload from my phone wherever I finish my run. I really need to get accurate pace feedback on the road beyond the inaccurate GPS of my iPhone5. Is there a Smart Bluetooth option for accurate pace while training? Or should I just go with a separate, but more accurate GPS watch for pace and accept that my speed won’t be coming through my headphones with my HR and distance updates?
I suspect there will be a cluster of Smart Bluetooth products coming around the corner. Ideally there would be an accurate Smart Bluetooth GPS watch that would take the place of my iPhone and upload my HR data, pace, and route info when got into wifi range at home or work. But I’m just a lazy runner and want to just drink my chocolate milk and pat myself on the back when I get done with a good run.
Cheers and keep up the great work!
There’s no accurate pod that I’m aware of today that works with any of the apps out there. I do think we’ll probably see something though. I know the Wahoo folks and I have chatted that they find that piece slightly frustrating at times, since their units are subject to iPhone GPS accuracy.
I think long-term we’ll continue to see convergence between what is defined as a ‘Smart watch’, and that as a ‘Running watch’. Right now, the FR220/FR620 gets fairly close there – and had they opened it up to 3rd party uploads (i.e. from watch to app to 3rd party sites – such as Strava/TrainingPeaks/etc…) then I think people would be happy.
Have you set a date for the 620/220 review?
Roughly whenever Garmin releases the devices (final firmware).
Hi Ray, minor thing, but the embedded videos sneak ‘under’ the sidebar on the right… Yes I know I can go watch them elsewhere, just askin’ if its easy to fix? Chris
Strange – typically if on a iPad and/or desktop computer it should be fine. Some other devices may have trouble as I have to hard-set some of the embedded videos resolutions.
Out of curiosity, what device is it showing as over?
I have been experiencing that too. It is not happening on my laptop though. I run the desktop version on my iPad, if that is important.
Rey, calculator unboxing was so funny
Cheers Ray, it seems very churlish to mention! Its happening to me on Safari (MacBook Pro if that matters). It isn’t really that important though… Chris
Wireless ulock: (uses bluetooth and an app on the phone, makes it easy to share a bike between people)
link to kickstarter.com
Hello Ray, Sense (bike light) is an interesting kickstarter project and it has a functioning prototype (they claim). It is so different from other products you tested and other lights, because it monitors motion, orientation and light. Why not test it?
HI Helm-
Generally I try and focus mostly on technology products, just because I’ve only got so many hours in the day (I have day job), and there’s so much interest in the other tech products.
That said, it’s a cool concept and I look forward to poking at it someday, even if not part of a review.