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Week in Review–May 14th, 2017

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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!

So with that, let’s get into the action!

DCRainmaker.com posts in the past week:

Here’s all the goodness that ended up on the main page of DCRainmaker.com this past week:

Sunday: Week in Review–May 7th, 2017
Monday: 5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Monday: Thoughts on GoPro’s new Fusion 360° 5.2K camera
Tuesday: ROTOR 2INpower In-Depth Review
Friday: Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR In-Depth Review

Sports Tech Deals This Week:

While the big 20% off sale ended this past week, there are two minor sets of details remaining.  One is on Garmin stuff that ends next weekend, and another on TomTom stuff that ends later today.  First up is the Garmin stuff:

Garmin Vivofit Jr – Save $10 (Amazon/Clever Training)
Garmin Forerunner 35 – Save $30 (Amazon/Clever Training)
Garmin Vivofit 3 – Save $30 (Amazon/Clever Training)
Garmin Vivosmart HR+ (the one with GPS): Save $30 (Amazon/Clever Training)
Garmin Vivoactive HR (also with GPS): Save $50 – down to $199 – solid deal (Amazon/Clever Training)

And here’s the TomTom specific sales, which run through May 14th:

TomTom Spark 3 – $20 off (Amazon/Clever Training)
TomTom Spark 3 Music – $20 off (Amazon/Clever Training)
TomTom Spark 3 Cardio – $20 off (Amazon/Clever Training)
TomTom Spark 3 Cardio Music – $20 off (Amazon/Clever Training)
TomTom Adventurer – $50 off (Amazon/Clever Training)
TomTom Touch – $10 off (Amazon/Clever Training)

All of the above links help support the blog!

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) Subscription running race pass: Pretty interesting concept.  I’m not sold on the pricing unless you knew how to game it a bit.  But I like the general thought here. (via Steve Fleck)

2) Apple buys Beddit Sleep Tracking: A long time ago I bought a Beddit.  Not the whole company though, just one unit.  Haven’t used it much since. Still, their much newer products look cooler.  Will be interesting to see if Apple’s grand plan is to incorporate the tech into their watches, or if it’s to branch out into additional categories of products.

3) GoPro’s trade-up program (this is a good deal!): I keep forgetting to mention this, as when it first launched it didn’t work (even the pages) from outside the US.  And that’s still true.  But basically you get $100 off for returning *any* GoPro, no matter how old, broken, or otherwise f’d up that GoPro is, as long as you return it, you get $100 off a new GoPro.  Sweet!

3) Skier falls into 60 foot crevasse…while GoPro is filming: Speaking of that very camera, a well-edited sequence here of something that could have gone much much worse:

4) You needn’t outrun the bear, just your friends: And sure enough, this seems to be the case here.

5) Looking to create that 4K Zwift setup? Ask no further.  Now…if only I had a 4K TV.  Sigh.

6) Swearing while exercising will make you stronger: Damn straight it will mofos!

7) Don’t put that there: Living abroad we have many expat friends. Over time though, most move on.  Either back home or onwards to another country for work relocation. While nothing to do with sports (though they are avid runners), I found this post from our friends that left us last fall pretty funny. It’s talking about the hilariously wonky ways that they have to sort trash in South Korea (where they relocated to).

8) Large power meter accuracy study: Lots of chatter about this 54 units study.  It’s interesting stuff, and I’ve chatted with one of the folks doing it a bit as well this week.  Overall I don’t see any core issues with what they did.  As they noted in an e-mail to me though, it only focuses on indoor – which limits things a bit.  One of the challenges with power meters these days is that the overwhelming majority of accuracy issues actually happen outdoors (temperature changes, road conditions, humidity shifts, etc…).  Note on models that most of them tended to be older units, rather than newer units.  Pros and cons to that both ways actually. Still, this is an impressive pile of data to put together, good stuff!

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 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 firmware updates

Garmin Forerunner 230/235/630/920XT Firmware Update: Bug fixes.

Garmin Fenix 3/Tactix Bravo/Quatix 3/Fenix 3HR Firmware Update: Bug fixes.

Garmin Fenix 5/5S/5X/Chronos Firmware Update: Pile of new features and settings, along with even bigger pile of performance improvements/bug fixes.

Garmin FR935 Firmware Update: Same as Fenix 5 firmware update.

Quarq DZero Firmware Update: Improvements to accelerometer cadence and Bluetooth Smart head unit compatibility.

Thanks for reading…oh…and Happy Mother’s Day (for those North Americans, for French folks…you gotta wait two more weeks!).

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28 Comments

  1. Phil

    I’m guessing the guy being chased by the bear had a Gingerbread moment.

  2. Phil

    With continual bug fixes and improvements it seems to me that the standard firmware updates are always in Beta so future updates should be called Gamma.
    Some products have gone out of production and support without ever reaching a final stable update.
    Instead of introducing new features they should first stabilize the current ones.
    My HRM History:
    Polar XTrainer Plus
    Polar S710
    Garmin Forerunner 610
    Garmin Fenix 5

    • Yeah, most of it are performance improvements.

      But coming from well over a decade with a software company – I prefer a company/product that frequently releases firmware updates for products rather than not at all (or infrequently).

  3. Michael Coyne

    Thanks Ray! Lots of cool stuff – very happy FR 935 update – I noticed the different icon on the power controls menu.

    By the way, do you know yet if the quick release for the 935 blocks the OHR sensor? Also the thickness it adds – and just in general when do you think you’ll be able to add that to the 935 review?

    Thanks a bunch 🙂

    • I haven’t seen the quick release in person yet. But the bundles just started shipping last week, so I suspect we’ll see real-life photos soon.

      That said, here’s the PR provided imagery. That makes it appear that there are actually two variants within the kit, one that blocks it – and one that doesn’t.

    • Looks to me like one bike mount and one wrist mount. The watch is released with the grey lever on the left and swapped, leaving the strap on your wrist when the watch is in the bike mount. Not sure I’d trust the grey lever not to get pushed accidentally but I’m getting to trust the QR straps despite the probable rust issues with seawater so probably just a case of getting used to it.

    • I think I’ll be receiving the 935 tri pack tomorrow. I’ll try to remember to come back with some pictures.

    • Here you go. Ask and you shall receive!

      I have a longer post and more pictures here: link to correrunamaraton.com
      And if you are not proficient in english, you can use some Google Translate magic: link to translate.google.es

      The 935 Quick Release goes back to the design of the FR305. Similar concept but much improved, and in my opinion, it’s held in place more securely than with a quarter mount Quick Release system.

      You could use it all day… but it would look a little bit funky.

    • And the last one. Again, there are plenty more on the link if you are interested.

    • Michael Coyne

      Thanks, that helps a ton. I’m a bit confused by what all the rubber pieces are for? But otherwise looks pretty good. I am slightly surprised that the hole neither goes all the way to the lip of the optical sensor nor is open enough to allow the charging cable to fit through it – seems like it might add mild discomfort. I know for a lot of people even huge sensor bumps cause no discomfort at all, but as somebody who never used to wear a watch at all, I do get discomfort at the crease of the sensor bump and the charging port area after wearing the watch for a while. Hopefully the quick release doesn’t bother me or get super gunked up with sweat – I’m a super sweaty dude.

      Also the way it works makes me feel even stronger that you could make due with a Fenix 5 by using two pairs of QuickFit bands flipped inside-out so the releases are accessible.

      It also makes me even more confused (like Ray) as to why they wouldn’t make one for the 5’s – yeah they’re different sizes so that means extra molds, but given the simplicity of it and how popular the Fenix 5’s are, that’s still kinda weird to me.

    • The rubber bands are just used to fit the mount to the handlebar, it has nothing to do with the quick release itself.

      I don’t think you can fit the Fenix 5 inside the mount, though…

    • Michael Coyne

      I’m not saying to fit the Fenix 5 in the mount, but rather that you could create a makeshift quick release system using 2 pairs of quickfit bands turned inside out – one on your wrist and one mounted on the bike. Anybody who got a Sapphire Fenix 5, 5s, or any 5x should have 2 quickfit bands. It definitely wouldn’t be as good though.

  4. Garmin50-50

    The link to the Garmin Update says it is for the Garmin 935, and then the ominous warning:

    “WARNING: If this software is uploaded to a device other than that for which it is designed, you will not be able to operate that device.
    If attempts to upload software fail, you may need to return the device to Garmin® for service.”

    So will this work for the 235? How about the 225 (the one I have 🙂 )?

  5. Bob

    Always enjoy your week in review. Hope you don’t get to the end of the Internet for quite awhile.

  6. Jon Patterson

    That crevasse video was pretty scary stuff…good job the battery held out.

    Any idea on timing towards the TomTom indepth review? Or has it fallen too far down the list?

  7. Bruce Burkhalter

    Taipei has garbage trucks that play songs (like an ice cream truck). When you hear it, you run out with your trash bags and throw them in.

    Really good podcast/article about it:

    link to 99percentinvisible.org

  8. Tomas

    I would be wary of the subscription running service (Racepass) as it seems their model doesn’t really show any positive cashflow, and race directors aren’t aware of the service so there isn’t a harmonious relationship there (yet).

    Marathon Investigator did the usual good work on this: link to marathoninvestigation.com

  9. YOU DON’T HAVE A 4K TV?????
    With your plethora of gadgets and 4K cameras I am AMAZED that you don’t have a 4K tv!!!

    • It’s funny…but oddly true.

      It’s hard because we don’t consume any 4K content. In fact, about the only 4K content I view is the stuff I create or that I find on YouTube.

      We use Apple TV for everything at the house, and that’s not 4K capable. So, no point there.

      And in the DCR Cave I don’t actually have a great setup in terms of trainers and TV’s. I have a TV, but I rarely use it when on the trainer. Most times I just use an iPad on Zwift/TrainerRoad and my laptop on YouTube. The walls down there aren’t in an awesome way to support a really big TV without losing a lot of floor space (which is at a premium).

  10. Yeah, I can attest to #6. Especially during those longer runs when I just don’t feel like getting out of bed on a Saturday morning.

  11. Clark

    Wonder what it costs to get rescued from a crevasse? Great footage and edit. Lucky guy!

  12. Fyi, Wahoo released for the Kickr new firmware 1.5.68 which increases response and power accuracy link to support.wahoofitness.com