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:
We’re into the final push of solid May sales – with many new ones this week returning. As I’ve noted in more detail on my sales landing page, May sales are very common. One of the best deals here is the Garmin FR735 for $315 (normally $450). It’s still receiving Connect IQ and feature updates and is just barely one year old. Great little lightweight tri/running watch.
Oh – and for some weird reason an entry in the table for ‘All Suunto gear is 25% off’ isn’t showing up. I’ve got some techies trying to figure it out, but FYI. Note that the only watch excluded is the Wrist HR model on that one.
Product
Sale Price
Amazon
Other site
Sale Notes
4iiii Precision Ride-Ready Power Meters - $100 off!
This is for their non-drive power meter, in either the 'Ride-Ready' config (they send you a completed unit), or $50 off for the factory-install (where you send in your crank arm). The Ride Ready option is really a solid deal, considering you get a reliable power meter for $235.
Ride Ready R7000 - 30% off
Ride Ready R8000 - 20% off
Factory Install - 20% off
9th Gen Apple 10.2-inch iPad (Wi-Fi, 64GB) - $100 off!
⚡ This is an awesome deal. I use my iPad primarily for TrainerRoad as well as Zwift when not with a larger display. I also occasionally use it for other apps, namely Wahoo SYSTM, Rouvy, and Peloton. But I pretty much test every smart trainer app on it. For all these cycling apps, the graphics capabilities is really pretty irrelevant, so having the absolute top-end/latest model won't make any difference. I prefer the budget options.
I've been using these the past few months, after years of using the Beats Studio Buds...man, these things rock. My wife has already started stealing them, which means she'll probably get a set for Christmas so she'll stop sealing them.
⚡I make no secret how much I utilize AirTags, mainly, cause they've saved my butt numerous times already. We have them in every suitcase, and every backpack, and every bike bag. They're also hidden in most of our bikes (sometimes two of them). We were able to get our cargo bike back when it disappeared, as well as figure out when all our suitcases went missing during an annual family vacation where they were (for 5 days!), and plan appropriately. Seriously, just get them.
These aren't the latest anymore, that's the newer 3rd gen units. But if budget is in mind, it's hard to beat these. It's still what my wife uses as her daily driver, including tons of time on the indoor trainer/bike.
⚡This is now the lowest price we've ever seen the Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) - a very solid deal, especially with the new WatchOS 10 features adding in offline topo mapping, power meter support, and plenty more.
This is Apple's latest Apple Watch model, and did quite well in my review when it launched about two months ago. Especially notable is all the new sports/fitness features it got this year, such as cycling power meter/sensor support.
This is really the first slate of sales we've seen on the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and the lowest price to date. Note: It'll show $739, and then to get the full extra $10 more off, you have to check that 'Apply Coupon' button under the price.
There's just no competition in our minds on the best running stroller - it's what we used with all three of our kiddos for everyting from intervals to 20-mile long runs. In fact, we actually have two of them - one at home in Europe, and one with family in Canada that we picked up used. Go Bob Go!
The DJI Avata is DJI's smaller form factor FPV drone, and one of my favorites to fly. I don't use it all the time, but more for very specific things requiring a bit more agility (whereas most of the times I'll use the DJI Mini 4 Pro, Air 3, or Mavic 3 Pro).
There's definitely something cool about seeing a sub-$300 drone. And there's nothing wrong with this drone, it's very good. Just be careful though, because it's lack of 360* obstacle avoidance means it's pretty easy to get yourself in a pinch for a beginner drone.
Up till the Mini 4 Pro came out, this was my go-to drone. It's what I shot almost all my drone footage from, and is great for both cycling and hiking (or trail running with a hydration pack to hold it), as it's super lightweight and includes everything you need.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the DJI Mini 4 Pro on sale, for a product DJI rarely discounts so soon after release. This is a great drone, and my go-to unit now for most trips.
⚡ This is by far the lowest price we've ever seen on the Elite Suito or Suito-T trainers. Note: The Suito-T is the same exact trainer as the Suito, except without the cassette pre-installed. Also, no idea why it says normally $473, as it's definitely not.
⚡ This is a strong deal from Favero, who is offering their Favero Assioma Duo pedals for 200EUR off. You'll pay the current exchange rate. The exact deal will vary based on which country you're shipping to.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the new Fenix 7 Pro series on sale, and it's a nice strong sale. The smaller Fenix 7S Pro watch has become my wife's go-to watch since it came out, for all of her training and 24x7 usage.
⚡⚡⚡ This is a crazy super strong deal, with Amazon having it as low as $449 (insane). Note that the Epix Gen 2 has continued to receive virtually all of the Epix Pro new features firmware updates. Also note: This deal is *STILL* available. Sometimes you'll have to click to show other retailers (on the right side), but it's still live.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the new Epix Pro series on sale, and it's a nice strong sale. I'd say this is probably my go-to watch these days (middle-sized one), with the singular reason I tend to choose it over the Forerunner 965, being the built-in flashlight for night.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the new Epix Pro series on sale, and it's a nice strong sale. I'd say this is probably my go-to watch these days (middle-sized one), with the singular reason I tend to choose it over the Forerunner 965, being the built-in flashlight for night.
⚡⚡⚡ This is a crazy super strong deal, with Amazon having it as low as $499 for Sapphire edition (insane). Note that the Epix Gen 2 has continued to receive virtually all of the Epix Pro new features firmware updates.
[Note: This is a renewed unit] Obviously, the Fenix 6 isn't the latest anymore, but these are still very capable watches and frankly, at $329, there's absolutely nothing from any of their even brand-new competitor watches (COROS, Polar, Suunto, etc...) that can even remotely compete with the features here. Heck, not even Garmin's own pricing for their Fenix 7 Pro can compete with this. Fwiw, all Garmin renewed units go back to the same factory original units came from. Frankly, there's virtually no difference. If you're on a budget, this is where it's at.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the new Fenix 7 Pro series on sale, and it's a nice strong sale. The smaller Fenix 7S Pro watch has become my wife's go-to watch since it came out, for all of her training and 24x7 usage.
⚡This is a strong deal if you don't care about the new optical heart rate sensor (including ECG) of the newer Fenix 7 Pro, especially given the Fenix 7 series has received virtually all of the Fenix 7 Pro's new software features, keeping them essentially identical.
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 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 this is now the lowest price we've ever seen on it. 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.
This is one of Garmin's most popular running watches, and this is now the lowest price we've ever seen on it. I often use this in my accuracy testing comparisons when validating other watches, due to it's very strong GPS performance. This is the SOLAR edition.
This is a good deal, especially considering the Instinct 2 series got Training Readiness and a host of other new features over the course of just this year alone.
This is a great deal at $199 for the smaller 2S units, especially considering the Instinct 2 series got Training Readiness and a host of other new features over the course of just this year alone. Plus of course all the existing triathlon/power meter/etc support it has built-in.
This is the first time we've seen the Instinct 2X on sale, and since announcement it's received a huge slate of firmware updates and new features. 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 my defacto satellite communicator when out of coverage area, and I've used it on a number of major treks over the past two years when well outside of cellular service, both in a 24x7 tracking mode for friends and family, but also there in case of emergency. Would strongly recommend for anyone doing anything in the wilderness.
We have more Nest cam's than I can count. No really, we have half a dozen at the DCR Cave alone, plus more at home. We love them. Nest Cam's really only go on sale about 1-2x per year.
These are the WiFi mesh access points I use both at home and the DCR Cave. Love them - I don't need to dork with them, they just work. Sure, there are fancier 'Pro' versions now, but really, I just have zero issues.
While the new Pixel Watch 2 just came out a month ago, the Pixel Watch 2 got almost all the software features two weeks ago via software update. The Pixel Watch 2 does have a slightly better optical HR sensor, and better battery life, but otherwise is relatively similiar.
⚡The Karoo 2 is down to $299 ($100 off), but you can use DCR coupon code DCRAIN40 to get an additional $40 off, bringing it down to $259!!! A very solid deal given all the software updates it's received!
This is one of the other more popular display-laden rowing machines. I haven't tried this, but my sports-tech reviewing buddy DesFit has (linked at side) and liked it.
Hyperice Normatec 3 Leg Recovery System - $100 off
I actually quite like the Insat360 Go 3 and the combo of tiny form factor when you want it, and screen-box when you don't. I'm not sure $20 off is a sale worth jumping out of your seat for, but hey...a sale is a sale.
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!
Lasko High Velocity Pro-Performance Fan (U15617) - 23% off
This is one of the most popular indoor trainer fan companies out there, which rivals the Wahoo Headwind fan but cost a fraction of the price. Of course, it lacks ANT+/Bluetooth integration, but realistically if you really want that you can add a smart outlet for $10 to toggle it on/off from your phone if need be. I've actually got this fan in the DCR Cave recently on advice of many people.
Nespresso Vertuo Next Coffee & Espresso Kit - 30% off
⚡ Let's be honest: This place runs on Nespresso (or, well, the knock-off pods we buy). But, the machine is Nespresso. Without it, reviews most definitely would not get done (and certainly not on time). This is a pretty sweet deal if you ask me!
We use one of these and so far after just about five years, it's working great for us. Love it, and works better than trying to stick a regular Nest Cam out the window (since it'll reflect both during daytime and at night with the IR sensor).
⚡ I know, I know, I still owe everyone a review. Nonetheless, 2+ years later, I love this thing. We use it for more than pizza too, notably steaks (to get a really crispy sear). But a lot of pizza. It's completely portable, even easily fitting on our cargo bike. Note that I went with this model, the cheapest one they make, as I realized that buying the higher-end models that that support gas didn't make much sense for me. I have a gas grill already (and could easily just put a stone on it). Similarly, while a large 16" is appealing, realistically I've found this 12" more than enough for pretty substantial personal pizzas (and it makes it easier to handle). Full in-depth review pretty soon...probably. Also, $244 appears to be the lowest price ever.
I believe this is the lowest price we've ever seen on the original/base Peloton Bike model (without a bundle required). This is still a solid bike, and actually one that I use at home (I have the newer Peloton Bike+ at the office). Both my wife and I use these bikes interchangeably, and while the Bike+ has a bigger screen and better accuracy, there's very little difference in the core Peloton experience. I'd still recommend this model to most people. Note Peloton has stated/confirmed there will be no 'bigger discounts' on products during this holiday period.
This is a solid deal for the Bike+. Both my wife and I use both the Peloton Bike+ and the regular Bike (one at home, one at office) on a weekly basis. We like both. The Bike+ is more accurate than the regular bike, and also has a bigger screen and automatic resistance control. That said, the core Peloton experience isn't any different between the two - it's the same platform there. Note Peloton has stated/confirmed there will be no 'bigger discounts' on products during this holiday period.
Peloton has the Peloton Row on sale, both this base unit here, but also various bundled units as well. This is the first times we've seen the base unit (non-bundled) on sale.
This is a great dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart (with two Bluetooth Smart connections) chest strap that you'll often find me using as a reference strap in heart rate sensor testing. We only tend to see deals on it around Black Friday, always topping out around 20%. Note, the medium- size is the one on sale.
We have a few SONOS speakers around the house and DCR Cave (the Ikea variants at DCR Cave), but by far our favorite is the Roam, which we take outdoors into the garden during the summer, beach vacations, AirBNB's, etc... It has a battery in it, and also connects to both WiFi and Bluetooth. Love, love, love
I use a literal flotilla of these small SSD's for all my photo/video projects until they get moved off to the NAS system (Synology) for longer term storage. I have T5/T7 units, and are picking up a few of the larger T9 ones given the sale prices. Love them, incredibly fast and reliable.
⚡I use the SanDisk Extreme Pro SD Cards exclusively for all my video/photo shooting on my Panasonic GH5 and Nikon cameras (video and stills), including up to 6K recording with the GH5. I've mostly used 128's, but more and more lately I'm filling up cards faster with higher bitrates, so this sale is gonna have me pickup a bunch of the 256GB ones instead. The 128GB/ 512GB/1TB ones are also on sale too viathe same link. Note that usually I wait till these are about $40-45, so this is a fantastic deal and I'll be filling up.
⚡ A very solid deal, making it the least expensive smart bike out there. Note that while the deal is marketed as being 37% off, most of the time the bike floats between $2,500 and $2,800. Still - $1,999 is very solid.
This is the first time we've seen the new Suunto Vertical on sale, and especially notable given the huge firmware update it got this past week with tons of new features from the also-new Suunto Race watch.
⚡⚡ Holy crap, this is an incredible deal. Get this while it's hot and lasts. Note that you can also pair this with the NEO Motion Plates, which would give you a slight bit of forward/back rolling motion.
This is arguably my wife's favorite sports tech gadget. She uses it pretty much daily. Thus, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention this deal. Also, please don't tell her, she might just buy another one...
My wife uses the Theragun Elite, which is just slightly more expensive than this model at $299 on sale right now. But hey, I hear good things about all of these.
⚡⚡ This deal is back, and it's a pretty incredible deal. It's the Wahoo KICKR CORE down to $499, which REI briefly did this past June. Nobody else seems to be offering this deal, and even though the KICKR CORE got the price reduced to $599 recently, it's virtually unheard of to see these trainers below the $500 marker.
⚡ This is a very solid deal that happens twice a year, if you were looking at the Wahoo power meter pedals, grab these before this disappears (and it usually disappears). As with the Garmin Rally pedals, I continue to use Wahoo power meter pedals for accuracy testing of other brands/units.
⚡ This is a very solid deal that happens twice a year, if you were looking at the Wahoo power meter pedals, grab these before this disappears (and it usually disappears). As with the Garmin Rally pedals, I continue to use Wahoo power meter pedals for accuracy testing of other brands/units.
⚡ At some point, everything becomes a steal. While the Wahoo RIVAL struggles to be comepetitive with higher-end watches, at $99, it's a pretty crazy deal - especially for triathletes where Wahoo does some cool stuff around automatic transitions.
I've long been a fan of the Withings WiFi scales, especially since they can connect/push data to so many platforms, including Zwift! Note that the Body+ simply includes more data.
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) Kickstarter adds hardware studio offering to help creators: This is a good step towards trying to minimize the countless delayed hardware projects on Kickstarter. But a better step would be Kickstarter adding repercussions for hardware startups that don’t have realistic plans to begin with. You know, accountability and all that. Still far too many projects pass through Kickstarter’s supposed filters that just aren’t viable with the timelines they set out.
2) Secrets of a Pro Photographer: Maven has done some awesome Giro vlogs, especially in the last few days. Between this one and the one yesterday – he’s really finding his groove. I would say on the photographer one that yes, it’s a bit long. And it might seem a bit ‘cold’ earlier on in the first few minutes, but then it feels like Jered warms up a bit and the content is really interesting.
3) Tour of California Data Numbers: While many teams publish pro data as part of larger compilations, this blog series is actually fairly detailed with a Q&A with the rider themselves on different data aspects. Cool stuff.
4) Inside the Race Caravan at the ToC: Speaking of the Tour of California, this is an awesome piece by Neal Rogers written in real-time from inside one of the Team Sky vehicles. I think this could turn into a great series.
5) Sniper vs GoPro: And I now know how I’m going to justify any future GoPro purchases to The Girl: “But it could save my life!!!”. Seriously though, glad this guy is (mostly) OK. (sent in via Ken)
6) Tidbit on a Runners World vs Nike feud: Interesting post outlining what happened when Runners World published a piece that said Nike wasn’t the best shoe model one year. Looks a bit like Lance Armstrong tactics. On the flipside, when you (a publisher) bite the hand that feeds you (advertising)…and that’s what’s wrong with that model when it comes to reviews. (via Steve Magness)
7) Endless pool swimming file creator: This is pretty nifty. If you’ve got an endless pool you can insert your time and pace, and then the app will automatically determine distance. From there it creates a .TCX file you can upload to various swim platforms. Brilliant. Would love to see this in some sort of watch-app form as well.
8) Heli mountain biking? Why yes, I’d be happy to complete a detailed review of your rack (done in flight of course). I’m glad you asked!
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.
With the big Suunto sale happening, for pure running (26.2 training) with a Stryd footpod and the occasional bike ride without a power meter, Suunto spartan sport or Suunto ambit 3 sport?
To clarify, the goal is to get pace and distance from the footpod while still being able to get a gps track after the run to view where you ran, i.e., ability to keep gps on. If the m430 is an option that is fine as well, but from what I understand the garmin 230 cannot get pace and distance from the footpod unless you turn gps off.
I dont know, im going with what fellrnr wrote and also what it seems the guys at stryd have told me. To me it is confusing because how would gps need to be shut off if you have footpod set to control pace/distance? Seems then that live track would also become nullified. That makes it pretty useless.
The FR230 can be configured to always get pace from the foot pod. This means you can view and record pace from the foot pod whether the GPS is on or off.
However, the FR230 watch defaults to GPS for distance. It is necessary to disable GPS to force the watch to get distance from the foot pod.
Interested in the Sports Tech Deals however, how to order with these discounts and terms from Europe as do not wish to pay import duties and VAT upon delivery – thought Clever Training have European centre now for this but I cannot see this ?
International stuff is tricky (no matter the direction). Take the Garmin deals for example, Garmin only offers those to US retailers, and not UK retailers. And a company like Clever can’t cross-ship items from the US to UK to bridge that gap, it’s considered a no-no.
That said, I was talking to CT about this very thing today on how to potentially offer Europe-specific deals. There have been a few, but it’s challenging to get manufs on board.
Inversely though, within the US retailers have to get permission to discount, whereas the rest of the world considers that practice illegal.
Yeah, that’d be ideal. It’s funny, when I saw that I thought to myself: How on earth is this not a mode in a Garmin watch already? It seems like it’d be simple just like the Swimming Drill mode. Simply set the pace/speed and then press start. Then it automatically takes stroke and time information and boom – perfect files.
Considering all the silly sport modes we have, this seems like an easy one.
I have an Endless Pool, and this is how I use my F3HR to record my swims: I set lap length to 100m, and then I set Alerts to whatever pace I have the pool set to, ie: 2:15. That way after 2 minutes and 15 seconds, I get an alert on my watch, then I hit my lap button to mark 100m and continue on, repeating every 2:15 minutes. At the end of my swim, I get the correct distance, time, and stroke analysis, assuming I don’t pause and accidentally trigger a lap count.
But, if anyone ends up making a proper Connect IQ app for the endless pool, let me know! 😀
Any thoughts on a optical heart rate sports/running watch/tracker for a smaller wrist? The 13 year old could use one but the vivoactive HR and the vivosmart(s) look big on him. Wants to record his training runs, etc.
I’d agree, a Scosche under the t-shirt works great, along with a cheaper/smaller GPS watch. You can often find a Garmin FR15/25 on sale for about $60-$80.
They actually have been maintaining feature parity to date. It’s simply that the Fenix team is releasing more betas than the Forerunner team. So it probably looks a bit skewed. But if you go back to the most recent FR935 update, it matches that of the corresponding Fenix 5 updates (though the release notes don’t quite match, the actual content does).
The Heli bike rack guys need to travel a bit – people have been doing it for several years in NZ, such as Helibke Nelson link to helibikenelson.co.nz (Disclaimer, this is a good friend’s company)
If you want to see how to move a lot of bike via chopper at once, here is a option 😉 : link to goo.gl
Any idea when the Tacx Neo Smart will actually be available? I’ve been following the seemingly predictable availability-delays on CT and a bunch of other sites, and am starting to lose faith that they’ll ever be back and available to purchase (not talking about the initially released model…talking about the “newer” one designed to address the initial bugs). I keep reading how it’s one of the best trainers out there, and the lack of an actual flywheel is a big plus for me (no vibrations), but I just can’t find where it’s actually available. Even your REI link says it’s not available.
Ray, I am a car guy. What did you think of your Fiat Abarth Spider 124? It is referred to as a Fiata because it is built at the same plant in Japan where the MX5 Miata ND model is built. Miata has NA engine while the Fiat is a turbo. Well that is enough about that.
Nick:)
Hi, really appreciate your reviews. I use Garmin products, i.e. Edge 1000 and radar. Do you know if Garmin are developing an accessory battery pack? I find the radar is good and useful, especially when riding country roads by oneself, but limited battery life. I envisage an external battery that has the male versions of the 1/4 turn mount on the back with the female version of the 1/4 mount on the front. Hope that makes sense.
Was just wondering if you were planning to review the new Favero Assioma pedals. The information provided available on the net is limited at best, however indicates that they should be easier to install (assumed like the P1’s) with the only information on pricing being a price hidden on a website but shown in Google for $1200 Australian dollars for the dual sided version. Should all of this be correct, they would have to be going to five the P1’s a bit of a shake.
The price will be the same as the BePro, 799€ according to their website. Sounds very promising, if all the description is true, it will definitely start a price drop among the pedal power meters
Stryd Firmware version 1.1.2 gives you improved power on downhills due to improved capturing of eccentric loading, giving you the power to attack the downhill!
Ray, what are your thoughts on the ( Decathlon) Géonaute Onmove 500 ?. It’s cheap ( €99.99) and apparentely has a philips OHR. For that price I can imagine it being an interesting choice for people in Europe. (I’d personally think this watch is probably crap… knowing previous geonaute watches… )
Hello Ray, can You answer this question about Geonaute onmove 500, can You test it? Or You do test only expensive trade marks like Garmin, Suunto, TomTom. Thank You for reaction. Richard
The main reason is I try and focus on items that have global availability (or at least North American + Europe availability). Or planned availability anyway.
With Geonaute, it’s largely the arm of Decathlon, which is mostly just available in Europe. 🙁
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![WeekInReview_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb[1]](https://media.dcrainmaker.com/images/2017/05/WeekInReview_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb11.jpg "WeekInReview_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb[1]")
With the big Suunto sale happening, for pure running (26.2 training) with a Stryd footpod and the occasional bike ride without a power meter, Suunto spartan sport or Suunto ambit 3 sport?
To clarify, the goal is to get pace and distance from the footpod while still being able to get a gps track after the run to view where you ran, i.e., ability to keep gps on. If the m430 is an option that is fine as well, but from what I understand the garmin 230 cannot get pace and distance from the footpod unless you turn gps off.
I thought the FR230 order of precedence is footpod if connected over GPS, no? I’ll have to double-check if something is different in recent firmware.
I dont know, im going with what fellrnr wrote and also what it seems the guys at stryd have told me. To me it is confusing because how would gps need to be shut off if you have footpod set to control pace/distance? Seems then that live track would also become nullified. That makes it pretty useless.
Disclaimer: I am with Stryd
Hi Josh,
The FR230 can be configured to always get pace from the foot pod. This means you can view and record pace from the foot pod whether the GPS is on or off.
However, the FR230 watch defaults to GPS for distance. It is necessary to disable GPS to force the watch to get distance from the foot pod.
Best,
Angus
Interested in the Sports Tech Deals however, how to order with these discounts and terms from Europe as do not wish to pay import duties and VAT upon delivery – thought Clever Training have European centre now for this but I cannot see this ?
International stuff is tricky (no matter the direction). Take the Garmin deals for example, Garmin only offers those to US retailers, and not UK retailers. And a company like Clever can’t cross-ship items from the US to UK to bridge that gap, it’s considered a no-no.
That said, I was talking to CT about this very thing today on how to potentially offer Europe-specific deals. There have been a few, but it’s challenging to get manufs on board.
Inversely though, within the US retailers have to get permission to discount, whereas the rest of the world considers that practice illegal.
Awesome to see that there’s finally a way to get a file for endless pool swims. Is there a way to get stroke info at all? I’m guessing not…
Still, cool stuff. I wonder if someday we’ll see a Connect IQ app for it – maybe the people from Endless Pool would be interested in making their own?
Also wow… I wonder if that GoPro still worked in any capacity, since they said (only the case got damaged). That’s crazy.
And heli-biking looks AWESOME, but I do wonder how you make sure that people don’t lose/drop their bikes holding onto them on the way down?
Thanks again for all the awesomeness. Good stuff.
Yeah, that’d be ideal. It’s funny, when I saw that I thought to myself: How on earth is this not a mode in a Garmin watch already? It seems like it’d be simple just like the Swimming Drill mode. Simply set the pace/speed and then press start. Then it automatically takes stroke and time information and boom – perfect files.
Considering all the silly sport modes we have, this seems like an easy one.
I have an Endless Pool, and this is how I use my F3HR to record my swims: I set lap length to 100m, and then I set Alerts to whatever pace I have the pool set to, ie: 2:15. That way after 2 minutes and 15 seconds, I get an alert on my watch, then I hit my lap button to mark 100m and continue on, repeating every 2:15 minutes. At the end of my swim, I get the correct distance, time, and stroke analysis, assuming I don’t pause and accidentally trigger a lap count.
But, if anyone ends up making a proper Connect IQ app for the endless pool, let me know! 😀
Ray,
Any thoughts on a optical heart rate sports/running watch/tracker for a smaller wrist? The 13 year old could use one but the vivoactive HR and the vivosmart(s) look big on him. Wants to record his training runs, etc.
thanks,
Adam
Get him the Scosche arm band, it is so easy and comfortable to use. That way you can use it too!!
I’d agree, a Scosche under the t-shirt works great, along with a cheaper/smaller GPS watch. You can often find a Garmin FR15/25 on sale for about $60-$80.
Is the Garmin 935 likely to keep feature parity with the Fenix 5 variants? It seems that it is not included in the feature updates.
They actually have been maintaining feature parity to date. It’s simply that the Fenix team is releasing more betas than the Forerunner team. So it probably looks a bit skewed. But if you go back to the most recent FR935 update, it matches that of the corresponding Fenix 5 updates (though the release notes don’t quite match, the actual content does).
The Heli bike rack guys need to travel a bit – people have been doing it for several years in NZ, such as Helibke Nelson link to helibikenelson.co.nz (Disclaimer, this is a good friend’s company)
If you want to see how to move a lot of bike via chopper at once, here is a option 😉 : link to goo.gl
Any idea when the Tacx Neo Smart will actually be available? I’ve been following the seemingly predictable availability-delays on CT and a bunch of other sites, and am starting to lose faith that they’ll ever be back and available to purchase (not talking about the initially released model…talking about the “newer” one designed to address the initial bugs). I keep reading how it’s one of the best trainers out there, and the lack of an actual flywheel is a big plus for me (no vibrations), but I just can’t find where it’s actually available. Even your REI link says it’s not available.
Thanks.
Ray, I am a car guy. What did you think of your Fiat Abarth Spider 124? It is referred to as a Fiata because it is built at the same plant in Japan where the MX5 Miata ND model is built. Miata has NA engine while the Fiat is a turbo. Well that is enough about that.
Nick:)
Hi, really appreciate your reviews. I use Garmin products, i.e. Edge 1000 and radar. Do you know if Garmin are developing an accessory battery pack? I find the radar is good and useful, especially when riding country roads by oneself, but limited battery life. I envisage an external battery that has the male versions of the 1/4 turn mount on the back with the female version of the 1/4 mount on the front. Hope that makes sense.
Regards,
Blayne
Was just wondering if you were planning to review the new Favero Assioma pedals. The information provided available on the net is limited at best, however indicates that they should be easier to install (assumed like the P1’s) with the only information on pricing being a price hidden on a website but shown in Google for $1200 Australian dollars for the dual sided version. Should all of this be correct, they would have to be going to five the P1’s a bit of a shake.
Yup, though, it sounds like it won’t be till later this summer that it’s available.
The price will be the same as the BePro, 799€ according to their website. Sounds very promising, if all the description is true, it will definitely start a price drop among the pedal power meters
STRYD FootPOD got a new firmware update to!!
Stryd Firmware version 1.1.2 gives you improved power on downhills due to improved capturing of eccentric loading, giving you the power to attack the downhill!
Ray, what are your thoughts on the ( Decathlon) Géonaute Onmove 500 ?. It’s cheap ( €99.99) and apparentely has a philips OHR. For that price I can imagine it being an interesting choice for people in Europe. (I’d personally think this watch is probably crap… knowing previous geonaute watches… )
Hello Ray, can You answer this question about Geonaute onmove 500, can You test it? Or You do test only expensive trade marks like Garmin, Suunto, TomTom. Thank You for reaction. Richard
I don’t at present have any plans to test it.
The main reason is I try and focus on items that have global availability (or at least North American + Europe availability). Or planned availability anyway.
With Geonaute, it’s largely the arm of Decathlon, which is mostly just available in Europe. 🙁
Pioneer has a new deal, free computer with the power meter. Ok, same as the deal last year. link to pioneerelectronics.com