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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–June 25th, 2017
Monday: DJI Spark In-Depth Review
Tuesday: 5 Random Things I Did This Weekend in Sardinia
Thursday: Polar M430 In-Depth Review
Saturday: Tour de France 2017–The Trainers, Power Meters and Gadgets of the Pro Peloton
Sports Tech Deals This Week:
With the start of July brings a fresh wave of new sports tech deals. More interestingly, some of these are actually Europe-specific, which is a rarity around these parts! I’ve noted which ones specifically are Europe-focused.
| Product | Sale Price | Amazon | Other site | Sale Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Apple AirPods with Wireless Charging Case - $50 Off! | $149 | Amazon | ⚡ I use AirPods primarily when I'm travelling just to listen in airports, planes, etc... I don't tend to use these for workouts due to them falling out. Personally, I just use the basic model. | |
 | Apple Airpods (2nd Gen) - $30 off $159 | $119 | Amazon | I use AirPods primarily when I'm travelling just to listen in airports, planes, etc... I don't tend to use these for workouts due to them falling out. | |
 | Apple Airpods Pro - $30 off! $249 | $219 | Amazon | ||
 | Garmin Edge 130 Plus - 25% off! $199 | $149 | Amazon | REI | This is the first time we've seen the Edge 130 Plus on sale. The 'Plus' variant is notable compared to the regular unit for having ClimbPro on it, plus a handful of other tweaks. $149 is a good deal for it. |
 | Garmin Edge 130 Plus Bundle - 20% off! | $199 | Amazon | Competitive Cyclist | This is the first time we've seen the Edge 130 Plus on sale. The 'Plus' variant is notable compared to the regular unit for having ClimbPro on it, plus a handful of other tweaks. This bundle includes a heart rate chest strap as well. |
 | Garmin Forerunner 935 $499 | $269 | Amazon | ⚡ Sure, it's not the latest edition, but the FR935 is the staple of many triathletes and runners, and it still an incredibly solid watch. We saw this a bit lower last summer on Amazon Prime Day ($239) - but beyond that, this is pretty darn low. Also, I say $100-$200 off, because the 'base' price fluctuates a bit these days. Sometimes retail is $399 sometimes $499. | |
 | Garmin Instinct - $100 off $299 | $189 | Amazon | Sure, the new Solar variants came out last summer with a few new features, but at their core the Instincts are mostly the same. $189 is still a strong price for this watch. | |
 | Garmin RVR315 Varia Radar - Save 20% | $120 | Amazon | Competitive Cyclist | I believe this is the first sale of the Garmin Varia RVR315 cycling radar. This unit doesn't have a taillight, so it's a bit smaller as a result. Same radar tech though, and compatible with Garmin/Stages/Hammerhead/Wahoo bike computers. |
 | Garmin Vivoactive 4/4S - $100 off $299 | $249 | Amazon | This is Garmin's current offering to compete with the Apple Watch series (alongside the Garmin Venu), and this is a good price, though, it does go lower from time to time (not since Black Friday 2020). | |
 | GoPro Hero 9 Black - $50 off | $399 | Amazon | REI | ⚡ This is the camera I use for all my daily shooting during sports. Actually, I've bought a few of them. Note that if you're a GoPro Plus Subscriber, then it's a bit cheaper at $349 from GoPro directly, but otherwise, it's $449. |
 | GoPro Max - $50 off $499 | $449 | Amazon | REI |
Also of note is that ELEMNT $80 rebate for the larger unit. Helps to equalize the price compared to the smaller BOLT. Both contain the same software, though the larger unit has an additional LED stripe.
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) A Breakdown of of a Tour de France Team Bus: Neat little look at what it costs to run a TdF team bus. (via My Dad)
2) Fitbit Sleep Study: Pretty cool charts and breakdowns of how much and how different millions of Fitbit users sleep on average, divided up by age groups and all assortment of metrics. (via Ernesto R.)
3) I’m over on the latest Cycling Maven TDF Vlog! Boom, now I’ve made it! Awesome to run into him while running around.
4) Tour de France massive infographic: Ok, this is the week of infographics – but if there’s any infographic to look at, it’s this incredible four-page one put together by Le Tour themselves. I think I read through it for 10 minutes.
5) Science people – please stop doing this: Yet another study doubles-down on doubling optical HR sensors per wrist. Just don’t. Really, don’t.
6) Yes, EPO impacts sports performance: Why do you ask?
7) The Pain Cave: A look into an apparent obsession with it and everything about it.
8) Using drones to study America’s Cup Riders: This is pretty crazy. Though, it doesn’t surprise me. Just this week I got asked questions about which drones would be best for doing form studies on rowers. (via Robin Crimp)
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 Fenix 5/5S/5X/Chronos BETA firmware update: A couple more new features, and a boatload of tweaks/fixes.
Polar M430 Firmware Update: Fixes some bugs, fully implements GPS-A caching
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Thanks for reading!
Any chance you could ask Garmin why the 935 preferentially syncs via (slow) Bluetooth rather than (speedy) wifi even when I’m 10 feet from my router? I end up turning off Bluetooth just before saving to force it. Damn annoying!
I believe it’s supposed to search for WiFi for 5 minutes after ending a workout, then shuts that off to save battery since it’s a pretty big drain.
Erythropoetin doesn’t have immediate effect, like other hormones (adrenaline, ADH, Oxytocine, etc.). It is stimulating the bone marrow to produce red blood cells. This production takes time.
If you read somewhere, that during a race Lance applied an EPO to go faster or in the mentioned study/experiment users noticed difference in performance, it is a lie!
If you want to increase your haematocrit (ratio between bood cells and plasma), you must plan long term. By means, you must calculate the buffer dose and the maintaining dose as well, the time intervals you need to apply EPO and also the level of concentration of the red blood cells you want to reach without side effect (like, avoiding thrombosis).
This is a proof that Lance was using EPO for years and his physician set up the intervals, because he couldn’t do it alone…
And by the way, EPO is used as supplementary treatment at breast cancer, because the cytostatics used for treatment are destroying the bone marrow and as the result, the number of Erytrocytes are decreasing.
That’s all you need to know.
Every other publication round EPO are empty words… blablabla…
Maybe Garmin can start focusing on fixing the Fenix5 Ant+/Bluetooth and GPS accuracy issues. I can’t even use a Garmin HRM chest strap, let alone my $200 Stryd footpod, which is currently sitting on my desk due to Garmin dropouts. Of course I really wouldn’t need the Stryd anymore if the GPS and instant pace were more in line with the past Garmin devices I’ve own.
Garmins response everytime: “Please wait for updated firmware..”
The Stryd thing is a known of course, but the HR strap thing shouldn’t be happening. I’d push back on Garmin support to either replace your HR strap or your watch.
Thanks for the advice. Garmin is remaining firm that my device is fine, and the ANT+ / GPS issues will be addressed in future firmware updates. Unfortunately, this isn’t my first rodeo trying to get a replacement. My FR235 had a faulty oHRM, and it took me nearly two months to get it replaced.
Based on my recent conversations with the Stryd folks, they seem to believe this is a hardware issue with a weak signal. I wonder if Garmin could implement a “High Accuracy” mode on the Fenix, which will sacrifice some battery life to boost the hardware signals. I would be more than fine with that.
It bums me out that Garmins flagship device, at $700 USD for my Fenix 5 sapphire, is still having issues. I’ve been using my wife’s FR235 for the more important training runs and races.
OT: Is there any cycle computer or gps watch compatible with Galileo satellites?
I checked http://www.usegalileo.eu but no sport device is listed.
I’m not aware of any, no. Is there a specific reason you’re looking for one though that is?
Yes, reason being the claimed increased accuracy. Thinking of offroad rides that tend to go haywire in the woods.
One of the Rowers here you spoke to about the Drones – In the sport we are starting to see more and more used to get some cool shots, my own video which I filmed a few weeks back came out really well for example
link to youtube.com
That was a Bebop 2 using a follow me app on my phone, cam out rather well
The main concern is landing/crashing into the water but there do seem to be more waterproof drones appearing which would be more suitable
Gotta say – that footage is astounding, especially for just being 720p.
Well done!
Thanks! One of those days where the conditions were just perfect for getting good quality footage, even as an amateur.
This last week the Henley Royal Regatta has just been and gone which has a much more professional set up and has fully embraced Drones, 360 cameras etc – check it out here
link to youtube.com
A good example of the drone footage is in this video from 5mins in where you can see the crews racing and the people on the river and bank enjoying the event. The Drone is a specially built drone carrying a Sony P1 and livestreaming over UHF for the live youtube video – amazing stuff
link to youtu.be
In fairness, in your “Science people please stop doing this …”, they were not testing optical HR, but activity trackers (including 2 phones on belt) and were also switching locations, so I’m not sure that it wasn’t a perfectly good approach (there is no link to the full study). The tweeter, however, seemed to have problem with it, but I’m not sure he isn’t just wrong.
Not bad to reiterate your point as regards OHR, though!
True, though even with activity trackers you see accuracy issues with bumpage against each other.
The clever training UK discount doesnt seem to be being applied to an Edge 1000, Its shows as £439.99 on Clevertraining but only £325.59 on Amazon.co.uk.
Am I missing something?
Apparently I misunderstood and the discount is only applied to the bundle in this case, and not the non-bundle. Sorry! I’ve updated.