JUMP TO:

Week in Review – December 4th, 2017

WeekInReview_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb

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–Nov 26th, 2017
Monday: 5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Thursday: Garmin Vector 3 Power Meter In-Depth Review

Sports Tech Deals of Note:

Despite what you might think – the sports tech deals are cruisin’ on!  In fact, especially for Europe, which has seen the lowest prices ever for many items, much of which is still matching Black Friday sales.  All of these are detailed on the massive deals post that I still keep updating.

Still, here’s the rundown of major deals still cookin’:

Wearables:

ProductSale PriceAmazonOther siteSale Notes
Amazfit Cheetah Pro - $30 off!$269
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen with USB-C) - $60 off$189I'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.
Apple Airpods (2nd Gen) - $40 off!
$159
$89These 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.
Apple Watch SE (2022/2nd gen) - $70 off
$249/$299 (cellular)
$179⚡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.
Apple Watch Series 9 - $70 off
$399/$499 (cellular)
$329This 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.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 - $70 off!$729This 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.
CORE Body Temperature Sensor - 20% off$227Both myself and my wife used these this past summer and fall, in particular as she was training for Kona and preparing for the heat.
FORM Swim Goggles (with heads-up display) - $70 off!$179This includes both the goggle, and a 1-year membership to their training/coaching platform.
Fenix 7 Pro Solar Series (7S/7/7X Pro) - $200 off!
$799+
$599⚡ 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.
Fitbit Charge 6 - 38% off!
$159
$99Given this is barely two months old, this is a pretty substantial deal - especially if you don't utilize the built-in GPS side of the device.
Fitbit Sense 2 - $50 off$249This isn't quite the biggest sale we've seen, so I'd expect it to go a bit lower over Black Friday.
Garmin Epix (Gen 2) - $350 off!
$899/$999
From $449⚡⚡⚡ 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.
Garmin Epix Pro Series (Sapphire Editions) - $200 off!$799⚡ 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.
Garmin Epix Pro Series - $200 off!
$899/$999
$699⚡ 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.
Garmin Epix Sapphire Titanium (Gen 2) - $400 off!$449⚡⚡⚡ 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.
Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Series
$549-$1,149
$329[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.
Garmin Fenix 7 Pro Solar Sapphire Series (7S/7/7X Pro) - $200 off!
$799+
$699⚡ 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.
Garmin Fenix 7 Series (All Models/Styles) - $200 off!
$699+
$499⚡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.
Garmin Forerunner 255/255S - $100 off$249This 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.
Garmin Forerunner 255/255S Music - $100 off!
$349/$399
$299This 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.
Garmin Forerunner 265 Series - $50 off!
$449
$399
Garmin Forerunner 55 - $30 off
$199
$169This is a good little running watch, though, it also supports plenty of other sport types as well.
Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar: $100 off!
$499/$599
$499This 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.
Garmin Forerunner 965 - $50 off!$549This is the first time we've seen the Garmin FR965 on sale since launch. While it's not a huge sale, it's something!
Garmin HRM-PRO Plus - 25% off!
$129
$97This strap is one of the two straps I use constantly for other HR sensor accuracy comparisons (alongside Polar H10)
Garmin Instinct 2 Series - $50 Off$299This 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.
Garmin Instinct 2S Solar $100 off!$199This 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.
Garmin Instinct 2X - $100 off!$349This 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).
Garmin Tactix 7 Pro - $200 off!$1,099This is the first time we've seen the Tactix 7 Pro on sale. Note the other Tactix 7 Pro units/variants are also on sale for $200 off too!
Garmin Venu 3 - $50 off!
$449
$399This is the first time we've seen this unit on sale since it launched a couple months ago, so this is a solid deal!
Garmin Venu SQ - 40% off
$199/$249 with Music
$149This is a so-so deal, previous 2021 and 2022 Black Friday's have put it all the way down to $119USD. So...I'd hold.
Google Pixel Watch 1 - $100 off$250While 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.
Oura Ring Products - Up to $100 off$269Oura has various products on sale, at various discounts, starting from $269, and up to $100 off depending on the model.
Polar Grit X Pro - $70 off
$499/$599
$449This isn't realy the best deal we've seen for this watch, as it was down to $338 last year for Black Friday. Maybe we'll see it go lower this year.
Polar H10 Chest Strap (Dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart) - 24% off
$89
$67This 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.
Polar Ignite 3 - $75 off!
$329
$256
Polar Pacer - $70 off!$169This is about as low as it gets price-wise for the Polar Pacer (base unit).
Polar Pacer Pro - $70 off!
$329
$259
Polar Vantage M2 - $100
$299
$197This appears to be the lowest price I have on record for the Poalr Vantage M2, which makes it pretty compelling as a starter triathlon watch!
Samsung Galaxy Watch6 - $20 off$279
Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Classic - $70 off$330This is a reasoanbly solid deal for this watch, which came out this past summer.
Suunto Vertical - $100 off!$529This 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.
Wahoo RIVAL GPS Watch - 50% off
$199
$99⚡ 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.
Whoop 4.0 with 1-year subscription - 17% off$199This brings down the 1-year price to $17/month, which is the lowest it's been (only way to get that is normally a 24-month membership).

Cycling:

ProductSale PriceAmazonOther siteSale Notes
4iiii Precision Ride-Ready Power Meters - $100 off!$235This 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
Garmin Edge 1040 - $50 off$549This is a modest deal, but hey, a deal is a deal.
Garmin Edge 1040 Solar - $50 off$699This is a modest deal, but hey, a deal is a deal.
Garmin Varia Radar (RTL515) - $50 off$149This is Garmin's standalone radar+taillight option, and $149 is pretty much the standard sale-price.
Hammerhead Karoo 2 - $140 off!
$399
$259⚡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!
Lasko High Velocity Pro-Performance Fan (U15617) - 23% off$73This 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.
Stages Power Meters - Most 20% off units$267Stages is offering 20% off most of their non-drive-side power meters.
Wahoo BOLT V2 - $50 off
$279
$229This is a good little deal on the Wahoo BOLT V2.
Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM V2 - $80 off
$399
$329
Wahoo POWRLINK ZERO (Dual-sided) - $200 off!
$649/$999
$799⚡ 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.
Wahoo POWRLINK ZERO (Single-sided) - $130 off!$520⚡ 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.

Action Cams & Drones:

ProductSale PriceAmazonSale Notes
DJI Avata Bundle - $300 off!$899The 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).
DJI Mini 2SE Drone - $40 off!
$499 ($549 combo)
$299There'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.
DJI Mini 3 Fly More Combo with DJI RC - $100 off!$699
DJI Mini 3 Fly More Combo with DJI RC-N1 Bundle - $60 off$659
DJI Mini 3 Pro with DJI RC - $150 off!$767Up 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.
DJI Mini 4 Pro Fly More Combo with DJI RC2 - $140 off!$959⚡ 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.
GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini - $100 off
$399
$249This is the lowest price we've seen on the GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini to date!
GoPro Hero 12 Black - $50 off!$349This is the first time we've seen a sale on the GoPro Hero 12 Black. It's not massive, but hey, it's a good start!
GoPro Hero 12 Black Bundle Combo Kit - $100 off!$349This is a solid little bundle, with the GoPro Hero 12, two Enduro batteries, a floating handle, a head-mount, and a carrying case.
Insta360 Go 3 - $20 off$379I 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.

Europe:

There are no deals currently.

And again, keep checking the full list out!

YouTube Videos I Made This Week:

Here’s what hit the tubes over on the You of Tube, definitely don’t forget to subscribe there to get notified of videos the second they hit!

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 most incredible bike share photo: This photo shows what happens when you fill an entire football field with discarded bike share bikes…and stack it as high as some buildings.  Unbelievable, you really need to see this photo.

2) Jumping into an airplane with a wingsuit: Undoubtedly, many of you have seen this by now.  But if not, enjoy.  And if you have already, enjoy it again. It’s worth it, as you know.

3) Getting the GoPro Shot (further details): Last week I shared a GoPro video on the behind the scenes of just one brief sequence in the launch video.  This post however details that out even further in a more textual manner.

4) SoulCycle now offered as benefit on a points credit card: For those in Europe, the whole credit card points thing is illogical.  But for those in the US/Canada, you know it’s all about the points card.  This card apparently offers free days at SoulCycle. I thought it was interesting (I’ve never done SoulCylce however).

5) Fitbit selected for long-term national health study: Regardless of which vendor is selected, it’s good to see some long-term studies being done with vast numbers of people.  Let’s just hope that there’s at least a few people that understand technology helping with this study, so that we don’t end up with all the flawed ones we see recently on wearables.

6) GlovePay, it’s a thing: Forget Garmin Pay and Fitbit Pay, for the upcoming winter Olympics, you’ll be able to pay by rubbing your gloves against the payment terminal.

7) FDA approves first EKG reader for Apple Watch: This is an interesting one, but one you shouldn’t be misled by the main headlines about it.  This is NOT the FDA approving the Apple Watch as an EKG reader.  Instead, it’s the FDA approving an accessory for the Apple Watch by a 3rd party company as an EKG reader.  The cool part here though is that it’s doing it via an Apple Watch band/strap that you then place your finger on.  I’ve gotta believe the company will look to make straps for other devices like Fitbit and Garmin, since it’d be easy for them to leverage app platforms on both companies devices.

8) Study looking at accuracy of the CycleOps Hammer trainer: Not too shabby.  Though personally I would have liked to have seen wattages above 500w, since that’s pretty low by most testing standards.  (via Tim)

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 Edge 520 and 820 Firmware Updates: Adds latest Connect IQ support, tweaks some indoor trainer stuff, other fixes. (both units identical here on update)

Garmin Edge 1000 Firmware Update: Adds latest Connect IQ support.

Garmin Edge 1030 Firmware Update: Adds latest Connect IQ support, boatload of other tweaks and some new features.

Garmin Fenix Chronos BETA firmware update: Bunch of fixes/tweaks.

Garmin Forerunner 735XT Firmware Update: Adds latest Connect IQ support, some Varia Vision tweaks.

Garmin VIRB 360 Firmware Update: Apparently resolves random things that were too random to list.

Wahoo ELEMNT/ELEMNT BOLT Firmware Update: Mostly bug fixes, but a smattering of new features including zero averaging calculations.  GPLama also did a more detailed piece on it here.

Zwift update: You can now control the camera with far more granularity, allowing you to rotate it around you like drone shots.  Also a pile of other new features and stuff, but the camera one stood out to me as nifty.

With that, thanks for reading!

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked.
If you would like a profile picture, simply register at Gravatar, which works here on DCR and across the web.

Click here to Subscribe without commenting

Add a picture

*

11 Comments

  1. Jeff T

    $349 for the PowerTap C1 chainring power meter is an amazing deal. I just purchased – upgrading from left-only Stages. Thanks Ray!

  2. Paul S.

    I just recently found out about the Apple Heart Study. I’ve installed the app on phone and watch and signed up but nothing has happened yet. I don’t know yet whether they’re going to take data from anyone who signs up or only a selected few. Looks like it’s being paid for by Apple and run by Stanford.

  3. MattB

    What a shame that the Chinese government is just creating a giant scrap pile of bikes, rather than stuffing them in to containers and sending them somewhere that could really benefit from them through something like link to worldbicyclerelief.org. I’m sure that the vast majority of those bikes could be repaired by cannibalising parts from other bikes, at least before the were heaped up so high, which has likely bent anything more than a few feet deep beyond rescuing.

    • Indeed, that was both my and The Girl’s first thought as well. Just thinking that WBR could likely whack the bike locks off of these and call it macaroni.

      Of course, it’s far more complex that that – but certainly some org must be able to use these in rural locales.

    • Stefan Gutehall

      Here in Hong Kong I first thought that bike sharing was a good thing until it became obvious that many users are just too irresponsible and just leave the bike where they need to get off. That is in the middle of the walking/running path, in front of stairs or anywhere else they get in the way of other cyclists and pedestrians. The bike share companies are not much better, pushing out their bikes in public bike parking to the extent where there is no spot free for people to park their private bikes. Setting aside the fact that its a waste to just discard them, I would not mind if I saw a pile like the one of the pic here in Hong Kong.
      I do remember a similar but smaller pile on a pic form Beijing, It was outside a hospital and it was bikes left by incoming patients that had to be piled up so they didn’t block access to the hospital.

  4. Eli

    The Hammer study summery says they are comparing to a “scientific SRM system” while the full text says its Powertap P1 pedals. Gee, I wonder who funded this…..

    “The last 45s of each measurement was analyzed.”
    Doesn’t a persons power output get steadier towards the end of a 3 min interval so easier to measure? Seems like steady state was accurate but the sprint test wasn’t so good based on figure 1.B

    For those who want the full text: link to fredericgrappe.com

    • Nice find, I couldn’t find it quickly. That is odd.

      What’s funny is that in looking at the authors of the study with their affiliations listed in the full text, I know from some other things just being local they work very closely with PowerTap/CycleOps on other projects. Didn’t recognize the author names, but definitely the orgs. Good call…

  5. Duncan Martin

    The comment on the dual sided WatTeam power meter says:
    ⚡⚡THIS BRINGS IT DOWN TO 300GBP/342EUR FOR A SINGLE SIDED UNIT – BY FAR THE CHEAPEST DIRECT FORCE POWER METER OUT THERE.
    It’s £300 for a dual one or £204 for single (as you say in the next line down).
    And the DCR discount applies too, so it’s even cheaper! 🙂

  6. Hello Ray

    Tourism Flanders has created a website ‘Cycling in Flanders’ to promote its cobblestones classics to foreign cycling tourists: cool!
    Info on http://www.cyclinginflanders.cc

    Kind regards
    Ed

  7. Dan G

    I think you have discussed this before but I can’t find it — do we know how long for tomtom have committed to supporting their web platform?