Massive Deals Round-Up! Hit up the link below for all the best sports tech deals. From huge savings on the Garmin Forerunner 945, Fenix series, Venu AMOLED smartwatch – to the latest Apple, DJI, Fitbit, GoPro, Suunto, and Polar deals. Drones to action cams, activity trackers to trainers, watches to cycling GPS units – and plenty more – tracked daily this holiday deals season!
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:
It was a bit light last week, as I’m prepping stuff for reviews for the next week. Between now and the end of Eurobike in 6 weeks I’m currently tracking 29 new product announcements (plus ones not in my tracker yet). Hold onto your hats!
Sports Tech Deals – One Day Left!:
While the Clever Training 20% off sale ended this past week, there’s still an opportunity for you to pick up a handful of different trainers from REI for 20% off. These deals end tomorrow, Monday May 28th at 11:59PM US Pacific Time. All these links support the site, or, if you’re picking up anything else at REI, use the below link first and then wander from there.
Technically it’s a members-only sale, but it only takes a second to sign-up and then use coupon code ANNIV18 for REI. Oh, you can get free shipping to your local REI store. Woot!
For those curious, the Tacx Neo is my go-to trainer that I use when I’m not testing something else. But if you’re looking for the best bang for the buck from the available trainers in this sale, it’s the Tacx Flux.
In addition, you’ve got these sales still remaining for a few days longer:
$100 off all Fenix 5s – 5/18-6/16
$50 off Edge 25 units (base and bundle) – 5/18-5/28
20% off on Saris and CycleOps – 5/18-5/30
$50 off Edge 520 5/18-5/28
Here’s the full listing with links that support the site though:
Current Deals
Product
Sale Price
Amazon
Clever Training
Other site
Sale Notes
Copyright DC Rainmaker - Updated December 11th, 2019 @ 2:08 pm
⚡ This is a solid deal. Normally the trainer (which doesn't even start shipping till next week) is $599, now it's $499 and includes the Viiiiva dual ANT+/BLE HR strap (which probably doesn't get as much street cred as it should for all the features it has). Note I've included both 4iiii Fliiight sale deals (the 20% deal you see next to this). This deal here ends Nov 27th.
⚡ This is a pretty darn strong deal. While the Series 4 doesn't have the always-on display of the Series 5, it has everything else, including a heck of a lot better battery performance/life. Note: Like the other Apple deals, this seems to come and go - so I'm leaving it here since it's like an every other day thing.
⚡ These are what I've been mostly using lately for workouts, primarily indoors. They're great, though, I'm not a huge fan of the charging case. The fact that they're $50 for getting a factory reconditioned seems like a solid deal to me.
Note: This is a random Amazon deal that will probably disappear. But, it's a great sensor for Zwift usage as it's not just dual ANT+/BLE, but dual-BLE atop that (so it can do two concurrent Bluetooth connections and unlimited ANT+ connections).
⚡ ⚡ This is the first sale we've seen on this unit, which only came out this past spring. It's also an Amazon-specific sale and is highly unlikely to last long. This is one of the main units I use for my day to day riding and testing.
⚡This is a strong deal on the Fenix 5 Plus series. This is for all models/variants. Obviously, the Fenix 6 came out two months ago, so don't expect major new feature updates on the Fenix 5 Plus - but still, it's a strong option.
⚡ Down to $299 is a substantial deal for the Fenix 5S & 5X (non-Plus), so don't expect much in the way of major firmware updates. But still, at that price it's solid. Heck, the 5S for $299 is actually the exact rose gold version that The Girl has (and still wears to this day).
⚡⚡ This is a great deal for this watch. Sure, it's nearly 2 years old - but it's gotten a ton of updates since it was launched, including Spotify and Amazon Music support.
⚡ This is a fantastic deal right now. The price on Amazon is fluctuating a bit, but either way - by far the lowest we've seen. Awesome if you're looking to get into triathlon or just want a really capable running/cycling/swimming watch.
This is the odd (and unheard of) Amazon sale. This strap includes Running Dynamics, but is ANT+ only. Honestly, unless you really want Running Dynamics, I'd recommend getting the HRM-DUAL instead (it's dual ANT+/BLE).
⚡ This isn't a huge deal per se, but it is my favorite speed sensor for a commuter bike as it just quietly tracks all your mileage in the background and syncs it to your phone. Also, this falls in the bucket of 'random Amazon deals that will probably disappear'.
⚡⚡ This is a very good deal - and the first time we've seen the Venu on sale. I've been using it for more than two months now, and it's largely pretty stable for me at this point and working well. It's Garmin's first go at a high-end AMOLED display.
If you want a band (as opposed to a watch-form factor), and if you want GPS - then frankly there's no better GPS sport option than this one. And hey - $50 off ain't too shabby!
Note: Clever Training is now including an 11-speed cassette in the bundle as of Nov 22nd. I've just begun my in-depth review testing on this unit, after a substantial firmware update and one more I expect in the next 24hrs or so. I hope to have more clarity in the coming days.
⚡⚡⚡ Woah - this is probably the deal of the year for wearable tech. This is a great little watch that includes full multisport mode (for triathletes), as well as things like full power meter support and more. Very very solid deal.
3) Suunto’s big firmware update: Normally I list these down below, but this one is notable enough that I wanted to call it out up here. This post is a good overview of the new features. I’ll be covering said new features shortly in a slightly different manner. Hang tight.
4) Study published on Stryd running metrics: Note, this study doesn’t look at the power accuracy/numbers of Stryd, but rather the underlying pieces like ground contact time and vertical oscillation. Those are critically important to get right in order to estimate power. However, the bigger challenge is some agreement on what exactly is power in running (how it’s defined and at what point/way it’s measured), and then from there you can do accuracy testing. (via Titanium Geek)
5) Triathlete Magazine 2018 Buyers Guide: This was released online now (previously just on newsstands). I wrote some sections in here, albeit, an eternity ago now.
6) Garmin now the 2nd largest smartwatch manufacturer after Apple: They shipped over 1 million ‘smartwatches’ last quarter. Do be aware that these studies don’t generally get actual numbers from vendors, but are more wild-assed guesses. Also keep in mind the definition of a ‘smartwatch’ changes more often than an Instagram model’s clothes. It varies from quarter to quarter, and publication to publication.
8) A Fond Look Back At The Hysterical Anti-Citi Bike Hysteria: Change is hard, and in the case of NYC a half-decade ago – implementing a bike share program had more than a few people strongly against it. Funny bit of ‘turn back the clock’.
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 1030 BETA firmware: Reduction of suck (hopefully). Apparently lots of folks have been having issues since 4.00 came out a couple weeks ago (I’m still on 3.90). This is supposed to fix some of those introduced issues. Note, you can downgrade to 3.90 if you’re having problems.
Garmin FR935 BETA firmware: Added Physio TrueUp – This syncs across the advanced fitness features between certain devices.
Suunto Spartan Series Firmware Update: This adds in intensity zones, better training target options, alongside more notification history and HR on the watchface itself.
A crapton of app GDPR updates: A bunch of apps and platforms also had minor updates this past week focused on GDPR compliance. Too many to list here.
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With that – thanks for reading and have a great week ahead!
Garmin released a new map for the edge 1000. You can install it for free with Garmin Express. But now you need an additional micro-SD card. Because the size of the map 20180.10 is bigger then the internal 10GB memory.
Ray, re GDPR and data portability. How do you think companies will handle requests now and in the future? In theory we should now be able to request data and get it back in format that’s structured/machine readable and can therefore be imported into another site (or even better the transfer between sites is automated).
i know you talked about only certain devices getting it (only edge 1030 on the bike side), and in the connect IQ post talked about them maybe opening it up to more devices (hopefully my 820 and the 520?)
Do you see it working between your devices yet? In the Betaforum we are having no results really.. and between my 820 i see no sync up. (I am not even expecting any of the training score stuff)
at it’s most basic it seems to send 520 activites from GC to the 5x. These appear in the 5x history and it uses these to calculate training status etc on the 5x
no syncing of HR data so you still get the usual gaps in GC/GCM
The 5 homepage image links are still broken? Firefox browser with Windows 7 64bit. Cursor changes to a hand but no link even though it’s present in the html. Didn’t have this problem previously on same desktop pc?
Does TrueUp also mean that if you were to reset your device, the physiological metrics like VO2Max and Training Status will be restored when you re-setup the device and sync it with your Garmin Connect?
Doesn’t this happen already if you pick the right options for the setup procedure? I am guessing physio trueup won’t add this function, because it really just downloads other activities from GC and then re-runs the FirstBeat Analytics taking those activities into account.
No. You can back up / transfer some settings and activities manually. They aren’t stored in Garmin Connect. If you don’t do this you can’t restore anything after a reset or to a new device.
The stuff you can backup and restore is activities, records, and settings. It is not the Training Status, VO2Max, and other Firstbeat-type data.
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Here’s my most recent gadget recommendations guide (Winter 2019-2020 edition) and trainers here (Winter 2019-2020 edition) – covering almost every category of sports gadgets out there. Looking for the equipment I use day to day? I also just put together my complete ‘Gear I Use’ equipment list, from swim to bike to run and everything in between (plus a few extra things). And to compliment that, here’s The Girl’s (my wife’s) list. Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!
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Garmin released a new map for the edge 1000. You can install it for free with Garmin Express. But now you need an additional micro-SD card. Because the size of the map 20180.10 is bigger then the internal 10GB memory.
Ray, re GDPR and data portability. How do you think companies will handle requests now and in the future? In theory we should now be able to request data and get it back in format that’s structured/machine readable and can therefore be imported into another site (or even better the transfer between sites is automated).
Seems the Stryd study was done only on a treadmill. They tend to do this
I really wonder why a researcher would focus on a single product when numerous vendors offer the same metrics.
Hey Ray.. regarding Garmin Physio True up
i know you talked about only certain devices getting it (only edge 1030 on the bike side), and in the connect IQ post talked about them maybe opening it up to more devices (hopefully my 820 and the 520?)
Do you see it working between your devices yet? In the Betaforum we are having no results really.. and between my 820 i see no sync up. (I am not even expecting any of the training score stuff)
it’s working on the 520 > fenix 5x
at it’s most basic it seems to send 520 activites from GC to the 5x. These appear in the 5x history and it uses these to calculate training status etc on the 5x
no syncing of HR data so you still get the usual gaps in GC/GCM
The 5 homepage image links are still broken? Firefox browser with Windows 7 64bit. Cursor changes to a hand but no link even though it’s present in the html. Didn’t have this problem previously on same desktop pc?
+1 – same problem…
+1 “Happy” that I’m not the only one.
+1 – same problem from Safari and Chrome on macOS
Works again. 😊
Does TrueUp also mean that if you were to reset your device, the physiological metrics like VO2Max and Training Status will be restored when you re-setup the device and sync it with your Garmin Connect?
+1
I’d like to know this too. Thanks.
Doesn’t this happen already if you pick the right options for the setup procedure? I am guessing physio trueup won’t add this function, because it really just downloads other activities from GC and then re-runs the FirstBeat Analytics taking those activities into account.
No. You can back up / transfer some settings and activities manually. They aren’t stored in Garmin Connect. If you don’t do this you can’t restore anything after a reset or to a new device.
The stuff you can backup and restore is activities, records, and settings. It is not the Training Status, VO2Max, and other Firstbeat-type data.
link to support.garmin.com