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:
Here’s a handful of deals that are live until basically CES. I wouldn’t read too much into any of these, beyond companies just figuring that maybe you’ll pick up something as a belated Boxing Day gift to yourself.
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.
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.
⚡ 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 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).
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.
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.
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.
⚡ 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.
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
⚡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
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.
⚡ 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.
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.
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.
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) Peter Sagan – Why So Serious? A bit of a look at the person behind Peter Sagan. Somewhat of an unexpected clip coming from GoPro, but definitely worth a quick watch.
2) TrainerRoad starts to leverage historical data to tweak structured workouts: Some interesting tidbits in here, including looking at failure rates of certain workouts and tweaking those workouts to make them more sustainable. They go through a massive pile of workouts and explain what and why they tweaked with all of them.
3) How scammers manipulate Amazon: The second of two semi-similar pieces I’ve seen in the last few weeks talking to this subject. The other being a well written NYT piece on such practices. Interesting stuff. Note that I wouldn’t necessarily lump this into a ‘China’ problem. It’s happening from all sorts of countries.
5) Peloton (the indoor bike/treadmill company) backs down from legal action against GP Lama: Thankfully Peloton saw the error of their ways. Though, I can’t help but wonder what Peloton Magazine thinks about all this. They predate Peloton by a number of years, after all. Still, the general stupidity of a company to legally go after a core/key reviewer in their specific space for simply using a common cycling word/term is astounding. I get that it’s all just contracted lawyers likely acting on their own, but certainly people being paid that much per hour would be smart enough to think through the ramifications of such a move without at least double-checking with their ‘client’. Not to mention attacking one who is followed by much of the cycling tech industry.
7) Yoga Pants to Detect Poses: I saw this a few weeks back and it got lost in the shuffle. I’m not sure what to think to be honest, but, I figured maybe you’d know what to think.
8) Sports Tech Job Openings: Looks like Quarq has an opening for a software engineer on a cycling focused web platform. FYI in case you want to move to Spearfish.
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 and a few other firmware updates.
(Unsurprisingly, I couldn’t find any software firmware updates of products released this past week. Mostly because most companies would be super hesitant to release a firmware update going into Christmas as people are unboxing new things. That’s just a recipe for disaster – and returns.)
Garmin finally fixed the “Keep me logged in” issue in Garmin Connect. Took them cca 1 year…
The weight categorization is now correct, even if this is used for nothing, it was weird that the 84kg human was categorized as 90+ kg…
If the issue fixing will continue within this pace, my grandchildren could enjoy the GC how I always wanted…
@The5kRunner
You mentioned earlier that the FR 645 is not been recognized as a flash drive. That device has a setting for that, pls try to check:
Settings –> System –> USB mode
I’ve stopped personally following ‘GP Lama’ on social media, too much of ‘i’m the victim’ followed by endless swearing.
Also, by following you, what’s the point of watching someone who is delivering the same content. The digital news was an interesting concept, but if you follow sports tech, you are already over what’s aired, and it’s too ‘GCN’ like!
It’s easy to blame the victim. It’s the thing to do these days.
But in these two situations (Peloton & YouTube), both companies have admitted they were wrong. And both companies are multi-billion dollar entities. While it’s also easy to simply dismiss it as ‘not my problem’, the reality is that for small creators, you can’t fight these things yourself. As both instances showed – community support were instrumental in pushing back.
I actually don’t find any similarities to GCN. GCN doesn’t cover the same content, and it seems like almost all of GCN’s content is sponsored these days. As for duplication with me, I think having different people have different views is a good thing. Our views differ on many things, and I think it’s good that consumers have multiple sources to hear from.
Duplication?! Ray gets things working first and then starts the camera or post. I assume it sometimes takes him months to do so. Shane has a go on camera and sends it out to the world whether it works or not. While I assume Ray does swear and throw tools at the floor, that particular brand of comedy is saved for the Girl.
I find the content quite different between the two and very glad to have the two different approaches.
As for the swearing. Those people ruined his xmas in a big way. Personally I’m surprised how restrained he was. You also have to understand these guys have a global audience. The US (for instance) don’t have such a swearing culture as places like the UK or Australia but that doesn’t make swearing a bad thing, it just means that some people take offence where none was intended – that’s just language. I’m not keen on church talk but I wouldn’t unfollow someone if they ended a podcast with a “bless you for watching”.
Pfffff and I have a flat tire. Peleton is a general word used in many European languages indicating a group of… (E.g. firing squad / vuur peleton, and many more the most know is indeed the link with cycling). But also Specialized trying a cafe to change their name because it is called cafe Roubaix. They really don’t know Roubaix is a town. Then also ask all cafe Paris in the world to change their name. Idiots.
I swim, bike and run. Then, I come here and write about my adventures. It’s as simple as that. Most of the time. If you’re new around these parts, here’s the long version of my story.
You'll support the site, and get ad-free DCR! Plus, you'll be more awesome. Click above for all the details. Oh, and you can sign-up for the newsletter here!
Here’s how to save!
Wanna save some cash and support the site? These companies help support the site! With Backcountry.com or Competitive Cyclist with either the coupon code DCRAINMAKER for first time users saving 15% on applicable products.
You can also pick-up tons of gear at REI via these links, which is a long-time supporter as well:
With TPC (The Pro's Closet), you'll save $40 on purchases over $200 with coupon code DCRAIN40 for tech and non-tech purchases!
Alternatively, for everything else on the planet, simply buy your goods from Amazon via the link below and I get a tiny bit back as an Amazon Associate. No cost to you, easy as pie!
You can use the above link for any Amazon country and it (should) automatically redirect to your local Amazon site.
Want to compare the features of each product, down to the nitty-gritty? No problem, the product comparison data is constantly updated with new products and new features added to old products!
Wanna create comparison chart graphs just like I do for GPS, heart rate, power meters and more? No problem, here's the platform I use - you can too!
Think my written reviews are deep? You should check out my videos. I take things to a whole new level of interactive depth!
Smart Trainers Buyers Guide: Looking at a smart trainer this winter? I cover all the units to buy (and avoid) for indoor training. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Check out
my weekly podcast - with GPLAMA, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
Get all your awesome DC Rainmaker gear here!
FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
You probably stumbled upon here looking for a review of a sports gadget. If you’re trying to decide which unit to buy – check out my in-depth reviews section. Some reviews are over 60 pages long when printed out, with hundreds of photos! I aim to leave no stone unturned.
I travel a fair bit, both for work and for fun. Here’s a bunch of random trip reports and daily trip-logs that I’ve put together and posted. I’ve sorted it all by world geography, in an attempt to make it easy to figure out where I’ve been.
The most common question I receive outside of the “what’s the best GPS watch for me” variant, are photography-esq based. So in efforts to combat the amount of emails I need to sort through on a daily basis, I’ve complied this “My Photography Gear” post for your curious minds! It’s a nice break from the day to day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
Many readers stumble into my website in search of information on the latest and greatest sports tech products. But at the end of the day, you might just be wondering “What does Ray use when not testing new products?”. So here is the most up to date list of products I like and fit the bill for me and my training needs best! DC Rainmaker 2023 swim, bike, run, and general gear list. But wait, are you a female and feel like these things might not apply to you? If that’s the case (but certainly not saying my choices aren’t good for women), and you just want to see a different gear junkies “picks”, check out The Girl’s Gear Guide too.
If I were Peleton I might be more worried about the inverse, having their mark be cancelled as generic. In any event it is clearly a weak mark
Garmin finally fixed the “Keep me logged in” issue in Garmin Connect. Took them cca 1 year…
The weight categorization is now correct, even if this is used for nothing, it was weird that the 84kg human was categorized as 90+ kg…
If the issue fixing will continue within this pace, my grandchildren could enjoy the GC how I always wanted…
@The5kRunner
You mentioned earlier that the FR 645 is not been recognized as a flash drive. That device has a setting for that, pls try to check:
Settings –> System –> USB mode
Still waiting for my Smart (yoga) Mat 🙂
I’ve stopped personally following ‘GP Lama’ on social media, too much of ‘i’m the victim’ followed by endless swearing.
Also, by following you, what’s the point of watching someone who is delivering the same content. The digital news was an interesting concept, but if you follow sports tech, you are already over what’s aired, and it’s too ‘GCN’ like!
FWIW
It’s easy to blame the victim. It’s the thing to do these days.
But in these two situations (Peloton & YouTube), both companies have admitted they were wrong. And both companies are multi-billion dollar entities. While it’s also easy to simply dismiss it as ‘not my problem’, the reality is that for small creators, you can’t fight these things yourself. As both instances showed – community support were instrumental in pushing back.
I actually don’t find any similarities to GCN. GCN doesn’t cover the same content, and it seems like almost all of GCN’s content is sponsored these days. As for duplication with me, I think having different people have different views is a good thing. Our views differ on many things, and I think it’s good that consumers have multiple sources to hear from.
Duplication?! Ray gets things working first and then starts the camera or post. I assume it sometimes takes him months to do so. Shane has a go on camera and sends it out to the world whether it works or not. While I assume Ray does swear and throw tools at the floor, that particular brand of comedy is saved for the Girl.
I find the content quite different between the two and very glad to have the two different approaches.
As for the swearing. Those people ruined his xmas in a big way. Personally I’m surprised how restrained he was. You also have to understand these guys have a global audience. The US (for instance) don’t have such a swearing culture as places like the UK or Australia but that doesn’t make swearing a bad thing, it just means that some people take offence where none was intended – that’s just language. I’m not keen on church talk but I wouldn’t unfollow someone if they ended a podcast with a “bless you for watching”.
Pfffff and I have a flat tire. Peleton is a general word used in many European languages indicating a group of… (E.g. firing squad / vuur peleton, and many more the most know is indeed the link with cycling). But also Specialized trying a cafe to change their name because it is called cafe Roubaix. They really don’t know Roubaix is a town. Then also ask all cafe Paris in the world to change their name. Idiots.