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Week in Review: March 10th, 2019

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–March 3rd, 2019
Monday: 5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Tuesday: PowerTap P2 Power Meter Pedals In-Depth Review
Wednesday: The Fitbit Versa Lite Hands-On: Everything you ever wanted to know

Hang tight for the week ahead…gonna be a fun ride!

DC Rainmaker Podcasts This Week:

DCRPodCastLama-Wide

Yes folks, just yes. It’s back! Hit up the link if you aren’t subscribed for an hour of new goodness! And fear not, we’ll be loading it into other distribution platforms (Spotify/Play store/etc…) in the coming days once we finalize some backend distribution cleanup stuffs.

In the meantime, it’s available on iTunes or Libsyn (RSS). We’ll put out a standalone post once it’s on all the major services, likely by later this week.

(Note: Final updated name TBD, seeking your input for sure! The above imagery just took me 8 seconds to update/correct…so…we went with it as a placeholder.)

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) Cheating on Zwift without even pedaling: Some of you may not know Keith, but he’s got a long history in the cycling tech world. He first created a DIY power meter, after which he was hired on by 4iiii to lead their power meter efforts. Following launch of that product he joined a large groupset manufacturer to work on their wireless projects. He’s no stranger to this arena, and often there’s a bit more nuance in his projects than it may seem at first glance.

2) The real risks of the White Line: I’ve shared some previous videos on this particular ride, but I like this one from Seth outlining all the ways things can go wrong. Clearly reminding me not to partake in this route anytime soon.

3) Pinkbike buys Cycling Tips: Huge congrats to Wade and his crew on this acquisition. Will be interesting to see where things go from here.

4) Hammerhead secures $4 million more in investment: Looks like they’ve secured another round to continue working on the Hammerhead lineup. The article doesn’t mention new hardware, but I certainly hope that’s in the near-term cards. While the current Karoo bike GPS did a good job at breaking the mold, it lacked a critical feature for a navigational computer: Sound/beeps. And while the company wants 3rd parties to develop for it, I can’t foresee that happening until 3rd parties see meaningful market share (which isn’t there today, given Wahoo for example is still only in the 1-2% range on a good day). Still, Hammerhead has made progress on their software updates over the last year – so hopefully updated hardware is in the works. (via Michael)

5) More well done sponsored destination cycling coverage: Speaking of the site, last year CyclingTips did a great multi-part series on cycling in Switzerland. It was sponsored – but it was the perfect example of a super well done sponsored piece. And I’ve got it bookmarked as a guide for some cycling this summer in Switzerland. Now they’ve done the same for Girona and the Costa Brava. Looks like I’ve gotta start planning there as well.

6) 4,000 mile bike trail planned across USA: Looking forward to seeing this come true one day! (via DesFit)

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.

Garmin Edge 1000 Firmware Update: Smattering of fixes.

Garmin Fenix 5 Plus Series BETA firmware update: Minor bug fix.

Garmin Fenix 5 Series Firmware Update: Unknown bug fixes.

Garmin Forerunner 935 Firmware Update: Minor tweaks.

Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music Firmware Update: Music syncing improvements

Not aware of any other sports tech firmware updates this past week. Kinda a slow week in that respect.

With that – thanks for reading!

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29 Comments

  1. Frank

    Yay, it’s back! Can’t wait to listen to the new podcast!

  2. Jay M

    I love these trail projects. I just hope they happen during my lifetime.

  3. the5krunner (tfk)

    Some of the recent garmin FW required an updated sensor hub. (eg specifically mandated when using the betas)

    Are there any interesting developments in the sensor hub?

    • Freek schepers

      For me the most interesting development is that I’ve switched the GPS of my Garmin off. With Stryd I have as good distance, better pace and way less battery use….

    • I’m not aware of anything in the sensor hub that’s of note.

      I know in one of the line items it says there was something to parse sensor pairing error codes. So maybe something tied to that.

  4. Ryan

    The Shrainmilker Podcast? Look forward to it.

  5. Fitz

    Yeah, Girona is a great destination for cycling. One thing though, we ended up renting a car to get out of Girona, most of the roads directlly out of the city are busy and boring. Other than this, there are cool rides to do in every direction for sure.

  6. Team Mouse

    Awesome that mr Miller is onboard, this will be totes sweet. So, guessing you’ll both be reviewing the Tacx bike and iqsquare pedal dongle vapourware stuff!

    If not, still ok. Kinda

  7. likepend1

    finally a new podcast episode 🙂

    how long will it take for the itunes link to work?
    podcast app gives me an error 🙁

    • Hopefully today sometime.

      Interestingly, my existing subscription in the Podcast app on my iOS device updated perfectly. However, if I try and click on that link or find it in the iTunes store – no luck.

      Either way, I have a ticket in from yesterday to Apple and they say within 1 day. So hopefully today. One of the main reasons I haven’t widely announced it yet, while we get some of the stuff sorted out.

      Thanks!

    • Ian Marchant

      I have some weird issue with the libsyn RSS.

      I think it’s an issue with my app though. If i load the rss in the browser, i can see the new episode in the XML, but the app only goes as far as #64 and nothing I try so far seems to reveal #65.

      Off to try alternative Android podcast software to see if they are the same.

    • Hmm, that’s odd indeed. Sorry!

      Is that the Libsyn app? I’ve honestly never used it. Will have to poke!

      I’ve been chatting with Libsyn support today already on getting things shifted/updated, so it’s plausible that’s causing some quirks, but I don’t think they’ve touched anything yet on that.

      I’m hoping by tomorrow morning both Libsyn and iTunes tweaks will be done and we’ll be able to quickly get it onboarded onto all the other platforms.

  8. Stephen M.

    After having heart palpitations from watching the White Line, I’ll rest up and listen to more podcasts!

    Perhaps the following name/themes could be incorporated: “The M&M Show (Maker/Miller): Bikes, Tech & Everything (nearly) In-Between”

  9. Roberto Cuadro

    The Hammerhead Karoo is venturing in to an area that can be covered by the cell phone that I already have. Just about everyone has an iOS or Android phone so why develop for the Karoo when there are apps already working on phones. Sure, the Karoo cost less than my iPhone X but I already have my iPhone and Quad Lock case to go with it.

    • I agree, though with a twist.

      I think in general having a bike-specific form factor makes a lot of sense. Most people don’t want to put their real phone on their handlebars. Usually battery life isn’t optimized for always-on screen and GPS. So that’s tough for anything longer. Also, a lot of people (including me), want my phone powered for emergencies or regular contact with friends. With phones getting more and more expensive – people are even less wanting to put them on handlebars.

      Now, Hammerhead’s issue with apps is more challenging. They’ve decided to roll their own Android variant. So it’s far behind current. Further, they don’t allow you to just leverage the Google Play store. I get why, as that’d make for a cumbersome experience for users. But I think there’s also something to be said for that, in going towards maybe a bit more of a different angle.

      As noted above – no 3rd party apps are going to develop for something that’s under 0.5% market share.

    • usr

      Would Hammerhead even be allowed to bring the Play Store on to Karoo if they tried? It’s up to Google to decide who gains entry into the GMS ecosystem and when your device does not fit the usual phone or tablet patterns, chances are they won’t allow it. The Android compatibility definition for handheld devices for example requires a microphone, Karoo does not have one. On top of that, how much pre-installed Google smartphone stuff would we accept on a bike GPS? A Google search box on the start screen? All those power-hungry background tracking things that every single smartphone builder would just *love* to disable by default if Google ever allowed it? That’s the kind of freedom you’d have to give up (and likely more) to have official Play Store access. It’s just not a viable base to build a company on, you’d always be at the mercy of some anonymous Google middle management who roll the dice about your future without even realizing (because you’re not even a blip on their radar).

    • Interesting, good point – not sure on that.

      And indeed, it’s another reason why one argument against allowing the store is prudent for bike GPS units. That said, I’m not sure forking your own is the best choice either.

      It sounds like Sigma found the middle-ground there.

    • usr

      Now you are piquing my interest: what difference do you see between the approaches Hammerhead and Sigma are taking? Never touched either device, but I had a Karoo on order then canceled and have been a happy pre-GPS Sigma user so I am watching both quite interestedly. From what I have seen they are both pretty much equally close or far from stock AOSP, it’s just that Hammerhead used to talk a lot about their Android lineage, whereas Sigma just released a product (naturally without pre-release hype, to not cannibalize predecessors). Granted, their approach to the screen/battery conflict is quite different but this is unrelated to the software (the almost-smartphone approach of including as much battery as required for vibrant colors vs getting only as colorful as possible without requiring too much backlight/battery).

      The real difference is between Hammerhead/Sigma on one side and Wahoo on the other, who have kept their Android base even tighter under wraps than Sigma and also apparently did not build on regular Android but on Android Wear, which comes with that rock-solid Bluetooth uplink already included by Google, for which Wahoo is now famous for and which both Hammerhead and Sigma claim they they don’t even want (I’m not buying that…).

    • My memory is fading, since it’s been basically a year since I had the conversation with both parties. But essentially Sigma was saying they were taking stock Android (almost straight off the market phone) and making virtually no tweaks to it. They watched what Hammerhead had done and realized that the long-term play there was tough to support internally.

      Whereas obviously Hammerhead has oft talked about how much they customized their Android platform to make it super unique. But again, things are getting a bit foggy at this point.

  10. Mark

    Just finished the pod-pisode. You guys have to record your own audio locally and get someone to edit the two files together. Lots of people use Audacity: link to audacityteam.org

    This one sounded like Shane hosted the recording and your voice was transported halfway around the planet 😉

    • Yup, we both recorded locally and merged with Audacity.

      Weird, sounded pretty similiar to me (we actually even used the exact same mics too). Though, might still be some echo in mine.

    • Mark

      Weird, sometimes it sounded like you had quite a bit of digital distortion, but I’m listening through chrome until they show up on Spotify. I didn’t listen close enough, but I can remember a few times after Shane got long-winded it showed up when you started talking.

  11. Ray Wright

    Not sure where to leave podcast comments so I’ll just do it here: It would be awesome to get an “current state of running power” post or podcast. It just seems like something that is lurking in the background with no real movement or innovation.

    Loved the return of the podcast. You 2 have good chemistry.

  12. Jensen

    I tried listening to the PodCast with iTunes, but when I click the link, it tells me, that the Podcast is only available in the US. And I cannot find it by searching for podcasts either, so it does definitely not seem to be in the danish version, which I am using…

    • Yeah, it went all sideways last night when Apple tried to move it over to our account. They just completed that about 20 minutes ago, and then it takes supposedly another 24 hours for it to propagate into the system. :-/

      On the bright side, it is now available in Spotify!

  13. JD

    Podcast revival name — Cavemen Speak or Cavemen Speek or CaveSpeek(tm) 😉