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Week in Review–May 24th, 2020

WeekInReview22

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!

Sports Tech Deals of Note:

A new slate of sports tech deals began over the last few days. These are typical deals that Garmin does *every* single year, usually starting about a month out from Father’s Day. Suunto also often jumps in the fray (and others too). Note: All the trainer ones end tomorrow (May 25th).

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
9th Gen Apple 10.2-inch iPad (Wi-Fi, 64GB) - $100 off!$229⚡ This is an awesome deal. I use my iPad primarily for TrainerRoad as well as Zwift when not with a larger display. I also occasionally use it for other apps, namely Wahoo SYSTM, Rouvy, and Peloton. But I pretty much test every smart trainer app on it. For all these cycling apps, the graphics capabilities is really pretty irrelevant, so having the absolute top-end/latest model won't make any difference. I prefer the budget options.
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 AirTags (4-Pack) - 20% off!$79⚡I make no secret how much I utilize AirTags, mainly, cause they've saved my butt numerous times already. We have them in every suitcase, and every backpack, and every bike bag. They're also hidden in most of our bikes (sometimes two of them). We were able to get our cargo bike back when it disappeared, as well as figure out when all our suitcases went missing during an annual family vacation where they were (for 5 days!), and plan appropriately. Seriously, just get 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.
BOB Revolution Flex Running Stroller - 20% off$439There's just no competition in our minds on the best running stroller - it's what we used with all three of our kiddos for everyting from intervals to 20-mile long runs. In fact, we actually have two of them - one at home in Europe, and one with family in Canada that we picked up used. Go Bob Go!
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.
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.
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 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 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 - $100 off!$399This 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. Note this is the base edition without solar.
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 Varia Radar (RTL515) - $50 off$149This is Garmin's standalone radar+taillight option, and $149 is pretty much the standard sale-price.
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.
Garmin inReach 2 Mini Satellite Communicator (2-way) - $100 off$299⚡ This is my defacto satellite communicator when out of coverage area, and I've used it on a number of major treks over the past two years when well outside of cellular service, both in a 24x7 tracking mode for friends and family, but also there in case of emergency. Would strongly recommend for anyone doing anything in the wilderness.
Garmin inReach Messenger - $50 off$249
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.
Google Nest Cam Indoors - 30% off$69We have more Nest cam's than I can count. No really, we have half a dozen at the DCR Cave alone, plus more at home. We love them. Nest Cam's really only go on sale about 1-2x per year.
Google Nest Mesh WiFi Router - 55% off two-pack$119These are the WiFi mesh access points I use both at home and the DCR Cave. Love them - I don't need to dork with them, they just work. Sure, there are fancier 'Pro' versions now, but really, I just have zero issues.
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.
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!
Hydrow Rowing Machine - $500 off$1,995This is one of the other more popular display-laden rowing machines. I haven't tried this, but my sports-tech reviewing buddy DesFit has (linked at side) and liked it.
Hyperice Normatec 3 Leg Recovery System - $100 off$699While this isn't something I've personally used, I know a ton of you do very much love it. Go forth!
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.
Jackery Portable Power Station - $85 off!$154This is something I use frequently when shooting out and about and I need to re-charge a crapton of drone batteries, action cameras, or just cameras and such. I also use it on trips to Eurobike and elsewhere to keep equipment charged. I've even bought a solar panel to hook up to it (surprisingly effective). Heck, I've even powered a KICKR trainer ride from it!
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.
Nespresso Vertuo Next Coffee & Espresso Kit - 30% off$118⚡ Let's be honest: This place runs on Nespresso (or, well, the knock-off pods we buy). But, the machine is Nespresso. Without it, reviews most definitely would not get done (and certainly not on time). This is a pretty sweet deal if you ask me!
Nest Cam Outdoors - $60 off$119We use one of these and so far after just about five years, it's working great for us. Love it, and works better than trying to stick a regular Nest Cam out the window (since it'll reflect both during daytime and at night with the IR sensor).
Ooni Fyra 12 Wood Fired Outdoor Portable Pizza Oven - $105 off!$244⚡ I know, I know, I still owe everyone a review. Nonetheless, 2+ years later, I love this thing. We use it for more than pizza too, notably steaks (to get a really crispy sear). But a lot of pizza. It's completely portable, even easily fitting on our cargo bike. Note that I went with this model, the cheapest one they make, as I realized that buying the higher-end models that that support gas didn't make much sense for me. I have a gas grill already (and could easily just put a stone on it). Similarly, while a large 16" is appealing, realistically I've found this 12" more than enough for pretty substantial personal pizzas (and it makes it easier to handle). Full in-depth review pretty soon...probably. Also, $244 appears to be the lowest price ever.
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.
Peloton Bike - $350 off$1,095I believe this is the lowest price we've ever seen on the original/base Peloton Bike model (without a bundle required). This is still a solid bike, and actually one that I use at home (I have the newer Peloton Bike+ at the office). Both my wife and I use these bikes interchangeably, and while the Bike+ has a bigger screen and better accuracy, there's very little difference in the core Peloton experience. I'd still recommend this model to most people. Note Peloton has stated/confirmed there will be no 'bigger discounts' on products during this holiday period.
Peloton Bike+ is $400 off$1,995This is a solid deal for the Bike+. Both my wife and I use both the Peloton Bike+ and the regular Bike (one at home, one at office) on a weekly basis. We like both. The Bike+ is more accurate than the regular bike, and also has a bigger screen and automatic resistance control. That said, the core Peloton experience isn't any different between the two - it's the same platform there. Note Peloton has stated/confirmed there will be no 'bigger discounts' on products during this holiday period.
Peloton Row - $250+ off$2,745Peloton has the Peloton Row on sale, both this base unit here, but also various bundled units as well. This is the first times we've seen the base unit (non-bundled) on sale.
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!
SONOS Roam - 25% off$134We have a few SONOS speakers around the house and DCR Cave (the Ikea variants at DCR Cave), but by far our favorite is the Roam, which we take outdoors into the garden during the summer, beach vacations, AirBNB's, etc... It has a battery in it, and also connects to both WiFi and Bluetooth. Love, love, love
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.
Samsung T9 SSD (1-4TB) - up to 43% off$109I use a literal flotilla of these small SSD's for all my photo/video projects until they get moved off to the NAS system (Synology) for longer term storage. I have T5/T7 units, and are picking up a few of the larger T9 ones given the sale prices. Love them, incredibly fast and reliable.
SanDisk 256GB Extreme PRO SD Cards - 52% off$29⚡I use the SanDisk Extreme Pro SD Cards exclusively for all my video/photo shooting on my Panasonic GH5 and Nikon cameras (video and stills), including up to 6K recording with the GH5. I've mostly used 128's, but more and more lately I'm filling up cards faster with higher bitrates, so this sale is gonna have me pickup a bunch of the 256GB ones instead. The 128GB/ 512GB/1TB ones are also on sale too viathe same link. Note that usually I wait till these are about $40-45, so this is a fantastic deal and I'll be filling up.
Stages Bike SB20 - $500 off!
$2899
$1,999⚡ A very solid deal, making it the least expensive smart bike out there. Note that while the deal is marketed as being 37% off, most of the time the bike floats between $2,500 and $2,800. Still - $1,999 is very solid.
Stages Power Meters - Most 20% off units$267Stages is offering 20% off most of their non-drive-side power meters.
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.
Tacx Flux 2 Smart Trainer - $300 off
$899
$599
Tacx NEO 2T Smart Trainer - $500 off!
$1,399
$899⚡⚡ Holy crap, this is an incredible deal. Get this while it's hot and lasts. Note that you can also pair this with the NEO Motion Plates, which would give you a slight bit of forward/back rolling motion.
Therabody Theragun Elite - $30 off$289This is arguably my wife's favorite sports tech gadget. She uses it pretty much daily. Thus, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention this deal. Also, please don't tell her, she might just buy another one...
Therabody Theragun Prime - $110 off!$189My wife uses the Theragun Elite, which is just slightly more expensive than this model at $299 on sale right now. But hey, I hear good things about all of these.
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 KICKR Core Smart Trainer - $120 off!
$899
$479⚡⚡ This deal is back, and it's a pretty incredible deal. It's the Wahoo KICKR CORE down to $499, which REI briefly did this past June. Nobody else seems to be offering this deal, and even though the KICKR CORE got the price reduced to $599 recently, it's virtually unheard of to see these trainers below the $500 marker.
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.
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).
Withings Body+ WiFi Scale - 30% off$69I've long been a fan of the Withings WiFi scales, especially since they can connect/push data to so many platforms, including Zwift! Note that the Body+ simply includes more data.

DCRAINMAKER.COM Posts in the Past Week:

Here’s all the goodness that ended up on the main page this past week:

Sunday: Week in Review–May 17th, 2020
Monday: Strava Cuts Off Leaderboard for Free Users, Reduces 3rd Party Apps for All, and More
Wednesday: First Look at COROS’s new Structured Workout & Strength Training Features
Friday: Trying Out Zwift’s New Boost Mode Feature in Beta

YouTube Videos This Past 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 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 (and in this case, some of these are from the past few weeks…as my backlog is a bit longer):

1) Person mods GTA V to work with smart trainer, and pedals around world: That’s super cool! And it will even export a .FIT file out for upload to Strava or others, and it seems to imply it’s doing road-feel too. Now before someone compares to Zwift, as pointed out in the Reddit comments, GTA V had upwards of 1,000 developers working on it (Zwift has 200-300 employees in total) with a budget of $265 million. Yes, Million.

Also, fun industry tidbit here: The person who did this (Nestor Matas) actually did all the original ANT+ FE-C work at Bkool years before anyone else in the industry did so in their trainers, though he now works for Garmin. Back then though, Bkool was the annual on-stage demo company of FE-C at the ANT+ Symposium – and I even got suckered into being the volunteer cyclist on-stage one year to show it off – I think there’s a picture of both of us on stage somewhere. These days of course it’s baseline functionality in every smart trainer, and is how this mod works.

2) Cervelo co-founder Phil White joins 4iiii as Acting President of Company: This is an interesting one. He’s been a board member for a bit already, so this is a transition within the orbit of the company he’s already familiar with, rather than coming entirely out of left field. The company makes good products of course, but it will be interesting to see if he can boost their profile or market penetration.

3) Dirty Kanzelled race routes: If you were looking at riding the Dirty Kanza and now need a substitute route to keep you busy, this site has piles of awesome routes. Bookmarking it for future reference of simply good routes to scope out (mostly using parts of them).

4) SportTracks shows support for Garmin Varia Radar Traffic Data: Sweet! After I wrote about the Varia radar mapping a week or two ago, SportTracks explained how to use their built-in CIQ data support to do all the overlays and data plotting in a super clean format. Ok Strava, you’re next, right?

5) Emergency Autoland puts Garmin on bleeding edge of autonomous flying: This has nothing to do with sports tech, but it’s all about tech and aviation (and you know, I love aviation). Anyway, it’s a super fascinating look at Garmin’s new AutoLand system for emergencies of mostly smaller aircraft (single-pilot focused). Sure, the tech is interesting, but it’s actually more about the certification here. The idea that if you start with the assumption of all lives being lost in an emergency, and work backwards to find a tech solution that could most likely save everyone with low-risk, it’s astounding. This piece is 6 months old, but notable because the system finally received certification this week. Also – it’s relevant here because people might say ‘I’d never trust Garmin software for life-saving functions’. Ignoring the fact that if you’ve flown on an airplane you probably already have; the key difference here is that this system was a *decade* in the making. Your watch? Probably a 6-12 month product cycle. Different markets, different QA thresholds.

6) GoPro announces new Zeus Mini LED Light: It’s cool, but, it’s actually been out for months. The Zeus mini is simply re-packaging of the GoPro Light Mod with the new GoPro Magnetic Swivel Clip. In fact, you can see it used exactly that way in my review of the light mod. That swivel clip is awesome, btw.

7) 15-year old girl pedals 1,200 kilometers carrying dad on her bike: Well then, I guess that Dirty Kanza make-up ride you were planning doesn’t sound so impressive now, does it?

8) RideWithGPS adds Garmin Course AutoSync (API) Support: After Strava and Komoot rolled it out last week, RideWithGPS joins them. As noted, I suspect we’ll see plenty of companies quickly add support for this. It’s a no-brainer.

Sports Tech Device 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 530/830/1030 Firmware Update: Huge feature update sweep with lots of indoor focused features, and a boatload of other ones (plus bug fixes). Here’s the 530 link and 1030 links.

Garmin Fenix 5 Series BETA Firmware Update: Bug fixes.

Garmin Instinct BETA Firmware Update: Minor bug fixes.

Garmin Venu Firmware Update: Mostly a collection of random tweaks, but few minor new features like added stress to watch data field.

Hammerhead Karoo Firmware Update: A pile of bug fixes, as well as a handful of new minor features like automatic wheel circumference.

Wahoo ELEMNT/BOLT/ROAM Firmware Update: Appears to be a re-release of the previous firmware update. So likely fixing some underlying bug.

Thanks for reading!

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28 Comments

  1. PeterF

    The “15-year old girl pedals 1,200 kilometers carrying dad on her bike” link goes to “Venu SW 4.60 is now live” on the Garmin forum. Not nearly as interesting 😉

  2. JimC

    The one thing I hate about your weekly posts is that the offers are always US based. Aren’t there any other areas that get offers? (And I appreciate I’m complaining about a free resource, such is human nature ?)

    • Honestly, it doesn’t oft happen in Europe. But the reason is actually simple: In Europe, the whole concept of MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) is illegal. Which is when manufacturers specify the price a retailer can sell it for, and will cut off that retailer if they advertise lower than that price.

      In the US, that’s the norm for virtually every product out there. However, with Europe (and most other countries) laws against it, the penalties are massive if a company even hints to a retailer than they shouldn’t lower prices (there are however ways manufs get around this, but it’s harder). So as a results, in Europe pretty much everything is always on-sale.

      All that said, sometimes there are retailer-specific deals, like one I shared on Friday: link to twitter.com

    • JimC

      Thanks for the explanation. And I must admit I’m tickled by the fact that socialist Europe enforces a free market, while capitalist USA doesn’t ?

    • Haha…neither system around pricing is ideal. Both have their pros and cons, and both positively and negatively impact consumers in different ways. And positively and negatively impact retailers in different ways. And positively and negatively impact manufs in different ways.

      I’m sure I could write an entire post about it (and seeing it from both the consumer and retailer/manuf side, on both sides of the Atlantic now), but I doubt they’d want to hear my ramblings there.

    • Scott Buchanan

      You seriously think that (illegal) price fixing isn’t happening here in the UK???

      Have a wander around all the well known online retailers and notice how uniform the pricing is around rrp.
      As one small local retailer told me any stockist that steps out of line will get a nudge from a sales rep. Then they find that they can’t get stock ending with the retailers official stockist status being supuriously removed.

      There’s more than one way to skin a cat!

    • Oh, I’m not saying it doesn’t happen – it’s just that they can’t be as overt about it. In the US, it’s written into contracts and the retaliation terms are also clear cut. For GoPro & Garmin for example, it’s 6-month product turn-offs if a product is a single penny too low.

      Typically in the UK (moreso than the rest of the EU, however you want to define that), they seem to be a bit more clear about it. They’ll often simply cut off stock, rather than actually saying anything – as you noted.

      It’s historically been much harder for companies to pull that off in mainland EU over the years (hence why, for example, we see so many cycling discounters coming from Germany especially).

  3. Heinrich Hurtz

    It’s impossible for me, having worked my entire career in product development (commercial equipment and instruments), to understand how the Garmin sports division is part of the same company as the marine and aviation divisions. I’ve used all three, starting with a basic handheld aviation unit back around ’91-92. Frankly, I can’t understand the development process at the sports division at all, in any context.

  4. CowSqueezer

    When is that whoop strap review coming! I’ve been putting off my purchase/rental until I see your exhaustive review 🙂

  5. Larry

    FWIW – a friend had the Wahoo Snap on backorder with REI for about a month and they sent her a cancellation notice without any explanation. She called REI and they told her they didn’t expect more to become available. She then called Wahoo who confirmed.

    • So typically speaking Wahoo has a semi-pecular policy that they’ll cancel any pre-orders/backorders if the date from the manuf slips beyond 30 days. This often bites folks for pre-orders of Garmin watches, where they get a random cancellation e-mail.

      We also see it a ton with both Wahoo & Tacx trainers at REI, since in most cases they’re not getting weekly shipments, but likely a monthly drop.

      I haven’t heard anything about Wahoo cancelling the SNAP lineup, so my guess is this is just a case of REI doesn’t have a date for when they’ll get the next order from Wahoo (or they haven’t placed another, etc…). I know for example that CT was expected to get another shipment next week…err, this week now.

  6. Ryan

    If I use one of the links to a trainer at REI but buy the Fenix 6 do you still get the affiliate sale? I have a rather large dividend this year ?

  7. Andras

    regarding garmin edge530 firmware update
    I am sad that virtual activities will loose the live track option.
    I think it was cool to share where the others should have imagined while I was training indoors.
    And I was hoping for a multiplayer option from Garmin…
    As it was able to place us on virtual maps, hence in a group as well, it wouldn’t have been complicated to connect groups to compete against each other, within Garmin ecosystem.

    Ray, is there any chance that Garmin will enable livetrack to be switched on meanwhile doing indoor training?

    • Unless I’m reading it wrong, it simply says ‘Automatically’, not that it’s going away. Meaning, if indoors and yours settings are configured to automatically do a livetrack each time, it won’t do that automatically anymore.

  8. Miles

    That GTA 5 mod looks amazing! Chris Pritchard posted a video of him doing a free ride, and it looked so much fun. It seems to require a Windows operating system, so as an Apple Mac owner, I will have to nab my son’s Windows laptop!

  9. Andrew

    Formula E driver Daniel Abt disqualified and fined for cheating with a ring-in during virtual race.

    link to abc.net.au

  10. Chris

    RWGPS link Goes to an error page.

  11. Richard Geraghty

    Your newsletter no longer reaches me, so I am re-subscribing. Many thanks for all your great stuff!

  12. Ray SEPHTON

    Excuse my ignorance, if in Garmin Express once Edge 530 is connected to PC via USB and sync is done but Express says no Update is available ( for 5.50) does that mean it has not been rolled out in my part of the world (South Africa )ye,t or is there some trick to getting it. Thanks

    • Correct.

      However, at the links in the Garmin Forum, you can simply download the update file (it’s a .GCD file, just put it in the ‘Garmin’ folder on your Edge), and you’ll be off and cookin!

    • GH

      thank you Ray. For some reason my 830 is not updating automatically either.

  13. Brian

    Hey Ray — being a fellow aviation fan, I highly recommend checking out the posts from Admiral Cloudberg on Reddit (link to reddit.com). He does a weekly analysis of a certain commercial aviation incident/accident. I’m always amazed at the multiple factors that go into a plane crash and how disaster (or near disaster) could’ve been averted if any one thing hadn’t occurred. The redundancy that goes into the workings of airplanes is fascinating. The near crash of Air Canada Flight 759 is a great one to start with: link to medium.com