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 that most of the Garmin deals end on/around fathers day (June 21st – today).
⚡ Both myself and my wife have been using these since last fall, after years of using the Beats Studio Buds...man, these things rock. Sure, they're good for sports, but frankly, I use them on planes, editing, and such more than anything else. In fact, I've been listening to them now for 8 hours as I type away on my flight across the ocean. Only briefly putting them in the case to top-up.
⚡The Fenix 8 is now down to $799 for the 42/47mm AMOLED editions, and from $899 for the Solar/MIP editions. This is the first big sale, outside of a short $70 discount back in January by Uncle Amazon.
This is the lowest price to date on this watch, bringing it down to a very strong $499. This unit includes maps and is more or less a plastic Fenix 7 Pro. The FR970 just came out this week, adding ECG functionality and a few other software features...but at $250 more!
This has become one of my favorite drones, given it's tiny size (fits in my running shorts pockets) and ease of use. While there's the new Pro drones, those are nearly 2x the price (and more for Pro-Max), and honestly, the video quality isn't really achieving that price point. Also note the checkbox to get yet an extra free battery (thus 3 batteries in total, based on the way it's currently coded in Amazon).
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 to clear out the backlog):
1) The Impact of Civil Rights Legislation on Triathlon: A good look back at the details of how shifting the laws and paradigms around women participating in sport has dramatically increased participation numbers there, and how that could potentially be applied in other areas to increase diversity.
2) UCI outlines ‘Team Bubble’ Strategy for return to racing: While well-meaning towards getting athletes back in racing, I continue to be somewhat astounded at the UCI’s determination to try and salvage this season. Especially in a sport that (perhaps more than any other I can think of) tries to pull 20-25 athletes/staff/etc that form a team with 19-22 teams in a race, to locales from previously around the globe to then travel across hundreds or thousands of kilometers of open roads as part of competition.
4) Garmin Fitness Engineering Development Manager Job Posting: For many years, from time to time I post interesting sports tech job positions in the Week in Review when companies reach out. This position is within Garmin’s Fitness teams, and is focused on partnerships. A similar position (well, an exact person of this exact position) on this team was mostly single-handedly responsible for landing on the Spotify, Amazon Music, and other streaming music partnerships on Garmin wearables. The hiring manager says they’re looking for some kick-ass people to join that team on a high-performance position. Roughly. [And again, seriously, if you’re a sports tech company that has unique positions, happy to include them from time to time.]
5) Tomorrow we’ll find out what’s in store for Apple Watch: Each June as part of WWDC, Apple announces what’s coming to the next version of Apple Watch OS. While that doesn’t tell us every feature that’ll be on the Apple Watch Series 6 (or whatever it ends up being called), it will generally cover the majority of them. And most of the features announced at WWDC tend to be backported to existing units. The festivities kick off at 10AM US Pacific Time. But swing back here for all the details as the event closes up.
7) Bicycle Sunday’s Extended! Cool little tidbit for New Yorkers in that the long-standing tradition of closing down 13 miles of highway for cyclists each Sunday is being extended this year to July and August. Thanks to DCR reader Yonah for sending this in!
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.
Hi Ray,
will you do a full review of that Leomo unit? It’s proprietary as hell, but considering it runs Android, it might be possible to just use existing apps to make it easier to get data in and out.
I looked into the death of Ahmaud Arbery, looked at dashcam video, background of Arbery, etc. That Runners World story is extremely biased, read like a fictional story at times. The legal system will run its course on the guy that shot him, but I wish you hadn’t posted the link.
Ray, I assume you’ve heard (and possibly had early visibility) of the Wattbike Atom v2. Will you get chance to play and/or review this before it gets into the hands of customers mid-August?
Yup I have a test Wattbike Atom X already, which is the same internals as the Atom V2, just with an added screen. The ATOM X also has some minor material differences since its used for gyms. But the key thing that’s the same is the internal motor aspects.
I’m mixed on it. On one hand it solves some core issues, on the other, I’m not sure it goes quite far enough. Hard to say. More soon!
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:
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.
While I don't partner with many companies, there's a few that I love, and support the site. Full details!
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 DesFit, 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 (including drones & action cams!)! 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 2024 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.
Great post, thanks! Note: the Fenix 5 firmware link actually links to the Fenix 6 firmware.
Thanks – fixed! Here’s the Fenix 5 Link: link to www8.garmin.com
Also, a interesting publication about new features for smartwatches?
link to theengineer.co.uk
I mean, if somebody can tell me my lactate level in real time without taking my blood, I am all in!
That’s pretty cool! Nice find!
anither thing: Runscribe is teasing a new product will be released this summer: Runscribe Sacral
Hi Ray,
will you do a full review of that Leomo unit? It’s proprietary as hell, but considering it runs Android, it might be possible to just use existing apps to make it easier to get data in and out.
My hope is to! It’s sitting on my desk!
Thanks for sharing the article about The story of Ahmaud Arbery – Death, Running, and Racism. Really interesting (and really really sad as well)
I looked into the death of Ahmaud Arbery, looked at dashcam video, background of Arbery, etc. That Runners World story is extremely biased, read like a fictional story at times. The legal system will run its course on the guy that shot him, but I wish you hadn’t posted the link.
“read like a fictional story at times”
Yes, welcome to racism, and in particular, racism in America. Imagine being on the other side.
Thanks for posting the link Ray. It’s shocking how racist Merica still is in 2020.
No comment. Only for subscription.
Ray, I assume you’ve heard (and possibly had early visibility) of the Wattbike Atom v2. Will you get chance to play and/or review this before it gets into the hands of customers mid-August?
Yup I have a test Wattbike Atom X already, which is the same internals as the Atom V2, just with an added screen. The ATOM X also has some minor material differences since its used for gyms. But the key thing that’s the same is the internal motor aspects.
I’m mixed on it. On one hand it solves some core issues, on the other, I’m not sure it goes quite far enough. Hard to say. More soon!