Heads up – Massive Black Friday Deals List is Live!!! The Garmin Fenix 8 is $250 off (even the Fenix 8 Pro is $100 off!), the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on sale, the Garmin inReach Mini 2 is $249, the GoPro Hero 13 Black, DJI NEO, and a ton of other brands/deals, including Wahoo, Oura, Whoop, Polar, Samsung, Google, and more than 100 sports tech deals here!
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:
Some nice little savings on the latest Apple Watch Series 6 in here, as well as the new iPad. Not major, but hey, if you were gonna pick one up…this be the way to save enough for an extra couple pints of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream.
Product
Sale Price
Amazon
Other site
Sale Notes
Adobe Creative Cloud Pro (12 Months) - $389 off (50% off!)
As a side note, you can cancel and take advantage of this. Which, is precisely what I did when I realized my existing plan was gonna be stupid expensive. In any case, I use the Adobe Creative Cloud Pro suite for a lot of what I do.
We did see lower just back in July, at $199. So I'd probably hold out a bit more here. Assuming that happens, you can't beat this watch at this price point (heck,not even at $226 either).
Perhaps this deal will get better, but right now at $20 off...nah. Given the price of the Garmin Epix Pro has flirted into the $429 range a bit over the past few days (and is a vastly better watch), this needs to drop down closer to $299 to be worth picking up during Black Friday pricing.
These are the just-released AirPod Pro 3, with optical heart rate sensors in them. These are my daily-driver headphones these days, and even more notably, the heart rate accuracy is incredibly good in these.
This is the first major sale for the Apple Watch SE 3, which came out just 2 months ago. It's essentially Apple's 'budget' offering, yet it still has all the same software features as a higher-end Apple Watch Series 11, as long as the hardware permits.
This is the first time we've seen the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on sale, and given it's $100 off, that tends to be the typical sale price for the holidays/Black Friday for the current/just-released version.
This is last year's model. And sure, the Action 6 came out 48 hours ago, but honestly, the initial rection hasn't been kind there. I just started testing it, so more to come very shortly.
Look, don't buy this drone. This is the drone that never should have left the napkin at the lunch table at DJI's HQ. The unit breaks easily (as I, and many others found out), and doesn't really do anything super well. Literally, buy any other DJI drone except htis one...you're welcome.
⚡ This is a great little drone as your first drone, especially for sports usage, where it'll do an astonishing job following you (running, cycling, etc...). And, you can crash it a gazillion times without any problem.
NOTE: This is not sold by DJI directly via Amazon. DJI itself is NOT selling the OSMO 360 in the US, and WILL NOT support/repair it in the US. That said, it's a solid deal if you're ok with those risks.
This is Elite's previous-gen trainer, but it's still a reliable workhorse. This bundle is paired with the Zwift Cog/Click, though, you can also buy it without a cassette for the same price.
These is the new model just released this past summer with stronger anti-scratch resistance (I even dragged it down a textured concrete pool desk, lens-down, to show this).
⚡The Favero Assioma Pro MX dual-sided power meter pedals deal is a no brainer. I use them in my testing constantly along with the PRO RS pedals. Note Favero will simply convert your currency automatically (e.g. still works in the US)
⚡The Favero Assioma Pro RS dual-sided power meter pedals having their first sale yet. This deal is a no brainer. I use them in my testing, and will likely pick up another set in this sale. Note Favero will simply convert your currency automatically (e.g. still works in the US)
⚡ This is (by far) the lowest price we've seen on this watch to date. This is their first full smartwatch focused on kids activity tracking and gamification.
⚡ This is the go-to sale price for the Fitbit Charge 6. It happens often, but it still doesn't take away from the fast that it's argueably the best bang for your buck fitness tracker out there.
If you're looking for a simple and inexpensive activity tracker, you won't go wrong with a Fitbit (or this Inspire 3). It's got literally all the same software features in the Fitbit app as a higher-end Google Pixel Watch or other Fitbit device, except...just tiny.
⚡ This is Garmin's newest kids-focused and LTE connected smart watch. Our three daughters have been using it for about two months now, after using the original Bounce 1 for years. This is a *massive* upgrade over the Bounce 1, both in features/hardware, but frankly also battery life. My review should be up next week, but if you've got any questions drop them in the comments below.
This is the activity tracker that both of our oldest daughters have used for years (age 8 & 9), as well as most of their friends now. They/we all like it. Check out my full in-depth review for all my thoughts. That said, the new Bounce 2 came out two months ago, and while my review isn't out yet, it's a far better product. But, quite a bit more too. The TLDR on that review will be that it's the best kids smartwatch/tracker to date (for both parents and kids), but obviously will cost you $100 more.
This is Garmin's premier line of diving watches, which is based on the Fenix 7 seies, rather than the Fenix 8 series. Still, it's by far one of the most capable dive+everything else watches on the market.
Garmin Descent MK3i (Dive watch with air integration) - $250 off!
This is Garmin's premier line of diving watches, which is based on the Fenix 7 seies, rather than the Fenix 8 series. Still, it's by far one of the most capable dive+everything else watches on the market. The 'i' version (MK3i) means that you can connect it to an air tank monitor transmitter pod.
⚡This is a very solid deal, and is still one of the best bike computers Garmin has ever made, especially when you look at the battery side of things (it lasts far longer than the Edge 1050).
⚡At $249, it's pretty much impossible to beat this deal in terms of bike computers. There's no competitive option that beats it on features/battery/etc at this price, or frankly anywhere near it. Sure, it doesn't have a touchscreen, but it's not as bad as it used to be (I did a stint on it this winter for a week or so, and was fine).
⚡⚡This is the lowest price we've seen on the Garmin Edge 540 Solar to date, which has gained virtually all of the new Garmin Edge 1050 features as well. And notably, lower than the Edge 540 without solar (which is kinda silly, but hey, win for us!).
This is the lowest price we've seen on this to date. The Enduro 3 is simply the Fenix 8 with a MIP/Solar display (but without the scuba or voice calling features). It gets all the Fenix 8 features and updates otherwise.
⚡⚡⚡ This is a fantastic deal. By far the lowest price we've seen this! The Epix Pro has a flashlight which the regular Epix lacks, plus the newer Garmin Elevate Gen5 optical HR sensor with ECG support.
⚡⚡⚡ This is a fantastic deal. By far the lowest price we've seen this! The Epix Pro has a flashlight which the regular Epix lacks, plus the newer Garmin Elevate Gen5 optical HR sensor with ECG support. Note: Availability on this deal fluctuates, just keep checking back, I'm sure it'll pop back again (it always does).
⚡⚡ If you wanted the battery life of a Fenix MIP series without the cost of a Fenix 8, this is basically your best deal. Plus, unlike the base Fenix 7 series, the Pro series includes the flashlight and Gen5 HR sensor with ECG.
⚡ If you wanted the battery life of a Fenix MIP series without the cost of a Fenix 8, this is basically your best deal. Plus, unlike the base Fenix 7 series, the Pro series includes the flashlight and Gen5 HR sensor with ECG.
⚡ The Fenix 8 keeps getting all the new software features of the Fenix 8 Pro that was launched two months ago. Setting aside that Fenix 8 Pro which gained LTE & Satellite Messaging, this is otherwise the most capable sports watch on the market.
⚡ The Fenix 8 keeps getting all the new software features of the Fenix 8 Pro that was launched two months ago. Setting aside that Fenix 8 Pro which gained LTE & Satellite Messaging, this is otherwise the most capable sports watch on the market.
As a general rule, the Fenix E is the watch that literally nobody is buying, and makes no sense at higher prices. The hardware is simply the Epix Gen 2 with Fenix stamped on it. That watch is going for $400, though I expect we'll see it down to $300 over Black Friday. However, one *KEY* difference with the Fenix E, is that it includes all of the software features of the newer Fenix 8, whereas the Epix Gen 2 doesn't get all the new software features. Otherwise, save your $200.
⚡ This is (by far) the lowest price on the Forerunner 265, which was recently replaced by the Forerunner 570 (but at nearly twice this price). What's fascinating about this sale price, is it's well beyond the usual sale prices for Garmin for this product. This pricing is 100% an Kansas-themed 'Hello!' to COROS and their just released COROS Pace 4 at $249.
The Foreurnner 55 is a great option if you simply don't want to spend a ton, but still want a super-capable runners watch (and general activity/sleep tracking watch). I've heard a lot of you get it for teenagers that run, as a great/inexpensive way to track their runs, and still be a good everyday watch.
⚡ This is the lowest price to date on the Forerunner 965, which is logical given the Forerunner 970 came out this past spring (which essentialy adds a flashlight and some other running metrics/features).
⚡ This is a very unexpected sale, just launched, on this very new watch, which is Garmin's top of the line Forerunner watch with virtually all the same software features as the Fenix 8 (but in a plastic case and without the diving features).
The Garmin Inded BPM is Garmin's medically certified blood pressure monitor. It integrates directly into your Garmin Connect account. I use it on occasion as a comparison for wearables, and it works just fine (obviously it's already medically certified by the FDA, so I say 'works' here in the sense of usability/functionality/etc...).
The Instinct 3 series came out earlier this year, with both an AMOLED and Solar variants. The big upgrade over the previous editions is the inclusion of the flashlight in all sizes, and a massive ugprade of sports features.
The Instinct 3 series came out earlier this year, and the Solar edition in particular has 'unlimited' battery life in certain scenarios. The big upgrade over the previous editions is the inclusion of the flashlight in all sizes, and a massive ugprade of sports features.
This is Garmin's radar without the light, so it's a bit smaller as a result. Same radar tech though, and compatible with Garmin/COROS/Hammerhead/Wahoo bike computers.
This is Garmin's standalone radar+taillight option, and $149 is pretty much the standard sale-price. Even despite all the new radars out there, this remains the most accurate option on the market. Now, only if Garmin would just re-release it with USB-C. C'Mon Garmin...maybe next year?
This is the first time this product has been on sale, since launching last spring. I'd argue it could have used a $100 off sale...but hey...they don't consult me.
⚡ The Garmin Venu 4 just came out two months ago, and one of the big ticket features is the LED flashlight built-in. However, it's also got a ton of other new features, as Garmin merged the codebase with the Forerunner/Fenix series, resulting in a boatload of added things like Training Readiness, Acute Load, and more.
⚡ This is the lowest price we've seen on the newest product in the entire Garmin Holiday 2025 sale lineup. This is basically a blend of a Forerunner 970, Venu 4, and Fenix 8...but super thin. It's argueably one of the best deals here at $599, though, Garmin is still clearly trying to figure out the right pricing to drive purchases.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the Vivoactive 6 on sale, which is essentially a Venu 4, but without the voice/calling/ECG features (and a few other tidbits). It's probably one of the best deals in Garmin's lineup (sale or otherwise).
⚡ This is the lowest price we've ever seen for this. 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.
This came out last fall, and is the second time this has been discounted, but now to the lowest price to date. The key difference with the new Plus model is that it adds the ability to send photos and voice messenges via satellite. I've used it a bit, and it's pretty cool because it makes it a lot faster to just say something rather than type it out, but the $499 price seemed excessive. $399 makes it slightly more palatable.
This is GoPro's budget option, which includes a full color touchscreen on the back as well. The main benefit is it's super small, but note it's not quite in the same quality ballpark as their higher-end cameras. If you want size and GoPro ecosystem on a budget, this is an option. But with the DJI Action 4 just $20 more than $199, that offers notably better quality.
We 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.
The newer Pixel Watch 4 came out back in October. I see the Pixel Watch 4 as a pretty substantial hardware upgrade over the Pixel Watch 3, notably due to satellite SOS, as well as a user-replaceable battery.
This has become one of my favorite drones, given it's tiny size (fits in my running shorts pockets) and ease of use. Plus, you can crash the crap out of it (hundreds of times for me and my wife) without any issues. This combo includes an extra battery and fast charger.
⚡ This is a solid deal on a solid drone, and one of the two main ones I use when taking videos of myself hiking or running. This includes the two extra batteries as well as the fast charger (so 3 batteries total).
This 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.
⚡ This just came out this past August, and is a great little unit. The pod isn't quite as tiny as the Go 3S, but the features and quality are a huge step up (especially the removable MicroSD card).
This is one of the best 360 action cams on the market, alongside the GoPro Max 2 (both have their pros and cons, check out my full comparison guide linked).
⚡ 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!
Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Outdoor Pizza Oven - $120 off
I use the Fyra 12 (with wood pellets), and love it. The Karu 12 is essentialyl the newer version of that, and there's both a gas-only version, and a multi-fuel option (gas or wood). Love it!
⚡The Pixel Watch 4 LTE includes satellite SOS connectivity, even if you don't activate a cellular plan on it. I'd strongly recommend getting the LTE version for $50 more, to future-proof you a bit there (or, to save your bacon in the woods).
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%.
If you're looking for a good solid high-quality strap, that does both ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart, for a reasonable price...look no further than the Polar H9
⚡This is one of the two the high speed drives types I use to store the footage I'm actively video editing. I typically buy the 2TB and 4TB ones, and then eventually offload the footage onto a NAS array when I'm done.
Sony Alpha 7 IV Full-frame Mirrorless Camera w/ 28-70mm Zoom - $400 offThis is the main camera I use for still photography and video b-roll. I semi-recently wrote about all the photography gear I use, linked at side here.
Suunto Aqua Swimming Open-Ear Bluetooth Headphones - 22% off!
This is a very solid deal. It's got virtually all the software features of Suunto's higher-end watches (minus the app store), and just came out this past May.
While the new Suunto Vertical 2 just came out a month ago, if you wanted to stock-up on MIP-based display watches before they disappear, here's your chance. This is also the lowest price we've ever seen on the Vertical 1, which is otherwise still a very soild watch.
I have bigger Synology NAS units at the DCR Studio/Office, but I also have a smaller unit (this one) that I use to keep various piles of data here too. I like the Synology stuff, as it's generally quite dependable.
This is the go-to sales price for the NEO 2T, though has become more frequent over the past year. It's still an incredible trainer, and is the top-end non-moving trainer from Garmin/Tacx.
⚡ This is the lowest price we've seen to date on the Tacx NEO 3M, and finally takes it down to a semi-logical price (compared to it's competitors). This is a good buy, and obviously, given it's only a year old, I definitely don't expectany sort of new version of this anytime soon (the last NEO series unit was about 5 years between versions).
This simulates the up and down motion on Wahoo KICKR trainers moving your bike up and down. Also, there's virtually no product except SNAP, that Wahoo likes to put on sale more. Wouldn't be a sale around here unless this thing was discounted.
⚡ This is a very solid deal for this bike, and the lowest price to date. I actually like the KICKR BIKE SHIFT more than the higher-end KICKR BIKE V2/Pro, mainly because it's both quiter, and seems to be more resillient to issues (less complex design).
⚡ ⚡ This is a very very good deal, for the KICKR CORE 2 that just came out two months ago. My full review was just published last week after an absolute boatlod of riding, and even buying an extra unit to validate things. This model is the one with the Zwift Cog/Click, whereas the 11sp cassette model is also the same price.
⚡ ⚡ This is a very very good deal, for the KICKR CORE 2 that just came out two months ago. My full review was just published last week after an absolute boatlod of riding, and even buying an extra unit to validate things. This model is the one with the Zwift Cog/Click, whereas the 11sp cassette model is also the same price.
⚡This is actually the lowest price we've ever seen on the KICKR V6. Wahoo says we won't see a new top-end KICKR this fall, with them instead focusing on the new KICKR Bike Pro, KICKR CORE 2, and all their new bike computers/radar/etc...
Here’s all the goodness that ended up on the main page this past week, as noted last week, I planned for this past week to be pretty quiet as I prep for this upcoming week
3) How to buy Apple Watch Faces in watchOS7…sorta: The reality is, as the article notes, the 3rd party watch face limitations on Apple Watch remain mostly a giant dumpster fire. It’s also surprised me, for a company so good at having a developer ecosystem for all other aspects of their hardware, this singular piece that is usually the easiest of things to accomplish watch-platform wise (where most brands start before offering full apps), has never really happened.
5) Strava makes ‘Metro’ data free to urban city planners: This is the long-standing program that helps cities figure out where to invest in bike infrastructure. Previously Strava sold this, and while the price was reportedly high, the reality is this was a small revenue source in the grand scheme of things for Strava.
6) Echelon launches Amazon Prime Bike…then Unlaunches it: As I said in a tweet, I suspect there’s way more to this story than Amazon is letting on. And if nothing else, they just learned there’s a @#$#-ton of interest for such a thing (even if Walmart already sells the exact same bike for $500).
7) Polar adds HRV Export Option to Site: This was a week or two ago, but it’s definitely worth noting. Polar added this from their Polar Flow website. Cool stuff.
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, Wahoo, Polar, and a few other firmware updates.
Garmin Forerunner 945 BETA Firmware Update: This adds the new track mode, plus daily suggested workouts, and the new recovery time. Also adds Grit/Flow for MTB as well as Bouldering/Indoor Climb profiles.
Fairly close. There’s a handful of minor features like extended golf stuff, and I think some aspects of power management (offhand, don’t have one in front of me on a Saturday night), that aren’t there.
Interesting, thats Abbott’s “Freestyle Libre” blood glucose sensor (used by some type 1 diabetics) but rebranded for sports use. Not sure I fancy having a ‘thin filament’ inserted through my skin.
On their medical devices, Abbott make the following disclaimer: “A finger prick test using a blood glucose meter is required during times of rapidly changing glucose levels when interstitial fluid glucose levels may not accurately reflect blood glucose levels” — make of that what you will
Actually, the Libre system is fantastic. If you’ve got diabetes, that is, I can’t see it having an application otherwise. If your beta cells are working perfectly, don’t worry about it! There is a hack using various extra bits of tech and your mobile phone for displaying your current blood glucose on a Garmin but as Abbot doesn’t release the code for their system they haven’t (IME) been as accurate as using Abbot’s flash reader. As I have T1D and use the Libre system, a development to get live blood glucose readings on a Garmin would be an immediate purchase for me!
I’m using Dexcom G6, Android phone running xDrip and a Connect IQ data field for displaying CGMS data on a Garmin watch and head unit. It is truly amazing! Agree with you, if this could be achieved without the need for phone and third party apps, would be an easy sale to people like us! There is an ANT+ CGMS profile, but don’t know of any tech that makes use of it. DCR reported on a company waaaay back in 2014 that would offer ANT+ functionality, but nothing has come to market and it would rely on Garmin etc implementing the profile on their side. link to dcrainmaker.com
Have often wondered if CGMS would be of a sporting advantage for ‘normal’ people. I tend to agree with your assessment if an athlete was following an optimised nutrition plan, 80g of carbs/hr or what have you. But could see it being an early warning system to an impeding ‘bonk’ if more food is not consumed or intensity reduced. Obviously using the CGMS data for insulin adjustment would not be applicable.
Really, why not have blood sugar level data to go along with HR, power, SpO2 etc… other than the reality it requires a small sensor inserted under the skin to read levels. :) Regardless, looking forward to seeing a DCR style review on the system, if Ray is able to get his hands on it.
Love to see this Ray. T1 here using Freestyle Libre > Garmin CIQ on my head unit. Probably always going to be niche for non-T1 but for me a little more important :-) Garmin watch and Apple Watch integration also could do with work but has implementations already.
Regarding the Polar interwebs reference, have you noticed that GPX exports from Polar Flow have been screwed up for the last few months, with timestamps that inexplicably present local wall-clock time as GMT. (E.g. 5am in a GMT+5 timezone should have the time 00:00:00Z, but in the GPX file it’s 05:00:00Z).
Considering that the only way to get your ride data off a Polar device is via their website and that export, this is a crippling error.
I reported it to them. It took 28 days for them to even respond. Their response “yeah, we know. We’ll consider this ticket closed now”. ?
Polar provides three kinds of export (GPX, TCX, and CSV), but no one of them has all the data. Cadence data, for example, is, inexplicably, only in the CSV. So I have to combine the files, and I already have plenty of tools for working with GPX.
(When the GPX bug started a couple of months ago, it never occurred to me that it might not have also happened with the TCX file, so I didn’t check it.)
I’m a programmer so it’s easy enough for me to convert TCX to GPX, just as it’s easy enough for me to shift the times by the requisite number of hours, but these options are not as easily-available to most cyclists.
(And seriously, 28 days for a response? It’s par for their course: a few years ago I did an 18-hour/408km ride, and their system couldn’t handle it… the sync to their server always crashed. My data was in Polar prison. It took more than a month to get even an initial response, and when it came, it was the same “we’ll work on fixing this some day” and that was it. It turns out, though, that if I was happy to abandon the data and just use the unit to record further rides, eventually the memory would fill and older data would be automatically deleted, and so once that long ride was deleted, the unit could sync again. )
Measuring arterial oxygen saturation at the wrist is always going to be problematic since the wrist is just not that pulsatile compared to the usual sites for pulse oximetry measurement (a digit or an earlobe being the most common). Therefore the number coming from a wrist sensor is going to lie somewhere between arterial and venous oxygen saturation which will be a few percentage points lower than a true arterial oxygen saturation.
Does anybody else have trouble with a Garmin Edge (530 in my case) after the 6.20 Update? Mine won’t connect to anything at all any more, not even USB-cable to Garmin Express.
Garmin support wasn’t really helpful, other than asking for a lot of info in an email and saying engineers will look into this.
I did chat with them. The US support (contacted them first because it was midnight here in Austria) would have exchanged the unit right away. Unfortunately only for customers in US/Canada. Chatted with local Austrian support (I think they are based in Germany) and they asked a multitude of (useless) questions and followed that up with an email asking for a lot more info (stuff like which Garmin Express version etc.). Since replying to that email I haven’t heard back.
Wonder how long it will take them to sort this out …
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Hey
Any word from garmin on when they will add the sleep widget on 745 again ?
Bests
I haven’t heard.
I’ve lost track, does the FR945 still have feature parity with the Fenix 6 Pro? Time for a new watch in the near future…
Fairly close. There’s a handful of minor features like extended golf stuff, and I think some aspects of power management (offhand, don’t have one in front of me on a Saturday night), that aren’t there.
The new sleep tracking, map themes and power saving modes are missing to parity.
Yup, map themes was the other one. Sleep tracking is coming shortly, so that’ll take care of that. Good catch.
Hello
Does Garmin have plans to introduce ECG on their sport watches?
Thanks for answering.
Ed
Not sure, but it would take new hardware for sure.
Something planned about Abbot’s new “Libre Sense Glucose Sport Biosensor” ?
link to supersapiens.com
Interesting, thats Abbott’s “Freestyle Libre” blood glucose sensor (used by some type 1 diabetics) but rebranded for sports use. Not sure I fancy having a ‘thin filament’ inserted through my skin.
On their medical devices, Abbott make the following disclaimer: “A finger prick test using a blood glucose meter is required during times of rapidly changing glucose levels when interstitial fluid glucose levels may not accurately reflect blood glucose levels” — make of that what you will
More about them here link to diabetes.org.uk
Yeah, I’ve been talking with them for a few months. They’re working to get me to try it, there’s just a lot of paperwork and logistics involved.
Actually, the Libre system is fantastic. If you’ve got diabetes, that is, I can’t see it having an application otherwise. If your beta cells are working perfectly, don’t worry about it! There is a hack using various extra bits of tech and your mobile phone for displaying your current blood glucose on a Garmin but as Abbot doesn’t release the code for their system they haven’t (IME) been as accurate as using Abbot’s flash reader. As I have T1D and use the Libre system, a development to get live blood glucose readings on a Garmin would be an immediate purchase for me!
Hi Stuart,
I’m using Dexcom G6, Android phone running xDrip and a Connect IQ data field for displaying CGMS data on a Garmin watch and head unit. It is truly amazing! Agree with you, if this could be achieved without the need for phone and third party apps, would be an easy sale to people like us! There is an ANT+ CGMS profile, but don’t know of any tech that makes use of it. DCR reported on a company waaaay back in 2014 that would offer ANT+ functionality, but nothing has come to market and it would rely on Garmin etc implementing the profile on their side. link to dcrainmaker.com
Have often wondered if CGMS would be of a sporting advantage for ‘normal’ people. I tend to agree with your assessment if an athlete was following an optimised nutrition plan, 80g of carbs/hr or what have you. But could see it being an early warning system to an impeding ‘bonk’ if more food is not consumed or intensity reduced. Obviously using the CGMS data for insulin adjustment would not be applicable.
Really, why not have blood sugar level data to go along with HR, power, SpO2 etc… other than the reality it requires a small sensor inserted under the skin to read levels. :) Regardless, looking forward to seeing a DCR style review on the system, if Ray is able to get his hands on it.
Sorry for the slight off topic everyone. Cheers.
Love to see this Ray. T1 here using Freestyle Libre > Garmin CIQ on my head unit. Probably always going to be niche for non-T1 but for me a little more important :-) Garmin watch and Apple Watch integration also could do with work but has implementations already.
Good write up here on this and some other Abbott developments https://www.diabettech.com
Regarding the Polar interwebs reference, have you noticed that GPX exports from Polar Flow have been screwed up for the last few months, with timestamps that inexplicably present local wall-clock time as GMT. (E.g. 5am in a GMT+5 timezone should have the time 00:00:00Z, but in the GPX file it’s 05:00:00Z).
Considering that the only way to get your ride data off a Polar device is via their website and that export, this is a crippling error.
I reported it to them. It took 28 days for them to even respond. Their response “yeah, we know. We’ll consider this ticket closed now”. ?
Hmm, I primarily (exclusively I guess), use the TCX export for data. Out of curiosity, why use GPX over TCX?
Polar provides three kinds of export (GPX, TCX, and CSV), but no one of them has all the data. Cadence data, for example, is, inexplicably, only in the CSV. So I have to combine the files, and I already have plenty of tools for working with GPX.
(When the GPX bug started a couple of months ago, it never occurred to me that it might not have also happened with the TCX file, so I didn’t check it.)
I’m a programmer so it’s easy enough for me to convert TCX to GPX, just as it’s easy enough for me to shift the times by the requisite number of hours, but these options are not as easily-available to most cyclists.
(And seriously, 28 days for a response? It’s par for their course: a few years ago I did an 18-hour/408km ride, and their system couldn’t handle it… the sync to their server always crashed. My data was in Polar prison. It took more than a month to get even an initial response, and when it came, it was the same “we’ll work on fixing this some day” and that was it. It turns out, though, that if I was happy to abandon the data and just use the unit to record further rides, eventually the memory would fill and older data would be automatically deleted, and so once that long ride was deleted, the unit could sync again. )
Measuring arterial oxygen saturation at the wrist is always going to be problematic since the wrist is just not that pulsatile compared to the usual sites for pulse oximetry measurement (a digit or an earlobe being the most common). Therefore the number coming from a wrist sensor is going to lie somewhere between arterial and venous oxygen saturation which will be a few percentage points lower than a true arterial oxygen saturation.
Polar also added New power zones for cyclists
link to support.polar.com
and Training session HRV data downloadable.
link to support.polar.com
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Does anybody else have trouble with a Garmin Edge (530 in my case) after the 6.20 Update? Mine won’t connect to anything at all any more, not even USB-cable to Garmin Express.
Garmin support wasn’t really helpful, other than asking for a lot of info in an email and saying engineers will look into this.
Garmin’s phone support is superb. Try calling them.
I did chat with them. The US support (contacted them first because it was midnight here in Austria) would have exchanged the unit right away. Unfortunately only for customers in US/Canada. Chatted with local Austrian support (I think they are based in Germany) and they asked a multitude of (useless) questions and followed that up with an email asking for a lot more info (stuff like which Garmin Express version etc.). Since replying to that email I haven’t heard back.
Wonder how long it will take them to sort this out …