 | AmazFit T-Rex 3 - $80 off | $199 | Amazon | This is a solid deal, especially for a watch that has offline mapping. |
 | Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen with USB-C) - $100 off | $149 | Amazon | ⚡ 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. |
 | Apple AirTags (4-Pack) - 33% off! | $64 | Amazon | ⚡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 Watch Series 10 - $120 off
$399/$499 (cellular) | $279 | Amazon | ⚡ This is by far the lowest price we've seen to date for the Apple Watch Series 10. Of course, we're probably only 60 days away from an Apple Watch Series 11, but Apple has alreay announced WatchOS 26 last month, which the Series 10 gets all the new features from. |
 | Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium - $150 off | $649 | Amazon | ⚡ This is the lowest price on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 we've seen to date. It's likely we'll see an Apple Watch Ultra 3 this September, but like the Apple Watch Series 10 above, WatchOS26 has already been announced and all the new features there go to the Ultra 2. |
 | DJI Action 4 - $90 off | $209 | Amazon | While prior gen unit (and probably, 2 generations behind in a few weeks), it's still a very strong contender at this price point especially. |
 | DJI Mini 4K Drone - $60 off | $239 | Amazon | If you're looking to get into flying with a DJI drone, this is a solid place to start. Of course, moreso than that, the days are very limited for how much longer you can actually buy at DJI drone in the US. So, grab them while you can. |
 | DJI NEO - $30 off! | $159 | Amazon | This is the lowest price on this drone, and is a great option if you want a follow-me drone that's pretty hard to kill, at a price point that's still super reasonable. |
 | Elite Riser - $250 off! | $749 | Amazon | This appears to basically just be an Uncle Amazon sale, but hey, if you've got an Elite trainer and wanted Rizer, this is a super good deal for US folks! |
 | Fitbit Ace LTE Kids Activity Smartwatch - $100 off | $129 | Amazon | 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. |
 | Fitbit Charge 6 - 38% off!
$159 | $99 | Amazon | ⚡ 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. |
 | Garmin Edge 1040 Cycling GPS - $150 off! | $399 | Amazon | ⚡⚡ This is a very solid deal, and the lowest price we've seen to date on it. |
 | Garmin Edge 540 Solar - $150 off | $299 | Amazon | ⚡⚡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. |
 | Garmin Edge Explore 2 - $60 off
$299 | $237 | Amazon | |
 | Garmin Epix Pro Series - $200 off!
$899/$999 | $609 | Amazon | I believe this is the lowest price we've seen for the Epix Pro series (which has an ECG-capable HR sensor). Note that while some sites might tout $500+ off, in reality, this watch has been floating around $800 recently. |
 | Garmin Epix Sapphire/Titanium (Gen 2) - $400+ off! | $469 | Amazon | ⚡ This continues to be one of the best deals out there. While this watch won't be getting much in the way of big ticket new features, it does continue to get minor software updates - and for the money, has far more software features than any of Garmin's competitors (or for that matter, products like the Instinct 3 AMOLED lineup). |
 | Garmin Fenix 7X Pro Solar - $100-$200 off
$799+ | $499 | Amazon | |
 | Garmin Fenix 8 Series - $100 Off!
$999-$1,199 | $899 | Amazon | While not as good as last month's $200 off, that annual spring sale price won't likely be seen again till Black Friday-ish type sales. Thus, if you want a Fenix 8 for the summer, might as well take the $100 off and put it towards ice cream. |
 | Garmin Forerunner 165 (Base) - $75 off!
$249/$299 | $219 | Amazon | |
 | Garmin Forerunner 255/255S - $100 off | $199 | Amazon | This is the lowest price we've ever seen the Forerunner 255 at. |
 | Garmin Forerunner 255/255S Music - $100 off!
$349/$399 | $249 | Amazon | This is the lowest price on this watch to date (previous low was $299). |
 | Garmin Forerunner 265 Series - $50 off!
$449 | $399 | Amazon | |
 | Garmin Forerunner 55 - A Few Dollars Off
$199 | $169 | Amazon | Honestly, I just put this one in there, merely to point out you shoudn't buy it at this price. Buy the FR255 at $30 more, far better watch.
This thing should be priced at $129 or something to move units. |
 | Garmin Forerunner 955 - $150 off! | $349 | Amazon | ⚡ This has been one of Garmin's most popular running watches, and it's down to a very strong price. 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. It'd be hard to find any better deal in sports watches today, from any company (given this has full mapping, tons of new features even this week, etc...). I say '$100ish', because it's usually been on forever sale at $499. |
 | Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar: $150 off!
$499/$599 | $399 | Amazon | See everything I said above on the Forerunner 955 base, except this one also has solar. |
 | Garmin Forerunner 965 - $50 off
$599 | $549 | Amazon | This had been $499 for much of the spring, so $549 isn't that great of a deal. |
 | Garmin Instinct 2 Series - $75 Off | $169 | Amazon | ⚡I believe $169 is the lowest price we've ever seen for the Instinct 2. Or at least, I have no record of it being sub-$199. Very solid deal for a solid little watch. |
 | Garmin Instinct 2 Solar | $266 | Amazon | |
 | Garmin Instinct 2S & 2S Solar | $217 | Amazon | |
 | Garmin Lily 2 - 20% off
$249 | $199 | Amazon | The leather version is also on sale as well. |
 | Garmin Venu 3 - $50 off!
$449 | $399 | Amazon | |
 | Garmin Venu 3S - $50 off | $399 | Amazon | |
 | Garmin Vivoactive 5 - $110 off!
$299 | $189 | Amazon | This is a great deal for Garmin's little-sibling to the Venu series. It has almost all the same features as the Venu 3, except the voice calling related bits. |
 | Garmin inReach 2 Mini Satellite Communicator (2-way) - $20 off | $379 | Amazon | This is a pretty small deal for this product. 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. |
 | GoPro Hero 12 Black - $100 off! | $279 | Amazon | This is the older gen model, and to me, $279 seems a bit high. Get the Hero 13 Black for $50 more and have access to all the new accessories. Or, save yourself $50 and get either the DJI Action 4 (prior gen) or Insta360 Ace Pro 1 (prior gen) models. |
 | GoPro Hero 13 Black - $70 off | $329 | Amazon | |
 | Google Pixel Watch 3 (41mm) - $100 OFF | $249 | Amazon | |
| Google Pixel Watch 3 (41mm) - $100 OFF | $299 | Amazon | |
 | HoverAir X1 Drone Combo - $100 off! | $279 | Amazon | 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. |
 | HoverAir X1 Pro Drone Combo Kit - $155 off | $599 | Amazon | 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). |
 | HoverAir X1 ProMax Bundle - $190 off! | $765 | Amazon | This includes three batteries, the drone, the vast charger, and some extra accessories. |
 | Hyperice Normatec Elite Leg Recovery System - $100 off | $999 | Amazon | |
 | Insta360 Ace Pro Action Cam - $50 off | $239 | Amazon | This is the previous edition, as the Ace Pro 2 just came out last fall. But for this price, it's hard to beat. |
 | Nespresso VertuoPlus Coffee and Espresso Machine by De'Longhi Delux Kit - 30% off! | $149 | Amazon | ⚡ 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 - $80 off | $319 | Amazon | 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! |
 | Oura Ring 4 - $50 off! | $299 | Amazon | This is the first time we've seen a deal on the Oura Ring V4. |
 | Peloton Bike - $300 off! | $1,144 | Amazon | 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. |
 | Peloton Bike+ is $500 off | $1,995 | Amazon | This is a solid deal for the Bike+, albeit largely the normal sale/deal price. 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. |
 | Peloton Row - $330 off! | $2,964 | Amazon | |
 | Peloton Tread - $300 off | $2,694 | Amazon | This is my main treadmill at home, and I really like it. I've got no complaints about it, and am happy I went with the smaller Peloton Tread versus the bigger unit. |
 | Polar H10 Chest Strap (Dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart) - 27% off
$89 | $76 | Amazon | 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%. |
 | Polar H9 Chest Strap - $15 off | $55 | Amazon | 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 |
 | Polar Verity Sense - 15% off
$99 | $84 | Amazon | I use this as one of my reference devices for heart rate accuracy testing. |
 | SHOKZ OpenRun Headphones - 31% off | $89 | Amazon | |
 | SHOKZ OpenRun Pro 2 - 31% off! | $124 | Amazon | |
 | SHOKZ OpenRun Pro 2 Mini - 31% off! | $124 | Amazon | |
 | SUUNTO Aqua Swimming Open-Ear Bluetooth Headphones - 22% off! | $139 | Amazon | |
 | Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (40 & 44mm) - 50% off | $159 | Amazon | As with the Samsung Watch Ultra, Samsung is less than 24hrs away from announcing a new version of the Samsung Watch series. |
 | Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra - 50% off | $325 | Amazon | Look, Samsung is less than a day away from likely announcing a new version (on July 9th), so if you buy now, you might want to wait a few extra hours after delivery to decide if you want to return it. Otherwise, this is Samsung's best watch to date. |
 | SanDisk 1-4TB Extreme PRO Portable External SSD - 30% off | $128-$279 | Amazon | ⚡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. |
 | Suunto Race - $100 off!
$449/$549 | $349 | Amazon | ⚡ This is a solid deal on this watch, which has offline mapping and continues to get new features. Further, it's the lowest price we've seen to date on it. |
 | Suunto Vertical - $200 off! | $399 | Amazon | This is, by far, the lowest price we've seen on this watch (which also has offline mapping). |
 | Wahoo BOLT V2 - $30 off
$279 | $279 | Amazon | |
 | Wahoo KICKR Bike V2
$3,999 | $2,974 | Amazon | ⚡ This is one of the lowest prices we've seen the Wahoo KICKR Bike at (ever). |
 | Wahoo KICKR CORE with Zwift Cog+Click ($75 off)
$499 | $424 | Amazon | |
 | Wahoo KICKR MOVE - $190 off
$1,599 | $1,104 | Amazon | ⚡ This is a very solid deal. |
 | Wahoo KICKR ROLLR - $90 off
$599 | $509 | Amazon | |
Still waiting that dang AmazFit treadmill…
Has that been released anywhere?
Not that I’m aware of. I don’t think they even released the Air Run, but that’s too limited with its low top speed.
You think trainer sales this offseason are going to be anywhere close to what they were in the spring? Seems like a ton of people who wanted one got one in Q1 2020…
It’s a huge wildcard. Historically I think those 20% off type sales will happen, but frankly, I doubt they’ll be any inventory for them to sell during that timeframe.
Trainer companies can’t really keep up with demand today, and I suspect there’s a chance they might break their head above water around early October – only to then have more orders from a blend of COVID19 waves growing, as well as people just going indoors like normal.
Said differently – if you really want a new trainer for this year, it’s best to put in the orders now. Whereas if you’re on the fence, you can see what happens in November. Either way, I don’t expect any further mainstream brand models this year.
FWIW – I’m in Vancouver, Canada; ordered a Kickr Bike end of July — told to expect delivery end of September.
Think the upgraded Peloton bike will support erg mode?
Not likely. They have stated not interested and my neighbor does electronic QA for them has offered to design the circuit but they declined. Peloton makes money selling subscriptions to their online classes. If they built a “smart” bike that allowed Zwift, etc…they lose the moneymaker…
Agree, I’m actually not convinced ERG mode adds anything to the Peloton experiance. Of course, I’m sure in like 12 minutes or something they’ll announce and prove me wrong. But it’d have to be a substantial shift in direction to go towards ERG mode because so much of the concept of Peloton is giving you guidelines, but also those rails to go above/below based on the day.
I agree in that they’d never build a bike with open standards. While they do turn a solid profit on the bikes themselves, the real long-term money is the subs.
If Peloton can fulfill “Bike+“ (?) orders faster than for the current bike, then it’s a no-brainer as many of their target customers will just fork up $$$ for earlier delivery. Also, should it come with a detachable screen for taking non-bike classes on, that’s probably worth the up-sell alone.
It might be a good business move (and, they have said in various customer communications they’ll refund the difference of any price drop that occurs for existing backorders as well as new receivers in the last 30 days).
However, ultimately, that manufacturing capacity that could be producing the existing/lower priced unit (since they now own their own facilities). And given the wait times are nuts these days, you’re essentially saying to customers already sitting on a waitlist: ‘Thanks, but, we’re letting this group over here cut the line instead’.
If they indeed affect a retroactive price guarantee, then it sounds like the choice for anyone on the waitlist is to get a refund and keep on waiting for the current product, or get bumped to the new product, ideally to the front of the order queue.
Hard to gauge how / if their backlog is affected by the transition. Depends how well they’ve managed logistics planning, and it sounds like maybe not so well.
Hopefully Garmin Catalyst disrupts the race car lap analysis segment. Current solutions (AIM/MoTeC/…) require a data engineer to decipher all the squiggly lines, so maybe there’s a space for a tool for mere mortals. Except that Catalyst doesn’t seem to include any support for actual ECU data acquisition via ODB-II/CAN Bus/…, so it could be relegated to the “HPDE / hobby racer” segment.
Interesting. So, if coming from folks who would be interested in this tech – what’s the current thought on their offering?
It’s odd that it doesn’t support ODB-II, since their VIRB Action cams do.
The product seems to aimed at getting faster lap times rather than being a data logger, but I still think supporting OBD2 would be required to make sensible deductions on better laptimes.
Will be interesting to see how consistent of a racing line it can map out with a 10HZ GPS + accelerometer+ image processing (sounds like voodoo/marketing).
As someone who’s worked in the autotrade for 30 years, albeit lastly in April 2019 has OBD superceded to ODB? Reminds me of the time i got comptia certified, blink and the damn thing was out of date. Hence the long automotive career
What happened to your peloton review?
Ray, you may want to update your sale notes for the Hero 8, considering it’s September already (my time has flown) and leaks of the Hero 9 have been circulating for a while.
Hi Ray, Any comments on this and how it can change gps accuracy on future wearables? Maybe in next year’s garmin device.
link to sony.net
Interesting; the first Sony L5/E5 wearables receiver (I don’t know if anyone else has released one). The L5/E5 waveform should allow accurate GPS-derived instant pace, something impossible before now. (Otherwise you need a footpod, probably a Stryd.) As the article notes, L5/E5 is also much better at cutting through multipathing (e.g. in city street canyons) to deliver your true position.
Incredible bits of engineering, aren’t they? Such tiny objects that can locate their position anywhere on Earth in just a few seconds.
I believe Sony and Quectel are the only ones with this technology at the moment….
There’s the Broadcom BCM47755 chip in whichever is the mobile variant, which I think was first to market. I’m unsure with any of these how the power consumption compares with single band devices, which will carry a lot of weight in decision making. Antenna design could be interesting, too. That said, show me a watch which has this and gets anywhere near its promise and I’m in.
With the announcement of the new tread/bike I take it they’re delaying the announcement of their Rower.
I ride bikes and I track cars so I hopped on the Garmin Catalyst launch. Even though you may not be interested in driving — from a cyclist’s perspective I will note that they seem to be using some vision neural networks to detect placement of the vehicle on the track. This sort of technology makes me wonder what kind of applications vision based AI could mean for garmin cycling based products.
Just browsing Garmin site this week and noticed this:
link to buy.garmin.com
Fenix 6 compatible quarter turn quickfit bike mount
No idea when it arrived but finally ?
Hi Ray, you have probably already seen this from Drew at Tacx Facx. Basically means that every single Neo 2T ever sold, anywhere in the world will, once warranty is expired and the $10 bearing inevitably fails, become an expensive door-stop. No way to fix the bearing due to a proprietary part required.
link to youtube.com
This seems like a case of not simply asking the question to Garmin/Tacx. In fact, in the comments you’ll find a comment from Hilko – lead of support for Tacx.
He noted that while they don’t yet have the public extractor tool available, it is something they’e working on. Since bearing replacement at this stage in the product life-cycle is fairly rare, they were doing replace via swaps.
“Easy to go solutions needs to be availble for the public or dealers so that cost can be reduced to fix the problem and that we can service the NEO2T. They are in planning and will be offered to the market.”
As Drew himself noted, swapping out full units (while sometimes expensive) is a better overall customer service experience for the vast majority of people that aren’t inclined to replace it. Given how rare it is for bearings to have issues at this stage in the product lifecycle, I don’t really think this is a big deal. If we come back in a few years and the tool isn’t available – then sure.
But as Drew also noted, Garmin is one of the few companies that will still actually warranty your product forever. There might be a cost for a 15 year old product, but they do retain the parts. And in fact, we *already* saw this with Tacx and Garmin saying they’re going to takeover support and went back and added that for example to the original NEO as a policy.
ppreciate your comments Ray but feel they are optimistic. I live in Australia and own a Neo 1 bought in Feb 2018. Using the Garmin AU website, I can’t buy a replacement shimano hub for the EDCO hub, Can’t buy an extractor tool (however Hilko explained that the 2T tool is backwards compatible). I could do all of this before Garmin took over.
Why is it acceptable for garmin to supply sub-standard bearings on a flagship unit? Why is it acceptable to not supply a tool for repairs… just because its new? Units are already failing. It’s not acceptable to state that the most minor issue requires complete unit replacement and a 2-3 month wait while this takes place.
I am not aware of an local Garmin Australia support policy for my model out of warranty if it exists. There is NO mention of any policy on the tacx or Garmin AU website at all. The only policy I am aware of is a UK only one of charging 650 pounds for repairs no matter what the issue – even if its a $10 bearing fix.
Drew made lots of good points about Garmins attitude towards garmins paying customers. Not expecting you to comment on all of them but he has bent over backwards to help people on facebook.
Hilko is clearly trying hard, but I don’t’ think he is getting the Garmin HQ support he needs.
Has anyone at Tacx or Garmin ever heard of a focus group or user survey?
What’s up with the Wahoo Elemnt ROAM? The Wahoo website (link to wahoofitness.com) says it’s out of stock. REI says “Wahoo Fitness ELEMNT ROAM GPS Bike Computer is no longer available”. The listing on Amazon.com has disappeared, and my order with Canada Bicycle Parts was cancelled with a note asking if I’d like a BOLT instead (no).
Looks like the same happened in my country (Europe). It points towards a new model release, in which case if Ray knows anything about it, he’ll be blocked to comment on it. I assume he still needs to sign a NDA to get info. I’ll be surprised on what is to come. Though I use the Roam myself, it’s only a minor improvement over the bolt with a huge mark up in price (relatively speaking). The biggest let down was the so called “color screen” which I still consider mainly mono (black & white). I do appreciate the bigger size though and the rerouting option that the bolt lacks.
Ray
Upgrading from tacx smart flow would you go for tacx neo 2t, wahoo of some description or the new next generation wattbike atom. Currently I use an old 8 speed racing bike.
Thanks
Hi Ray – any rumors or timeframe for the release of a new Forerunner 645? That product is over 2 years old, and I’m wondering if they’re going to keep that slot between the 245 and 945 or ditch it. Thanks!
I’ve just discovered that the Polar Flow website has an export HRV data option for a given activity. Is this a new feature or am I now seeing this because I bought a new Polar Pro HR Strap? I’m still using my H7 sensor and the export option is also available for my OH1 sensor.
You are probably only seeing it because you have the PRO HR strap.
(a) I only have the OH1 and don’t see it; and
(b) I understood that the OH1 did not capture sufficient information to provide HRV data (and so I’d have doubts about the utility of an HRC export from a data set captured by an OH1 sensor).
I can confirm, it’s a recent update from Polar – screenshot attached shows my own view – Polar mentioned this on twitter yesterday
Yes you are correct about the OH1 as my export file does not have HRV data.
Thanks Aidan.
MAP, MAS and FTP are now available under Physical settings.
link to twitter.com
Hi Ray, I’ve noticed a lot of buzz on social media regarding ‘Aerofit’, a device that is used to ‘train your lungs’ for endurance sports. Since your spot-on review of the Whoop strap, I see you as one of the people very able to get a closer look at this device. Any chance you’d be doing an in-depth piece on that?
It’s a bit of sub-genre in sportstech, but might be interesting.
Kind regards!
Yeah, I put that kinda stuff in the same camp as those bracelets people try and pitch that supposedly make you do X or Y.
My thing is simple on these: If they actually worked (even at a 1% increase), then we’d see every single pro athletes in the world using them (for free), since 1% is gold medal at the Olympics or off the podium for most events. But…we don’t. We only see mostly no-name athletes talking about supposed benefits.
Most data I’ve read basically says there are some short-term benefits, but, like everything else in the body eventually your body adapts (very quickly in this case), and there’s no actual increase in performance, because you can’t keep applying more and more load like you can other stimuli.
Cheers!
That’s kind of what I expected… Thanks!