Heads up – Big Garmin sales are out!!! The Garmin Fenix 8 is $250 off, the Forerunner 965 is $150, the Garmin inReach Mini 2 is $249, and a ton of other Garmin gear has substantial discounts! Go check out the full list 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:
There’s a handful of sports tech deals out there right now:
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 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.
⚡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 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.
⚡ This is very unexpected, and is an Amazon-specific deal, not a Garmin-supported one. Thus, I expect it won't last more than minutes/hours. Grab it while you can!
⚡ 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. Note that the Fenix 8 officially got a price hike to $1,099 in the last month or so, thus the $849 price instead of $749 price.
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.
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 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.
⚡ 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 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).
DCRAINMAKER.COM Posts in the Past Week:
Here’s all the goodness that ended up on the main page this past week
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. Also, there’s a few things this week that were actually from a week or two ago – I’m just catching up on this list:
2) ZwiftHub Closing Down: Congrats to Toby (the person behind it) on his new job at Wahoo. Unfortunately, it means at the end of the month, ZwiftHub is no more. Perhaps Zwift will consider acquiring it for a fair rate.
I do think this once again though shows how big a boon it would be for Zwift to actually have a proper/supported API, akin to what Strava has, for people to Create Cool Shit. It’s these sorts of projects that should eventually be built into Zwift (or acquired). But as Strava and their 20,000+ apps shows, there’s an incredible potential for 3rd party apps to fill in the gaps and increase the community around Zwift.
3) Peloton closes Precor acquisition – shifts focus to Commercial usage: In the grand scheme of sports tech deals, this is one of the bigger ones in recent years, as it will dramatically increase production capability for Peloton. However, when it was announced last December, it didn’t mention increasing focus on the commercial side of Peloton – it just mentioned getting gear to ‘members sooner. However, the new announcement specifically calls out using Precor to focus on the commercial aspect of Peloton (e.g. hotels/apartments/etc…), which by and large Peloton has treated as the red-headed stepchild over the years. Yet, it’s also a great place to introduce people to the Peloton brand with zero marketing cost.
4) A look at the 2021 Chip Shortage: This is a good dive into the semiconductor chip shortage and how it’s impacting the industry (including sports tech). While sometimes this will be obvious to you as a consumer, most times it won’t be: It’ll just mean delayed product launches behind the scenes, or perhaps limited availability without a reason. This is mostly the reason.
5) Casio launches new WearOS watch: Though, perhaps unsurprisingly, without solar capabilities. Given WearOS has the well-earned reputation of being the Cookie Monster of battery burn, the trivial amount of power that solar delivers in most watches probably wouldn’t last more than a song on WearOS. Still, good to see more options. Hopefully we’ll see Casio find a way to refine what they have sports-wise today, which in my testing of their GBD-H1000 (solar, with FirstBeat Analytics) seemed like a promising vision, but fell pretty far short in reality. For example, there was only one sport mode (running/hiking), which meant if you wanted to use it for a ride – it screwed up all your data.
6) Want a cargo bike emoji? One emoji developer is looking at submitting a cargo bike emoji for consideration, however, he is trying to nail down the design. Give a quick tap on this Twitter vote to help.
#CargoBike#CargoBikeEmoji
1. You may have used or maybe a ❤️(emojis) in your messages?
For transport there is bike emoji, however no cargo bike emoji
So, what cargo bike type/design would best represent ALL cargo bikes with 1⃣ single emoji?
Vote
7) Equipping cyclists to identify bad bike intersections: This project equipped 700 cyclists with little beepers that they’d tap when they stumbled upon poor/clumsy bike situations. During the trial some 36,000 situations in Amsterdam were identified, giving city planners areas to consider upgrades for. Looking at the map, I’d definitely agree with most of the larger dots.
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.
Damn. I haven’t used Zwift in a bit as it’s gotten nicer out, so this is the first I’m seeing about ZwiftHub. I load up ZwiftHub before literally every ride to help determine a route. What a huge loss.
Not a single post on Instagram last month? Is the extra one in Feb the reason or are you going for two posts this month? I think the KFC cargo bike would’ve qualified?
Yeah, I’ve gotta be careful to not over-deliver here. Given the two Instagram posts in February, March would indeed seem to warrant a skip to keep things on the right progression. :)
(Actually, I remembered at 12:05AM on Apr 1st, and then was like…well…crap me.)
Will also be sad to see ZwiftHub go. But it seems ZwiftHacks has already come up with a solution? But Zwift should have something set up already as a matter of course. Good luck to Toby at Wahoo, he will do great there.
To change the subject but to stay on Zwift. Not sure if you have seen this recent news, but Zwift finally did what they said they would do a year or two ago, and stopped supporting the Milestone Pod app from 1 February. You can still use it to run on Zwift but there is no way to see your data and stats anymore. Or even check the battery level. Lot’s of unhappy Milestone Pod users here: link to forums.zwift.com
I also use a Milestone for my Zwift runs and they shut the app down without any warning. They should have said something at least that it was about to lose support.
Maybe you can dig a little deeper about this? Seems Zwift just doesn’t care about the pod that they bought.
Bummer, that sucks. Though, somewhat inevitable I suspect. Largely, as I bet that Zwift might not even have on staff any longer the couple people that were behind Milestone. :-/
I assume the purpose of the “Trending Now on DC Rainmaker” overlay isn’t to scare off visitors, but in its current form it’s doing just that. While it could be somewhat interesting in theory (but not too much, since I’m obviously already reading the site), having it pop up on every single page and obscuring the real content makes it more annoying than any 3rd party ad I’ve seen here.
Yeah, it’s something that’s being tested by the ad company I have the last week. It’s not quite where we want it yet. It seems fine on desktop, but a bit over the top for mobile. Appreciate the feedback – trying to find the right balance is always tricky. But I’ll keep trying!
Oh, i love FCC internals. So (unsurprisingly, given the first external pictures) same gauge placing as Assioma, but definitely a new design regarding board and battery. Those Powerzero things will be light! Battery cells appear to be similar size 60mAh, but Wahoo using only two per pedal instead of three. And it looks like Wahoo is going for a conventionally sealed cavity instead of playing it safe and flooding the entire pod with resin. On top of that, not only is the board more integrated (less distinct components in addition to the nrf52 they all use), they also skip the magnet for the charging adapter, opting for simple mechanical clipping instead.
ZwiftHub will be sorely missed. It’s worth noting that the developer noted his dream was to work in this space, yet ended up being hired by Wahoo, not Zwift. How dumb can Zwift be? They should’ve hired the guy and had him start by making ZwiftHub’s functionality part of the Companion App.
‘Beseffen jullie wel hoe perféct Amsterdam is?’ in de NRC van Stan Putman, dd. 8 april 2021.
(..) Toch is het heel speciaal wat zich achter uw venster afspeelt, meent de Canadese Amsterdammer Jason Slaughter (44). Het is zelfs zo bijzonder, dat hij ervoor naar Nederland is verhuisd, na omzwervingen langs de VS, het Verenigd Koninkrijk, Taiwan en België. Op zijn YouTube-kanaal Not Just Bikes (link to youtube.com) legt Slaughter uit dat het aangename leven in Nederland alles te maken heeft met de manier waarop ons land is ontworpen. Hij plaatst er filmpjes over Nederlandse geneugten als slimme stoplichten, autoluwe straten en gescheiden fietspaden. Met de video’s bereikt Slaughter een publiek van honderdduizenden mensen. Filmen doet hij met een handzame digitale camera, of, als hij op de fiets zit, met een schokbestendige Go Pro-camera die hij op zijn borst bevestigt.(..)
Hi, do you think or know if there is a Coros Apex 2 arrivng as I am thinking of buying the Apex, but would wait if an Apex 2 is arriving this year…. should I wait or Buy? Tricky…
My weekly look for new sport tech updates, reminds me to come to your ‘week in review’, and then i find myself looking around.
Shame it’s not updated as much, it’s always a good read. Don’t simply want to bookmark the other page, as I might never come back here 😉
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.
Did you notice that the SRAM AXS Power meter has dropped to 450 USD (from 600?), what a great deal now!
Indeed, it’s been kinda slowly ticking its way down. Really solid deals.
Damn. I haven’t used Zwift in a bit as it’s gotten nicer out, so this is the first I’m seeing about ZwiftHub. I load up ZwiftHub before literally every ride to help determine a route. What a huge loss.
Me too. I really wish Zwift would step in and purchase the site.
Not a single post on Instagram last month? Is the extra one in Feb the reason or are you going for two posts this month? I think the KFC cargo bike would’ve qualified?
Yeah, I’ve gotta be careful to not over-deliver here. Given the two Instagram posts in February, March would indeed seem to warrant a skip to keep things on the right progression. :)
(Actually, I remembered at 12:05AM on Apr 1st, and then was like…well…crap me.)
Hey Ray,
Will also be sad to see ZwiftHub go. But it seems ZwiftHacks has already come up with a solution? But Zwift should have something set up already as a matter of course. Good luck to Toby at Wahoo, he will do great there.
To change the subject but to stay on Zwift. Not sure if you have seen this recent news, but Zwift finally did what they said they would do a year or two ago, and stopped supporting the Milestone Pod app from 1 February. You can still use it to run on Zwift but there is no way to see your data and stats anymore. Or even check the battery level. Lot’s of unhappy Milestone Pod users here:
link to forums.zwift.com
I also use a Milestone for my Zwift runs and they shut the app down without any warning. They should have said something at least that it was about to lose support.
Maybe you can dig a little deeper about this? Seems Zwift just doesn’t care about the pod that they bought.
Cheers!
Bummer, that sucks. Though, somewhat inevitable I suspect. Largely, as I bet that Zwift might not even have on staff any longer the couple people that were behind Milestone. :-/
I assume the purpose of the “Trending Now on DC Rainmaker” overlay isn’t to scare off visitors, but in its current form it’s doing just that. While it could be somewhat interesting in theory (but not too much, since I’m obviously already reading the site), having it pop up on every single page and obscuring the real content makes it more annoying than any 3rd party ad I’ve seen here.
Yeah, it’s something that’s being tested by the ad company I have the last week. It’s not quite where we want it yet. It seems fine on desktop, but a bit over the top for mobile. Appreciate the feedback – trying to find the right balance is always tricky. But I’ll keep trying!
Oh, i love FCC internals. So (unsurprisingly, given the first external pictures) same gauge placing as Assioma, but definitely a new design regarding board and battery. Those Powerzero things will be light! Battery cells appear to be similar size 60mAh, but Wahoo using only two per pedal instead of three. And it looks like Wahoo is going for a conventionally sealed cavity instead of playing it safe and flooding the entire pod with resin. On top of that, not only is the board more integrated (less distinct components in addition to the nrf52 they all use), they also skip the magnet for the charging adapter, opting for simple mechanical clipping instead.
ZwiftHub will be sorely missed. It’s worth noting that the developer noted his dream was to work in this space, yet ended up being hired by Wahoo, not Zwift. How dumb can Zwift be? They should’ve hired the guy and had him start by making ZwiftHub’s functionality part of the Companion App.
Also interesting around the interwebs:
‘Beseffen jullie wel hoe perféct Amsterdam is?’ in de NRC van Stan Putman, dd. 8 april 2021.
(..) Toch is het heel speciaal wat zich achter uw venster afspeelt, meent de Canadese Amsterdammer Jason Slaughter (44). Het is zelfs zo bijzonder, dat hij ervoor naar Nederland is verhuisd, na omzwervingen langs de VS, het Verenigd Koninkrijk, Taiwan en België. Op zijn YouTube-kanaal Not Just Bikes (link to youtube.com) legt Slaughter uit dat het aangename leven in Nederland alles te maken heeft met de manier waarop ons land is ontworpen. Hij plaatst er filmpjes over Nederlandse geneugten als slimme stoplichten, autoluwe straten en gescheiden fietspaden. Met de video’s bereikt Slaughter een publiek van honderdduizenden mensen. Filmen doet hij met een handzame digitale camera, of, als hij op de fiets zit, met een schokbestendige Go Pro-camera die hij op zijn borst bevestigt.(..)
Very nice. His channel is one of my favorites.
Hi, do you think or know if there is a Coros Apex 2 arrivng as I am thinking of buying the Apex, but would wait if an Apex 2 is arriving this year…. should I wait or Buy? Tricky…
Looking forward to your newsletter!
Me too!
My weekly look for new sport tech updates, reminds me to come to your ‘week in review’, and then i find myself looking around.
Shame it’s not updated as much, it’s always a good read. Don’t simply want to bookmark the other page, as I might never come back here 😉