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:
We’ve got a handful of new deals this week, a pile from Garmin in the cycling realm, and then a pile from DJI in the everything realm. Garmin does often put cycling gear on sale this time of year, albeit it’s far more rare for DJI to do the same this time of year.
Product
Sale Price
Amazon
Other site
Sale Notes
4iiii Precision Ride-Ready Power Meters - $100 off!
This is for their non-drive power meter, in either the 'Ride-Ready' config (they send you a completed unit), or $50 off for the factory-install (where you send in your crank arm). The Ride Ready option is really a solid deal, considering you get a reliable power meter for $235.
Ride Ready R7000 - 30% off
Ride Ready R8000 - 20% off
Factory Install - 20% off
9th Gen Apple 10.2-inch iPad (Wi-Fi, 64GB) - $100 off!
⚡ This is an awesome deal. I use my iPad primarily for TrainerRoad as well as Zwift when not with a larger display. I also occasionally use it for other apps, namely Wahoo SYSTM, Rouvy, and Peloton. But I pretty much test every smart trainer app on it. For all these cycling apps, the graphics capabilities is really pretty irrelevant, so having the absolute top-end/latest model won't make any difference. I prefer the budget options.
I've been using these the past few months, after years of using the Beats Studio Buds...man, these things rock. My wife has already started stealing them, which means she'll probably get a set for Christmas so she'll stop sealing them.
⚡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.
These aren't the latest anymore, that's the newer 3rd gen units. But if budget is in mind, it's hard to beat these. It's still what my wife uses as her daily driver, including tons of time on the indoor trainer/bike.
⚡This is now the lowest price we've ever seen the Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) - a very solid deal, especially with the new WatchOS 10 features adding in offline topo mapping, power meter support, and plenty more.
This is Apple's latest Apple Watch model, and did quite well in my review when it launched about two months ago. Especially notable is all the new sports/fitness features it got this year, such as cycling power meter/sensor support.
This is really the first slate of sales we've seen on the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and the lowest price to date. Note: It'll show $739, and then to get the full extra $10 more off, you have to check that 'Apply Coupon' button under the price.
There's just no competition in our minds on the best running stroller - it's what we used with all three of our kiddos for everyting from intervals to 20-mile long runs. In fact, we actually have two of them - one at home in Europe, and one with family in Canada that we picked up used. Go Bob Go!
The DJI Avata is DJI's smaller form factor FPV drone, and one of my favorites to fly. I don't use it all the time, but more for very specific things requiring a bit more agility (whereas most of the times I'll use the DJI Mini 4 Pro, Air 3, or Mavic 3 Pro).
There's definitely something cool about seeing a sub-$300 drone. And there's nothing wrong with this drone, it's very good. Just be careful though, because it's lack of 360* obstacle avoidance means it's pretty easy to get yourself in a pinch for a beginner drone.
Up till the Mini 4 Pro came out, this was my go-to drone. It's what I shot almost all my drone footage from, and is great for both cycling and hiking (or trail running with a hydration pack to hold it), as it's super lightweight and includes everything you need.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the DJI Mini 4 Pro on sale, for a product DJI rarely discounts so soon after release. This is a great drone, and my go-to unit now for most trips.
⚡ This is by far the lowest price we've ever seen on the Elite Suito or Suito-T trainers. Note: The Suito-T is the same exact trainer as the Suito, except without the cassette pre-installed. Also, no idea why it says normally $473, as it's definitely not.
⚡ This is a strong deal from Favero, who is offering their Favero Assioma Duo pedals for 200EUR off. You'll pay the current exchange rate. The exact deal will vary based on which country you're shipping to.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the new Fenix 7 Pro series on sale, and it's a nice strong sale. The smaller Fenix 7S Pro watch has become my wife's go-to watch since it came out, for all of her training and 24x7 usage.
⚡⚡⚡ This is a crazy super strong deal, with Amazon having it as low as $449 (insane). Note that the Epix Gen 2 has continued to receive virtually all of the Epix Pro new features firmware updates. Also note: This deal is *STILL* available. Sometimes you'll have to click to show other retailers (on the right side), but it's still live.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the new Epix Pro series on sale, and it's a nice strong sale. I'd say this is probably my go-to watch these days (middle-sized one), with the singular reason I tend to choose it over the Forerunner 965, being the built-in flashlight for night.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the new Epix Pro series on sale, and it's a nice strong sale. I'd say this is probably my go-to watch these days (middle-sized one), with the singular reason I tend to choose it over the Forerunner 965, being the built-in flashlight for night.
⚡⚡⚡ This is a crazy super strong deal, with Amazon having it as low as $499 for Sapphire edition (insane). Note that the Epix Gen 2 has continued to receive virtually all of the Epix Pro new features firmware updates.
[Note: This is a renewed unit] Obviously, the Fenix 6 isn't the latest anymore, but these are still very capable watches and frankly, at $329, there's absolutely nothing from any of their even brand-new competitor watches (COROS, Polar, Suunto, etc...) that can even remotely compete with the features here. Heck, not even Garmin's own pricing for their Fenix 7 Pro can compete with this. Fwiw, all Garmin renewed units go back to the same factory original units came from. Frankly, there's virtually no difference. If you're on a budget, this is where it's at.
⚡ This is the first time we've seen the new Fenix 7 Pro series on sale, and it's a nice strong sale. The smaller Fenix 7S Pro watch has become my wife's go-to watch since it came out, for all of her training and 24x7 usage.
⚡This is a strong deal if you don't care about the new optical heart rate sensor (including ECG) of the newer Fenix 7 Pro, especially given the Fenix 7 series has received virtually all of the Fenix 7 Pro's new software features, keeping them essentially identical.
This is Garmin's mid-tier running watch, and is a very polished option with good multi-band GPS, and of course, a boatload of running metrics. This model also includes offline music such as Spotify and Amazon Music.
This is Garmin's mid-tier running watch, and is a very polished option with good multi-band GPS, and of course, a boatload of running metrics. This model also includes offline music such as Spotify and Amazon Music.
This is one of Garmin's most popular running watches, and this is now the lowest price we've ever seen on it. I often use this in my accuracy testing comparisons when validating other watches, due to it's very strong GPS performance. Note this is the base edition without solar.
This is one of Garmin's most popular running watches, and this is now the lowest price we've ever seen on it. I often use this in my accuracy testing comparisons when validating other watches, due to it's very strong GPS performance. This is the SOLAR edition.
This is a good deal, especially considering the Instinct 2 series got Training Readiness and a host of other new features over the course of just this year alone.
This is a great deal at $199 for the smaller 2S units, especially considering the Instinct 2 series got Training Readiness and a host of other new features over the course of just this year alone. Plus of course all the existing triathlon/power meter/etc support it has built-in.
This is the first time we've seen the Instinct 2X on sale, and since announcement it's received a huge slate of firmware updates and new features. It's best thought of as an Instinct 2.5, as it has almost enough features to really be more of an Instinct 3 (which doesn't exist at this point).
⚡ 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.
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.
These are the WiFi mesh access points I use both at home and the DCR Cave. Love them - I don't need to dork with them, they just work. Sure, there are fancier 'Pro' versions now, but really, I just have zero issues.
While the new Pixel Watch 2 just came out a month ago, the Pixel Watch 2 got almost all the software features two weeks ago via software update. The Pixel Watch 2 does have a slightly better optical HR sensor, and better battery life, but otherwise is relatively similiar.
⚡The Karoo 2 is down to $299 ($100 off), but you can use DCR coupon code DCRAIN40 to get an additional $40 off, bringing it down to $259!!! A very solid deal given all the software updates it's received!
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.
Hyperice Normatec 3 Leg Recovery System - $100 off
I actually quite like the Insat360 Go 3 and the combo of tiny form factor when you want it, and screen-box when you don't. I'm not sure $20 off is a sale worth jumping out of your seat for, but hey...a sale is a sale.
This is something I use frequently when shooting out and about and I need to re-charge a crapton of drone batteries, action cameras, or just cameras and such. I also use it on trips to Eurobike and elsewhere to keep equipment charged. I've even bought a solar panel to hook up to it (surprisingly effective). Heck, I've even powered a KICKR trainer ride from it!
Lasko High Velocity Pro-Performance Fan (U15617) - 23% off
This is one of the most popular indoor trainer fan companies out there, which rivals the Wahoo Headwind fan but cost a fraction of the price. Of course, it lacks ANT+/Bluetooth integration, but realistically if you really want that you can add a smart outlet for $10 to toggle it on/off from your phone if need be. I've actually got this fan in the DCR Cave recently on advice of many people.
Nespresso Vertuo Next Coffee & Espresso Kit - 30% off
⚡ 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!
We use one of these and so far after just about five years, it's working great for us. Love it, and works better than trying to stick a regular Nest Cam out the window (since it'll reflect both during daytime and at night with the IR sensor).
⚡ I know, I know, I still owe everyone a review. Nonetheless, 2+ years later, I love this thing. We use it for more than pizza too, notably steaks (to get a really crispy sear). But a lot of pizza. It's completely portable, even easily fitting on our cargo bike. Note that I went with this model, the cheapest one they make, as I realized that buying the higher-end models that that support gas didn't make much sense for me. I have a gas grill already (and could easily just put a stone on it). Similarly, while a large 16" is appealing, realistically I've found this 12" more than enough for pretty substantial personal pizzas (and it makes it easier to handle). Full in-depth review pretty soon...probably. Also, $244 appears to be the lowest price ever.
I believe this is the lowest price we've ever seen on the original/base Peloton Bike model (without a bundle required). This is still a solid bike, and actually one that I use at home (I have the newer Peloton Bike+ at the office). Both my wife and I use these bikes interchangeably, and while the Bike+ has a bigger screen and better accuracy, there's very little difference in the core Peloton experience. I'd still recommend this model to most people. Note Peloton has stated/confirmed there will be no 'bigger discounts' on products during this holiday period.
This is a solid deal for the Bike+. Both my wife and I use both the Peloton Bike+ and the regular Bike (one at home, one at office) on a weekly basis. We like both. The Bike+ is more accurate than the regular bike, and also has a bigger screen and automatic resistance control. That said, the core Peloton experience isn't any different between the two - it's the same platform there. Note Peloton has stated/confirmed there will be no 'bigger discounts' on products during this holiday period.
Peloton has the Peloton Row on sale, both this base unit here, but also various bundled units as well. This is the first times we've seen the base unit (non-bundled) on sale.
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%. Note, the medium- size is the one on sale.
We have a few SONOS speakers around the house and DCR Cave (the Ikea variants at DCR Cave), but by far our favorite is the Roam, which we take outdoors into the garden during the summer, beach vacations, AirBNB's, etc... It has a battery in it, and also connects to both WiFi and Bluetooth. Love, love, love
I use a literal flotilla of these small SSD's for all my photo/video projects until they get moved off to the NAS system (Synology) for longer term storage. I have T5/T7 units, and are picking up a few of the larger T9 ones given the sale prices. Love them, incredibly fast and reliable.
⚡I use the SanDisk Extreme Pro SD Cards exclusively for all my video/photo shooting on my Panasonic GH5 and Nikon cameras (video and stills), including up to 6K recording with the GH5. I've mostly used 128's, but more and more lately I'm filling up cards faster with higher bitrates, so this sale is gonna have me pickup a bunch of the 256GB ones instead. The 128GB/ 512GB/1TB ones are also on sale too viathe same link. Note that usually I wait till these are about $40-45, so this is a fantastic deal and I'll be filling up.
⚡ A very solid deal, making it the least expensive smart bike out there. Note that while the deal is marketed as being 37% off, most of the time the bike floats between $2,500 and $2,800. Still - $1,999 is very solid.
This is the first time we've seen the new Suunto Vertical on sale, and especially notable given the huge firmware update it got this past week with tons of new features from the also-new Suunto Race watch.
⚡⚡ Holy crap, this is an incredible deal. Get this while it's hot and lasts. Note that you can also pair this with the NEO Motion Plates, which would give you a slight bit of forward/back rolling motion.
This is arguably my wife's favorite sports tech gadget. She uses it pretty much daily. Thus, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention this deal. Also, please don't tell her, she might just buy another one...
My wife uses the Theragun Elite, which is just slightly more expensive than this model at $299 on sale right now. But hey, I hear good things about all of these.
⚡⚡ This deal is back, and it's a pretty incredible deal. It's the Wahoo KICKR CORE down to $499, which REI briefly did this past June. Nobody else seems to be offering this deal, and even though the KICKR CORE got the price reduced to $599 recently, it's virtually unheard of to see these trainers below the $500 marker.
⚡ This is a very solid deal that happens twice a year, if you were looking at the Wahoo power meter pedals, grab these before this disappears (and it usually disappears). As with the Garmin Rally pedals, I continue to use Wahoo power meter pedals for accuracy testing of other brands/units.
⚡ This is a very solid deal that happens twice a year, if you were looking at the Wahoo power meter pedals, grab these before this disappears (and it usually disappears). As with the Garmin Rally pedals, I continue to use Wahoo power meter pedals for accuracy testing of other brands/units.
⚡ At some point, everything becomes a steal. While the Wahoo RIVAL struggles to be comepetitive with higher-end watches, at $99, it's a pretty crazy deal - especially for triathletes where Wahoo does some cool stuff around automatic transitions.
I've long been a fan of the Withings WiFi scales, especially since they can connect/push data to so many platforms, including Zwift! Note that the Body+ simply includes more data.
DCR 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:
1) Going off the rails…err….route, in Zwift: I’ve accidentally done this once or twice before. For those that want to take-flight in Zwift for an aerial tour, here ya go.
3) A Massive Pile of Garmin Beta Updates: This week was notable for a huge swath of Garmin wearables getting beta updates, largely driven by both Connect IQ updates, but also a bunch of devices getting the newish strength training muscle map that shows which muscles a structured workout benefits. Notably, the Fenix 6 series is getting this (along with the FR945 & FR745, among others). It’s good to see new features still coming to the Fenix 6, after the Fenix 7 has launched. Hopefully that continues. Oh, and also Endurance Horseback Riding activity profile was added. Regrettably, I won’t be testing that one. Any such testing would likely just result in a viral video (of failures).
4) Upcoming Peloton Guide rumored to cost substantially less: The new CEO continues to make numerous tweaks around hardware pricing, and I suspect this one is the right call. The Peloton Guide was set to launch any week now, so it’ll be interesting to see what comes of it in terms of the overall product, and the price-point Peloton tries to hit.
5) Strava adding Tour de France Hub for 2022: This didn’t quite make it for a standalone post this week, namely because Strava didn’t have any actual imagery or concrete details to share about it when I dug deeper. But, it is interesting nonetheless. Basically, Strava is going to be doing a hub in the app during both the men’s and women’s TdF this year, which will be a consolidated view of Pro riders during the race, including things like stage details and segments on those stages (and how those athletes perform against those segments). This could be pretty interesting, looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Note that Strava did confirm there’s nothing being added to try and entice/require the remaining 20-30% of the pro peloton that doesn’t publish to Strava, to do so this year. It’s more of a hope that they will, though, it does continue to increase each year.
6) SRM X-Power Flats: This has been sitting on an open tab for a while now, been meaning to mention it somewhere. In short, SRM announced a few weeks back that they’re selling a flat-pedal version of their X-Power pedal-based power meter. In other words, they’ve taken the spindle from their existing SRM X-Power SPD units, and stuck it in a pair of flats. Thus, I can finally equip my Urban Arrow Cargo Bike with a power meter unnecessarily. Plus, these new units should have far better battery burn than the earlier SRM X-Power units that I initially tested (these have upgraded hardware).
7) Super League Triathlon Sponsorship by Garmin/Tacx: You’ll remember that Garmin/Tacx has previously sponsored the SLT (I went to one here to check it out), and it’s a cool concept. However, I caught in the press release the notion that athletes will use the Garmin Index S2 smart scale to measure their weight prior to their race, as required by Zwift’s esports rules. However, what is carefully skirted around in the next sentence is that they say the “data is given to Zwift”. Note, the data is not sent to Zwift, it’s manually entered. That’s because, despite the most obvious pairing that could exist for Zwift, they don’t actually support Garmin WiFi scales (even though it’s trivially easy for Zwift to receive weight data from Garmin, upon authorization by a user). Thus, I’m just here making an obvious nudge for Zwift to implement this). If countless other companies can do so, so can Zwift.
“If countless other companies can do so, so can Zwift.”
I tend to disagree. There are so many small things that you would think Zwift could easily do, but they haven’t done it for years. So, at this point I’m fairly certain that they simply lack the skills. It can’t be a lack of money.
Yeah, I know they have talented people. And they have plenty of money. But I get the impression there’s a gap in the technical direction side. Meaning, I don’t get the feeling there’s a deeply technical CTO or CTO minus one.
Meaning, most companies have at least a person or team or persons that’s singular job in life isn’t day to day programming/etc, but is ‘Futures tech’. Basically, they look at all the shiny objects, and figure out what’s worth doing or focusing on (sometimes for 3-6 months down the road, and sometimes for 3-6yrs down the road). They’re supposed to be uber-geeks and basically get to have fun with things and figure out what’s good or what’s half-baked.
Usually, these people drive at least one of a few different channels into a company implementing new things (alongside customer requests and other business priorities). They don’t override business priorities, but rather, typically look at the future far enough out to say “Hey, this will solve a problem for us, or a business goal down the road”.
In the case of Zwift, this makes ground on people not updating their Zwift weight frequently (or even seasonally). It doesn’t solve purposeful cheaters, but it does solve accidental cheaters.
The point is, while Zwift has people like Wes that do look at futures (he’s on Zwift’s podcasts and such occasionally), his role is still day to day making things happen for the next day. They need people that look at longer-range things and figure out how it fits into the greater picture (even if the answer is ‘Nah, that’s not worth it.’).
Just two cents from following the ins and outs of this company for a long while…
That role in a lot of tech product companies has always been fulfilled by either a Chief Architect or a Fellow. Unfortunately my current company (a legacy SaaS company) doesn’t yet recognize the need for that type of role and instead can’t figure out why our products and platform don’t fit together.
The Garmin API basically allows any authorized developer to request access to that data, be sent to them. It’s been silly simple for about three years now (actually, three years from next week). And then was further simplified in 2020 with a single API key.
So basically, any company that’s authorized as a recipient for Garmin data (which is relatively easy to get, it’s far harder/impossible to get the ability to push data into Garmin), can get this data.
Yeah, it’s basically just using the account credentials (username/password) that you provide to it though to manually create a weight entry. Versus a proper API solution.Obviously, that’s Garmin’s fault – but, worthwhile noting the differences.
I wonder about the general quietness about the Garmin Vivosmart 5. The confidentiality of the FCC filing has run out, pictures and specs are open, yet Garmin and Ray, even t5k said nothing about it. Maybe because it is not exciting (the specs are definitely not).
The exciting part might be that obviously Garmin does not even bother to release it, confirming the suspicion that they have given up on fitness bands altogether?
There are a few different items in their existing catalog that had their shipping availability forecasts change in recent months. Best guess is that the pandemic supply chain issues are still causing companies to be very selective about what goes into mass production.
Although it seems strange to put a power metre on flat pedals it does make some sense. I use flat pedals on my mountain bikes and sometimes my gravel bikes. So if i was more serious about racing and training it might be an option. Note i don’t do MTB trails just forest tracks which can be rough and sandy at times.
So if it was cheap for them to implement they have the field to themselves so it may be worth experimenting to see if there is a market for a flat pedal.
I love your site and blog. I have found it very useful when looking to upgrade my wearable. I currently have the Garmin Venu 2 but it doesn’t support race prediction. I saw your blog from 2016 which talked about a third party app called Race Screen on Garmin Connect. I downloaded the app but I can’t get it to work. It just shows the Connect logo (see photo). I have sent two emails to the developer via the Connect store portal but haven’t heard anything. It says it is supposed to be compatible with the Venu 2. Wondered if you had any suggestions.
Well the SRM X-Power Flats finally solves my loaded, self-supported, cross country touring use case. My touring bike has a triple front crank and a 36-spoke rear hub… neither of which are supported by today’s power meters. I’ve been known to travel in hiking boots and stop often for excursions or ice cream, so flats are ideal.
But $1,500 for flat pedals? Are you freakin’ kidding me?!
I tried updating my FR945 to the beta software.
It broke my running suggested workout. Showed funny symbols on the screen.
Rolled back. Going to have to wait till the official release.
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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! 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 2023 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.
Edge 530/830 Plus ok the cards?
Any idea if this is a clearance of Edges to make way for new models, or just a spring sale?
can;’t wait for the *40 edge
“If countless other companies can do so, so can Zwift.”
I tend to disagree. There are so many small things that you would think Zwift could easily do, but they haven’t done it for years. So, at this point I’m fairly certain that they simply lack the skills. It can’t be a lack of money.
Yeah, I know they have talented people. And they have plenty of money. But I get the impression there’s a gap in the technical direction side. Meaning, I don’t get the feeling there’s a deeply technical CTO or CTO minus one.
Meaning, most companies have at least a person or team or persons that’s singular job in life isn’t day to day programming/etc, but is ‘Futures tech’. Basically, they look at all the shiny objects, and figure out what’s worth doing or focusing on (sometimes for 3-6 months down the road, and sometimes for 3-6yrs down the road). They’re supposed to be uber-geeks and basically get to have fun with things and figure out what’s good or what’s half-baked.
Usually, these people drive at least one of a few different channels into a company implementing new things (alongside customer requests and other business priorities). They don’t override business priorities, but rather, typically look at the future far enough out to say “Hey, this will solve a problem for us, or a business goal down the road”.
In the case of Zwift, this makes ground on people not updating their Zwift weight frequently (or even seasonally). It doesn’t solve purposeful cheaters, but it does solve accidental cheaters.
The point is, while Zwift has people like Wes that do look at futures (he’s on Zwift’s podcasts and such occasionally), his role is still day to day making things happen for the next day. They need people that look at longer-range things and figure out how it fits into the greater picture (even if the answer is ‘Nah, that’s not worth it.’).
Just two cents from following the ins and outs of this company for a long while…
That role in a lot of tech product companies has always been fulfilled by either a Chief Architect or a Fellow. Unfortunately my current company (a legacy SaaS company) doesn’t yet recognize the need for that type of role and instead can’t figure out why our products and platform don’t fit together.
As far as I know, Garmin also doesn’t sync weight to Strava too, which I think is also pretty annoying.
It’s not a Garmin problem, it’s a Strava problem.
The Garmin API basically allows any authorized developer to request access to that data, be sent to them. It’s been silly simple for about three years now (actually, three years from next week). And then was further simplified in 2020 with a single API key.
So basically, any company that’s authorized as a recipient for Garmin data (which is relatively easy to get, it’s far harder/impossible to get the ability to push data into Garmin), can get this data.
Some details here: link to dcrainmaker.com
Thank you, Ray, for the clarification. I googled the problem again and found workarounds. I will try FitnessSyncer now.
Smart Scale Sync is able to send to Garmin as a Destination with all metrics of a Withings scale
Yeah, it’s basically just using the account credentials (username/password) that you provide to it though to manually create a weight entry. Versus a proper API solution.Obviously, that’s Garmin’s fault – but, worthwhile noting the differences.
I wonder about the general quietness about the Garmin Vivosmart 5. The confidentiality of the FCC filing has run out, pictures and specs are open, yet Garmin and Ray, even t5k said nothing about it. Maybe because it is not exciting (the specs are definitely not).
The exciting part might be that obviously Garmin does not even bother to release it, confirming the suspicion that they have given up on fitness bands altogether?
There are a few different items in their existing catalog that had their shipping availability forecasts change in recent months. Best guess is that the pandemic supply chain issues are still causing companies to be very selective about what goes into mass production.
Garmin forerunner 935 – $230 off at best buy.
link to bestbuy.com
That’s pretty much the norm for pricing these days on the FR935.
In fact, it often floats down to $230-$240 or so.
Although it seems strange to put a power metre on flat pedals it does make some sense. I use flat pedals on my mountain bikes and sometimes my gravel bikes. So if i was more serious about racing and training it might be an option. Note i don’t do MTB trails just forest tracks which can be rough and sandy at times.
So if it was cheap for them to implement they have the field to themselves so it may be worth experimenting to see if there is a market for a flat pedal.
Did Garmin killed running power? I used to have power with my 945 & Tri HR but after the update, two consecutive runs, have 0 power.
Hey,
I love your site and blog. I have found it very useful when looking to upgrade my wearable. I currently have the Garmin Venu 2 but it doesn’t support race prediction. I saw your blog from 2016 which talked about a third party app called Race Screen on Garmin Connect. I downloaded the app but I can’t get it to work. It just shows the Connect logo (see photo). I have sent two emails to the developer via the Connect store portal but haven’t heard anything. It says it is supposed to be compatible with the Venu 2. Wondered if you had any suggestions.
Well the SRM X-Power Flats finally solves my loaded, self-supported, cross country touring use case. My touring bike has a triple front crank and a 36-spoke rear hub… neither of which are supported by today’s power meters. I’ve been known to travel in hiking boots and stop often for excursions or ice cream, so flats are ideal.
But $1,500 for flat pedals? Are you freakin’ kidding me?!
I tried updating my FR945 to the beta software.
It broke my running suggested workout. Showed funny symbols on the screen.
Rolled back. Going to have to wait till the official release.