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Week in Review–April 3rd, 2022

WeekInReview22

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.

ProductSale PriceAmazonOther siteSale Notes
AirPod Pro 3 - $30 off!$219These 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.
Apple Watch SE 3 - $50 off!
$249/$299 (cellular)
$199This 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.
Apple Watch Series 11 - $50 off!$349This is the the just released Apple Watch Series 11, which also includes WatchOS26.
Apple Watch Ultra 3 - $100 off!$699This 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.
DJI Action 4 - $100 off$199While technically two years old, it's an incredibly strong contender at this price point.
DJI Action 5 Pro - $70 off$259This 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.
DJI Flip - $90 off$349Look, 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.
DJI Mini 4K Drone - $60 off$239If you're looking to get into flying with a DJI drone, this is a solid place to start.
DJI NEO - $40 off!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.
DJI OSMO Pocket 3 - $280 off$529This is the unit I use to film virtually all of my videos these days. I absolutely love it.
Garmin Bounce LTE Kids Tracker - $30 off$119This 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.
Garmin Edge 1040 Cycling GPS - $150 off!$399⚡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).
Garmin Edge 540 - $100 off$249⚡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).
Garmin Edge 540 Solar - $150 off$249⚡⚡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!).
Garmin Edge 840 - $100 off$349This is Garmin's main mid-range cycling GPS, it's what my wife uses and she's perfectly happy with it.
Garmin Edge 840 Solar - $150 off$399⚡ This is the lowest price we've seen on the Edge 840.
Garmin Enduro 3: $100 off
$899
$749This 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.
Garmin Epix Pro (42mm) - $300-$400 off!$449⚡⚡⚡ 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.
Garmin Epix Pro (47mm) - $300-$400 off!$499⚡⚡⚡ 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).
Garmin Fenix 7 Pro (MIP) - 31% off
$799+
$449+⚡ 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.
Garmin Fenix 7S Pro Solar Sapphire (MIP) - 31% off$449⚡ 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.
Garmin Fenix 8 Series - $250 Off!$749⚡ 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.
Garmin Fenix 8 Series - $250 Off!
$999-$1,199
$749⚡ 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.
Garmin Fenix E - $250 off!$499As 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.
Garmin Forerunner 165 (Base) - $50 off
$249/$299
$199
Garmin Forerunner 165 Music - $50 off!$249
Garmin Forerunner 255/255S Music - $150 off!
$349/$399
$249
Garmin Forerunner 265 Series - $150 off!
$449
$299⚡ 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.
Garmin Forerunner 55 - $50 off
$199
$149The 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.
Garmin Forerunner 965 - $150 off
$599
$449This 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).
Garmin Index BPM ~$40 off!$160The 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...).
Garmin Instinct 3 AMOLED - $100 off!
$399/$449/$499
$399The 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.
Garmin Instinct 3 SOLAR - $100 off$299The 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.
Garmin Lily 2 - 20% off
$249
$199The leather version is also on sale as well.
Garmin Tactix 8 AMOLED - $250 off!$1,049This gets all the same updates as the Fenix 8 Pro, from a software standpoint.
Garmin Tactix 8 SOLAR - $250 off!$1,149This gets all the same updates as the Fenix 8 Pro, from a software standpoint.
Garmin Varia RCT715 Camera Radar - $50 off$349
Garmin Varia RVR315 Radar - $50 off$99This 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.
Garmin Varia Radar (RTL515) - $50 off$149This 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?
Garmin Varia Vue Front Light/Camera - $50$499This 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.
Garmin Venu 3 - $100 off!
$449
$349The Venu 4 came out in September, though with a massive price jump.
Garmin Venu X1 - $200 off!$599⚡ 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.
Garmin Vivoactive 5 - $100 off!
$299
$199
Garmin Vivoactive 6 - $50 off!
$299
$249⚡ 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).
Garmin inReach 2 Mini Satellite Communicator (2-way) - $150 off$249⚡ 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.
Garmin inReach Messenger Plus - $100 off!$349This 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.
GoPro Hero 13 Black - $100 OFF!$309This is the lowest price we've seen in a year.
GoPro Hero 4K - $20 off$179This 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.
GoPro LIT Hero 4K - $40 off$229
GoPro Max 2 - $50 off!$449This is the first time we've seen the just-released GoPro Max 2 on sale.
HoverAir X1 Drone Combo - $50 off!$237This 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 - $30 off$607This 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 - $250 off!$719This includes three batteries, the drone, the vast charger, and some extra accessories.
HoverAir X1 ProMax Cycling Bundle - $352 off!$929This includes three batteries, the drone, the vast charger, and some extra accessories, plus the Beacon (handelbar remote)
Insta360 Ace Pro 2 - $65 off!$334This is one of my two main daily action cams (along with the GoPro Hero 13 Black).
Insta360 GO 3S Tiny 4K Action Camera - $70 off!$279
Insta360 X5 360* Action Cam - $85 off!$464This 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).
Tacx NEO 2T Smart Trainer - $200-$300 off
$1,399
$899This 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.
Tacx NEO 3M - 25% off!
$1,999
$1,499⚡ 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).
Wahoo CLIMB Accessory - $150 off!
$599
$599This 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.
Wahoo KICKR BIKE SHIFT - $580 off!
$2,999
$1,912⚡ 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).
Wahoo KICKR V6 - $262 off!
$1,299
$787⚡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...

DCR Posts in the Past Week:

Here’s all the goodness that ended up on the main page this past week:

Monday: Suunto Announces SuuntoPlus Guides: An App Platform for 3rd Party Apps
Monday: Suunto Rolls Out TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Integration: How-To Guide
Tuesday: Wahoo Adds New Gradient Coloring with Wahoo Summit Feature
Tuesday: Zwift Rolls Out Wahoo Direct Connect Ethernet Adapter Support
Thursday: GoPro Volta Battery & Remote Grip Review
Friday: Sports Tech: The Best April 1st Tidbits

YouTube Video This Past Week:

Here’s what hit the tubes over on the You of Tube, definitely don’t forget to subscribe there to get notified of videos the second they hit!

YouTube video

YouTube video

YouTube video

Stuff I Found Interesting Around The Interwebs:

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.

2) Photographer Picks Up Pogačar’s Bike Computer After Crash: Here’s a quick story from the intersection of cycling GPS units and photography.

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.

With that, thanks for reading!

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20 Comments

  1. Jack T

    Edge 530/830 Plus ok the cards?

  2. Teddy

    Any idea if this is a clearance of Edges to make way for new models, or just a spring sale?

  3. Sam

    can;’t wait for the *40 edge

  4. Thomas

    “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…

    • Richard

      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.

  5. 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.

    • fl33tStA

      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.

  6. Frank G

    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?

    • GLT

      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.

  7. Anonymous

    Garmin forerunner 935 – $230 off at best buy.

    link to bestbuy.com

  8. brent sword

    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.

  9. Konstantinos

    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.

  10. Ian

    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.

  11. Allan

    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?!

  12. Stuart

    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.