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!
DCR Posts in the Past Week:
Here’s all the latest on the site:
Tuesday: Garmin Edge 840 Cycling GPS In-Depth Review
Wednesday: Garmin Instinct 2X Solar In-Depth Review: Bigger and Flashlight-Equipped!
Thursday: Strava Launches Spotify Integration: Hands-On Quick Overview
Thursday: Zwift Outlines Summer Features, Plus Zwift Hub Firmware Update
Friday: Quick Video: Using the Edge 840 Touchscreen With Rain & Gloves
YouTube Videos 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!
Sports Tech Deals:
A few other things have popped up this week to add to the pile, so here’s a quick mention:
| Product | Sale Price | Amazon | Sale Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Garmin HRM-DUAL (ANT+/Bluetooth Smart Strap) - 35% off! $69 | $45 | Amazon | This is Garmin's ideal strap if you just want an affordable dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart option, especially when it's on sale like this - it really becomes the best deal out there right now for a multi-connection strap. |
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:
1) University of Calgary looking for Zwift study participants: Check out the linked post for details, but essentially it involves a bit of suffering on a bike indoors from your home with a heart rate strap and power meter. If that’s the sort of thing you’d like, hit it up.
2) Google says Fitbit to Google account migration begins this summer: Albeit, the migration period will last a very, very, very long time.
3) Wahoo’s Credit Rating Downgraded, but, a silver lining: Sure, the credit rating downgraded them, but the key thing happened here that everyone kinda assumed would happen, specifically this part: “We are actively collaborating and moving forward positively with the support of our lenders and our private equity partner Rhone”. In other words, their private equity partners basically let them flail in the wind for the last 5-8 months, and then ultimately finally stepped in when things got truly dire. As with before, I don’t have any real issues recommending the purchase of a Wahoo product per my existing reviews (meaning, if the review says it’s good, go forth, if the review says it’s bad, don’t). Meanwhile, what’s *FAR* more interesting is waiting on the judge to decide on Wahoo’s injunction request against Zwift from the hearing last week…
4) Paris-Roubaix Bike Tech: Only The Escape could manage to make a bike tech gallery almost exclusively about where pro riders place their remote shifter buttons, interesting. And this is why I subscribe.
5) Rumors of Apple Glasses a few years out: Undoubtedly, eventually, we’ll get back to glasses-based wearables that don’t generally suck. Today is still not that timeframe (yes, I’ve tried a few recently, I can’t justify recommending any except perhaps FORM). If we look back historically, numerous elements of the stack was just too early. Be it clunky hardware, or half-baked software relative to non-glass features. It really has to be a seamless software experience (feature-wise) on hardware that feels no different than regular glasses. All for a price that’s reasonable. Anything will fail, again.
6) 200-mile Running Race in Tunnel: I’d never heard of this craziness until this weekend. The most recent edition two weekends ago, and it’s entirely bonkers.
7) Peloton & Hilton expand partnership to more countries: Cool to see this expanding to the UK, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Germany. Basically, more Hilton brand hotels will have Peloton bikes in them.
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Hi Ray, is there anything like a Garmin Edge 540 / 840 / 1040 comparison coming?
I’m sort of pretty much sitting on the fence between the 840 and the 1040, as they’re the same price in Europe right now and I could need some decision help…
Hi Max-
Garmin’s goal is that once the current beta firmware for the Edge 1040 releases, the Edge 840 and 1040 will be identical feature/software-wise.
The hardware differences then will be:
1) Edge 840 has extra buttons 1040 doesn’t
2) Edge 1040 has a bigger screen/bigger unit
3) Edge 1040 has a bigger battery/battery life
And…that’s it.
Thus, you can use the Edge 540/840 video up above as a proxy for Edge 540 vs 1040.
Personally, if they’re the same price, I’d go 1040. I like the bigger screen these days, and the lack of buttons hasn’t bothered me at all given how good the touchscreen is. Also, wouldn’t do solar, just not worth it unless you live in Arizona or something (which doesn’t sound like it).
Thanks for the fast and extensive reply! Seems I got it right then. I waited around for the 840 but now that it’s out, I’m just not sold on the screen size anymore (coming from an 830). In the videos it also looks like the new interface is better geared for the bigger 1040 and to me it seems a bit compressed on the smaller units. Good for Garmin that they are finally consolidating firmwares. I still hope to live to the day when they start doing that with the Fenixes / Forerunners.
Going to get my 1040 tomorrow then.
I just replaced my 830 (after almost 4 years it developed a balky start/stop button) with a 1040. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to the smaller size.
4) the 1040 solar has 64GB storage which can be useful for map shenanigans with extra layers and info, or just installing full world mapping to save that sinking feeling when you get to your holiday and realise you didn’t install the map and now you have to use crappy hotel wifi to install overnight and hope it doesn’t fail like it often does…
Good point. I sat there thinking there was on more…that’s it!
Hi Ray,
For anyone who’d like to know more about the 200 mile tunnel race, here’s a BBC longform article that I found really interesting.
link to bbc.co.uk
That’s where that one went to! I had read it on my phone via something else via Twitter, and couldn’t find it. Replacing the link up above with that one!
Great article. Those folks are crazy 😉
So far escapecollective.cc has been awesome. They covered Paris-Roubaix from all the angles: going with a team on a recon ride, talking the family of rider who died several years ago, on course reporting, tech stuff, and, the actual races themselves. I highly recommend you subscribe.
Any info about VIRB support (it pairs, but no widget or any other way to control it) being removed from the 1040 (and probably other x40) firmware? I’ve sent a support request to Garmin recently about this but haven’t heard back.
I do hate that Garmin is starting to remove some support for legacy equipment. I still have a VIRB and used it diving in Key Largo last month. I haven’t used in on the bike or with my Fenix or 1030 in a long time but like knowing the support is there. Likewise, I notice the 540/840 no longer supports Varia Vision. I have one and haven’t used it in awhile but usually use it if I’m biking with just the Fenix, for instance, when I forget to charge my 1030.
VIRB is supported on the Edge 540/840 (see attached). But, I also see it just fine in the Edge 1040 too as a pairable sensor (16.14).
Garmin’s support article shows the control widget being there on the 540/840/1040: link to support.garmin.com
I haven’t charged up an old unit myself to validate, but that screenshot is from an Edge 540/840/1040 style device based on the UI elements.
Thanks for taking the time to respond to this. Unfortunately VIRB options in the Controls widget (which is shown in your link) isn’t there in the latest (last week’s) betas. I fear it’s getting silently phased out. Also the VIRB widget on the 1030 series was nice with the recording time info and all that (which is also shown in your link in the 1030 option). What bugs me is they haven’t even considered to make it available as an optional download.
Hmm…ok, now you’ve got me curious. I’ll do some charging, then poking.
I would *highly* suggest though, since this is sorta the point of the beta, to raise a bug on the Edge 1040 beta. I wouldn’t even phrase it as “oh, it seems to be removed”, but rather just phrase it as a bug “Paired VIRB is not enumerating in controls widget”
🙂
Good idea, just did that… Before that the “VIRB record” was broken for months on the 1040, so I suppose it was easier to hide the options temporarily rather than taking time to fix it 🙂
Ok, grabbed it out of the bin and plugged it in. It won’t hold a charge anymore, but works plugged in.
In any case, yeah, it’s missing from the controls menu after paired. It shows up as a sensor in the top bar thingy (next to GPS signal/etc…).
I checked adding more widgets, but none of them did the trick either. So…umm…yup.
Good catch, have missed it, because didn’t use my old virb for a long time. Checked it on my Fenix 7x, there the virb widget is luckily still available (in case I want to use it someday again). I hope it is only an issue for the 540/840/1040 series, but …
Ray,
Any idea if Garmin will continue to support Varia Vision with the Fenix series. Obviously, phasing it out of the Edge series. Thanks.
Is it really still compatible with a Fenix 6 or 7 series device? There is no Varia Vision listed at the selectable sensors or does the sensor only become visible in the sensor list if you pair it?
With regards to the Tunnel – I ran a different race with Karl Baxter (featured in the article) earlier in the year and was chatting to him about the race. Its just utter nonsense. Its amazing what the mind and body can acheive – and all without GPS reception! 😉
Yeah, that’d be sorta the ultimate test of something like Styrd!
Of course the Tunnel is bonkers, it’s organised by Brits! Remember only “mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun”. I think it’s genetic.
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