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Week in Review – November 10th, 2024

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/X 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:

Ebb and flow, quiet week this week in preparation for a busier week next week.

Monday: Week in Review – November 4th, 2024

Thursday: DJI Neo Sports Tracking Update Tested: Huge Speed Boost

YouTube Videos This 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:

Companies are starting to announce their Black Friday deals, which will basically stay the same through the holiday period. I’ve been working to add them in as they get announced. In general, for most companies, if they announce sales now, won’t introduce lower prices on Black Friday for those same exact models/products, as it annoys the @#$@# out of retailers, who have to deal with price credits or returns. Stuff like the Amazon-driven sales of the Garmin Epix though, are wildcards, because that’s not really Garmin’s sale, but Amazon controlling that particular product as it’s not under Garmin’s MAP policy anymore (minimum advertised price).

ProductSale PriceAmazonOther siteSale Notes
Nespresso Vertuo Pop+ Deluxe Kit - 30% off!$125⚡ 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!
10th Gen Apple 10.2" iPad (Wi-Fi, 64GB) - $90 off!$249⚡ 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 Indievelo, Kinomap, 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.
AmazFit T-Rex 3 - $45 off$234⚡ This recently announced watch is a very solid deal. I'm almost done with my in-depth review on it. It's definitely budget in terms of some of the polish, but has a ton of features.
Amazon Echo Dot Kids - 50% off$27Despite being a tech-focused dude, our kids don't actually get much tech in their lives. However, we got these last Christmas for them in their rooms, to play music. They do lots of other things, but our kids mostly just use it to play music (from Spotify and Apple Music too), and occasionally they ask it questions. It has all the parental controls I want, so it locks it down from bedtime/etc...For $27? Solid deal (The coolest 'nice touch' feature is that if you whisper to it, it'll whisper back...in the owl kids voice it has.)
Anker 737 Battery Bank (24,000mAh) - 47% off$79⚡I've been using this on my hikes/treks/daily life since lst winter, and have been super happy with it. I can charge drones from it on treks, as well as just a crapton of other devices (wathces/action cams/etc), but it's not too terrible on weight. For day to day life, I use it on planes and such as a laptop battery bank (supports 100w charging). Super happy with it.
Anker PowerCore III 10K Wireless Portable Charger with18W USB-C - 48% off$28I've been using this unit for a long time as a quick grab and go charger. Best as a day-use thing, especially with the wireless charging when my phone gets wet at the beach/pool/etc and needs wireless charging till the charging port dries out.
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen with USB-C) - $100 off$153⚡ Both myself and my wife have been using these since last fall, after years of using the Beats Studio Buds...man, these things rock. Sure, they're good for sports, but frankly, I use them on planes, editing, and such more than anything else.
Apple AirTags (4-Pack) - 26% off!$72⚡I make no secret how much I utilize AirTags, mainly, cause they've saved my butt numerous times already. We have them in every suitcase, and every backpack, and every bike bag. They're also hidden in most of our bikes (sometimes two of them). We were able to get our cargo bike back when it disappeared, as well as figure out when all our suitcases went missing during an annual family vacation where they were (for 5 days!), and plan appropriately. Seriously, just get them.
Apple Airpods (2nd Gen) - 31% off!
$159
$89These aren't the latest anymore, that's the newer 4th 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.
Apple Watch SE (2022/2nd gen) - $100 off
$249/$299 (cellular)
$149⚡⚡This matches again the lowest price we've ever seen the Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) - a very solid deal, especially with the new WatchOS 11 features around Training Load, Vitals, offline mapping, and more.
Apple Watch Series 10 - $80 off
$399/$499 (cellular)
$329
Apple Watch Ultra 2 - $180 off!!!$619⚡ This is by far the lowest price we've seen an Apple Watch Ultra 2, to date. This is an incredibly solid deal, especially with all the new WatchOS11 features that recently arrived. NOTE: YOU NEED TO CHECK THE $80 off coupon next to it (plus the already discounted lower price!).
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium - $80 off$719⚡ This is a nice little deal for this unit which just came out.
Balega Comfort Running Socks - 34% off
$15
$14This is the singular piece of apparel that's lasted the longest in my collection - some 15-16 years of buying the same socks. Heck, some of them are probably half that old. EIther way, this be the ones I use. Love them (well, except for hiking and trail running, then I use other stuff that goes higher).
Beats Fit Pro - 25% off$149
Beats Studio Buds - 47% off
$149
$79
Chipolo Card Spot (Apple Find My Network) - 20% off!$27This is virtually identical to an Apple AirTag, and shows up in the exact same spot as your other AirTags within the Apple Find My app. The only difference is that it's the size of a credit card and fits in your wallet. Been using it since it came out a few years back - love it!
DJI Action 4 - $90 off$209While not the latest unit, it's still a pretty good deal at $209.
DJI Air 3 Drone - 20% off all packagesFrom $859This is a good-ish deal. Yet at the same time, the new DJI Air 3S jsut came out and is significantly better, especially for sports tracking. I'd probably pay the extra for it.
DJI Mini 3 Fly More Combo with DJI RC - $200+ off$369
DJI Mini 4 Pro Fly More Combo with DJI RC2 - $300 off!$869This is DJI's most powerful small drone, and the lowest price we've seen to date.
DJI Mini 4K Drone - $60 off$209⚡ ⚡ This is an incredible deal. I actually picked up one of these back a few months ago to test, but I've used it in a boatload of review shots since then. Despite me owning all the DJI drones (seriously), this is by far the best value there is. This also has far better quality than the Neo, though, zero tracking capabilities.
EVOC Bike Travel Bag Pro - $45 off!$755This isn't on sale a lot. But, it's notably the bag I use (as does my wife). Works great, packed in all types of bikes into it over the years.
FORM Smart Swim 2 Goggles - $50 off$199These just came out earlier this year, and this is the lowest price to date. Very solid deal.
FORM Swim 1 Goggles (with heads-up display) - $50 off$129
Favero Assioma Duo/Uno Power Meter Pedals - 20% off!
$459/$719 (single/dual)
⚡ This is a strong deal from Favero, who is offering their Favero Assioma Duo pedals for 20% off. You'll pay the current exchange rate. The exact deal will vary based on which country you're shipping to.
Fitbit Ace LTE Kids Activity Smartwatch - $60 off$160⚡ This was just announced this summer, and is their first full smartwatch focused on kids activity tracking and gamification. This is the lowest price we've seen to date.
Fitbit Charge 6 - 38% off!
$159
$99⚡ This is the go-to sale price for the Fitbit Charge 6. It happens often, but it still doesn't take away from the fast that it's argueably the best bang for your buck fitness tracker out there.
Fitbit Inspire 3 - $30 off$69
Fitbit Sense 2 - $70 off$179
Fitbit Versa 4 - $40 off$119
Garmin Bounce LTE Kids Tracker - $20 off$139This is the activity tracker that both of our oldest daughters use (age 7 & 8), as well as most of their friends now. They/we all like it. Check out my full in-depth review for all my thoughts. The $20 off is about the only sale you'll see.
Garmin Edge 1040 Cycling GPS - $100 off!$499This is a good deal, especially since it's gotten virtually all of the Edge 1050 updates, and then a boatload more. That said, it wouldn't surprise me to see this drop further to $449, as it did this past summer.
Garmin Edge 540 - $100 off$249⚡⚡This is the lowest price we've seen on the Garmin Edge 540 to date, which has gained virtually all of the new Garmin Edge 1050 features as well. This is kinda an insane deal for this unit.
Garmin Edge 540 Solar - $100 off$349This is the lowest price we've seen on the Garmin Edge 540 Solar to date, which has gained virtually all of the new Garmin Edge 1050 features as well.
Garmin Edge 840 - $100 off$349⚡⚡This is the lowest price we've seen on the Garmin Edge 840 to date, which has gained virtually all of the new Garmin Edge 1050 features as well. This is one of my main units I use daily.
Garmin Edge 840 Solar - $100 off$449This is the lowest price we've seen on the Garmin Edge 840 Solar to date, which has gained virtually all of the new Garmin Edge 1050 features as well.
Garmin Edge Explore 2 - $40 off
$299
$269This is a great little unit, though, with the sales on the Edge 540 and 840 series, you might want to look at those instead.
Garmin Enduro 3: ~$50 off!
$899
$851This is the first time we've seen this on sale, and I suspect this is a transient Amazon sale. The Enduro 3 is basically the 'cheaper' Garmin Fenix 8 with a MIP display (but without the scuba or voice calling features).
Garmin Epix Pro Series - 20% off!
$899/$999
$649⚡ This is the lowest price to date for the Garmin Epix Pro series, likely due to the Fenix 8 coming out a few months back (Epix as a brand was merged into the Fenix 8 branding). Still, if you don't care about diving or voice bits, this is an incredible deal.
Garmin Fenix 7 Pro - 31% off (All Variants)
$799+
$549+⚡ This is the lowest price to date for the Garmin Fenix 7 Pro series, likely due to the Fenix 8 coming out a few months back. Still, if you don't care about diving or voice bits, this is an incredible deal.
Garmin Forerunner 165 (Base) - $100 off!
$249/$299
$199⚡ This is the lowest price to date, and argueably one of the best deals this Black Friday in terms of runners watches and bang for the buck.
Garmin Forerunner 165 Music - $50 off!$249This is the first time we've head a meaningful sale on the Forerunner 165, released earlier this year, down to $249 for the Music edition, and $199 for the non-music edition.
Garmin Forerunner 255/255S - $100 off$249This 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.
Garmin Forerunner 255/255S Music - $100 off!
$349/$399
$299This 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.
Garmin Forerunner 265 - $100 off$349This is the first time we've seen the Forerunner 265 on sale, and it's solidly priced right now at $349
Garmin Forerunner 265s - $100 off$349This is the first time we've seen the Forerunner 265 on sale, and it's solidly priced right now at $349
Garmin Forerunner 55 - $50 off
$199
$149This is a good little running watch, though, it also supports plenty of other sport types as well. This is the lowest sale price to date.
Garmin Forerunner 955 - $100ish off!$399⚡ This is one of Garmin's most popular running watches, and it's down to a very strong price. I often use this in my accuracy testing comparisons when validating other watches, due to it's very strong GPS performance. Note this is the base edition without solar. It'd be hard to find any better deal in sports watches today, from any company (given this has full mapping, tons of new features even this week, etc...). I say '$100ish', because it's usually been on forever sale at $499, so $399 is a strong price, though, it dipped to $319 for Amazon Prime Day.
Garmin Forerunner 965 - $100 off!$499⚡ This is the lowest price we've seen ever on the Forerunner 965, since it's launch. It's still Garmin's top-end Forerunner watch, and I expect it to stay that way for a while. It's one I often use in comparative testing as a reference device.
Garmin HRM-FIT - $15 off
$149
Look, this isn't much of a discount, but it's the first discount we've seen to date...so...better than nothing.
Garmin HRM-PRO Plus - 20% off
$129
$103A solid little deal for this strap, if you're in the Garmin ecosystem and want a dedicated chest strap. This strap is one of the two straps I use constantly for other HR sensor accuracy comparisons (alongside Polar H10)
Garmin Instinct 2 Series - $100 Off$199⚡The Instinct 2 base is from $199, a very solid deal - especially with all the major software updates it's had over the few years since release. The Solar editions are also on sale.
Garmin Instinct 2S & 2S Solar $100 off!$199-$299⚡The Instinct 2 base is from $199, a very solid deal - especially with all the major software updates it's had over the few years since release. The Solar editions are also on sale for $299
Garmin Instinct 2X - $100 off!$349This is a solid deal. Garmin Instinct 2X - $100 off!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).
Garmin Instinct Crossover Solar - $100 off!$399
Garmin Tactix 7 Pro - 20% off$1,049This is the largest discount we've seen to date on the Tactix 7 Pro unit. Note the other Tactix 7 Pro units/variants are also on sale for 20% off too (this link takes you to all of them).
Garmin Varia RCT715 Camera Radar - $100 off$299⚡ This is the lowest price we've seen on this unit ever. While I have some quibbles with it from an app/etc standpoint, it's still the best offering on the market by far for integrated radar + camera + bike light features.
Garmin Varia RVR315 Radar - $50 off$99⚡ 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/Stages/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.
Garmin Venu 3 - $100 off!
$449
$349This is the lowest price we've seen on the Garmin Venu 3, which is Garmin's answer to the Apple/Samsung/Google watches.
Garmin Venu 3S - $100 off$349This is the lowest price we've seen on the Garmin Venu 3, which is Garmin's answer to the Apple/Samsung/Google watches. The Venu 3S is simply the smaller edition.
Garmin Vivoactive 5 - $110 off!
$299
$189This is a great deal for Garmin's little-sibling to the Venu series. It has almost all the same features as the Venu 3, except the voice calling related bits.
Garmin inReach 2 Mini Satellite Communicator (2-way) - $100 off$299⚡ This is my defacto satellite communicator when out of coverage area, and I've used it on a number of major treks over the past two years when well outside of cellular service, both in a 24x7 tracking mode for friends and family, but also there in case of emergency. Would strongly recommend for anyone doing anything in the wilderness.
GoPro Hero 12 Black - $100 off!$299The new Hero 13 just came out, which mostly just adds a bunch of new accessory options. If you don't plan to purchase those accessories, then this is a solid deal.
GoPro Hero 13 Black - $100 OFF!$299⚡ This is the first time we have seen the newly announced GoPro Hero 13 Black on sale, and now even lower for the non-bundled version to $299! That's crazy!
GoPro Hero 13 Black - $60 OFF!$339⚡ This is the first time we have seen the newly announced GoPro Hero 13 Black on sale. Solid deal, this is my daily use action cam! That said, the bundle version listed below this is a better deal, since for $10 more you get a bunch of other things.
GoPro Hero 13 Black Bundle (extra battery/SD card/floaty) - $100 off!$349⚡ This is a very solid deal. It's a Hero 13 Black on discount, but then an extra battery tossed in, then an SD card, and then a floaty.
GoPro Hero 4K - $20 off$179This was just released back in September, and is GoPro's budget option, which includes a full color touchscreen on the back as well.
Google Nest WiFi Pro - 6E (3xPack) - $120 off!$279I've been using the Google Nest WiFi packs for years. And this deal is strong enough that I clicked purchase on this deal to upgrade to the WiFi Pro after a few trusted reviewer friends upgraded as well. The 2x pack is also on sale for 34% off as well, if you don't need three pods.
Google Pixel Watch 3 (41mm) - $70 OFF$279Click to add $70 coupon into the cart. Bringing price down to $279!
Insta360 Ace Pro Action Cam - $50 off$299This is the previous edition, as the Ace Pro 2 just came out a few weeks back, but this is still a very solid camera from a year ago.
Insta360 GO 3S Tiny 4K Action Camera - $60 off!$239This is a great deal for this tiny little thing, which should really be named the Go 4, given how many new features it has (including 4K). It also has all the Insta360 sport integration features with Garmin & Apple, to overlay your Garmin/Apple data automatically on your footage.
Jackery Portable Power Station - $100 off!$169This 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 - 15% off$54This 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. It's one of the ones in my rotation.
Oura Ring Gen 3 - $50 off$249While Oura just released their Gen 4 ring (which I'm currently testing), I'll be frank, there's virutally no real-world difference to Gen 3. About the only notable thing is the battery life difference (which is legit 7 days now, versus real-world 4-5 on Gen3). Otherwise, same-same.
Peloton Bike - 10% off$1,295This 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.
Peloton Bike+ is $500 off$1,995This is a solid deal for the Bike+, albeit largely the normal sale/deal price. Both my wife and I use both the Peloton Bike+ and the regular Bike (one at home, one at office) on a weekly basis. We like both. The Bike+ is more accurate than the regular bike, and also has a bigger screen and automatic resistance control. That said, the core Peloton experience isn't any different between the two - it's the same platform there.
Peloton Guide - A crapton % off$45Peloton keeps trying to get rid of these - and $45 is hilariously cheap (it started in a bundle for $495, and has slowly worked it's way down from there).
Peloton Tread - $300 off$2,695This is my main treadmill at home, and I really like it. I've got no complaints about it, and am happy I went with the smaller Peloton Tread versus the bigger unit.
Philips Hue Smart Lighting - 20-65% offI use Philips Hue stuff all over the DCR Cave/Studio for lighting, both obviously colorful stuff in the background of shots, but also just for automation of the lights. Same goes at home. Love it (mainly when it's on sale like now). Starter packs are a good place to begin, and then I love the light strips (such as pictured).
Polar Verity Sense - 15% off
$99
$84I use this as one of my reference devices for heart rate accuracy testing.
Samsung Galaxy Ring - $50 Amazon Gift Card Included$399Not a straight discount, but Amazon gift card is basically cash for most of us.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (40 & 44mm) - $100 off!$202⚡ This is a very solid deal for one of Samsung's best watches to date, and also just released this summer.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra - $215 off!$434⚡ This is by *FAR* the lowest price we've seen on this brand new watch. This scored very well in my accuracy tests, as well as battery testing.
Samsung Galaxy Watch6 - Just a crapton off$120
Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Classic - $200 off$199I'd probably go with the Samsung Watch 7, unless you *really* want the physical bezel (which admittedly, is a heck of a lot better than the touch bezel on the Watch 7). Either way, this is a very solid price.
Samsung T9 SSD (2-4TB) - up to 40% off$134I 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.
SanDisk 256GB Extreme PRO SD Cards - 51% off$29⚡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.
SanDisk Extreme Pro 256GB MicroSD Card - 18% off!$28I use this card for all of my drones and action cams. Sometimes, also the 512GB version as well.
Scosche RHYTHM+ 2.0 ANT+ & Bluetooth HR Monitor
$79
$39This isn't the newest chicken on the block, but for $39?!?! That's a solid deal for something that's actually pretty darn accurate. Really accurate.
Sony Alpha 7 IV Full-frame Mirrorless Camera w/ 28-70mm Zoom - $400 off$2,298This is the main camera I use for still photography and video b-roll. I recently wrote about all the photography gear I use, linked at side here.
Suunto Race - $50 off!$399This is the lowest price we've seen on the Suunto Race. That said, keep in mind the Suunto Race S is $349, has the same software and a *MUCH* better optical HR sensor. Though, is a bit smaller and slightly less battery life. Still, great watches.
Suunto Race Titanium - $50 off!$499
Suunto Vertical (Solar edition) - $150 off$549This unit continues to get all the most current updates, and is Suunto's MIP-enabled device with dual-frequency GPS and mapping.
Tacx Flux 2 Smart Trainer - $300ish off
$899
$399I mean, I guess. Really, I don't see why anyone would buy this trainer at any price above $299. With the JetBlack Victory at $399 being more accurate, quiter, including WiFi, including Zwift Cog support (or mechanical cassette), including dual-Bluetooth, including Race Mode, and...one could go on and on.
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.
Therabody Theragun Mini - $50 off!$149My wife uses the Theragun Elite, which is a bit larger than this Mini model, and also includes more tips. But, as noted - people seem happy with all these models.
Therabody Theragun Prime - 36% off$190My wife uses the Theragun Elite, which is relatively similiar to this newer model.
Vacmaster AM201R Fan + Remote/holder (13% off)$69This is another very popular fan that people use for indoor training/cycling, especially due to inclusion of the remote and remote holder to clasp on your handlebars.
Wahoo BOLT V2 - 26% off
$279
$208⚡ This price is very solid for this unit, especially if you want a smaller bike computer that's very solid in terms of software stability at this point. I believe this is the lowest price ever.
Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM V2 - 15% off
$399
$339While Wahoo has announced a new bike computer coming December 3rd, this is Wahoo's top-end unit for now. 15% off is pretty much the norm for them.
Wahoo KICKR CORE Zwift One (COG V2) + Play Controllers
$499
$499This package includes the KICKR CORE with the Zwift V2 Cog, but notably now also includes the Zwift Play controllers. Basically, this saves you about $100 or so, and is the first time we've seen them bundle it.
Wahoo KICKR MOVE - $300 off!
$1,599
$999⚡⚡ This is actually a very solid deal, and the first time we've seen this discounted. In fact, frankly, this is the first time in years it feels like Wahoo is actually doing a legit sale on something. Kudos.
Wahoo KICKR ROLLR - $100 off
$599
$499
Wahoo KICKR SNAP - Lowest Price Ever
$499
$199This is lowest we've ever seen the KICKR SNAP priced. While the trend has moved towards wheel-off/direct drive trainers, this is still really solid deal if your budget it tight. That said, if you're in Europe, Decathlon has the D100 on sale for $199 also, and in my testing, I'd go with that almost every time.
Whoop 4.0 with 1-year subscription - 17% off$199This brings down the 1-year price to $17/month, which is the lowest it's been (only way to get that is normally a 24-month membership).
Withings Body Comp WiFI Scale - 25% off$149
Withings Body Smart WiFI Scale - 20% off$79
ZOLEO Satellite Communicator - $50 off$149I have not yet tried the Zoleo unit, though, many of you have and it's super popular.

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) Zwift Announces Mallorca April 2025 In-Person Community Event: Called ‘Zwift Community Live’, this event is being held in Mallorca and will bring in various Zwift employees, including CEO Eric Min, as well as other high-profile guests from within Zwift, and outside of Zwift. It sounds like Zwift eventually wants to grow this new annual event quite large. Obviously, that portion of the island has amazing riding, and the event is focused on outdoor riding.

2) Peloton Members get 20% off Google Fitness Devices: Of course, I’d fully suspect the Google Pixel Watch 3 will get a 20% off discount during Black Friday anyway, and the Fitbit Charge 6 got a far greater discount the last few days (see above).

3) Sony Discontinues Airpeak S1 drone: In a move that surprises exactly nobody, Sony has discontinued their drone attempt. While the drone was super interesting (theoretically) for Sony camera owners, it ultimately lagged so far behind the competitors in features, that it just wasn’t worth the effort or cost. In many ways, it was kinda like when GoPro tried to compete with DJI all those years ago (or even Skydio’s consumer drones, setting aside tracking).

4) The Pros Closet Rises Again: After auctioning off everything (that auction was crazy-pants cool full of goodness if you wanted bike stuffs), some existing employees bought out the remaining digital assets and plan to bring it back to its full glory. Disclosure: TPC sponsored various videos and FIT File podcast episodes, though, I haven’t heard from them since the closure…and frankly, they still have outstanding bills. Nonetheless, I think there’s clearly still a market for used bikes that have been professionally vetted.

5) Apple adds ability to share AirTag location with airline (or anyone): This could be super interesting, assuming airlines care to find bike boxes. As one who has an AirTag always in my bike case, and a bike case that seems to need its AirTag friend more often than not, this might be handy…again, if airlines make an effort to leverage it.

6) Breakdown of power meters from Kona 2024: Looks like this data was captured after all. Though, would love to see the exact unit numbers (quantities) to see how many users in the field had power. The shift from Garmin pedals to Favero pedals makes sense, as the market clearly shows that a solid product at roughly half the price is simply logical. Though, I’m far more surprised at the Quarq side of things 2x-3x’ing. Obviously, Quarq makes great power meters, but that’s a massive YoY jump in the field.

7) Zwift says they’ll probably have different crank length sizes on Zwift Ride Bike:  They had previously mentioned this back this past summer, but good to see them reiterate it publicly (30:25). Plus a bunch of other interesting tidbits. Also, Zwift says they’re testing CORE sensor integration too (18:40).

With that – thanks for reading!

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24 Comments

  1. Larry Tomie

    I find it interesting how Zwift and earlier Rouvy has acknowledged that “outdoor” cycling is a good thing and that their products can help you to enjoy or enhance your outdoor riding experience. Previously (to me anyway) it seemed the indoor cycling apps wanted nothing to do with the outdoor experience.

    I guess they realize it’s better to expand their audience in any way.

  2. Ed Felkerino

    The $399 deal on Amazon Prime Days for the Epix Gen 2 was for the white titanium sapphire model with dual band GPS, not the standard. There seems to be a lot of these, as I’m seeing a number of authorized sellers offering them for under $500. Interesting, I see one seller already discounting the Fenix E at $689.

    • Interestingly, the records I had showed it was black titanium/sapphire. Didn’t see they also offered white.

    • Anon

      I, too remember this as being the white titanium version.
      The Wayback machine: link to web.archive.org
      Also matches this – the picture is of the white model, the link is to the same white titanium model, (currently at 450).
      At the time, I tried for the black titanium model, and it was not on sale at the time – nor is it now.

      It was the Apple Watch Ultra that was the black titanium model.

      Since I missed out on it, I’m kind of bummed that it’s now an extra $50 higher, and that none of the other models appear to be on sale again. :(

    • Anon

      Ugh, and now it’s at 500 today. I’m unclear why they can’t just leave the price alone for a bit.

    • Nice, internet archive for the win!

      As for Amazon doing Amazon changing the price…I suspect that’s what keeps getting you back to Amazon’s page to buy some kitchen spatula you didn’t think you needed till Amazon suggested it.

    • Anon

      Sure, I recognize that it’s a bit of a ploy to upsell, but it seem counter to the whole “be stably priced so sellers don’t have to deal with credits and returns” that you mention at the top.
      I guess maybe I can’t tell the difference between the seller deal and the Amazon deal, but it seems like thrash either way.

  3. Mallorca…, Mallorca…, where have I heard that place name recently?… 🤔 😉

    Interesting news about TPC. Looking at the ungodly amount of stuff in that auction my initial thought is no wonder they went out of biz. And the level of “investment” debt (~$80M!) for a “used bike reseller” is bonkers.

    I’m not thrilled about TPC returning. Read many insider and customer comments that their “professional vetting” of bikes was a joke/sham. And some people made a lot of money gobbling up used bikes to flip to TPC at absurd prices, and then TPC jacked them up even more. It’s difficult to say the average bike user really benefitted. And the statement in the article that their new attempt at a dealer trade-in program “provides value to dealer” suggests dealers will be paid more, which means more markup for end buyer.

    I don’t see how wholesale commercialization of the used bike market into corporate hands is a good thing for the average cyclist. I think anyone shopping for a used bike in local markets knows firsthand the effect it had. But it will be interesting to see how v2 unfolds.

    • Having been to their facility a few times, they definitely had a lot of stuff. But essentially you have to divide that into two buckets:

      A) Typical bike shop repair bench stuff
      B) Stuff they were trying to sell to consumers (e.g. parts/etc…)

      For the bike shop repair bits, that was all pretty much normal stuff to be expected for having dozens of high end bike mechanics on staff servicing boatloads of high-end bikes (since, most of these were high-end bikes). So that’s not really what got them in trouble.

      The warehouse space was massive, obviously, and certainly, that contributed a lot. Looking at similar space costs in the area, for 265,000sq ft, we’re talking the $3M/year range. Which is nuts.

      “Read many insider and customer comments that their “professional vetting” of bikes was a joke/sham”

      Not sure about that, but certainly not what I saw when I visited there. In fact, their processes were far beyond what you’d see at most bike shops. Obviously, you’re going to see exceptions at either end of the bike shop spectrum, but on the whole, I’d say the servicing level of TPC was beyond that of your average LBS.

      Again though, the ‘problem’ was the prices they were willing to buy bikes at wasn’t going to make money once they accounted for how much money they put into bikes. That’s the piece most people didn’t really understand. TPC didn’t just wash the bike, add some lube, and call it done. They almost always swapped out well-used parts/etc… to increase the resale value. That costed real money, as they were almost always brand-new parts. And then ultimately, the cost the final consumer bought for it, just didn’t leave a ton of margin.

      There’s still absolutely a huge market for this. After all, TPC was a tiny drop in the bucket for used bike sales in the US. At roughly 1,000/bikes in inventory at any point in time, we’re only talking taking 20/bikes per US state. That’s nothing. A few bike shops in a random town are going to have 2-4 bikes each on-hand that might be lightly used.

      Of course, as always, whenever you add VC or private equity, things often go wrong…and ultimately, that’s what happened here s well. Remember, TPC was around for like 20 years.

    • >>”“Read many insider and customer comments that their “professional vetting” of bikes was a joke/sham””

      >”Not sure about that, but certainly not what I saw when I visited there. In fact, their processes were far beyond what you’d see at most bike shops. Obviously, you’re going to see exceptions at either end of the bike shop spectrum, but on the whole, I’d say the servicing level of TPC was beyond that of your average LBS.”

      I’m just going by some of the many threads I read after the closure news broke, particularly on reddit (sent you a link to one back then). Obviously take with a grain of salt but there certainly seems to be enough there from insiders and especially customers that all was not well, moreso in recent years.

      >”Of course, as always, whenever you add VC or private equity, things often go wrong…and ultimately, that’s what happened here s well.”

      ^^^ This. Surfaces in those threads a lot.

      Don’t get me wrong, I was really excited when I first discovered TPC (thru your coverage actually) and I checked their listings regularly. One of the biggest appeals was the claimed verification of carbon frames, which is always a big hesitation with used bikes (and let’s be honest they leveraged that as part of their value pitch). I communicated directly with them about their inspection methods, the equipment they used, their damage detection rates, etc. and was considering sending my frame there because proper NDT inspection services are really hard to find. (Theirs wasn’t terrifically sophisticated, but certainly better than tapping a coin. And when they were closing I considered offering to buy their NDT equipment…, it sold in the auction.)

      But for purchasing a bike, the value just wasn’t there, and no surprise with buying up used bikes at insanely inflated prices and then marking them up even more. Up until the closure “sale” hit I was still seeing prices above original sale prices.

      A service needs to offer real value for bike buyers first and foremost, and not just value to investors. (And that value can’t just be “we offer bikes you can’t find locally… because we bought those up at inflated prices”.) They would need to up their inspection game, address the surprising complaints (at least from the most recent years), and the price distortion. Yes that means no longer throwing thousands at your 10-yr old tradein you found in your uncle’s garage, sorry everyone lol. But that also translates into more appropriate market pricing that reflects the actual value they add to the bike for the buyer.

      I do want to see something like this succeed, provided it *increases* options in the used market, not reduces them in favour of commercial profit.

      I suspect they have quite of bit of reputational / confidence repair to do now as well. Will be interesting to see if they keep the name.

    • Yeah, it’s always hard to tell with the internet, but I’d say that short of pile-on type scenarios, I heard virtually no negative feedback on TPC. Actually, literally none came into my inbox that I can remember.

      As for the naming, I agree, but for different reasons. I don’t think TPC as a name helped at all. The change from “The Pros Closet” to TPC I think is actually a part of the failure. So much so that I always kept a graphic I made myself that had both “TPC” and “The Pros Closet” stacked atop each other.

      Nobody except industry bike geeks knows what the heck TPC is. It’s just three random letters. The Pros Closet at least brought in some intrigue, enough for people to click on. And the name of the game in marketing is getting people to click. If people see TPC and can’t possibly see how a TLA is going to have reputable bike stuff, then they won’t click.

    • Oh wow I didn’t even realize they were using “TPC” as the name! I always called it “The Pros’ Closet” but TPC for short.

  4. Rob

    Please do a better power meter stats page as that linked page is terrible. A graph that seems to compare different years but also swaps and compare women’s for one year and men the other.
    Then a pointless pie chart (all pie charts are terrible. This is more terrible).
    And.. no, I just don’t trust it having looked at it

    • Unfortunately as noted, they don’t list the exact numbers as was usually the case in past years (allowing me more flexibility/analysis potential).

      I had assumed that they were comparing Nice 2023 to Kona 2024, but, if not, yeah, that would explain the wild swings.

  5. Cal

    For a first time smart trainer purchaser, would you recommend the JB Victory over the Kickr Core with Zwift Play bundle?

    • Generally speaking, yes. About the only exception being:

      A) You plan to purchase the Wahoo KICKR CLIMB (only compatible with CORE)
      B) You didn’t pre-order and need the trainer immediately (since JetBlack Victory timeline for newly placed orders is like late December I think now).

  6. Jonathan Rial

    Hey Ray,
    Not sure if you have seen that Zwift are offering 10% off the ride, kickr core and the bundle with code CYCLINGZ10 for their 10 year anniversary. This is available in the UK, US and EU.

  7. Anon

    At what point do we expect the majority of Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals to stop rolling in? I’d love to make a decision earlier, but would also hate to have to deal with the changes if I should have waited a few more days.

    • MartinM

      I would guess sometime around Black Friday or Cyber Monday, and even then some of the deals might continue past that date. The small premium you pay now in the event that a price drops below a current sale price is basically an insurance fee, as some items may run out of sale inventory if the deal is good. If you are buying something reliable that you need, it’s going to last long enough that an extra $20 or $50 shouldn’t hold up your decision too much.

    • Anon

      I’m specifically referring to Ray’s comment:

      > In general, for most companies, if they announce sales now, won’t introduce lower prices on Black Friday for those same exact models/products, as it annoys the @#$@# out of retailers, who have to deal with price credits or returns.

      It sounds like the “saving an extra 20-50” is the least likely of the things to change.

      Thus why I’m asking if there’s a time range for those early deal announcements. Or if companies (like Garmin) might announce deals for some items now, and then add in other products only on Black Friday.

    • Garmin tends to go-live usually around this week each year, typically later in the week, but we’ll see.

      Generally speaking Garmin announces all their deals as-is at this time, for the holiday season. Any subsequent deals for Black Friday specifically, are either retailer driven (if in Europe), or non-MAP deals if in the US (e.g. older products Garmin has taken off of restricted MAP pricing, and then companies can go wild). Uncle Amazon’s Epix deals fall into that category.

      I don’t have an exact list of which products are on MAP (and Garmin certainly wouldn’t say it), but generally speaking it’s anything other than current gen. I believe Fenix/Epix Pro are still MAP though.

    • Anon

      Great, thanks! That makes a lot of sense, and was seeing pricing for the Epix/Fenix 7 Pro as pretty stable vs the previous models.

      Also, feel free to the duplicate message below (about the $500 price for the Epix) that got double-sent.

  8. Anonymouse

    Ugh, and now it’s at 500 today. I’m unclear why they can’t just leave the price alone for a bit.