JUMP TO:

Week in Review–October 14th, 2018

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!

DCRAINMAKER.com Posts in the Past Week:

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

Saturday: My 2018 State of Sports Technology Keynote Video
Monday: 5 Random Things I Did This Past Week in Banff
Tuesday: The 2018 Swim/Bike/Run Gear I Use List
Wednesday: The Girl’s 2018 Swim/Bike/Run Gear I Use List
Thursday: Garmin Instinct GPS Watch In-Depth Review
Friday: Tech Tidbits: Polar Vantage Updates, Strava sorta removes ads, PowerTap P2 pedals
Saturday: Kona Bike Count 2018 Power Meter Analysis

Heads Up – Solid Trainer Deals:

There’s still a handful of Tacx Flux 1 units available left in the sale that started about two weeks ago.

Tacx Flux 1 Sale: This is the updated 2018 variant that includes all the internal tweaks for better performance/stability. The Flux is down to $699 (from $799).  The singular difference between this and the just announced Tacx Flux S is that unit has support for longer derailleur cages. That’s it!

This is an awesome deal for trainers that are available today, at least while supplies last. While it’s not silent like the new KICKR CORE at $899, you are saving $200 (and you can get it today versus the backordered KICKR CORE).

YouTube Videos I Made 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!

Stuff that 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) It’s like Uber for CPR: I know ‘it’s like Uber’ comparisons get old, but this is kinda what this is like. It’s been in place in a few communities and allows you to mark yourself as being trained on CPR and then receive an alert via an app with location details when emergency services are notified of someone within a few blocks of you needing assistance. It’s tied into the 911 system such that it gives people closest to the victim a chance to start before fire/EMS can arrive. I saw it this week on Twitter for an individual in DC. They even have wearables integration too. An amazing use of technology.

2) Stop committing crimes with your Fitbit: Fitbit data has now been used to charge a man with murder. More specifically, the heart rate data from the victim has been used in establishing specific times. This is hardly the first time Fitbit has cooperated with police in various criminal investigations.

3) Abe Kislevitz Hero 7 Black Guide: Abe’s a long-time GoPro employee who, upon each hardware release, puts together a super detailed insight into how GoPro themselves tends to use the new cameras. It’s a great guide for specific shooting modes and when to use a given mode/frame rate/framing.

4) AMER Sports – owner of Suunto Up for Sale: And apparently, holding talks with at least one suitor already. Of course, it’s often a long road from talks to acquisition, let alone whether the company might be sold in chunks (AMER owns brands including Salomon, Wilson, and Mavic – among others), or as one giant pie. Still, worthy of note. (via The5KRunner)

5) All the Kona Posters: This man’s aiming to collect every original Ironman Kona poster, along with the signatures of the winners for each year.

6) The Hiking Map: A super cool map that depicts 350 of the most popular hiking trails in the world in a pictorial kinda way.  I need something like this for epic cycling routes.

image

7) I don’t have any more links this week. I sat on a beach all week and apparently didn’t surf the internet well enough.

Sports Technology Software/Firmware Updates This Week:

Each week I quickly highlight some of the new firmware, app, software and website service updates that I see go out. If you’re a sports technology company and release an update – shoot me a quick note (just one-liners are perfect, or Tweet it at me is even better) and I’ll make mention of it here. If I don’t know about it, I won’t be able to post about it. Sound good?  Oh – and if you want to get a head start on things, this page is a great resource for watching Garmin and a few other firmware updates.

Garmin Fenix 5 Series Firmware update: Mostly bug fixes, plus GPS + Galileo Support

Polar M600 Update – Wear OS 2.0: Polar has made this available for all users of the M600 now.

With that – thanks for reading and have a great weekend all!

FOUND THIS POST USEFUL? SUPPORT THE SITE!

Hopefully, you found this post useful. The website is really a labor of love, so please consider becoming a DC RAINMAKER Supporter. This gets you an ad-free experience, and access to our (mostly) bi-monthly behind-the-scenes video series of “Shed Talkin’”.

Support DCRainMaker - Shop on Amazon

Otherwise, perhaps consider using the below link if shopping on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but your purchases help support this website a lot. It could simply be buying toilet paper, or this pizza oven we use and love.

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked.
If you would like a profile picture, simply register at Gravatar, which works here on DCR and across the web.

Click here to Subscribe without commenting

Add a picture

*

23 Comments

  1. KilkennY

    GPS + Galileo For fenix 5?
    I run software 11.0 and gps 4.40, but still only has Glonass.
    Is this for Fenix plus series only?

    Kind regards.

  2. Finn

    Hi Ray- Can the Tacx, or any other trainer, handle living outside on a covered balcony? Just moved into an apartment with actual outdoor space and it seems like the perfect spot for a trainer – I can deal with cold, but on days I can’t ride on the roads (dark, snow…) it seems like a decent option. I could cover it with a tarp or something, but for wife approval reasons it probably can’t live inside..

    • Ismo

      Years ago I asked the same question from Kinetic and their response then was that it is fine. The trainer should work fine outdoors, as long as it is kept away from the rain etc. It will also take a bit longer to get the trainer warmed up for training.

    • I recently did some research on using a trainer in an uninsulated wooden shed. In that situation the thing you need to be cautious of is humidity. If the space is cold and you execute a hot and sweaty workout, you need to be mindful of what happens to the hot air when you leave. Your balcony will likely clear itself of the humidity quickly, but if it’s an enclosed balcony you may need to do a little dehumidifying after workouts. Also, it sounds like you may live in a multi-unit dwelling. If this is the case, you may want to factor a silent trainer into your budget in order to completely avoid potential vibration noise issues with neighbors.

    • AlsoFinn

      I’ve been using a BKool trainer on windowed balcony in Helsinki through winters for 4 years. No problems.

    • Eli

      When things outside are covered with dew I’m pretty sure that would be very bad for the trainer

  3. botina

    Hi, I have a question about trainers and would be really thankful if someone with experience can help. I was thinking about buying Wahoo Core but now that Elite Drivo 1 is on sale for almost the same price would that maybe be a better choice? Is height adjustability an important factor considering that I would regularly use both my road bike and my mtb with 29″ tyres? And overall would 1st edition Drivo be a better trainer? Does Core have any advantages over Drivo apart from lower noise?
    thanks

    • Paul S.

      I have found that using a trainer with anything other than very smooth tires doesn’t work very well. Lots of vibration. Are you sure you need to use your mountain bike with the trainer? Even the Schwalbe G-One Speeds on my road bike (micro-dot tread) drove me nuts with vibration, and I switched the rear tire to an old 23mm racing tire that I had from years back.

    • The Drivo is a direct-drive trainer, so vibrations from tire tread is a non-factor.

    • theboxers

      If possible test ride both units.

      I had a kickr v3. While as a trainer it was everything I expected it to be. The noise from it, a whine, was at a certain pitch that really annoyed me. I tried lower speeds and all sorts of other stuff to minimise the noise without success.

      A v4 kickr sorted the issue. The core is the same tech, silent.

  4. Dan G

    That Garmin updates site doesn’t track the 645 very well. That watch is now on v4.00 which brings Galileo support.

    • Robert

      Took me by surprise when mine updated, there is a bug that the watch will reboot, if you try to control music from the non music 645. Shouldn’t be long before its fixed. Thankfully it’s not a feature i use.

  5. Christian

    Hey
    Number 1 has been developed in Sweden. Works well. One alarm today for me at a mall.

    Look at smslivraddare

  6. Graham R

    Looks like you nuked the Awesome-Maps.com site – Here is a google cache for anyone looking for the hiking map – they have a ton of others, but no cycling at this time

    link to webcache.googleusercontent.com

  7. Don’t know if you have a look on the comment section of your blog but… Just want to finally say hi and more than that thank you ! I am reading your blog for years now without commenting anything and just realizing that sometime encouragement words are very nice to receive (understanding that from my personal website)
    Anyway, I am not good at that but keep going, all that you do is really helpful for guys like me !

  8. Domen

    Well related to number 6) there is a something for cyclists. Although it is not worldwide, but Alpine climbs are definitely epic. As the name implies Scratch Off Alpine Cycling Print has one cool additional feature – you can scratch off climbs that you have already ridden. So Ray, you can already scratch Stelvio and maybe some others too.

  9. Giles E

    Ray, there’s word on the street that Garmin connect is now blocking upload of all non Garmin .fit files.

    Verified it with my own and one always gets “An error occurred with your upload. Please try again.”

    Might be worth following!

  10. Hi there,

    Just wanted to say I am a huuuuge fan of your blog! I love running, tech and reading interesting/funny facts/updates about these two subjects. Thanks so much for providing all that in a condensed way!