Our favorite cycling tech reviewer the DC Rainmaker has the complete and detailed rundown of Garmin newest Edge computer the Edge 510. It’s bigger, blacker, touchier, and best of all it features live smartphone integration (including Live tracking). Here’s his final word:
While the Edge 510 is an interesting differentiator compared to the Edge 500 – I feel that it’s a bit of a device without a clear market. At $75 to $125 more than the Edge 500, I’m not sure it’s bringing enough new features to the game. When you boil it all down, you’re essentially getting some basic cell phone connectivity and activity profiles. But, that’s at the cost of the unit being substantially bigger than the small and light Edge 500. . . At $75-$125 more, that means you could simply pickup a ANT+ adapter can get the same functionality for between $40 and $60 on your cell phone (from Garmin no less!). Now it is true that the tracking is free on the Edge 510 – unlike tracking with the Garmin Fit app which costs $5 a month. So over time that would add up. But there are plenty of apps out there with tracking for free.
But that’s just the tip of the tech review iceberg. Follow the jump for the straight skinny.
Sometimes new bike computer money might be better spent on a new watch. While Garmin’s new Forerunner 745 was designed with triathletes (ahem!) in mind, it works great as an on-wrist bike computer, too. Obviously it is also solid training partner thanks to a load of onboard tech.
To help athletes better prepare for a race or training cycle, the Forerunner 745 includes key performance monitoring tools from Firstbeat Analytics like VO2 max, training load, training status and aerobic and anaerobic training effects. Athletes will even receive on-device running and cycling daily workout suggestions based on their current training load and VO2 max.
But it’s not all training, the Forerunner 745 also includes Garmin Pay, and when paired with music from Amazon Music, Spotify or Deezer the 745 can hold 500 songs. Garmin says the battery will last for a week in smartwatch mode, up to 16 hours in GPS mode, and 6 hours in GPS mode with the music blasting. It is available now in black, neo tropic, magma red or whitestone and has a suggested retail price of $499.99. For all the official details from Garmin, please follow the jump.
When the Garmin HRM Run strap that came with our fenix 5 watch finally failed, we went back to the first heart rate strap that we’d ever worn and it reminded us how nice it is to have something that feels good, and works. Here are a few of the reasons we’re happy to have returned to Wahoo.
Soft, velvety elastic strap that is snug without being too tight.
Front snap closure. Know how cool front closure bras are? How easy they are to open and close? That’s how nice it is using Wahoo’s front snap closure. It connects the circuit and straps it up all at once. No fiddling with a side clip and then sliding into place. No label that’s constantly folded over and scratching up your ribs.
Bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity. This HRM will connect to nearly everything — watches, phones, bike computers…and really what else is there. Use it on the bike with a Garmin 520 for a ride and then pair it up with a smartphone for jogs and hikes. It really is that easy.
Flashing lights to let you know it’s on. This may not seem that important but once something goes wrong it can be difficult to figure out who is to blame in the Bluetooth or ANT+ circle jerk. When the battery is dead the lights won’t flash. Duh. Simple but effective.
Price. Who can complain about $50 bucks. Sure, it doesn’t have built in stride metrics, but who runs anyway and if you do, well, maybe you need a different strap.
If you’d like to join us in HRM heart rate strap comfort, click the link and grab one for yourself.
The battle for your active wrist heated up a little today as Suunto announced that they’ve added a barometer to their Spartan Sport Wrist HR GPS multisport watch. The Spartan Sport, which competes directly with Garmin’s fenix line of watches, also got a battery life bump. We’d still choose the fenix given the choice, however it’s good to see that Suunto hasn’t given up the fight yet. For cyclists who’ve had enough of Garmin this watch is a good choice. For the official word from Suunto (including all the details) please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
In the latest iOS update to their cycling and running tracking app (version 4.18), Strava has announced that they will no longer support several devices that have worked well with the app in the past saying:
Sadly, we are no longer supporting the following devices: Magellan Echo, Timex Run x50+, Wahoo RFLKT/RLFKT+. Please contact us with questions by going to FAQ & Support in the app.
According to Strava support, users of the RFLKT can still use their devices with Wahoo’s fitness app and then upload to Strava. User of the other devices are out of luck.
“As the Strava app evolves, we continue to assess the work needed to support all the various accessories, sensors, watches and operating systems,” said a Strava representative. “Sometimes, it is necessary to cease supporting some devices so we can redirect those development resources elsewhere. Thank you for understanding, and please reach out to our support team directly with questions and feedback.
Guess the bottom line is, if you’re using any of these devices it might be time to upgrade to something else. . . maybe a Garmin 735xt for instance? If not, then you probably shouldn’t hit the update button.
It used to be that serious dives into Strava data were reserved for off-the-bike time when you could plow through the numbers and see exactly how you did against all your nemeses. Now, Strava has changed all that with Live Segments for Android and iOS. With Live Segments all the performance details of a segment are delivered while you’re on the bike and riding the segment.
How does it work? First off you need to be a Strava premium member ($59 per year). Then you need to go in and “star” all your favorite segments on the web or your phone. After the segments are starred then each time you ride one, Strava will give you the KOM and the fastest ride of the people you follow and compare your ride to theirs in real time showing you exactly where you are. Strava will count in the number of feet to the start of the segment and then count you out to the end of the segment (so you can kill yourself just like in a spring for the line).
This works on the phone fine, but if you don’t what your phone out on your bars (and really, who does) then the best option is a Garmin Edge 520. With the Edge 520 paired with your smartphone via Bluetooth, all the counting down, counting out, and live segment results will show up right on your Garmin display, making every single training ride a do or die race to the line. And, if you don’t like the results, you can immediately turn around and hit it again.
Garmin announced today (April 16, 2015) that they are upgrading their power tracking pedals the Vector and Vector S to the Vector 2 and Vector 2S.
Vector 2’s dual-sensing pedal-based power meter measures cadence, total power, left/right balance and displays cycling dynamics, revolutionary metrics that provide feedback to cyclists on their position and pedal form. With cycling dynamics users can tailor their training around specific weaknesses and strengths by viewing exactly where they are generating power throughout the pedal stroke. Cyclists can also view where force is being applied on the pedal itself to ensure proper cleat position, as well as when and how long they were seated versus standing during a ride to gauge position effectiveness.
The new Vector pedals also make transferring the power meters from bike to bike, much easier. Those who already own Vector pedals, don’t worry. There is an economic upgrade path that will get you rolling on the latest for $149.99 or less. And that sounds great. Now, if only they had a MTB pedal we’d be all set.
Mother Jones writer Dana Liebelson has done some investigative journalism and discovered that fitness trackers from companies like Fitbit, Garmin, and Nike actually track your fitness and hold that data in their vast databases where it can be shared on the web, on a smartphone, and with others. Yes, really.
“Let’s start with the popular Fitbit. When you buy one of these bracelets or clip-on devices, you have the option of automatically sending fitness data to the Fitbit website. And the site encourages you to also submit other medical information, such as blood pressure and glucose levels. According to Fitbit’s privacy policy, “At times Fitbit may make certain personal information available to strategic partners that work with Fitbit to provide services to you.” Stephna May, a Fitbit spokesperson, says that the company “does not sell information collected from the device that can identify individual users, period.” However, she says that the company would consider marketing “aggregate information” that cannot be linked back to an individual user—which is outlined in the privacy policy as aggregated gender, age, height, weight, and usage data.”
Yes, and Strava knows where we ride, who we ride with, and what we say to them after we drop them. Seems like it’s time for all of us to just throw in the towel and know that unless you’re some kind of charismatic, political genius with plans to buck the new world order, no one really cares about any of your particulars. Seriously. And if they do, then there’s nothing you can do about it. We already live in a police state. Get used to it.
We spent most of our time on the floor of the Sands Expo center at Interbike half-heartedly searching the aisles for an ANT+ monitor. Not a bicycle computer, not a GPS unit, not a dedicated nav system; just a dumb monitor that can read all our ANT+ data and display it back to us from a small unit on our bars.
We rock the iPhone for our cycling data capture. We’ve got to carry the phone anyway, and if we’re going to carry it, we might as well use it as our computer. But we’re not interested in mounting the iPhone on our bars for several reasons. One, it requires putting the phone in a new case every time we go on a ride, two, we’re not sure the iPhone will stay on the bars while we’re mountain biking, and three, the iPhone is just to big to be mounted up on the bars anyway. We’re already neck deep into Abvio’s Cyclemeter and really aren’t interested in jumping ship to a Garmin 500 for all kinds of reasons. We simply want a way to see the numbers without having to get the phone out of our back pocket. It seems like this would be a pretty popular item if it were made correctly and priced right.
The battle for your active wrist heated up a little today as Suunto announced that they’ve added a barometer to their Spartan Sport Wrist HR GPS multisport watch. The Spartan Sport, which competes directly with Garmin’s fenix line of watches, also got a battery life bump. We’d still choose the fenix given the choice, however it’s good to see that Suunto hasn’t given up the fight yet. For cyclists who’ve had enough of Garmin this watch is a good choice. For the official word from Suunto (including all the details) please follow the jump.
In the latest iOS update to their cycling and running tracking app (version 4.18), Strava has announced that they will no longer support several devices that have worked well with the app in the past saying:
