No pain, no gain. So if you want a serious workout on the training bike you need to do more than watch cartoons and the evening news. The Sufferfest provides downloadable cycling training videos that feature high-intensity workouts along with a soundtrack to get you and keep you in high gear. These are training videos for beginnings to the pros. And now Sufferfest is even compatible with Strava. Video after the jump
Category: Mobile Phone
Next Generation Console
Bike2Power has introduced its new BikeConsole iPhone 5C Smart Mount, Special Edition. That’s a mouthful, and this handlebar mount for the iPhone, which is now available in five colors, offers waterproof and shockproof protection for the handset. It features SoundBoost microvent sealing technology for enhanced speakers and mic sound.
The BikeConsole Smart Mount also offers a formfitting, silicon-lined shockproof case with an in-bracket safety lock and double-hinged closure design. It is designed to provide the user with full phone functionality from within the case, while the BikeConsole even offers an antiglare screen membrane that perfect for a bike ride on a sunny day. Continue reading Next Generation Console
Super (LOCK)8
There are plenty of bike trackers on the market and a lot of bicycle locks. The LOCK8 is designed as the first “smart bike lock” and acts as both a lock and tracker should the lock part be compromised. Now being developed via a Kickstarter project, the LOCK8 is a keyless system that relies on the smartphone to do the unlocking, while integrated GPS can transmit the location of the bike.
The system features a number of systems, so that if a bike is stolen the geolocator kicks in, while the smart cable will set off an alarm and send a push notification should it be cut. A gyro accelerometer will also send the push notification and do the alarm thing should someone try to cut the LOCK8 or otherwise remove it.
The idea here is that you can’t stand around and watch your bike all day, so the LOCK8 will do it for you. Video after the jump
Surf the App
Now you can surf the web and then use the Surf Report 2.0 app from Oakley before heading to the beach. This app provides information on conditions for thousands of breaks worldwide. Details including weather, tides, sweels, water temperature and much more are now at your finger tips.
There is an App For That – But Beware
The Canadian Avalanche Centre has warned backcountry users not to rely on smartphone apps. These, were are marketed as “transceivers” can give users a “false sense of protection” warned the agency.
The CAC found a number of issues with the technology, including compatibility and frequency range. According to the CAC all avalanche transceivers should conform to the international standard of 457 kHz, so that regardless of brand these can be used to search and find one another.
“Not only are these new apps incapable of connecting with other avalanche transceivers, they are also incompatible between themselves, so one type of app can’t find another,” explained CAC Executive Director Gilles Valade.
The 457 kHz standard was chosen because it transmits very well through dense snow, is not deflected by objects such as trees and rocks, and is accurate. However, according to the CAC the apps don’t come close to this standard, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are both significantly weakened when trying to pass through snow.
“We are warning all backcountry users to not use any of these apps in place of an avalanche transceiver,” added Valade.
Like a Guardian Angel
Guardian angels supposedly watch over us, but while these heaven sent angels might help guide the way they don’t actually monitor our fitness so much. That is where the open source sensor from Israel comes in. The Angel is designed to help monitor fitness and much more. It can track pulse, temperature, activity and even blood oxygen levels.
It can send this data to a smartphone or laptop and even fitness equipment. It features an open API so it can be a workout tracker, fertility calendar, sleep monitor and even a tele-nanny. This wearable fitness device could also be used as a golf trainer to monitor strokes while watching for irregular heart rate that could lead to a stroke!
The developers have already reached their Indiegogo funding goals and now look to deliver the Angel in April of next year. Video after the jump
Garmin Approaches the Green
Garmin might not help you get on the green but the Garmin Approach S4 GPS Golf Watch will help you find your way on the course. It is loaded with a database of more than 30,000 golf courses, plus this watch can stream notifications from a mobile phone via Bluetooth. This way the phone can remain in the bag and you can concentrate on your approach. Press Release after the jump
Nike Refuels
While Adidas announced this week that it was entering the smartwatch market, Nike also made big news with the unveiling of its second-generation version of the Fuelband.
The Nike+ Fuelband SE features small tweaks that promise to offer improved performance. The iOS app has been updated as well, but we are still waiting for an Android one to follow. As with the original model it will track the intensity of workouts, count steps, monitor sleep and display progress in real time.
You’ll be able to get refueled starting November 1.
Klear It Up
When taking a mobile phone or tablet to the great outdoors you often bring some of it home with you. The SmartKlear from LensPen will have you erase the grim and grease from touchscreens. It features a cleaning pad that is impregnated with the same carbon compound used in other LensPen products designed for camera lenses and binoculars. This means no liquids, cloths, or sprays.
There are about 300 cleanings per pad, so you can take the phone with you and know you can get it clean when you get home. Continue reading Klear It Up
PUSH It and Then Some
Salt ‘n Peppa comes to mind when we say “Push it,” but fitness company PUSH could be joining the band – well not the hip hop trio of course. The PUSH Band is an app-enabled wearable fitness tracker that can provide in-training tracking as well as analyzing strength performance.
It utilizes scientifically-validated metrics to visualize an athlete’s training performance. The Band part communicates with a PUSH App and can plan workouts, optimize training routines, review collected data and share results. Post-workout it can breakdown the metrics and wallow you know what you accomplished, while also monitoring progress in real time to help reduce the risk of injury by “over doing it.”
Users can compare performance with others view the live view feature, which makes it possible for coaches and trainers to access performance results as well. Users will be able to “PUSH” themselves a bit further beginning next spring when the devices will be released.
Bravo, the Case to Cheer
Bravo is typically used to express approval when a performer or other person has done something well, but few are likely to express approval when their iPhone 5 meets with a disaster. However, Bike2Power has announced that it will distribute the fully waterproof and shockproof Bravo case for the handset. It can protect the device from water, dust, dirt, mud, snow and impact.
It is waterproof down to six feet, and can withstand the impact of a free fall from more than six feet on a hard concrete floor at multiple angles. Despite all this heavy protect the company notes that all the phone features are fully accessible.
Now that is something to cheer.
Chopping at the Bit
There are plenty of durable and very secure bike locks on the market, but one problem is that if you lose the key you’re bike isn’t exactly accessible. However, Mehrdad Majzoobi is looking to launch a Kickstarter project for the BitLock, which turns a smartphone into the key for the lock.
This works with iOS and Android and takes advantage of Bluetooth technology. In addition to providing a secure key that you hopefully won’t use, it also records the location of the bike lock via GPS, which can allow multiple users to “share” a bike and find it when it is needed.
We’ll be sure to watch this project and let readers know when it goes live.
Researchers Look to Develop Concussion-Detection App
Researchers at the University of Notre Dame are looking to test an app on approximately 1,000 youth and high school football players. It isn’t to track their performance, but rather could provide a way to recognize concussions. The program reportedly pulls out the vowel segment from a set of predetermined words and then analyzes that sound for changes that may indicate a brain injury.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now estimates that as many as 3.8 million sports-related concussions occur in the U.S. each year. However, because concussion can go undiagnosed, the true number of such injures could be much higher.
In many cases after taking a hard hit players are simply asked, “are you OK,” and now the researchers have looked to develop a test that could be not be swayed by answers from players look wanted to remain in the game. This builds on previous studies that have found that head injuries can change speech characteristics, with negative effects on vowel production being one factor that stands out.
This app could certainly help younger players stay safe and if necessary stay off the field after taking a hard hit.
[Via MIT Technology Review: Voice-Analyzing App Scans Football Players for Concussion]