Pain Cave Pics.

[tball]

PSA: Black Friday 25% off Rouvy makes an annual subscription $108.

I've done a black friday annual subscription for the last few years, and for just $9/month, it's always ready to go. I use it more than when I was paying $15 month-to-month and would unsubscribe when most of my riding was outside. Cold, hot, dark, smoky... lots of reasons to ride inside.

 

[tball]

DC Rainmaker put together his great annual list of Black Friday deals for outfitting your pain cave:

The Massive Cyber Monday Sports Tech Deals List!

Here's your complete guide to sports tech deals, sorted by category and updated constantly throughout the day, often hourly with new deals. Most links here help support the site – which I greatly appreciate! These four DC Rainmaker partner sites

www.dcrainmaker.com

If I needed a new indoor cycle, the Stages smart bike with power meter cranks would be at the top of my list, and $1800 is a great price:

Stages Cycling SB20 Smart Bike - Accessories

Buy the Stages Cycling SB20 Smart Bike online or shop all Accessories from Competitivecyclist.com.

www.competitivecyclist.com

I didn't realize Zwift just started selling a smart trainer, which looks to be the best deal out there at a $499 retail price:

Zwift Hub Smart Trainer In-Depth Review: The Best Bang For Your Buck?

Today Zwift starts selling their first smart trainer, the Zwift Hub. Announced about a month ago, this ‘new’ smart trainer is essentially a repackaged JetBlack VOLT V2 trainer, but at a substantially lower price point than virtually every other direct

www.dcrainmaker.com

 

[cantunamunch]

I think I'm going to stay *out* of the pain cave for another season. Last winter made a huge difference in my bike handling over the summer.

Sure, my power and weight were not where they could have been but that's on my motivation not the temps.

 

[tball]

First, some sad pain cave equipment news. Saris/Cycleops is a casualty of the pandemic, chip shortages, and poor inventory management. They were a great US-based company that engineered, built, and supported rock-solid cycling products. I've owned many and have always been happy.

Quite an interesting business story with a sad ending:

Saris Begins Process To Sell The Company: The Backstory On How It Ended Here

Over the last 3-4 months, Saris has worked tirelessly behind the scenes trying to avoid the fate that no business ever wants to face. However, in the last few weeks, it became clear there was no other option, as Saris

www.dcrainmaker.com

We'll see how the new owners of the brand do going forward:

Saris Cycling Group Acquired by C+A Global

Saris has announced they’ve been acquired by C+A Global, a company you’ve probably never heard of. As you may remember from earlier this past summer, Saris found itself in court, and selected to sell itself as part of a fast-track

www.dcrainmaker.com

 

[tball]

I just saw this great deal on a very well-reviewed and rock-solid bike. Only 12 hours left:

Stages SB20 Smart Bike and 1 Year of Zwift

Need help? Call 800-474-4061 8-5 PST Free Shipping to Continental USA Real bike feel. Real bike fit. Responsive, wide-range electronic resistance and a 50 lb free-spinning flywheel for an incredibly realistic feel when climbing, accelerating and coasting. Precision dual-sided power meter...

stagescycling.com

That was $1799 during their black Friday sale.

The post-covid crash seems to be hitting the indoor cycling market hard. Wahoo is also in trouble:

Friday Sports Tech Thoughts: Wahoo’s Financial Viability & Tonal Price Changes

This week’s sports tech news hasn’t entirely been positive. Even just ‘tech news’ in general, this hasn’t been a strong week. For the most part, stories are either about price increases, or layoffs – with very little actual new tech.

www.dcrainmaker.com

Good time to be a buyer if you need anything.

 

[cantunamunch]

Meh, it's 65F out and dry enough for MTB. Was there a winter? I think I blinked.

 

[tball]

Meh, it's 65F out and dry enough for MTB. Was there a winter? I think I blinked.

Just wait until next winter! It's been more than six weeks since I've been comfortable riding outside here with all the snow and ice.

If you are a bottom feeder like me, there's also a ton of used indoor equipment for sale dirt cheap.

I picked up this Cycleops Phantom 5 in December for $200!!

It was a $2500 bike new, but it doesn't work as a smart bike on Zwift, so a guy sold it to his friend cheap during Covid. The second owner's wife decided he wasn't using it enough, so she put it up for sale and was probably willing to pay someone to take it away.

I converted it to manual resistance, and now the kids use it on Zwift. They love Zwift, and kids' accounts are free!

If anyone wants to know the ins and outs of Cycleops Phantom 3 and 5, and 300/400 Pro I'm happy to help. I have three now.

 

[mikes781]

I started indoor cycling in September with the goal of cutting some weight and hoping to help with prep for the ski season. Basically doing back to back Peloton PowerZone programs for the past few months. I thought it would help my skiing but didn’t realize how much it actually would. I guess the bar was low. Just came back from 4 days of skiing. In years past it would have been a struggle to go a full day from day 2 on. Total game changer this year… 4 days of skiing was a piece of cake with just minor soreness each morning that went away quickly, I have a Concept2 also that I’m looking to start working into the rotation.