Archive for the ‘Triathlon Kit Review’ Category

The Garmin Forerunner 310XT is the long awaited upgrade from the Forerunner 305 and is now enhanced to be the perfect multisport training device. The major enhancement being that the FR310 is swim proof and water resistant to 50m.

As such, I’m sure the new 310XT watch will fast become the ‘must have’ training partner. Other updates include a 20 hour extended battery life and a more advanced heart rate based calorie consumption calculation.

The Forerunner 310 XT also contains the high-sensitivity GPS receiver technology with HotFix for much faster satellite reception than the 305. Plus the unit is compatible with all the usual Garmin accessories such as cadence sensor, footpod and heart rate strap.

All training data is easily and wirelessly transferred from the unit to your PC or Mac using Garmin’s Ant+ technology.

The 310XT is also compatible with the new premium waterproof advanced soft chest strap heart rate monitor. It will be super streamlined and more comfortable than before yet rugged enough to withstand swimming. Note that this version does not contain a chest strap.

The premium chest strap is also available to buy as an accessory. It is cheaper to buy the bundle upfront and the unit does work with previous Garmin heart rate straps.

There are a few online stores that are selling the 310XT, however the larger tri/mulit-sport stotres have yet to promote it. It’s currently available around the £250-300 mark, which does seem more expensive than it’s than it’s former, the 305, but for me the updated features and smaller, lightweight design make it worthwhile.

Happy Training!!

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I came across this article via ‘David Zabriskie’s’ ‘Twitter’ updates and thought I’d share it with you. It’s a fantastic idea, I just hope the guys can raise the finance to get the product out to market.

Fed up with being clipped by cars during the dark winter months, the designers at Altitude combined two things they love, bikes and lasers, to create an instant bike lane and make night time cycling a whole lot safer.

Their bike-mounted gadget, called LightLane, beams two bright red lines and the universal symbol for cyclist on the pavement, neatly delineating a bike lane to remind motorists to yield a little space. It should make everyone feel a little more comfort on the road.

The LightLane started life as an entry to a design competition aimed at promoting bicycle commuting. “Having witnessed several friends be hit by cars while in traffic, we felt the intimidation of sharing the road was one of the bigger barriers to commuting by bicycle,” Gant said. He designed the gadget with Alex Tee.

“Although it doesn’t establish a clear and predictable path for a rider to follow, it does encourage a driver to provide the rider with a wider berth by capturing their attention in a different way,” Gant said.

LightLane is only effective at night, of course, something Gant said underscores the need for proper bike lanes. “Permanent lanes are much more proactive and LightLane is more of a reactive solution to the problem,” he said.

Gant and Tee are trying to determine the best color and orientation for the lasers. Once they tackle that question, they’ll turn their attention to financing and building a prototype that is resistant to rust, easy to clean and difficult to steal.

It should cost around $50 and I’m hoping to see the product on sale come the Autumn, because I WANT ONE!! Genius idea guys!!

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I’ve had my Garmin 305 for about a year now and I just worship it. The device allows me to train specifically with the various functions available; especially the user definable data entry fields of speed, distance and heart rate functions. As I’m currently training for a marathon I never have the Garmin off my wrist as more often than not I’m required to complete a specific session at a required pace.

The Garmin training centre software that accompanies the unit allows you to hook up the device and plots your session via GPS onto a map. Little did I know that you can also view your sessions through Google Earth.

How amazed was I when I took a look at one of my session via Google Earth. You can drill down into the route where it takes a 3D perspective and see your various marker settings that you’ve configured on your device. I guess it depends how interested you are in what you’re doing as to the lengths you’ll go to see what you’ve just done.

Personally, I find this feature useful to remind myself of terrain for out of area events, whether I’m competing in road races, duathlons ot tri’s.

Screenshot of the Garmin Training Centre software.

Screenshot of a route of mine plotted on Google Earth.

You can download Google Earth free here. It’s so straight forward to get going that it doesn’t require an explanation from me.

If you’ve got a Garmin give it a go, if nothing else it’s free and you can have a good look about the area where you live!!

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Turbo trainers have been around for a long time, the ‘turbo’ referring to the fan that was the original method of creating resistance.

Of course technology has moved on and today’s basic model consists of a steel or aluminium frame and a magnetic resistance unit. Magnets are the cheapest way to start ‘turbo-ing’, but they have drawbacks. They tend to be fairly noisy and the resistance rate is linear; it doesn’t get harder the faster you go, which would feel more natural. More expensive magnetic units (e.g the Tacx Satori, £135.99) enable you to adjust resistance via a bar-mounted lever to simulate ups and downs, which makes the training experience more interactive and realistic.

The next step up from magnetic’s is a fluid trainer – essentially a fan rotating in oil – which gives a quieter ride and a more natural resistance curve; sometimes a trainer will feature both, using an adjustable magnet to control the overall drag.

Taking training to the next levelare computer (or ‘ergo’) trainers, which as well as providing the workout can also measure your training data. The Tacx Flow (£247.99) can display heart rate, speed, power, cadence and you can also follow pre-programmed training routes with the resistance automatically adjusting to match the incline.

New virtual reality (VR) trainers such as the Tacx Fortius Multiplayer (£719.99) go even further. This extraordinary machine allows you to hook your PC up to the trainer and ride actual stages of the ‘Tour De France’!

Whatever type of turbo you choose, you need to use it regularly and keep track of the work you’re doing to get the most benefit from it. I don’t mind using the turbo trainer, although 60 minutes is my ‘absolute’ as I find it quite tedious. I much prefer the cold, wet and windy British outdoors!!

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