Stryd Announces New, Next-Gen Footpod for 2023
Stryd Announces New, Next-Gen Footpod for 2023
More: Stryd FootPod Power Running Meter Review
The new footpod looks similar to the old model but Stryd’s 5th Generation pod claims to be the best yet and it’s available now only at stryd.com.
Here’s what’s new
It’s wholly new hardware that slightly expands the pod’s overall abilities.
- New internal motion sensors to increase accuracy and frequency of recording (6x) over a wider dynamic range (4x)
- the power metric is now 3x more responsive than ever for faster efforts
- high-frequency data capture
- high-range data capture
- Increased battery life beyond 20 hours
- A new metric to track in Power Center ‘Impact Loading Rate‘ which looks at how quickly impact forces are applied at footstrike which is used to track lower body stress and then feeds into a better understanding of recovery and readiness after fast sessions and downhill sessions
- A new shoe clip that features a grippier surface on its outside to eliminate any movement on the shoe plus a grippier base of the pod which eliminates movement relative to the cradle
- The pod features an aluminium socket where it buts up to the cradle to avoid wear over time and eliminates any movement between the pod and cradle as you run
- New Run profiles to tailor the app’s display for Road, Track and Trail.
- New hardware filtering algorithms improve the reliability and quality of the metrics that are transmitted to the watch.
- More complete and accurate power duration curve at higher power levels below 10 seconds
- Stronger and more rugged case material
- The new cradle now uses a USB-C cable
What stays the same?
All the software and running features remain the same or slightly tweaked for the good.
It includes an app specifically designed for the Apple Watch and Garmin Watch environments (Fenix, Forerunner…). Stryd remains compatible with just about any sports watch that supports ANT+ or BLE connections.
It remains water/splashproof to the same degree as before, lightweight at 8g, and uniquely to Stryd’s power calculations, still incorporates the effects of wind.
next gen Stryd FAQ
Q: If I upgrade will the data be continuous and comparable to my old data
A: Yes.
Q: When is the Next Gen Stryd Available?
A: Expect shipping to start in late 2022 (Edit: out of stock in Jan 2023)
Q: Is the new Stryd compatible with my watch?
A: Yes, compatibility with all modern sports watches is unchanged. The one proviso would be compatibility for the new Impact Loading Rate metric that will be supported from launch on all Stryd’s apps, data fields and will be cached internally in the new pod. So the like of Coros, Polar and Suunto might not initially show Impact Loading Rate (but all other data is unaffected)
Q: Does Stryd treat wind power/resistance in the same way as before?
A: Yes (Edit: this was not true at launch and a fix for wind power was subsequently issued)
Q: Do I need to buy any other charging accessories?
A: No, everything is in the box. The new pod will fit the old charging cradle and, presumably, the clips too.
Q: Are Multiple, simultaneous BLE connections support
A: No. Only one BLE connection when launched. Stryd strongly hints that more connections will be added later through firmware updates.
Q: Will the modified algorithms and running profiles be applied to older Stryd pods
A: No. They require new sensors that are only in the next-gen model. However, older pods will still receive updates in line with their hardware capabilities.
Q: Will pace and distance accuracy be improved
A: Yes, slightly (Source: Stryd presentation)
Q: Is there wireless/QI charging
A: No
Q: Will Pioneer status change
A: No. But you won’t get the new metric and performance characteristics with an old pod.
Q: Will my rFTP/CP change?
A: Stryd says it will not change simply because of the new pod (Edit: There was an initial bug that I and others spotted where Wind Power was too high, this was subsequently fixed)
Q: Will Coros and Wahoo report the new metric?
A: It’s up to those companies to implement support.
Q: Can the next-gen sensor work on one pair of shoes and the old sensor on another?
A: ANT+ connections to watches will be fine. BLE connection might require you to pair the sensor each time (eg Apple but probably not Garmin). I’m unsure if both pods will sync to one Stryd Powercenter account, I suspect not as only one can be paired to the smartphone app.
Q: Will there be more running profiles eg for a treadmill
A: The road profile will be fine for the treadmill at launch. More profiles will be released through firmware probably standard profiles and user-created profiles. Incline data will not be automatically detected, at least at launch.
Q: Are there new humidity metrics?
A: There is an onboard humidity and temperature sensor in the wind version and next-gen versions. Stryd hints at expanding the use of the existing onboard sensors through firmware updates
Q: Is There an introductory discount?
A: Yes, existing Stryd Owners get 20% off for a limited time but only against the Pod, not the optional subscription. Get your own unique code from Stryd Power Centre and enter it at checkout. You can see in the image below I got 20% off Stryd with my code.
Thoughts
If you’re just about to buy a Stryd then definitely wait to get your hands on one of these.
The product appears to offer several genuine improvements across the board. However, none strike me as warranting an upgrade from the previous model unless you simply want to treat yourself to the latest, greatest gadget.
However, if you have a much older Stryd pod or Garmin pod then a newer battery and the wind metrics will be nice icing on a generally better cake.
Yes, I’ll get one too!
Pre-order now
More: at stryd.com
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In my opinion it’s a minor update. Now it’s more responsive when sprinting but when I posted in Stryd’s forum, it was my fault not the pod. For trail running no news so bad news (not very useful), no temperature or humidity graded power, no treadmill incline except from the app.
Agreed. I also want altitude-adjusted power.
Pretty excited about Stryd being quicker to respond as, sometimes, I am finding quite a disconnect between the effort I am putting in and what is being reported as power output increase/decrease.
It’s a mixed response from me. I’d rather have these features before a new pod:
1. Running Effectiveness shown in data charts
2. Separate road and trail PDC
3. Longer battery for that <0.1% of time I might run +24hrs
4. Temperature and humidity compensated real time power
But I've still ordered a new pod to support them.
I was an early adopter of the stryd running pod and updated to the wind version on release (only to find out that it was another gimmick) then came the subscription service….. At that point I lost all interest, I use it still but once it breaks I won’t renew.
I often get 2-3% wind power.
What do you see?
I’m similar, I came in with the launch of the wind version, I use it, and have collected a lot of historic data, but am unlikely to replace it if/when it eventually dies.
The numbers are too erratic…I find I have to display 3s or even 10s averaged metrics to avoid it effectively being a random number when I glance at the wrist, the thought of “MORE responsive” seems a retrograde step, it needs to be LESS responsive and more smoothed!
The move to subscription was another pain that makes it a less sticky product – especially when I barely use the PowerCenter anyway (I find tools like intervals.icu or Runalyse more useful).
Of course smoothing had to happen as a function of time. Try a bike power meter sometime. You’re just asking for it to be less accurate. Your power IS fluctuating.
Subscription was a regressive step I agree. I rather buy a new pod every 2yrs than pay a monthly sub.
Ah so it’s better than the previous one that was PERFECT according to Stryd, will all errors or inconsistencies (mainly “shifting” calibration for anyone bothering to take a close look and not taking their word for granted) coming down to “user error”…or at best “stay tuned for future updates”.
I’ll give them credit for a usable ecosystem (though most of it is for pay now) compared to all the other “players” that offer a power metric with zero guidance whatsoever, as if they were just checking the box.
I’ve been pretty active with their Facebook group, never heard them claim perfection.
If they ever make their way back on Amazon I might try one to see if the calibration no longer “shifts”.
Fully agreed with almost all of you. No upgrade, no replacement, just use until its lifetime will have pass.
I posted on club.stryd.com to raise some questions like
1) whether there is any difference on placing the pod on left or right shoe (btw I found no difference)?
2) how to handle the situation of having additional burden of multiple kilos in the winter (note: I play with the weight before and after the run, because I dont care about w/kg, but w)?
3) why my very short time max powers are significantly lower than that of my cycling ones, while the same time my CP is much higher than cycling CP60 estimated by FTP?
4) and asked many times whether they will handle the error in power exerted during low cadence, uphill movement.
Stay tuned that I received, so I started to play with my irony.
Zoltan
Aka Tisztul_A_Visztula
Enjoy if you did not know it yet, but I guess almost all of you are familiar with this comic thread: https://club.stryd.com/t/uphill-power-model-regressed/15806/93?u=tisztulavisztula
No mention about wind power but the hole is in there so that should stay in this model.
Meanwhile they talk about 3 different “profiles” so I guess the algorithm will adjust slightly depending on what you are using (track, trail, normal?).
Don’t see any new screens anywhere, app probably still in the works, November a bit away yet. The bit about “leg stress” seems interesting but we don’t have details yet.
Don’t see a need to upgrade, in fact it seems I’m like most people in here, I use it but besides good pace/distance indoors, don’t have much use for it right now.
Some useful ideas from me:
https://club.stryd.com/t/still-confused-on-weight/16986/29?u=tisztulavisztula
https://club.stryd.com/t/battery-level-indicator/16880/20?u=tisztulavisztula
And finally the sprint-issue:
https://club.stryd.com/t/are-sprint-watts-not-too-low/18555
Price in EUR is 269.
The best part is that now almost every complaints the users posted in their forum and were always users’ fault, are great improvements in this next gen Stryd. I’ve used stryd a lot but right now for me the simple Garmin footpod is great for pace/distance on treadmill.
I thought they were going to release a dual pod system as runscribe has.
They lost me with the perfect pod claim and the subscription model.
They lost me with their promise mongering and lies. The latter is unfortunately quite common among businesses after the early phases of their lives.
Just…what is altitude-adjusted power? 🙂
I have always found Stryd overrated with dubious accuracy always coming up short on distance by about 2.5%. Pace is also erratic and it seems overly influenced by shoe changes. Amusingly Stryd always claimed it to be accurate and would engage in horrific gaslighting if you questioned it…yet now they have somehow improved it…hmm…
In my view the pace and distance accuracy of the Epix 2/Fenix 7 etc exceeds Stryd and power is so niche and done very well by wrist solutions, it all seems too late if they have finally fixed the accuracy issues
2.5% sounds a lot for regular usage.
In my long-distance GPS tests even wristwatches are almost always more accurate than that (on the total distance)
Yes, they’ve had to frame how they describe the improvements carefully
Yes power is niche but my calculations indicate considerably more than 100,000 runners use it worldwide and with the support now on Apple Watch expect that to grow even more.
Yes, Epix 2 and Fenix 7 sapphire models have superior accuracy from dual frequency reception when compared to other watches. compared to calibrated garmin or stryd footpads then i believe they are less accurate.
I prefer to remain positive and optimistic about the new Stryd. I have seen nothing but fantastic customer service from them.
I also, personally, found a lot of value in the features added through the subscription model.
tfk, you might not confuse 100,000 runners “using” power, and 100,000 runners “having power on their device that they don’t know a sh*** what to do with”!
After several months of running with Stryd, I must admit that I have a hard time finding a real added value to it. Power is nice and repeatable/predictable on flatish/asphalt…but so is pace/HR (for me, at least…and my color-coded mind images of intensities 😀 ). CP would have been nice if not gaining 20W from a single run after a rest period…can’t figure that out. Probably wrong shoes.
On trails, it’s a joke and is miles away from the perceived effort.the GAP provided by Rival or TP Suunto PLus feature (and probably Garmin/Coros equivalent) feels much more adequate.
It could have been useful to minimize the Wahoo Rival sometimes “less than ideal” instant pace, but…despite tickets opened on Wahoo and Stryd sides, neither have resolved my issue. Stryd is a happy camper on their “our device is faultless, our system is faultless” position, despite some proofs of the opposite, and Wahoo…are really nice and kind, offered a replacement watch that did fix it at all…and looks unable to fix it SW side (i.e the Stryd connects, but pace/distance don’t come from it, only power, and no advanced metrics….it’s been something like 6 months….)
User’s fault or the watch’s fault, never Stryd’s fault!
I’ve read several times where Stryd say a 1-2% calibration is within acceptable range.
But to be honest the distance calibration is mostly a moot point for those training by power, which is where Stryd performs best at.
Main issue is that I always have to change my calibration factor with changing my shoes. It’s a huge difference. Even with different speeds it was always my fault. Now they have a new pod for that: NO SUPPORT ANYMORE FROM MY SIDE
“I’ve read several times where Stryd say a 1-2% calibration is within acceptable range.
But to be honest the distance calibration is mostly a moot point for those training by power, which is where Stryd performs best at.”
They’ve never actually written that AFAIK (would not work with their ridiculous claim that “Stryd is perfect” and that errors are the user’s fault) but what they often repeat when faced with +/2% errors in distance (after a drifting calibration) is something like “even cycling power meters that cost 5x the price of Stryd are rated for 2% accuracy”…right.
The problem for Stryd is that anyone paying attention can compare the reported distance with the actual distance on a track (Stryd regularly claim that tracks don’t necessarily measure 400 meters !) or an officially measured straight line segment, so such people will get annoyed. Ah and since they use pace as a component of power, a +/- 2% drift will generate a +/-2% change in power, believe me it’s painful in a 10k race when trying to maintain your goal power.
More generally it’s amazing (and sad) how much badwill Stryd has built over the years and they have their uber aggressive “community manager”, one Gus N., to thank for that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_track
Running Oval: Lane 2 is 2% longer than lane 1. The middle of lane 1 or the outside of lane 1 is not 400m.
People simply do not run in straight lines
people running a 5k uk parkrun (properly measured) can easily run 5050m…I’ve done it myself lots of times..taking a slightly longer corner or overtaking…whatever. that’s 1% more measured by several different devices.
I measured my local track before calibrating my Stryd and it was NOT NCAA compliant, it was well over 1% off. So I measured the L1/L2 stripe and do my calibration runs straddling it.
Right…obviously people who care about accuracy and who have battled with Stryd over the years to get answers that make sense have done the proper runs and proper measurements, on tracks (400 meters is 30 cm from the border), on the line between lane 1 and lane 2, on officially measured tracks (not UK parkruns obviously), etc…
Not sure why you’re such a Stryd “accuracy apologist” (not to mention of their despicable habit of blaming errors on their customers, yet they now release a “more accurate” device), especially based on the many posts above of your readers, are you expecting a test unit from them or something ?
test 5
Stryd usually is not accurate out of the box, that’s why people do the calibration test in a track, to find the necessary calibration factor. Mine is at 102.5 for example. The easiest way to do it correctly is to run right OVER the line between lane 1 and lane 2. That way it’s easier to really run, just follow the line. Not sure about the exact distance but it’s something like 407 meters. You do it for about 5 laps to get a good measure and adjust accordingly. After this initial calibration my Stryd has been spot on my home treadmill. But I’ve read about lots of people having a very different experience than mine.
Euro price is 269, not 219. It’s about 215 euros with the 20% discount.
ty
most conflicts come from semantics in my opinion.
“accurate out of the box” means nothing.
So it’s a claim that can be argued either way depending on perspective. I wish Stryd was as clear as Garmin are with their pod. Garmin claim 98% accuracy I believe. All Stryd had to do was say something like >98% accuracy.
Test to test variation is also up 0.5%.
I’ve not read that this latest pod is more accurate with regards to distance.
I think they are claiming it’s more responsive with regards to power.
I might be wrong however.
i think that’s what they are saying
(sorry the comments aren’t indenting properly)
I’m on one of the earlier pods that doesn’t have the wind power and I’m really pleased with it. But I still don’t see the need to update.
I find it really helpful.
I am a bit surprised by the direction that Stryd is taking, as I believe that you cannot have it both ways (i.e., ask a reasonably high price for the device and charge monthly).
I also think that their weakest link is not the current Stryd pod but the fact that they have very limited software development resource, while many devices now include a power metric that is good enough out of the box for many. Case in point is the fact that you can buy a Apple Watch SE, a Polar Pacer Pro or a Coros Pace 2 for a similar amount of money.
If I were Stryd, I would open up the ecosystem to these other watches and sell subscriptions to these users.
I am a ‘Pioneer’ which includes all functionality that I would ever need without paying for the subscription but I am pretty disappointed that Stryd is not putting much effort into its Garmin Connect IQ datafield. I guess that they are waiting for Garmin to support them natively but at present, functionality is pretty much limited to showing your power number and zone as number.
I realize that I could use Stryd’s Garmin app, but that will basically turn my fancy Garmin 955 into a running watch from 10 years ago (no maps, issues with music etc)!
In sum, there is not much reason to upgrade for me at least (and certainly not for this amount of money). I am not even sure that I would replace my Stryd, if it broke. I would probably just use the Garmin Running Pod.
i guess their development must be small, probably a handful of people (IDK). Bigger than some, smaller than others.
interesting about opening up the ecosystem to other users. I’ll have to think about that.
fair comment on using the ciq app, it’s broadly where I’m coming from as well.
personally i would get a new stryd if mine broke. I was sceptical in the early gen products but now love it now i trust it. you’d find the garmin pod less accurate i just remember recalibrating it for different speeds when speed was important.
Kuifje777, use not the Garmin Stryd app, but the Garmin Stryd datafield and you lose only just one datascreen if you need two power metrics during your run. If you need only one, like eg. only 3 sec power, you dont lose anything.
I use the Styrd datafield showing avg power as one field of data screens of 4-10 fields, while the current power, 60 sec power, lap power, last lap power etc. are provided by another CIQ datafield, Datarun Ultimate, and it still uses Styrd data.
The only need for adding Styrd datafield to my run apps is just to ensure that all my runs will be uploaded automatically to Powercenter, because it is the place where I check my power curve and it gives my CP estimation.
But in that case or you connect the stryd via BT(totally opposite as Stryd advices you) or it will be messed with Garmin Power. If you just need Powercenter then all the new firstbeat metrics are just a waste of data numbers. So it will be the same to own a Fenix 5 or an Epix 2. Anyway the power numbers from sprints or trail running are so unreal that I gave up some time ago.
I dont use Garmin Power, I have 6X
still no support for stryd power workouts in the native garmin ecosystem
been running with stryd for a year but their CIQ app is just plain awful, way to basic, full of bugs and no access to any of the garmin features/stats while running
Yes the Datafields can be added and I’ve done so but no alerts or structured workouts can use the custom datafield values
Now that I got a multiband GPS watch I’m thinking of ditching stryd completely
hi
it’s up to Garmin to grant access and they haven’t/wont. garmin running power is proprietary
Stryd’s CIQ Apps: they’re pretty good compared to other vendors’ apps and data fields but i agree they could be improved.
RunPowerWorkout CIQ datafield is the way forwatd Jasper
The stride wind was a very inaccurate device out of the box. With changing the shoes you need definitely a new calibration factor. There was even a speed dependency on the factor. When running fast there was a constant 1% error. The same for running very slow.
They haven’t mentioned anything about any improvement with the new pod.
They blamed their users with the old pod. Blocked users from their forums / groups because they were very sad about the pace / distance accuracy.
I am curious that they even will survive especially because all the watches have now running power + dual frequency gps will do the rest…
I’m not that enthused about the new device at the discounted price for what looks like only a modest upgrade in performance.
Interesting to note from the link Zoltan’s thread shared above:
Angus [from Stryd], 9th Nov: “In order to keep our word here, the discount will be opened up again for existing customers in early December after reviews are available.”
Link: https://club.stryd.com/t/uphill-power-model-regressed/15806/107
yes, as i say above “The product appears to offer several genuine improvements across the board. However, none strike me as warranting an upgrade from the previous model unless you simply want to treat yourself to the latest, greatest gadget.
However, if you have a much older Stryd pod or Garmin pod then a newer battery and the wind metrics will be nice icing on a generally better cake.”
I love stryd, i think it’s worth getting one if you are concerned about accuracy and consistency but we already have that sufficiently on the Stryd Wind model.
I got my updated Stryd Friday and took it out yesterday for a tempo workout. I had a Stryd Wind and loved using the wattage to keep my efforts consistent in races and doing intervals, but the race predictor was an absolute joke. I ran several races MUCH faster than predicted (and I made sure my weight was accurate) and the predictions wouldn’t budge much, if at all.
While I only have one run using it so far, it is clear that my values have gone up 10-15W across the board (3-5% improvement) This caused large segments of my curve to improve, despite running a lifetime marathon PR in Chicago. So, I suspect that the increased sampling rate is largely responsible for this and should bump up my CP and make my race predictions much more usable.
hi
interesting. I’ll test that out too.
that’s not what stryd is claiming tho!
I used it today. LOVE IT