Thanks for your interest. I think the AW as a cycling computer becomes more compelling once it’s off your wrist and out in front of you. I haven’t missed my Garmin after using AW inside the Magneto case. In my (biased) opinion, I enjoy the versatility of AW in the case and then quickly and easily back on my wrist after a ride. Furthermore, all your data (sleep/activity tracking) is in one place making training stress more accurate.
I plan on selling these cases to recoup the costs of time designing, prototyping (I think I’m on v10 now going on v11 with a lanyard attachment), tooling, and materials. They’ll be reasonably priced and should be available soon once I verify the magnet closure system. I’ll be at Sea Otter next month with a few production units for sale.
The hard part was getting the internal shape right. The AWU is such a complex shape that was a real bear to perfect and get the tolerance right.
I am planning to sell these. Should be ready by end of March. But I still need to verify the magnet closure. Magnets should be here tomorrow and I’ll get testing it asap.
If anyone is interested in purchasing, DM me. Let me know the mount you’d like and if you want the lanyard slot.
Price will be $15 + $8.95 shipping (USPS flat rate small box to keep it simple) for the initial run ending April 6 (1 week before Sea Otter). After that, price will bump up to $20 which I think is still pretty reasonable all things considered. If this gains enough traction, I’ll put together a Shopify page to streamline the process.
Magnets arrived today and I couldn’t be more happy with how well they worked!
The case has 8x N55 neodymium magnets (4 posts in the top half and 4 smaller ones in the bottom half). It makes for a very secure closure. If the specs on the magnets is correct it should be around 8.5 lbs of force to separate the case, which is 63x the weight of the AWU.
To test how well the Magneto case would hold together, I placed the watch in the case and subsequently threw it against the couch several times. These were pretty vigorous throws that got the case to spin and tumble. It held together without issue. I then moved to the carpeted floor and skipped it across the room like stone. Again, it held together with no problems. I have no doubt that this would survive any crash that a normal cycling computer would encounter and then some. The screen and buttons are recessed to avoid any damage.
I’m printing out a couple of cases tonight and have enough magnets for them. I’ll have to order more magnets if there’s a demand. DM me if you’d like one of them.
After a couple rides with the Magneto case, I’m really happy with the magnetic closure system. It works perfectly.
One thing that I’ll be offering is a lifetime warranty* on the cases. If the case has any issues due to normal use I’ll replace it at no charge other than shipping.
*Includes defects in material and workmanship even wear and tear, damage from a crash or other accidental damage. Excludes damage from abuse.
Ran into an odd behavior on the watch today. If you start a workout (in either the default or 3rd party app) with Wrist Detection on and turn it off while the workout is still running it will cause the watch to act weird.
When you use want to use the AW as a cycling computer, always first disable wrist detection before starting your workout.
really cool project! I don’t have an apple watch but use my Garmin Fenix a lot for cycyling. Your price is more than fair - Garmin sells you 3 different sized mounts for 3 different sized watches (which makes no sense) in one package and charges 50$ for a bikemount, which is ridiculous (glad Alibaba exists, where you get the same for 2$). Your price is more than fair and if I had an Apple Watch Ultra I’d certainly buy one. Hope Apple decides to give the Ultra 3 a LED light in front of the watch, just like Garmin had it since the Fenix 7. That and better battery life is what’s keeping me from buying one and sticking to Garmin.
Put the Magneto Ultra case through the wringer today “racing” today’s Grasshopper Lake Sonoma long loop. Absolutely no issues with the case and kept my watch safe and secure in the most demanding conditions. The steep uphills were followed by some pretty technical steep descents that only got worse through the day with the rain and already saturated trail.
They’re now production ready. Message me if you’d like one.
Curious on the battery life, I want on a 2.5 hrs ride, watch did fine for battery life, my phone on the other hand (new 16pro), went through 60% battery. I was riding in area where gps was little spotty, have you experienced similiar issues?
Specifically on the design of your case, I used workoutdoors to record, great app, and did use the rotating crown to zoom in and out of the map, looking at your case, is that still possible?
Im still not convinced to drop my garmin 830 in lieu of using the ultra as my dedicated bike computer, but If I do, I’ll definitely hit you up for one.
cheers
Race was 3 hrs long and had plenty of juice in the tank. I actually forgot to check it afterward. I don’t bring my phone with me so the watch was doing all the heavy lifting.
I wore the watch to bed the night before to track sleep and readiness. It also made it the 2.5 trip back home with wrist detection off so the watch was semi-active (minus HR readings) during this time. I didn’t throw it back on the charger until like 5p when I got the car unpacked but even then it never put up a low battery dialog.
I don’t think battery would be too much of an issue unless you’re on a super long ride like 8+ hrs. But it might also depend on which app you use and what sensors are connected. I actually prefer the default Workouts app over WorkOutdoors but I like things simple. Just watts and time.
As for the crown use, it is limited by the case somewhat. You can use it but it’s a bit more fiddly. I just use pinch to zoom. Anything that requires more attention than a brief glance and I stop so I’m not interacting with my computer much on the fly. I’ve been hit by a car before so I’m hyper vigilant.
Get one now at discounted pricing and I think you’ll be reconsidering your 830 for everything except navigation in unfamiliar areas where a larger screen might help.
