4iiii Appoints new CFO from Energy Sector

4iiii Innovations Inc. a global leader in Sports Electronics is pleased to announce the appointment of Jim Glasspoole CPA.CA  as its Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”).

Mr. Glasspoole brings strong leadership and expertise to the company as it diversifies its strong Sports Sensor portfolio to the Energy Sector and scales to volume production in both sectors.  He previously held key positions with Pratt & Whitney Canada, KPMG, and Pason Systems, the industry’s only oilfield specialist offering a fully integrated drilling data solution. He brings 10 years of CFO experience in Calgary’s Oil and Gas sector, 10 years in high tech manufacturing at Pratt & Whitney, and 12 years of senior finance and capital market experience working in both private and public markets.

“I can’t imagine a more thrilling time to be joining 4iiii” Glasspoole said.  “ The company has an established and proven track record in Sport and is now disrupting the Energy Sector which I believe is going to be a game changer not only for the industry, but for the local community which is quickly becoming a high tech innovation center adjacent to the Calgary core.”

“I would like to extend a hearty welcome to Jim on behalf of the Board  and the rest of the 4iiii team.” says Kip Fyfe, 4iiii President. “We are taking our revolutionary torque sensing technology and manufacturing innovation that is disrupting the cycling space and applying it to the Energy sector.  Jim’s experience in high tech manufacturing, operations and finance will be key to transforming and growing our markets and ensuring that our strength as nimble innovators and manufacturers is fueled to continue to flourish.

About 4iiii

Cochrane, Alberta based 4iiii Innovations Inc. has established a Global reputation for technology leadership in sports sensors most recently recognized for its PRECISION line of powermeters being used over the last 3 years by the most winning teams at the Tour de France.  4iiii technology is chosen by Specialized to be their technology of choice for their standard powermeter offering on the 2019 Tarmac and is currently at Tour de France under the Specialized brand on teams Quick-Step Floors and BORA – hansgrohe.(https://wwwold.4iiii.com/specialized-partners-4iiii-include-world-championship-winning-technology-s-works-power-cranks/)  

Visit 4iiii.com for the latest in sports performance data products, and Hawkiiii.com for Industrial Internet of Things (“IIoT”)sensor tech first being introduced to the energy sector.

For further information and to answer any questions you might have,
please contact our PR manager,
Kim Schribar.

Core Health & Fitness Announces New Partnership Between Schwinn & 4iiii

 

Vancouver, WA, March 12, 2018 – Core Health & Fitness® is excited to announce a new partnership between Schwinn® indoor cycling and 4iiii®. With this partnership comes the release of an optional 4iiii power crank upgrade available on the Schwinn AC™ and SC bikes.

“4iiii is a Canadian based tech company with a rich history in sport technology development and we have found a great partner in Schwinn” commented Bailey McKnight, Channel Development Leader for 4iiii Innovations. Founded in 2010, 4iiii Innovations has grown to be an industry leader in power meter development in a growing number of cycling disciplines. Founders Kip Fyfe and Victoria Brilz have deep roots in innovative sports monitoring that date back to 2000 when they started Dynastream Innovations Inc. Dynastream brought the world’s first speed and distance monitors and the widely adopted ANT+ communication protocol to the wearable market. The Company was sold to Garmin in 2006.

A vision of enabling athletes to be ‘smarter, faster, safer’ led Kip and Victoria to create the world’s lightest, most accurate and durable powermeter. 4iiii powermeter technology is relied upon by teams on the World Tour and has become standard equipment through a leading bicycle manufacturer.

The 4iiii story is one that resonates with Schwinn, the brand behind the first production bike designed specifically for indoor cycling. Schwinn is positioned to be on the cutting edge of the indoor cycling industry through new innovations and partnerships that help bring the best technologies in both indoor and outdoor cycling to Schwinn bikes.

“Measurement has been game changing in the indoor cycling category, so being able to partner with the visionaries behind ANT+ technology is a logical and exciting step for the Schwinn brand,” added Jeff Dilts, Vice President of Product Management & Innovation for Core Health & Fitness.

“While powermeters have seen increased acceptance in the past 10 years, we’re just beginning to see them reach the mainstream,” added Eric Gerstenbuhler, Managing Director of 4iiii Sport. “What sets 4iiii apart is the patented 3D strain gauge technology we use to measure the bending, elongation, and twisting deformation. This allows for measurement of every force being applied to the crank arm by a rider and provides the most accurate data possible.”

Schwinn offers power education and certification for cycling instructors. In addressing a growing industry, Schwinn’s commitment to quality and authenticity demanded nothing less than a partnership with the company behind the most accurate power meter on the market.

“Measurement has been a big story for Schwinn since we introduced it to the indoor cycling space in 2009,” concluded Dilts. “This new partnership with a company like 4iiii providing power measurement for the most elite cyclists in the world is very exciting!”

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4iiii Innovations 2018 Pro Team Partnerships

4iiii Innovations 2018 Pro Team Partnerships include World and National Champions and Olympians in all cycling disciplines.

For the 2018 racing season, 4iiii will supply power measurement for Pro Cycling Teams from several continents. Included are three of the world’s top women’s professional road cycling teams, all of Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic cyclists, several National champions and two-reigning World Champions in Annemiek van Vleuten and Alban Lakata.

This is the third year for 4iiii as a World Tour team technology provider.

“Pro Team sponsorships play a key role in our product design,” says 4iiii CEO Kip Fyfe. “4iiii leadership is the result of putting our technology, reliability and durability to the test with the best riders, under the most demanding conditions in the world.”

An exclusive sponsor and supplier relationship with Cycling Canada will provide powermeters and heart rate monitors to athletes in all Olympic and Paralympic cycling categories through the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

The five professional cycling teams sponsored by 4iiii in 2018 are Mitchelton-Scott, Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank, Ale-Cipollini, Elevate KHS, and new to us this year is our first mountain bike team, the endurance mountain bike squad Canyon Topeak.

Mitchelton-Scott (formerly Orica Scott) of Australia has 10 women riders. The team includes World TT Champion Annemiek van Vleuten, who already has a victory in 2018 wearing her rainbow stripes, winning stage two of the Women’s Herald Sun Tour in Melbourne in 2018.

Founded in 2011, ALE-Cipollini is an Italian-based team and one of the top five women’s teams in the world. Australian star Chloe Hosking has already added two wins to her record in 2018. “4iiii is a synonym of top quality in sport technology, and a very competitive team needs the best,” says Team President Alessia Piccolo.

Team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank, based in the United States, is the longest-running professional women’s cycling team in North America, on a mission to help aspiring female cyclists rise to the top.

US-based Men’s road team Elevate KHS is our longest-running sponsorship. They have two Canadian riders, James Piccoli and Jordan Cheyne.

Canyon Topeak Racing Team is an endurance mountain bike team of men and women that stars three national champions and three-time and current UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Champion Alban Lakata.

The teams will be riding a variety of 4iiii products including PRECISION PRO dual and PRECISION single-side powermeters. Coaching staff and riders will have the tools and metrics required to optimize their training and race performance. Dual ANT+ and Bluetooth options provide broad device compatibility.

4iiii is also releasing a new product this year with PRECISION Podiiiium. “We’re taking 3D powermeter technology to a another level and introducing it to other cycling disciplines including mountain biking,” says Mike Mercer, Director of Engineering. “Our new PRECISION-based Podiiiium is rechargeable and compatible with all of the most popular cranks.”

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Cycling Canada Partnership

4iiii Innovations announces official partnership with Cycling Canada

4iiii Innovations and Cycling Canada have formed an exclusive sponsor and supplier relationship that will provide 4iiii PRECISION Powermeters and Viiiiva Heart Rate Monitors to national team athletes in all Olympic and Paralympic cycling categories.

The partnership, which extends through the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, brings together two proudly Canadian organizations dedicated to helping home-grown cyclists top the podium at major events around the world.

“We welcome the opportunity to display our leadership in powermeter technology with the home team,” said 4iiii Innovations CEO Kip Fyfe. “Our involvement will include supplying PRECISION Powermeters and Viiiiva Heart Rate Monitors together with the same high-level technical support we provide to the World Tour and other professional teams we sponsor.”

The 4iiii partnership with Cycling Canada will benefit athletes at both the elite and grassroots levels by providing affordable, world-class technology to a wide variety of disciplines and training programs.

“Power and heart rate are the foundations of our training and racing,” said Cycling Canada Mountain Bike Head Coach Dan Proulx. “To deliver podium results, it is essential to gather and analyze this data to help optimize strengths and counter weaknesses.”

“My 4iiii PRECISION Powermeter provides accurate and consistent data, giving me confidence day in and day out,” said recently crowned individual pursuit national champion Kinley Gibson.

“We are thrilled to welcome another best-in-class Canadian brand into our growing family of performance and marketing partners,” said Matthew Jeffries, Director of Marketing for Cycling Canada. “Our world-leading athletes are Canadian-made and we are proud to say the same thing about the organizations, products and technologies that support them.”

4iiii will also collaborate with other Cycling Canada performance partners including Lexus, Argon 18, Louis Garneau and Barista to support and elevate major cycling events across the country.

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4iiii Innovations is a leading Canadian sports technology company based in Cochrane, Alberta. 4iiii is a sponsor and product supplier to WordTour teams Quick-Step Floors and Bora-hansgrohe, Canadian Women’s Team Cyclery-4iiii as well as yachting’s America’s Cup Team Oracle USA.

Cycling Canada is the governing body for competitive cycling in Canada. Founded in 1882, Cycling Canada aims to create and sustain an effective system that develops talented Canadian cyclists to achieve Olympic, Paralympic, and World Championship medal performances. With the vision of being a leading competitive cycling nation by 2020 celebrating enhanced international success, increased national participation and world class event hosting, Cycling Canada manages high performance programs, hosts national and international events and administers programs to promote and grow cycling across the country. Cycling Canada programs are made possible through the support of its valued corporate partners – Global Relay, Lexus Canada, Mattamy Homes, Louis Garneau and Bear Mountain Resort – along with the Government of Canada, Own The Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

Reach for the Podiiiium

4iiii Innovations is again shaking up the increasingly competitive powermeter market with the launch of PRECISION Podiiiium; a rechargeable, low profile crank-based powermeter designed to be compatible with a wide range of cranksets.PRECISION Podiiiium is a major step forward based on the same patent pending PRECISION 3-D strain gauge technology that powers pro cycling teams Quick-Step Floors and BORA-hansgrohe to dominance on the UCI World Tour.

PRECISION Podiiiium is designed to support a full suite of dual compatibility not presently available from any other manufacturer. The PRECISION dual configuration is unique in it’s ability to switch to a single-side powermeter on the fly, providing an inherent backup system.

Cyclists will be able to enjoy PRECISION Podiiiium Ride Ready dual options starting with Shimano FC-R9100 and FC-R8000. Extensive Factory Install crank compatibility offers the choice of single or dual-side for these models and FC-R6800. Additional models are scheduled to be released in the new year. PRECISION Podiiiium carries forward the well-known PRECISION quality for durable, lightweight and waterproof design that delivers extreme accuracy in all temperatures.

An attractive price point puts PRECISION Podiiiium well within reach of those with dual-side aspirations and a single-side budget.

• Factory Install options for Non-Drive Side start at $399, and Dual Factory Installs are priced starting at $749.
• Ride Ready Dual Options start at $999 including crankset.
• For a limited time, eligible FC-R6800 4iiii customers have the option to upgrade their current single-side PRECISION to PRECISION Podiiiium Dual for only $349.

PRECISION Podiiiium will be officially launched on September 20-22 at Interbike 2017 in Las Vegas with market availability to be announced Q1 2018.

Putting data in the saddle: How analytics drive innovation in pro cycling

SAS teams with sport performance power measurement provider 4iiii Innovations and high end bike manufacturer Argon 18 to raise the game for a UCI women’s cycling team.

By: Sylvie Tache, Marketing Manager SAS Canada

There are few spectacles in sport as riveting as a sprint finish in a road cycling race. Dozens or hundreds of kilometers come down to a 200-metre dash reaching speeds of up to 70 km/h, as many as eight or 10 riders pushing the boundaries of physical exertion. It’s not a matter of inches, but fractions of seconds—a perfectly timed half-crank of a pedal, a literal “throw” of the chassis—that make the difference between a stage win and a “same time.”

But road cycling is also a team sport, a sport of specialists playing their roles with split-second timing in support of an overall strategy for a stage, a tour, even a season. Climbers force the issue on hilly stages, exhausting competitors who try to keep touch; domestiques, junior riders, create a draft to minimize the effort of the star finishers (or you can use leader), dropping back to fetch water bottles and even giving up their bikes to senior riders with a flat or mechanical issue; all-rounders (“rouleurs”, in French, the language of cycling) chase down opponents’ breakaways, set up sprinters for the final mad dash, and serve as on-course captains when quick tactical decisions have to be made. Each specialty rewards different riding styles, different performance metrics, even different physiques. Collecting and analyzing this data can help a team fit together the pieces of the strategic puzzle in a way that optimizes the use of team resources for a competitive edge.

That’s exactly the approach taken by SAS-MAGOCEP-ACQUISIO (SMA), the only professional Canadian women’s team with a license to race internationally, on the UCI Women’s World Tour.  SMA is using state-of-the-art sensors and analytics software to fuel its rise though international (UCI) cycling ranks, with eyes fixed firmly on the coming 2020 Olympic Games.

Three years ago, the team embarked on a path to performance optimization built around three pillars:

  • Ultra-lightweight Gallium-Pro and E-118 Next bicycles from Montreal-based Argon 18, incorporating design innovations that deliver maximum aerodynamic performance, stiffness and precise handling;
  • PRECISION powermeters, a Bluetooth and ANT+ wireless sensor that transmits power data to a handlebar-mounted computer by Polar, which incorporates physiological data from wearable technology like heart-rate monitors and GPS geographical to paint a picture of athlete performance while adding only nine grams of weight to the bicycle—a critical consideration given the goal of barely exceeding the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) minimum weight of 6.8 kg;
  • Sports analytics software from SAS, which collects extensive data on rider performance, physiological and psychological data, and more, allowing coaches, trainers and the athletes themselves to discover patterns and connections to develop training plans and support strategic decisions.

“Most of the decisions by the team management, coaches and athletes were based on feelings and sensations… with all of the sophisticated sensors, technology, and knowledge, today’s analytics is way more sophisticated than it used to be. For a cycling team, this is gold.” Pascal Hervé, Mentor of the team, retired French professional rider.

Getting athletes and coaches to share that sensitive data for analysis by an outside firm like SAS can be difficult, says Martin Lesauteur, who collects, cleans and preps data for analytics for the team.

“If you look at the Tour de France, nobody’s sharing anything,” Lesauteur says. Data can be used as a weapon—collect enough of it and you can reverse-engineer the athlete, probing weaknesses to be exploited. SAS’s relationship with SMA—it’s the team’s biggest sponsor in terms of technology and cash investment—provides a level of comfort for everyone involved.

A self-described “obsessive-compulsive cyclist” — “I’m so scared that when I die, my wife is going to sell my bikes for what I told her I paid for them,” he grimaces—Lesauteur has been collecting and analyzing data about his own cycling performance for years. He brings a wealth of self-taught expertise to the sophisticated tools on offer from SAS and 4iiii (as well as roadside mechanical expertise at some races).

Correlating performance data, physiological data, and profiles of upcoming races can optimize a rider’s training plan. It can also help ward of the insidious threat of overtraining—athletes can drive themselves beyond the point where their muscles and aerobic systems can recover for upcoming races. One SMA rider’s overtraining pattern cost her a month on wheels, and several months until full recovery. The data was pointing to overtraining, but the athlete didn’t feel it physically until it was too late.

“That’s an example of measuring an athlete on an individual basis, but the impact on the team was huge because she was one of our best athletes, and we lost her for three weeks to a month,” says Lesauteur.

And the program is about the team as much as it’s about individual racers. Data can help the team make roster decisions for a given race to give the team the best chance to win. Power output, revolutions per minute, heart rate, GPS data, fatigue, pedaling cadence, watt-to-weight ratio—all this data and more is poured into training profiles and race-day decisions, says rider Emma Bedard.

“If you have a specific type of race, for instance if you know it’s a hilly race versus a flat race, or whether it’s an endurance event versus a shorter punchy race, it helps select the type of athletes that are perhaps better-suited than others for certain courses,” says Bedard, a former triathlete who switched to full-time cycling because of a nagging hip injury.

Data can match the right racer to the right terrain with the right fatigue curve, helping determine the role of each athlete within an overall race strategy, says SMA coach David Duluth. For example, the data can pick out a racer capable of endurance riding, but not at peak speed, and pair her as a “leadout” rider for a sprinter, pulling her teammate to that crucial juncture where she can take over the race. On the other hand, data can identify that top-speed rider to put at the end of the leadout train.

Data can also help guide recruitment efforts, says Lesauteur. It can identify riders to fill specific roles—a sprinter, a climber, a junior rider to be groomed for a starring role while serving as a domestique. The team can then focus on promising additions to add depth or complement other riders and the team as a whole.

It’s a far cry from 20 years ago, says Pascal Hervé, a retired French professional rider who serves as a mentor to the team. Hervé has an impressive European road racing resume, with multiple appearances in the Tour de France, Vuelta a España and Giro d’Italia, along with the 1992 Summer Olympics. In the 1990s and early 2000s, teams relied on hospital tests for maximum oxygen capacity (VO2 max) and lactate buildup. It could take days or weeks for test results to be returned, and they were analyzed by people who “did not have a clue” about cycling, Hervé says.

“Most of the decisions by the team management, coaches and athletes were based on feelings and sensations,” Hervé says. “With all of the sophisticated sensors, technology, and knowledge, today’s analytics is way more sophisticated than it used to be. For a cycling team, this is gold.”

Data touches virtually every element of a cycling team’s corporate strategy. On race day, though, it comes down to the riders. And while technology can provide feedback on a huge range of performance and physiological factors, one element still eludes measurement in real-time: the athlete’s psyche, how she reacts psychologically to fatigue, stress, race conditions, etc. Being able to quantify and monitor such information and overlay it on the data already collected could be a critical differentiator.

“One day, we’ll have a little device we can attach to the helmet,” says Lesauteur. “We’re not there yet.”

Full article found on www.sas.com

4iiii Innovations releases Ride Ready PRECISION/Shimano FC-R9100

The much-anticipated turnkey pairing of the pros-choice PRECISION Powermeter and Shimano’s lightweight evolution of the FC-R9100 is here. The Dura-Ace FC-R9100 shaves a full 7 g. off its predecessor. At just 9g., totally waterproof PRECISION is the world’s lightest powermeter.

Product Development Lead Billy Chan says “this new product reflects the popularity of the Factory Install PRECISION on the FC-R9100 and the our dedication to making the latest innovations in sports technology easily accessible and highly affordable for a wide range of athletes.

White-capped 4iiii PRECISION PRO Powermeters distinguish podium-dominating World Tour teams Quick-Step Floors and Bora-hansgrohe at the Tour de France. 4iiii PRECISION technology is the same technology, but in a affordable single-side version.

The 4iiii Ride Ready option of the PRECISION Powermeter provides the lightest and lowest cost left-side powermeter on the Shimano Dura-Ace FC-R9100. Ride Ready options will be made available for $599.99 USD starting June 2017 online at 4iiii.com/PRECISION. Factory Install options are also available online for $399.99 USD. 

4iiii is a sports technology company based in Cochrane, Alberta at the threshold of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and in the heart of a recreational paradise. We are a team of engineers and athletes dedicated to improving individual performance through the development of highly accurate and easily accessed data delivery products.

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ShimanoR9100_BOTH_Animated_NEW

 

Download the official Ride Ready PRECISION/Shimano FC-R9100 Press Release (PDF)

For media inquiries:
Suzanne Hamilton
Marketing and Communications
800.218.3095 ext.200
pr@4iiii.com
4iiii.com

4iiii Innovations Inc
141 2nd Ave E
Cochrane, Alberta
T4C 2B9

 Follow 4iiii on Social Media:

Twitter @4iiiicom Instagram @4iiiicom Facebook /4iiiicom

Hashtag #PoweredBy4iiii #RideWithPRECISION

Fiiiit brings 4iiii PRECISION POWERMETER technology to Indoor Cycling

Fiiiit crank image

4iiii Innovations, a Cochrane, Alberta company, is bringing the same PRECISION powermeter technology used by World Tour cycling teams Quick-Step Floors and Bora-hansgrohe to the increasingly popular indoor cycling market. The waterproof PRECISION is also being used to train the crews of ORACLE TEAM USA in defence of yachting’s America’s Cup.

4iiii CEO Kip Fyfe comments that “we’re proud to offer PRECISION powermeter technology to enhance and personalize the indoor cycling experience. With the expertise of an inspired 4iiii team we’ve adapted the powermeter used by professional cyclists to indoor studio and home use. Now, any bike with a compatible bottom bracket can be a state of the art power bike.”

The Fiiiit powermeter measures the energy a rider produces. 4iiii Product Manager Brandon Riches notes that “accurate powermeters combined with high-level heart rate monitors such as our Viiiiva enable riders to monitor improvements in their fitness and strength as heart rates drop and watts increase.”

Indoor Cycling merges community, cycling, music and professional instruction in an intense workout that burns 300–500 calories an hour.

4iiii Innovations is a major force in running and on/off road cycling, offering a full range of industry leading products including Fiiiit, PRECISION and PRECISION PRO powermeters, Viiiiva heart rate monitors and the Sportiiii performance coach.

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For media inquiries:

Suzanne Hamilton
Marketing and Communications
800.218.3095
800.218.3095 Ext. 200 
pr@4iiii.com
4iiii.com

4iiii Innovations Inc
228 River Ave
Cochrane, AB CAN
T4C 2C1

 Follow 4iiii on Social Media:

Twitter @4iiiicom Instagram @4iiiicom Facebook /4iiiicom

Hashtag #PoweredBy4iiii #RideWithPRECISION