TECHNOLOGY
THE POWER OF DATA
Janelle Chubey, 4iiii Innovations’ director of OEM accounts talks Daniel Blackham through the company’s history, the importance of relationships, and how a rise in demand for data insights is changing the industry
orn in the Foothills of the Canadian Rockies 4iiii Innovations have deep roots in sports technology. The roots of the business can be traced back to 1999, when a small Canadian company named Dynastream was about to make a large impact in the sports technology industry. The technology invented was a little thing known as ANT+. Working with brands like Nike, Dynastream helped develop a speed and distance monitor along with the Nike foot pod. ANT+ quickly became the standard communication protocol for wireless fitness devices and Dynastream was sold in 2006 to Garmin. Fast forward to 2010, a time before Zwift and TrainerRoad, when 23mm tyres were still an acceptable standard, and 4iiii was founded for the sole purpose of creating affordable, industry- leading sports technology for the masses. Janelle Chubey joined the brand at its inception as the director of supply management and has been with 4iiii ever since. “It was very much a startup,” she says of the early days.
B 26 | September 2024 “There were just a handful of us going to shows, explaining
how to say our name, who we are, what we do. “But we did get to lean on the history of our founders.” The first piece of technology released was the Sportiiii heads up display. A sensor that attached to sunglasses that would let the user know what heart rate zone they were running or cycling in.
Along with the Sportiiii, it paired with the first generation Viiiiva Heart Rate Monitor to get heart rate zones and had a feature similar to Strava Live Segments called Cliiiimb to help individuals reach personal bests. “The market wasn’t really ready,” adds Chubey, of the Sportiiii. “Heart rate did fairly well because of the smart technology within the heart rate strap., but the power meter was really what advanced the company significantly.” That first power meter debuted at Interbike in 2014 as “the most affordable and accurate power meter on the market”. “I’ll never forget that first show,” says Chubey.
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