Heads up!!! Here’s your massive Cyber Monday sports tech deals list! This includes the Garmin Forerunner 965 for just $499, Garmin Epix for $429, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for just $619, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $299, (or Hero 13 bundle for $339!) and plenty more! Go check out the full list of 100+ deals here!
I’m DC RAINMAKER…
I swim, bike and run. Then, I come here and write about my adventures. It’s as simple as that. Most of the time. If you’re new around these parts, here’s the long version of my story.
You'll support the site, and get ad-free DCR! Plus, you'll be more awesome. Click above for all the details. Oh, and you can sign-up for the newsletter here!
Here’s how to save!
Wanna save some cash and support the site? These companies help support the site! With Backcountry.com or Competitive Cyclist with either the coupon code DCRAINMAKER for first time users saving 15% on applicable products.
You can also pick-up tons of gear at REI via these links, which is a long-time supporter as well:Alternatively, for everything else on the planet, simply buy your goods from Amazon via the link below and I get a tiny bit back as an Amazon Associate. No cost to you, easy as pie!
You can use the above link for any Amazon country and it (should) automatically redirect to your local Amazon site.Want to compare the features of each product, down to the nitty-gritty? No problem, the product comparison data is constantly updated with new products and new features added to old products!
Wanna create comparison chart graphs just like I do for GPS, heart rate, power meters and more? No problem, here's the platform I use - you can too!
Think my written reviews are deep? You should check out my videos. I take things to a whole new level of interactive depth!
Smart Trainers Buyers Guide: Looking at a smart trainer this winter? I cover all the units to buy (and avoid) for indoor training. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
-
Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
Get all your awesome DC Rainmaker gear here!
FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
- Do you have a privacy policy posted?
- Why haven’t you yet released a review for XYZ product you mentioned months ago?
- Will you test our product before release?
- Are you willing to review or test beta products?
- Which trainer should I buy?
- Which GPS watch should I buy?
- I’m headed to Paris – what do you recommend for training or sightseeing?
- I’m headed to Washington DC – what do you recommend for training?
- I’m from out of the country and will be visiting the US, what’s the best triathlon shop in city XYZ?
- What kind of camera do you use?
-
5 Easy Steps To The Site
In Depth Product Reviews
You probably stumbled upon here looking for a review of a sports gadget. If you’re trying to decide which unit to buy – check out my in-depth reviews section. Some reviews are over 60 pages long when printed out, with hundreds of photos! I aim to leave no stone unturned.
Read My Sports Gadget Recommendations.
Here’s my most recent GPS watch guide here, and cycling GPS computers here. Plus there are smart trainers here, all in these guides cover almost every category of sports gadgets out there. Looking for the equipment I use day-to-day? I also just put together my complete ‘Gear I Use’ equipment list, from swim to bike to run and everything in between (plus a few extra things). And to compliment that, here’s The Girl’s (my wife’s) list. Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!
Have some fun in the travel section.
I travel a fair bit, both for work and for fun. Here’s a bunch of random trip reports and daily trip-logs that I’ve put together and posted. I’ve sorted it all by world geography, in an attempt to make it easy to figure out where I’ve been.
My Photography Gear: The Cameras/Drones/Action Cams I Use Daily
The most common question I receive outside of the “what’s the best GPS watch for me” variant, are photography-esq based. So in efforts to combat the amount of emails I need to sort through on a daily basis, I’ve complied this “My Photography Gear” post for your curious minds (including drones & action cams!)! It’s a nice break from the day-to-day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
The Swim/Bike/Run Gear I Use List
Many readers stumble into my website in search of information on the latest and greatest sports tech products. But at the end of the day, you might just be wondering “What does Ray use when not testing new products?”. So here is the most up to date list of products I like and fit the bill for me and my training needs best! DC Rainmaker 2023 swim, bike, run, and general gear list. But wait, are you a female and feel like these things might not apply to you? If that’s the case (but certainly not saying my choices aren’t good for women), and you just want to see a different gear junkies “picks”, check out The Girl’s Gear Guide too.
There are some good shots, and very brief commentary, in the Bike Radar TdF slide show about the Garmin riders being obligated to use the pedal bodies, although most of them apparently use SRM power meters.
Ray,
awesome Blog again, would love to see “Le Tour” live, but reading your blog is just like being there.
And after a early start and a long day. you still have juice to knock-out a 90min intensive Run/Bike brick???
Geezzz!!!
Thanks for blogging,
Ken
Oddly enough, sometimes my best workouts are post-redeye flight or other similar semi-exhausted states. Go figure.
BikeRadar has a big photo gallery of the bikes and the tech on them. About 40 photos in they have some info about the pod-less Vector pedals.
link to bikeradar.com
They also have another article on bike mounted cameras.
It looks like the UK had a very cut down caravan, we certainly didn’t get the lion come through, or half the bits you managed to catch.
Though as they came past us doing about 40mph, there were come huge cheers if anyone managed to catch anything :-)
I was on the Cote de Buttertubs on Saturday for Stage 1, it was amazing, 10,000 people, fantastic atmosphere. Yes, the caravan was a bit different but maybe thats due to certain products not being market outside of France In fairness, Jens Voight could hardly fit through the crowd at the Buttertubs so the lion had not a chance.
Managed to grab myself a King of the Mountains hat, to be honest it doesn’t fit so if you would like a swap Ray i’ll take one of your time trial bikes, seems a fair swap :-)
I’ve uploaded a 14 minute video recording on my Facebook page if anyone wants to see if the riders go past on the climb. Hope no one minds. Started recording from when we heard the helicopter and the crowd started to get excited. Wasn’t expecting Jens to come through on his own as our radio batteries were flat and you couldn’t get a mobile signal up there. Fantastic day out and I love the fact it put my Yorkshire on the map, we’re very proud of what happened Saturday and Sunday :-)
The link
Sorry, the link again Cote de Buttertubs video
Were you able to spot whether the SRAM-sponsored teams were running the wireless version of Red?
life is precious ! you live it wholly and that’s great !
see you back in Lille in septemmber ? ;)
Hi,
I’m wondering why teams are using actions cameras ? Are they allowed to use the images in real time in coaches cars ? Or is it for later ?
Thank you for your work.
To draw fans into their brand. The savvy ones will have videos published by (at worst) the start of the next day. Some are collecting footage for later montages.
Right now none of the major action cams support streaming over cell (and last I checked the UCI rule change from two summers ago still prohibits them anyway). And the WiFi streaming most of the units support wouldn’t really work given the cars don’t tend to be within range. Note that there was a handful of action cams that supported cell streaming that I saw at CES this year, but none were major brands.
Thank you very much ! ;-)
Also, Jensie “Shut Up Legs” Voigt posted some great inside the peloton footage from the Tour of California a couple months ago for Shimano. It really changes the fan/spectator’s view on the action, total night and day difference. You get the full on frantic energy of the experience.
Giant-Shimano are posting daily updates, here is the video from Day 3 > link to teamgiantshimano.com
Ray, thanks again for your TDF “coverage.” As in past years, I find your perspective quite different — and more refreshing in many ways — from the NBC/media coverage of the event. Your fan’s-eye view is terrific.
So cool! Thanks for the behind the scenes look!
Thanks for that Ray. A nice supplement to my nightly TDF sessions. A great perspective for if/when I ever get to chase the tour for myself. I also appreciate the shot at the end of your home setup for the brick session.
Wiz
DId you get some chance to snap a picture of the bike computer used by the Bretagne-Seché team in this TDF?
It is the size of a Edge 1000, seems even bigger.
It definitely doesn’t look like a garmin, a SRM or a Polar. Maybe a Mio but I did not find a proper picture of it and the team communication doesnt mention anything about it.
oups just found a better picture, it’s the polar V650, my bad :)
Got a link by chance? Curious myself. The challenge with getting photos of head units is that the team’s don’t typically put them out till the very last second. Often times the rider just has it in his hands. Usually it’s due to concern of someone grabbing it since most bikes are within reach of people with VIP/media passes (which is approx half the world).
I found this picture pic.twitter.com/8Q9tDCXACy where you can see/guess the polar logo and the main red button of the V650.
It’s funny because Polar is indeed one of the team sponsor but when you watch the photos of the previous races and training camps on the team site they seem to use a mismatch of garmins and SRMs…
Hey Ray, great photos!
I;m interested in photo 10. The Cervelo S3 (nice looking bike) has Garmin Vectors on Rotor Q Rings. I thought the Vector wasn’t meant to be accurate on non-round chain rings?!?!
Yes indeed.
Thanks Ray. As a recent Vector owner myself (largely thanks to your reviews) I would be happy to see this functionality in the case that I want to try non-round rings at some stage.
Do you think that in the photo case, the rider is:
A. Displaying Vectors for show only?
B. Has some software that enables accurate readings of the Vector on Q Rings?
C. Is managing with a known inaccuracy and perhaps calculating the numbers in his head, on the fly.
D. Something else??
Appreciate your opinion Ray.
1) Some riders are clearly for show, while other riders are actually riding them and using them. But even in the case of SRM, with non-round rings there it’s still not accounting for them.
2) I asked a bit back around the Giro and they noted they were not running anything unique on the team with respect to non-round.
3) I’d guess the rider just doesn’t care.
Cheers.