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.
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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!
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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.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
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FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
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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.
Did Pioneer mention anything about supporting bluetooth low energy? I kind of wish I went the pioneer route as I needed a new DA crankset anyways at the time but I wanted bluetooth so it would work with the Strava app.
No, nothing announced there.
Their head unit does include sync to Strava, but I assume you want the Strava app for the realtime segments functionality.
Yup, that and I just want to use my phone as a head unit most of the time. So I ended up with 4iiii and a bit of frustration for the time being. Hopefully some of that is fixed in the unit you receive.
Yeah, I get why Garmin won’t support BTLE sensors, given that they “own” the ANT+ specification.
But it makes no sense that Pioneer (or Quarq) won’t provide dual BT/ANT+ power meters, especially since their competitors do. Maybe they just aren’t aware the lack of flexibility drives away buyers?
BLE is the same as Bluetooth smart. BLE = Bluetooth low energy
Hi Ray,
Any update from brim brothers powermeter?
Seems to be the only possible game changer in this worls! At least if you have more than one bike and you don’t want to buy powermeters for each of it.
Sort of…
Some of us use different pedals on different bikes…Or perhaps the same pedals but own a few different pairs of shoes.
Each measurement area has pros and cons for potential users :)
Hi Ray,
any ETA on the Verve Infocrank review? I would be very interested in it.
news on Infocrank: link to bikebiz.com
Hi Ray
Any news about Powermeter on the shoes from Luck in any of the recent bike trade fairs you have visited?
I preordered my Powertap C1 on clevertraining and got an email update that it won’t be shipping out until November :(
Was SRM around at either of these events? I can’t see why any non-sponsored rider would buy an SRM at this point. The price point is just way too high to compete! They must have something planned. I can’t imagine they are just hanging around watching everyone else race to the bottom.
They were at Eurobike. They didn’t have anything new there to show beyond the already announced PC8.
I didn’t look for them at Interbike, so not quite sure if they were there (assume they would have been).
I am living in Canmore and glad to see that you have brought great weather this week while you are at the Delta Lodge at Kananaskis. Hope you get out for a few good bike rides & runs, enjoy the fall colours.
Indeed – amazing here! No running or cycling, but I did get a rather chilly openwater swim in just post-flight.
Nice long ride up first thing in the morning.
Hello DC, I just purchased the pioneer dual leg. I’m still debating whether or not to purchase its computer? Why are u against having it? My only hold out is the fact that it doesn’t have strava life segments. I’m curiois to know your thoughts on the pioneer computer. Thanks!
I think it was the limited functionality for the high price. It wasn’t bad but wasn’t really good. For $750 list for the color or $300 list for black and white there are other options out there that do everything besides torque analysis around the pedal stroke for less.
Hi Ray,
Do you have an updated post that picks your favorite power meters by price — e.g., best bargain unit, best overall unit regardless of price, etc.?
Thanks.
Richard
Any update on the Power Meter Guide?
I have to admit that’s what I’m most looking for too.
Yup, this week!
Does SRM powercontrol 7 work with Cycops PowerCal ?
Hi Ray. Any news about the Pioneer – sent in your own crankset – being available in Europe ?
I have looked here i Denmark and I cant find any shop that has the Pioneer Power Meter.
I have a Dura Ace crankset and would love to get the Pioneer Power Meter mounted on – but how to do that in Europe (Denmark) ?
Here’s something to keep an eye on. Just announced today. LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE. It has GPS and heart rate monitoring. One could easily go for a run with just this and a bluetooth headset and not need to carry a phone. I’d even consider doing a trial of ditching a phone and going with just this and bluetooth headset, perhaps get a nice pocketable point and shoot with NFC to bring along sometimes and get better pictures than I could with a phone to boot.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it if you get a chance to check it out.
I don’t see much on the 4iiii precision, and it is not mentioned in the same sentence as the Pioneer and Stages. Is there something about that power meter option that makes it less comparable?
Hi Ray. Looking at the Pioneer single leg system. Am I right in saying that in the US this system comes with the crank arm (ultegra, duraace) but if I purchase in Australia (where i live), I only get the sensor thing to stick on my existing crank arm (and pay more for the privilege)? Cheers.
That is my understanding of it, but it’s all super-confusing to me as to why the have different offerings for different markets. The rest of the tech world has kinda moved on from that model. :(
Thanks Ray, much appreciated. Good job clever training post to Australia, isn’t it!
Power meter costs as high as the bike any link to power meter list with cost