I’m DC RAINMAKER…
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:
With TPC (The Pro's Closet), you'll save $40 on purchases over $200 with coupon code DCRAIN40 for tech and non-tech purchases!
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.
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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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5 Easy Steps To The Site
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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.
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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!
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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.
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My Photography Gear: The Cameras and Equipment 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! It’s a nice break from the day to day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
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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.
Monthly Archives: November 2015
Christmas Tree by Bike: 2015 Edition
Here’s this week’s “5 Random Things I Did This Weekend” post, complete with our annual picking up of the Christmas tree via Velib. 1) Chateau Cake Deliveries First up on the docket was a wedding cake delivery out to a … Read More Here
Week in Review–Nov 29th, 2015
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
A Weighty Decision: Deciding on a WiFi Weight Scale
Connected scales are all the rage these days. And for good reason – they make it easy to log your weight. More importantly though, they make it hard to pretend nothing happened. So as you rolled out of bed this … Read More Here
Black Friday Sales Kickoff: $100 off Fenix3, Withings Scales from $69, and more (Update: +Suunto Ambit3!)
Well then, that’s getting things off to a bang. A crap-top of sales just launched today and late last night. Below is but a snippet of just some of the launched sales this morning – the rest I’ve put into … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 230 & 235 In-Depth Review
It’s been almost exactly a month since Garmin announced their lineup of fall running watches, including three new units: The Forerunner 230, 235, and 630. Each of those units replacing previous iterations of the FR220, 225, and 620. The FR230 … Read More Here
My Winter 2015-2016 Sports Gadget Recommendations
Introduction: (Before we start, you can find my Black Friday deals post here, expect a massive update of products on sale on Thursday morning when many deals kick off. This guide attempts to as best as possible take into account … Read More Here
Verve Infocrank Power Meter In-Depth Review
Power meters tend to be products that I test for the longest duration prior to posting a review. This is often due to wanting to validate products across a wide range of weather and environmental conditions: Heat, humidity, cold, cobbles, … Read More Here
November Giveaway Winner Selected!
Late last week I held a November giveaway for the Garmin Fenix3, specifically, the Fancy Fenix3. Or basically, one of the new swanky models of the Fenix3, as seen above. A mind-boggling 7,470 folks entered the giveaway – making it … Read More Here
5 Random Things From A Week in The Arctic Circle
So the last week I’ve spent up in Finland and Norway, far from civilization – a place where reindeer far outnumber people, and darkness far outweighs light. Here’s what it’s been like. 1) Getting there Back a number of months … Read More Here
Reminder: Deal ends tomorrow on $329 FR920XT & 20% off Wahoo KICKR’s
Wahoo KICKR’s Sale: Some readers have brought to my attention the reality that my initial deal post two weeks ago didn’t actually include the Wahoo KICKR or KICKR SNAP 20% off sale, and as such, a large portion of readers probably … Read More Here
Week in Review–Nov 22nd, 2015
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
Arctic Circle Cross Border Hill Repeats: A Finland-Norway Runaround
People always talk about running XC (cross country) in school, but today, I truly ran cross-country. I crossed an international border over and over again as part of my hill repeats. Here, let me explain. The Girl and I are … Read More Here
TomTom Spark (Runner 2) In-Depth Review
It’s been about 50 days since I started testing the TomTom Spark watch (also branded as the Runner 2). These were TomTom’s new entrant into the market by combining an optical HR sensor with music and GPS tracking capabilities. In … Read More Here
LIMITS Responds: Says they aren’t a scam (but still lie)
You’ll remember last week when I posted about the state of the LIMITS power meter that was crowd-funded via Indiegogo. I expressed extreme skepticism at their ability to deliver a project next month (as soon as 12 days away), given their … Read More Here
A November Garmin (Fancy) Fenix3 Giveaway
It’s somehow already halfway through November, and we’ve lacked a giveaway this month. Heck, did we even have a giveaway last month? That seems like eons ago. My bad. No worries though, I’m here to save the day. Or at … Read More Here
Paris
It’s hard to sum up the last two days into just a few paragraphs of text. Mostly because it’s nearly impossible to convey the emptiness and sadness that we now feel. For The Girl and I, we were lucky. We … Read More Here
Holiday 2015 Deals Begin Today: FR920XT for $329, and more!
I must confess something on behalf of the entire sports tech industry: Someone thought that Friday the 13th meant Black Friday. And thus instead of Black Friday deals starting two weeks from now as normal, they’re actually starting now. Yes, … Read More Here
Garmin HRM-TRI & HRM-SWIM In-Depth Review
*** Update: The new Garmin HRM Pro is the most update product in this category. Click the link to see the full Garmin HRM Pro In-Depth Review*** It’s been a few months since Garmin introduced the HRM-TRI & HRM-SWIM, which … Read More Here
My 2015 ANT+ Symposium Session & Panel Videos
I’ve been delivering a session at the ANT+ Symposium now for 4 years. Kinda crazy. While technically the ANT+ Symposium is focused on ANT+, the reality is that almost every major player in the sport technology world is there – … Read More Here
The 2nd Annual DCR Cave Open House–December 12th!
It was roughly one year ago that I announced the DCR Cave (along with Bertie’s Cake Studio). Following that in December, we did an open house one Saturday evening for folks to come check it out and just in general … Read More Here
LIMITS Power Meter: Really cool or really fake?
It’s been nearly 6 months since the LIMITS power meter jumped onto the scene with a sub-$300 power meter, and plans to have units shipping by the end of the year. I expressed skepticism early on in the project, primarily … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Here’s what I’ve been up to the last few days! 1) Running with power Mid-last week my final production Stryd unit arrived. You’ll remember I first discussed it last January when I did some initial testing. Since then they’ve changed … Read More Here
Week in Review–November 7th, 2015
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
My Winter 2015-2016 Bike Trainer Recommendations
!!!Update: Looking for a trainer? Check out my new 2016-2017 Winter Trainer Guide here! It’s once again fall in the Northern Hemisphere – which for most of us means transitioning to a more steady diet of trainer rides indoors, keeping … Read More Here
Withings Activité & Activité Pop In-Depth Review
It’s been well over a year since Withings released their initial Activité smart watch, which they then followed up last winter with the cheaper Activité Pop version. Of course – looking at both watches at a glance you wouldn’t realize … Read More Here
