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In Depth Product Reviews
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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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The Swim/Bike/Run Gear I Use List
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These look excellent – and with your attention to detail I am sure they will be. Looking forward to seeing the running singlet…
Looking good! And reasonably priced.
Hello @dcrainmaker,
In my humble opinion, you missed an opportunity to raise the bar regarding safety. Your influence in the sports gear community could sparkle something here. ;-)
The red edition for instance contains a lot of black which doesn’t improve the visibility of the cyclist. The blue edition is still quite dark. Also, reflective strips should be integrated on the sides by default in pants and shirt.
If you ever create a lighter edition (in color that is) which includes reflective strips, I’m buying it immediately!
Ringo
Actually – neat tidbit that I totally forget to mention: The zippers pocket covers are made of a reflective strip material. :)
Could you add a picture of that to this article?? :-D
Yeah, just added the text. Will add a clear picture once the kits get out of the wash machine. Currently on dry cycle. :)
(You can kinda see it in the picture of The Girl on the trainer, the two grey strips are reflective – but it’s a bit fuzzy in that picture)
You run your gear through a drier ? Doesnt that cause shrinkage etc of tech kit ? I only ever air-dry my running gear. Anyone else want to chip in and tell me I’m wasting way to much time and can just cool tumble it ?
Oh yeah, everything always goes through. No shrinkage.
There are rare exceptions to it, but it’s pretty darn rare. :)
Yeah. I like hi viz color for the road. Also a good idea on the mtb during hunting season. Reflective bits help at night but do zero during the day. I generally buy only brightly colored cycling apparel.
@gingerneil, we have a sportswear setting on our LG dryer that uses steam and alternating low heat and air dry intervals. Dries cycling and running gear beautifully in about 30 mins.
I always suggest that people dry technical wear inside out to avoid catching zippers, drawstrings, etc on the fine outer finish of their tech wear.
And of course, I always recommend you invest in a proper tech wash, or tech detergent like SportSuds or Rank to ensure that tech wear doesn’t get detergent residue all through the fabric fibers. Simple things, but you’ll have your high end gear for longer this way.
+1 for high vis. Orange would’ve matched your helmet?
Orange & light greys would’ve also matched much of the theme of the website as well as being far more contrasting and visible… Also Blue, Black and Red don’t contrast and just ‘fade’ into shadows!
Orange/Grey flip for iteration 2?
The Blue/Red/Black look great in Oz/full sunshine, unfortunately that’s not Europe for 6-10 months of the year… :(
+1 on the running singlet
+1 ro running gear. I also hope You consider going a bit more colorfull. These kits look just too minimalistic for me. Pitty cause I would grabone forbike and run…
i am not so much a fan to cycle around with a name that large but tx for pointing me to Pedal Mafia :) they have a great choice – different to the standard.
Damn, i just ordered a black red GCN kit! Buying 2 new kits will be a bit overkill, sorry Ray! Now, any way we can ride the kit in Zwift? It should be defintively be there as well :-)!
Like bikes, there’s no official definition of overkill. N+1 and all that. :)
That’s true Ray! Well, I have untill the 12th then, I’ll seek for further approvals “higher up” the chain ??
Just one thing to add, you do know that at the same time on your page “freestylecycling.com” has banners for OTHER kits? It’s clear to me, but might maybe confuse other buyers…
Yeah, Google Adsense at work. Unfortunately it’d be like playing whack a mole for other kit companies since I have to know the names to block (and honestly, I figure if someone likes a kit they see somewhere – go forth!).
Any consideration of doing socks? I’m a maybe on the jersey, but would buy DCR socks without blinking
Never mind, just followed the link and saw them
Ray thanks! great looking kits !
but … terminal fashion faux pas !!
The sunglasses’ arms gotta go outside the helmet straps … ;-))
Steph
Adherence to the rules does not apply to triathletes only cyclists.
Great looking kit! I think I might have found my Christmas present.
It’s been an expensive week for kits. Your kit, the TR kit, and a jacket I saw on Pedal Mafia’s site.
For the future, maybe a fall/winter kit option, as well as a summer option.
Cheers
Yeah, a fall/winter option is definitely in the cards. But honestly just need to see if there’s interest based on the jersey/kit side of things.
Understood. I have more than enough warm weather kits. I do need 1 – 2 more fall/winter kits.
I understand that, but ironically I would order now if the winter kit was ready. I’m in the market for some long legged bibs
Sweet!
Great for tandem teams – Mens and Womens specific kit in the same colours/pattern. You’ve no idea how hard that is to achieve without getting custom kit made.
Handy that you posted the sizing link in the article. I did not see it in the store.
Ah, found it at the very bottom of the page.
Their sizing seems pretty small. I’m M for endura and dhb stuff but seems to be S for pedal mafia.
Hmm, I’d double-check your measurements. For me I ended up sizing up slightly on the bibs, but was the same for the jersey.
It was interesting that the prices that were quoted in USD didn’t match the final bill that was charged in AUD. The good news is that it ended up being $35 cheaper for me once it hit my CC so I’m not complaining.
Huh, interesting.
Fwiw, shipping is a real-time currency conversion. Which is why I list it at ~$10USD. It’s a weird quirk in the way that component works in the store platform because everything is actually based on AUD.
Wait, you were socks?! ;)
Ah, strung by my own mankini… DCR mankini? Anyone?
Will you be adding the kits to Zwift?
Would love to ride on Zwift with your brand.
We’re looking into it for sure!
Thumbs up to The Girl for wearing her glasses outside of the helmet straps AND taking the little plastic thingy off of the tire valves.
Ray – do you know what to the sock sizing is like? Their sizing page doesn’t define the sizes for socks.
Hi Russ-
I’m finding out. Good question!
Hoping to have a table/sizing chart/something shortly.
Thanks!
Tried to buy the kit, but no GREEN…WHAT! :)
Love the kits, and I’ll probably end up ordering one, but … no love for triathletes? A nice onesie … err, I mean trisuit would be sweet and jump to the top of my must have list.
Yeah, that’s definitely on the short-list!
Hmmm the design is quite ugly :/
Haters gonna hate.
please take my money…once i tell my wife about it.
They look great. Any plans for some winter kit, long legs and sleeves?
Definitely. We just had to get these out the door so to speak, and then judge demand for embarking on design for the other wintery-focused pieces. Depending on how demand looking over the next few days, we’ll make the call to go and and see if we can move quickly on design for those parts.
That would be great. It seems to me that a lot of winter clothing design is very dark, that seems odd to me. If you could make the winter design as bright on the bottom half as the top that would be really good.
And which are the countries included?
I can’t find the list.
Here ya go (the current list), if there’s a country missing on the list that you’re looking for – definitely let me know. We should be able to get most countries added, it’s just a manual process to add them in to setup shipping rules for it.
Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
Canada
China
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Greenland
Hong Kong SAR China
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Réunion
Romania
Russia
Singapore
Slovakia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
United Kingdom
United States
Vietnam
MEXICO please
Running singlet would be great too!
You could make some clothes with UV protection, at least 50+; something light and ventilated for when sun is shining. Of course with long legs, my doctor has forbidden shorts for me; sleeves down to the gloves (yes gloves when sun is shining) and for me riding only mountain bike padding could be optional.
You make that for us poor people with skin cancer you would have bike clothes in a niche without competition, and the way our silly politicians act (read: not act), that customer group would grow faster than any other customer group.
I used to spend 5 – 8 hours in the saddle in the sunshine 3 – 5 times a week and probably caught the nasty sun disease in the mountains here. Above the clouds sun is stronger and air is fresher.
Specialized used to make Demo Pro Pants with 50+ protection, and since they stopped no other brand seems to have interest in UV protection.
Ray, you look like a BOSS with that red kit ;)
Decent looking kit, but why would anybody want to pay good money to become a rolling billboard for DC Rainmaker? To each his own I guess.
I feel like I am the only cyclist that doesn’t like bib shorts and likes sleeveless jerseys. Guess I am just an oddball.
Lovely looking kit but from my households perspective pedal mafia are another manufacturer to suffer the issues with the smaller sizing.
The smaller female sizes are not really very good with 3 pockets! My GF has countless jerseys that are a pain in the backside to get anything substantial into the pockets as they are just too small. All except her Chapeau winter long sleeve that has 2 pockets that are basically the same size as my normal 3 pockets. perfect for things like the Rapha essentials case or a phone bigger than a iPhone 4.
Dangerous road to go. I think its okay to charge for services and sell books. Even merchandise like cups and waterbottles could be okay. You sort of sell your acumulated expertis. But when you start to sell items with your own branding in the same field that you have to critizise and review you start to edge in the “danger zone”. Do you considered yourself a free journalist or a businessman? Can you be both? If so. Have you thought about how things like this can change your perspective? Would be awsome for a post about that.
For example when talking to a tech company and they say “Well you know… We have to make a profit… You know… Right?!” and you automatically say “Yeah… Well dont we all?” What I medan is what you do and how you see things will change the way you ask questions and write text.
My two cents: Just take care of yourself so you dont loose something others have liked about the service you deliver.
I’m confused.
I don’t review apparel, nor other cycling gear. Not water bottles or cups. Not t-shirts or nutrition. Not bikes either. I don’t even write books. I have zero plans to do so. I review sports tech, mainly GPS devices, action cameras/drones, and other wearables.
I’m simply making something available that countless have asked for. If folks want to order a DCR kit – cool. If they want to order a CyclingTips kit, that’s cool too (because they are cool kits). If folks want to do like I do and use random jerseys they have from the last 20 years, that’s awesome too (cause again, that’s what I have as well).
Im more interested in what you do and how you think than what people do.
Your comment implies that you either havent thought about it or that you dont want to think about it or dont want others to think about it. Maybe Im wrong? How so?
I asked: Can yo be both a businessman and a journalist? If so. Have you thought about how you do it and if that change the way you think or act? What do you see yourself as? Influencer? Businessman? Blogger? A mix of everything? Why I ask is not to be rude. But I as a reader cant tell. And that makes me confused and it raises questions. That is why I ask.
I don’t think the announcement on Friday makes me think differently about how Ray would deliver content than Thursday.
He has a reputation in the industry that I believe won’t be affected by this in any way. I read Ray’s posts with interest and would like to support him. From my point of view this is a great way for me to do that.
I think about it 24×7.
Ultimately, any site has to think about business aspects. Any site that doesn’t isn’t sustainable as a long term option with as much depth as I hope to provide daily/weekly/whatever. For example, you can do what I do as a hobby for a long time, some do in fact. But eventually there’s a time element that takes over: Do you spend time working on your day job that brings you money to support your family? Or do you keep doing it as a hobby. Obviously, I made that transition about three years ago to this as a full-time job.
The point of that is that like 99% of sites on the internet, this site is a business. A small business that’s technically just myself and The Girl, but a business nonetheless. So is the New York Times, the Economist, and even Consumer Reports. They owe it to their employees, and those employees families to generate revenue. If not, then people won’t produce content and readers get nothing.
However, it’s important in any business to diversify revenue streams. I’ve made a very key point of not taking money from the companies I review. Unlike most magazine and all mainstream cycling/running/etc sites I’m aware of, I don’t accept advertising revenue from the companies I review. So Garmin, Apple, Polar, Suunto, GoPro, etc… none can advertise with me. Physically blocked from doing so.
As such my revenue streams as I talk about whenever asked are actually very simple:
A) People buying links through through Amazon, REI, Clever Training: I don’t care what you buy, from toilet paper to GPS devices
B) Ads from Google Adsense: These are generally based on whatever Google thinks you were searching for. From lingerie to laundry machines. I block a list of about 120 companies on this, plus certain categories (i.e. gambling, drugs, etc…)
C) DCR Analyzer: For folks that want to compare sets using the DCR Analyzer
D) DCR VIP supporters: People that want to support the site directly and get ad-free content and some other bonuses like discounts on DCR gear and other tidbits
E) Now DCR Kits: Pretty self-explanatory
Additionally, I give advise to a handful of Wall Street companies using a 3rd party service that are looking at understanding this sector. Note that I’m simply consolidating what I already write on the site into something that can be digested in 10-15 minutes. The key thing you’re not seeing there is ads from companies I review (or heck, I virtually never do any advertising deals as they’re not worth the management overhead).
I’m honestly not sure I answered the question. Cheers.
You are right. Everything has a business slide. In New York post or any other site in that size category the usually seperste business from the journalist team. I dont want to say money corrupts. But it can change how things are done.
You dont have that luxuary and have to do both. Its nice to know that you think about it so you answered that question.
A final note:
I would actually like a post with a more in depth dialouge. What is DC Rainmaker today? What has been your journey and growth and how do you think about content and buissnes today? Next time you could link that post in posts like this one as a disclamer or for people like me in posts.
Ray, this is a fantastic idea and great looking jersey!
I just bought one!
It will be a nice conversation starter when I will meet other people wearing it in Paris, France.
Most of my friends in France know about your reviews and few buy any equipment without reading your review!
I really believe that 99% of your followers would love the idea!
I understand for exemple when people complain about a poor design for finisher shirt since you don’t have the choice when you sign up for a race!
In your case, I would think that if someone doesnt like the design, they should keep it to themself and not buy it!
Btw, i love the way your wife is writing the weekly update, it complements very well your reviews!
Keep up the great job
Ray, I didnt see the inseam listed on the bibs. Do you know what it is? Pasty white legs bands just are cool. Lol
Hmm, I don’t know. Let me try and find out.
Kit is a great just before the holidays – certainly can break them in on the trainer.
Know you are at the beginning and have other priorities, yet even you could use some MTB gear heading to Reno/Tahoe next year ;-)
Thanks for making it happen!
Hi Ray, Which brand and model tri shoes are you wearing in the pictures? Thank you.
Here ya go – Louis Garneau 2016/17 Men’s Tri X-Lite: link to amzn.to
Hey folks – super quick update!
1) Sock sizing now shows up on the page, woot!
2) India is now in the list of shippable countries. Well, I mean, you can ship to India, you can’t put India on a ship. Too big. You can only ship countries the size of Spain, obviously.
Cheers!
Will there be more ordering periods later, or will they be made only once? I would like to get a cycling kit at some point, but I don’t think I would be able to use it before spring here in Norway (I had 0°C on my way to work this morning). But I might just get it now anyway!
It’s not quite decided on future ordering periods – it honestly just depends on if there’s enough interest to do it again down the road. Wish I had a better answer – but just something we probably won’t determine near-term.
Ray, will the kits be shipped from Australia or Europe?
I am asking because the customs in Greece if the kit is shipped from Australia (but I suppose the same happens in other EU countries) will impose not only delay on delivery but also additional customs clearance + VAT cost.
This can be up to 40% of the actual price since we are plain citizens and not corporations if you understand what I mean…..
It won’t be shipped from Europe, that I know. I don’t know off-hand what the exact distribution is for all the countries. Some countries will ship straight from the factory in Asia, while others will ship from Australia. I can find out.
Just got a note from DHL regarding customs. They’re asking a freaking 45,99€. I’m based in Germany.
Hmm, I don’t know what the import rate is on Germany for clothing, but that seems high – even if you ordered the full kit (I don’t have access to customer data for who ordered what – that’s all handled by Pedal Mafia).
:(
Same here, I live in Paris and Iam told that I need to pay 38 Euro taxes for a 65 Euro Jersey, this is very steep!
I am sure I will enjoy the Jersey but I wish that Pedal mafia would have informed me of almost 50% taxes :(
I’ve checked the size chart, but wanted to get your two cents (so to speak) — what size bib are you wearing and what is your height? Not trying to get too personal ;)
Ok, just found it. I ordered a medium bib, but a large jersey. I’m 6’2” tall. I remember trying on the medium jersey and while it did fit, I found it a bit snug for my ice cream lovin’ stomach. Enjoy!
My kit arrived a couple of days ago and the weather cleared enough to go for a ride today.
Without a doubt the comfiest cycling kit I’ve worn, and my friends were jealous of the styling.
Good job on this Ray, knocked it out of the park ?
Awesome, great to hear!
It’s here!!!!! And it fits perfectly. Can’t wait to represent in the warm weather….in a few months.
Also, I’m 6’2″ and it’s a L
Awesome!!! Looks great!
Hi
Are you going to open the store for a second round of orders?
I would love to order the kit
Yes. We ordered a small pile of extra red ones (in a variety of sizes), and I think we’re super close to having them listed on Clever Training to order. The kits are already there, so one we go live it’ll be immediately availability. Albeit, also limited availability since we honestly didn’t order a ton of each size.
I’ll post here once that’s up. I’m hoping within the next few days (but then again, I said the the same thing last month).
Fantastic, can’t wait!
Thank you!
Does anyone’s have an XXL red DCR jersey that they would like to swap for a red XL? The XL is a little too small for me. Thanks!
Is there a passcode for the kit? It’s asking me for one to log in.
The ordering on Pedal Mafia has closed, however, we ended up ordering a small selection of red kits and have them available now on Clever Training (with free US shipping, or flat-rate $29 international shipping): link to clevertraining.com
That also includes DCR water bottles too! :)
Awesome, thank you!
Evan, what size are you? If you need an XL I have an idea – you buy an XXL from Clever Training and then we swap that XXL for the (unworn) XL that I have. Or have them ship the XXL to me, and I’ll send you the XL. Thanks.
Sorry, only a L