Heads up!!! Here’s your massive holiday sports tech deals list! This includes the Garmin Epix for just $419, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for just $699, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $249, (or the brand new Hero 13 or $299!) and plenty more! Go check out the full list of 100+ deals here!
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:
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
1
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/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!
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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.
I wish they answered the question about Speedplay pedal power meters. I really want them to exist.
I’m the guy that posed the question to Wahoo, even though I ride Look Keos (and use Favero Assioma pedals;-) ) since I know tons of people hope that they might get Speedplay based power meters.. Murray from Wahoo wouldn’t commit to any specifics but he did hint that they bought the company for that reason, more or less. We can only wait and see.
Love the sticker… I looked at the image before reading what you said about it and I thought, “Oh cool, they made little promo pieces for this podcast… no, wait… nine hours… whaaaa..?” Definitely fits you.
Hi Ray. Follow-up question from when I met you at the Garmin TDU stand:
I understand that e.g. NEO will report 2-4% lower wattage than a pedal- or krank based power meter due to the loss from drive-train friction. But do you happen to know how Zwift compensates for this? Doesn’t this mean that it is a pretty clear advantage, particularly for those involved in the Zwift racing scene, to use the power from pedal-based powermeters rather than from their smart trainer? I assume they compensate in some way as 2-4% actually is a pretty large variance and can mean the difference between winning a Zwift event and from being just another name in the long list of participants.
thanks! all the best from Norway :)
Hi Martin-
No compensation for it. Zwift assumes all power is equal. It’s not uncommon for folks to use a secondary power meter for racing, though most of the times it’s more to do with responsiveness than the extra few percent.
Cheers!
ok thanks for the info. Seems like an outdated assumption considering recent trainer accuracy levels.
Also on a more general level: I guess FTP should be the threshold power produced before any loss in drive train friction… Won’t the FTP calculated in Zwift by e.g. a NEO therefore under-report FTP? Seems a bit odd to not add a couple of percentage compensation instead of knowingly reporting an inaccurate figure.
Hi Martin, I don’t mean to derail this or cause any offence (as I’ve made some assumptions) but if you’re really after a solid measurement which you can compare between performances using different measuring equipment or even between riders then FTP should really not be it! FTP is a measurement, nothing more. It’s a measurement of the systems in use, just as much as the riders actual power output. So the only real way to directly compare it is with the same equipment, rider and even conditions. I’d love to tell you to use something else but as you’ve found with PWM variance between measuring points – it’s a minefield of variance and inaccuracy across the board with no real uniformity. A couple of % here and there at so many different points – dive a little deeper and you’ll begin to question so much more… Particularly when it comes to Zwift (and particularly Zwift racing)!
Hi Martin, I don’t mean to derail this or cause any offence (as I’ve made some assumptions) but if you’re really after a solid measurement which you can compare between performances using different measuring equipment or even between riders then FTP should really not be it! FTP is a measurement, nothing more. It’s a measurement of the systems in use, just as much as the riders actual power output. So the only real way to directly compare it is with the same equipment, rider and even conditions. I’d love to tell you to use something else but as you’ve found with PWM variance between measuring points – it’s a minefield of variance and inaccuracy across the board with no real answer. A couple of % here and there at so many different points – dive a little deeper and you’ll begin to question so much more… Particularly when it comes to Zwift (and particularly Zwift racing)!
i’d love to attend this live if you have something similar at Sea Otter (pending time/day of course).
Ray, would you consider adding a woman to your stage lineup please? Bobbie would be great!
Yup, in fact, already got some ideas swirling (and talking to people) about just that at Sea Otter. :)