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!
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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.
2
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!
3
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.
4
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!
5
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.
On a very unrelated note: I may have missed it (I probably have), but do you ever work out outside of the Amsterdam region? There are great cycling and running routes, e.g in the Arnhem / Nijmegen area and the south of Limburg, which are only an hour away from where you live. You probably move to the next great city in a few years and it would kill me if your only image of the Netherlands is the Amsterdam region :-). If you ever need a guide, feel free to drop a line!
I do indeed wander out of this area from time to time, but we don’t own a car. So realistically the only way I leave this region is via bike or train, or, if I rent one of the car sharing cars here in Amsterdam.
We’ve taken some other trips of course within the country/around, and I usually enjoy workouts as part of that.
I definitely want to do more exploring though, and will probably do that this summer when the weather is better, and hopefully the COVID situation makes travel more interesting again. After all, having apple pie after any workout is a key focus area for me. :)
He could follow Jasper Verkuijl on the next “big trip” i’m sure he’s planning. If I’m not mistaken, they actually live about 20k from each other. And he rides with his kiddos in a trailer. – looks funny when he overtakes other riders on highend roadbikes, and he just comes along with a trailer in tow on his bike :-)
That would be an amazing collab! :)
I can only assume this is a no. But is there heart rate storage/forwarding for this? So we could strength train out of range and still get HR data for those of us without the higher end watches.
Correct, none.
Is that miopod write up ever going to come lol? I’ve been happy with mine for some time now. Especially with the first beat analytics baked right in. Not sure what that’s going to look like long term but I’m glad it’s working well for now. I’m also planning on trying their new Cue service these next two weeks just more out of curiosity as I’ve already got a plan, but i think it’s probably a worth while move on their part to find ways for additional revenue. I’m curious if you’ve tried out their workout subscription service yet?
+1 for mioPod review. I remember that during the last DCR Open House you mentioned that it’s not that special, but I believe it’s the only standalone HR strap on the market with FirstBeat analytics
Indeed, that’s actually why I’ve been using it lately. To get this review out the door, but I wanted to ensure nothing has changed accuracy/etc wise since then.
I could see it dropping next week-ish.
I’d say my main complaint (singular complaint?) is that I find that sometimes it just turns off early in a workout, despite me thinking it’s recording. I think those are times where it didn’t fully engage the record-forever mode, and is just in the temporary turned on mode, which is then shuts off from some numbers minutes later, like going into standby.
I’m not sure if that’s just a stupid me issue or not – but it’s really about the only annoying thing. Unfortunately for my specific purposes of wanting to set it and forget it, and using it as a backup data source for HR comparisons, it’s kinda a blocker for me personally.
I completely agree with you on the odd issues related to its tracking mode. My biggest issue has been when I’m doing the live workout option and want to see my live heart rate data on the phone. Now that could a user area on my part as well but I do find myself constantly starting and restarting the device in order to get the live broadcast through the app working.
For me I always wear an H10 strap too hooked up to my Apple Watch 6 and Polar Vantage (yes I’ve got a data problem lol), so losing any data from the miopod isn’t a deal breaker but its connection and data collection method could definitely be refined.
Speaking of polar and data I hadn’t seen mention of polar flow now allowing you to connect a heart rate device right to that app. I wonder if that means in time polar beat will be dissolved. Have you heard anything on that front?
yep, you’re not alone. I do that. it’s user error tho.
So our very scientific poll of three users is at 100% occasional failure rate. Hmm…
I’d actually love to know what I’m doing wrong (or, all of us), that causes it. I agree it’s likely user error, but I feel like I’m doing the same thing each time and yet don’t get the same result each time.
So you can record time and your HR, but not anything else? No power, cadence or any other bike metric? Seems like they came up a bit short…
Correct.
Their thinking is that you’ve probably got other devices to do that. It’s probably an accurate way of thinking to be honest.
Hiya Ray: Good stuff, BUT…I am running Strava Version 191.9 (1217847) for Android and alas….no indoor workouts appear after the Windsurfing. I guess indoor has not rolled out for Android?
My understanding is basically accounts get toggled on, and that toggling is still rolling out (even if you have the correct app).
Rolled in today 2021-02-25
Alas, still no Tennis.
Sorry I put this in another post but it’s more pertinent to this article as it’s own topic. I haven’t heard any mentioned from you on polar allowing direct rate rate tracking through the polar flow app now. Do you know if this means polar beat will eventually be dissolved? I haven’t tried it yet myself but the only real I use beat is because it will show recovery time info. Other then that I think it’s useless to have the two apps.
Not sure there. Personally, I’ve never really understood why there were two apps.
Does this mean that maybe workouts from some watches like Fitbit that aren’t GPS will sync with Strava now?
Nah, that’s purely a Fitbit limitation of them not bothering to transmit the data. Doesn’t impact any other company except Fitbit.
Did you ever test the Polar Verity Bluetooth range claim of 150m?
Yup, I added a bit of data and photos and such to the review!
First off, DCR, the work that you do is excellent and much appreciated. Thank you!!
Second, with regard to this much-needed Strava update, they still don’t seem to let us edit/add a distance after an indoor, non-gps workout. For example, if you select stair stepper and do a 30 min stair stepper workout, there doesn’t seem to be the option to add your data afterwards (e.g., floors climbed, steps climbed, elevation, etc.). Even if I try to edit the stair stepper workout after I’m done, this still doesn’t seem possible.
Third, if you do an indoor treadmill run (one of the more common indoor activities), does Strava want us to select “Workout?” OK, fine. But, there still doesn’t seem to be the option of adding/editing your distance run on the treadmill.
I could be doing something wrong and overlooking the option to add your workout metrics. But, it would be really nice to track your indoor workout metrics beyond just heart rate and elapsed time.
No point if it doesn’t pair up to a smart trainer. To show distance as well. Stick with the Wahoo app for that.
Yeah, the goal here isn’t for smart trainer support. Strava pretty much expects (and largely rightly so), that you’re going to use a dedicated smart trainer app for that.
Strava should look to what’s happening in the segments.
There are more and more e-bikes, and they are taking the koms and invading the top 10 chart.
The same thing in the runs. Many people do “runs” with bikes! Trying to get the best time in the segments is not fun anymore!
I think that there’s no difficulty to implement AI to analise the workouts.
e-bike riders should comply and select the correct sport. There’s a dedicated sport in Strava, just for them!
Yah, I know. But some of them don’t care. There should be implemented some AI to do that automatically.
From my perspective, e-bike riders should not even use Strava. Motors don’t belong in this space.
Why? Strava’s singular purpose these days is social, with or without segments. Most Strava users don’t care about segments. I use an e-cargo bike to enjoy the countryside with my kids for 5 hours, I can’t share it on a Strava because…?
Ray, I think segments play a major role for avid riders, when it comes chasing PR’s and KOM’s. Some get their significance from it. Personally, I don’t rely on this data. On this note, it’s unfair for riders with motor to pollute the data for others consumption. Just my 02 cents ?
Except there’s literally a simple classification that removes it from the listings.
I agree, that Strava should be using more data to filter out truly dishonest riders, but I’m not sure where banning e-bikes altogether is really logical.
They should be kicked out without asking permission, unless they use the proper activity selection !!!
I totally agree with you.
Cheaters
This sounds good- I normally use a Forerunner 15 for indoor workouts – but it’s a pain as garmin connect won’t allow me to set the workout to anything except running. So after uploading I have to change it to ‘cardio’ or whatever (and then repeat the change process on training peaks and strava as these all sync before I can change it).
This new strava feature takes out the faff! Thanks!!
Mickv
Hi, I am just wondering what stands behind the fact that the most common indoor workout, which is obviously a treadmill, is still being totally ignored by Strava. There are: elilptical, stair stepper etc., but no treadmill? I have no idea why and that’s really annoying. I know there is some let’s say workaround via Strava website where you can manually edit your workout, but as far as I recall treadmill is not listed anyway. Personally, completely unacceptable for me.
The only reason I have spent 20 min looking for this same comment. It is very odd that treadmill and spin bike (stationary bike) are not options. Makes no sense at all and frustrates me to the point I need to know why
Love your reviews
Hi
Thanks for all insightful info about Strava.
I use ProBikeGarage for tracking my bikes maintenance needs. Since ProBikeGarage uses Strava info about what bike was used for every activity, indoor activities are logged wrong since my default bike is an outdoor one.
Do you know if there is a way to make Strava automatically choose the trainer as the gear used, when performing an activity indoor?
Thanks
Thanks so much for this information, much needed update for sure. The puzzling thing is why on earth they haven’t also added a “Treadmill” option??? Probably one of the most common indoor training activities. Mind boggling and frustrating.