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!
On the right side you’ll see a slim-bar of your ride stats. So the idea being that you can watch what you want to watch, while recording your ride.
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:
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You can use the above link for any Amazon country and it (should) automatically redirect to your local Amazon site.
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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’m assuming the answer is no, but can you have a peleton workout running in the background while watching something on netflix (or any of the other media options)? Picture in Picture?
Two Things:
1-I like the PeakDesign phone holder on the handle bars, good choice!
2-I wish Peloton would allow none Peloton bikes to connect to their system, specifically for their scenic rides. I like to do those rides from time-to-time, but I am not a fan of the bike itself as I prefer to ride my Cannondale on my Wahoo.
Anyway, just some thoughts.
I’m surprised Apple has actually rolled out Satellite SOS in the Netherlands. I struggle to imagine the situation and the place in the Netherlands where you’d have to use it.
Same thoughts: are there really places in the Netherlands, where you have no cell or Wifi connections? Ray, have you already found a place?
Ok, nice that we have now a 3 year free use of Apple satellite SOS. Good to have, if you not have a Garmin iR device or a Maotorola Satellite link or Zoleo or… I think it is not free for 3 years because Aplle want to be kind to the users, but because they are probably still working on enabling messages via satellite and that this will only be chargeable afterwards…We will see.
I wonder if they ever end up charging for Satellite SOS – both from a practical standpoint and also from a PR standpoint.
Most other communicators (EPIRB/PLB, 911 call on a cell phone) will pass through an emergency call without any other charges, so long as the device functions. I think where Garmin and others in the satellite device arena are making their money is non-emergency check-ins and tracking, as well as messaging, rather than on a cost per emergency call.
Similarly, from a PR standpoint, I don’t think Apple wants to be in the position of saying ‘well, they hadn’t paid, so they ended up stranded at sea or on a mountain for a week’. I think the most likely outcome is either Apple eats the cost, they find some other way to monetize it (a la Garmin’s inReach), or they include it in the upfront price of satellite enabled models.
I agree, I suspect they don’t end-up charging for it either. For exactly the reasons you cited.
With Garmin’s inReach model, it’s not something that’s in your pocket every day that you forget about the subscription for. Thus, people are quite well aware you need a sub (and the unit even tells you this when you power it on).
I also wonder if/when we’ll hear of ‘people saved’ type metric, as Garmin does every once in a while. While we occasionally hear of things in the news media for Apple SOS, it doesn’t seem as common as I thought it would be – making me wonder if uptake is lower than everyone expected (I think that’s a good thing, but may not?).
Looks like that rwgps quicknav is just what the Garmin longpress does?
From the intro I was hoping that it might be something that works with the currently navigated course, suggesting a deviation that re-joins the course somewhere ahead.
And even that would still not be the fabled ice cream button that searches through POI near the upcoming track and suggests them on the metrics of both minimal distance (time?) added to the original course and how far it is from the current location. Whenever someone suggests that Garmin might be running out of meaningful features to add, that’s my answer: ICE CREAM BUTTON! NOW!
I agree, ice cream search should just be a dedicated ice cream cone icon visible at all times on the map.
It’s funny, if I were Garmin/Wahoo/Hammerhead, I’d have an option toggle for a coffee cup icon on the map: At any time, you could tap it and instantly get directions to the nearest cafe.
I’m really wondering when and if Apple will add next countries for sos feature in Europe like Poland Czech Republic Norway etc….
Not sure on these, but I suspect in the case of Norway, they might be hesitant there due to the 62* limiter, in that it doesn’t work reliably north of that, for which the vast majority of Norway (land-mass-wise) is north of that: link to dcrainmaker.com (see map)
I doubt it will ever happen, but it would be interesting if NordicTrack finally feels enough pressure to add Netflix to its platform after years of users having to use all kinds of workarounds to get it working.
Thanks Ray for all you share out! Any hope for native Peloton/Garmin Connect integration without adding $$$ power pedals?
I use synchmyworkout.com but not sure if that really evaluates the power data Peloton generates during my winter workouts.
Happy holidays!
Jeff
I know Garmin is interested in making that happen. Really up to Peloton.
Hi Ray, on my peloton bike+ (UK based) I only see the Disney App in the Beta Entertainment function. Is there a way of getting access to more providers or is all pushed depending on your country etc? There is the netflix app hidden away in the Apps area but there is no ride data displayed in a sidebar so pretty useless. Anyone else had similar experiences?