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.
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!
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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.
Wow, beats on Karoo for routing. But really, is it so hard?
Komoot: plan route, save to profile
Phone: enable GPS hotspot for Karoo
Hammerhead dashboard (also phone, but not companion app): go to routes, hit refresh button.
*magic happens*
Karoo – go to add route, it’s there at the top.
OK it does take less than a minute. But also: I have Stockholm syndrome.
Where it fell apart previously is where your phone doesn’t have hotspot option. Oddly enough, while I have unlimited international data (a crazy $25/month AT&T plan from 2005 or so I’m still on), I’m actually unable to hotspot onto it (doesn’t permit it, and phone won’t even allow it).
Of course, that’s somewhat rare, but at the end of the day, adding clunk was never super awesome.
An interesting listen – and I think the problem with the Zwift thing is how many people actually engage with the “features” that purportedly give Zwift its value.
My little segment of endurance chums (all triathletes mind) are using Zwift twice, maybe three times a week in winter if the weather is especially bad and maybe once a month we manage a TTT. The two regular rides are ultimately workouts (custom sent from TP not Zwift’s library) and we are pottering on and, in principle all Zwift is a head unit on a bigger screen to show me my power targets with potentially some distracting scenary to get me through. Honestly, the only things it is doing is a) looking prettier; and b) putting numbers on a big screen in front of my face rather than between my aero bars. I can therefore either a) just use my Garmin (it would probably be better for my mental toughness anyway); or b) pick up one of the other platforms that costs half as much.
Ultimately everyone makes a big hype about the social aspect of Zwift – I can’t remember the last time a typed a message etc. to another rider – since 2020 my entire Zwift linked social engagement has been riding at the same time as friends (often but not always in a meetup) and talking to each other on Discord – at that ain’t worth £18 a month!
Ultimately £18 is a meaningful money for what Zwift offers people who aren’t riding every day and I don’t see the value proposition as being close to TR at the same price, where you get analytics, training plans and some feedback/smarts.
In terms of the hike, you are pretty generous to them, yes, in the US it was 30% in 7 years – but from a UK perspective my price has gone from £6.99 to £17.99 in that period, with approaching 50% price hikes from £6.99 to £12.99 and now £12.99 to £17.99 – finally I am getting royally shafted, paying the equivalent of £23 at current FX rates.
“Ultimately everyone makes a big hype about the social aspect of Zwift – I can’t remember the last time a typed a message etc. to another rider ”
You know, it’s funny. I’ve been riding Indievelo a lot lately, as well as mixing in other Zwift rides too. And I was thinking about this same comment, as I very very very rarely message someone (akin to you).
But one of the things I realized a bit in the past week, is that it’s more than just messaging. If I look at group rides coming up, there’s basically nothing with real people on Indievelo. At least in terms of “I want to do a group ride this afternoon, what’s there in the next hour?”. 99% of the time, the answer is “nothing”. Whereas Zwift, there are those group rides.
And even in those group rides, I’m not often (if ever) texting others, but I am riding with the group and that’s effectively the social element. Likewise, I am watching people banter via messages, which is again, the social element. In some ways, it’s all hard to quantify until it’s gone.
As for the UK price adjustments, indeed, that’s hard. Though, one thing that’s often overlooked is that massive currency swings +/- 40% of the GBP to USD. That’s a real factor in those price increases. Ultimately, someone has to pay for those currency fluctuations. Most times the companies take the hit/risk over the longer period, but in that case of the 2022 adjustments, the swing was so massive.
I’m not a buyer of big GBP-USD price swings being any justification – there was a big swing in the aftermath of 2016 when GBP got screwed but 2017 FX was 1.289 average and current spot is 1.27 – this isn’t FX rates, its just Zwift screwing over Brits despite being a historically UK centric country. Putting up prices by £5 and $5 at the same time is just crappy! (P.s. GBP tanking in 2016 was a convenient excuse for everyone to increase UK prices, but no-one has dropped them following the 20% plus bounce back…)
I totally agree that for people who are just looking to get on the turbo and see what rides are available, it works, but I query if Zwift knows for how many people that is a real value driver?
I feel the same about the social aspect and even though I never messaged anyone nor followed or interacted with anyone specifically but I did like when it was cold and wet outside, hopping into a sunny world and feeling the buzz of other cyclists seeing many others lined up getting ready to go and various people going back and forth.
I have cancelled Zwift though because I’m frustrated by the almost complete lack of development on the platform, hardly any routes despite the basic graphics, no big events at the moment and I fall foul of the race classification system because of my low weight so I’m forced up against riders far more powerful than me I have no chance against. It’s just embarrassing the amount of money they are taking in per month and yet it takes them years just to add something as basic as a functioning elevation graph
I received my Zwift price hike email a couple of weeks back and immediately put my subscription on pause – with a view to cancelling. Just a pity I can’t ‘park’ my level and pick up again if I decide to resubscribe in winter.
It’s taken it from a cost I’m happy to pay to a luxury I don’t need – which is a pain in the behind.
They need a stripped down subscription offering – with maybe just wattopia.
My understanding is if you cancel and resubscribe later, you keep everything on your account including your level although I’ve not tried it myself. I have now cancelled and if I go to resume it in winter and everything is gone I certainly won’t be bothering returning
Any word on if this Strava Beta will come to iOS Test Flight Beta? I’m on the beta for Strava, but unsure if this is the same version that was provided at Camp Strava. Anyone running the actual beta from Camp Strava know what version it is?