Heads up! The big Garmin annual spring sale has started, with $200 off the Fenix 8 (first sale to date!), $100 off the Edge 1050, Forerunner 965 at $499, the Forerunner 265, the new Instinct 3, and countless other Garmin products including inReach Mini 2. Plus the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium is on sale, and some Suunto & Wahoo product deals too. Full list & thoughts 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
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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 2024 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.
Great low key week for Coros and Styrd. Coros update is super. The ability to do workouts in Trail Run mode is something that made me question some life decisions. Running with power/Stryd is also a new frontier for many. Trail Runners be super happy!
I’m in the indoor cycling community as an educator to indoor cycling instructors and teach at a club with Stages bikes; I also have one at home so I’m invested in their success. We’re anxiously waiting for news about customer support for the bikes. I know most of the Stages indoor bike team went to work for Giant, so I’m curious to know why you think they’ll exit the indoor bike scene. Do you think those executives might peel off and create their own separate company? Stages bikes had been the preferred bike in the industry before the bankruptcy.
As noted I’m specifically talking the “consumer indoor bike” scenes, rather than the industry (e.g. gym) one.
The reasons being that:
A) Stages couldn’t get rid of SB20’s to save their life, literally in this case: While they found some consumers, they were just horrifically overbuilt for households. Sure, that design is awesome for long-term life in gyms, but the weight/size killed them in consumer shipping realms, as well as hurt them from an aesthetics standpoint in the home.
B) The Zwift Ride has fundamentally shifted industry thinking on indoor bikes. While Zwift Ride V1 has some minor fit issues (e.g. crank length/saddle fore/aft), Zwift themselves has been clear these will all be addressed in a V1.5 or V2. The benefits of splitting the trainer apart from the bike part is massive for companies, especially when things go wrong. A single return on a bike indoor bike wipes away any profit, if not putting them in the red. Whereas by splitting it in two pieces that are very modular and easy to ship, makes it far more efficient for companies, but frankly, also consumers. People can upgrade trainers, and companies can also upgrade all the whiz-bang features of a frame. As a result, I don’t expect to see Tacx do another indoor bike either. I suspect we’ll see Wahoo do another, but I’d be surprised if we see another KICKR SHIFT unless they can substantially change either the features in that model, or reduce the price.
Thank you, this is very helpful. I’d spaced out on the difference between “consumer” and “industry” indoor bikes.
My husband just bought the Wahoo KICKR SHIFT during the Black Friday sales and is loving it…but we aren’t the typical home consumer—we don’t mind setting up heavier more durable equipment!
Waiting for the DJI Flip!
FR955 has been lately for sale in EU for way sub 300e.
Last I saw it was 259e or smth like that.
Very hard to beat that deal!
Were did you find a deal like that? Cheapest one i found right now is like 340€.
Have you found a place to do drone wind tests in Mallorca?
Yup. My backyard. :) Actually, technically I suppose it’s my frontyard.
Either way, I live within a few hundred meters of the water/cliffs edge, and the winds are pretty strong out here. Surprisingly, the wind conditions are similar to Amsterdam’s in terms of typical storm strength that rips through here.
The only difference is the frequency is slightly higher in Amsterdam. There, I could roughly count on a nasty wind spell within any 10-day timeframe. Here it’s more like within every 15 days. Also, I find the Dutch weather service a little more accurate at predicting them than the Mallorcan weather (and, there are better official wind sensors in the Netherlands, versus fewer here). But ultimately, it’s pretty easy to look out and see how nasty the whitecaps are, to figure out wind.
That is great news! Those videos are always a favorite!
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While companies want an “everything is a subscription” model, security features shouldn’t be locked behind those subscription walls. Bosch’s justification is ridiculous; because bad actors have no idea if a battery is part of the secure ecosystem, those actors will just steal every battery and discard those that are.
Thank you for this – always interesting to check if I’ve missed anything I don’t want to have missed, but especially for the links at the bottom.
I suspect it was a bankruptcy “judge” though, as opposed to a new posting you’ve perhaps made up there.
Or maybe you are about to launch some fanfic for “Udge Dredd”? 😉
Ray, are you still going to publish a review on the X1 Pro/ProMax? Would like to see a comparison between the standard X1 and these ones.
Sorta random comment/question… I recently was on a run with my dog he stopped suddenly for a potty break, something about the jerking of the leash caused my watch band to snap (it must’ve already been worn down) and the watch fell and cracked the screen :( It’s a Garmin Venu 2 Plus. Apparently they don’t do screen repair, only full watch replacement and it costs $160 which gives you a refurbished unit with only a 90 day warranty. Don’t love that option (some bad experiences with refurbished units from other companies), so thinking maybe I should just splurge and get a brand new Venu 3. But, that watch was released in August 2023…and I know I’ll be annoyed if the Venu 4 drops shortly after I buy the 3.
Ray or anyone else know if there’s been any hints at a Venu 4 release timeline?
Alternatively, can anyone convince me why I shouldn’t care about this and should just get the Venue 3 now?
Ray can’t tell you. Either he doesn’t know or he’s under NDA. He needs to do that because this is his job, and I think he likes it more than his old job which was probably better paid 😂
You love the current watch. The 3 is better so you’ll probably love it more. The next version will be better but were you annoyed that the 3 was better? Progress always happens but generally pricing reflects that. When Garmin are ready to replace they usually have deals so you pay less. Would you pay more for a newer version than the best deal right now?
If you wanted a better watch you’d buy a Fenix 8s.
Were those good enough? For what it’s worth by partner just went from Venu 2 to Fenix 8s and loves it but wasn’t unhappy with the old Venu. She also seemed happy to upgrade to the new Venu but I convinced her the flashlight was worth the weight. I think whichever you get you’ll be happy 👍
I am surprised that Ray, you are not reporting live on this year’s Chipotle-Strava challenge. Jamil Coury, a 6-times Barkley marathons participant, really seems to want free Burritos:
link to youtube.com
Biggest issue before with Route estimates was the rounding… I mean, rounding something in the 30 to 60 minutes ballpark to the nearest half hour was ridiculous.
Obviously, computing it based on FTP and weight makes sense, too.