The 2025 Swim/Bike/Run Gear I Use List

It’s that time of year again. Except, this time, I’m publishing this at a useful time of year, rather than the last day of the year. Given all the new devices we’ve had come out during 2025, I figured there are enough new things to get this out the door. Plus, we’re in a bit of a lull (the eye of the hurricane if you will), between the busy spring releases and the even busier fall releases.

But more critically, we’ve had a lot of really good new products come out from a lot of companies in 2025 thus far. Garmin, Wahoo, Polar, Suunto, DJI, Favero, and more have all put out solid new products in many categories this calendar year. Plus, others I’m forgetting, and in some cases, companies like COROS, Apple, and more putting out notable firmware updates.

Still, as I always note though, I’m not a person of change. At least when it comes to most of my gear. For example, my running gloves are still from the Philly marathon expo some 17 years ago, and my swimsuit is whatever I found in my dresser that doesn’t appear to be fully see-through.

Of course, the tech does change. Not necessarily because it needs to change, but largely because it’s what I do as my job. And once you upgrade to test something, it’s really hard to downgrade back to an ‘older’ product in most cases. At least for watches and bike computers; for trainers and power meters, it’s less of an issue.

Nonetheless, I know plenty of you want to know what gear I use. Thus, I present you with a boatload of links. And while there’s a lot of gear here (because I’m covering three sports via triathlon), I think you’ll find I’m actually pretty simple when it comes to most of my gear (tech goodies aside). And this gear is built up over more than 15 years.

I’ve divided it up into the three main sports (swim/bike/run), plus a random section at the end. I’m typically not one to buy the most expensive piece of fashionable stuff. I just buy what works for me.

There’s also, The Girl’s 2024 ‘Gear I use’ Guide (my wife) up as well from December (for those looking for a more women-oriented view of a similar set of training gear – and undoubtedly, a more fashionable view than mine). Though, I can simply say upfront that nothing has changed from that list.

Also note: Please don’t take any of these as formal ‘gadget recommendations’, these are just the products that work for me. Finally, unless noted otherwise, all of these are items I bought myself. As has been the case for the past few years, Precision Fuel & Hydration is a sponsor on the site/podcast/YouTube, and of course, Ciovita makes the DC Rainmaker Kit. And HJC for helmets. Canyon is a new partner from last fall, where they provide loaner bikes so I have enough of the varied/different bikes/components to test devices on. To be clear: I’m not reviewing any of these bikes. Note that I’ve also purchased a bunch of Canyon bikes over the last near-decade, which you’ll see below noted accordingly. Got all that? Good!

Swimming (Pool/Openwater):

I appreciate that swimming is the easiest and shortest category here. Swimsuit, goggles, and if openwater swimming – a swim buoy. Oh, and a watch. Maybe three watches. But on the whole, everything basically fits in an old crumpled-up swim cap from a past race. In my case, I tend to do more openwater swimming than pool swimming. Especially after the move to Mallorca, where beautiful openwater swim bays are a 2-minute pedal away.

	Product	Amazon	Other	Note
	Decathlon Boxer Swim Short		Decathlon	You know why this is my swim suit? Because I always forget mine on trips, and this can be found for $5-$10, and works perfectly fine.
	Openwater Swim Buoy	Amazon		Always openwater swim with a swim buoy. Always. First, it makes it so boats see me. Second, it provides a place to stash my phone/keys/clothes and even sandles. No, you don't feel it behind you. Works great!
	Speedo Vanquisher Swim Goggle	Amazon		It's a goggle. It's what was available when I lost my previous goggles that I actually liked. Sigh.

Some will ask why not the FORM Swim goggles (even the new Pro ones released just last week)? Simply put – while I think the tech side of the unit is superb, and super-well executed (especially the new coaching modes), I just can’t get past the limited side peripheral vision visibility of the goggles for openwater swims, which is what I do the most. I will note however, that for pool swims I do enjoy them, and it’s my wife’s main goggle these days for pool swims (she puts in more pool swim time, whereas I tend to put in more openwater time).

Cycling:

This category is kinda messy. Mainly because I’m near-constantly testing new trainers, indoor bikes, etc… (especially as those release cycles have slowly transitioned from being fall-centric to being “anytime”). So it’s actually relatively rare that I stop and don’t have something to test. That said, there are a few things that are my go-to units, listed below.

As noted above, as for bikes, I own/bought the Urban Arrow cargo bike, as well as my Canyon mountain bike. I also own an older Grail (the double-handlebar one), as well as an older Canyon road bike that I’ve mostly parted out. The road/gravel/commuter bikes listed below are on loan from Canyon (and, I love them).

Changes from last year: Switched over to Aeroad as main road bike from Endurace, added Canyon tri bike (have some races planned for the fall there). Switched to using the Edge 1050 as my default bike computer, though every ride this winter has had a Wahoo, COROS, and Garmin bike computer on my handlebars concurrently. For power meters, I’ve mostly just settled on the Favero MX Pro & RS Pro units. I have Rally on my triathlon bike, but essentially it’s cheaper for me to keep buying extra Favero pedal sets than Garmin ones, and they work equally as well…so…seems obvious to me.

	Product	Amazon	Other	Note
	Canyon Aeroad CF SLX 8 AXS SPEED		Canyon	I was mostly using the Canyon Endurance all last fall and most of this winter, though, switched late spring to this Aeroad after putting on the new SRAM FORCE AXS on it, along with the new SRAM/Zipp wheels that have tire pressure sensors in them (Zipp 303SW). I can't find an exact reference pic on Canyon's site, so here's my actual photo of my actual bike.
	Canyon Endurace CFR Di2		Canyon	It might surprise some of you that I'd go with a Shimano-equipped groupset (and power meter) on this bike, but ultimately part of my job is validating both major groupset players work across various devices, especially as bike GPS companies expand features in those realms (like the bike bell). In the case of this bike though, been extremely happy with it, and again, I'm a sucker for internal spare tube/tools/CO2 (cause I'm horrible at remembering to put saddle bags on).
	Canyon Exceed CF SL 5.0 (Mountain Bike)		Canyon	When I bought this bike years ago, I kept all the components mostly as-is. However, I did make a fun power meter project for it. It's actually a SRAM/Quarq XX1 spider/crankset, with then a 4iiii dual-sided Precision power meter built atop it. Let's me test other pedal based power meters with it and have multiple references.
	Canyon Grail CFR XPLR		Canyon	I was riding a different SRAM RED XPLR test bike much of the summer, and then swapped into this Canyon one to test back in late summer. Love it, especially since the gravel terrain here in Mallorca that's a bit more spicy than most gravel. More than anything though, I just like backup internal storage for tools, spares, etc... (plus my added bags for storing other goodies). I also used this bike for my week-long ride across Morocco too.
	Canyon Precede:On Comfort 7 (Commuter e-Bike)	Amazon		I've gone from one extreme to another: The pancake flats of Amsterdam, to a 17% incline to get home each day. On a road/gravel bike, that's "fun", but when you're just trying to go to the grocery store, it kinda sucks. We have one car, so we're trying out these Canyon as a car replacement solution - and so far, it's working pretty well. Even took it on a 35KM shopping mall trip a few days ago. Have them kitted out with two pannier bags each. Further, they serve as perfect 'guest bikes' for visitors to the house (notably our older parents).
	Canyon Speedmax CF SLX 8 AXS (Triathlon Bike)		Canyon	I finally retired the decade-old Cervelo this past winter, and switched over to this, though, you probably haven't seen a ton of shots on it, as the tri side of my schedule isn't till later this fall, and with testing bike GPS units, it's frankly just a lot easier to do on a road bike handlebar. Though, I have been using this bike for power meter and trainer accuracy testing this winter. Either way, fun stuff to come!
	DC Rainmaker Cargo Bib Shorts		Ciovita	Certainly, the DCR bibs are awesome, but more critically, the cargo bib version is more awesome, because I can carry 1-2 drones in it, and/or 2-4 action cameras. Plus nutrition. Even 1/3rd a baguette.
	DC Rainmaker Race Fit Jersey (Men's)		Ciovita	Obviously, this is awesome. Wouldn't have it any other way! You too can join Team Awesome (riding or running, sorry, no swimsuit yet) via the link at left.
	EVOC Bike Travel Bag Pro	Amazon		I picked this up about a year ago, and it's gotten way more use than I expected this year. I've taken road bikes, tri bikes, gravel bikes...you name it. My previous bike case finally died after more than 12-13 years of travel. Overall I love the EVOC case, however, the only downside is that it doesn't fit across the backseat of most European cars, meaning you need to plan a bit more ahead for which exact rental car you'll get (or Uber/Taxi).
	Favero Assioma Pro MX Pedals (Dual)	Amazon		These have mostly become my defacto gravel pedals, and also get used on a lot of other comparison testing.
	Favero Assioma Pro RS (SPD-SL) Power Meter Pedals	Amazon		I've largely switched to using a few sets of these as my main road pedal, as well as power comparison test/reference pedal set. While the Garmin Rally's are just as good, ultimately, these are simply cheaper for me to buy multiple sets for all my test bikes/indoor bikes/etc...
	Fizik Tempo Overcurve R4 Road Cycling Shoe	Amazon		I started with the Fizik line a number of years ago for a MTB shoe, and then eventually outfitted my full fleet of cycling shoes with them. Also, I buy different colored ones for different cleat types, so I can keep track of which shoes I grab (since I have at least one pair of shoes for each cleat type for different pedal systems I test with).
	Fizik X5 Terra (MTB/Gravel Cycling Shoe)	Amazon		I started my Fizik collection here with these MTB ones for MTB/Gravel usage, before expanding to the road side. They work well for me and are usually reasonably priced.
	Garmin Edge 1050	Amazon
	HJC IBEX 3 (Road) & HJC Bellus (Gravel)		Hjcsports	We parnered with HJC this past winter for helmets, and I use the Bellus for gravel (MT Brown Navy edition), and the IBEX 3 for road (MT GL Gold Black). They work great. Their helmet boxes say "For the moment", which my kids helpfully completed with "...you crash and hit your head". Thanks girls...
	Urban Arrow Family Performance (Cargo Bike)		Urbanarrow	There's almost nothing more important to our family than this cargo bike. Literally, when living in Amsterdam, it made our world go 'round. I bought this one in Dec 2020, though we also have a second one from a few years prior. We love both, and they acted as a complete car replacements for us.

In terms of other odds and ends people might ask questions about:

Speed/Cadence sensors: I don’t use these anymore, as virtually all power meters do cadence now built-in, and from a speed sensor standpoint, GPS accuracy is simply good enough that it’s just not required in any scenario I typically ride.

Trainer Apps: Zwift, TrainerRoad, and Peloton are the main three I tend to use the most. I pay for subscriptions to all of these (and a number of other platforms for testing, including Rouvy, FulGaz, Xert, and the Tacx App). But the aforementioned three are what I primarily use, with Zwift and TrainerRoad being the bulk of it.

Training Logs: Strava and TrainingPeaks: I use Strava as my ‘public’ activity feed (when I remember to toggle it from private to public), and I use TrainingPeaks as my private training log.

Trainers: For this past winter, I put in a crapton of indoor training miles, but it’s been on all assortment of test units. Muov bike, Elite Justo 2, Elite Avanti, Elite Direto XR with Cog, Tacx NEO 3M, Tacx NEO 2T, Elite Square, JetBlack Victory, etc… So, kinda hard to say any one of them was ‘mine’ in terms of being what I was defaulting back to.

Running:

At least running doesn’t involve new bikes or trainers. Not much has changed here this year, after switching to Hokas last year. As always, I know nothing about shoes. I let smart shoe people tell me what to do. In the case of the Hokas, I tested a boatload of shoes one morning last winter at our local running shoe shop using a fancy force-plate system, and these two Hokas had the best numbers combined with the best feel. Love them.

I spend roughly an equal amount of time road running as trail running. Our trails here are pretty dry most of the time, though super rocky in most places.

	Product	Amazon	Other	Note
	ASICS Men's Thermopolis Winter Running Tights	Amazon		Look, like most of my clothing choices, it’s often just what I happen to find available at a running shop. That was the case here. My previous Sugoi ones were getting a bit tattered, but I was headed on a trip to the Arctic Circle that year, so I desperately needed new running tights, and this was what my local running shop had that I tried on and liked. I do very much like them, but my research is hardly extensive here. Also, I can’t figure out the exact model that it is. It just says H1 on it, but nothing else.
	Balega Comfort socks	Amazon		I've used these socks for at least 10-12 years now. I mean, not the same pair, but new pairs. Love them, won't change ever. Probably.
	CamelBak Marathoner	Amazon		I've used this for a decade as well (seems to be the general theme here). Albeit, I did have to buy some random Decathlon one recently for a trip when I forgot this one. And, a Walmart one when I needed one on a recent trip (Ozark house brand). Both work great. Either way, they no longer make the Marathoner, but the linked one is near identical.
	DC Rainmaker Running T-Shirt		Ciovita	I'm super happy with this design, and it seems a boatload of you are as well. And from a fabric standpoint, this is a very lightweight fabric that dries really quickly out in the sun after a sweaty run.
	Hoka Mach 6	Amazon		This is the latest Hoka variant I swithced to from the X3 I had previously. Works for me, may or may not work for you.
	Saucony Xodus Ultra 3	Amazon		I was using the Saucony Switchback 2's previously, but then sadly those were discontinued, so this was the next best thing. Been perfect for all my trail adventures the past few months.

And then, a few other things that aren’t brand/model specific:

Running Shorts: This is a pretty random assortment of running shorts, some Nike, some Decathlon, some still in the laundry machine. I’m not particular, but I do prefer a pocket or two to stash things. I’d actually say my favorite running shorts are the Whoop ones, though, I never bother to put the Whoop sensor pod in there. Instead, I like them simply because they have really good deep/tight pockets that can easily hold a phone each, without it ever flying out.

Cold Weather Running Top: I don’t have a specific top I use, rather, I tend to layer bits and pieces together. Here’s an older post on all my cold-weather running thoughts. Plus, I didn’t need a cold-weather running top in Mallorca this winter. :)

Cold Weather Running Gloves: $1.00 race expo gloves – That’s it.  It’s easy.  I almost never throw them away, I feel guilty.  So I use a few rotating pairs, all from expos – some even free!  I’ve got a pair of no-brand mittens that I toss on if the weather is super-cold, but like running tops in cold weather, you’d be surprised what your body is fine with once it’s up to speed.  All you folks in Minnesota though shouldn’t adhere to this section.  Just go to the Arctic section of REI instead. Again, this is really only if I travel in the winter to somewhere that’s cold. But honestly, that’s kinda the point of moving to Mallorca – avoid that whole cold weather thing.

Running headphones/music: I very rarely run (or ride) with music. I suppose if I were to, at the moment it’d probably be my AirPod Pro 2 headphones, but I really only run with music if I need to test a specific music/etc feature on a watch…as has been the case a ton the last few weeks.

Got all that? Good, onto the ‘everything’ bucket.

The Crossover & Random Category:

I stashed the watch in this category, that way you didn’t have to see it three times above. Plus, this also includes things I use across more sports.  Obviously, there’s more gear. For example, here’s my recently updated photography/camera gear post. However, here are a few other mostly-tech things that I use day-to-day. From action cameras to drones, and obviously, the pizza oven.

Changes from last year: Only a slight very recent change to using the Mavic 4 Pro vs the Mavic 3 Pro for pretty shots on vacation/etc…

	Product	Amazon	Other	Note
	Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black	Amazon		I've had this on my left wrist since last fall, with a Garmin Fenix 8/something usually on the other. I'm always testing other watches of course, so things float in and out.
	DJI Mavic 3 Pro	Amazon		While I use the DJI Mini 3/4 for action shots, I also have the Mavic 3 Pro I tend to use for shots where I want/need the zoom lens. So more for pretty vacation shots, but even just people shots from a distance. I picked up the Mavic 4 Pro back in May, and have mostly been using that since for pretty shots too. Eventually I'll get around to selling off the Mavic 3 (anyone in Amsterdam or Mallorca want a good deal on it)?
	DJI Mini 4 Pro Fly More Combo with DJI RC2	Amazon		The Mini series has been my go-to drone for years, with the DJI Mini 3 Pro the bulk of the past year, and now the Mini 4 Pro. Having the full obstacle avoidance is super helpful for all the stupid stuff I do. It's what I tend to take for longer treks with more epic scenery views, or scenarios where I need higher speeds than the Hover X1.
	Garmin Fenix 8 Series	Amazon		While there's been a ton of other Garmin watches in the last few months that'd have come out (FR970, Venu X1, etc...), ultimately, when all the dust from those reviews settle, I'll be back on my Fenix 8, as I was most of the year. While I like those watches, the battery life hits are just too much for me and how much GPS time I use the watches for each day.
	Garmin Index S2 WiFi Scale	Amazon		I simply use this for loosely tracking weight. I don’t look at the body fat stats, as like most electrical impedance scales, they aren’t super accurate. But weight is, and that’s all I (pretend) to care about.
	GoPro Hero 13 Black	Amazon		I've long used GoPro action cameras as my main go-to action cam, and the Hero 13 has taken that spot since later summer. I can depend on the quality being spot-on, and the GoPro Cloud backup for all my footage.
	HoverAir X1 Drone	Amazon		This has become my go-to drone for running, especially trail running, as well as slower speed cycling stuff (e.g. gravel, some MTB, etc...). I've crashed it at least 100 times, and it still keeps on ticking! While I do use the Hover X1 Pro and the DJI NEO from time to time, I find the OG X1 simply works more consistently.
	Insta360 Ace Pro 2	Amazon		I've been using the Insta360 Ace Pro 1 (and now 2) over the last year with their sports data from Garmin/Apple/etc overlay feature being my favorite bit in their cameras. Thus, if I need to show speed/power/etc, I'll probably reach for this. Or, especially low-light footage.
	Nespresso Vertuo Next Coffee and Espresso Machine	Amazon		Look, this place doesn’t run itself. Without this coffee machine, you’d be getting a fraction of the reviews posted. All nighters for big product launch weeks require careful planning, which I lack. Thus, caffeine will do instead.
	Ooni Fyra 12 Wood Fired Outdoor Portable Pizza Oven	Amazon		I know, I know, I still owe everyone a review. Nonetheless, 2+ years later, I love this thing. We use it for more than pizza too, notably steaks (to get a really crispy sear). But a lot of pizza. It's completely portable, even easily fitting on our cargo bike. Note that I went with this model, the cheapest one they make, as I realized that buying the higher-end models that support gas didn't make much sense for me. I have a gas grill already (and could easily just put a stone on it). Similarly, while a large 16" is appealing, realistically I've found this 12" more than enough for pretty substantial personal pizzas (and it makes it easier to handle).
	Optimum Nutrition: Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein Powder	Amazon		I’ve gotten into doing recovery drinks this year, though mostly only for mid to longer (many hours) workouts. I know, I should do it for all workouts, but I usually forget.
	Precision Hydration Electrolyte Drink Mix -1500	Amazon		I'll use this on warmer days for hiking and cycling.
	Precision Hydration Gels	Amazon	Precisionhydration	I use both the 30g and 90g variants of these, but primarily prefer the 90g variants, simply so I don't have to have as many things floating around. I shoot for 90g/hour on longer adventures.

Note: Amazon links are part of the Amazon affiliate program, for which I may earn a commission at no cost to you – and of course, that helps support the site a bunch.

With that, thanks for reading, and again, these aren’t necessarily the best products in each category – it’s simply what I bought with either zero research, or a little bit of research.