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.
Amazon Prime Day’s Sports Tech Deals (US and Europe)
Now technically the deals last a bit longer than today, into the first half of tomorrow too – but that’s a bit more of a technicality than anything. What matters here is the deals themselves. Like most flash in the … Read More Here
First Look: Stages New Dash L50, M50, and L10 GPS Bike Computers, Including Color Mapping
(** Update: There has since been an In-Depth Review of the Dash L50, M50, and L10 Bike computers. Follow the link for a deeper dive into the products**) Stages may have just stumbled on making one of the best deals in … Read More Here
Wahoo Headwind Fan In-Depth Review
I’ve written many in-depth reviews over the years. Trainers, GPS watches, action cams, drones…and yes, even a blender once (I still have the blender, it’s awesome). But, never a fan. But there’s a first time for everything, and today is … Read More Here
First Look: Tacx Announces New Flux 2 Smart Trainer
[Update – June 2019: At this point I do not recommend this trainer. While the feel is good and mostly it’s fine, it is inaccurate in ERG mode (structured workout mode). It is fine in simulation mode, which is what … Read More Here
Hands-on: Wahoo Fitness KICKR CORE Direct Drive Smart Trainer
Update note: This is an older post, swing over and check out my full in-depth review of the Wahoo KICKR CORE, complete with tons of testing and data. Wahoo was busy today announcing a full slate of three new products, … Read More Here
Elite Fuoripista 14,000EUR Indoor Smart Bike: First Ride and Specs
I anticipate the cheapest sports technology gadget I’ll release a review or early look on here at Eurobike 2018 will cost about $60. But perhaps I’ll end up finding something that fits into my realm for cheaper. What I don’t … Read More Here
Tacx Neo Bike Smart: First Ride and Final Specs
Last year at Eurobike Tacx announced their intentions to make a smart bike, the blend of an indoor trainer and a bike. Similar to a ‘spin bike’ in looks, but under the hood totally different. It’d have full resistance control … Read More Here
CycleOps Shows Off New Indoor Trainer Moving Platform (Saris MP1)
Update March 2020: You can find my full in-depth review of the final Saris MP1 platform here. Enjoy! This year at Eurobike it’s all about the very unique products. Be it the Elite Fuoripista or the Tacx Neo Bike Smart, … Read More Here
Elite Drivo II Smart Trainer In-Depth Review
Being the first company to kickoff Eurobike 2018’s new trainer parade, Elite has dropped the Drivo II upon us. This is their high-end direct drive trainer that’s meant to compete with the best options on the market in the indoor … Read More Here
Garmin’s New $249 Edge Explore Full Mapping & Navigation Bike GPS: Everything you ever wanted to know
In the lead-up to Eurobike, today Garmin announced the new Edge Explore. Now, you’ve probably heard the Edge Explore or ‘Touring’ names battered around for half a decade or so. Usually along with a numerical identifier like ‘Edge Explore 1000’, … Read More Here
Zwift Available Now on Android in Beta
With just a few days remaining before Eurobike 2018, Zwift finally unleashed the Android version they touted last year in their booth at Eurobike 2017. This version brings compatibility to run the entire game (versus just the companion app) on … Read More Here
Hands-on: WatTeam’s New Gen3 PowerBeat Power Meter
January 2019 Warning: WatTeam as a company is no longer operating. Even worse, the app is no longer supported, and it’s required that you use the app in order to install the power meter. Do NOT buy this unit at … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
A busy weekend back home in Amsterdam after a few weeks of travelling. I couldn’t begin to include all the random things in this weekend’s list, it was so packed with stuff. So here’s the top five! 1) Openwater swim … Read More Here
Week in Review–July 2nd, 2018
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
Hands-on: Kinetic inRide V3 and Smart Trainers now support dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart
It’s been just shy of 6 years since the original Kinetic inRide sensor was announced (Fall 2012), and today they’ve updated it with the guts it always wanted. The inRide sensor allowed you to take virtually any existing Kinetic fluid … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Ok, it’s been a long day (it started Sunday morning for me, and it’s technically now 1:25AM Tuesday morning). But I wanted to knock out this post before the week gets a bit crazy. Here’s what I’ve been up to … Read More Here
Zwift acquires Milestone, charts entry into hardware realm
In a move that will turn heads within the indoor training industry, Zwift has acquired Milestone and their famed inexpensive ($25) running footpods. This isn’t the first time Zwift has dabbled in hardware, but it is definitely the first time … Read More Here
Tech Tidbits Friday: PowerPod’s new $199 model, Fenix 5 (non-Plus) gets Galileo, Tacx lowers prices, Eurobike preview
Ok, rounding up some of the week’s news in sports tech, here’s a few little tidbits that are definitely worth mentioning. And some of them are hot off the press, primarily the totally unexpected Galileo one! PowerPod’s new $199 model … Read More Here
Garmin Fenix 5/5S/5X Plus In-Depth Review (with Maps, Music, Payments)
Today Garmin announced the new Fenix 5 Plus series, which takes the existing Fenix 5/5S/5X and injects full onboard color mapping, onboard music, and contactless payments. Additionally there’s new Galileo GPS support for higher accuracy, new smart notification privacy features, … Read More Here
Thursday Tech Tidbit: Garmin Rolls Out Sleep Cycle Details, including REM Sleep
(This is the second half of what should have been ‘Twofer Tuesday Tech Tidbits’ earlier this week, until this tidbit broke free and decided to go live on Thursday instead. Thus…enjoy!) As of this morning Garmin has rolled out additional … Read More Here
Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music: Everything you ever wanted to know
*** Heads up: The Garmin Vivoactive 4 In-Depth Review is up, check that out for the latest on the Vivoactive line up!**** Today Garmin announced the Vivoactive 3 Music, which makes it the second Garmin wearable they’ve added music playback … Read More Here
Tuesday Tech Tidbit: Wahoo sprouts ELEMNT BOLT in Red & Yellow
Today was supposed to be ‘Tuesday Tech Tidbits’ – note the plural aspect within ‘Tidbits’. Unfortunately, 7 minutes before this post was set to go live I got note that the other tidbit jumped ship. Like a Tim Horton’s donut … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Mid-last week we loaded up the family and jetted across the pond for a couple week visit to both of our families. In this case, they were both conveniently currently located in Florida, making the jaunt between them far less … Read More Here
Week in Review – June 10th, 2018
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
Hands-on: The New Suunto 9 Multisport GPS Watch
(**UPDATE: There has since been a Suunto 9 In-Depth Review posted. Follow that link for the most up to date info!**) Today Suunto announced their next generation series of high-end multisport watches, the Suunto 9. This line is designed to … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Woah! This weekend flew by, it started in Amsterdam and had Paris squished into the middle of it all. We’re already back in Amsterdam and playing catch-up as always, but here’s what went down! 1) Got the keys to the … Read More Here
SIGMA ROX 12.0 Sport Cycling GPS In-Depth Review
I can hear you already: What the fudge is the SIGMA ROX? But here, let me make it simple for you: This is the most complete cycling computer to challenge Garmin’s higher end mapping devices yet. End of story. Of … Read More Here
Week in Review: June 4th, 2018
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
How it works: Zwift’s New Training Plan Platform
Zwift continues to expand its platform, and this week was no exception when they rolled out interactive structured training plans. Previously the workouts were mostly just in a giant folder structure of sorts. That meant you had to pick and … Read More Here
Hands-on: STAC Zero Halcyon Smart (Totally Silent) Trainer
Many of you have been eagerly awaiting my hands-on thoughts with the STAC Zero Smart Trainer, the first version from the company to allow resistance control from apps like Zwift and TrainerRoad. The unique proposition of the STAC Zero trainers … Read More Here
Hands-on: SRM’s new EXAKT Power Meter Pedals
This week SRM announced their latest power meter, EXAKT. But unlike every previous bike-mountable power meter they’ve made, this one isn’t crankset based. Instead, it ventures into new ground for them: The pedal. The company has partnered with LOOK to … Read More Here
Week in Review – May 27th, 2018
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
Suunto 3 Fitness In-Depth Review
By and large, Suunto has been a company that’s been focused on endurance users. Be it people climbing to the top of a mountain, racing a triathlon, or doing something else that justifies eating large quantities of donuts without feeling … Read More Here
Connect IQ Summit Tidbits: My Keynote, New Features, and More
Ok, so it’s been a month since the Garmin Connect IQ Summit. That’s Garmin’s annual conference for 3rd party developers to come to Kansas and drink all the Connect IQ juice about developing on their platform. This would be the … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
This weekend The Girl was off enjoying the weekend away in Austria, giving me full reign of the two kiddos. As such I was a bit limited in terms of doing things like outdoor rides on a road bike…but I … Read More Here
