I’m DC RAINMAKER…
I swim, bike and run. Then, I come here and write about my adventures. It’s as simple as that. Most of the time. If you’re new around these parts, here’s the long version of my story.
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You can use the above link for any Amazon country and it (should) automatically redirect to your local Amazon site.Want to compare the features of each product, down to the nitty-gritty? No problem, the product comparison data is constantly updated with new products and new features added to old products!
Wanna create comparison chart graphs just like I do for GPS, heart rate, power meters and more? No problem, here's the platform I use - you can too!
Think my written reviews are deep? You should check out my videos. I take things to a whole new level of interactive depth!
Smart Trainers Buyers Guide: Looking at a smart trainer this winter? I cover all the units to buy (and avoid) for indoor training. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with GPLAMA, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
Get all your awesome DC Rainmaker gear here!
FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
- Do you have a privacy policy posted?
- Why haven’t you yet released a review for XYZ product you mentioned months ago?
- Will you test our product before release?
- Are you willing to review or test beta products?
- Which trainer should I buy?
- Which GPS watch should I buy?
- I’m headed to Paris – what do you recommend for training or sightseeing?
- I’m headed to Washington DC – what do you recommend for training?
- I’m from out of the country and will be visiting the US, what’s the best triathlon shop in city XYZ?
- What kind of camera do you use?
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
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.
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!
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.
My Photography Gear: The Cameras and Equipment 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! It’s a nice break from the day to day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
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 2021 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.
Search results for: 'computrainer'
A look at the 2011 Multisport Expo in Washington DC
Nestled in between all the craziness that was this weekend (racing a half-marathon, then baking 17 dozen cupcakes for a competition, and finally supporting The Girl in her triathlon cake domination), I had a chance to sneak out to the … Read More Here
A look at CompuTrainer’s new RacerMate One software suite
Back in July RacerMate announced a complete overhaul of their existing CompuTrainer software, which came in multiple pieces. The new software suite – dubbed RacerMate One – would integrate all of the existing software components together under one roof, while … Read More Here
Night Rider
Most times for my weekly track brick I tend to manage to get to the track in the 4-5PM hour, thus having me finished with my workout some two hours later in the 7PM range. This makes for a semi-normal … Read More Here
Stuck
I’ve been in a rut lately with getting behind on which product to write a review on. Some of these I’ve been meaning to write a review on since last fall, and others are a bit newer. So here’s your … Read More Here
Tacx Genius Trainer In-Depth Review
The Tacx Genius Trainer is the latest trainer to work it’s way through my ‘lab’ (aka living room). The high-end trainer is designed to let you simulate just about anything you can think of while on a trainer – including … Read More Here
The Trainer Updates of Interbike 2016: STAC, Kinetic, Tacx, CycleOps, Elite, CompuTrainer
As expected, Interbike was pretty quiet as far as new trainers go. Only one company introduced a new trainer: BKool, with all remaining companies having already introduced new trainers at Eurobike a few weeks ago, or over the course of … Read More Here
Separating product timeline fact from fantasy: Interbike Edition
Now that some of the hype has died down a bit from Interbike, it’s time to take a look at what exactly all these vendors have promised…and which ones might actually meet their promises. But as is always the case, … Read More Here
Week in Review–September 18th, 2010
I’ve long since wondered what to do with all the random tidbits of things I collect each week – or the little thoughts that don’t quite make for a full post. But I finally came up with a solution: The … Read More Here
A detailed walkthrough of my 4:30AM 90-minute trainer workout
I’m flying at 41,004ft, headed southeasterly over Nahr az Zab, Iraq with a glaringly bright sun shining into the cabin of my very empty airplane. But this morning certainly didn’t start out in the sun. Nope, it started out in … Read More Here
SRM: Their iOS app, PC8, and their thoughts on low-cost power meters
While at Interbike I sat down with the SRM crew that’s working on their updated PC8 head unit. While our discussions started there, they roamed to areas such as the iOS app, rechargeable power meters and the general trends around power … Read More Here
Speaking at ANT+ Symposium Next Week
For those that remember last year around this time I came almost straight from Interbike, did some more work travelling, and then turned back around again and then spoke at the ANT+ Symposium. Last year though I had slotted it … Read More Here
A Power Primer – Cycling with Power 101
If you watched any of the Tour de France this summer, you probably heard the commentators and on screen graphics showing ‘Watts’, and if you went ‘What?” – this this post is for you. As part of laying the groundwork … Read More Here
My 2012 Trainer Recommendations: Early Edition
[Just as a head up: My 2013 recommendations can be found here] In time for the winter season (northern hemisphere), or the bulk of the southern hemisphere training season – I’ve got my full list of trainer recommendations. Before you … Read More Here
The Winter 2014-2015 Trainer App In-Depth Guide
After my recent Winter 2014-2015 trainer recommendations post, many of you have been asking about trainer apps. I decided against combining it with the trainer recommendations post in order to give its full due in a standalone post. In retrospect … Read More Here
Per the schedule: “Rest and Recover”
Before we can get to the rest and relaxation part, we gotta get through the less than relaxing part. But it was pretty fun! Ok, well, actually, back to rest and relaxation first. Friday evening post-long-swim, the Girl and I … Read More Here
Tacx Bushido Trainer In-Depth Review
The Tacx Bushido Trainer has been on many of your minds over the past year. It represents the first significant and major competitor to the RacerMate CompuTrainer – which has long held the king of the hill position in the … Read More Here
Headed to CES 2013 next week, what do you want to see/hear about?
Like last year, I’ll be making a quick trip to the Consumer Electronics Show – which is pretty much the super bowl of consumer electronics. The show is held annually in Las Vegas, usually on the first full non-holiday week … Read More Here
CycleOps PowerBeam Pro Trainer In-Depth Review
While the CycleOps PowerBeam Pro may be two years old, it’s one of the very few trainers on the market that allows specific wattage resistance control. Meaning, you can set it for a given wattage – i.e. 200w, and it’ll … Read More Here
A sneak peek at two new PowerTap products
Like almost every other company in the sports technology world, everyone is here at CES. And that’s true even when you don’t actually have a booth, such as the case with CycleOps/PowerTap. Despite the lack of floor space I had … Read More Here
The 2012 SRAM RED Quarq (and bike!) arrives into the DC Rainmaker test lab
Yup, while I’ve gotten all assortment of trainers (including some rather expensive ones) sent to me to try out, I’ve finally made it to the big leagues – a fully loaded bike has arrived in the house. One that I … Read More Here
Common Question: Why don’t I review ______ ?
I’m often asked when I plan to review a given product, or why I haven’t yet reviewed a given product. I hinted at this back in January during my ‘Blog: A summary and historical view’ post, which was sorta a … Read More Here
My 2013 Trainer Recommendations
It’s that time of year again – trainer season. At least for us poor saps up in the Northern Hemisphere (no, you don’t count if you live in the Caribbean). I started doing the Trainer Recommendations post last year, and … Read More Here
Sport Tracks 3.0 Upgrade Review
Over the past few months I’ve gotten a ton of questions around Sport Tracks 3.0 and what I think of it. In the past I’ve recommended Sport Tracks in the past pretty heavily because of it’s free status and because … Read More Here
Gobble Gobble…and more Gobble Gobble
I’m stuffed. No seriously, I’ve been eating nonstop for days now. Combining my annual two week ‘rest period’ with Thanksgiving was officially a bad-bad idea. The good news though is that since I left home (DC) Tuesday night, I haven’t … Read More Here
TrainerRoad Launches Live Group Workouts with Video
TrainerRoad has launched a new group workout function today that enables you to do a workout with friends synchronized together, complete with audio and video of each of you suffering. It’s like TrainerRoad cobbled up with a little bit of … Read More Here