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 DesFit, 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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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 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.
Search results for: 'power'
PowerTap Significantly Drops Prices, Plus Detailed Power Meter Pricing Trends (2018 Edition)
It seems like it’s that time of year again – when we start to see shifts in power meter pricing and companies tweak their strategy for the year ahead. The first to move this year was actually Pioneer, back in … Read More Here
Power Meter Pedal Shootout: Vector 3 vs PowerTap P1 vs Assioma
Update 2022: There’s an updated version of this post including Garmin Rally, Favero Assioma, Wahoo POWRLINK, and SRM X-Power available here! Over the course of the summer we’ve seen both Garmin and Favero roll out new pedal power meters. In … Read More Here
Giveaway Extravaganza: PowerTap P1 Power Meter Pedals
It’s time to kick this party up a (another) notch. For this next gifting I’ll be handing out two pedals. Albeit, just one set. But still, you do technically get two of something. These PowerTap P1 pedals will handily measure … Read More Here
WatTeam PowerBeat Gen2 Power Meter In-Depth Review
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
Giveaway Extravaganza: PowerTap P1 Power Meter Pedals
Let there be more power to the people! This time though, double the power. Yup, I’m giving away the dual-sensing PowerTap P1 power meter pedals. You can now measure all the powers! Hopefully, those powers are strong. Wouldn’t want to … Read More Here
Power meter prices plunge further as Pioneer & SRM join PowerTap in price cuts
(Updated 11AM US Eastern Time Feb 1st with SRM addition) The power meters prices be fallin’ again, and the snow and ice hasn’t even thawed yet on winter. Here’s what’s been dropping. Pioneer Price Drops: Today Pioneer dropped their power … Read More Here
PowerTap C1 Chainring Power Meter In-Depth Review
This past spring, as part of a bunch of announcements, PowerTap announced their C1 chainring power meter. This announcement was coupled with that of the PowerTap P1 pedals, all of which complement their existing PowerTap G3 hub based power meter. … Read More Here
Interbike Power Meter Tidbits Roundup: Pioneer, Xpedo, WatTeam, PowerTap
As seems to be more and more the trend, the majority of power meter news came from Eurobike this year – with only smaller tidbits coming out of Interbike this year. Things such as pricing changes and slight model adjustments. … Read More Here
Stages Power announces carbon crank options, talks a bit about dual leg power
Today at Eurobike, Stages announced their first foray into offering carbon crank arm options with their power meters pre-installed. You’ll remember that up until today they’ve only offered aluminum cranks. Today’s announcement includes five new carbon models, while also rolling … Read More Here
A Preview: A Week Riding the Watteam PowerBeat $499 Power Meter
Last week the founder and key engineering team members of Watteam flew over to Paris to allow me to install, ride, and analyze their previously announced PowerBeat $499 power meter. You’ll remember it hit the interwebs exactly one year ago … Read More Here
Giveaway Extravaganza: PowerTap P1 Power Meter Pedals
Well then, that escalated quickly. From $250 GPS watch to $1,200 power meter…all in the span of one minute. Boom! You saw my review on these puppies yesterday, and it’s definitely all good. Now you can not only ride around … Read More Here
PowerTap P1 Power Meter Pedals In-Depth Review
Back this spring PowerTap for the first time announced a power meter that wasn’t in the rear wheel hub. Well, they actually announced two new power meters. The first was the PowerTap P1, which is a pedal based power meter, … Read More Here
First rides with the PowerTap P1 Pedals & PowerTap C1 Chainring…and more
This past weekend I spent time riding on PowerTap’s latest products that were announced about two months ago (much more background in that post), all of which are in various non-final forms, but nearing release. They’ve got a full suite … Read More Here
Power2Max goes to $599 – Joins Quarq, Pioneer in April power meter price slashing
Power2Max Price Cuts Today Power2Max announced price drops of about 21% off of their existing units, dropping the base price to a mind-boggling $599. This is ahead of the bike industry event this weekend, Sea Otter, where we’ve seen a … Read More Here
The Power2Max Type S Power Meter In-Depth Review
It’s been a touch over two years since my last Power2Max product review, for their now-named Classic edition. About a year or so ago they came out with their Type-S editions, which would make for their 3rd generation unit. I’ve … Read More Here
Watteam’s PowerBeat: A first look at prototype/beta power data
Last week while at Interbike I got to not only check out, but actually install, the much talked about $499 PowerBeat system on my bike to take it for a short test ride. This proved useful in getting a first … Read More Here
Power2Max introduces Type S mountain bike power meter, additional road bike models
Here at Eurobike Power2Max has announced a number of new power meters, targeting two different markets. The first is bringing the Type S lineup to the mountain bike market, while a the same time expanding out their road bike market. Power2Max … Read More Here
A chat with the CEO of Watteam and their new $499 power meter: PowerBeat
Update – Aug 18th, 2015: See my latest hands-on testing of near-final units here in my recent test post with them. Earlier this morning a relatively unknown company – Watteam – came out of the woodwork and announced an upcoming … Read More Here
Power2Max drops power meter prices nearly 20%, adds Praxis Works for chain rings
Power2Max announced here at Interbike that they are lowing their prices further – almost 20%, following price reductions and new product announcements at Eurobike just three weeks ago. Here’s the skinny: – The $899US FSA Gossamer will be a permanent … Read More Here
Power2Max (Updated Version) with estimated left/right power
This is the new September 2012 version of the Power2Max. The core updates is that it now contains a temperature sensor for minimizing drift due to temperature changes, as well as including estimated left/right power. The left/right power is available … Read More Here
Power2Max announces updates to power meter, upgrades for existing owners starting at $10
Power2Max has announced a software and hardware update to their existing Power2Max ANT+ crank based power meters. The update adds emulated/calculated left/right power balance, as well as a temperature sensor to aide providing accurate power measurement and correcting drift issues … Read More Here
Polar Look Keo Power System–Pedal Based Power Meter–In-Depth Review
The Polar Look Keo Power System is the first pedal based power meter to make it to market, meaning, you can actually go out and buy one. Announced nearly two years ago, the units finally started trickling out into the … Read More Here
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Polar/Look Keo Power pedal-based power meter
(Above: The shipping/retail box for Keo Power) By most accounts, the Polar/Look Keo Power pedal based power meter system is the closest pedal based power meter to public availability. In fact, some units are now available at a few shops … Read More Here
Tour de France 2023: Bike Computers and Power Meters
The Tour de France kicked off again today, this time in Bilbao, Spain, with 176 riders and 22 teams. And thus begins the annual tradition to ferret out not just the sports tech gear these teams are sponsored to use, … Read More Here
March Power Meter Giveaway Winner!
Last week was giveaway time! You had all week to get in your giveaway entry, and because of my desire to spend some days riding never-endingly in the sun, I’m catching up this week – and that includes pulling the … Read More Here