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 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.
Tag Archives: Strava
Strava Launches Activity Video Flyover Feature: Hands-on
Strava has just announced and launched the first stage of their video flyover function. This feature creates a 3D map video fly-over of your activity, showing an orange line and a moving blue dot alongside the line. It’s roughly … Read More Here
Strava Adds More Photo-Based Tools to Route Planning
Strava has added a new feature for Subscribers that lets you see photos while route planning on desktop now, and more specifically, lets you see the exact location of said photos. This is a major upgrade over the Strava route-photo … Read More Here
Strava Announces Huge Slate of Upcoming New Features at ‘Camp Strava’
Yesterday, Strava held ‘Camp Strava’, a physical real-world event where a bunch of people gathered together to talk about Strava. This seems to be vaguely developer-focused, and vaguely regular athlete-focused. The schedule had a host of non-technical things on it, … Read More Here
Strava’s New Automatic Gear Tracking: Quick How-To Guide
Strava’s got a new update that allows you to automatically assign gear based on sport type. Meaning, now your mountain bike rides will automatically assign your mountain bike, your gravel rides your gravel bike, and your trail runs your trail … Read More Here
Strava Expands 3rd Party App Developer Program
Strava has announced an “updated developer program”, which is the program that some 85,000 developers and apps use to leverage the platform via its API (application programming interface). Unquestionably, in the sports world – there’s no online platform that’s had … Read More Here
Strava Launches Spotify Integration: Hands-On Quick Overview
Look, I’m a sucker for Spotify integration in anything. Be it watches, Ikea speakers (because I’m too cheap to buy the fancy-proper SONOS ones), or as is the case today, Strava. Don’t worry, this post is a quickie, and more … Read More Here
Strava Adds Photo Crowdsourcing For Routes: Here’s How it Works!
Strava has added the ability to see photos uploaded to the platform from other users to the route planning tools in their smartphone app. This means that if you use any of the route functions on the Strava app, you … Read More Here
Strava’s CEO Resigns: Company Begins Search for New KOM
Strava’s CEO, Michael Horvath, has resigned, saying that “I have decided that Strava needs a CEO with the experience and skills to help us make the most of this next chapter”. The company says that “the search for Strava’s next … Read More Here
Zwift Enables Video Highlight Uploads to Strava
If you’ve already been Zwifting this morning or last night, you might have noticed a new feature: Video highlight uploads to Strava. This new feature will automatically capture certain key moments (such as unlocking a new level/etc…), while also … Read More Here
Strava Responds to Pricing Fiasco, What Strava Costs in Every Country*
It’s been two weeks since the Strava Fiasco™ began. Of course, this is actually a fiasco that’s been quietly brewing in the UK since late November. Now, if you missed Episode 1 of this storm, check out that post here. … Read More Here
Strava Raises Prices But Can’t Tell You How Much It Costs Anymore
Some days, I just can’t decide if Strava tries hard to hurt their reputation, or, if it just comes naturally. Today, however, I’m left flabbergasted. When I started writing this post, I thought I had it all figured out. … Read More Here
Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro: Early Sports Review
With the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 and Watch5 Pro, the company joins the ranks of other entities stamping products with the ‘Pro’ moniker. Sometimes that designation is deserved, and other times it’s little more than marketing. This time around, Samsung appears … Read More Here
Strava Launches Tour de France Hub with Routes/Segments/Rider Uploads
Back a few months ago, Strava teased an upcoming Tour de France hub that’ll allow you to track riders, stages, segments, and more – for both the men’s and women’s races this year. Today, that new hub launches ahead of … Read More Here
Strava Adding Video Support: Here’s how it works!
Strava has begun rolling out video support, allowing you to upload short video clips to your workouts, which will appear in your feed in the same manner as photos today. All users will be able to view the videos on … Read More Here
Strava Reverses Course: Turns back on Apple Health Sync Functionality
Strava has reversed course on their recent disablement of Apple Health sync for 3rd party workouts (e.g. data from Zwift, TrainerRoad, Garmin, etc.), after abruptly disabling the feature last week without notice. That move impacted many Apple iPhone users that … Read More Here
Strava Abruptly Ends 3rd Party Data Sync to Apple Health
[Update – March 15th, Strava has reversed course and re-enabled Apple Health sync. Full details here.] It’s been a few years since Strava has managed to irk the Internet, but over the last few days, they’ve unleashed a torrent of … Read More Here
Strava Publishes 2021 ‘Year in Sport’ Annual Stats Extravaganza
Strava just published their annual year in review presentation, which outlines what all of us 95 million Strava users suffer through each week. Both athletically suffering through hard workouts and long adventures. But also occasionally suffering through what others post … Read More Here
Strava Testing ‘Mute Activity’ Option to Reduce Feed Spam
Strava is testing a new feature to some 50% of their user base that allows people to mute an activity of their feed when publishing. The idea being that many of us might have more trivial workouts or even … Read More Here
Strava Adds Major New Privacy Zone Features, Plus More Privacy & Map Options
Today Strava announced two sets of privacy-focused changes, arguably the biggest shift the platform has done in years with respect to user privacy. These new features allow you to significantly change what others can see about your activities, including everything … Read More Here
Strava Adds 3D Terrain Heatmaps To Site: Quick Overview
Remember the first time you used Google Earth some 19 years ago? Yup, that’s kinda like this. Except, now with all your personal Strava heatmap overlaid atop it. And yes, Google earth is really 19 years old. It was first … Read More Here
Strava Adds Indoor Workout Recording to App (For all users): Quick How-To Guide
Undoubtedly, for many readers of this site, you’ve probably got a watch or twelve to record your indoor workout on. But, if you’re still narrowing down options from my recommendations guide, then this new tidbit might be applicable to you. … Read More Here
Strava Photo Heatmap Added to VeloViewer: Here’s how it works
I suppose exactly what to call this is a bit fuzzy, but basically VeloViewer has mashed up your Strava photos with your heatmap, allowing you to see the two blended together in photographic glory. And if there’s anything that gets … Read More Here
Strava Turns Off Flyby Feature For All Users, Have to Opt Back In
Strava has somewhat quietly turned off, for all users, the Flyby feature, after a tweet went viral during the last few days, based on privacy concerns. Users can re-enable it, but only if they knew it was disabled in the … Read More Here
Strava Rolls out StatMaps to Subscribers: Here’s how it works
Yes, you have to have the hashtag. Else, it’s just StatMaps, and as you’ll soon find out, that’ll get you a big nothing burger. For this Friday post we’ll keep things nice and quick. So, you can either press the … Read More Here
It’s Coming Back! Strava Begins Bluetooth Sensor Beta Test
A year ago Strava killed off sensor support, earning the ire of millions…perhaps even if they rarely used the feature. As users, our collective annoyance was more about principle than anything else. It also didn’t help that Strava’s reasoning at … Read More Here