Heads up! Here’s your massive list of sports tech deals! This includes the Garmin Forerunner 965 for just $499, Garmin Epix for $449, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium for $735, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $299, and plenty more! Go check out the full list here!
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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5 Easy Steps To The Site
1
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.
2
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!
3
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.
4
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!
5
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.
link to mygearup.com
We have had one similar to the link above for about 12 years…ours has the option to have 2 or 4 bikes and it’s tension mounted. Never had an issue with it and we have used it both inside an apartment and garage. Good luck!
Hi Ray – I have a Minoura bike stand and It has been great.
link to minourausa.com
Stores 2 bikes on a vertical pole, with adjustable horizontal angles to hang the bikes.
Doesnt require bolting or anything like that.
Don’t know about availability in your area etc as I’m in AUS, but I can recommend these – they are great. I have mine in my living room and I kind of like the bike ‘feature’ wall….
Funny about you asking for bike storage rack advice; I came here today looking to see if you had a review on bike stands, for repairs and cleaning and such. Which I was surprised I didn’t find. Sorry I can’t help on the storage front.
Ok so this is two poles, but its a loop so lets call it one poll bent around in a circle! I’ve been using it for a few years and its very sturdy and stable and holds your helmet and accessories too!
link to amazon.com
link to rei.com
Always considered this for myself. Not sure how much it would be for REI to ship.
Just faced the bike storage issue recently, with multiple bikes on our porch. It really saves room having a stand. We purchased the Topeak 2 Two Up — it is a little expensive, but doesn’t look too bad and you can buy additional attachments to hang up to 4 bikes on it. It seams fairly stable and there’s plenty of adjustability. On the downside, you have to purchase the extra attachments separately.
link to amazon.com
I looked at the Motoactv listing that you linked to on Amazon. It looks like it comes with the wrist strap but not the HR strap.
Howdy, just a thought…but if you want to DIY something. I’m sure you can find the supplies you need in BHV (the big hardware store) and also any small bricomarches.
All you need to supply are some old drop bars and stems…you can even customize!
link to dornob.com
Eek, thanks Paul – good catch! Fixed.
Maybe an Ikea hack? link to ikeahackers.net :-)
The Topeak Dual Touch pole is hands down the best solution. I own one and love it. It meets all your requirements and it even ship fast. It’s on Amazon
link to bikerackshops.com
Not sure about shipping, but this one definitely doesn’t belong in a garage. Good luck!
I’ve had the Saris BikeBunk for over a year. It had definitely done the trick and I’m constantly using it everyday (switching between my Tri and road bikes). Haven’t had any issue!
The Topeak is an awesome rack. I have one in our finished basement that looks great holding our bikes! Ships super fast from Amazon and only takes about 10 minutes to set up.
I’m not sure if this was said before, but I’ve got the Delta Cycle Michaelangelo Bike Rack from Amazon and it’s absolutely fantastic. Very minimalistic and as strong as an ox.
link to amazon.com
I’ve had this Saris Bike Bunk for two years now and it’s been great. Just put it together and lean against the wall, super simple and sturdy.
link to revolutioncycles.com
Hey Ray,
I always try to help you out with your requests since you provide all of us with so much great info. I recently bought a velo cache 2 made by feedback sports.
link to feedbacksports.com
We liked it so much, that I ordered a second one, and two sets of expansion packs to allow each to support 4 bikes total. Each pair of arms has a weight limit of 40 lbs, and they can all adjusted individually to help with weirdly shaped bikes, or tiny small clown 650c bikes. These things are awesome, study, and I highly recommend them. Best of all, plenty of places in Seattle have these. Good luck!
-Guillermo
This might fail the delivery requirement, but I remember seeing these racks on a gear blog ages ago and have lusted ever since. link to quarterre.com
I have to put my vote in for the Thule universal stacker
link to amazon.com
it’s also sold by some 3rd parties. The stand is solid and I can keep my heavier bike on top with no concerns of it tipping over.
My concerns with the other poles was the pole falling over when my wife took her bike out.
Talk about good timing. My patience with the Motoactv ran out 2 weeks ago when it didn’t save a completed run I did on vacation in Spain. I sold it online 4 days before this price drop. I’ve taken my new Garmin 610 out twice now and already like it much better. Thanks for the reviews.
link to overstock.com
Ray:
Depending on your apartment building/how confident you are about the spaces, there are two other options:
1) the cave associated with your apartment…but they are usually in the basement so damp and musky.
2) some apartment buildings have a dedicated bike room, with a lock or a code. You should ask your guardienne
although the hassle of having to bring your bike up to your apartment every time you wanna do a training session does seem to rule these out…
Somehow I guess that delivery directly in France would not be too much of a problem… When in France..
link to bike-spirit.com
Also on Amazon
link to amazon.fr
The Rose Multiflex stands either
link to roseversand.com
or the more expensive one are very good, we have them throughout our living rooms.
Another vote for the Topeak stand. I have one in my finished basement, currently holding 4 bikes cleanly and compactly. It’s not the cheapest stand, but it’s stable, easy to set up, and does the job very well.
Looking forward to seeing what you pick and your impressions, I’ve been looking for the identical thing too recently.
link to velogrip.com
Know it does not fit the horizontal req but when tilted at an angle on the hooks the bikes sit closer to the wall than if mounted horizontally. Bonuses: you can build an equivalent rig with parts from any hardware store (home depot even has S-hooks) , and you can hang spare wheels, helmets, shoes, etc…
link to pinterest.com
Pallets!!!!!!
This is what I did with my bikes/gear. This cost me about $20.00 and is pretty cool looking. drilled into the wall support beams with 4 inch wood screws. heres another example
link to pinterest.com
I have two of these, they are great.
link to amazon.com
wiggle.co.uk will deliver to Frqance as well:
link to wiggle.co.uk
link to wiggle.co.uk
Henrik mentioned this earlier, the Ikea bike hack is an excellent option.
link to ikeahackers.net
I made this a couple of years ago, it looks good, easy to make, and cost about $50.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Been using this one for years, no drilling required and it looks better than the metal ones on the market.
link to amazon.com
Park Tool double arm repair stand.
Get something that’s multifunctional, especially for bike repair/maintenance.
link to kylethewilson.wordpress.com
Re-purpose road bike handles!
This sort of drifts from what you were looking for, but this is a beautiful solution for living room storage and it looks “cyclistey”.
How about using two bike handlebars? You can buy a bracket to drill into the wall, and think of that bracket as a bike stem, and put handlebars in it.
Lifehacker had a post about doing this a few weeks ago. Seems like an elegant and not unattractive solution.
I have a generic similar to the Racor linked by Wil. It was cheap, but I had to shim one side of the base with cardboard to get it to stand straight. I also added weather stripping and packing material to prevent scratches.
I have been using the Feedback Sports stand and been happy with it. It´s available from Aspire and REI has it too.
link to aspirevelotech.com
I’ve got this one:
link to cozywinters.com
Though we got it at the local Target. Target.com no longer has them listed but my wife swears the stores still carry them. The website above has them for $100, we paid about $50 each for them. I’ve been pretty happy with them (we have two).
What about the SteadyRack?
Cycloc
link to cycloc.com
This doesn’t fit exactly with what you are referring to, but I think the Girl and you might like these.
link to etsy.com
I’ve got the one Noel posted. $50 from a Target in Sacramento 5 years ago.
Here it is on Target’s site:
link to target.com
Says its not sold in stores, but they’ve been wrong before ;)
As a bonus to whatever you choose, I think bikes on the wall make GREAT art! I wish of wish we could hang ours in the house…. :)
Sarah
http://www.thinfluenced.com
Thanks all! I’m loving all the suggestions, especially the more creative/artsy ones. I hadn’t even considered that angle, but currently the one where you use two old bike handlebars is completely awesome!
Keep them coming!
Oh, and yes, anything that can ship straight to France cheaply is certainly game!
Motoactv: This product was due to launch into Australia June/July this year.
At the last moment Google/Motorola Mobility pulled the pin, and it has now been put on an indefinite hold. (read as won’t be hitting Australian shores)
Update: 7/17/12 6:30PM Eastern: I reached out to Motorola for comment on this story that suggests the product is being discontinued altogether”
Urm Where does the article say or suggest the Motoactv is being “discontinued” ? The article states! “MotoACTV Officially Discounted”, and says no such thing about it being discontinued.
The changed the title of the original article, and the content. Initially, the article title said “Discontinued”, and then later in the body there was an extra line or two about it being canned.
But, that’s all somewhat irrelevent – because anytime a company declines to comment that a product is being axed, specifically declines to say “Nope, all is good”, then you know – all is not good. :(
Here’s a (stale) copy of the original article which was replicated to other sites: link to droiddog.com
Ironically, I think it may have just been the original author misreading the press release, but it’s Motorola’s response that was far more telling.
Okay thanks for that information. I’d like to know where the original author obtained his information. I know there are a lot of complaints about the device on the Motoactv forum, but I’ve had mine for over 6 months and I love it. I hope you’re wrong!
Hi Ray –
Along the lines of price drops – can you tell me when Garmin reduced the price of the 310xt? I know you probably mention it somewhere and I can’t find it. Just curious if I paid above retail at a local store. Last I had checked it was $349 without HR strap. I called Garmin support and, oddly, they couldn’t answer this question.