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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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
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.
That video is so cool even with the crap resolution!
I was thinking the same thing! With many 360* videos I’ve thought “meh,” but this one was super cool! Made it seem a little more like you were there.
I love and enjoy track riding. For me they are the best training sessions in the winter.
Trainer riding is fine, but real riding is so much nicer.
And the conditions are stable, no wind or other external influences. So also some nice way to detect your FTP under safe conditions.
If you like it, the national velodrome in Saint-Quentin en Yvelines is 45 minutes by train from center Paris :
link to velodrome-national.com
Tut tut! If this were the London Lee Valley Velodrome, you would be slapped on the wrist for 2 reasons.
1. Not looking behind you (my wrists were severely slapped for this).
2. Taking a device on to the track (they don’t allow you to wear a Garmin or anything else that could come adrift and cause a crash). But you are Ray Maker and special rules are made for you!
I bet you are hooked now especially with Saint-Quentin so close – you could cycle there!
Keep up the great work.
You get to experience some pretty cool stuff, thanks for sharing!
I really liked this 360 video, despite the quality.
I’m not sure if this exists yet, but it would be really cool to see a program like VirbEdit that allows for power/speed/etc. overlays on 360 video. Would be even cooler to have a special video player that would render it in a consistent position on the screen, with the video able to pan behind the numbers. Would be a video version of the Varia Vision.
You don’t actually say where it is!
1860 Aigle
Switzerland
I watched this using my Samsung Gear VR headset and it was pretty awesome, felt like I was riding on the handlebars!
Next time you’re in Northern England try the Manchester Velodrome
Hey Ray,
Unrelated to this post and your blog, but do you have any idea why Lenovo choose to put the Fn key in the bottom left of the keyboard instead of Ctrl? I saw you use a similar laptop to my work computer, and it’s something that has always bothered me about it.
Also, that looks like it was a lot of fun! It’s thrilling to get up on the velodrome walls for the first time.
No idea why. I guess I’ve been on Lenovo so long I’ve just gotten used to it. :-/
Tumbling mats? Outdoors and several hundred meters of them?
No, the building indoors that the arrow is pointing to. The outdoor twists are a BMX track…which, may end up having the same end-resultant as a tumbling mat…
Thanks, Ray, thought the arrow was pointing at the outdoor ribbon-looking thing (BMX track) and not the building.
Just looked up the track length: 200m, that’s a fairly small one, explaining the steep banking.
Minimum speeds needed to keep you from sliding down the wall?
First time I hear this.
How come that many sprinters are going quite slow in the first lap (even standing sometimes) and do not slide down?
@Bernie I watched Fosterman do sprints on our velodrome here in Cape Town its really steep, its just down to pure skill they know exactly when that wheel starts to slip.For the rest of us, Speed is your friend and the faster you go the safer it is.
Ray this looks like an awesome Velo dude!