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!
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
Great video.
Could you please say some words on the shipping situation of the Fenix 5 and Fenix 5x?
Thanks.
Everything I see shows it as on track for March, with likely mid-March initial deliveries. As noted early on, expect that certain SKU’s (there are 13 different options) will ship at different times. And as usual, expect availability to start very slow, and take at least a few weeks to ramp up.
Three people were shot, the two who were targetted for being non americans and someone who tried to help sop the shooter. Lots of detail here: link to washingtonpost.com
The Garmin attack is just terrible. It feels like a terrorist attack. Shooting immigrants—there’s nothing more un-American than that.
Gun related homicide is not exactly “un-American” if you look at the statistics but sadly, there is no real prospect for gun law reform.
Have you heard from anybody with a first generation Kickr that had accuracy problems if the new firmware has actually solved the problems? (I phrased that carefully because if you never had a problem, then it’d be hard to know what effect the new firmware has had.)
I seem to be getting more accurate power numbers when comparing it to my SRM while riding Zwift. It used to generally be 7 to 10 watts higher than my SRM. The last few rides they’ve been within 1 or 2 watts, usually below my SRM. But one user doesn’t make a scientific study.
I didn’t have any problem with previous firmware (1.4.47). I updated to the last one 1.5.63.
Erg mode (using perfpro): seems ok. kickr respond well and faster.
Zwift : terrible. watts are 15-20% higher, I calibrated, did the advance calibration too. But, I didn’t like the feeling. It feel easier for same course.
I came back to 1.4.47.
Just try it, maybe you will have more luck.
Here it is explained: link to youtu.be
My experience on first gen vs Garmin Vector 2S: more accurate/in line with Garmin. Before that there was a reading with much more difference even after spindowns.
@deven: did you perform also the advanced spindown? This will deactivate on gen 1 kickr the strain gauge (value reports 65535).
My Kickr earlier showed 10%+ too high figures. After the update power is within 2W in comparison to Quarq. Fantastic fix!
Interesting. Have to give it a try. Thanks, all.
After the 1.5.63 update I had to drop my FTP from 260 to 220, so that’s a 15% decrease. I have no PM to compare it too but it seems quite a big jump. Hard to know what’s right
I’ve seen a difference between the Kickr and my Garmin Vector 2S of about 30-40Watts, where the Kickr measured more power than the Garmin. As I’ve got more trust in the Garmin, I now see much more in line, even after spindowns and additional external calibration with the Kickr calibration weights.
Interesting…
@Niels: I did perform the advance spindown (value reports 65535). I tested it. I also putted back the strain gauche (wahooligan code), but to the feeling isn’t good. Really not the same as 1.4.47.
@Chris : Erg mode seems OK for me. I’m having problems on a profil course. 300w feels something like 250 (easier).
I’ll try to start all over and see what happen. Thanks all.
Funny i got the same value on the advanced spindown Offset = 65535. Not sure what it means.
How do you reactivate the strain gauge?
I think it’s the value reported when the trainer is not using the strain gauge to measure power (firmware 1.5.63).
Does anyone have a link for the wahoo secret swipe menu instructions please?
Hi DC,
Please, when will you show the Watteam Powerbeat G2 review? There’s a lot of expectations out there.. Thank you
Hi Gil-
You can find it here: link to dcrainmaker.com
Enjoy!
That tracker looks ‘interesting’. Such a shame that the Pebble Core got ditched – it would have been this, and so much more. I’m amazed nobody has come up with a similar device that can stream (and cache) music, as well as tracking location and communicating with the outside world.
Loved the post about the half marathon cheat. I love reading these stories – kinda like a good Sherlock Holmes mystery. And the photo of her watch with the incriminating time – priceless.
Lol, yeah. Sure Nike. They’ll say you’re the next big thing. Right before they rape them and cut their head off. Nice virtue-signaling though.
Ray,
I think the America you know is still alive and well. Generally, middle America is the most peaceful and safe place to live in the world. Look at the crime rate for Lincoln, Nebraska for instance, not all that far from Kansas City and about 400 percent less crime than Paris. Most of us here, actually are terrified by the violence and terrorist activity we see in Paris to the point my wife now refuses to travel there. That said, Kansas City is extremely dangerous having recently made the top 10 most dangerous cities in the U.S. Probably far more dangerous than Paris. Certainly this incident is unfortunate. However, Kansas City’s reputation is far and wide. I’m 6 hours away but know very well where not to go in Kansas City. Particularly, there are certain late night areas you just shouldn’t be in. My daughter has softball tournaments there a couple times a year and you simply don’t stay in cheap motels or certain parts of Olathe and Kansas City. My skin color would keep me from safely going to certain parts of Kansas City after dark. I’m a wasp. There is no one to blame for this senseless act other than the accused but just like traveling to any major city in Europe or elsewhere, you better use some common sense about where go and what time of day it is.
I won’t go projecting Ray’s implications when saying that this is not the America he knows and loves. My interpretation is that his comments were pointed in the direction of the comments made by the man who pulled the trigger.
Yes, parts of Kansas City are dangerous, but that can really be said for just about any major metropolitan city in the America. As for Olathe itself, it’s probably one of the more safe communities in the KC metro area; having lived/work there.
My specific comment is that the America I know and love doesn’t go around shooting immigrants based on the color of their skin or their nationality.
Regrettably though, the America I know and love…still loves to kill each other otherwise with guns every day.
There was another Nike Women video last week, and it got viral in russian-speaking countries. I’d even say it was quite a success for Nike.
link to youtube.com
On that Tacx behind the scenes it mentions how the neo can rock back and forth by 5 degrees. Is it only the neo that has that and not their lower end trainer? How are other trainers in this regard? Don’t remeber seeing any comments on how much side to side movement other trainers have (well beside the rock and roll)