Heads up!!! Here’s your massive holiday sports tech deals list! This includes the Garmin Epix for just $419, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for just $699, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $249, (or the brand new Hero 13 or $299!) and plenty more! Go check out the full list of 100+ deals 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!
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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.
What? Nate riding Baxter? (Admittedly one of my favorite daily groups of workouts, too)
Not even on purpose! Our new ML system (unreleased) picked it for me. lol
Of course you’re gonna blame it on the machine! :P
ML : “You seem to actually complete this workout when it’s on your schedule, let’s get your to do it again”
I’m surprised it doesn’t recognize the first swift ride and so give you an intro ride with without text to describe how it works and limitations. (Like how to give feedback to the workout and other things you can’t do directly in swift)
Exciting update. The Zwift integration was enough to make me sign up for FasCat again; game changer for me during off season.
I don’t get the appeal of this integration. If I can do the workout on TrainerRoad, Xert, etc. why would I pay another subscription and double the costs?
Do people really care that much about the gamification/social part of Zwift?
yes
Indeed, a *LOT* of people care about that (which, setting Peloton aside, is why they’re the biggest platform out there by far).
Yes, they are the biggest platform but in my case, when I’m doing a structured workout (which is 99% of my indoor rides) I really don’t care if i’m looking at some blue bars in TR… All I want is the training to be effective.
But if people are willing to pay another subscription on top of the one they are already paying, well… good for Zwift :)
Mentally workouts are easier when you see the finish coming closer than when you are waiting for the timer to count down
Yes. I don’t have enough space or enough outlets to have a second screen with some entertainment media and looking at the workout structure graph all the time gets boring too soon. Looking at the Zwift scenery, people passing by and the random banter helps to make indoor cycling more enjoyable and less boring for me. I’ve tried less “social” indoor cycling apps and they didn’t stick – despite the solid training they always felt like work and there’s only so many times I can convince myself that “this is for the greater good”.
I believe so. It’s the only reason I use a training peaks plan vs trainer road. I enjoy the platform and it makes training for me a lot more fun. I’m looking forward to using trainer road’s adaptive training once there is integration.
Ha ha. I’m not the only one then, that loves riding under the ring to finish an interval!
Yes. I am sick of having to bring my ipad for TR, phone for music and gaming PC for Zwift…. 😜
YES, 100% !!! The fact to ride your custom workout in Zwift (with others around you) makes it so much more enjoyable and for me personally, much more motivating.
Nice, but all that matter is to have Intervals.Icu on this train, too.
100%
I notice that Xert’s “connect with Zwift” screen has an activity type dropdown with cycling selected. Does it also send running workouts to Zwift? (If so, I hope TrainerRoad does that as well.)
Hmm, the other two options in that are ‘Running’ and ‘Other’, though interestingly, you have to choose one (not all).
I’ll see if Xert can chime in.
It is actually a multi-select. You should be able to click all those that apply.
You can have Xert process runs either in a dedicated running profile (preferred) or in the Cycling profile along with your rides.
Ahh indeed, nice!
Any idea if Zwift is going to update its workout players UI? It’s pretty dated at this point and a lot of TR’s workouts have a lot of steps and that box on the left (as shown in Baxter) is going to get pretty crowded.
Any thoughts of the “Strava competition” of Outside online?
Hmm, not familiar with it?
Outside just launched an online hub to “Keep the vibe high by sharing adventure with your buddies in the activity feed, part of our new social platform across the Outside Network. Leave doomscrolling behind and easily sync activities to the feed with hundreds of compatible devices and apps including MapMyRun, Garmin, Suunto, and Wahoo.”
It’s been going for a little while now. When I visit Velo, in my article feed I also see whatever rides I have done recently. It says the source is Trailforks (didn’t Outside buy them like they did VeloNews?), one of the places Garmin Connect (or maybe Strava) forwards my rides. I don’t remember opting in, but I may have.
Given that there’s an existing integration between Zwift and Garmin (to push Zwift rides back to Garmin), I hope this API will be added as well and I will be able to do workouts from Garmin Connect on Zwift without having to duplicate them manually.
@Ray Maker
Speaking of “SOON” any idea when the Jet Black Victory full review is coming out…. :)
The Victory is still on a boat in the Pacific Ocean. Ray may want to wait till the boat docks and the trainers head to Wisconsin and eventually get sent to the end users. I’m hoping before Christmas.
David
The written review is totally done, just editing video review tonight.
Pretty sure he has it. In the IndieVelo/Training Peaks video it is in the background.
I can’t speak to the other platforms, but there was mention of TrainingPeaks at the start not being able to do this…
That’s true in terms of Training Peaks suggested workouts (which isn’t a thing, as they rely on coaches), *but* it does act as a middle man for many other services. For example, it’s been possible to get your daily suggested Join workout into both Zwift and TrainingPeaks Virtual (indieVelo) for years.
Looks like TrainerRoad’s integration is coming in January: link to trainerroad.com
Have you ever done a comparison of the coaching apps available now? I remember you did a review of Xert, but shouldn’t there be a breakdown of the differences between the platforms somewhere?
If Join.cc can keep their promise of +20% ftp, I would soon be on my way to Team Ineos…
Thank for sharing your thoughts about these steps forward done by Zwift to let other players in the “workout training apps business” in.
But eventually, which one would you recommend the most as a “smart” and adaptive workout app or platform?
Wonder how long it will be for music integration in swift. Control Spotify while biking. Switch between playlists for intervals (restful music vs high BPM)