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:
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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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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.
Has it been 9 years, wow. My only issue with the generic desk is it doesn’t go up further, which is sometimes needed to unblock the fans directly in front as much as possible. For high fan activities I slide that desk to the side to be able to enjoy maximal air flow from my double Vacmasters in front. (the trainer section is tucked away alongside a wall in my office, no space to put one of the fans diagonally)
PS: The gallery photos have no background, so viewing them larger is a bit… weird
Yeah, that’s the gallery provided in the media pack (all transparent PNG’s). I put a background on the main post image, but they didn’t include any actual ‘lifestyle’ imagery showing it without transparent backgrounds.
:-/
– Adds wheel locks (and goes from 3 wheels to 4 wheels)
4th wheel ships Q2 2025
🙂
…always be pot stirring…😂
I doubt I’ll be “upgrading” – doesn’t really seem much point.
That said the rubbery surface on my Kickr desk has started to degrade / disintegrate in places – anyone else had this? – it’s maybe 6 years old, am thinking maybe condensation from bottles or UV or something has killed it.
“a power street” (from the paragraph about Elite desk) probably should be “a power strip”.
I mean, it’s kinda a street too. A street of power for your devices…
Your link to the $110 desk on Amazon end up with a £266 or £284 version on their UK site. Which makes the Wahoo desk look cheap.
This is same desk at a considerably lower £140.
Still overpriced for something so simple and cheap to make.
link to amazon.co.uk
And to prove my point, here’s the same desk that is in the two links above, but for just £42. The key difference is that I found the cheap one in home office furniture, not the sports department.
link to amazon.co.uk
Yup, welcome to the wonderful world of Amazon product ID’s, and automated redirection.
Essentially, Amazon US assigns a product ID (the B0BC79VPQ2 part of the Amazon.com link) to each product. However, Amazon European sites give a different product ID. Generally speaking, across the EU sites, those are the same. However, the UK site is the wildcard, and sometimes it matches and sometimes not. Then you get to all the other Amazon countries (e.g. Singapore, etc…), which ironically sometimes match the US Amazon ID, and sometimes not.
In the DCR product database, I start with the US ID. For popular products, I can manually add in each other country product ID. Else, I can let Amazon do their yolo redirection, where it attempts to match on name or some other cosmic attribute.
Ironically, this generic trainer desk is kinda the one product in the database that has solidly broken it, as you’ve illustrated. Not only are there unique ID’s per country by different no-name rebrands, but even worse, they change constantly. I can deal (easily) with the different ID’s, but years of trying to chase each new ID each time one no-name company disappears and the new no-name company appears is never-ending. After all, it’s all the exact same trainer desk, just different no-name brands.
Finally, on that 48GBP UK one, note the delivery time is out to as late as June 2025 (plus at least for me also showing a 35GBP delivery fee). Sigh…
Ah yes. I didn’t notice the ‘usually delivered within 3-7months’ on the cheapest one.
Another curiosity is that the 4 wheel version is the cheapest option on the the £140 desk and the more expensive option on the £266 desk.
And the cheapest option that I linked that was in Home office desks is now back in sports/cycling department, according to breadcrumb trail. 🤷🏻♂️
Oh the £42 desk was free delivery for prime members, I’m in UK. So maybe that’s the difference.
So which desk is your favorite then? Especially for a cramped home gym where shared space is at a premium?
I really like the KOM one (link to amazon.com). The generic ones are the most stable (well, Wahoo’s is too, but setting that aside). But the KOM one is awesome in a tight space. We used it in the heat chamber for exactly that reason, super tight space. And before that I used it inside our shed for a while.
The only downside to the KOM one is positioning it relative to your front wheel (being single-pole design), but having it simply offset is totally fine for me.
I love that I can pack it up to basically the size of a folded tripod (as shown in my review, in the cargo bike). So yeah, it’s my preference for small spaces for sure.
With all the riding you do on trainers, do you have a favorite sweat guard for the bike?
Honestly never had a need for one. I find simply leaving the fan on after my ride for a bit takes care of any remaining sweat.
Are these things sturdy enough to hold the lasko fan as well as the tablet? I like my fan at body level, not at the floor.
It’s a tight fit in terms of space for other stuff, but definitely. Designed for 22kg/50lbs of weight.
This may be a bit non-sequitur-ish but in a way, the release of this desk at this price with this amount of lack of features has just convinced me to NOT buy an Element Ace in the future.
A company that cannot even compete in a market they created, by bringing out yet another half-baked item that does nothing to entice the replacement of a desk I already own does not give me any confidence at all in the future of their bike computer.
I assume they simply finally ran out of stock on their old desk and faced with placing a reorder decided to throw a couple features at it to stay in the market but come on. In 2024 I should have to plug in one plug on my desk. EVERYTHING else should be run from desk. EVERYTHING else!
I should also be able to mount or attach their fan in such a way that it does not block airflow and can move the desk with the fan attached. Dropping the fan legs over the front is also just as, and has been, half-baked since inception.
Wahoo, do you even ask regular wahoo users what they want?
There’s also the Decathlon desk. It doesn’t have an adjusting height but it’s more compact and stores more easily than the other options. I have been using one for almost two years, and for my use case it *just works*
It could be cheaper tough…
They usually put it on sale around summer. I got one for almost nothing.
Are the new slots wider? to be able to fit a tablet/phone with a case?
This is a major design flaw on the first version.
Phones and tables without a case may look great on marketing material but not so in real life.
The cheaper version (a lot cheaper BTW) that was being sold at UK bike online stores, had that figured out long time ago, not to mention they also had cup holders and wheel locks…
I was also wondering whether they made those slots wider to accommodate tablets with a case. the original ones were too thin.
Why have they put the cup holders at the back again? It just means that I have to reach further each time to get my bottle or jelly babies!
No USB-C port makes it an absoloute no go for me anyway.
Any idea if anyone took up the mantle of the “Lifeline Pro Trainer Desk” that you reviewed?
Are they somehow also angry with you about the treadmill? Really wanting to see the review of the final product!
I don’t think it’s anger on that one. It’s more of a logistical challenge of getting a unit to Europe, where they don’t yet have units.
That’s the one I’m most excited about, as on specs (and my first runs last year), it was awesome. Aside from people upset about the power requirements (which aren’t an issue for me personally), I haven’t heard anything bad yet from real users.
So Wahoo built the original desk, copycats improved it for less than half the price and now Wahoo simply copies the copycats for still double the money?
Even if you give them credit for improving tablet holding functionality now, how many people spend $200+ on a desk but don’t have a smart bike that offers a dedicated space for tablets?
My current desk is getting pretty rusty after 6+ years of use so I might replace it soon. But certainly not with the new Wahoo desk.
Is it compatible with the ACE air sensor tho? It might block the air from the fan and mess up the data. Maybe the 2033 version… 😏
Many thanks for another fun year of news, reviews, and chews!! Cheers! 🎄⛄
I use a Tacx Bracket for Tablets. 3D printed to hold my iPad Pro. Perfect.