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
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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.
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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!
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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.
Author Archives: Ray Maker
Week in Review–June 4th, 2023
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
Hammerhead Revamps Karoo User Interface: Internet Revolts
Hammerhead has carved out their name in the cycling GPS world by continually updating their products with new features, and an evolving user interface. For the most part, it’s focused on new features. But, every once in a while, Hammerhead … Read More Here
The Complete List of All Epix/Fenix Pro Features Going to FR955/965/Fenix 7/Epix
This will be a reasonably efficient post. Yesterday, Garmin announced the new Epix Pro and Fenix 7 Pro watches. The Fenix 7 Pro series now includes the flashlight in all three watch sizes. While the AMOLED-equipped Epix Pro series is … Read More Here
Garmin Fenix 7 Pro In-Depth Review: Flashlight and Multiband for Everyone!
If you wanted a Fenix 7 series device with the flashlight of the Fenix 7X series, you’ve finally got your wish. With the new Fenix 7 Pro series, all three size Fenix 7 Pro units include a flashlight. And atop … Read More Here
Garmin Epix Pro In-Depth Review: Now In Three Sizes!
The new Epix Pro series is here, finally bringing the Epix AMOLED display-enabled watch to the same three sizes as the Fenix lineup (42mm, 47mm, and 51mm). But that’s not the only change. All three editions now gain a flashlight … Read More Here
Ironman Aix-en-Provence 70.3 Race Report (2023)
Many of you have observed that my training has ramped up significantly over the last 6 months. And indeed, it has – albeit, I didn’t entirely set out to race this particular race. Instead, my wife had upped her training … Read More Here
Strava Announces Huge Slate of Upcoming New Features at ‘Camp Strava’
Yesterday, Strava held ‘Camp Strava’, a physical real-world event where a bunch of people gathered together to talk about Strava. This seems to be vaguely developer-focused, and vaguely regular athlete-focused. The schedule had a host of non-technical things on it, … Read More Here
Strava’s New Automatic Gear Tracking: Quick How-To Guide
Strava’s got a new update that allows you to automatically assign gear based on sport type. Meaning, now your mountain bike rides will automatically assign your mountain bike, your gravel rides your gravel bike, and your trail runs your trail … Read More Here
Wahoo Fitness Founder Buys Company Back from Banks
Remember back in the old days when the Facebook relationship profile status prominently displayed “It’s Complicated”? That’s basically been Wahoo Fitness the last year or two. Like many things involving private equity, the initial investment sounded great, but over the … Read More Here
Garmin Edge 540/840/1040 Now Supports Sending New Courses Mid-Ride
Consider this a public service announcement. For some of you, this will matter a ton. Others, not at all. And others yet still will note this has been there since the Edge 1040 launched last summer. However, what has become … Read More Here
Week in Review–May 14th, 2023
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
Peloton’s Seatpost Recall, Zwift’s Curious Steering Rebirth, and GoPro Price Drop
Things have been heating up this week in the sports tech space – albeit, not all of the heating has been of the new product variety. Still, here’s a few things I found worthy to dive into deeper. Peloton Seat … Read More Here
Suunto Vertical: The Complete User Guide
Just a quick heads up for those that aren’t subscribed on YouTube, that I’ve just hit publish on my detailed 45-minute-long user guide for the new Suunto Vertical watch. In this guide I dive into virtually every feature and how … Read More Here
Suunto Vertical GPS Watch In-Depth Review: Solar, Mapping, WiFi, and More!
<span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”></span> Suunto has finally delivered. With the new Suunto Vertical, the company appears to be heading down the right track towards having a more competitive hardware offering. The new Suunto … Read More Here
Strava Expands 3rd Party App Developer Program
Strava has announced an “updated developer program”, which is the program that some 85,000 developers and apps use to leverage the platform via its API (application programming interface). Unquestionably, in the sports world – there’s no online platform that’s had … Read More Here
Sports Tech Tidbits: Whoop Adds Strength Training, Garmin eBike Varia eRTL615 Radar, Wahoo’s RGT Elite Sterzo Support
We’ve got three tidbits of sports tech coming in today, from three very different realms. First up is the oft-rumored, and finally here, addition of Strength Training to the Whoop platform. Then there’s Garmin launching a wired version of their … Read More Here
Suunto Expands Coaching & Training Analytics With New Update
Suunto is joining the fray of companies releasing major software updates over the last two weeks, with a suite of updates on their smartphone app that are available for all Suunto App-capable watches. The first part of this update changes … Read More Here
Wahoo’s Injunction Request Against Zwift Hub Denied By Judge
A judge has denied Wahoo’s request to prevent Zwift from continuing to sell the Zwift Hub smart trainer. That smart trainer is the center of a legal dispute between the two companies, which Wahoo says infringes on their existing patents, … Read More Here
Apple Expands Running Track Mode to France, Spain, and Netherlands
Finally, I’m able to run on a track with an Apple Watch! Apple has turned on the previously launched running track mode for additional countries – notably France, Spain, and the Netherlands (my home). Apple’s running track mode automatically detects … Read More Here
Massive COROS Spring 2023 Update: Navigation to Pace 2, WiFi Maps, Price Drop, and More
COROS appears to be coming out of their winter hibernation with a bang for existing customers. While COROS had gotten themselves into a loose monthly-ish firmware update cycle most of the last few years, things got pretty quiet since December. … Read More Here
Wahoo Announces Summit Freeride: First Ride Thoughts!
Here’s a quickie of a post, at least until I can properly test it. Wahoo has announced their own free-riding version of their climbing metrics, akin to Garmin’s free-ride ClimbPro and Hammerhead’s free-ride CLIMBER. This allows you to ride without … Read More Here
Garmin Edge 540 Cycling GPS In-Depth Review
Garmin’s Edge 540 is part of a twofer of new cycling GPS units, alongside the touchscreen enabled Edge 840 that was concurrently launched. These two units are nearly identical in software features and functionality, while their core hardware difference is … Read More Here
Week in Review–April 16th, 2023
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
Quick Video: Using the Edge 840 Touchscreen With Rain & Gloves
Here’s a super quick post, for a super quick video, to demonstrate something that’s been frequently requested: Using the Edge 840 touchscreen with rain/water on the screen, as well as how it works with gloves. I had meant to include … Read More Here
Zwift Outlines Summer Features, Plus Zwift Hub Firmware Update
Yesterday Zwift announced their summer feature plans, which include a number of actually pretty useful features. And in this case, ‘summer’ really means anything vaguely warm, including May. Also, this is not Australian summer, but Austrian summer. Atop that, as … Read More Here