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
Heads Up: Wahoo ELEMNT Devices To Require Wahoo Accounts From July 1st
Starting July 1st, Wahoo bike computer and watch users will need a Wahoo account in order to continue using their devices with Wahoo’s app, which is used for configuration/customization of the device (including sync to platforms like Strava). The account … Read More Here
Got a Pioneer Bike Computer? Three Tools & Workarounds Get You Working Again
This is a quick post, more of a PSA than anything. As you may remember, a couple of weeks ago Shimano burned the Pioneer house down (with gasoline and extra hay bales), leaving Pioneer users in one of two states: … Read More Here
GoPro Announces New ‘Open GoPro’ API for 3rd Party Apps/Devices
GoPro has just announced a new open API for 3rd party companies/apps to use, called Open GoPro, allowing them to integrate with their cameras, starting with the GoPro Hero 9. The API (Application Programming Interface) allows a slew of functions … Read More Here
Sports Tech Huge Amazon Prime Day Roundup & Tracker!
In the unlikely event the internet or Amazon hasn’t already informed you, today and tomorrow (Monday/Tuesday) is Amazon Prime Day. That means that most (all? Update: Not All, Not Canada) Amazon country properties are doing pretty substantial deals across … Read More Here
Hammerhead Karoo’s New CLIMBER Feature: Here’s how it works
In a substantial firmware update, Hammerhead has rolled out a new CLIMBER function within their Karoo series (for both Karoo 1 & Karoo 2). This feature aims to inform you of the details of your current climb, with gradient and … Read More Here
Garmin Training Status Now Includes Zwift, TrainerRoad, The Sufferfest and Tacx App Workouts
Garmin quietly rolled out an update yesterday that means you’ll now get training load updated on your Garmin devices for workouts done in Zwift, TrainerRoad, The Sufferfest, and the Tacx App, all without using a Garmin device to record them. … Read More Here
Zwift Hardware Tidbits: Breaking Steering, Apple TV 2021 Updates, New Non-Supported Trainers List
This post is a collection of randomly interesting Zwift hardware things. Sure, Zwift is often updating software-related stuff. But more quietly they’re also making changes behind the scenes on hardware – some of which are good, and some of which, … Read More Here
Favero Confirms Shimano Power Meter Pedals On The Way
This is a quick post. Namely, because, only a single image has been posted. But Favero shared on their Instagram account that come next month (July, for those calendar-challenged), they’ve got something in store for Shimano road users (that’d generally … Read More Here
Week in Review–June 13th, 2021
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
Shimano Kills Off Pioneer’s Bike Computers In The Ugliest Way Possible
(Quick FYI: For users with useless computers, I’ve compilated a list of resources to get you halfway-functional again. Cheers!) When Shimano acquired Pioneer’s assets a bit over a year ago, I found it hard to see how this would end … Read More Here
5 Sport Tech Products I Want To See AirTag Integration In
It’s been about 5 weeks since AirTags started shipping, and like many techies, I bought a pack of them. I stealthily snuck them in our cargo bikes, and then onto our keyrings. All literally side by side with Tile. And … Read More Here
Jaybird Vista 2 Earbuds In-Depth Review For Sports
Today Jaybird announced their new Vista 2 earbuds, which add a host of new features, including many aimed at the endurance sports crowd. From increased waterproofing and even military-spec resistance levels, to SurroundSense noise pass-through, better wind cancellation, rapid charging, … Read More Here
Here’s All The New Apple watchOS 8 Upcoming Features
As part of Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), held each June – again this year held purely online, the company has outlined numerous aspects of their platforms (iOS, iPad OS, watchOS, etc..) However, for this post I’m going to … Read More Here
A Few Random Things I Did This Weekend
With things slowly getting back to some portion of normal here in the Netherlands, it’s probably time to bring back the ‘5 Random Things I Did This Weekend’, perhaps even with some element of consistency too. But, given things aren’t … Read More Here
Week in Review–June 6th, 2021
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
An Explainer: Garmin’s New Wearables LTE Strategy
Garmin’s new Forerunner 945 LTE isn’t your typical LTE watch. It doesn’t allow you to make or receive calls over LTE. You can’t stream music over LTE. In fact, you can’t even make or receive text messages over LTE. … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 55 In-Depth Review
Alongside today’s announcement of the new Forerunner 945 LTE, Garmin has also refreshed its least expensive running watch – the Forerunner 55. This watch is aimed at folks that don’t need all the fancier features of a higher-end Forerunner 245, … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE In-Depth Review
I know, I can hear the screams already ‘But…but…but…Forerunner 955!’. So no, this is not a (or the) Forerunner 955 – at least in name. But in spirit, it mostly is. So much so that Garmin themselves even long … Read More Here
Huge List of Spring 2021 Sports Tech Deals (US)
It’s that time of the year again, where we see a slate of sports tech deals out there. This typically happens each May, just ahead of Memorial Day in the US, and then carries through to Father’s Day. However, most … Read More Here
How To Use Structured Workouts On The Wahoo RIVAL
While the big news from yesterday was Wahoo’s new BOLT V2 bike computer, they also announced structured workout support on the Wahoo RIVAL GPS watch, enabling you to sync in workouts from TrainingPeaks, as of today. Though, it sounds like … Read More Here
Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT V2/2021 with Color Screen & Maps: A Review In Progress
It’s been four years since the original Wahoo BOLT was announced, which was arguably Wahoo’s most important bike computer in terms of shifting consumers towards their offerings. Designed to be small and easy to use, it garnered many fans. However, … Read More Here
Suunto 9 Peak: Everything you ever wanted to know
Update: My Full Suunto 9 Peak In-Depth Review is now available, swing over to that page to check it out! In many ways, the Suunto 9 Peak is unlike anything Suunto has ever introduced before. Yet in other ways, it’s … Read More Here
Zwift on New Apple TV 4K (2021 Edition): What’s different?
Many regular readers know that I’m a big user of Apple TV for Zwift. For the most part, unless I’m actively testing something that requires a PC or Mac specifically, I’m using Apple TV as my Zwift machine. I have … Read More Here
Zwift Releases Makuri Islands: New World to Eventually Rival Watopia
Zwift has released a new land, called the Makuri Islands, and the first section in that is the Yumezi map, which includes 27.6km/17.1mi of roads on it. However, unlike UCI or real-life-based event maps such as Yorkshire or Richmond, this … Read More Here
Samsung and Fitbit Announce Next Watches To Be Wear OS
Google just turned up the heat on their own wearables platform, by announcing that both Samsung and Fitbit will shift to Google Wear OS going forward. In the case of Samsung, they confirmed they’ll launch their next Galaxy Watch on … Read More Here