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 2024 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–March 17th, 2019
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
Unboxing the YouTube 100,000 Subscriber Award
It’s Friday, and late Friday for me in particular. Heck, it’s already Saturday for those of you on the other side of the globe. As such, it’s quickie post time. Usually I just include my various YouTube videos in the … Read More Here
Garmin MARQ Series Hands-On: Everything you ever wanted to know
Today Garmin raised the stakes and announced their most expensive watch to date – the Garmin MARQ, at upwards of $2,500. Actually, it’s five watches. Five different units that mirror Garmin’s existing product lines across all of the company’s divisions. … Read More Here
Fitbit Inspire HR Activity Tracker In-Depth Review
Here’s everything you need to know about the Fitbit Inspire lineup, including what’s new, what’s unique, what works, and what doesn’t. I dive into all the details. Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Here’s what I was up to this past weekend, enjoying all the rain and wind that Amsterdam has to offer. 1) Riding the fields First up on the docket was an outside ride to take advantage of a few pockets … Read More Here
Week in Review: March 10th, 2019
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
The Fitbit Versa Lite Hands-On: Everything you ever wanted to know
Today Fitbit launched their least expensive smartwatch to date – the Fitbit Versa Lite. This newish watch essentially takes the existing Fitbit Versa smartwatch and removes the music playback, along with a handful of smaller features like stair counting (and … Read More Here
PowerTap P2 Power Meter Pedals In-Depth Review
It’s been almost exactly 4 years to the week since PowerTap first announced their PowerTap P1 pedals, and it didn’t take long for them to rocket to popularity. The installation required nothing more than a simple hex wrench, and the … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
And just like that, I’m back in Amsterdam. Well, sorta. By the time you read this I’ve already left the continent in search for…umm…colder weather, apparently. But more on that at the end. Let’s dive into what was happenin’ this … Read More Here
Week in Review–March 3rd, 2019
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
Three Quick Ways to Find Your Lost GoPro
Two weekends ago I managed to drop my GoPro while out mountain biking. Actually, technically I wasn’t mountain biking anymore, but rather had hiked a hundred or so meters from the end of the mountain bike trail to the peak … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend: Last Cape Town Edition
Ok, a bit belated on this ‘5 Random Things’ post – but it’s been a whirlwind of a last few days, and I finally have a few minutes to write out some stuff as we complete our last flight of … Read More Here
Spotify rolls out Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music Support
It’s been some four months since Garmin first announced Spotify integration for their music enabled wearables. This allowed those with music enabled devices to download Spotify playlists and music to their watch and play it back sans-phone, using just Bluetooth … Read More Here
The Challenges Ahead for Zwift and ESports
It was almost exactly two months ago that Zwift announced they received a whopping $120 million USD in new funding, whereby a large chunk of that would be spent on digital racing – known as esports. Since then, the company … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
We’re down to our last 9 or so days here in Cape Town, and working to make the most of them! Here’s what we were up to over this past weekend. 1) Mountain Biking Morning Early Friday morning I headed … Read More Here
Strava rolls out new finger-dragging route creation feature
I’m sure there’s many creative ways I could have titled this post, but I’m going with what I believe to be the most accurate representation of this new feature, despite my desire to channel my inner 5-year old boy self. … Read More Here
Hands-on: SwitchLok Sports Phone Case & Mount System
It’s funny how I’m always on the lookout for a good bike phone mount system, despite rarely using a phone as a head unit on my road bike. Instead, I’m more practical in my phone and bike relationship: It’s primarily … Read More Here
Garmin Acquires Tacx: Detailed analysis and what it means to you
In what is unquestionably the biggest sports tech news of the year, Garmin announced today the acquisition of Tacx – the privately held Dutch company that makes trainers, water bottles, and tools. This news no doubt will have people turning … Read More Here
The Cape Town Retro Run 5K Race Report (with a double-stroller)
Oh yes, you’re getting a race report. Mostly because I slacked off on doing race reports last year on my races and y’all called me on it. So now you’re getting a race report for anything I’ll have a bib and/or … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
This was definitely a very busy weekend. It was jam-packed with sporting related goodness! Plus, each day I managed to walk over 10 miles (15KM) in steps, plus whatever other random activities I did. Well, I think I still get … Read More Here
Week in Review–February 9th, 2019
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
RunScribe shifts away from consumer focus, but also launches new features
Earlier this week RunScribe announced two news tidbits to the world. First, that they’re going to shift focus away from the direct to consumer market, and instead focus more on business to business interactions, such as clinics and related groups. … Read More Here
SRAM RED eTAP AXS Hands-on: Everything To Know About The Smart Tech
Today SRAM announces their latest RED groupset lineup, SRAM RED eTAP AXS for road and off-road. This groupset shifts from a more traditional 11-speed cassette arrangement to a 12-speed cassette configuration. It also eschews any mechanical only version of the … Read More Here
COROS APEX Multisport GPS Watch In-Depth Review
I don’t think there’s any sports technology GPS watch startup that’s being watched as closely by GPS watch industry giants as COROS is. Now as you’ll see, it may not be entirely for the reasons you think, but no matter … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
As we continue our South African winter relocation, here’s the pile of sporty and non-sporty goodness we’ve been up to this weekend. It was a fairly busy one, so a bunch of things didn’t quite make the cut for this … Read More Here