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
Wind Tunnel Time: Is the Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT actually the fastest bike computer?
When it comes to companies making marketing claims about all sorts of devices, most shy away from specifics. They’ll use terms like ‘better than’ or ‘faster than’ – without numerical qualifiers, or they’ll use other terms that imply greatness but stop … Read More Here
Hands-on: Hammerhead’s new Karoo GPS Bike Computer
It’s been a few years since startup Hammerhead announced their H1 navigational bike accessory. It was sorta like a fish finder for navigation while on a bike. Rather than be a full bike computer head unit, it mostly offered you … Read More Here
Huge Spring Sale: 20% of all trainers, all power meters, and plenty more
If something happens twice a year…one might say it’s semi-annual. Thus, one could posit that this sale, which happens almost precisely 6 months since the last time it occurred might indeed become semi-annual. But no matter what you call it, … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend in Southern California
My great Californian adventure continues, as we’re now down in Southern California, with the weekend starting in LA (after having spent a week there), before moving onto San Diego. Here’s what I’ve been up to! 1) Running the beaches of … Read More Here
Week in Review–April 30th, 2017
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
Garmin Varia UT800 Smart Bike Light In-Depth Review
Today, Garmin introduced their latest generation front bike light – the UT800. This light builds upon the connected concepts from their first generation lights, such as integration with their head units. With the UT800 though, the company has shifted the … Read More Here
Quarq DZero Power Meter In-Depth Review
This past summer at Eurobike, Quarq announced their latest generation of power meters, the DZero lineup. The aim of this line was to refresh the existing offerings, while also somewhat simplifying things. Most visible to consumers though was the addition … Read More Here
Sea Otter 2017 Tech Tidbits: Barfly, K-Edge, Quarq Qollector, Lezyne, Flaér
Here’s the second edition of the Sea Otter 2017 Tech Tidbits! The first one I did a power meter round-up, covering all the power related news coming out of the annual bike show held in Monterey, California. Whereas this one … Read More Here
Sea Otter Power Meter Roundup: 4iiii Precision, Easton/Race Face CINCH, FSA PowerBox, Team Zwatt, Quarq DZero, Xpedo Thrust-E
If there was a theme for power meters at Sea Otter this week it would be re-branding. Or rather, OEM’ing. Half of the power meter announcements were essentially just well-known bike companies offering power meters that are basically ‘powered by’ … Read More Here
Garmin Announces Smart Home Control, Connect IQ Updates
As many of you know, today kicks off Garmin’s first Connect IQ Summit, held in Olathe, Kansas. The summit is aimed at developers wanting to build apps on Garmin’s wearable and related devices. A sphere that, as of this morning, … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
As those astute DCR Twitter or Instagram followers may know, I’m now in California for a few weeks. A lot of weeks actually. And actually not just in California. Later today I’ll take a quick trip up/over to Kansas to … Read More Here
First Look: Polar’s new M460 GPS Bike Computer
Today is shaping up to be a rather busy day for announcements! Polar joined the Wednesday new products club with its new M460 bike GPS. This bike computer builds on the M450 unit they announced almost two years ago. Both … Read More Here
Garmin Vivosmart 3 Activity Tracker In-Depth Review
Today Garmin introduced an updated version of its Vivosmart lineup, the Vivosmart 3. This essentially takes the Vivosmart HR that we saw last year (aka Vivosmart Gen2) and shrinks it down. Then they layered in a bunch of new heart … Read More Here
The Xplova X5 Bike Computer Review: What I Love and Hate
When the Acer Xplova X5 was announced last year, it got a lot of attention for its headline-grabbing features: An integrated action camera, cellular connectivity, full color touchscreen with maps, and integrated nacho cheese dispenser. Well, maybe not the dispenser. … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
It was a hot one this weekend! The temperatures were more like June and July than the beginning of April. Yikes! Nonetheless, here’s what I was up to! 1) Visitors to the cave With the Paris Marathon and Paris-Roubaix both … Read More Here
Hands-on: Polar’s M430 GPS watch with optical HR
Update: My full Polar M430 in-depth review is now available here! Go over to check out how it fared after months of usage! Today Polar announced their latest wearable, the M430. This unit follows in the footsteps of the popular … Read More Here
Running dynamics finally gets its own standard
Yesterday, three and a half years after the running efficiency metrics ‘Running Dynamics’ were first announced by Garmin, they received their own legit standard. In doing so, 3rd party companies can now add running dynamics metrics to their sensors and/or … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Definitely another beautiful and sunny weekend in and outside the city. Here’s what I was up to 1) Fixing shifting and swapping power meters I’m constantly swapping power meters and gear on my bike. Which, can lead to things being … Read More Here
Week in Review–April 2nd, 2017
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
Xert Training Platform In-Depth Review
It’s been about a year since Xert plopped onto the training platform scene, and in that time it’s grown both considerably in functionality, as well as users. So what is Xert? Well, it’s part training platform, part training app ecosystem, … Read More Here
TrainingPeaks New Structured Workout Integration with Garmin Wearables
Tied into yesterday’s Garmin FR935 release was TrainingPeaks announcing rollout of their new dedicated Connect IQ apps. This new integration allows you to sync structured workouts that you or your coach creates on the TrainingPeaks platform. The workout for the … Read More Here
Garmin’s Running Dynamics Pod (RD Pod): Everything you ever wanted to know
Today Garmin announced a new accessory alongside the Forerunner 935, the Running Dynamics Pod. This tiny pod, about the size of a piece of small candy, essentially provides the existing Running Dynamics data (i.e. Vertical Oscillation/Ground Contact Time) that normally … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 935 In-Depth Review
*** Update: The next generation Forerunner 945 has since been released. For the latest information on this watch series click the link for the Forerunner 945 In-Depth Review*** Today Garmin announced their latest triathlon/multisport…and running-specific focused watch, the Forerunner 935. … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
With The Girl and the Peanut (and Lucy) out of town this weekend, here’s what I was up to 1) The DCR Facebook Live Session! I kicked off the weekend with a 5PM (my time) DCR Q&A live stream. This … Read More Here
Week in Review–March 27th, 2017
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