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
A Night at Diner en Blanc 2015!
There are a near never-ending flow of cool events and things to do within the city, but I think that there’s really a handful of events that rise above everything else into the ‘Epic’ status category. Some of these are … Read More Here
A Day Riding Up, Down, and Around Alpe d’Huez
Last week while doing some initial testing for the new Polar M450 GPS cycling computer I headed down to meet the Polar crew at Alpe d’Huez. It’s a reasonably efficient 3ish hour train ride from Paris, plus another 75 minute … Read More Here
Week in Review–June 8th, 2015
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
Hands-on with Polar’s new M450 GPS cycling computer
Today Polar has announced their latest cycling focused product, the M450 GPS based bike computer. In doing so, they’ve also quite likely just upended Garmin with a unit that quite frankly kicks ass (at least based on my limited testing … Read More Here
Tacx Rolls out open ANT+ Trainer Profile support, Zwift/TrainerRoad/Kinomap follow
Today Tacx announced and made available open ANT+ trainer profile support. This support (technically called FE-C, for Fitness Equipment – Controls), allows any 3rd party app to control certain Tacx trainers, as part of their Tacx ‘Smart’ series of trainers. … Read More Here
GoPro announces new HERO+ LCD camera (oh, and a drone too!)
Today GoPro announced its latest action camera, the GoPro HERO+ LCD. This marks the first time GoPro has done an ‘off-cycle’ release of a new camera product, as the company has historically released new action cams in the September/October timeframe. … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend in Côte d’Azur
We just wrapped up an awesome few days with friends down on the other side of the country – here’s what we were up to! 1) Flew down to the French Riviera Getting a slight head start on the weekend, … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
With the three-day weekend wrapping up (even here in France), I figured I’d round out what I’ve been up to. 1) A brilliant outdoor pool swim Friday was a bit of an odd day for a Friday, somewhat more busy … Read More Here
Week in Review–May 23rd, 2015
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 Pioneer Power Meter System In-Depth Review
It’s been nearly 3 years since Pioneer seemingly stumbled onto the bike power meter scene. The move by what is primarily an audio/visual company to break into the high end cycling scene was looked at by many as…well…odd. But Pioneer … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Here’s the rundown of what’s been going on in my little world the last few days. 1) Friday afternoon happy hour of sorts Back perhaps a month ago we began a bit of a tradition of Friday afternoon happy hour … Read More Here
Week in Review–May 17th, 2015
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
Strava news of note: Fitbit integration & Local Routes
Over the last week, Strava has rolled out two new integrations – one mostly driven by Fitbit, and the other solely by Strava. I wanted to briefly go through them since I think both are important for slightly different audiences. … Read More Here
The Garmin FR225 with optical heart rate: Everything you ever wanted to know
Update! I’ve just published my FR225 In-Depth Review, which can instead be found at this link. It’s got all the detail you’d expect after months of use. Enjoy! Today Garmin has released their first device with an optical heart rate … Read More Here
The Apple Watch Waterproofing Extravaganza: Swim, High Diving, Test Chamber
This past week I’ve been slowly plotting a series of tests to batter the Apple Watch and see exactly how well it’d hold up to a variety of aquatic adventures. No doubt I’ve been showering with it twice-daily since it … Read More Here
The 2015 Swim/Bike/Run Gear I Use List
It’s that time of year again – the “Swim/Bike/Run Gear I use List!”. Well, ok, it was that time of year like 8 months ago, but life got in the way. Thankfully, enough of you kept reminding me each week … Read More Here
First rides with the PowerTap P1 Pedals & PowerTap C1 Chainring…and more
This past weekend I spent time riding on PowerTap’s latest products that were announced about two months ago (much more background in that post), all of which are in various non-final forms, but nearing release. They’ve got a full suite … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
This was officially the weekend that never seemed to end, nor one where I stayed in any one place very long. Here’s the run-down. 1) Flew to Mallorca to test out PowerTap P1 & C1 power meters With Friday being … Read More Here
Week in Review–May 3rd, 2015
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 DCR Podcast is now on iTunes! Also: Episode 2 is out, RSS feed available
Just a super-quick update that earlier this week the DC Rainmaker Podcast got approved by Apple for iTunes. That means you can subscribe to it right there from within your Apple device (or iTunes), as well as do something even … Read More Here
The DCR’s on Vacation Fenix3 Giveaway Winner!
Holy cow, there were almost 7,000 entries on the giveaway – the largest to date around these parts! To be precise, some 6,911 comments in total, after removal of duplicates and the like. Apparently people really want the new Fenix3. … Read More Here
TomTom Bandit Action Camera In-Depth Review
Today TomTom has announced they’re venturing into the action cam business, with the introduction of the TomTom Bandit. This Twinkie sized action cam contains 2.7K (30FPS) and 4K (15FPS) capabilities, as well as GPS functionality that you’d expect from a … Read More Here
The North Huvadhoo Atoll (Maldives) Swimaround
The Girl and I have been taking a long awaited vacation to a place far away from the hustle and bustle of daily life (and our respective jobs). For that, we burned a bunch of points and flew to the … Read More Here
Week in Review–April 26th, 2015
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 DCR’s on Vacation Fenix3 Giveaway!
It’s giveaway time! Partly because it’s been a while, partly because it’s Friday and it seems fitting, and partly just cause I’m on vacation and this seemed a whole lot easier than writing an in-depth review. This time I’m giving … Read More Here