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.
Tour de France Behind the Scenes: How Dimension Data Rider Live Tracking Works
If you’ve been watching the Tour de France over the past week and a half, you’ve likely seen either the little gizmos pointing off the back of rider’s seats, or the constant stream of data on your TV about where precisely … Read More Here
Amazon Prime Day Deals Today in Sports Tech
(Updated Last: 7:50PM US Eastern Time) Today is Amazon Prime Day, which is basically an excuse for the equivalent of Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales to happen in July for one day…and in this case, one vendor. It technically started last … Read More Here
Paris Blog: A Trip to A French Costco- Wine tasting, caviar, and so much fromage!
It’s been far too long since I posted in the ‘Paris Blog’ section. When we first moved over here (5 years ago this month!!!), we posted slightly more often. Now much of what used to be Paris Blog material has … Read More Here
Week in Review–July 9th, 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
Tour de France 2017 Behind the Scenes: Stage 6
Looks like there’s going to be a bit more cycling on the blog this week. At least for today. Don’t despair runners – there’s non-cycling stuff soon arriving! And if you like cycling? Don’t despair there either, almost more of … Read More Here
Power2Max NG Power Meter In-Depth Review
Last August at Eurobike, Power2Max announced their latest power meter – the Power2Max NG. This power meter would be their first unit with dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart, while also tweaking their underlying measurement design to increase accuracy. While they had anticipated … Read More Here
Tour de France 2017 Behind the Scenes: Stage 2
We left off yesterday with the first of my two weekend days at the Tour de France. Don’t worry (or maybe you will), I’m not going to all the stages. I’m going to pop in and out where it seems … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
This weekend was definitely within the whirlwind classification. Between two airplane flights, two countries, a boatload of photos, and capped at either end with two evenings out in Paris – it was destined to be crazy busy. 1) So much … Read More Here
Tour de France 2017 Behind the Scenes: Stage 1
This weekend was a whirlwind of time spent at the opening two days of the Tour de France. I took over 1,000 photos on the first day alone. About 100 of those ended up in my Tour de France 2017 … Read More Here
Elite’s new Direto trainer–Hands on!
Today Elite announced their newest trainer for the 2017-2018 winter trainer season – the Direto. This direct drive controllable trainer is notable partly for its price ($899), but also partly because it’s sporting easily the highest accuracy rating of any … Read More Here
Week in Review–July 1st, 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
Tour de France 2017–The Trainers, Power Meters and Gadgets of the Pro Peloton
How quickly the 2017 season is moving forward. Back at the Tour Down Under doesn’t seem all that long ago, neither does the Giro d’Italia – yet it’s been almost two months since I was there. Still, it’s always interesting … Read More Here
Polar M430 In-Depth Review
Polar’s latest GPS watch steps up to plate with what might be the most accurate optical HR sensor in a mainstream GPS watch. I dive into the details. Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend in Sardinia
Turns out the last few months have been a wee bit heavy on travel. Thankfully, they’ve all been to great places – and for better or worse, we’ll be taking a bit of a staycation for the majority of the … Read More Here
DJI Spark In-Depth Review
The DJI Spark is small, but is it as capable as DJI says? I did into every possible question you have, with tons of detail. Read More Here
Week in Review–June 25th, 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
Last Week in Review–June 20th, 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
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend in the Netherlands
It continues to be a busy summer, even more so with a bunch of products on the radar to get reviews knocked out as announcements occur coming into the start of the Tour de France next weekend (the weekend after … Read More Here
Stages Dash L10 Bike Computer In-Depth Review
Update Nov 2020: Note that Stages effectively renamed the original Stages Dash to the Stages Dash L10, when they announced the new L50 and M50 models. As such, to make it clear for folks, I’ve updated the title of this … Read More Here
Fitbit Alta HR In-Depth Review
In what may seem like a sea of Fitbit models, the Fitbit Alta HR attempts to strike the balance between what folks want as a straightforward activity tracker, while making some nods towards basic workout support. I’ve been wearing a … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Nice to be back home for the weekend, especially as the temperature heats up as we ease into summer. Here’s what we were up to! 1) Special delivery You know those small mailbox supply stores you see in strip malls … Read More Here
Dîner en Blanc 2017– Still the best night in Paris!
It’s that time of year again for the best night in Paris. For the last four years in Paris we’ve been lucky enough to attend the famed Dîner en Blanc (Dinner in white) event, which is a massive flash-mob like … Read More Here
Thoughts on the wearables studies (including The Stanford Wearables study)
As might be obvious these days, publishing a study on wearables is the fashionable thing to do. There seems to be a new major (or at least noticed in the mainstream media) wearable study published every month. Sometimes more often. … Read More Here
Polar A370 In-Depth Review
Just over a week ago Polar announced their latest wearable – the Polar A370. This new unit took the hardware of the Polar A360 that was released about 18 months ago and plopped in a few new features like continuous … Read More Here
Week in Review–June 4th, 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