I’m DC RAINMAKER…
I swim, bike and run. Then, I come here and write about my adventures. It’s as simple as that. Most of the time. If you’re new around these parts, here’s the long version of my story.
You'll support the site, and get ad-free DCR! Plus, you'll be more awesome. Click above for all the details. Oh, and you can sign-up for the newsletter here!
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.Want to compare the features of each product, down to the nitty-gritty? No problem, the product comparison data is constantly updated with new products and new features added to old products!
Wanna create comparison chart graphs just like I do for GPS, heart rate, power meters and more? No problem, here's the platform I use - you can too!
Think my written reviews are deep? You should check out my videos. I take things to a whole new level of interactive depth!
Smart Trainers Buyers Guide: Looking at a smart trainer this winter? I cover all the units to buy (and avoid) for indoor training. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
-
Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
Get all your awesome DC Rainmaker gear here!
FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
- Do you have a privacy policy posted?
- Why haven’t you yet released a review for XYZ product you mentioned months ago?
- Will you test our product before release?
- Are you willing to review or test beta products?
- Which trainer should I buy?
- Which GPS watch should I buy?
- I’m headed to Paris – what do you recommend for training or sightseeing?
- I’m headed to Washington DC – what do you recommend for training?
- I’m from out of the country and will be visiting the US, what’s the best triathlon shop in city XYZ?
- What kind of camera do you use?
-
5 Easy Steps To The Site
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
A few quick thoughts on the bePro Gen2…err…Favero Assioma
Earlier this week bePro announced their 2nd generation power meter. Well, actually, they didn’t. A company called Favero announced something called the Assioma, which is the successor to the bePro power meter pedals announced almost exactly two years ago. See … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Here’s what we were up to on this extended weekend edition of the 5 Random Things! 1) Off to Canada we go! We started off the weekend with a mere 8 hour flight to Toronto…followed by a four hour layover…and … Read More Here
Week in Review–May 28th, 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
The Day in May DCR $500 Gadget Giveaway Winner!
Last week was giveaway time! A rather respectable 7,467 of you entered the giveaway to pick up anything you wanted with a $500 credit to Clever Training for a gadget of your choice. Which appears to smash the previous single-giveaway … Read More Here
Garmin VIRB 360 5.7K Action Cam In-Depth Review
Today Garmin jumped into the 360° fray by introducing their own 360° action camera – the VIRB 360. This camera one-ups everyone in the specs department by mic-dropping 5.7K resolution alongside being completely waterproofed with GPS built-in. Not to mention … Read More Here
Week in Review–May 22nd, 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
The Day in May DCR $500 Gadget Giveaway!
It’s a day in May. No, not May Day. That, according to Wikipedia is May 1st. Rather, it’s May 20th – which I reason is 20 times better than May 1st (albeit, less awesome than May 5th). Why’s it better? … Read More Here
Giro d’Italia 2017: Spectating and behind the scenes!
My day at Stage 10 of the Giro was jam-packed. It basically couldn’t get any more packed. I arrived into the small town where the stage was starting from around 10:30PM the night prior, and by 4:17PM the next day … Read More Here
Giro d’Italia 2017–The Trainers, Power Meters and Gadgets of the Pro Peloton
Yesterday I spent the full day at the Giro d’Italia checking out all the sports tech goods the pro teams had on hand. In the case of this stage, it was an individual time trial – which means that each … Read More Here
The DCR Analyzer Is Now Available For You To Use!
And by now…I mean like 5 months ago. But no matter, I’m finally getting around to telling you about it in some manner that might be noticeable. Or even semi-formal. But wait – what’s the DCR Analyzer? You know in … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
The weather continues to get warmer here in Paris – and this weekend was quite nice. Here’s what I was up to! 1) A quick lunch run I headed out Friday midday for a short lunch run. It was part … Read More Here
Week in Review–May 14th, 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
Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR In-Depth Review
Last summer (2016) amidst Suunto announcing the Spartan series, they made note of a planned optical heart rate enabled version that would be released down the road. Fast forward to this past January (2017) and at CES they did just … Read More Here
ROTOR 2INpower In-Depth Review
Over the last few years, ROTOR has been slowly increasing both the quantity of power meters they make – as well as the types of power meters they make. It first started with the original ROTOR Power LT some three … Read More Here
Thoughts on GoPro’s new Fusion 360° 5.2K camera
A few weeks ago GoPro sorta-announced a new action cam. Sorta being the operative word here. Unlike most GoPro announcement occurrences, this was more of a formalized naming and acknowledgment of existence. It included roughly as much information as an … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
It was a whirlwind weekend, largely because I spent much of it on an airplane. So since the weekend technically extends till Monday here in France, I’m going to go the other direction and encapsulate the end of last week … Read More Here
Week in Review–May 7th, 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
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