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.
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Here’s how to save!
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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.
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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?
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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.
The 2nd Annual DCR Open House–Recap and Photos!
This Saturday was the 2nd Annual DCR Open House. I announced it back in November, and was super-excited that so many folks made the trek to the DCR Cave in Paris, both from just across town as well as all … Read More Here
Week in Review–December 13th, 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
Garmin Forerunner 630 In-Depth Review
It’s been almost two months since Garmin announced the FR630, alongside the new Garmin FR230 & FR235. They started shipping the FR630 about 5 weeks ago, and I’ve been using it on and off since, in conjunction with the other … Read More Here
Polar A360 In-Depth Review
It’s been about a month since Polar announced their latest wearable – the A360. This would be their first entrant into the optical HR sensor world, a key milestone for a company that’s effectively built its entire reputation and company … Read More Here
4iiii Precision Power Meter In-Depth Review
It’s been about 8 months since 4iiii began shipping their Precision power meters to buyers, which is a small pod affixed to your crank arm. When the company announced their entrance into the market in September 2014, they had planned … Read More Here
A Grand Budapest Weekend
This past weekend we flew the quick two hours over to Budapest, Hungary to enjoy a long weekend in this Eastern European capital city. Many of our friends had made similar trips last winter, and all found it far exceeded … Read More Here
Week in Review–Dec 6th, 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
PowerTap C1 Chainring Power Meter In-Depth Review
This past spring, as part of a bunch of announcements, PowerTap announced their C1 chainring power meter. This announcement was coupled with that of the PowerTap P1 pedals, all of which complement their existing PowerTap G3 hub based power meter. … Read More Here
Christmas Tree by Bike: 2015 Edition
Here’s this week’s “5 Random Things I Did This Weekend” post, complete with our annual picking up of the Christmas tree via Velib. 1) Chateau Cake Deliveries First up on the docket was a wedding cake delivery out to a … Read More Here
Week in Review–Nov 29th, 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
A Weighty Decision: Deciding on a WiFi Weight Scale
Connected scales are all the rage these days. And for good reason – they make it easy to log your weight. More importantly though, they make it hard to pretend nothing happened. So as you rolled out of bed this … Read More Here
Black Friday Sales Kickoff: $100 off Fenix3, Withings Scales from $69, and more (Update: +Suunto Ambit3!)
Well then, that’s getting things off to a bang. A crap-top of sales just launched today and late last night. Below is but a snippet of just some of the launched sales this morning – the rest I’ve put into … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 230 & 235 In-Depth Review
It’s been almost exactly a month since Garmin announced their lineup of fall running watches, including three new units: The Forerunner 230, 235, and 630. Each of those units replacing previous iterations of the FR220, 225, and 620. The FR230 … Read More Here
My Winter 2015-2016 Sports Gadget Recommendations
Introduction: (Before we start, you can find my Black Friday deals post here, expect a massive update of products on sale on Thursday morning when many deals kick off. This guide attempts to as best as possible take into account … Read More Here
Verve Infocrank Power Meter In-Depth Review
Power meters tend to be products that I test for the longest duration prior to posting a review. This is often due to wanting to validate products across a wide range of weather and environmental conditions: Heat, humidity, cold, cobbles, … Read More Here
November Giveaway Winner Selected!
Late last week I held a November giveaway for the Garmin Fenix3, specifically, the Fancy Fenix3. Or basically, one of the new swanky models of the Fenix3, as seen above. A mind-boggling 7,470 folks entered the giveaway – making it … Read More Here
5 Random Things From A Week in The Arctic Circle
So the last week I’ve spent up in Finland and Norway, far from civilization – a place where reindeer far outnumber people, and darkness far outweighs light. Here’s what it’s been like. 1) Getting there Back a number of months … Read More Here
Reminder: Deal ends tomorrow on $329 FR920XT & 20% off Wahoo KICKR’s
Wahoo KICKR’s Sale: Some readers have brought to my attention the reality that my initial deal post two weeks ago didn’t actually include the Wahoo KICKR or KICKR SNAP 20% off sale, and as such, a large portion of readers probably … Read More Here
Week in Review–Nov 22nd, 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
Arctic Circle Cross Border Hill Repeats: A Finland-Norway Runaround
People always talk about running XC (cross country) in school, but today, I truly ran cross-country. I crossed an international border over and over again as part of my hill repeats. Here, let me explain. The Girl and I are … Read More Here
TomTom Spark (Runner 2) In-Depth Review
It’s been about 50 days since I started testing the TomTom Spark watch (also branded as the Runner 2). These were TomTom’s new entrant into the market by combining an optical HR sensor with music and GPS tracking capabilities. In … Read More Here
LIMITS Responds: Says they aren’t a scam (but still lie)
You’ll remember last week when I posted about the state of the LIMITS power meter that was crowd-funded via Indiegogo. I expressed extreme skepticism at their ability to deliver a project next month (as soon as 12 days away), given their … Read More Here
A November Garmin (Fancy) Fenix3 Giveaway
It’s somehow already halfway through November, and we’ve lacked a giveaway this month. Heck, did we even have a giveaway last month? That seems like eons ago. My bad. No worries though, I’m here to save the day. Or at … Read More Here
Paris
It’s hard to sum up the last two days into just a few paragraphs of text. Mostly because it’s nearly impossible to convey the emptiness and sadness that we now feel. For The Girl and I, we were lucky. We … Read More Here
Holiday 2015 Deals Begin Today: FR920XT for $329, and more!
I must confess something on behalf of the entire sports tech industry: Someone thought that Friday the 13th meant Black Friday. And thus instead of Black Friday deals starting two weeks from now as normal, they’re actually starting now. Yes, … Read More Here