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.
Sports Technology News and Reviews
TrueKinetix TrueBike In-Depth Review
There’s a strong chance you’ve never heard of the TrueBike by TrueKinetix, despite it being a full functioning, shipping, and retail-available smart indoor bike that works with any ANT+ or Bluetooth Smart compatible app out there, like Zwift, TrainerRoad, and … Read More Here
Peloton’s New Spring 2021 Features: Fully detailed and tested
Over the weekend Peloton announced a slew of new features across their platform. Some of these features are minor upgrades, some moderate refreshes, and a few pretty significant signs towards future directions that could aim to disrupt further the rest … Read More Here
Aero Sensor Companies Start Own Common Aero Device Profile: Got Tired of Waiting for Standard
Cycling aerodynamic sensor companies Notio & Velocomp have decided they were tired of waiting for the long-discussed ANT+ Aero Sensor device profile, and have simply released their own instead. As a bit of a background refresher here, both Notio & … Read More Here
Friday Sports Tech Livestream Q&A Recorded Session Available!
Earlier I dusted off my YouTube livestreaming brainpower, and did a Friday evening sports tech livestream covering a slew of topics in the sports tech space. From aero sensors to power meters, watches to bike computers, action cameras to drones, … Read More Here
Zwift Tech Tidbits: Trainer Certifications and Steering Hardware Slowdowns, Retailer Program, ZwiftHub and More
Zwift has been busy as of late, with a slew of various announcements…and in some cases non-announcements. I’m going to roll all of these together like an elaborate Instagram-worthy sushi roll, packed with things that probably don’t go together. None … Read More Here
Suunto Expands App with TrainingPeaks Powered Training Load and Recovery Metrics
Today Suunto has started rolling out a pretty expansive upgrade to their smartphone app, which adds in a slate of training load related metrics, all driven by TrainingPeaks terminology. We’ll get into all the details here, but what’s notable is … Read More Here
Garmin Rolls out New Features to Forerunner 245/745/945 in Beta: Workout ratings, FirstBeat Sleep Tracking, Trail Running and more
Just a quick item to start the morning off, but it appears Garmin rolled out overnight two beta firmware versions for Forerunner 245, Forerunner 745, and Forerunner 945 users that include long-awaited features from last fall, but also more recent features … Read More Here
A Look at Polar’s New Heart Rate Broadcasting for Apps like Zwift and Peloton
Polar starts shipping their previously announced Ignite 2 today, which was announced last month alongside the Vantage M2. Stashed away on the Ignite 2 is the beginnings of Polar’s new heart rate broadcasting feature, which enables it to broadcast your … Read More Here
Strava Adds 3D Terrain Heatmaps To Site: Quick Overview
Remember the first time you used Google Earth some 19 years ago? Yup, that’s kinda like this. Except, now with all your personal Strava heatmap overlaid atop it. And yes, Google earth is really 19 years old. It was first … Read More Here
Garmin Venu 2 & Venu 2S GPS Smartwatch In-Depth Review
Today Garmin announced the new Venu 2 & Venu 2S watches, the AMOLED display successors to the original Garmin Venu watch. The Venu 2 series sports two sizes now (45mm and 40mm), as well as a slew of updated health … Read More Here
Wahoo Adds Track Running Mode to RIVAL GPS Watch: Hands-on Test
It’s been 5 months since Wahoo released their RIVAL GPS watch, aimed primarily at the triathlete crowd. The watch has seen a few firmware updates along the way, mostly minor tweaks though. Albeit, one of the bigger updates was adding … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 745: 8 Months Later Review Update
Somehow, somewhat oddly, some 8 months after I started using a FR745 last August, it’s become my daily driver – some 148 workouts in total on it. Even while testing a slew of other watches over the last 8 … Read More Here
Suunto 7 Update Adds Body Resources, Advanced Sleep Tracking, Komoot Routes: Hands-on
Suunto has started a phased roll-out today of a new firmware update for their WearOS based Suunto 7, which adds in a smattering of new features – both for sports and non-sport aspects. Here’s the consolidated list of what’s in … Read More Here
Peloton Power Data Broadcaster (DFC) Launches: Hands-on Details
Way back in December, I started using a tiny red box with my original Peloton Bike. That little red box did exactly one thing: Broadcast my power, cadence, and speed over Bluetooth Smart to 3rd party apps and watches – … Read More Here
SRAM Rival AXS Power Meter: Hands-on and First Rides
In the world of cycling drivetrain gear, both SRAM and Shimano have three core pricing tiers for their wares. In Shimano’s case that’s Dura-Ace, Ultegra, and 105. While in SRAM’s case it’s RED, Force, and Rival. These companies release their … Read More Here
Apple Rolls out ‘Find My’ to Bicycles and More: Sports Tech Thoughts
Today Apple announced their Find My feature is now available to 3rd party devices, and two of the three device partners for the initial launch are sports related. There’s the Belkin’s sport headphones, and the VanMoof S3 & X3 electric … Read More Here
Stryd Launches Premium Running Power Subscription Platform, Reduces Prices
Last fall Stryd announced their intention to add a subscription-based service to their offerings, in conjunction with their existing Stryd running pod. That pod provides running power (as well as acting as an ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart footpod). The pod … Read More Here
My Stupidly Overcomplicated 2021 Bike Mileage Tracking Project
So, back on Black Friday (Nov 2020), there was a slight deal on Garmin’s V2 Speed sensors, down to $32USD, which can track and store ride data. Which got me thinking – how much does each bike in our family … Read More Here
Week in Review: April 5th, 2021
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
Peloton’s $120 Credit & 10X Points for Chase Sapphire Cardholders (US only)
This one is entirely for US folks, as it has to do with credit cards. But, it’s a pretty notable ‘deal’ when you start doing the math on it – and could be an interesting template for other larger companies … Read More Here
Tacx & Garmin Increase Tacx App Integration, Plus Training Status Plans
Yesterday Tacx (via Garmin) sent out an e-mail to users of their Tacx Training platform that on April 22nd the world will change. Or, depending on your view – end. It’s that day that the Tacx app/platform will utilize the … Read More Here
Suunto adds Komoot Routes Turn by Turn Integration in Latest Update
Despite coming up on its third birthday here in about two months, the Suunto 9 received a modest firmware update yesterday (as did the Suunto 5). But more importantly, all Suunto Spartan, Suunto 5/7/9 watches get the new below-outlined Komoot route … Read More Here
Polar Ignite 2 Hands-On: What’s New & Different
Last week Polar launched the Ignite 2, alongside the new Vantage M2. While I’ve been using the Ignite 2 for a few weeks now, this isn’t a review – mainly since the unit isn’t done yet. It’s not set to … Read More Here
Week in Review–March 28th, 2021
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
Peloton Acquires Atlas Wearables: A Peloton Wearable Ahead?
Peloton has been quietly acquiring various companies over the past half a year, some three of which were mentioned in their latest quarterly filing – however, only one was by name. The rest remain unnamed. But this week, two companies … Read More Here