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.
Garmin Reviews
Hands-on with the new Garmin Vivomove watch
Garmin’s first classy looking wearable is out! Time to dive into all the details, and compare it against the competition. Read More Here
Garmin VIRB X & XE Action Cam In-Depth Review
Every once in a while in the DCR Review Realm I go ahead and pull out a slightly longer review cycle. This would be one of those times. In this case, I’ve used the Garmin VIRB X & XE action … Read More Here
Garmin Fenix3 HR In-Depth Review
Last month at CES in Las Vegas, Garmin introduced their most advanced wearable device with an optical heart rate (HR) sensor in it – the Fenix3 HR. This device took Garmin’s Elevate optical HR sensor and added it to their … Read More Here
Garmin’s new Vivoactive HR & Vivofit 3: Hands-on & First Run
Update June 2016: My in-depth review of the Vivoactive HR is now available. Swing on over to that post for all the details! On Friday Garmin announced their new Vivoactive HR & Vivofit 3. As you’ll remember, my post was … Read More Here
Garmin Index WiFi Smart Scale In-Depth Review
It’s been a few months since Garmin announced their Index WiFi Scale (at $149), so it’s time to dive in on an in-depth review and see how things have shaped up. Most importantly: Is the scale worth the premium over … Read More Here
Garmin Vivosmart HR In-Depth Review
Back about two months ago, Garmin announced their first wrist activity tracker (non-watch) with optical HR capabilities, the Vivosmart HR. The Vivosmart HR was designed to build upon the release of the Vivosmart a year earlier. Essentially it’s a daily … Read More Here
Garmin’s New Tactix Bravo: An Explainer
While earlier in the week I gave you a look at the new Garmin Fenix3 HR, the extent of my Tactix-Bravo photography was rather limited (I only included one photo). However, the reasoning will explain why this post will be … Read More Here
First Ride: Garmin Varia Vision–Heads Up Display
Today Garmin introduced their first heads up display, the Varia Vision. The $399 heads up display takes data such as speed, power, and even approaching cars from the Varia Radar – and plops it up on a small screen at … 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
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
Garmin HRM-TRI & HRM-SWIM In-Depth Review
*** Update: The new Garmin HRM Pro is the most update product in this category. Click the link to see the full Garmin HRM Pro In-Depth Review*** It’s been a few months since Garmin introduced the HRM-TRI & HRM-SWIM, which … Read More Here
Garmin Varia Bike Radar System In-Depth Review
This past summer Garmin announced their foray into the cycling lights and cycling radar world. Yes, radar. They released their Varia cycling lights product line, which includes the Varia bike radar system that allows you to see approaching cars directly … Read More Here
Garmin releases new Edge Explore 1000 Edition: Tells your friends when you crash into a ditch
Minor Confession: A small part of me simply wanted to title this post: “Garmin Releases Yet Another Product This Summer, Because It Can”. But alas, I hear that’s not terribly great for search engine optimization (SEO) and since I get … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 225 In-Depth Review
This past spring Garmin announced their Forerunner 225 GPS running watch. The unit would mark the first Garmin watch that contains an optical heart rate sensor within the watch, allowing you to view and record your heart rate without a … Read More Here
The new Garmin Edge 520: Everything you ever wanted to know
Today Garmin announced their latest bike computer, the Edge 520 – priced at $299USD. This GPS-enabled unit instantly becomes the most advanced bike computer that Garmin has ever released, adding support for a flotilla of new features. But fear not, … Read More Here
Hands-on with Garmin’s new Edge 20 & Edge 25 GPS units
Today Garmin has rolled out two new bike GPS computers, the Edge 20 and Edge 25. These products add to what has seemed to be a near monthly (or more) cadence of new products from the company within the fitness … Read More Here
Garmin Vivoactive In-Depth Review
Earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Garmin announced a slew of wearable devices including the new Vivoactive. The Vivoactive was designed as a merger between Garmin’s mid-range fitness watches (i.e. the FR220) and the … Read More Here
Garmin Fenix3 Multisport GPS Watch In-Depth Review
Looking for the ultimate in detail on Garmin’s most advanced triathlon and hiking watch? I dive into unseen details and data metrics. Read More Here
Hands-on with the Garmin Epix GPS mapping & multisport watch
Today Garmin introduced a full color mapping GPS wrist watch that doubles as a multisport watch – making for the first time they’ve merged the multisport world with their historically separate handheld mapping units. This new unit – the Garmin … Read More Here
Hands-on with the new Garmin Vivoactive GPS smartwatch, and the Garmin Vivofit2
Garmin has announced a metric crapton of products today, but it’s the Vivoactive that I’m probably most excited about. Or, at least, it’s the device I feel has the most potential and the widest possible appeal. But, perhaps I’m getting … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 920XT In-Depth Review
Last month just ahead of the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, Garmin announced their latest triathlon watch – the FR920XT. At the time I wrote a relatively long first look at the watch, but now I’ve had a solid month … Read More Here
First look at Garmin’s new Vivosmart activity tracker
Today at IFA, the giant consumer-electronics focused show in Berlin, Garmin announced their latest activity monitor, the Vivosmart. This unit builds upon the Vivofit that was released earlier this year with additional features and tighter smartphone integration. I had a … Read More Here
Garmin announces Vector S: $899 power meter, also announces Cycling Dynamics
Today, at the start of the outdoor portion of Eurobike, Garmin has made two cycling specific announcements. The first is unveiling the Vector S power meter, while the second is announcing upcoming ‘Cycling Dynamics’ metrics that will be applicable to … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 15 GPS Watch & Daily Activity Monitor In-Depth Review
In keeping with the popular trend of adding activity monitoring to devices, back in April Garmin announced their latest running watch – the Forerunner 15 (FR15). This would take their popular FR10 budget-focused GPS running watch and then combine it … Read More Here
Garmin Edge 1000 In-Depth Review
Back in April Garmin unveiled their latest and most expensive cycling computer to date – the Edge 1000. The unit would be bigger than any previous unit, as well as add a number of new features – like included maps. But would it be worth the $600 price tag?
For the past month I’ve been poking at the new unit, getting plenty of rides in all sorts of locales and testing grounds. As such, I’ve got a reasonably good idea on where the unit shines and where it stumbles. And based on that, I’m here to give a pretty clear rundown of what I like and don’t like about the unit (and trust me, I have plenty of opinions this time).
To be clear, Garmin sent me over an Edge 1000 to start testing with until retail availability. Like always, I’ll be shipping that back to them in Olathe, Kansas in the next few days and going out and getting my own via regular retail channels. That’s just the way I roll.
Lastly, at the end of the day keep in mind I’m just like any other regular athlete out there. I write these reviews because I’m inherently a curious person with a technology background, and thus I try and be as complete as I can. But, if I’ve missed something or if you spot something that doesn’t quite jive – just let me know and I’ll be happy to get it all sorted out. Also, because the technology world constantly changes, I try and go back and update these reviews as new features and functionality are added – or if bugs are fixed. So – with that intro, let’s get into things
Unboxing:
The Edge 1000 comes packaged up in two varieties. The first boxed version comes with mostly just the unit (+ some mounts). Whereas the bundle comes with the base unit, then the speed sensor, cadence sensor, and heart rate strap.
After cracking open the box you’ll find a slew of plastic bags with parts in them. In this case, I had the bundle version – so I’ve got more plastic baggies than the non-bundle version.
Post-baggie removal process you’ll have the following collection.
Along the top row is the Edge 1000, the out-front mount (+tool/adapters), and the heart rate strap/pod.
Along the bottom row is the manual, then the cadence sensor bands, the speed sensor & cadence sensor, a bunch of standard mounts, and the micro-USB cable for charging/downloading.
Running through all the pieces briefly, the transmitter pod will pop-in the heart rate strap. The unit is the HRM3 premium strap, with the post-July 2013 firmware, so it’ll pretty significantly reduce heart rate spikes and dropouts.
Next you’ve got the out-front mount, along with two little bar adapters in case you have differing handlebar sizes. Additionally there’s a small tool seen above, plus a lanyard that you can use to further secure your Edge 1000 to the handlebars.
If the out-front mount isn’t your thing, then you’ve got two standard quarter-turn mounts that can be used on a stem/handlebars, as well as a plethora of rubber bands (only two needed per mount).
Next is the ever-exciting micro-USB cable. This is the same type of cable that’s used for virtually all non-Apple phones.
Then we have the speed sensor and cadence sensor. The speed sensor is in the upper left, and the cadence sensor in the lower left. The rubber bands are for the cadence sensor. I’ll dive into that more later.
Finally, there’s the unit itself – but, let’s not get ahead of ourselves!
Size & Weight Comparisons:
When it comes to size, the Edge 1000 takes the cake for the largest cycling computer I’ve seen to date – at least from a dimensional standpoint:
(Left to right sizing: Edge 1000, Mio Cyclo 505, Polar V650, Edge 800/810/Touring, Edge 510, Edge 500/200)
Even comparing it to just other Garmin devices, it’s quite a bit bigger in height and width:
However, it is a fair bit skinnier in depth:
But, if you were to compare it to the latest iPhone (5s), then you’ll see it’s still some bit thicker, even excluding the mount:
When it comes to weight, the Edge 1000 is the heaviest Garmin unit to date, but not quite the heaviest cycling computer on the market: