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.
Tag Archives: 4iiii
4iiii Precision 3+ Pro Power Meter In-Depth Review
4iiii has just released its latest power meter, the 4iiii Precision 3+ Pro dual-sided power meter. Admittedly, at this point, the naming scheme has gone off the rails (see the chart later), but from an underlying product standpoint, it’s firmly … Read More Here
4iiii Adds Apple Find My Feature to Power Meters: Hands-On
4iiii has become the first power meter company to add Apple’s Find My support to their devices. This capability is called ‘Find My’, but is essentially the 3rd party program Apple has that allows companies to make a variant of … Read More Here
Weekend Tech Tidbits: Karoo 2 Color Cases, 4iiii Crank Buyback, and GoPro Session Labs Update
Here’s a quick round-up of a few items that spilled over from the last week (or so) that I’ve consolidated together for your inner geek to consume. Hammerhead’s New Karoo 2 Colorful Cases: Starting off with ‘well, that took longer … Read More Here
4iiii Lowers Power Meter Prices to $299, Increases Warranty to 3 Years
In a non-April Fool’s day move, 4iiii has substantially reduced their power meter pricing, both matching and undercutting the changes Stages made back in January to their line-up. This brings single-sided power down to $299USD/299EUR and dual-sided power meter on … Read More Here
4iiii Fliiiight Smart Trainer In-Depth Review
The Fliiiight is a different kind of trainer on so many levels. First off – it doesn’t use any sort of traditional trainer resistance technology to provide resistance. Instead, it recreates gradients and wattage levels by moving magnets, which depending … Read More Here
First Look: The 4iiii Fliiiight Smart Trainer
December 2019 Update: My full 4iiii Fliiiight Smart Trainer In-Depth Review is now published, hit up that page for all my final details after a bunch of usage. Remember back in May when 4iiii announced the acquisition of STAC the … Read More Here
4iiii Acquires STAC Performance, Makers of Near-Silent Trainers (and other products)
The consolidation in the power meter and trainer industry continues this year, with 4iiii announcing today they’ve completed the acquisition of STAC Performance, which you’ll remember makes the virtually silent trainer that I rode inside our baby nursery. STAC also … Read More Here
4iiii Shows off Power Meter Theft Tracking Capabilities
Sitting innocently enough in a booth for Tile-competitor Chipolo sits a 4iiii dual-sided power meter. To say it’s out of place in this booth at CES would be an understatement. But, it’d also be missing the point of a fascinating … Read More Here
Sea Otter 2018 Tech Roundup–Power Meters: SRM Pedals, 4iiii Podium, ROTOR INpower, and more
With all of the pre-planned Sea Otter announcements taken care of last week, it’s time to dive into some of the on-site announcements and tech tidbits. Most of these are smaller, henceforth why I didn’t cover them in dedicated stand-alone … Read More Here
A Closer Look at The Specialized Power Meter Spotted at The Tour Down Under
At the 2018 Tour Down Under, there honestly isn’t a ton of new bike tech. At least, bike tech within the realm that I care about. Undoubtedly there are new frames, wheels, and probably the odd brake pad. But in … Read More Here
4iiii Announces New Precision Podiiiium Power Meter Lineup
Today at Interbike, 4iiii has announced a new product lineup of power meters, the 4iiii Precision Podiiiium. But because I can’t stand to write Podiiiium throughout this entire article, I’m calling it Podium. You can thank me later. The new … Read More Here
4iiii Precision Pro Dual Left/Right Power Meter In-Depth Review
While there are many power meter options being touted these days, it’s a different matter to actually get something shipped to consumers. And to do something that’s accurate and trusted (as well as reliable). It’s been a couple of years now … Read More Here
Tour Down Under 2017: Sports Tech Gear Of the Pro Men
After the women’s debut on Saturday, it was time for the men to make their entrance on Sunday at the People’s Choice criterium. This would be the first men’s race of the Tour Down Under, though it’s technically a separate … Read More Here
Cateye introduces new power meter…well…sort of.
While at Interbike this week I found a new entrant in the power meter market: Cateye. Well, kinda. As in, kinda sorta maybe. As you walked by the booth you’d have first noticed the ‘Trust The Cat’ slogan prominently displayed. … 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 Brief Update on 4iiii Precision Power Meter: Starts shipping this week
Quick update/note – July 27th, 2015: Many of you have asked when my review of the 4iiii Precision Power Meter will be released. While I received a number of test units back this spring, I’ve run into a bug/issue that … Read More Here
An update on the 4iiii Precision Power Meter
Quick update/note – July 27th, 2015: Many of you have asked when my review of the 4iiii Precision Power Meter will be released. While I received a number of test units back this spring, I’ve run into a bug/issue that … Read More Here
4iiii’s Introduces $399 Power Meter, Precision: My First Ride With It
4iiii’s has kicked off what will be a frenzy of power meter activity here at Interbike this week. In doing so, as the post headline implies, they’ve jumped onboard with the plans to further drive the price of power meters … Read More Here
MWC 2014 Roundup Part 2: 4iiii’s updates, ANT+ updates, the Huawei TalkBand Activity Tracker, LG Lifeband, and the SanDisk ring camera
Here’s the second in my series of posts from Mobile World Congress (MWC) this week, covering the fitness and sport segment. I’ve been breaking them into about 3-5 company highlights each, with a few more posts to come still. To … Read More Here
CES Roundup Part 2: Garmin, ANT+, 4iiii, BKOOL, Withings, O-Synce, Outside Interactive, LG, Pebble, Casio, Opryx, Glucovation
We left off yesterday with Part 1 of my CES Roundup, which covered new products and notables from the following companies: Sony, Geonaute, Contour, VOXX, Jaybird, Kreyos, Aftershokz, Reebok, Magellan, and Moxy. Today, we dive into the second half of … Read More Here
4iiii’s announces Cliiiimb Strava segment competition app, new low-priced hardware bundles
Here at Interbike, 4iiii’s has announced their latest product – Cliiiimb – which allows you to get status updates in real time while riding or running any Strava segment against anybody already on the Strava leaderboard. 4iiii’s will be releasing … Read More Here
4iiii’s Viiiiva ANT+ to Bluetooth Smart Bridge & Heart Rate Strap In-Depth Review
A bit under a year ago 4iiii’s announced the first device on the market to bridge the gap between ANT+ accessories and Bluetooth Smart enabled phones. In doing so, they potentially opened up the door to saving users from having … Read More Here
CES 2013: A look at what’s coming to me next week
While it’s always my goal to secures loot and gadgets to take home the week of the convention, sometimes that just doesn’t work out. The reasons usually vary, sometimes it’s because the company simply doesn’t have enough units on hand … Read More Here
4iiii’s debuts Viiiiva Bluetooth Smart and ANT+ Consolidator Heart Rate Strap
Today at Interbike, 4iiii’s quietly showed off a new heart rate strap that contains both a ANT+ chip and a Bluetooth Low Energy chip within it (Bluetooth Smart). At first glance, you may wonder why this is important – but … Read More Here
Cold Wanderings: A weekend of workouts and exploring in DC
With last week’s announcement of the latest addition to the Ironman 70.3 circuit – Ironman 70.3 National Harbor – I was curious to go and check out the course. After all, the start line is only about 5-7 minutes from … Read More Here