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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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!
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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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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.
Tag Archives: Eurobike
Eurobike Power Meter Update Post: Quarq, ROTOR, Pioneer, Brim Brothers & Ciclosport
As part of my Eurobike coverage I’ve published posts for all of the power meter companies that have released new products at Eurobike this year. Each of those companies had a separate post published on their new products. That included … Read More Here
Power2Max releases new Type S line, expands compatibility
This week at Eurobike, Power2Max has introduced their new Type S lineup of power meters, which expands compatibility across a wide number of crank sets, as well as reduces weight in the unit. As a refresher, I reviewed the 2nd … Read More Here
PowerTap’s new hubs, Bluetooth Smart Trainers, iPad apps, and more
Over the past five days PowerTap has released a slew of new products – some big ones, and some smaller updates. But, all definitely worth talking about. Before getting into it, as I’ve noted on a lot of recent posts … Read More Here
Kurt Kinetic shows off updated trainers
This week here at Eurobike Kurt Kinetic has debuted their latest updates to their existing trainer lineup. While none of these changes are massive, nor are they new products, I figured I’d take a second to give you the rundown … Read More Here
Hands on with the new Garmin Edge Touring GPS bike computer
Today (well, technically last night, just barely) Garmin announced the latest addition to their bike computer lineup – the Garmin Touring. I had a chance to spend time with the product team last April and give them a bunch of … Read More Here
Eurobike Day 1: The Fun Stuff
Now that I’ve got a fair chunk (but far from all) of Day 1’s sports technology posts knocked out, I figured I’d give a walk through of some of the more entertaining aspects of the day. As well as just … Read More Here
First look at new SRM PC8 head unit with WiFi/GPS/ANT+ & Bluetooth
Updated August 30th, 7:58PM with clarifications/additions from SRM, see note at end for summary of changes. Today SRM unwrapped their PC8 head unit, which is the successor to their existing PC7 head unit that’s on the market today. The PC8 … Read More Here
FYI: Added hands-on photos & comparison charts to Garmin VIRB post
Just a super-quick mid-evening Eurobike heads up that I’ve gone back and added a large gallery of photos of the actual Garmin VIRB production units to the Garmin VIRB action camera post that was put up last week. This helps … Read More Here
Update on Polar/Look Keo Pedal Power Meter Bluetooth Smart Plans
While Polar is strangely absent from this years Eurobike show floor, their partner with the already released Polar/Look Keo Power System – Look – was present and more than happy to sit down and talk about their upcoming plans for … Read More Here
Hands on with the newly announced Tacx iPad app, ANT+ changes, Bluetooth Smart trainers
This morning I spent a bit of time going hands-on with the latest product from Tacx – their iPad training app. In addition, I got details on their upcoming Bluetooth Smart trainers, and their plans to play better and more … Read More Here
New Bull Trainer iOS app for KICKR Trainer
The company behind the popular Kinomap training software has released a new app – Bull Trainer. This app allows you to ‘ride’ the historical graphs of any publically traded company. Depending on how volatile that company is, your workout may … Read More Here
The fun side of Eurobike: Day 2 in photos
Let’s get away from the sports tech and just talk about some of the more entertaining/interesting/strange things we saw at Eurobike. You can rewind to Part 1 for our first day. For example, while bicycling with your dog on your … Read More Here
Eurobike Sports Technology Things That Didn’t Fit: Part II
This is a continuation of the cool little sports technology tidbits series I started this morning. Here’s Part I if you want to catch up. And with that, onto Part II! Enjoy! — O-Synce GPS Bike Computers (and surprisingly cool … Read More Here
Eurobike Sports Technology Things That Didn’t Fit: Part I
There’s a gazillion things to see at Eurobike, and many of them simply don’t make the cut for a bigger full-sized post. Sometimes it’s because they are too early in the development cycle and lack full details, sometimes because I … Read More Here
Updates from Tacx about upcoming new features, iPad trainer control app
I spent a good bit of time at Eurobike talking with the Tacx folks about their upcoming TTS 4.2 software update, as well as what’s in the pipeline for the one after that – version 4.3. I’ll be spending more … Read More Here
An early hands-on look at the Mio’s new ANT+ cycling computers
One of the areas I was looking forward to checking out with coming to Eurobike this year was companies which aren’t offering products in the US market – but rather focus on the European market exclusively. Of course, within the … Read More Here
The update without an update: Garmin Vector Power Meter
[Please Note: Garmin Vector has been released, you can see my first look at it here. In the interest of keeping things clean, I’ve disabled new comments here, and all comments should head over to that post. Thanks!] Over the past … Read More Here
The fun side of Eurobike: Day 1 in photos
Ok, I’ve written enough power meter posts for one evening. But don’t fear, I’ve still got more to write, rather I’m just deferring them until the ferry boat ride tomorrow morning. In the meantime, let’s take a look at some … Read More Here
Power2Max announces updates to power meter, upgrades for existing owners starting at $10
Power2Max has announced a software and hardware update to their existing Power2Max ANT+ crank based power meters. The update adds emulated/calculated left/right power balance, as well as a temperature sensor to aide providing accurate power measurement and correcting drift issues … Read More Here
First look at Pioneer ANT+ left/right power meter and head unit
Note: Updated 8/31/2012 at 5:15PM Easter Time This year at Eurobike, Pioneer has finalized and announced details of their upcoming power meter solution, which is due to be out ‘roughly’ in January 2013. The unit has made the rounds on … Read More Here
First look at new ROTOR Power Meter
This week ROTOR announced their first entrant into the power meter world with their new ‘ROTOR Power’ product. The ANT+ compatible head unit measures and reports individual left/right power output – making it one of numerous new power meter products … Read More Here
On the move to Eurobike, what do you want to see?
Later this afternoon we’ll pack up shop, grab a rental car and make the 7-hour trek to Eurobike. Well, actually, we’ll make a 7-hour trek to a town in Switzerland across the lake from Eurobike. Thursday morning I’ll tackle the … Read More Here
Eurobike: Got tips and tricks? Share them here!
With my Eurobike 2012 registration complete – I’ve started looking at all the goodness that is the massive bike show just a month away over in Germany. In the course of doing so, I realized that I know so little … Read More Here