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.
Tag Archives: ANT+
My 2011 ANT+ Symposium Presentation
This Wednesday I presented to over 150 ANT+ Alliance members as part of the annual ANT+ Symposium. Like last year, my speech is primarily aimed at taking all of your feedback and delivering it back to them. The folks at … Read More Here
Cool things I’ve seen so far at the ANT+ Symposium
As you may remember from last week, I’m presenting Wednesday morning at the ANT+ Symposium, which is the annual meeting for all ANT+ companies. This includes any folks that use ANT+ in their technologies. The companies you’re probably most familiar … Read More Here
An inside look at TrainerRoad, a way to make your regular trainer like a mock-CompuTrainer
Last week I had the chance to sit down (well, actually, stand around) and talk with the guys behind the up and coming TrainerRoad application. Many of you are familiar with the CompuTrainer and the ability to gather real-time data … Read More Here
A look at the Fox Racing Shocks Smart Pump concept with a Garmin Edge 800
There was a lot of cool stuff shown at Interbike last week – but perhaps one of the coolest and least expected technology items demonstrated was a partnership between Fox (the bike company, not the TV corporation) and Garmin that … Read More Here
Speaking at ANT+ Symposium Next Week
For those that remember last year around this time I came almost straight from Interbike, did some more work travelling, and then turned back around again and then spoke at the ANT+ Symposium. Last year though I had slotted it … Read More Here
A look at rear-facing cameras for bike safety (and a pair of camera sunglasses)–Cerevellum, Owl 360 & Pivothead
Many have previously heard about a company called Cerevellum that’s been putting together a rear-facing camera system that ties into a bike computer. The goal of their system was to design a ‘black box’ type platform that records the video … Read More Here
In Depth Review of the 4iiii Sport-iiiis ANT+ Heads Up Display System
It’s been almost a year to the day since we first heard about a small company called 4iiii, which aims to bring a heads up display system to a pair of sunglasses near you. Over the past year they’ve been … Read More Here
Hands on review of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active ANT+ enabled waterproof phone
When Sony Ericsson added ANT+ capabilities to some of their Android phones last year, it was a pretty cool milestone. But with ANT+ comes the outdoors – and with the outdoors comes things that are generally considered ‘unhappy’ to electronic … Read More Here
Spending time with the ANT+ enabled spin bike
You may remember last fall at Interbike I spent a bit of time getting a tour of all of the ANT+ enabled gym equipment. These are commercial grade pieces of exercise equipment (Gym equipment) that can connect with certain ANT+ … Read More Here
The ANT+ Bike Speed/Cadence Sensor: Everything you ever wanted to know
After the popular ‘everything you ever wanted to know’ post I did back this winter on the footpod, I decided it was time to continue the series with the Speed/Cadence sensor. Thankfully, the speed/cadence sensor is actually a bit less … Read More Here
The Garmin ANT+ Footpod Calibration Tool
A bit ago I stumbled upon a really cool tool that allows you to determine your Garmin ANT+ footpod calibration factor based on existing run data that you might have already run with your footpod. For example, if you’re like … Read More Here
A look at CompuTrainer ANT+ integration via ctANT+
On Wednesday an application developer jumped onto the scene with what is probably the coolest new completed CompuTrainer development in years: The ability to use ANT+ sensors directly with CompuTrainer. This replaces much of the cabling that is typically required … Read More Here
CycleOps Joule and PowerTap Wheelset In-Depth Review
Last year when Saris/CycleOps came out with their ANT+ enabled Joule, many wondered how it would stack up against the competition. Would a non-GPS enabled device still be able to compete in an increasingly GPS dominated world? And how would … Read More Here
A look at the Trek/Bontrager frame integrated DuoTrap ANT+ Speed/Cadence Sensor
A few weeks ago The Girl brought home her new bike, the Trek Speed Concept, which is one of the very few bikes out there that includes the option to add a frame-integrated ANT+ speed/cadence sensor. The sensor kit fits … Read More Here
Checking out the EZ-Trainer iPad ANT+ App
With the introduction of the Wahoo Fitness ANT+ Dongle last year, there’s been a flood of iPhone apps that have supported adding ANT+ data (Heart Rate, Power, Speed, Cadence, Weight Scales, etc…). Everything from small apps you’ve never heard of, … Read More Here
Garmin ANT+ Foot Pods: Everything you ever wanted to know
Heads up: This is an old version, Garmin has since released the Run Dynamics Footpod. Check out that link for the full review! Thanks Tis the season when the weather goes from bad…to ugly, and as such – many folks … Read More Here
How Sports Technology companies could learn from Southwest Airlines
If you follow the all of the Internets much, then you probably saw a flurry of news activity around Southwest airlines early last month. These were from reporters large and small – everyone from the local paper, to the major … Read More Here
Turf Wars
Given how many fitness related devices I have floating around the house, one would think there would pretty much never be any issue when it came to sharing toys in the sandbox. After all, I have enough of the different … Read More Here
My 24 hour trip to the ANT+ Symposium
As many of you know, I was invited to speak at the ANT+ Symposium held yesterday about an hour outside of Calgary, Alberta in small ski & golf resort village and town of Kananaskis (no, I can’t pronounce it, and … Read More Here
A brief tour of ANT+ enabled Fitness/Gym Equipment
Continuing the day’s trend of posts indoor bike related equipment, I’m going to cover a bit of ANT+ equipment that’s been making it’s way onto the market. The primary reason is really that I thought it’s actually super cool when … Read More Here
Spending time with the LeMond Revolution Fitness ANT+ Trainer
There were/are very few non-bike vendors at Interbike that actually show up at BOTH the Outdoor Demo, and the Indoor Expo. In fact, I think PowerAde was probably about the only other one. But perhaps that shows something about the … Read More Here
A look at Quarq’s new Power Meter Configuration/Diag App, and Dual-SRM mode
Power Meter manufacturer Quarq made a number of announcements on Wednesday related to power meters, so let’s get into the quick recap: 1) Introduction of a mountain bike power meter unit 2) Announced upcoming compatibility of Cinqo’s with SRM Power … Read More Here
Weekly Mailbag–August 21st, 2010
Here’s this week’s edition of the weekly mailbag. This is a weekly series where I feature a handful of the e-mailed questions I received from the previous week or so. I try and pick a wide variety of questions. Some … Read More Here
How I would design the ideal sports watch
I’m asked on a daily basis which device I prefer and why. Generally it’s in the context of whether oe should choose device X or device Y, or perhaps a combination of device W and device X. My answers are … Read More Here
Weekly Mailbag–June 19th, 2010
Here’s this week’s edition of the weekly mailbag. This is a weekly series where I feature a handful of the e-mailed questions I received from the previous week or so. I try and pick a wide variety of questions. Some … Read More Here