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: Zwift
NPE Runn Treadmill Smart Sensor: Everything you need to know
A few weeks ago when Zwift announced their new running track within Watopia, a bunch of you were curious about the NPE Runn device I showed briefly within that post. But then yesterday Zwift sent an e-mail out to about … Read More Here
Zwift’s Running Track Is Open: Here’s what a structured track workout is like
Yes, I just ran in Zwift. For real. On purpose. And somehow, someway…it didn’t suck this time. Earlier this week in an apparent New Year’s Eve ‘let’s do this’ moment, Zwift rolled out its last course edition of this year: … Read More Here
Zwift Begins First Day of New Crit City Race Course: My first go of it
To my surprise, that was more fun than I expected. Also, it hurt my lungs more than I had planned for this Saturday afternoon. But more importantly – I could actually see doing it again. Which is not something I … Read More Here
Zwift Confirms New Hardware Division: Posts Job Positions To Build Indoor Smart Bikes
Ahh yes, the rite of passage for any tech company is posting job positions that give away your future plans. Be it Apple posting autonomous car engineering positions or Uber trying to build flying things, eventually companies have to show … Read More Here
British Cycling Strips Zwift Championship Winner for Cheating
I’ll be honest, when I outlined all the ways one could cheat in Zwift back in January, this method frankly wasn’t on my radar. But today British Cycling has stripped Cam Jeffers of his 2019 British Cycling eRacing Championship title, … Read More Here
Zwift Demonstrates Mountain Biking & Steering at Eurobike
As the flurry of announcements at Eurobike get under way, Zwift themselves has two items on the docket. The first is availability of the new Yorkshire course later today, a shorter looped replica of the real world UCI World Championship … Read More Here
No, Zwift Racing Wasn’t Hacked. Yet. Sorta. Let Me Explain.
Cheating at Zwift is nothing new, but more and more this year the focus is on how to hack Zwift racing with tools and technology. For the first time we saw a presentation at Def Con about exactly that. Read More Here
Zwift Re-Updates Terms of Service After Recent Changes & Concerns
About a month ago Zwift quietly updated their Terms of Service. Then, a day or two later they (properly) sent out an e-mail to customers saying things had changed, and to check them out. For some reason, at the time, … Read More Here
Zwift’s New Giro d’Italia Course Released: First Ride
Earlier this week Zwift announced that their new course would be a short time trial route mirroring the 2019 Giro d’Italia Stage 1, which starts today with the pros riding the real thing in Bologna. But it wasn’t until now … Read More Here
The Challenges Ahead for Zwift and ESports
It was almost exactly two months ago that Zwift announced they received a whopping $120 million USD in new funding, whereby a large chunk of that would be spent on digital racing – known as esports. Since then, the company … Read More Here
Zwift Finally Rolls Out World Choice…Sorta.
Finally, one of the most wanted features is now live in Zwift as of this morning. If you’ve got yourself a Mac or PC and Zwift, you can now select which world (map) you’re going to ride that day. As … Read More Here
Friday Roundup: Interbike cancelled for 2019, and Zwift encroaches on Strava with new update
And just like that – it’s Friday! If you’re reading this prior to 11AM US Eastern Time/5PM Central European time – then don’t miss out on my YouTube Livestream today (Friday) with GPLama and DesFit – here to answer all … Read More Here
Hands-on: Zwift’s New York City Course is Now Available
After bits of teasing since earlier this summer, the Zwift New York City course is finally here. And, it’s nothing like what you expected. Well, unless you expected flying cars, levitating translucent roadways, and buses dangling from glowing blue railway … Read More Here
VirtuPro’s Indoor Smart Bike: The Bike Zwift is investing in–First Look
Earlier this week a well kitted out van drove from Copenhagen to Amsterdam. Upon arriving it unloaded an indoor smart bike that in a few years might be the leading option in indoor smart bikes if you use Zwift. Or, … Read More Here
Zwift rolls out Innsbruck course to everyone: All the details
Earlier this morning Zwift lit up their newest course, the UCI Innsbruck World Championships, in Innsbruck, Austria. This course has been known since earlier this summer, with more details spilled at Eurobike last month – including the exact routes that … Read More Here
Zwift Tidbits from Eurobike: New course specifics, real-life course preview, and other bits
This won’t be a long post, but darn-it, I went out and rode a beastly loop of the new Austrian course, and thus I’m determined to make something of that time spent in the saddle. Thus, here we go. As … Read More Here
Zwift Available Now on Android in Beta
With just a few days remaining before Eurobike 2018, Zwift finally unleashed the Android version they touted last year in their booth at Eurobike 2017. This version brings compatibility to run the entire game (versus just the companion app) on … Read More Here
Zwift acquires Milestone, charts entry into hardware realm
In a move that will turn heads within the indoor training industry, Zwift has acquired Milestone and their famed inexpensive ($25) running footpods. This isn’t the first time Zwift has dabbled in hardware, but it is definitely the first time … Read More Here
How it works: Zwift’s New Training Plan Platform
Zwift continues to expand its platform, and this week was no exception when they rolled out interactive structured training plans. Previously the workouts were mostly just in a giant folder structure of sorts. That meant you had to pick and … Read More Here
Zwift Officially Launches Running: What you need to get started!
Today officially marks the launch of Zwift running. Of course, such a date is merely a formality. Or rather, mostly an opportunity to gather a bunch of press, running companies, and celebrities in NYC to…err…run on treadmills. That’s because of … Read More Here
Hands-on with VirtuGO: Is it a viable Zwift competitor?
Within the trainer app realm, much is made of the giants – Zwift and TrainerRoad. And rightfully so, they’ve grown their respective customer bases over years with boatloads of happy customers. At the other end of the spectrum is a … Read More Here
Wahoo Fitness at CES: Update on the KICKR CLIMB Timelines
(Update: The Wahoo KICKR CLIMB has since been released, and you can find all the details from months of testing and use, here in the Wahoo KICKR CLIMB In-Depth Review) First Look Like many fitness tech companies at CES this … Read More Here
Zwift Releases Apple TV App: Everything you need to know
Today Zwift released their long-awaited Apple TV edition, allowing you to get riding on the platform with a relatively small investment compared to a full desktop computer or expensive tablet. The Apple TV variant has been under external testing since … Read More Here
Thoughts on Zwift’s Infamous $5 Price Increase
There are approximately four ways you can start off writing about the Zwift price increase, depending on which way you want to spin the increase. I’ve used two of them thus far in my post, but to recap, your four options … Read More Here
Early Look: Zwift in VR!
Back at Eurobike this past summer there was a lonely tent outside next to the bike trial area. Under that tent was a single Wahoo KICKR, a flat-screen TV, a laptop, and a bicycle. Oh, and an Oculus Rift VR … Read More Here