After a four-year wait, the next generation Tacx NEO series trainer is here – the Tacx NEO 3M. As one will quickly assess, the ‘M’ in 3M stands for ‘motion’, as this trainer isn’t sitting still. Instead, Garmin/Tacx has incorporated the previously released Tacx NEO Motion Plates into the Tacx NEO 3M design, bringing it built-in forward/back motion, alongside increased side-to-side tilting motion. And finally, we get a Tacx trainer that has a darn handle built-in to move it around! However, the bulk of the changes on the Tacx NEO 3M are actually inside. From a significantly more powerful res ..read more

 Garmin has begun rolling out wrist temperature tracking to watches with the newer Garmin ELEVATE V5 optical heart rate sensor in them, which includes the Garmin Epix Pro, Fenix 7 Pro, Tactix 7 AMOLED, and Venu 3 series. Those are the same watches that recently got ECG capabilities via this new sensor hardware (ELEVATE V5 sensors). In addition, this update is actually part of the much broader Garmin Q4 2023 wearables update, which brings a slate of new features to most of their newest Outdoor & Fitness watches, including the things listed on the following chart from Garmin: As you can se ..read more

 This is not a complex feature, nor hard to use. Starting today, the “social network for athletes” includes the most social of features: Texting. Or rather, direct messaging. This new feature lets you (optionally) accept direct messages from nobody, everyone, or only people you follow. Within that, you can send text messages as well as a dedicated button for sharing Strava routes. Further, you can send GIFs – because obviously, messages without memes are nothing but failed KOM attempts. And there you go – in two sentences, you know everything there is to know about this feature. But, since yo ..read more

So, it’s been two years since I last updated this list, and it’s clear many of you would like a refresh. As I always note though, I’m not a person of change. At least when it comes to gear. My old-blue cycling jacket is still the same one from my 2012 ‘Gear I Use’ list. My running gloves are still from the Philly marathon expo some like 15 years ago, and my swimsuit is whatever I found in my dresser that doesn’t appear to be fully see-through. Of course, the tech does change. Not necessarily because it needs to change, but largely because it’s what I do as my job. And once you upgrade to test ..read more

Hey there, this is Bobbie (The Girl), otherwise known as Ray’s other half. This year, 2023, I decided I had been away from competition for long enough, and wanted to get back into racing. Having been out of the triathlon scene for almost 12 years, I did end up with a lot of new gear, or gear upgrades this year. So, I’m taking this moment to update my “Gear I Use” post for all of you in case you are interested, and so I also have an up-to-date list for me to click re-order from! (Ray’s list is over here) In case you’re new to DCRAINMAKER.com, I’ll just catch you up really quick. I am post-thir ..read more

At this point, it’s probably really only a matter of time before we see the Wahoo KICKR CORE with an orange paint job and called Zwift Hub 2. But, before we get there, let’s first explain what Wahoo (and Zwift) have just announced. Some might see this as merely a price change, but I think that’d be incredibly naive. A lot of things are changing, some of them minor, but some of them pretty big and will certainly impact both consumers and industry alike, even if not a consumer of Zwift or Wahoo. What’s Changing: From today, four things happen immediately, but that’s really only the beginning ..read more

Yesterday, after (many) years of people asking, Zwift has finally added an annual payment option. In doing so, they became the final company to add in annual pricing for their product, joining the rest of the industry. Of course, the writing was on the wall back in September when Zwift rolled out deals with Wahoo which included 1-year of Zwift for $99 with new hardware. So, for those who missed the news, here are the new Zwift pricing options: USD: 149.99 (plus tax) EUR: 149.99 UK: 129.99 CAD: 189.99 (plus tax) JPY: 15,000.00 (plus tax) AUS: 199.99 (plus tax) You can switch your subscriptio ..read more

 As I’ve said for many years, COROS as a company is most deadly when it’s competing on price. And back three iterations ago, their first breakout product that really introduced the company to the world was the original COROS Pace (their actual original product, the COROS Linx helmet only saw niche success). At the time, the original COROS Pace 1 undercut all of their competitors on price, while delivering features that watches double their price didn’t. Fast forward now to the Pace 3, and that model is largely repeated. Comparing the price to the original COROS Pace (1) from nearly 6 years ag ..read more

Things are quieting down in the sports tech world as companies tend to take a breather after the busy fall season for most of them. Still, there’s always a few items that pop-in around this timeframe, and this post is here to cover them. Plus, it gives you a reprieve on Black Friday sales (which are admittedly very solid this year), and gives me a distraction for the two in-depth reviews I’m putting finishing touches on for the coming day or three. I’m always up for a distraction. With that, let’s dive into it. Netflix & Peloton: This first one has been a LOOOOONG time coming. Back many mo ..read more

 Strava has just announced and launched the first stage of their video flyover function. This feature creates a 3D map video fly-over of your activity, showing an orange line and a moving blue dot alongside the line. It’s roughly like what Relive does, except without all the extra features. This feature requires a Strava (paid) subscription. At present, this is launching on Android, with iOS set to arrive next month. However, also at present, it’s very very basic. Way more basic than I thought it’d be after reading the press release. Thus, the good news is this post won’t take long. How it wo ..read more