bighat10

I am currently working with a team, designing a biking computer. (if you happen to not know what a bike computer is, it is simply a device that gives you all sorts of info like speed, distance, cadence, incline, etc, etc, etc.)

And the idea, is to put it on the market at the lowest price possible, and be tailored to the needs of actual cyclists. So! I am here to ask some questions, if you guys don't mind.

What do you look for in a cycling computer? What features? what shape? where do you like it to be mounted? do want it to interface with your phone? what do you want it to record? what information do you want to see at a glance? Speed? distance? incline? cadence?

Thanks in advance.

texbiker

I use a Garmin 510. The first screen has these: riding time, speed, clock, cadence and average speed. These are what I consider the most important. I connect the Garmin to my phone via Bluetooth for Live Track which my wife likes. Live Track sends a link with a map showing my ride route while I ride. I mount the Garmin in front of my handlebar for better visibility. I don't need a map sine I know the route. I like a rectangular shape. GPS tracking is necessary to import into several programs to track my activity.

Visit my website to read about my rides.

Juha

Welcome to Bike Forums, bighat10. We have a dedicated forum for feedback and surveys. I'm moving this thread there (from Electronics and Lighting).

--Juha, a Forum Mod

CliffordK

I've just been using Bell branded "computers"... if you call them that. So far wired, but I would consider wireless.

The functions I use most are time of day, current speed, average speed, and trip distance.
It is nice to also have the odometer. The max speed is also nice, but since it doesn't reset, it isn't that meaningful. A lifetime (since last major reset) average speed function would also be nice.

My main complaint is that the basic features aren't all displayed on the same screen. I'd like to see the time of day, current speed, average speed, and trip distance to all be displayed on a single screen.

Cadence, power, and other "features" would be nice, but I haven't made that leap yet.-

2_i 

Computers are around for such a long time that it can be hard to beat what is there in the market. Chinese made computers, with plenty of functions, can be had for $5 apiece or so, with shipping included. You can think about some niche functionality that could make your product stand out. E.g. myself I am annoyed by how flimsy the mounts are for the computers and sensors. When I decide that I want to keep a particular computer on my bike, I make a sturdy metal mount allowing for the computer to be permanently bolted on, protecting it against casual theft. Ultimately I would like the computer to be solar powered, so that I do not want to worry about batteries. There is a Chinese one on the market, but it has some other deficiencies, such as inaccurate watch and display that fades out in the cold. Common design errors include overcrowded displays and controls that overwhelm the user.

bighat10

That is true, I am thinking up a few ideas that could definitely help my product stand out.
The issue with solarpowering a device, is the size of the cells required to keep it running. I am looking into a way for the consumer to easily attach a generator/dynamo to there bike as a addon so they don't have to worry about recharging the device.

Hmm.... they don't allow you to reset the max speed? I guess they couldn't afford 1 extra button. XD

The live tracking idea is something I have been toying around with. Would definitely be a neat feature to have. I of course will be implementing the ability to import your rides.



Now I have a few more questions if you guys don't mind.

I have been toying with the idea of a phone dock. it would allow the price to come down hugely, because it can take advantage of the sensors like the GPS that you already have in your pocket.

The dock would be made of a strong material(thinking aluminium) and would connect your phone to you're sensors so it could get real-time data and calculate your speed, distance, average speed, max speed, and anything else it can pull from the various sensors to choose from. It would then use the sensors on your phone like the GPS for example and give you the path you have taken, where you are, and even allow you to give your friends and family a password so they can see where you are real-time during your rides.

2_i 

Sounds like an idea, but you need to ponder about the portion of the fraction of the riders to whom you want to market the product. Myself I treat riding as a commodity. Just as don't care about the path and its sharing with friends when driving a car or walking, I do not care about those when riding a bike. Still a computer is useful for me as I want to see how quickly I am progressing and whether I am likely to be late at the destination. But then again, presumably you need to aim at one niche or another.

Seattle Forrest

Yesterday, I got home from work, and then went out for an evening ride.

After I left, my girlfriend got a text message from a friend of hers: "I just hit a guy on a bike!" Her friend doesn't live that far away and it could plausibly have been me. She panicked. I use the same Live Tracking feature Tex does. She checked the page and it showed me riding through Gas Works Park, and knew I was ok.

Without the Live Tracking, she would have called me on the phone, I wouldn't have heard it ring because I was busy riding, and she would have thought I wasn't answering because I was hit. (She's a worrier.) The hassle and stress that feature prevented last night is worth the price of the computer.

Seattle Forrest

Personally, I have a Garmin. Also have a smart phone but it's barely involved in cycling.

I have a speed and cadence sensor, a heart-rate monitor, and a power meter on the way. These all communicate using ANT+ which means they're all invisible to my phone. A lot of people are in a situation like this, maybe they used to run and have an old chest strap, or whatever. (It's also true a lot of newer sensors use BLE.)

Aluminum is heavy. You want your system to be light weight and aerodynamic if it's for cycling. Also waterproof and shock proof.

GPS hits a battery kind of hard. The Garmin Live Tracking feature is neat because it uses the GPS in the bike computer and the internet connection in the phone, each device is doing what it's best at, and the battery life is much longer than if the phone was supplying the location. A lot of people go riding because they enjoy being outdoors, or for transportation, or exercise and weight loss; a lot of these people are going to spend most of the day out with their bikes and if you're going to make a bike computer it has to keep up.

CliffordK

I think part of what you want already is in use... or something similar.

As I understand, Garmin Vector uses Ant+, while the Look Keo Power uses Bluetooth, so it should be phone compatible. And if you were making phone apps, you would want to tie into all resources available.

I suppose eventually I'll have to figure out how to tie into Strava. But there is already a lot of route tracking being done.

One of the problems with a phone is that they often go into sleep mode to conserve battery power. While I don't look at my speedo display constantly, it would be annoying to constantly have to tap the screen to wake it up.

fietsbob

Me? I like the one that went down on the fork blade, not on the handlebar .. One configuration the magnet sensor was in the side of the case ,
so Wireless, but still only one battery to replace annually ..

but the Youth-Gizmocentric market seems in mostly loading things up with features and risking collisions by spending a Lot if time staring at displays.

CliffordK

I was thinking that a "Heads Up" display for cycling would be nice.

Apparently the "Recon Jet" is making a step towards that, although I'm not finding a lot of info about using it with cycle computers.



It is supposed to be programmable. Perhaps one could add a rear facing camera, and a cycling specific display.

Anyway, there might be a place for designing Recon apps, as well as perhaps making a handlebar mounted control panel.