This idea just hatched in my head after roller racing was mentioned in chat last night and I started watching youtube videos.
I posted on my regional board asking if there are any organizations that do it around here, but I dont think im going to find anything, so I thought about just building the stuff.
My dad once built this tachometer contraption for monitoring/logging the RPM of the 4 wheels on an overhead crane simultaneously to make sure they are all in sync. It was just optical speed sensors which picked up a pulse each time a piece of reflective tape passed in front of them. The pulses were sent to a data logger and translated into RPM. So im thinking this could easily be done by mounting speed sensors on roller trainers and sending the data to a computer via serial port or whatever. I think there would probably be more options for interpreting the data with a computer than with a small data logger like my dad used. it could also be projected onto a wall or something. maybe there could even be graphics of riders on a track… i dont know. i’m not a programmer.
From what I recall, the speed sensor things were not that expensive. hmm just looked at mcmaster-carr and they’re $111. I guess that’s fair, but i’d like to find some other options. am i making this harder than it should be?
just found a not-that-helpful bikeforums thread on this. maybe i will look at it in more detail to make sure i didnt miss anything. also found this http://www.bikecult.com/works/rollers.html
oldschool mechanical stuff would be cool, but i think digital would be way easier, not prone to breaking, and deadly accurate. i would also do this with the front wheel not locked down so its more real and people could use their own bikes.
If anyone knows where I can find more info on this stuff, please speak up !
ME and a friend are currently welding a full mechanical setup… its tough to get everything working the same on each side… but I prefer the look and feel of a bunch of gears and bells and whistles moving around instead of some boring laptop thing.
i really wish someone in my area would do this, so i could enjoy it without doing any of the actual work. i’m imagining some epic roller race parties in my head…
To my understanding, Roller Racing is not the same thing but people nowadays are slowing thinking it is and calling it the same. Roller Racing has historically equaled this where you ride the bike you brought with you on rollers, not affixed to a trainer. It clearly takes more skill than spinning up on a trainer.
My experience with Goldsprints and my own set of rollers tell me that the person with the biggest gear would win this “Roller Race” since actually being tested in Goldspints is your max rpm sustainable for (20?) seconds. Since the resistance of rollers is so low, a person with a 53:11 ratio could easily double the result of a person of similar strength/skill with a 42:17. So despite it being more interesting to race on a bike you brought/with it unsupported, I can’t think of how you’d level the playing field.
Couldn’t you also use rollers with resistance to take away the advantage. Or if it’s in a computer you could have a correction factor like an automotive dyno does, just divide roller RPM by the gear ratio on the bike?
boldsprints in boston lets everyone use their own bike with their own ratio. the rollers are hooked up to wind units. ‘two laps,’ 2/3 kilo races. youtube boldsprints.
i like this method 'cause it’s not just a spinning contest. it more closely resembles a real race.
203,
opensprints is currently finishing up a group buy of the circuit boards. boards for a 4 bike set up for 50 shipped. If you’re not interested in soldering I’d suggest contacting them. I’m using that as my starting point. Im hoping to build a rig this winter break so I’ll let you know how it goes.
Any idea where you’re going to get fork mounts from or are you going to use them? I can borrow rollers from friends but no one has the mounts and they seem to be around $90 per new from just about everywhere.
[quote=“CeeGee”]203,
opensprints is currently finishing up a group buy of the circuit boards. boards for a 4 bike set up for 50 shipped. If you’re not interested in soldering I’d suggest contacting them. I’m using that as my starting point. Im hoping to build a rig this winter break so I’ll let you know how it goes.[/quote]
Are you going to do races in Nashville?
Please say yes.
