Tilt measuring system for bicycles

Bicycle_intereseted
edited February 2018 in Road buying advice
Hello guys,

I want to invent a tilt measuring system for bicycles to pretend bicyclist from dangerous situations or just for training. Actually i'm studiyng, and the prototype would be a part of my dissertation. Can you please help me with this and fill a short (1min) questionnaire? =) Would be very helpful because I think I can get the best answers from people who will work with these systems at some point.

Link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1m6b3xHfSq-jaQAvnazYeByUUwlemQTNpsBia7Eq-22K0rw/viewform


Thank you very much for your help :)

Comments

  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    :lol:
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    Seriously?

    What possible use could it have?
    I don't do smileys.

    There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda

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    Parktools
  • pilot_pete
    pilot_pete Posts: 2,120
    Went to fill it in, but your questions are skewed. I don’t think it would help me, but in order to complete the survey I MUST answer where the system should be placed and what warning should be given. My answer would be ‘non of the above’.

    Also, it is not clear what the system is as the questions are not clear (I am guessing English is not your native language?).

    “Have you ever had a dangerous situation because you were too strong in the curve ride?” means nothing to me I am afraid.

    “Would a system for signaling the slope in the curve be helpful to you?” What does this mean? Slope of the road, or tilt of the bicycle? Neither is of any help if you ask me because if you have leant the bike over too far it is too late to see a light and adjust - you will have lost grip. If it is slope of the carriageway (camber?) again, I’ve got a pair of eyes so it is never a surprise to me.

    I also think you mean ‘protect’ rather than ‘pretend’, no?

    PP
  • Thank you very much for your help. The questionnaire is now updated!
  • pilot_pete
    pilot_pete Posts: 2,120
    Sorry, but still not much better.

    You say the survey is for future customers, but that assumes people filling it in are going to buy one!

    Once again, the idea is completely flawed - if you tilt the bike over too far you lose grip and you are down. If you set your warning to a pre-determined angle then this will be wrong for more situations than it is right and prevent you maximising the variables. Equally, it could have you picking the bike back up and potentially veering onto the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic. I hope you think about liability insurance if you go to market...

    It would need to be extremely complex allowing for road surface, debris on the carriageway, contamination (water, ice etc), camber, speed, tyre grip etc etc etc. Only then could it offer a variable ‘limit’ based upon actual conditions, but even then rider experience and skill/ judgement will trump it every time.

    Just because you could make it doesn’t mean it is a good idea or even remotely useful. Back to the drawing board to come up with a genuinely useful product if you want an honest opinion...

    PP
  • "Once again, the idea is completely flawed - if you tilt the bike over too far you lose grip and you are down. If you set your warning to a pre-determined angle then this will be wrong for more situations than it is right and prevent you maximising the variables. Equally, it could have you picking the bike back up and potentially veering onto the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic. I hope you think about liability insurance if you go to market..."

    The angle can be set variably for each bike and every user by pressing a button at the calibration.

    "It would need to be extremely complex allowing for road surface, debris on the carriageway, contamination (water, ice etc), camber, speed, tyre grip etc etc etc. Only then could it offer a variable ‘limit’ based upon actual conditions, but even then rider experience and skill/ judgement will trump it every time."

    It will protect you of having an accident caused by touching the ground with the pedals when you want to be faster in a curve and step into the pedals. The warning would be before the pedals touching the ground.

    Thanks for the useful feedback. I will consider the suggestions of you regarding ground adhesion etc. for further prototypes.
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    So still pointless, as firstly it wouldn't take road camber into account, and secondly, by the time your machine had beeped, and you reacted, you'd already be on your arse.
    I don't do smileys.

    There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda

    London Calling on Facebook

    Parktools
  • The questionnaire is only about getting some basic informations for the battery life, position etc. not about the whole system i've invented.

    The included sensors will detect road cambers etc.

    The warning will be fast enough to warn you.
  • craker
    craker Posts: 1,739
    Utterly no market for this. Still I'm interested in what technology you think you can build into a £5 to 10 device that can analyse your speed, projected corner, road camber, grip conditions, crank geometry and more then beep (or something) to tell you you've just crashed.

    Seriously, you'll need the kind of sensors and computational power they're putting into self driving cars to get any results out of it. It would be an interesting lab project to write a model of a cornering bike to see if you could accurately predict the bike going down - in this era of big data you might want to implement an AI system to work that out for you.
  • pilot_pete
    pilot_pete Posts: 2,120
    You have now clarified that it is to guard against pedal strike - no mention of this in your survey.

    So you are trying to protect against pedal strike by building a warning system based on tilt angle of the bike. One assumes that this is for corners which the rider pedals through. Problem is as others have said there are far too many variables. Once you build in human reaction time to any warning it would be too late, you would have struck your Pedal. If it is a light you certainly won’t be looking down whilst cornering!

    Again, what makes you think this is remotely useful? Riders learn from experience. Believe me, once you strike a pedal you learn very quickly which corners you can pedal through and which you can’t! No need for any pointless warning system that is simply based on tilt angle from vertical of your bike.

    Seriously, think of another idea and come back with that, but think it through beforehand. How about;

    1. Good quality aero front and rear cameras with a battery life of >6hrs min, HD quality, stabilised picture, good in low light as well as bright sunlight.

    2. Good quality, small rear light (rechargeable) with mounts to fit snuggly in the vents on the back of road helmets that is adjustable for tilt so it points in the right direction.

    I could go on but would have to charge you for any more ideas!!

    PP


    What makes you think it is needed? Cyclists
  • svetty
    svetty Posts: 1,904
    Surely a wind-up?
    FFS! Harden up and grow a pair :D