Live Tyre Temperature Data - Interested?

[Redmist]

Hi All,

Ever since seeing that the Americans have developed a gadget for reading the tyre temperatures of a bike (https://www.drivenracing.com/catalog/mantis-kit) , so that you can see how your tyres are doing whilst riding, I decided I should have a go at this myself and save $250 by building my own.

Having built a prototype for testing very soon, I was wondering if this gadget interests anybody else, and whether it is worth providing build instructions for those who might want to make their own.

So anybody??

Here is the project development video I made recently.

Since making it I have actually used the sensor to read a tyre fresh out of the tyre warmers and it was succesful at reading the same temperatures as my Maplins Infra Red gun.

(The actual software has now been revised, the screen will flash whilst below a preset temperature level to alert you to the fact, also there are now setup screens for adjusting various settings and the graph page is improved to show range)

Here is the prototype in a bike mountable package ready for testing when the last parts arrive for the sensor mounts:

If this wasn't too much I'd buy this for my road bike just for one of those things to see how my tyres do as I ride, but, I can see how this can be of benefit for someone on a track cause a cold tyre crash is avoidable

[Redmist]

Originally Posted by Cymraeg_Atodeg

If this wasn't too much I'd buy this for my road bike just for one of those things to see how my tyres do as I ride, but, I can see how this can be of benefit for someone on a track cause a cold tyre crash is avoidable

I agree the main benefit will be for track riders but of course it could be useful for the road too. I can see that it is a luxury and most people will just climb on a bike and ride. But for some folk its a nice thing to have.

How many times have we been sat in the queue on a trackday wondering how much temperature has been lost from the warmers.

If someone were to make my version for themselves the total cost of the parts would be around £80 (The 3D plastic bits are the most expensive bits).

If I garner enough interest (and it is proven to work!) I reckon I would be selling them for around £140 per kit, as in built and ready to go.

[Red Herring]

I think the innovation and ingenuity involved is admirable, I wouldn't have a clue where to even start..... however I'd question the practical application. Sure, it would be an interesting gimmick to have on your bike and will score lots of points in the paddock (sorry, I mean the cafe car park...) but how do you propose to use the information to your advantage on the road or track?

As you say you know if you have had to hold in the collecting area so you will be aware that you tyres may not be as hot as they could have been, so on the out lap you try and put some of that temperature back whilst at the same time getting a feel for just how much grip they may have lost, and you generally take this information into the first lap. If your instrument tells you that they are 10 deg under optimum how does that equate to how you will ride on the first lap? Will you push 10% less, or brake 10m earlier, or maybe not accelerate as hard? I would venture that just about any racer who crashes on cold tyres didn't crash because they don't know their tyres were cold, they crashed because they were trying to find the limit of the grip available at that time.

I packed up racing a while back but I can still remember the days when we didn't even get a warm up lap, it was straight from the collecting area to the grid. The first couple of laps were always a bit fraught but they were also a really good way of finding out who made their lap times due to "feel" and those that just had horsepower..... and we didn't have tyre warmers either.

[Redmist]

You make a good point RH and I wouldn't argue against anything you've said there.

For the most part this project was about achieving a goal and learning the new methods along the way. I've enjoyed that the most so far. Hence why I'm here asking for views on the actual application itself.

I for one am certainly not a rider who has the skills / experience to be able to push hard on semi hot tyres, I wish I had that. For me having the information there might just be able to backup what I already know, taking care on the first few laps until I can gun it. Have I been wasting time though, have I been too cautious?
These are some questions that will be interesting to discover the answers to.

There was an argument to say that knowing the tyre temperatures could save excessive tyre wear before its too late. Maybe knowing tyre temp could allow you to pit early on a TD and adjust pressures before you come in and find you've overheated the tyre and caused hot tear.

[Red Herring]

I'm certainly not trying to rubbish the idea and what you are doing, I'm just trying to be realistic about the possible market for such a device. I'm completely in awe of people who even know where to start with such an idea, let alone are actually able to build a functioning product to please don't be put off by anything I say.

It would be really interesting to see the end result working on a road bike, especially riding in the wet where being able to keep temperature in your tyres makes such a difference.

[DJ123]

Can you hook up several sensors so that you cover all of the tyre? EG if you had 3, a sensor on each should and one on the core. Would be useful on a track that has a lot of a left/right corner but not many of the other side.

[Redmist]

Originally Posted by Red Herring

I'm certainly not trying to rubbish the idea and what you are doing, I'm just trying to be realistic about the possible market for such a device. I'm completely in awe of people who even know where to start with such an idea, let alone are actually able to build a functioning product to please don't be put off by anything I say.

It would be really interesting to see the end result working on a road bike, especially riding in the wet where being able to keep temperature in your tyres makes such a difference.

Yeah no worries, I was interested to hear you views and not put off at all

The wet gives me some concern but I hope to be able to make the sensors waterproof. It remains to be seen if the actual sensor head is waterproof. It should be but we'll soon find out.

[Redmist]

Originally Posted by daddyjob

Can you hook up several sensors so that you cover all of the tyre? EG if you had 3, a sensor on each should and one on the core. Would be useful on a track that has a lot of a left/right corner but not many of the other side.

You can do that yes, you can have upto 250+ sensors working on the same communications link!

I did think that you could have two mounting positions for reading left or right side and swap when at the relevant track but like you say that wouldn't give you the overall picture.

Maybe I will try two per tyre and see what differences each one sees.

Cheers.

Where would the temp sensor be? just watching your video I can see its very sensitive to your finger etc.
Id worry that the wind would skew the sensors readings once moving.

Excellent project though, and an impressive use of a Nokia Phone screen