Wahoo has launched the start of a new line of accessories branded as TRACKR. An updated heart rate monitor is first on their list; the TRACKR HEART RATE monitor replaces the TICKR chest strap HR monitor. However, the optical TICKR Fit Armband HR monitor will continue to be offered for the foreseeable future.

What’s new with the TRACKR HEART RATE Monitor? The two main changes are moving away from a coin battery toward a rechargeable unit and claims of increased accuracy. There’s also changes to the way the strap connects. Below I show comparisons between the new TRACKR HEART RATE (top) and the old TICKR HR monitor (bottom). I’ve been using the new TRACKR HEART RATE the last two weeks.

Although the size of the HR monitoring unit has been reduced with the TRACKR HEART RATE compared to the TICKR, the width and material of the strap remains the same.

The smaller TRACKR HEART RATE unit is more comfortable because you notice it slightly less sitting on your chest.

By removing the need for a coin battery door, the TRACKR HEART RATE unit could be reduced in height top to bottom. However, the unit remains essentially the same in the side width.

The TRACKR HEART RATE unit is recharged with a proprietary magnetic cord. Though I appreciate being able to recharge the unit and moving away from coin batteries, I’m not a fan of having yet another special charging cord that I need to keep track of.

Similar use of snaps to connect the unit to the strap, comparing the new TRACKR HEART RATE and the old TICKR.

The detection area on the straps has increased slightly, which may having something to do with Wahoo’s claims of increased accuracy.

The strap adjustment on the TRACKR HEART RATE has been simplified, which is a welcome change. The double adjustment on the old TICKR always took extra effort to lay flat.

The new TRACKR HEART RATE uses a hook clasp instead of connecting with the snaps on the old TICKR. The TICKR is definitely easier to put on, snapping together at the center of your chest. The new TRACKR HEART RATE requires you to reach around to your side to hook the clasp in the loop. Alternatively you can hook it in the front and then spin the strap into place.

Works As It Should

Over the last two weeks testing the new Wahoo TRACKR HEART RATE, my lasting impression is that it does what it should to the point that I don’t have to think about it. This was also true of the old TICKR.

I had no problems connecting the TRACKR HEART RATE to all my different devices. It’s up to speed with both ANT+ and multi-Bluetooth connectivity. In short, there’s no issues connecting to all the Wahoo and Garmin computers that I have around. Also no problem pairing it to apps on my phone and gaming PC.

The rechargeable battery is supposed to last over 100 hours of use. I charged it once and haven’t needed to recharge it since I’ve been using the unit. I’m all about moving away from coin batteries, but lost is the convenience of instantly reviving a dead unit with a battery swap. The initial charge time was reasonable, though. I’m gradually developing better pre-ride recharging rituals as more and more components on my bike require batteries.

Accuracy

Wahoo claims the new TRACKR HEART RATE is more accurate with an improved algorithm. I asked for more details, but the Wahoo representatives were reluctant to share evidence that supports their claim. I’m not too worried about that, but I’m always working on my cardiologist to trust my HR data that I’m capturing. I’ve pretty much won him over and can show him my SVT episodes when they happen, but it would be nice if Wahoo could do that work for me by making their accuracy details available.

Do You Need It?

If you are in the market for a new HR monitor, take a closer look at the Wahoo TRACKR HEART RATE for its increased connectivity (up to 3 Bluetooth devices at once) and rechargeability (moving away from coin batteries). Other than those two main selling points, I don’t see a need to run out and buy the new TRACKR HEART RATE if your current strap is doing everything you want it to do. MSRP is $89.99.

The post Tested: Wahoo TRACKR HEART RATE Monitor first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

Meet Johnny and Colleen Vanderwell. The Southern California-based couple is passionate about introducing cycling enthusiasts to the benefits of using a wax-based chain lube. They aren’t necessarily setting out to compete with the wax lube you may already be using. Rather, they are on a mission to educate people and potentially convert them to chain maintenance with a wax lube.

Weary of the time-intensity of stripping and hot waxing chains, Johnny started experimenting with using wet wax chain lubes around two years ago. He had created his own hot wax mix with paraffin and Teflon and decided to make his own wet wax lube. In consultation with a chemist, Johnny has created over 200 test batches in his garage before arriving at the formula for FAAST.

As with all lubes, the goal is to get the lube “inside” the chain and not just on the surface of the plates. Ideally, the lube works its way into the rollers to help reduce friction. Too thick and the wax lube will remain on the surface of the chain. Too thin and the wax lube will drip off the chain without leaving enough wax behind inside the chain.

The Vanderwells combined Johnny’s experience as a bike mechanic and a garage chemist with Colleen’s background in operations working for non-profit organizations. The result of their combined efforts is the launch of the FAAST chain lube last fall and a steadfast commitment to grow their brand by educating cyclists about keeping their bikes clean and free of avoidable friction. FAAST connotes movement and helps share their message to “Keep Going” on and off the bike.

Testing

Johnny sent me a bottle of the first iteration of FAAST that they brought to market. To give it full consideration, I completely stripped a new chain of the manufacturers lubricant and applied the FAAST wax lube, one drop on each roller. After letting the chain dry, I did a short ride but wasn’t satisfied that I had enough wax lube on the chain because it was still squeaking a bit. After the second application and letting it dry, I had a silent and clean chain. However, I did find that I had to reapply wax lube every other ride.

Johnny was hearing similar anecdotes from his local riding community that uses FAAST wax lube. That initial batch was a bit too thin and wasn’t leaving enough wax behind. So, back to the chemistry lab in his garage, Johnny produced a slightly thicker formula. I’ve been using the thicker formula now for a couple weeks and find that I don’t have to reapply as often. More wax is in fact staying in the chain compared to the first iteration they brought to market.

Not all my bikes have waxed chains. I’m very much in alignment with Johnny’s thinking that wax lubes (and hot waxed chains) are better suited for dry conditions. Wax chains pick up less debris – they don’t produce the friction paste that petroleum-based lubes tend to do, especially if over applied. Any dry dirt collected by waxed chains tends to clump up and drop off, leaving you with a very clean looking and quiet chain.

However, waxed chains are not ideal in wet conditions. Your chain will rust if not dried off after a ride in the rain. Johnny suggests that wax lubes aren’t for you if you are planning to ride regularly in the rain. However, if you are only being caught in the rain occasionally, Johnny suggests that wax lube is viable but may need reapplied more often – even during the ride. FAAST will soon be available in 1 oz. bottles for this very purpose.

Following this line of thinking, I tend to use hot wax or drip wax lube only on my fair-weather bikes, namely my steel glam commuter, my indoor track bike, and the bike I have semi-permanently parked on the indoor trainer. For the rest of my road, gravel, cyclocross, and mountain bikes I use a petroleum-based wet lube.

Available Now

If you are in the wax curious category, FAAST is a great place to start. You are getting a tested product from the Vanderwells, who want to help you learn how to use wax lube not only to have a cleaner and more efficient chain but also to prevent unnecessary wear and tear on your bike’s expensive drive train.

You can purchase a 4 oz. bottle of FAAST wax lube for $18 on their website, as a single purchase or as a subscription with two-, four-, and six-month options. You can also purchase their wax lube on Amazon, if you need to replenish FAAST in two days with a Prime membership.

What’s Next?

I asked Johnny and Colleen what was next for FAAST Products. For now, they said their mission is education and helping more people learn to use wax lubricant appropriately on their bicycles. They suggested that most people who aren’t using wax don’t know that it may be a viable option for them.

Johnny shared that although it’s ideal to strip your chain before using FAAST wax lube, it’s not necessary. His testing has revealed that with regular application, the wax lube will replace the manufacturer’s lubricant on new chains over time.

The Vanderwells also shared that they are looking to partner with grassroots events and cycling enthusiasts who share a passion for educating people about bike maintenance and care.

There are so many squeaky chains out there that simply are not FAAST.

The post Introducing FAAST Wax Lube first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

A couple of guys on our master’s racing team threw out the idea of taking a bike packing trip from Buffalo to New York City along the Empire State Trail. The total mileage for the route is around 570 miles. We blocked out a week in August to ride the route one way and take an Amtrak train back on the last day.

We are total bikepacking newbies, and this will be “credit card bike touring” for this first trip. We plan on paying for accommodations and food along the way. We’ll save a self-supported trip for another time, if this trip goes well.

We all have gravel race bikes that aren’t designed for bolting on racks and accessories for bikepacking. My TIME ADHX 45 is arguably a pure race bike with only top tube bosses for attaching a top tube bag. That puts us in the position of looking for soft bags to strap to our bikes.

UK-based Tailfin caught my attention because in addition to strap-on frame bags, they offer a rack system that can be used on thru axle and quick release bikes that don’t have touring bosses in the frame. I reached out to Tailfin about our trip, and they kindly sent a full setup for review. Here, I’ll offer my first impressions. After our trip, I’ll follow up with a more in-depth review.

Thru Axle Selection

The most complicated step of working with the Tailfin rack system is selecting the thru axle that is compatible with your bike, and even this isn’t that big of a deal. Tailfin’s website includes extensive guides and videos for all of their bikepacking gear, and the axel guide walks you through all of the information you need to gather about your frame. For thru axel, the length of the axel, the thread pitch, and the shape of the interface are the key details to consider. My TIME frame wasn’t listed on their website, but the thru axel details were easy to find on TIME’s website. For quick release, there’s nothing to worry about because the skewer they offer can be used for both 130mm and 135mm rear dropouts.

The Tailfin axels have attachments for the rack on the ends, giving the rack a fixed and stable contact point that doesn’t involve the bike’s frame.

Tailfin also offers frame mounting options if your bike frame can accommodate them.

Rack and Bag Selection

The racks come in carbon and aluminum and with and without pannier mounts. I wasn’t sure how much gear I would be carrying on this trip, so I opted for the carbon rack with the pannier mounts. I also decided that I wanted the removeable top bag instead of the lighter one that is integrated into the rack. And, I decided on the ultra-durable pannier bags instead of the super light version.

I wanted to run a frame bag, but I also wanted to fit two large water bottles. One of the few upsides to being tall and requiring an XL frameset is having more room in the main triangle of the frame. The frame bags come in three wedge-shaped sizes ranging from 1.9 to 3.5 liters, as well as six half-frame sizes ranging from 2.3 to 6.5 liters. The 4.5L half-frame bag appeared to be the best size for my intended use.

The top tube bags come in a zip and a flip option. I have a few other zip top tube bags on hand, so I decided to select the flip option for ease of access while riding.

Super Easy Setup

The rack assembly and pannier setup were easy to complete. Tailfin’s website includes instructional videos that I followed to make sure the clamps were facing the correct direction on the rack, top bag, and the pannier bags. The half-frame bag didn’t require any special instructions. The top tube bag has an option to strap or bolt on the frame, so the only work there was lining up which holes to use for the bolts.

I am impressed how easily the rack attaches and releases from the frame, as well as how easily the pannier bags and the top bag are added and removed. After the initial setup is complete, the whole system of bags take less than 10 minutes to put on the frame and less than that to remove.

Key Features

The material of the bags seems very durable, and they are designed to be waterproof. The panniers and top bag have large roll-top openings that make packing and access easy. After packing, the top gets rolled and strapped down to the sides.

There is an air valve on the side that allows compression, letting the air out and then closing the valve to retain a semi-vacuum seal. The shape of the compressed bag is maintained by the straps. Each bag has additional internal storage features, such as zippered pockets.

The half-frame bag has an internal carbon reinforcement struts that makes using the durable zippers easy but also prevents the bag from bulging out to the sides to the point that your knees would rub. The bag has a partition for smaller items on one side and bulkier items on the other. There is also a port in the front that allows for charging cables or a bladder hose to pass through. My favorite feature of the half-frame bag is the Velcro straps at the top meant to hold a pump.

I wasn’t sure I was going to like the flip cover option on the top tube bag, but I’ve come to really like it for ease of use. The opening is much larger than the zippered top tube bags I have on hand, making access quicker and easier while keeping your eyes on the road.

No Noise

I’ve only ridden the full setup around the neighborhood so far. However, I’m struck by how quiet the whole setup is. The points of attachment on the rack have rubber gaskets that eliminate any rattle when hitting bumps or going over rough surfaces.

I had the bags packed with dog towels to give them shape for this initial review. So, nothing was rattling around inside the bags either.

Not Cheap

This whole setup is a certainly a hefty investment. Tailfin has put a great deal of time and energy into testing and getting the smallest details correct. This is evidenced by the multiple iterations the bags have been through and the number of options available for each type of bag, including those that I’m not featuring here.

Here’s the damage if you are paying full retail:

$465 Carbon Rack w/ Pannier Option
$210 AP Rack Top Bag
$330 2x Ultra Durable Pannier Bag
$145 Half-Frame Bag 4.5L
$75 Top Tube Flip Bag 1.1L

Though it adds up, I’d argue that it’s worth keeping in mind that this setup allows you to convert a racing bike with no bikepacking features to a full-on touring rig, eliminating the need for buying a different bike for that purpose. Tailfin also offers a 5-year full warranty and a 30% off crash replacement policy.

More to Come

We have an overnight shake out ride planned in July before our weeklong trip in August. I’ll be dialing in this bikepacking setup and determining the best ways to pack and distribute shared gear among the three of us. One consideration I’ll be making is whether or not I need to run the pannier bags for the longer trip. I’ll follow up with a more extensive review based on those trips.

The post First Impressions: Tailfin Bikepacking Gear first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

What are the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings? And why should you care as a helmet consumer? The short answer is the reduction of concussion risk. Since 2011, Virginia Tech has been testing helmets in sport-specific conditions. Some helmet manufacturers are using these test results to drive innovations in helmet design and materials. I met with Dr. Barry Miller to learn more about how cycling helmets earn the STAR ratings they do and to ask if innovations like MIPS make a difference in the test results. Below are the major take aways from our conversation.

Helmet Testing

By law, all bicycle helmets sold in the US must be certified by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). If you look inside your helmet, you will find a sticker (if it hasn’t become detached with use) that attests to this certification. The CPSC testing is pass/fail and involves four tests, one of which is a drop test. The pass/fail threshold for the drop test is the point of skull fracture. As helmet consumers, all we know from the CPSC certification is that our helmet passed the minimum standard to be sold to us in the US and will hopefully prevent a skull fracture. However, we don’t know from the CPSC certification the extent to which any particular helmet reduces concussion risk.

That’s where the Virginia Tech Lab comes in with much more involved and rigorous helmet testing. For each sport addressed by the lab, Barry’s colleagues developed a specific test protocol based on field observations. For football, the field testing involved collecting data from sensors within the helmet during practices and games. For cycling, the field testing involved simulation studies of bicycle accidents.

The helmet testing protocol and evaluation system that the lab developed for cycling is detailed in an open access, peer-reviewed journal article (Bland, et al., 2020), but here are the highlights:

Helmets are tested on a custom drop tower that involves dropping a helmeted headform on to a 45-degree steel anvil covered in sand paper. The angle of impact was determined from simulation studies, and the 80 grit sand paper simulates road friction. The helmet is dropped on six locations on the helmets at two velocities to simulate low-speed and high-speed impacts. The low-speed impact is the most common in cycling, while the high-speed impact is meant to represent the types of impacts that most commonly result in concussions.

In short, for a helmet to do well in the Virginia Tech lab, it must be dense enough to pass the high energy CPSC impact test to prevent skull fractures and compliant enough to reduce concussion risk based on linear and rotational forces that are measured at two velocities.

This data then gets weighted based on frequency in real-world impact scenarios and run through a formula detailed in the article that takes into consideration concussion injury risk. The result of the calculation is the Summation of Tests for the Analysis of Risk (STAR) score. While the calculation of the data is hard to follow, the STAR score is easy to understand. The lower the STAR score, the lower the concussion risk when wearing the helmet while cycling.

What’s my helmet rated?

Your helmet may or may not be currently included in the Virginia Tech bicycle helmet ratings. Barry said that helmets come to the lab in a variety of ways. Manufacturers will send their prototypes and commercially available helmets to the lab for testing. Some of these manufacturers, like LAZER for example, will report the STAR ratings for their helmets as a selling point. The lab will also occasionally buy helmets on the open market if there is high demand for a particular helmet from consumers or if a helmet is featured by other helmet testers, such as Consumer Reports. The lab attempts to test a variety of brands, design technologies, and price points.

If your helmet is listed in the ratings, take note of the STAR score in the low impact energy compared to the high impact. Again, the lower the score the lower the risk of a concussion when wearing that helmet properly.

The Price of Safety

If we believe all the marketing hype, we might assume that a more expensive helmet might be safer. But, that’s not necessarily the case based on the sample of helmets tested by the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab within the road category.

Of the top 30 road helmets (ranked overall 1 through 65), the STAR scores ranged from 8.40 to 11.28 (all five stars). Fourteen are $250 and above, thirteen are between $100 and $250, and three are less than $100. Of particular note, the Giant Rev Comp MIPS has a STAR score of 9.13 and a cost of $65.

Barry shared that the reason for why a helmet does better than another in the testing is varied and heavily based on the design of the helmet. He said that the materials themselves are relatively inexpensive so that a $65 helmet from Giant with a generous amount of EPS foam can outperform a more expensive helmet with a different design.

What about MIPS?

I asked Barry about the significance of MIPS for reducing concussion risk. Sixteen of the top 30 road helmets in their ratings have MIPS installed.

Barry shared that MIPS helps the helmet decouple from the head upon impact. Ideally, the helmet will be in the correct position on your head during a crash, but the helmet will also shift a bit on impact absorbing some of the energy that your head experiences. MIPS performs well in the STAR ratings, in part because the headform used in the tests does not have hair. MIPS acts as a slip plane between the head and the helmet facilitating the decoupling upon impact.

However, Barry said that MIPS won’t help in all crash situations. In particular, MIPS is not going to help absorb linear impacts. But in the case of severe oblique impacts, MIPS may enhance how the helmet decouples. The big question for Barry is whether MIPS helps when you have a full head of hair. He said it greatly depends on the location, the angle, and the amount of energy of the impact, with most of the protection coming from the density and thickness of the helmet.

In sum, MIPS may help the helmet decouple in certain situations, but the presence of MIPS is only one factor among many that determine the amount of risk of concussion.

Helmets continue to improve

The good news is that helmets keep getting better. Barry is excited about the potential of new helmet design technologies like WaveCel, Omni-Directional Suspension, honeycomb structures like HexaGo and KAV, and Koroyd.

Barry said that as the helmets continue to improve, the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab will need to adjust their thresholds for their STAR ratings. Currently, a five-star helmet has a STAR score under 14. Barry foresees a time when they will need to reduce the five-star rating to a STAR score of 10. Currently, only nine road helmets rated by the lab have a STAR score under 10.

Large volume hair

I asked Barry if there were any promising helmet designs that accommodate large volume hair. There are very few helmets on the market that do so effectively, and my colleagues and I, who work with Black and Brown youth in Dr. Noemi Waight's STEMCyclists program at the University at Buffalo (SUNY), are always on the lookout for viable helmet designs. Barry shared that there are some viable designs used in other sports that could be used in cycling. One example is a helmet with an adjustable shell used in hockey that could be used to better accommodate large volume hair. He shared that a student group from Northwestern University was visiting the lab working on helmet designs for large volume hair that will hopefully test well in the lab. However, Barry cited market demand as the largest obstacle to incentivize manufacturers to bring viable designs for large volume hair to diverse consumers. Safety and reducing concussion risk are yet more reasons to advocate for diverse participation and representation in cycling.

Exposure to Risk

The more risk of concussion that you are exposed to, the more these helmet ratings may matter to you. In competition, a criterium racer is arguably exposed to more concussion risk than a triathlete. But in training on open roads in car traffic, those concussion risks may be more similar. A bike commuter may be exposed to even greater risk than both of those athletes and want a larger, more protective helmet. The Virginia Tech Helmet Testing Lab recommends any of their five or four star helmets. However, when you are weighing cost versus benefit at the point of helmet sale, you may want to take into consideration the STAR score if it’s available for the helmets you are considering. And if the helmet isn’t listed, don’t hesitate to contact the lab and suggest that the helmet be added to their testing cue.

The post Breaking Down Virginia Tech’s Helmet Ratings first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

“I’d gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today,” was the golden phrase Wimpy used to say to Popeye.

Today, from Wahoo, it’s “please pay us today for a treadmill in the fall.” And to be honest, I don't mind it.

Why am I starting this article, announcing the WAHOO KICKR RUN reservation launch, this way? Simple – I'm trying to call out the elephant in the room and politely remove it.

I never really understood Kickstarter until more recently, and when I say recently, I mean the last couple of years. Over the last decade or so, we as a society have been trained to “BUY NOW, GET IT RIGHT NOW, AND PAY LATER.” Everything is NOW NOW NOW. We get our packages overnighted on the daily and we almost always have the ability to finance almost anything we buy.

Does that serve us? Does that serve the manufacturer? Or does it cause a future problem that we push off for the time being. Who really wins?

Kickstarter (to me) started to bring the relationship from customer, bank or (financial partner) and product manufacturer down from 3 parties to 2 parties. In my opinion It was a way for companies to showcase a safer approach to market demand, which, in a way, decreased risk and shifted focus on deliverables instead of variables.

And Wahoo seems to be taking the same approach.

Starting tomorrow at 8am ET, those that have signed up for early access (you can still sign up for that early access here) will have the ability to put their money where their month is and secure some of the first Wahoo KICKR RUN treadmills that will be delivered via “White Glove Service.” On May 2nd, the public will be able to do the same.

How much? It’s a $500 USD fully refundable deposit.

What does that give you? It secures your spot in-line (duh).

Why would WAHOO want to do this? In my opinion, it’s simple – they want to make sure they can build the right amount of treadmills. They want to make sure that they do their best to be financially responsible. They are a business and they are acting like they should. And in a time where our industry is seeing liquidation and consolidation, it’s a smart approach.

It’s not all perfect. The launch time frame seemed odd to me. At first I really didn't like it. Why would you launch this as we are starting to slowly come out of the dark age of Northern Hemisphere Winter? It seemed sort of silly to me. Do people really use treadmills often when they have the opportunity to run outside? How many can they really sell? Will the endurance athlete that now rides on ZWIFT 99% of the time start to do the same with running? When I was first told about this product, months before the announcement, I was firing off questions left and right.

But the more I have listened and thought about it, this is not only smart for WAHOO but also the consumer and industry. The questions above are all questions that no one really knows just yet. But they can be answered when asked and honestly answered by consumers. And I think that is what WAHOO is doing here, and I admire that.

What is a way to get someone to honestly answer whether your product is wanted? Have them put their money where their mouth is.

If you missed the launch announcement on the KICKR RUN, you can find that here. Or watch our video below.

Want to reserve your KICKR Run? (I’m going to be taking one for a spin).

The post Wahoo Launching KICKR Run Reservations first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

New tech in cycling is like a lottery draft pick. Most enjoy success, some spectacularly so. A few flame out, some spectacularly so. Aero bars and steep seat angles stuck around. Beam bikes, less so (I remember when Softride was #3 in the Kona bike count). The Cervelo P3X (below) is a terrific bike. Sometimes really good tech nevertheless struggles at the cash register (e.g., smaller wheels for smaller riders). How do you know when new technology benefits you and will stick around; or will quietly disappear?

I’m building up a bike in my workshop and what is so striking is how easily it goes together. This is an electronically shifted bike, parts made by SRAM in this case, and I’m so thankful that I don’t have to fish shift cables through the frame and then try to get the derailleurs to shift adequately. The only thing that’s semi-new in this process – and I have to always remind myself to break this very old habit – is that you can’t begin by installing the BB and crankset. This used to be the initial part of a build and it was very satisfying to get the heart of the bike into the frame right away.

You can’t do that nowadays because the one line that spans the inside of a bike is the rear hydraulic brake line and you might not be able to get it past the BB. So, you run that line to the rear brake caliper and then you can install the BB and crank. That crank is getting easier to install for reasons I’ll get to in a moment.

Bikes – at least road and gravel bikes – just go together so easily nowadays. It does make buying a frame and building it up in your own workshop feasible. But you must have certain skills and I suppose chief among them is brake bleeding. And, the tools and materials.

If you’ve gotten this far you’ve maybe noticed a couple of things: first, how easy it is to build a bike; second, the one hitch in the get-along, which is the whole brake bleeding business. Here is what I want to impart to you today: Yes, there is such a thing as a bad idea masquerading as a technological step forward. Let’s go over some “new tech” but I want to remind you that long before most of you started cycling we’ve had these “new tech” debates. I remember the year Shimano mugged Campagnolo and I don’t know how else to put it. The venerated Italian brand went from mandatory spec to dropped like a bad transmission in 1 year (maybe 1984 or thereabouts?). The debate – which was short – was whether click or “index” shifting was a good idea. Prior to this, gears worked by “friction” shifting. Imagine the frets on a guitar not being there.

Fast forward 2 years to the Kestrel 4000, the world’s first monocoque carbon bike. Do you know who bought this bike first? Not road racers! Not going to be seen on that plastic bike! It was triathletes who embraced this new tech (notwithstanding the Campagnolo parts on it in this pic). Which is to say, show me new tech and I’ll show you resistance to it.

Here are some examples of tech that has popped up over the past 30 years:

Tubeless tires
Hookless beads
Electronic shifting
Machined cranks
Disc brakes (in road and tri bikes)
Press fit bottom brackets
Integrated stem/bars
Completely hidden hydraulic lines

You’ll notice that some of this tech doesn’t exist on your bike. Why? Because not all new tech is good tech. The most obvious bad idea in this list above is machined cranks. It turns out that cranksets need to be made of one of two materials: forged aluminum or carbon. If you machine a crank out of an aluminum billet that crank is not sufficiently strong to withstand the forces of cycling. We found this out in the 1990s and on some of our bikes we placed these cranks (such as the bike in the image above held by young Mr. Scott Tinley). You could machine as a secondary process but the aluminum had to be forged or the crank risked failure.

In the bike I’m building now the bottom bracket threads into the frame. A number of threaded standards exist, including T47. This one I’m building now is a DUB BSA standard. Of the 5 bicycles I own I don’t believe any of them has a pressed-in BB. It turns out the old tech of threaded BBs is just better and I base this simply on what I see manufacturers doing. But pressfit was all the rage 5 to 15 years ago.

There will always be naysayers. We just took a poll and about 1,600 of you participated. In this poll I asked what new tech you like the most and most of you said electronic shifting. About 1 in 10 of said that you don’t like any of the new tech listed in the poll but if you look on our reader forum or on any social media you would think a majority feel that way. Why? Because naysayers must naysay. Loudly. Those who don’t feel the need to complain stay silent.

The poll doesn’t lie. The silent majority likes new tech… when it works! So, according to me, what works and what doesn’t among all this new tech?

What Recent Tech Will Go the Way of the Pressfit BB?

Integrated stem/bars
Stem-buried hydraulic lines

Hey Trekkies! When the shyte really got brown on the Starship Enterprise and something had to give, what did Captain Kirk do? Reluctantly for sure. But, yes, saucer separation! I’m just a simple country doctor, Jim, but if they couldn’t leave that fatally damaged warp core behind, then, thar she blows! (“She” being the entire ship.) This is exactly analogous to integrated stem/bar front ends. (Well, somewhat analogous.) I predict this is today’s version of the pressfit BB. Seemed like a good idea at the time. But let me just ask you this: motorcycle saddles aren’t height adjustable, are they? Would you like that for your bicycle? Would you buy the bike if the saddle height (and fore/aft) was only in the general range of correct? No? Then why will you buy a bike where you can’t saucer-separate the handlebars so they be adusted fore/aft and up/down?

If you do have a separate stem and handlebar great, but if you run the hydraulic lines through the stem you’ve effectively made the bike unadjustable and I just refer you above to the brake bleed thing. Bikes are very easy to work on today except for that. If your hydraulic lines pass immediately underneath the stem they are effectively hidden. But you can easily change the stem! Adjust your cockpit length and height. And… you still have a clean front end. This is what Cervelo does with the Soloist and R5 road bikes; what Specialized does with the Tarmac; what Cannondale does with its Knot system on its fancy high-end road bikes. The saucer separates! Just like the Starship Enterprise. But like that starship you don’t see hydraulic lines if that's the look you're going for.

What Recent Tech Will Remain and Prevail?

Electronic shifting
Disc brakes (in road and tri bikes)

It seems unimaginable that we had a dispute about this and, look, I remember back in the 1990s sitting on the side of the road with my friend Pete Penseyres, his Mavic Mektronic rear derailleur in pieces all over the asphalt as we were putting it back together mid-ride. It took another decade before Shimano’s Di2 was ready for all of us to use it and – here’s a stat for you – in the 15 years I’ve been riding that system I have never derailed a chain from that system.

Disc brakes in road bikes, I first rode these in April of 2013. This was a SRAM product and to tell you how far back this goes SRAM upgraded to hydraulic disc brakes and moved from 10- to 11-speed at the same time. Yes, this tech had its hiccups. That product was recalled by the end of that 2013 year. But it didn’t stop progress and look where we are today.

What Will Also Remain and Prevail

Road tubeless tires

Tubeless? Oh, man, jank city in the beginning. As opposed to Shimano’s electronic shifting – which was an immediate and unqualified success on my bike – road tubeless took 20 years to get from launch (Mavic’s UST system in 1999) to decent functionality (Schwalbe’s Pro One relaunch in 2019 and the ETRTO’s standards for road tubeless that same year).

Hookless? I think I’m pretty good at knowing what’s going to stick and what’s not. My predictions: 1) that hookless will remain with us and; 2) that integrated, unchangeable front ends will go away are pretty unpopular views that I hold. Let’s talk in 3 years.

If you take anything away from what I’ve written above, I hope it’s these two things. First, that new tech generally works, and the naysayers will always shout their nays at 10x the volume of everyone else, usually laced with a heavy dose of snark and sneer. Second, not all tech does work and the sage user learns to parse wisely. Is there a one-liner that offers reliable guidance? How about: Does this new tech offer the promise of improved performance without causing even larger problems? I know that’s not much. I use that phrase to justify my dislike of integrated road cockpits. Others use that same axiom to argue against hookless rims.

New Tech Only Blossoms Inside a System

I acknowledge what you might label an inconsistency in my thinking, to which I reply: Over the last decade one new tech arcs over all the others and that’s disc brakes. You don’t get the complete makeover of bike motifs without disc brakes. This tech allows frames, forks, wheels, tires all to be reimagined and all to work together in concert. The only times this ever happened during my 40 years in this industry were, first, the remaking of the stem through a pair of innovations: 1) a 2-piece faceplate and 2) the threadless headset; and second, with the advent of the aero bar.

I guess you’d say I’m wired to think in terms of systems, as one of the design motifs for which I have some mild celebrity is the steep seat-angled tri bike and that frame makes absolutely no sense unless you pair it with the aero bar. The aero bar makes limited sense until you pair it with the tri bike frame (like the Quintana Roo Zero Gravity, a bike we made circa 1990 and pictured above). The aero bar was – according to the large majority of pure bike racers and those who manufactured bikes for them – a dumb idea when it came out in 1987. I think we can agree it wasn't such a dumb idea after all.

The post Not Such a Dumb Idea After All first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

Wahoo has partnered with ROAD iD to offer a free special edition, customizable wrist band that displays your emergency contact information. Now through May 14th, you will receive a ROAD iD coupon with the purchase of an ELEMNT ROAM or BOLT computer. You will only need to pay for the shipping on the WAHOO iD wrist band ($6.99).

Two iD Options

ROAD iD offers two tiers for their identification wearables.

The first tier is the wearable iD only that displays emergency contact information. The wrist is a good location for first responders to discover your information that you have engraved on the ROAD iD. Example information that you may add to your ROAD iD includes phone numbers for your family or close friends and any essential information about allergies or medical conditions for first responders.

The second tier adds an online profile where you can store additional information in the event that you cannot communicate these details to those attending to you. Not limited to the character limits on the wearable, you can store and update emergency contacts, medical history, allergies, contact information for doctors, insurance details, medications, etc. You can also upload documents that would be helpful in the event of an emergency. The online profile is $19.99/year with a free introductory period of six months. This online profile can include multiple iDs for your entire family at no additional cost.

First responders access your online profile using the website or phone number on the front and a serial number and a pin on the back of the iD.

Other Locations

If you like the idea of ROAD iD for wearable identification but you don’t like the idea of an additional wrist band, there are other options available for purchase from ROAD iD including for your watch, ankle, shoe, or neck.

I’m not a trained first responder, but my guess is that the iD on the wrist or a dog tag around the neck may be more easily discovered than on your shoe. However, any identification is better than none.

Peace of Mind

A grim topic for sure. No one wants to think about an accident while exercising that leaves you unable to communicate with first responders. However, wearing your vital information, especially any pre-existing medical conditions, may expedite first responders attending to your medical needs. Also, as you head out the door for your next ride or run, you will put your loved ones’ minds at ease knowing that you are wearing identification.

If you are in the market for a new Wahoo bike computer, why not also take advantage of this free Wahoo iD offer? It may even help justify the expense to the other person on your bank account.

The post Free ROAD iD with Wahoo ROAM or BOLT first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

A critical aspect of sports is the ability to innovate. And sometimes, something comes along that so fundamentally changes the game, there’s no going back. Recently, I got a look at the new FORM Smart Swim 2 goggles—and from what I’ve seen so far, it does just that.

In the FORM Smart Swim 2 goggles (available for purchase worldwide starting April 2nd) you’ll find several transformative additions, including an Integrated Heart Rate Monitor and SwimStraight technology for open water.

But before we provide details on them, as well as the expanded features in HeadCoach arriving soon, it’s important to remember what FORM goggles have already done. The closest comparable, in my mind, is the way the Oakland Athletics utilized sabermetrics to revolutionize baseball, both in training and for in-game decisions. So, in the spirit of Moneyball, I’ve used lines from the film to help emphasize why the “beautiful game” in the water just became even more so.

While I hope this brings creativity (and maybe even a laugh or two), the lingering thought next time you open your gear bag—or find yourself in the middle of a long set—is what you want your swim experience to be. Simply stated, there’s too much time—and too much effort—put into swimming to not find value in numbers right in front of us.

“If he's a good hitter, why doesn't he hit good?”

Prior to FORM’s entry into the market, the ability to access multisport data real-time was readily available, albeit on the bike and the run. Quick, easy glances at wearables or external devices made tracking goals, monitoring output, and adjusting effort along the way convenient. And convenience shaped best practices, and then competitive expectations.

Certainly, some methods make real-time feedback available for the swim. But often with sacrifice. Especially in a race. For example, a few missed strokes to check a wristwatch. Even then, those intermittent pauses provide brief glimpses into performance. For most athletes, there is a risk calculus of how long to look at the data, then how to apply it until the next interval (if they even stopped to check).

But then something happened. FORM goggles provided a method to see instantaneous data through an Augmented Reality display, using Waveguide optics technology. For societies constantly connected to screens, placing numbers in the view path of the swimmer was natural. And just like that, swimmers found ways to trust the data.

Between races, the companion FORM app allowed users to pre-set dashboards for pool and open water settings. This opened new possibilities for in-the-moment monitoring of distance, time, stroke rate, and more visually. For the busy athlete (who isn’t), the initial FORM smart goggles also made information easily consumable during a swim, empowering decision making. The supplemental library of +1,500 workouts and +45 structured training plans available to Premium users made swim sessions purposeful, regardless of whether swimming alone or sharing data with others. But, like all initial products, there was room to improve.

The introduction of HeadCoach provided the next round of ingenuity. In Moneyball, when General Manager Billy Beane asks newly hired Yale-graduate-turned-baseball strategist Peter Brand to see player evaluations, the conversation goes like this:

Billy Beane: I asked you to do three.
Peter Brand: Yeah.
Billy Beane: To evaluate three players.
Peter Brand: Yeah.
Billy Beane: How many you'd do?
Peter Brand: Forty-seven.
Billy Beane: Okay.
Peter Brand: Actually, fifty-one. I don't know why I lied just then.

HeadCoach felt a lot like that. The data we didn’t know we needed, until we did. And it came from an in-goggle motion sensor and machine learning technology.

For context, in a swim session, a user can pause the workout, turn HeadCoach on, and select a Skills mode technique to emphasize. Like sabermetrics in baseball, HeadCoach utilizes terminology that once understood makes swimming without it impossible (or nearly so). Whether Head Pitch (eye/chin angle when looking forward) or Head Roll (lateral head tilt when breathing), visual bars in the lens make developing (and maintaining) good habits sustainable.

However, insights reveal work to be done by most swimmers. And that, precisely, is where choice comes into play.

“You get on base, we win. You don't, we lose.”

This realization lays the foundation for the FORM Smart Swim 2 goggles. If knowledge is good, more is better.

Currently, HeadCoach provides personalized FORM scores for each area with explanations (and improvement videos) through In-App education and post-swim analysis. That means an athlete can see measurable progress over time.

It also means seeing where strengths are—and conversely, where there’s opportunity to improve. One area I’m still working on is Time-to-Neutral, or how long it takes to return into the water when inhaling. And what the numbers tell me is that I spend far too long looking to the side, ultimately disrupting my efficiency. Or in baseball terms, a constant pitch clock violation. Like, far too long.

HeadCoach will now expand to include auto-generated workouts tailored to a user’s skill level—and the free swim option will include HeadCoachprompts from real-time analysis. Members can also build custom workouts with HeadCoach insights.

Specific to the FORM Smart Swim 2, here’s what to expect.

The Integrated Heart Rate Monitor measures heart rate through a sensor built into the goggle frames at the temple. Where wrist watches or chest straps can be difficult to wear (or check while swimming), the FORM Smart Swim 2 goggles display heart rate in the top corner of the lens, accompanied by a heart icon.

The integrated heart rate technology provides more consistent heart rate readings than some other methods based on scientific observation, which is vital when aiming to swim within certain heart rate zones. Less variability in heart rate readings (ex. +/- 4 beats per minutes) means more accurate data. It also provides peace of mind (or a warning) when in the water, regardless of our emotional or sensory experience. It lets me know when I’m going out-too-hot. Or the opposite, when I think I’m pushing too hard, but my heart rate is within the range I want it.

Having data viewable creates line-of-sight into something most multisport athletes are blind to in the water. In a race, you can’t win it during a swim—but you certainly can lose it. Energy overexertion and lactic thresholds take their toll, similar to over-paying a baseball player relative to their actual production. Spend what you need to in the water, no more no less. Swim smart.

“This guy should cost $3 million a year. We can get him for $237,000.”

The other novel technology in the FORM Smart Swim 2 is SwimStraight, which uses a first-of-its-kind digital compass to display directional heading. Think of a compass with 0 through 360 degrees, shown horizontal when rotating either direction.

Here, the competitive advantage cannot be underscored. If an athlete knows that a buoy is located at 270 degrees when they sight heads-up, the need to re-sight could move to every 30 seconds rather than every few strokes. It also means that when glare impairs visibility during portions of a swim, relative confidence exists on bearing, via the augmented reality display.

I once attended a middle-distance race where the event started early in the morning (as they often do), only to be met with significant reflections from the rising sun. A professional triathlete even turned around completely mid-course, swimming to the incorrect point and cascading to a DNF.

Importantly, the FORM Smart Swim 2 goggles and all of its included features have been granted race approval by World Triathlon, USA Triathlon, the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO), and supertri. This list may continue to grow, so it’s recommended to check with a race organizer and/or the FORM website.

Where permitted, this technology creates a new dynamic in the water that we haven’t seen before—and one that will readily be used while others expend additional energy to swim longer, or less straight, to the same destination.

The FORM Smart Swim 2 goggles include an Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, and Barometer. To give SwimStraight a test, I did a brief open water swim (with wetsuit) at a nearby lake. It was frigid, but I was excited to experience something new.

To calibrate, the goggles ask a user to tilt their head in various directions. Once the start button is clicked, the digital compass appears. I sighted to a distance object, swam to it, then returned back to the shore (which was the opposite degree equivalent, understandably). I also tried SwimStraight in open water mode at my indoor pool for a shakeout swim, following a 15 mile long run. Similarly, I used the compass to sight swim blocks at the end of the pool, focusing on my own accuracy. It worked well, and throughout the warmer months, expect to provide a follow up article on my extended experience.

“We are card counters at the blackjack table and we're gonna turn the odds on the casino.”

The FORM Smart Swim 2 has a few additional items worth noting. Not only are these important as other competitors evaluate their offerings in the swim space, they are also important in anticipating what a swimmer needs, even if they can’t articulate it.

The tech pack on the side of FORM Smart Swim 2 goggles is 15% smaller than the prior version. The arms on the frame, which house the heart rate sensor, also provide a strong sense of stability for the attached straps.

For me, the new proprietary eyes seals are a substantial improvement over the prior iteration. They are intended to fit a wider variety of facial structures. In fact, there were times with the FORM Smart Swim 1 goggles that I cut sessions short or opted to use other non-smart pairs. Once I broke in that first generation, the experience became easier. In a way, I understood that goggles that could be worn on the left or right side (essentially, reversed) were different from traditional one-direction frames. So, I tempered my expectations on comfort eventually. However, the FORM Smart Swim 2 solves the relative discomfort I experienced from the outset—and my face is grateful.

“If you lose the last game of the season, nobody gives a shit.”

Technology is a tool. What we do with it, and how consistently we do, can make a significant impact. For many age group athletes, swimming is the least intuitive part of multisport. Trust me, I am one of them. At my first sprint triathlon several years ago (indoors), I swam 400 yards. In twelve minutes. Doing the breaststroke. When innovations come to the market that help swimmers of all levels, it’s something that should not be taken lightly. And when something occurs that changes the way a sport is done, like power meters and aero bars, it’s something to take notice of. Especially where water is involved.

Here at the start of another season, I’m hopeful that the results will continue to follow.

FORM Smart Swim 2 has a current MSRP of $249.00/£229.00/€249.00. Notable change on pricing: you no longer receive 12 months of FORM Premium with your purchase. Current purchases now include a free two-month trial of FORM Premium, which includes access workouts, training plans, HeadCoach, TrainingPeaks workout imports and SwimStraight. (Standard open-water mode and real-time pool metrics remain unlocked whether or not you subscribe.)

After your trial ends, continued access to Premium Features costs $15/£13/€15 a month or $99/£84/€99 annually.

The post Moneyball in the Water: A Look at the New FORM Smart Swim 2 Goggles first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

Cadex has brought forth the launch of four new product offerings, all of which should appeal to weight and aesthetic geeks alike. While we couldn't actually ride the wheels, we did have a chance to look at 3 out of 4 of these for a couple of days. We can confirm that the look, feel, and quality match not only the CADEX brand but also gets closer to the TOP dogs in the industry when it comes to tech advancements.

– Cadex Max 40 wheel system
– Race GC Tubeless Tire
– Aero Integrated Handlebar
– Race Integrated Handlebar

#1: CADEX MAX 40 Disc TUBELESS are designed to be the best all-around wheel Cadex has ever produced. The 40mm rim, with aero blade spokes and 22.4mm inner width, give perfect balance of performance for a wheel clearly going after the lightweight and synchros market share of BLADE spoke wheels. With the newer technology of not only tubeless but hookless capabilities, Cadex is able to go after more lateral stiffness with less yet stronger material. One of the cool things about the Wheel Systems is the ability to true the wheel which is something that other aero blade wheel systems have usually lacked in the past. Now do you even need to true a unibody carbon blade wheel? CADEX sure seems to think so or this feature just means the manufacturing process is easier and gives marketing something to write about. Regardless, I do like the idea that if you break a spoke for some reason while the inner body and hub 100% need to be replaced at least there is a chance the outer rim doesn't end up in a landfill before its time.

The front and rear combination weighs in at 1249 g., which is still slightly heavier than its current bladed spoke competitors. But with an average increased lateral stiffness-to-weight of over 30%, Cadex is clearly going after not only climbers but also general classification contenders. This is the lightest wheel that Cadex has ever brought to market and with a $4,000 USD MSRP. This sits at half the cost of the highest retail sticker price on the market and just under the lowest.

Rim Material: Carbon
Rim Type: Hookless
Tubeless: CADEX Tubeless System (rim tape and valve kit included)
Suggested Tire Size: 700 x 25C – 700 x 32C
Rim Height: 40mm
Rim Outer Width: 28mm
Rim Inner Width: 22.4mm
ETRTO: 622-22
Front Hub: CADEX R3 , Centerlock One-piece integrated hub and spokes
Rear Hub: CADEX R3-C48, Ratchet Driver, Centerlock One-piece integrated hub and spokes
Hub Compatibility: Shimano / SRAM XDR / Campagnolo N3W

Bearings: Ceramic
Front Axle: 100x12mm Thru Axle
Rear Axle: 142x12mm Thru Axle
Front Spokes: Super Aero Carbon Spoke
Front Lacing: DBL, 16H
Rear Spokes: Super Aero Carbon Spoke
Rear Lacing: DBL, 24H
Nipple: Hidden Integrated Alloy Nipple
Warranty: Lifetime (for registered original owners)
Incident Replacement: Lifetime (for registered original owners)
Weight (Pair): 1249g (with Shimano freehub)

#2: With the Cadex wheels, comes the new CADEX Race GC Tubless Tire . I believe the reason for the tire is Cadex helping to ensure the riders’ experience with the wheel system. Pairing the two Cadex products seems to create the ultimate riding experience, while also ensuring the safety of the rider with the industry still divided on hookless rims. The recommended 28c tire comes with a 240 TPI, which for sure supports the theory that you can now make a much STIFFER wheel based on new tire tech. The re-engineered tire decreases rolling resistance by 18%. This is a great example and a reminder to the larger tire companies. Unless we really start working with the wheel companies when it comes to hookless, I think they are going to start selling more and more of their own tested rubber to their consumers.

Tire size comes in 28c with a retail price of $105 each.

Size: 700x28c
Weight: 279 g
Max PSI: 70-95 (4.8 – 6.6 BAR)
TPI: 240
Race Shield cut-resistant Kevlar®
Tubeless/Hookless compatible

#3 & 4: The last products brought to market in this round are not only one but two integrated handlebars. These are the first integrated bars for Cadex.

The “Aero” integrated and “Race” integrated handlebars come with almost the same number of size options, and they share the same unibody mold with the same -10 degree stem angle.

AERO BAR

Stem Angle: -10 degrees
Stem Clamp: 1 1/4” / 1 1/8” / OverDrive Aero (with carbon shim)
Stem Length: 80 / 90 / 100 / 110 / 120 / 130 / 140mm
Width: (Drop to Drop) 360 / 380 / 400 / 420 / 440mm
Width (Hood to Hood): 340 / 360 / 380 / 400 / 420mm
Drop: 125mm
Reach: 80mm (72mm for 360mm bar)
Flare: 3 degrees
Backsweep: 2 degrees
Weight: 325g (420mm x 100mm bar)
Included Accessories: 1 1/8” spacer, OverDrive Aero spacer, 2021-2023 TCR spacer, OverDrive Aero shim 1 1/4” to 1/8” shim, CADEX out-front computer mount

MSRP: $699

RACE BAR

Stem Angle: -10 degrees
Stem Clamp: 1 1/8”, OverDrive Aero (depending on model)
Stem Length: 80 / 90 / 100 / 110 / 120 / 130 / 140mm
Width (Drop to Drop): 360 / 380 / 400 / 420 / 440mm
Width (Hood to Hood): 340 / 360 / 370 / 390 / 410mm
Drop: 125mm (120mm for 360 / 380mm bar)
Reach: 72mm (68mm for 360 / 380mm bar)
Flare: 11 degrees for 400 / 420/ 440mm bar 8 degrees for 360/380 bar
Weight: 256g (420mm x 100mm bar)
Included Accessories: 1 1/8” stem : 1 1/8” spacer, CADEX out-front computer mount OverDrive Aero stem: OverDrive Aero spacer, CADEX out-front computer mount

MSRP: $650

All in all nothing really earth shattering here but I do like that CADEX as a brand continues to strengthen its offer to its customer base. It shows that the company is here to stay and you can count on a consist stream of great products to choose from when looking for those high end additions for your bikes.

– EW

The post CADEX Continues to Move Forward first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

Apple’s AirTag lets you find things you misplaced or can’t find. Keys for example. The problem with the AirTag is that it anticipates you considering exes as “things you lost” that need retrieving. Or at least monitoring. For this reason, if your stalker plants an AirTag on – say – your car, a prompt on your phone notifies you that an AirTag is close, and an audible noise helps you locate it. The speaker in the AirTag also, of course, helps you find your keys. But it also helps the perp find the AirTag on your bike.

This means Apple placing anti-stalking ahead of object retrieval (in case of theft) creates a conundrum, but there are workarounds which I’ll get to. As object retrieval, people (e.g., me) who use AirTags as cheap LoJacks go in and remove the speakers. The perp’s iPhone still gets a prompt. We hope that the lack of diligence that created the perp’s need to steal rather than to prevail in life in the traditional way works to our favor.

I have AirTags on everything I value enough to want to go get if it gets stolen. Including all my bikes. But not limited to bikes. I have AirTags on my dump trailer, my horse trailer, and on Cody, who just turned 1 year old a couple of weeks ago and who will jump into anyone’s car if that person will just open the door. Incluing the Fedex and UPS trucks. Cody's AirTag is black taped into a fold in his black collar. Pretty stealthy.

One Apple account can host up to 16 AirTags and these half-dollar-sized units cost around $20 apiece of you buy them in bulk ($78.99 for a 4-pack today at Best Buy and Walmart). Of course you need to be an iPhone person. If you’re an Android person it’s a Tile you want. Today I’m writing only about AirTags.

Where to put this thing on your bike? We’ve got ours in several places on our household’s bikes. The most notoriously hidden location on any of them is just inside the bottom bracket of my Quintana Roo SR6, and I did that on a whim because I had to pull the crank and BB out anyway for another maintenance job. So I took the opportunity to throw an AirTag in there and it’s not hard (if you have the tools) to pull a SRAM cranks and T47 BB once I need to change the battery. iPhones appear to have no trouble seeing an iPhone inside a carbon frame.

Some folks put them under the handlebar tape. I don’t prefer this as the AirTag is sufficiently large that the device is quite “proud” of the handlebar and if you do find a place that won’t interfere with your handhold positions it’s a pretty obvious location to a thief (especially if he grabs your bike by the handlebars where the AirTag resides). You could of course just put it in your behind-the-seat bag. But if a perp is looking for an AirTag that’s a pretty likely place to search.

One Slowtwitcher said he puts his “under the bottle cage.” Nice idea. I’d like to see how that’s done, because I couldn’t fit it under my frame cages. The current version of the 4iii power meter has tech that works (as I understand it) exactly like the AirTag, and without the speaker. Muc-Off has an AirTag holder built into a tubeless valve. Assuming the valve is compatible with the wheel I can’t imagine a perp finding it there. But the AirTag is pretty big and this won’t work in a road riding application (38c tire or larger).

On my other road bike – a Cervelo R5 – I put it under the seat. There are waterproof carriers for these (one such carrier is in the shot highest above and just below) but honestly AirTags are pretty waterproof. The main reason I like an AirTag holder is that I can aggressively glue that holder to the saddle, and I can unscrew the cover and get to the AirTag to change the battery.

By the way, AirTags on bikes are how Slowtwitchers whose Pontevedra bikes were in freight forwarder hell knew where their bikes were (from Richmond to Chicago to Los Angeles).

About removing the speaker in an AirTag. I’ve watched a fair number of videos on how to do this, but there is one by a guy who has discovered how to successfully get inside the AirTag without braking the tiny clips that hold the AirTag’s halves together. Some folks prefer not to remove the speaker but if you want it outa there this is the video to watch:

My wife’s Litespeed presented a particular problem. Because it’s a metal frame I didn’t feel that confident the BLE signal could be seen by an iPhone and, besides, that bike’s tubes are small enough it would’ve been hard getting an AirTag inside. I tried putting it under the handlebar tape but it was just too obvious wherever I put it, including down around the shifter area. Her particular saddle has no obvious place to hide it. So, there’s her saddle bag, which is so large and stuffed with so much stuff that a perp would probably give up trying to find it. But I thought I could do better.

Yes, it’s on this bike, and I don’t think it’s too obvious where unless you’re a bike person. I spray painted it black and Gorilla Glued it underneath the Wahoo puck on her head unit mount. It’s kind of an ugly job but it works. I don’t know yet if I’ll be able to unscrew the cap once the battery dies. I’ll cross that bridge in a year.

Anybody’s iPhone will detect a nearby Airtag and you can use that detection to locate your device or item. For example, an AirTag fell off my dump trailer a few weeks ago and is apparently sitting on the side of a freeway in greater L.A. (Note to self: don’t rely entirely on the 3M 2-sided tape that comes on the aftermarket AirTag holders.) When I look for my dump trailer on FindMy that AirTag was last seen 13 hours ago.

If your perp is an Android user you’re out of luck. Kind of. He just has to be in the vicinity of an iPhone owner. His partner in crime, for example. Or his mom, over for a visit and with no idea her son is a douchebag. (I like to think moms will unknowingly rat out their ne’er do well kids.) At some point that AirTag is likely to pop up on your FindMy. Then what?

Welp… that depends on where you live and which law enforcement you choose to help you. I’ve read numerous stories of police declining to help because, after all, “it’s just a bicycle.” Were it me and if I’d found myself in that situation I’d first ask the police what they intend to do. If they were shy about taking action perhaps I’d nicely approach the perp directly. If anyone had found my bike I’d be overjoyed to pay $100 for a successful retrieval.

AirTags are reasonably precise. Very precise based just on the tech used. As I understand it the tech Apple uses to fix a location for an AirTags is UWB – Ultra-Wideband – a radio frequency. Any iPhone that is generation 11 or later has this tech built-in. If your device has been fixed using UWB it’s likely within a foot of wherever the map says it is. So, technically, the iPhone that detects this AirTag has a known location because of its GPS. The iPhone’s UWB signal locates the AirTag distant from the iPhone. This fixes the location of the AirTag. Then, again limited to my often-flawed comprehension, actual communication between the AirTag and an iPhone is via Bluetooth.

While UWB’s accuracy is within 30cm you’ll find stories on the web of folks who actually locate their devices 30 feet away from where the map says it is. This is perhaps one reason law enforcement is shy about accusing someone if your device is in a tract home or mobile home park. So, the AirTag works well, or doesn’t, at stolen item retrieval depending on all these factors. (Good luck finding the perp if he’s got your bike in a multi-story apartment building.)

The image above is the map on FindMy where my AirTags are and I know that this isn't exactly where these items are. There is some gap between technical and actual map accuracy.

Here is that thread on our Reader Forum where users describe how they’ve deployed their AirTags on their bikes.

The post Apple AirTag as Bike Retrieval Aid first appeared on Slowtwitch News.