Cycling computers are certainly handy gadgets for mountain bikers, letting them review things such as route followed and distance travelled. However, what if those computers could also track riders' jumps, letting them know how long they were airborne, and how hard they landed? Well, the ShredMate does exactly that.
Created by a family-run business located in London – which previously brought us the PoolMate lap-counting swimming watch – the ShredMate is cable-tied to the bike's fork, and communicates with an iOS/Android app on the rider's smartphone via Bluetooth Low Energy. There's also a small magnet that's mounted on the spokes, which the computer uses to detect wheel revolutions and thus to determine speed and distance.
Like a regular cyclometer, the ShredMate app shows users a map of the path that they've followed. Within that map, though, each of their jumps are highlighted. Selecting any one of them reveals data including exact air time, and the landing g-force. The latter is an important bit of information, as riders can try to reduce that force as much as possible, in order to smooth out their riding.
The map also shows the speed at which the rider was travelling on any given stretch of the trail – slow is green, and red is fast. Particularly rough sections are additionally detected and displayed, as are peak g-forces that are experienced when doing things like taking tight, fast corners … or crashing.
The main sensing device and its magnet have a combined weight of 25 g, with a coin cell battery providing enough power for a claimed six months of use.
If you're interested in getting a ShredMate, it's currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign. A pledge of £60 (about US$78) will get you one, when and if it reaches production.
Source: Kickstarter