Suggested Improvement

[biker2000on]

I would really like to have the option to graph the temperature along with all the other information in the ibike software. I know it is stored in the .csv file and can be graphed in excel, but to have it integrated with ibike 4 would be awesome.

Thanks for considering it.

Justin

[lorduintah]

I hope you realize that the temp readings are not accurate and are affected by the sun. The closed case tends to run hotter (or warmer anyway) than the outdoor environment. So there is not a strong correlation to real riding conditions.

Tom

[arkiejon]

If the heart rate strap would record body temp would be interesting.

[Russ]

True that the iBike closed case is warmer in the Sun when sitting still. However, I asked about this regarding black vs white case along time ago (it seems) and the answer was that once moving, the wind chill effect (my words, paraphrasing the idea) would keep the black unit effectively as close to the outside temp as the white unit.

So, that said, I too would cast my vote to be able to see the graph selectively with the other stuff.

Thanks,
Russ

[lorduintah]

Russ -

I have a Black case. I have been able to ride a few time outside recently in 45 - 50 F degree weather. The Temp sensor was reporting rides at around 67F. In the summer, a 95 degree day reads over 100... I'm in Dallas.

Tom

[biker2000on]

I know the temperature is not accurate on a sunny day, but when riding in overcast weather, which it is usually in Blacksburg, VA in the winter time, it reads fairly accurately. I just like to know why it feels so cold. The interesting thing about digital thermometers that I have found, is that they never read low. They are either correct or too high because of exposure to the sun. I was riding on Wednesday at a rest stop it was reading 65F when in fact it was probably 29F or 30F outside.

I still would like to see the graph because it could also give you another clue as to the weather outside, such as cloud cover and riding in open fields as opposed to under the shade of trees.

[lorduintah]

I think if you are willing to accept a "trend" and not accuracy, there is nothing wrong with this request - if it can be added in a future release. I am just concerned that adding this will then become a point of irritation to those expecting great accuracy - heck, I don't even believe the weather reports most of the time! They can be a few degrees off just due to how much concrete is close by.

Tom

[arkiejon]

I think if you are willing to accept a "trend" and not accuracy, there is nothing wrong with this request - if it can be added in a future release. I am just concerned that adding this will then become a point of irritation to those expecting great accuracy - heck, I don't even believe the weather reports most of the time! They can be a few degrees off just due to how much concrete is close by.
Tom

That is why I said said body temp earler. If you could see what your body temp was at that second. You would be able to back off just a little to keep from over heating and raising your heart rate. Or know if you could push a little harder. It would be the current status of your body. Which I agree is effected by the elments but more useful.

Either way it sounds like a wast of memory that coudl be used for other things don't it?

[Russ]

I guess this would be a lower priority request from me but I would like to be able to easily review temp trends/timing during some of my rides.

Because I usually ride late in the day, approaching sunset or even past sunset at the end, the temperature usually drops or rises and then drops on longer rides. In the summer the peak times, power seems more affected by the heat, which is to be expected, from what I have read. Having the temperature profile would give a better clue than just the feel in post analysis. Seems there are also power affects from the cold.

Thanks
Russ

[mechgt]

Seems like this is something that could be more easily downloaded from WeatherUnderground than recorded and stored on the iBike. With the earlier comments on black vs. white iBike, and sunny vs. shady, this might also be more accurate. I'm a little new here at the iBike forum, but I think there's already an interface to download an avg temp, but it's possible to get temp over time (a trendline) from weatheruncerground as well.

[racerfern]

That is why I said said body temp earler. If you could see what your body temp was at that second. You would be able to back off just a little to keep from over heating and raising your heart rate. Or know if you could push a little harder. ...

I disagree. Your core body temp like your heart rate, lags behind efforts by quite some time. By the time you realize your body temp or HR is higher than it should be, you may have overcooked yourself and the damage is done.

IMO, If you're going to train with power, then train with power. Average watts, normalized watts, IF and TSS numbers will tell the story better than any temp sensor. Whether its overcooking going up a hill or not going quite hard enough on a long fat burning ride, these numbers hold your answers. If you're not feeling 100% or if you're feeling super, the changes in these numbers and their percentages of each other will show the same as core temp changes, etc. There are numerous books that confirm the usability of the wattage numbers.

[arkiejon]

I do not disagree with you at all racerfern for your usage. I use all that plus my waking heart rate and BP and weight and whatever else I can find. But who is training? Not me. All I want to see is that my heart is getting stronger which can be seen without the use of power at all. I just think is cool to see other things on the chart with my heart rate including power which can keep me from over doing it. I’m in this because I want to live longer and this power meter mixed with other devices can help me do that. So what has the most value to my needs?

The question I ask myself: What would be the use/value of knowing the heat inside that box and having it plotted side by side with my heart rate and power charts? What if the sun is on my back and the IBike is in my shadow? Body temp is not an instant change; it increases slowly so body temp could be of help. I just see more value in knowing body temp then I would that of a box setting in the sun, No matter how useless either option is, if we are going to have one, which one is the better? I know charting the unit temp is easier. But is it of any use at all to anyone?

But being it is being tracked in the IBike why not chart it in the software? Or stop wasting storage space and stop recording it?

[lorduintah]

If the temp sensor values get stored - plotting them is not especially difficult for a software revision. So that one is up to Velocomp as to including the variable in the plot routines.

I do not think that either heart strap takes temperature - that would be a major change along many directions - including cost and another channel on ANT+ - and it would be a skin temp, not core temp anyway.Or are you proposing an ear plug?

A few side comments which we all probably know or think about in some fashion:

As far as condition and overcooking - your heart rate is as good as it gets from a body sensor - my HR shows a steady increase over riding time to a saturation plateau. I also know that if I exceed a certain HR for any sustained time that I have gone anaerobic and I am over cooking. The same can be said for sustained power - so many watts average or I am done for. I can handle a short interval into extremes, but not for a long haul. However - by doing both of these - power or HR - into the "RED" - I force my body to adapt.

However, for regular riding - once cooked - HR and power never reach a given sustained level again during that ride.

I also am in it for heart health not racing. But I do consider that I am training - training my body to be in a healthier state. So I am not riding to maintain, but improve. I can improve endurance as well as overall CV health and the result should be at least more distance or faster speeds (or both) and no HR increase or I might also see a shorter recovery to a normal HR. Alternatively, I can also improve my ability to get to and maintain a higher HR and thus a more robust CV system.

Tom

[Russ]

Mechgt mentioned using weatherunderground, well, I do use that. The problems with that are that most of my rides are in an area between several of the private stations linked there and between the suspected differences in calibration, positioning (like sun exposure and height for wind) and the real variation between those sites and also the point I am riding at a given time.... Then the only official station nearby - KOFC, an official airport site only records hourly and has a wind measuring system that is clearly affected by the higher winds at the official height for those installations.

So, bottom line, like the man with several clocks not knowing what time it is, I frequently have no real clue about the weather data and sometimes they are quite divergent. I would trust the trends in the iBike better.

But, like I said it is a very low priority thing for me . I would rate adding the selection capability of the private weather stations as a higher priority than plotting the temperature.

Russ

[racerfern]

IF you have a 705, you can import the ride into SportTracks. A plugin called Map Overlay and GPS2Power combine to gather the weather data in the vicinity of the ride. See attached screenshot.

The screenshot shows, temp as recorded by the weather stations, wind direction, wind speed and the relative headwind/tailwind based on your speed and direction of travel. You can choose to have a number of other sets of data shown but I find these the most useful. In addition, clicking on any one data point shows all the data about that point. Also, clicking on one of the weather stations opens up the info for that station in a browser window.

This can also be done without a 705 by importing the iBike csv file directly into SportTracks and then manually specifying a GPS track that gets "attached" to the activity; for example a 305 or any file with gpx export.