A lot of questions and picture request on Ibike power meter

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DIMI
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Joined: Mon Aug 09, 2010 4:27 am

A lot of questions and picture request on Ibike power meter

Post by DIMI »

Hello there i'm interested in buying an power meter and came across the Ibike power meters and the Ibike systems has got me interested. Since I don'tw ant to get stuck with an piece of equipement that doesn't have the features i'm looking for or just isn't useful for my training goals I have bombarded John with a lot of questions, all of which were replied to in an fast and accurat way. Still I have many questions left and although I can keep on just asking him I think it's perhaps better to post them here so in the future people looking for the same information can find it here and I can also get some feedback from current Ibike users.

I'm a pretty serious rider and I'm looking for an way to get better results from my training, an power meter would be a good step into that direction. Since I don't want to add to much weight to my current setup, the Ibike seams an good alternative to other Power meters I'm looking into at the moment.

My questions :

What is the (height/aerodynamic) profile of the Isport when mounted on a stem, there is an picture on the site, but more pictures and more close up would give me an better idea, also the measurments would help.

Are the Isport and the Ipro housing the same size, I see that the Ipro is described as an sleeker profile, but is the Isport the same size/profile? So if I buy an Isport and eventually have an upgrade do I have the same thing or an bigger device that does the same?

Which of you ride with an Garmin Edge 500 and a Ibike Isport combination, I think it is perfect for what I'm looking : I can download the results to Garmin connect, only thing is I'm not to keen on an two computer setup and was thinging about putting the edge in the back pocket for registration purposes and having the Ibike mounted on the stem, anyone else useing such an setup?

what is the average battery life? I sometimes ride for more then 8 hours, so I need something that will last.

Is there an way to ride with the Garmin edge computer mounted and having the Ibike somewhere else on the bike, or use something like the time trail tube device so the air intak isn't on the stem?

How does the Isport handle rain and wet conditions?

Any experiences with Ibike / MOst Talon handlebar combinations?
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klaus
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Re: A lot of questions and picture request on Ibike power meter

Post by klaus »

Welcome to the forum.

I have owned the Ibike since 2007. My training and performance on the bike have been improved dramatically.

The ibike will need some space on your stem or handlebar look at these posts on the forum this are real users with their setup http://www.ibikeforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=10


One could probably hide the ibike but what is the point. I now ride and concentrate only one 1 single number WATTS everything else is interesting but not very important.
The Watts help me pace the ride when I ride with my wife, I can pace my own speed up long climbs in the ALPS and never get too much into the red and if I do I know and I know when I will hit a wall.


Batter life is exceptional. we just returned from 1 week 5 days, 500km ride in Italy with a total ride time of 26hours and the battery is still fine and has logged a few more hours since we are back. The memory was only half full with a 5seconds interval.
The initial Ibikes had some issues in the cold but the latest version is very much improved. There are still some issue in the cold 30-40F where the battery will lose the power but that is a Lithium batter issue

I have no experience with the Garmin or Rain. I have a GPS tracker on my bike 70gram which records the GPS data I can then merge the files but never really bother. GSP will have out times here and there in deep valleys, tunnels, ... The ibike is pretty accurate on its own. I do check the elevation gain/loss against the GPS but they are within the expected 5% variation.

Best purchase I have ever made for my bikes after the bike and the helmet. The Sport and pro are exactly the same unit only the software is different. If you are some what serious about your workouts you have to go with the Pro. The sport is OK but there is no download and analysis of the rides or storage on the PC.
My wife and I we booth own an Ibike pro. My dad rides with an I bike sport but he is also contemplating the upgrade to pro (which is just that an upgrade of the software to be able to downloaded the files) you keep the same unit and mounts
DIMI
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Joined: Mon Aug 09, 2010 4:27 am

Re: A lot of questions and picture request on Ibike power meter

Post by DIMI »

Thank you for your answer, since Ibike provides an upgrade option I have choosen the Isport, we'll see how it goes from there. The Garmin le to question was to find out any experiences with useing the Isport and Garmin side by side so I will be able to record to Garmin connect even when I only own an Isport.

I'm a correct that the Ibike Sport and Pro have the same housing/size for the unit? I hopeI will share you enthousiasm in the near future, I train a lot, but now I want to train a lot better.
minus10
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Re: A lot of questions and picture request on Ibike power meter

Post by minus10 »

The upgrade from the iSport to the iPro is a firmware unlock. The units are physically the same. I've just taken the route you have, using an Edge 705. More than happy with the iSport, I've now upgraded. You are sent the USB adapter and software. You use the adapter to read the iSport serial number. You email that to the iBike folk and they return a firmware unlock file that you upload to the iSport. You then have a fully functional iPro. You just don't have the iPro logo on the unit :)

The instructions with the upgrade are clear and easy to follow.
DIMI
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Re: A lot of questions and picture request on Ibike power meter

Post by DIMI »

Thanks, how did the Ibike and Garmin work together? where did you put both devices? and was it possible to read out data on Garmin connect?

I'm thinking about either putting the Garmin in a saddle bag or in my back pocket since I don't like the idea of an over crowded handbar. Any experience with that?
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lorduintah
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Re: A lot of questions and picture request on Ibike power meter

Post by lorduintah »

I have put the mount for the Garmin on my top tube - put a strip of rubber cut from an old tube between the mount and the tube to keep it from sliding up and down the top tube. It stays out of the way, yet is easily accessible.

Tom
minus10
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Re: A lot of questions and picture request on Ibike power meter

Post by minus10 »

DIMI wrote:Thanks, how did the Ibike and Garmin work together? where did you put both devices? and was it possible to read out data on Garmin connect?

I'm thinking about either putting the Garmin in a saddle bag or in my back pocket since I don't like the idea of an over crowded handbar. Any experience with that?
As I tend to do 100km touring rides over routes I'm riding for the first time, I handlebar mount the garmin on the other side of the stem from the iBike and use it to navigate. I upload all my rides to garmin connect and it shows power along with all the other channels.

For WKO analysis I use the iBike data now that I've upgraded to the iPro and can process the ride data (for when I slack and draft my ride partner). The garmin doesn't record wind or slope but that's no biggie. I find it comforting to have two data stores should one flake out (not happened to date).

The iBike works like a charm with the 705 sensor set and HRM strap. No problems at all.
Bike4Him
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Re: A lot of questions and picture request on Ibike power meter

Post by Bike4Him »

I did not like the mounted profile of the iBike. For me it sat way too high and way to far forward on the bar.
If you mount it on the stem it's even worse. I saw one mounted on the stem with epoxy.
Still sat too high and the guy epoxied the mount to a high dollar carbon stem...permanently
I created a simple mounting system using the mounting kit from a Shimano Flight Deck.
It now rides next to the stem and barely above the handlebar. Very low profile and did not affect the airflow or accuracy.
Todj
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Re: A lot of questions and picture request on Ibike power meter

Post by Todj »

Bike4Him wrote:I did not like the mounted profile of the iBike. For me it sat way too high and way to far forward on the bar.
If you mount it on the stem it's even worse. I saw one mounted on the stem with epoxy.
Still sat too high and the guy epoxied the mount to a high dollar carbon stem...permanently
I created a simple mounting system using the mounting kit from a Shimano Flight Deck.
It now rides next to the stem and barely above the handlebar. Very low profile and did not affect the airflow or accuracy.
Any chance you could post a photo?
Regards,
Richard
Bike4Him
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Re: A lot of questions and picture request on Ibike power meter

Post by Bike4Him »

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Todj
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Re: A lot of questions and picture request on Ibike power meter

Post by Todj »

@Bike4Him

Very neat. Thanks for posting.

Is it solid enough to avoid the iBike showing any vibration issues?
Regards,
Richard
Bike4Him
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Re: A lot of questions and picture request on Ibike power meter

Post by Bike4Him »

Todj wrote:@Bike4Him

Very neat. Thanks for posting.

Is it solid enough to avoid the iBike showing any vibration issues?
It took a couple of tries but this version is "rock solid" as recommended.
I have pushed and pulled on it and ridden 1500 miles without issue. I occasionally check the tilt with marks on my floor to see if anything has changed.
It remains within .1 either side of the original mounting.

The iBike mount is attached to a section of wooden dowel that has a 1/4" additional round piece of wood attached to it.
The 1/4" additional piece of wood is cut out to alow the inverted flight deck mount to be recessed into it to eliminate movement.
The time consuming part was when I tried to get it exactly parallel to the stem. It isn't necessary to be that perfect but, it drives me crazy to have things on the bike that are off center or noisy. Riding a bike for many hours at a time and these things start to bug me.
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