How to get raw ride data?

[ScottChapman]

A friend of mine has experienced (a couple of times) an odd thing where during his ride it would all of a sudden show that he rode a huge distance when he hadn't.

For example, yesterday at mile 40 (for us) we averaged about 18, his unit showed he was at mile 126 and had averaged 28mph.

I wanted to look at his data file to see if I could figure out what was going on, but when he downloads it the software appears to correct it.

Any way for me to get the raw data out?

[Morocco Mole]

Scott

In the ibike software you can choose the function "return to original download" which will undo any corrections or auto analysis of the file. Sounds like he may have had some crazy speed spikes which can throw out the ride metrics. I have had some spikes of several hundred km/ph which threw out all my averages etc.

Jim

[ScottChapman]

Any idea what cases it or how he can avoid it next time? Like I said, it has happened several times to him...

[racerfern]

I've had this a couple of times and it's always from starting to ride after stopping for a period of time long enough for the sensors or the iBike itself to go sleep. Think about the rides he has done. If that's a possibility then spin the wheel and the crank to wake up the sensors. Don't spin them so much that the iBike thinks you're riding away. Just wake them up. Then wake up the iBike and let it find the sensors before actually riding away.

The raw data is always correct, it's just what's displayed and maybe the file name that gets skewed.

[ScottChapman]

Thanks.

Is this a bug with the sensor or with the iBike unit?

[racerfern]

I'm not sure I would call it a bug. In the brief instant between finding sensors and actually riding away I think the iBike unit needs to get ready to start recording. But if you start riding right away it's almost like it can't do everything quite quickly enough. Once it finds the sensors and then you ride away, everything is fine.

It's like on some new cars when you start the car and instantly put it in drive. It takes a second or two for all the electronics to get up and going and the rest of the car isn't ready for you. I'm sure there's a better analogy but since I'm in the car business...

[ScottChapman]

Well, if that's what was going on then I would expect the distance to be a tad low (probably too small to really be detected).

But what is happening is the opposite. A Huge over-measurement.

[racerfern]

Agreed, that's what I would expect also. But it's not, so that's why I suggest taking the five extra seconds to find sensors and have the iBike up and ready before actually pedaling away.

I still don't think it's a bug; the end user is starting recording before the iBike has finished its startup sequence. There could be other things causing this such as entering setup mode and exiting setup mode while you are riding or starting off from a stop. It happens to me about once a year and the data itself is not affected. It used to happen more often but I changed some of my habits as far as pairing, startup, setup.

Have your friend conciously avoid some of the things I mentioned and see if the issue persists. Keep us posted.

[ScottChapman]

Gotta disagree about it being a bug; the iBike shouldn't start recording before it is finished its startup sequence.

Just my opinion, but the unit should know this and not require the user to do it. I am unaware of any other cyclometer that has this problem (AFAIK).

Just my $0.02

[ScottChapman]

Exact same thing happened to a different friend of mine on a ride today... It has happened multiple times to these two guys...

It appears to be impossible to recover the original data to demonstrate the problem; the software always seems to correct for it. I have attached an example.

[racerfern]

I'm not sure what to say. I agree, it shouldn't show 143 miles. However the ride data that was recorded is the original ride data. What got skewed is the display not the recorded data. When you click "Return to Original Download" it really does return you to the original download and as you see all the data is correct other than the filename and the displayed mileage.

There is one other possibility which happened to me once. I was riding along and happened to hit a huge pothole as I was adjusting my hand position on the handlebars. My right hand hit the iBike from the jolt and it rotated the iBike on the mount slightly. I realized what happened and I put it back to where it should be. I got a WLS FAIL message and then SPD Found, etc. The ride kept recording and at that instant the displayed mileage jumped which made the AVG speed jump a ton. However, upon download all the ride data was intact except for those 5 - 10 seconds.

Also make sure the battery cover for the iBike firmly keeps the battery in place. You could have a momentary disconnect. I believe some people place one layer of electrical tape on the battery cover to apply a little extra pressure.

[rstrom]

I've had this same exact thing happen. I think it has something to do with either a wireless interference with something that you ride past, another rider, or with the speed magnet getting stopped in a specific relationship to the speed sensor (right next to it at a stop light and you unknowingly move it back and forth a bit in a very specific manner).

The bottom line is that I have no idea what causes this, but I've seen it several times over the past 18 months or so.

Robert