Data Acquisition in Mountain Biking
In our modern world, data is used almost everywhere to make our lives easier, to sell us things, or even to give elite athletes an edge over their competitors. Data acquisition has been used in sport for a long time. You have perhaps seen videos of athletes on exercise bikes wearing an oxygen mask to measure their V02 Max, or Formula 1 drivers sitting down with an analyst to review their driving; using the data to find another vital tenth of a second. But, did you know that using data acquisition is now common practice in elite level downhill mountain biking?
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup, let me give you some background; it was first held in 1990 and the format consists of a qualifying session the day before the race, which determines when you will do your race run (fastest riders are last down the hill). On race day, you have one run to get down the track as quickly as possible. Race runs only take 3-5 minutes but are extremely physical, punishing on bike and body alike and are usually won or lost by fractions of a second. Any small advantage which can be made has the potential to land competitors on the podium.
One area where changes can make a significant difference is in the suspension setup of the bike. All of the tracks on the race calendar have different characteristics, some may be very technical and relatively slow, whereas others may be very fast and open. These differing demands require different setup of the bike’s suspension and getting this right can make the difference between a fast, confidence-inspiring bike to one which feels dangerous. Here is where data analysis can play a vital role.
How do you go about optimising a mountain bike’s suspension? To start, the front and rear suspension of the bike are fitted with equipment which measures how much of the suspension travel is used during a run, as well as the speed at which the suspension is being compressed. This data is then sent to a computer and analysed to see what adjustments can be made to make the suspension more effective. The graphs below are an example of what the suspension travel usage, along with the suspension shaft velocity data looks like. The suspension travel usage data is used to decide if softer or firmer springs are required, allowing the bike to use all of its suspension travel, whilst preventing bottoming out of the suspension. The suspension shaft velocity data aids with the rebound and compression tuning of the suspension dampers to cope with certain characteristics of the track being ridden. For example, a very rocky or rooty track would create high suspension shaft velocities, as it is effectively hitting a sharp edged object so it has to move very quickly in reaction to it. Whereas, landing a smooth jump or the effect of the rider moving their weight forward or backward on the bike, would create much slower velocity in the suspension.
Now, there is rarely a way to get an absolutely perfect setup, as there are many factors at play, but analysts can use this information to make data-driven decisions to calculate the best compromise in the suspension setup, increasing their racers chance of winning. This is a technological luxury which those early racers of the 1990’s could only have dreamed of and an example of how data is used every day, in all aspects of life, to make a real difference.
