Tech from the Tour de France…
Today is the eve of the Tour de France, a
month where we stop busting on the French as much and watch guys in spandex pedal a lot, over 500,000 times per rider.
While a lot of the coverage will be on the riders and specifically Lance Armstrong (We think Jan Ullrich is going to do
some ass-handing this year) we thought we'd cover some of the gadgets and technologies used in and around the race- the
on bike computer, the two-way radio, tv coverage and getting updates on your phone.
The race…
The 91st Tour de France takes place from Saturday the 3rd of July to Sunday the 25th of July 2004 in France, with 21
teams of 9 riders each, making a total of 189 competitors with a total distance of 2,100 miles.
Wired Magazine's 7/2004 issue has some of the gear, from the bikes to the power bars (Riders will burn 110,000 calories during the race)- but only has 2 short mentions of the gadgets, so we dug around a bit to see what and how they're used.
Chatter…
The first device is a two-way radio that the rider and the teams use to communicate. The credit card sized DJ-C5T
Alinco supports CTCSS encode, CTCSS decode, standard and nonstandard repeater offsets. It provides over 300 mW of
efficient output to reach local repeaters through out the race and also has a built-in speaker, wide band receive,
including VHF air (AM).
Our pal who is an amateur racer said these are appearing in many races around the world too, at $150 or so, it's a cheap and easy way to chatter up strategy. Of course, it seems possible to figure out the channel and do some ease dropping (Yes, we're HAM radio freaks) while we're not going to France, we've been looking in to how hard or easy it would be to tune in to these while someone is zipping by at 25 mph. Bonus feature, it has a built in Mosquito Repeller.
Bike puter'
The second device is a bike computer. The CICLOSPORT HAC4 is a combined heart rate
monitor, altimeter and computer and is the ultimate sports information system with 50 functions (imperial version) or
57 functions (metric version).
Key functions include percent gradient, rate of ascent, dual target heart rate zones, recovery heart rate,
thermometer, a cadence option, PC compatibility, and wattage calculation. With the PC Download kit, riders can examine
daily ride data to help monitor and log training effectiveness and racing performance.
Covering the race…
With over 2 billion viewers expected to watch the Tour de France, you'd expect with the stakes
this high, you'll see some pretty amazing coverage. The way they film the race is actually more exciting than the race
itself. 5 "daredevil" cameramen on motorcycles speed along with the racers and beam the images to two low flying
helicopters, if you've seen the race before, there are tons of hazards and twisting turns, as these guys film they hang
off the sides of their bikes and zip around at crazy speeds to get the best shots.
As the racers hit the Alpines it's been reported that gravel and sliding on the steep hills is
pretty common. After the video is beamed to helicopters, it's then sent to a team of production cars where they have
commentary and editing and it's finally beamed from that team to the studio where "75 networks in 170 countries, to
produce 2,400 hours of global TV, a pressurized airplane remains on standby for cloudy days".
Updates on your phone…
This year…
if you're a real junkie, you can get updates sent to your phone throughout the race. Just fill
out this form and in theory it should all work, we're not
sure what they'll do with this info after the race, so as always be vigilant.
So there it is…As the race progresses and more is revealed, we'll post up any other gadgets used in the race or interesting tech. You can of course always post a comment here or send us off a note too.
Oh, before we sign off here…Lance, dude, ditching your wife then bagging Sheryl Crow- and those Subaru ads on 24/7? C'mon man, tone it down a bit.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ole Saalmann @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Some more geeky stuff for your race bike:
- Mavic Mektronic: a wireless gearshift. Actually you have a remote control in your brake lever which gives signals to the shifter. It seems to be discontinued, though.
- SRM Training system: All the pros use it in training. A mobile power measuring device, kind of like the God of bicycle computer. Prices start at about $1750 :-)
- Polar Heart Rate Watches: The Polar S725 does all the heart rate, altitude and speed stuff. It also sync with your PC or your Nokia 5140 mobile. An optional power output kit is available, but not as accurate as the SRM one.
- If you want to use a walkie-talkie or your mobile while cycling, tape the earpiece to your ear (as you have seen on TV) and press the microphone to your larynx while shielding it with your hand. This will get rid of the wind noises.
DougW @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Some of the most impressive technology is in the bikes themselves. Here are a few articles to get you started:
Of course this is just a small sample. You can get your full fix at sites like Velonews, Pez Cycling and Cycling News.
Ben Tovar @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
For Lance Armstrong and Tour de France fans alike, you might want to check out these reading suggestions supplied by Dave of OperationGadget.com. One of which is "It's Not About the Bike", a detailed and revealing autobiography of Lance Armstrong.
Check out the suggestions here: (http://www.operationgadget.com/2004/06/books_to_accomp.html)
tr @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
as a proud user of the now discontinued Mavic Mektronic system, i still think it is the future of shifting. shifts are quick and precise, better than the high-end traditional cable systems i've had. every aspect of road cycling as benefitted from technology breakthroughs, but for some reason, this hasn't really shown through with shifting: mechanical/cable actuation is still dominant. hopefully Mavic will reconsider, or are coming out with a newer version.
also, i feel that bicycle frame designs have been greatly hindered due to the UCI's strict regulations in regards to frame size, geometry, and weight. just 5 years ago, new and incredibly creative frame designs and geometry could be seen in time trial and mountain stages. but that has, for the most part, dissipated. however, it is still nice to see what new tech is being tested in the Tour, since the technology usually trickles down to consumers the following year.
mark @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
If as you pretend- are real ham radio freaks , I frankly dont understand how you admit the use of Ham VHF band by people who do not have an effective licence. Radio regulations in Europe are considerably more strict than in the US or Canada. And if only one of those guys is heard on VHF, I think he will follows the Tour de France watching TV in his jail. There is NO citizen band in ITU Region 1 from 28 to 430 MHz (that means even outside ham radio bands), and if someone is heard without an official callsign, I hope that law enforcement authorities will do their duty. Its the law, as American people love to tell foreigners.
Tucker Snedeker @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
http://www.campyonly.com/rumors/new_electronic_record.html
Campy is working on a version of electronic shifting which should be much improved over the Mektronic systems Mavic built in the 90's. Start saving now as it's due to ship in 05 and won't be cheap . . .
Kevin Griffendorf @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
that BMC TT bike is SICK!!! SICK SICK SICK!!
that electro-campy looks tight, hope it goes off better then the mtb stuff they brought out a couple years ago.
webmaster @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Request Link Exchange
Todd Smith @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Did you say Campy for MTB? How about this.
http://www.moonheadmachine.com/
Click on the "Durty Thirty" link!
Scott M @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
it is curious that with all the development on bluetooth phones and headsets. that a cycle computer company or a heart rate monitor company hasn't yet created a wireless cyclometer that emits bluetooth data, that can be captured post ride to a bluetooth enabled pc, or better yet as a data aquisition tool incorporated with a GPS unit-in real time.(even a good HRM with bluetooth capability could greatly improve rider telemetry) just think, people could one day be mapping sections of the Tour de france, or the Giro d?alia that are known as the cardiac atack sections where the heart rates of the riders are shown blowing through the roof!
but seriously training data, such as mapping cardiac response to topographic changes could really be useful for race preparation, and endurance training. during the race the chase car could be recieving real time updated telemetry data of heart rate, blood pressure (calculated) average speed, Velocity, and Pedaling tempo, even gear selections. Coaches could know when to demand faster pedaling while suggesting longer deeper breaths. naturally all this inforation could be uplinked to the media for the latest lance stats while he is in route.
any ideas?
thanks.
Scott.
M0MMS @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
I thought the health information was being communicated real time to the chase cars. Looks like I was wrong...
And the post about the Ham bands is correct, the Alinco devices are using the 2m band, so their use by someone without a license is very illegal, however i notice in the uk band plan (and the french one won't be a lot different) that amateur access to 120 MHz is secondary, i.e. the IARU/French Ministry could allocate a part of the band for "special purposes". presumably this is what happened, because I cannot imagine the TDF 1) not getting the full support of the government and 2) the TDF doing something so obviously illegal
M0MMS @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
i meant 144 MHz, not 120 MHz