What is this on the rider's bike?

I'd bet that it's the transponder for recording their times.

it's kinda like the timming chips you wear for races, these are attached to their bikes though.

I was thinking it was a timeing chip, but wasn't sure.

MMMM....Lance....

Do their backup bikes have these fastened as well? Must be. Remember Rasmussen used what, 4 bikes during the last time trial.

Eric

They don't use them in the time trials.

scott

Actually, I believe they do. Rasmussen had about 4 bike changes during the last time trial and they said they couldn't get his time checks because the spare bikes didn't have the doohickey on them.

bock

This user's post has been ignored.

THEY ARE POWER METERS! Records Wattage, Output, Speed, Distance...

What makes you sure of that?

bock

By brother as one, and I asked him the same question.. What the hell is that yellow thing on your rear hub...

No, they don't.

TT

And they're transponders, not powermeters. The riders with saddle bags have power meter transmitters.

scott

The yellow thing on your brothers hub is a power tap, which is a power meter, but not what you see in the pictures posted. Those are transponders.

scott

Your brother has a different yellow thing. His may be a power meter, but the yellow things on the left chainstay of the Tour bikes are timing transponders.

If you saw stage 11 where Botero and Vinokourov broke away, you may have noticed Vinokourov's "yellow thing" came loose. Here is the Newsflash from the official Tour site (http://www.letour.com) about that incident, where the "yellow thing" is identified as the timing sensor.

16:55 - Problems With Vinokourov’s Bike
The sensor that is attached to Vinokourov's bike (to record his time) has come loose during the stage. It is perilously close to his spokes but the team mechanic has just come up with a high-speed repair solution: cut it off...!

bock

This is what a power meter looks like-



and it works along with cranks that look like this-



The Pros bikes are getting so light that now they can race with an SRM Power Meter, because it helps get the bike OVER the UCI minimum weight.

POWER METERS are what they are. It's understandable were all mistified by them b/c there about a grand a pop.

http://features.engadget.com/entry/5170866986686287/


timing chips.

I stand corrected.

>>"POWER METERS are what they are..."

No, they aren't.

This yellow thing is a Power Tap. It's a hub in a rear wheel that measures power, thus it's a power meter.



These yellow things are transponders. They track the riders during the TdF.



Pictured above in this thread was an SRM. It's the Mercedes of power meters.

scott

This user's post has been ignored.

Yes, they do.

Just because you can't see it in the photo, doesn't mean it's not there...

The following exerpt from the Stage 20 Newsflashes on http://www.letour.com makes it clear that the transponders are used during time trials.

17:06 - Still No Time Check For Rasmussen
There is no time check for Rasmussen at the 35km mark. The Danish rider has changed his bike numerous times during the stage and he’s missing the sensor which records the time. We haven’t seen anything of him since his second crash of the stage but can report that he’s having a torrid time of it today.

bock

Of course maybe, just maybe, the commentators didn't realize that they were taking manual time checks instead of relying on yellow transponders that weren't attached to the TT bikes.

Seriously though, I was bored on a conference call and looked at dozens of pictures from all three time trials. There isn't a transponder on any of the bikes in any of the pictures. Considering how much effort goes into shaving these bikes down, to the point of making the BB mm's thinner, why would they want those transponders on them?

I suppose it is possible they have some other type of timing device on them, just not those referred to in the original post. Dunno.

Anyway, the main point I had been making was the purpose of the device. In the meantime it's been fun looking at all the pictures again.

scott





Edited by yaqui 2005-07-27 7:48 PM