Easy ways to manually enter data?

[peterw_diy]

In this soft launch phase I’m learning that data entry is my biggest problem.

First, I seldom use the phone app. Sometimes I’m too rushed to bother tapping through to start recording a ride (like taking the kid to school) and sometimes I just forget. Sometimes I start recording and don’t remember to stop recording when I get to my destination.

Second, Strava’s “Upload” manual entry interface is very tedious, so it’s very unpleasant to play catch-up.

On most days I’m taking the same trips, with routes of basically the same distance. One school round trip. One trip to work. One trip home. Sometimes a quick ride to one of our favorite grocery stores. What I’d like is a nice interface that would let me save information about some of my more common routes and then use that to quickly create activities. I imagine something like a list of typical routes with checkboxes and a date picker so I could quickly feed data to bafs/Strava. Or maybe a calendar grid that I can drag and drop route names on. I can imagine exactly how to do this in a web page with a little javascript and a minimal server-side piece (to regurgitate the data in one of the file formats that Strava accepts). Has someone already built such a thing?

Thanks.

Topic

[jrenaut]

@vvill 72162 wrote:

…you can use a ring shaped rare earth magnet on the inside of your pedal spindle instead of zip tie-ing the included magnet to your crank…

Zip ties on your cranks are SO un-ELITE

[Vicegrip]

@vvill 72162 wrote:

No problem! I should re-word slightly to say “(measured with good old magnets)”. Transmission is wireless.

Tip for crank mounted magnets: you can use a ring shaped rare earth magnet on the inside of your pedal spindle instead of zip tie-ing the included magnet to your crank. It might be slightly heavier but is well worth it imo.

small disk magnets the size of the back of the pedal spindle work too. Less weight than the stock one for the weight wee-kneez to boot. That said I am too lazy to upgrade and still have the stock one with a stainless wire holding it in place. OMG So un-elite.

I like to use the Garmin usb dongle in the laptop. Run Traineroad and Netflix at the same time to cut into the mind and butt numbing aspects of riding the mouse wheel.

[Tim Kelley]

@jrenaut 72163 wrote:

Zip ties on your cranks are SO un-ELITE

A powertap will measure cadence without the need for anything on the cranks!

[vvill]

The PowerTap cadence is based on spikes in your power though (I think?), so in theory if you have a perfectly smooth stroke it won’t measure properly.

@Vicegrip 72172 wrote:

small disk magnets the size of the back of the pedal spindle work too. Less weight than the stock one for the weight wee-kneez to boot. That said I am too lazy to upgrade and still have the stock one with a stainless wire holding it in place. OMG So un-elite.

Yeah I use the ring shape because it’s easier to remove. I have Crank Bros pedals which use a hex in the back of the pedal spindle, so I’d occasionally want to remove the magnet. If your pedals use a normal pedal wrench there’s probably no need for the ring shape.

I had a zip tie for some time but it was prone to moving around every now and then, and you also get occasional rubbing when you ride. Also: Not aero.

[americancyclo]

@vvill 72184 wrote:

I use the ring shape because it’s easier to remove.

link?

[MattAune]

Quarq and SRMs have the magnet mounted to a BB cup or BB guide. cant see the magnet at all.

I do notice that my powertaps read cadence lower than my quarq, fwiw.

[Tim Kelley]

@MattAune 72195 wrote:

Quarq and SRMs have the magnet mounted to a BB cup or BB guide. cant see the magnet at all.

I do notice that my powertaps read cadence lower than my quarq, fwiw.

PTs use science to estimate the cadence, so you’ll see some crazy fluctuations here and there (like 250rpm spikes) but they are generally pretty consistent, which is the important part.

[hozn]

@Vicegrip 72172 wrote:

small disk magnets the size of the back of the pedal spindle work too. Less weight than the stock one for the weight wee-kneez to boot. That said I am too lazy to upgrade and still have the stock one with a stainless wire holding it in place. OMG So un-elite.

This is what I do. I haven’t found it to be a problem with removing pedals with a hex wrench; they pop off easily with a tool — though you do have to be careful not to lose the magnet. I could see ring being a little more convenient if they’re easy to find (?)

The disc magnets can be found on ebay easily; search for “Icarus crank magnet”. I imagine there are cheaper ways to get them.

[vvill]

Yeah I think we’re all talking about the same location. By inside spindle I mean back of spindle, or whatever.

@americancyclo 72191 wrote:

link?

These worked for me. Just keep them away from kids (maybe). Probably cheaper on ebay, etc.

http://www.amazon.com/Magcraft-NSN0814-2-Inch-Magnets-12-Count/dp/B001DCVGH0/

[Author]

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