We’ve seen pro downhillers with all manner of telemetry gadgets strapped to their bikes, gathering real performance data to optimize suspension setup. But now Italian upstart BYB is crowdsourcing a project to make pro-level suspension setup a bit more attainable for serious mountain bikers who want to get more out of their forks & shocks.
BYB Telemetry pro MTB suspension analysis & tuning
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/810309052/byb-telemetry-the-professional-telemetry-system-fo
BYB is calling this the “world’s first professional telemetry kit for mountain bikes”. And while the fact that they’re crowdfunding to Kickstart it into production might suggest some level of affordability, the ‘pro’ moniker reminds us that this isn’t meant to be some low-cost, homemade gadget. BYB wants to make suspension tuning a bit more of a science than a mysterious art, and their setup uses technology and data to dial your bike’s setup.
Doing so isn’t cheap. Super early bird backing on Kickstarter will still cost you almost 1000€. But in the sense of making World Cup-level suspension setup more attainable to lower level racers and even some amateurs, it is still quite interesting. And in reality, one BYB Telemetry can be shared among a group of riders, so everyone on your team can get truly personalized suspension setup for how they ride.
BYB Telemetry suspension setup
The overarching premise here is that you bolt the sensors onto your bike, and BYB Telemetry logs every movement of your suspension. Then you can visualize how it is performing, and base your shock tunes on quantitative data rather than subjective ride feel and how far the little rubber o-ring on your fork stanchion moves.
BYB’s app analyzes suspension performance post-ride, and offers clear instruction how to adjust the knobs & settings on your shock & fork to dial in the ideal tune to maximize the performance of your suspension based on your riding style and track conditions.
The made-in-Italy BYB Telemetry kit is universal and can be setup on virtually any suspension XC, trail, enduro, or DH mountain bike, even eMTBs (up to 203mm/8″ of travel). It is a compact system weighing less than 500g with a control box/data logger mounted on the handlebar (31.8 or 35mm bars) that is then wired to two sensors that bolt up to the outside of your telescoping fork and shock, working with both air & coil suspension. Besides sampling & logging suspension movement 400 times per second, the BYB acquisition unit also collects ride data with built-in GPS, accelerometers & speed sensors.
The whole things wirelessly syncs with a BYB’s iOS/Android smartphone apps or the more detailed PC visualization software over WiFi, both with an easy-to-use interface offering clear recommendations.
BYB Telemetry timeline
The BYB Telemetry project is a collaboration between recreational rider, physicist & data cruncher Stefano Calati and engineer Enrico Rodella who won this year’s Italian amateur DH after dialing in with the latest prototype.
The project just started its crowdfunding campaign today, and runs through Jan 17. BYB’s development timeframe anticipates shipping out the telemetry tracking kits to Kickstarter backers in April 2019, in time to dial your bike in for the coming race season.
