Do you know the function of all those knobs and levers on your suspension? Do you feel like your bike could be better tuned to your riding style? Even if the answer is yes to both, I’d wager that the majority of riders aren’t willing to shell out big bucks for a suspension tuning system. But renting one with expert input from your local suspension tuner to perfectly dial in your bike? That seems much more plausible. And that’s exactly what Motion Instruments is offering with their new MotionIQ Coaching App.
Earlier this year, Motion Instruments launched the MotionIQ system which is an advanced data acquisition system meant for consumers. The system provides more detailed feedback than many consumer oriented suspension tuning products (namely front and rear bike balance), but it’s also far more expensive with XC systems running $359-$519, and Enduro and DH systems running $799-$999. Unless you switch out suspension components more than you change your chamois, that’s a lot of coin to invest in a system that you’re not likely to use very often.
Which is where the MotionIQ Coach app comes in. With the whole system tailored to bike shops and suspension tuners, the idea is that you would go to your local provider where you’d get the system installed and they’d run you through the tuning process. Motion Instruments claims that set up usually takes about 20 minutes per bike, and then the customer would need to download and install the MotionIQ data logger app (currently iOS only), which is available to them for free.
The neat thing about the MotionIQ Coach app is that since everything is cloud based, the suspension tuners at the shop don’t actually have to be with you while you’re running laps on the trail. The data logger will allow you to run a lap, then send it off to the ‘coach’. The coach can then quickly check the provided data, and then directly communicate with the rider out in the field about what suspension setting to try next. This way, the customer can run unlimited testing on their own time, with feedback provided from the coach as they dial in the suspension.
Motion Instruments has been working with The Suspension Lab in New Zealand, and their owner Jono Church has high praise stating, ““We have been a beta tester of the Coach app for a while and it has been a game-changer for our service. While being able to keep our shop running, we can send out a customer with the system to gather data independently. Within seconds after their run, I get notified of a new session that I can review. I can get new settings back fairly quickly, even before their next run. This process saves so much time and frustration. If a revalve is required, we know pretty quickly and avoid hours of wasted time. The user experience for the customer is simple, just ride and hit done.”
When used as a data collection tool, the MotionIQ Coach app seems like a great way to offer suspension tuning services to customers – who will either be able to turn a few knobs to find the correct settings, or realize they may need more advanced internal tuning of their suspension. To make it more accessible, Motion Instruments is offering shops a 25% discount off the hardware for their first order. They’ll also receive the MotionIQ Coach app for $99 a year, which is 65% less than the price for the MotionIQ Pro software. Shops will have to pay a fee of $19.99 for each new customers, but Motion Instruments estimates the going rate for the whole service package to be around $200. That may still seem a bit pricey, but that includes the time and effort to install and then eventually remove all of the hardware, plus all of the time and effort to analyze test session data, and relay that information to the consumer with recommendations for their future setup. For more info, check out the link below.
