Paul Kopit said:
When measuring rollout, I usually measure the distance of 2
revolutions w/o riding the bike. For a 700x23 tire, I usually select
2090 mm and then ride to a spot that is 11.88 mi from my house. That
spot was verified with a GPS several times. I then readjust the
'puter.
If you are super compulsive, put 2 magnets on when doing the test ride
and divide by 2.
I really have no circumstances when I need such accuracy and
frequently ride w/o a computer.
You seem to contradict yourself several times in that post. But your
key point is that you readjust your computer based on the GPS measured
route; signifying that you want your odometer to agree with a mapped
distance rather than having it be perfectly calibrated to your wheel
circumference. That's exactly my point as well and I've got a similar
measured course.
What percent error do you find between the rollout calibration and the
corrected number from GPS?
There are three sources for error. 1 - Mechanical error caused by
problems with the sensor/magnet or the computer itself. 2 - Calibration
error from entering an incorrect wheel circ number. and 3 - Deviation
error from not riding in a straight line.
The third is the most interesting to me. In Jobst's proposed test he'll
ride a measured mile on his bike with the computer that has perfect
calibration. I asked him not to concentrate too much on maintaining a
perfectly straight line but to ride "normally". In normal riding we
swerve around potholes and debris, we take different lines around
corners, we vary our position relative to the edge of the road, we get
out of the saddle and stretch or sprint - there are a whole host of
things we do that make the path of our front wheels different (longer)
than the straight line distance or whatever path GPS uses in its
measurement. Since Jobst is certain of his calibration data, at the end
of his test he'll know exactly how much he's deviated from a straight
line by how much his computer differs from 1.00 miles.
The question is which value we really want our computers to read. By
calibrating to a measured course of 5 miles or so, I have incorporated a
fudge factor that accounts for my riding style and conditions over that
course. By calibrating based on his roll-out, Jobst is recording the
true distance his front wheel has traveled rather than the true distance
between those two points. I'm not sure why he wants to know the former
rather than the latter except maybe he just doesn't like fudge.