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Shifting statistics - lack of information
There is currently not a lot of information available on gearing and shifting statistics. The most likely reason for this lack of data is the difficulty in keeping track of this information. Accurately tracking and recording gearing selection during a ride has been impractical ... until now!
Introducing Shimano D-Fly
The Shimano Di2 electronic shifting system has been around for a few years. But Shimano introduced a product in February 2014 that allows transmission of your current gear selection wirelessly to a head unit. Recent GPS devices, such as the Garmin Edge 510 or later, Wahoo devices, Magellan Cyclo 505 can record and display this information.
Introducing SRAM E-tap
Apparently the E-tap system also transmits shifting data to the supported Garmin devices (510, 520, 810, 820, 1000) without any extra attachments. That makes sense because the E-tap system is wireless so it would already have that capability in place. So it looks like you can upload your SRAM connected Garmin .FIT files as well!!!
Visualizing your data
Although the gear shifting information is stored in the ride file stored with your Garmin, none of the popular cycling websites (Strava, mapmyride, garmin connect, etc...) are capable of displaying this information as of August 2014. This motivated the need for the website you are looking at now.
Research study
For the first time, it will now be possible to accumulate and study gear shifting statistics on both an individual and group level. By using this website, you agree to participate in the collection of this information. No personally identifiable information will be stored with your data. Any journal articles published from data collected on this website will be meticulously reviewed to make sure that no personally identifiable information is available. A variation of this "agreement" is also included on the import ride page, which means every time you import a ride, you are agreeing to participate in this study.
About the author
I am (still) an assistant professor at Samford University in the computer science department after 18 years of service. I am also a Category 1 amateur cyclist and enjoy racing and riding and all kinds of adventures. Learn more about me below or feel free to email me with questions: brtoone@samford.edu
Funding
I have been unsuccessful finding any funding for this project, so it would be great if you would make a donation to support this research or help collaborate with me to either find funding sources or write/co-author papers.
What you need to participate
- Strava: Strava profile page
- Blog: Cycling Adventures with Brian Toone
- University website: Brian Toone: ALIVE @ Samford University
Ready to get started
Create an account to get started. You will be asked to identify (optional) what type of cyclist you are to aid in our analysis of the shifting data you upload.