PSIcle passive tyre pressure sensor
 

I've been looking for something like this for a while: a passive tyre pressure sensor (no batteries required) that can be read by smartphone, so no need to connect pump to test (and lose) pressure: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...psicle-sensor/

(Disclaimer: I have no connection with the makers of this, although I do want one ... :-).)

Tires likely need more air weekly and I've heard that one needs to connect a pump to accomplish this. So we now "want" to hang this ungainly (i.e. ugly) stem extension on our wheel to tell us through technology what we can already guess: we need to break out our pump. Let me think about it.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...10b288a548.jpg

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/04/...re-sensor.html

This one will pair with your head unit so you can track tire pressure during your ride in real time.

This just showed up on MTBR as well.

$30 per wheel (times your number of bikes) to replace a single $25 gauge.

The only practical use I see for this is if you are on a multi day bike trip it will save you carrying the weight of a pressure gauge. Bit even then, if anyone else is carrying a pressure gauge, this product becomes somewhat moot.

But it uses a smart phone app, so I am guessing they will sell quite a few.

IMO this wasn't something ever really meant for folks that aren't really nuts into triathlon or TT. If you are, people used these to do more reliable CRR testing when setting up bikes for Ironman or TT's with pressures and tire setups specific to the bikes, riders, and events they were doing.

I say that to pre-empt all the "solution looking for a problem" responses folks give. It's simply a tool with an originally useful and limited purpose that is trying to make some more sales. That's all.

It's a cool high tech device and a nice easy to use solution.
But aesthetically, I really don't want one on my road bike!

I don't see buying them any time soon.

Barry

? That doesn't look like the PSIcle at all, or maybe an early prototype?

(Hmm, separately, wouldn't it be nice if there were an angled adapter for valves so one could put the pump on without fighting with the spokes?)

For me it looks good because I only ride once or twice a week and the biggest time-waster before each ride is checking the tyre pressure, which requires connecting the pump and losing a chunk of pressure which now means it looks low but probably was fine ... and maybe would have been for weeks.

<chuckle> Not sure I understand the 'aesthetical' argument ... road bikes are inherently ugly (compared to, say, recumbents, racing bikes, or a Dutch commuter bike). :-)

If I go a few days between rides, I already know I am going to be adding air. Yes, floor pumps lose a bit of air, but but pretty much any hand held tire gauge will lose only a minuscule amount of air in use.Particularly the digital ones.

As long as my thumb and knuckle work, I don't need a smartphone app or dongle.

I am content to use the early digital sensors that I keep handy attached to my wrist. Always available and always works. Yes, a little drift psi-wise but hardly enough to matter. (Thumb and finger squeeze. Simple, fast and light.) At home. my floor pump has a gauge that is consistent but final say is often the squeeze even then.

Yep, that's why the picture was from the website you linked.

I like the idea. Every time someone wants a more accurate pressure gauge, the BikeForums savants come out in force to tout their magical finger powers. These sensors aren't for people who've run the same pressure on the same tires their entire lives who have no desire or curiosity to try something new. Finger measurement is as accurate as "going by feel" torque; it can consistently determine a point, but no chance at a spread or real value. Someone who always cooks the same slab of meat the same way doesn't need a cooking thermometer either, but they are indisputably useful to cooks with more varied recipes.

I've gone on rides on new tubeless tires where I've wanted to experiment with varying the pressure, something I never dared to do tubed because I've gotten pinch flats despite my floor pump gauge at home reporting pressure comfortably within the recommended charts. I've also had unlucky flat repair incidents on the road where my minipump (since upgraded) couldn't come close to the pressure I left home on, where during the whole ride back I was paranoid about pinch flatting, only to notice that the unintended lowering of pressure might've been better because the rest of the ride felt like riding on a cloud.

Tubolito PSENS wireless smart tube for MTB

technology is out of hand (and fingers-thumbs}

gm

On my road bike, it pretty much needs some air every day unless I don't care about what pressure I'm running. On my old beater hybrid, I don't really care that much and it loses very little air so generally I put air in it when I lube the chain.

That Quark solution is ridiculously big for it's purpose.

:roflmao2: And after you spend the how much more incremental time using that thing only to discover you lost pressure you still have to go through the above. It’s like using your phone to determine whether or not you need to wipe after going No. 2 and then spending more time to do the wiping.

[QUOTE][https://www.bikeforums.net/images/smilies/roflmao2.gif And after you spend the how much more incremental time using that thing only to discover you lost pressure you still have to go through the above. It’s like using your phone to determine whether or not you need to wipe after going No. 2 and then spending more time to do the wiping./QUOTE]

I agree with you. Even if you get the Tubolito PSENS wireless smart tube for MTB. It is still faster just to check the air pressure with a gauge and add the air. When they make it to so you can see the air pressure of your tires at the handlebars like on a motorcycle then it might be worth it.

I fear that, in the not-too-distant future, some will not know if they need to breathe without an app telling them they need to.

Meanwhile, those of us standing in line with cash in hand waiting to buy a $3 newspaper are SOFHs at those in front of us fumbling with your phones trying to find and open an app to pay for a bag of Fritos and a Big Gulp. And they think they have added convenience and efficiency to their lives.

If I am not already stuck in my own bike time zone, I believe I am ready to be.

ECT=Eastern Cycling Time.

It's just part of the trend these days to control every single little aspect of our lives from our phones. No, I don't need to check my phone to make sure my bike tires are aired up. No, I don't need a smart fridge to tell me the milk is going bad. No, I don't need to check my phone to see how much water my toilet just flushed. I have a smart watch but I really don't care how many steps it says I took every day or how much sleep I've gotten the night before. Nor do I really need to check my heart rate. If my smart watch ever dies on me I'll probably just go back to a regular wristwatch. At least I can see what time it says in bright sunlight.

Yes, but think of how much better your life is now that big tech companies and their data clients know if your tires are aired up, what is in your fridge, when you poop, where you walk, when you are sleeping, and your vital signs.

This uses a phone app because NFC is how you can power a passive sensor. A battery adds weight and then would need to be charged or replaced. The nice part of the PSIcle design is it'll work with pretty much any tire with a removeable Presta valve core and won't need to be replaced if a tube goes bad.

There's the weekly disc brake thread and the latest Strava thread for those yelling at clouds.