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App Validation
App Validation
To collect and test our results, we plucked a bike spoke on a Go-Bike and recorded the sound so that it could be analyzed in MATLAB. The spokes on most bike wheels cross each other and we found that they needed to be separated to get the best quality pluck sound. We pluck the spoke by hooking a finger under it an pulling back. Having a consistent method to pluck helps improve the reliability of the results.
A test of the DFTensiometer app on a Go-Bike yielded a tension of 116 kg-F
IMG_3416 (1).MOVApp Demo (on a different spoke)
Bike Ride to Papa Wheelies!
Bike Ride to Papa Wheelies!
After using our process for finding the spoke tension, we took the bike wheel to a local bike shop in Wellesley, MA and asked them to use their tensiometer to test that spoke's tension. They found that the spoke we had been testing was under approximately 94 kg-f (~921 N) of tension, which was within 25 kg-F of our app's 116 kg-F calculated tension. Given that in wheel maintenance and building, having a even and consistent tension throughout a wheel is more valuable than knowing the exact tension, we believe this app is reliable enough to be useful.
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