In my limited experience in parallel motorsport one thing a lot of riders lack is the ability to identify, clearly, what is wrong and what they want to change. So I'm torn as on one hand automating this and taking that potential skill away from riders is not in their LT interests if they want to be a better rider, but on the other most people don't ride for a better lap time so it will no doubt have some appeal.
The motorsport analogy is a good one. In top level they inevitably have (mechanically and race knowledgeable) test drivers to set up cars.
In the absence of a driver that understands (ie also technical competence), as opposed to skilled adaptation and application (there are many), the test driver becomes critical and also does the fine tuning.
When there is a driver that has that extra dimension to skill and understanding, not.
The problem with this app, is that it is single dimensional in a situation that requires multiple inputs (accelerometer, travel, etc) to refine in the manner to which you allude (I confess I have a connection with two motorsport companies involved in telemetry, let alone my scientific bent, aside from my occupation around data and application to purpose and outcome) . Then there is the cost$
How much does an engineering sympathy and understanding ultimately contribute to driver (rider) performance on the "track", as opposed to innate skill. Good question, who cares, its outcome driven any way (so multiskilled and disciplined team is the key).
Most of us, skill not withstanding, are however in the realm of near enough.
Maybe football might have been a better analogy. Not every great footballer makes a great coach.
The way I see it, those with little suspension knowledge might actually be inspired using this tool to explore what all the settings mean and how they affect the ride.
I'm generally comfortable dialing in my own suspension, but have still 'pledged' support through Kickstarter because I think it's a bloody great idea, and could provide something not normally accessible to the average rider.
You can do that empirically now, at no $ cost. See limitations stated above. What is it that you believe is being delivered that is "not normally accessible" and is valuable?
I reckon someone could make some dough taking people riding and educating them about shock tuning. It's a service I would pay for. Not so sure I'd pay for this though. It's just more data, not necessarily with any learning.
So, you have identified, at this stage a market limited to you, what would this information be worth to you? And what would the training/education component value add?
I know there's pros here in this space and I'm not close to taking this seriously for mtb so treat my thoughts accordingly, but IMO susp setup is circular, if you want it to be optimal you have to be willing to optimise it - constantly. And to do that intelligently vs trail and error means understanding what the bikes is doing, and therefore what each change is doing. Everything else is a compromise, incl potential one off app suggestions derived from data over a short period of time. What you want from your suspension depends on a bunch of things that aren't static, and driven not only by the end goal (could be fastest time vs. say a more comfortable ride), but things related to environment, bike and rider. These things constantly change, not just because the event style/track/temp change but things on the bike itself, e.g. diff tyre (diff volume/sidewall carcass stiffness/diff profile) all change the net effective spring rate, changes in the function of the suspension as it deterioriates if equipment isnt regularly serviced, and the rider too - not just diff rider weight but evolving skill means the bike may be used differently notwithstanding change in CG from how the rider weights themselves which has a huge bearing if it's not consistent, e.g. rider is now more soft/smooth (requires less spring and less damping) or rides more aggressively (more spring & damping requried). So in black and white, you either accept that and live with the compromse (set and forget for 80% of your riding) or keep adjusting as the situation requires and chase the best tune for that specific activity and conditions. Hence why I cbf dealing with this stuff on an mtb.
Yep.