The Approach

After defining the product brief, we explored concepts ranging from a standalone bike computer with an integrated display to a compact sensor paired with a mobile app.

We rapidly prototyped and tested with users. Feedback showed an on-bike screen added little value for mountain bikers: review happens after the ride as rough terrain makes a display hard to check. The screen also added cost and complexity due to high-spec electronics and a rechargeable battery.

We therefore pivoted to a compact, fork-mounted device with a mobile app. This reduced complexity and cost by using a low-power Bluetooth microcontroller and accelerometer, enabling up to a year of operation on a button-cell battery. Removing on-device buttons also avoided mechanical complexity and the challenge of preventing water ingress.

For durability, the enclosure was ultrasonically welded for a robust seal, while the battery stayed user-replaceable via a quarter-turn hatch.

To validate real-world performance, we captured hundreds of rides of accelerometer data with a custom logger across a wide range of riders and styles. We iteratively developed the jump detection algorithm offline in MATLAB, then translated the final model into embedded firmware for the device.