Before we can start testing, we must first understand how to construct a sensor and the underlying physics of what they are measuring.

Aerodynamic testing on the bike can save dozens of watts with even the smallest tweaks to position or equipment, but wind tunnel or velodrome time can be prohibitively expensive and often require travel to test in a specific location, so testing must be scheduled in advance. Companies like Body Rocket, GiBli, Notio, Aerosensor, and several others all offer portable aerodynamic sensors that can solve the travel and location issues, but many of these sensors cost over $1000USD. My goal with this project was to develop a low cost alternative to the commercially available sensors using off the shelf parts. As a side benefit, because my system uses off the shelf parts, it’s far more modular and can be expanded to include multiple sensors for error correction or even developed into a sensor rake (as is often seen on F1 cars) and mounted behind the rider to determine how the airflow reattaches.