Hooking a heart rate monitor to your e-bike

[will_newton]

I was riding to work on my e-bike and thinking about e-bike things. I have noticed how the ebike really flattens the road. Hills? headwinds? heavy frame bike? heavy frame rider? no problem, just twist and go. I was also thinking about the weight loss thread (way to go guys!) from e-biking and another recent thread about gaining weight from ebiking because you don't work as hard. I thought about how I used a heart rate monitor to track my workout efforts. I thought about using the Cycle Analyst and how it controls the throttle. I thought about pedal assist....

So I put it all together. How about hacking a HRM to control the throttle of your ebike?

Let's say I don't want to get too sweaty, but want to take a ride for some exercise (approx. 100ish BPM heart rate). The bike gives no assist until I hit the 100 BPM mark and give more assist if I surpass my upper limit of 120 BPM. Or maybe I want to go out and get revved up, but not into cardiac arrest set it for 140-160 BPM. Most HRM's have programming to support high and low limits, so it seems like this could be hacked. I wish I had the skillz for this, but just put it out there to inspire some thought.

Sure you could just wear an HRM and adjust the throttle as needed, but what's the fun in that?! I want a Polar heart rate monitor ready Cycle Analyst!

just some thoughts had while pedaling....

 

[Anonymous]

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[wildnrg]

I have a Garmin Edge GPS and HRM on my bike, maybe you could tap into that.

 

[amberwolf]

There is an ECG/EKG project on the STM32Circle site:
http://www.stm32circle.com/projects/project.php?id=31
http://www.stm32circle.com/projects/project.php?id=46
First project includes the elecronics needed to read the heartrate/etc and to convert it into data within the STM32 to send via USB to the second project.
Down in the comments other uses have been discussed, including this:

 

[Anonymous]

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[Hyena]

I better add my 2c worth on this topic, given my day job is a cardiopulmonary scientist :wink:

Unless you've got known heart disease hooking up a ECG everytime you go riding is definitely overkill. And then if you did do it you'd relocate the leg lead to to the hip where you'd get less movement artifact. Either way if you do have a heart condition you probably should be letting the motor do the majority of the work. If you were really enthused to monitor your heart rate I think the pulse oximeter is probably a better bet. The finger probes probably wouldn't pick up too well with your grip on a bike handlebar so an ear one would be the way to go, although you typically need decent sized ear lobes and they wouldn't stay on too well if you're belting along in the wind. You can get forehead ones that stick on and would be the better option, but who wants to ride around with a big electrode taped in the middle of his face!

I have a $100,000 cardiopulmonary exercise testing system in my lab that I use to test patients and athletes to assess their maximum oxygen update, work rate , anaerobic threshold etc, and if they have any cardiac or respiratory limitation. If you're really concerned with getting the most out of your ebike rides (in terms of fat burning or building fitness) you'd be best to get a referral from your doctor to a lab or hospital where these tests are done and then you can determine your personal optimum heart rate to target depending on what you want to achieve and then just use a cheap heart rate monitor to keep track.

 

[stl_recum]

I have a Polar heart rate monitor watch that links to a chest strap by RF. It may not be as good as an EKG, but does a fair approximation. But the chest starp can link to some fancy exercise equipment. Does anyone out ther know haw it works?

 

[dozentrio]

AWESOME idea!

The interfacing would be kinda tough, but I would definatly love to have this on my bike.

When are we getting the laser-beams though?

 

[docnjoj]

I guess I'm definitely not a technogeek cause I just stop and take my pulse on occasion. On the trike I could do it while I am pedaling but as guy I can't multitask The old 240- your age *60 or 80 % seems to be OK. But I did have the Thalium Stress test recently so I suppose that's better than nothing. They suggested heart rates that came pretty close to what I was doing anyway.
otherDoc
edit: Thallium!

 

[deardancer3]

http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20091022/176693/

Yamaha Motor Co Ltd exhibited the "PAS er" power-assisted bicycle that automatically adjusts the output of the motor in accordance with the rider's heart rate at Tokyo Motor Show 2009.

As the heart rate accelerates, the output of the motor increases to help the rider.

The heart rate is measured by a sensor equipped in the right-hand side of the handle. The output is adjusted so that the heart rate of the rider does not exceed 110 to 120 per minute, which is regarded as an appropriate rate for aerobic exercise, Yamaha Motor said.

An automatic transmission and a drive motor with a rated output of 150W are located in the center of the bicycle. Also, the company employed the "shaft drive mechanism," which uses a shaft drive to transmit power to the rear wheel, instead of a chain to make the design simple. Though the mechanism is expensive and heavy for a bicycle, Yamaha Motor employed it to present an image of a future bicycle, the company said.

The PAS er is a two-wheel-drive bicycle because it has a second motor with a rated output of 100W in the hub of the front wheel. The second motor is equipped with a regenerative braking system to charge lithium-ion batteries.

Though Yamaha Motor did not disclose the capacity of the battery, it said that the capacity is equivalent to that of a normal power-assisted bicycle. So, it is probably about 150Wh. An LCD panel mounted on the handle displays the speed of the bicycle and the amount of consumed calories.

 

[Dee Jay]

Damn, I thought of that too, just a few weeks ago! Also while riding !

I just never mentioned it because I've been talking too much theories and not enough practice.. But the idea was inspired by exercise bikes.

I wonder if you can hack the guts of an old exercise bike, like sensors ...

J

 

[will_newton]

Damn, I thought of that too, just a few weeks ago!

Alas, Dee Jay, there is nothing new under the sun. :wink: I was impressed with the Yamaha bike. I didn't even think about the grip idea, duh- just like common gym equipment.

Maybe make a controller with a circuit to convert the BPM signal from the grip into something the controller can use to regulate speed, like a strain sensor on a pedal-assist.

 

[Dee Jay]

two complete strangers-conceived of the same idea-around the same time-while riding their ebikes?

I like to think of it as synchronicity 8)

Then you got internet spies harvesting our original ideas, calling it their own and making money.

 

[AussieJester]

why is nutsandbolts name in yellow in his above posts? /ot

KiM