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Want to Win a Bike Race? Hack Your Rival's Wireless Shifters

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Re: Want to Win a Bike Race? Hack Your Rival's Wireless Shifters

#11

Post by kristo »

nwienert wrote: post #6
tokai wrote: post #2

Opening paragraph is weird. Tacks on the road is not a dirty cheating trick but vandalism, potentially basque regional 'terrorism'. And motors has only been found use once (1) used by a junior rider, its a non-issue and everyone saying its not are spreading fud. If anything cycling is one of the sports with the least cheating. Even doping is minuscule now compared to most other sports. This is gear shifter hack also…

How do you know doping is rare?

I was a cyclist and my brother is now a professional. It's rare. There was a time when it was rampant and accepted. Then a time when it was not accepted but prevalent as the controls lagged severely behind the methods (Lance Armstrong). As controls have developed and the risk of detection has grown, it has become much more rare.

Re: Want to Win a Bike Race? Hack Your Rival's Wireless Shifters

#12

Post by tomooot »

loloquwowndueo wrote: post #8
tiku wrote: post #4

So how much is gained by wireless shifting?

How much what? Wireless (and generally electronic) shifters are likely heavier on account of the battery. In theory they require less maintenance as they don’t have the breakage-prone cables. Shifts are quicker and require less force to activate, and also more precise because they don’t depend on the finicky adjustment screws. And they enable tricks like automatically shifting the front chainring to march your choice…

Most racing bicycles are right up against the limit of the minimum weight allowed. Sometimes they even add ballast weights to stay over the limit, and fit them as low as possible as lower weight = better cornering performance due to moving the bike's center of gravity down/fore/aft.

Re: Want to Win a Bike Race? Hack Your Rival's Wireless Shifters

#13

Post by kristo »

oefrha wrote: post #9
nwienert wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you know doping is rare?

Amazing statement given that cycling is responsible for one of the biggest doping scandals ever ( the biggest in some sense), across all sports.

It is also responsible for the most sophisticated and stringent anti doping controls of all time. Riders are now frequently blood tested multiple times per day during a race.

At this point, doping is far more widespread in most other sports than it is in cycling - it's just not tested for nearly as much

Re: Want to Win a Bike Race? Hack Your Rival's Wireless Shifters

#14

Post by SebFender »

"researchers used a $1500 USRP software-defined radio"

A small SDR setup can be made for just a few dollars and requires very little knowledge - as it has for the past 20 years... and works on many common devices, garages, cars, electrical and medical equipment and so on.

Making an article every time someone tries this on another device is always a bit funny.

Re: Want to Win a Bike Race? Hack Your Rival's Wireless Shifters

#15

Post by nwienert »

kristo wrote: post #11
nwienert wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you know doping is rare?

I was a cyclist and my brother is now a professional. It's rare. There was a time when it was rampant and accepted. Then a time when it was not accepted but prevalent as the controls lagged severely behind the methods (Lance Armstrong). As controls have developed and the risk of detection has grown, it has become much more rare.

This is a "trust me bro" reply though, there are constant developments in research chemicals that aren't easily detected. I know a top-20 boxer who thinks doping is common it's just harder to detect now.

Perhaps at lower levels, but at the highest levels it seems impossible to prove the negative.

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