Suspension data breakthrough for normal riders

Suspension data and analysis on the deepest level is now possible
Pro-grade suspension data and analysis for amateur riders is the promise (Image credit: Motion Instruments)

Suspension data harvesting for regular mountain bikers has finally become a reality.

You might have an impressive record of your mileage and power output abilities from Strava and power meters, but data-centric suspension tuning has been an impossibility for most riders.

California’s Motion Instruments has been the engineering resource of choice for some of the world’s best mountain bikers, when they need to understand how their suspension is working, at race speeds, across demanding terrain.

Legendary downhill racer, Greg Minnaar, is a committed Motion Instruments customer and now you can finally have access to the realm of data that has always been the privileged of world champions.

Motion Instruments has finally produced a range of customer-facing data logging and software analysis products. The company’s hardware attaches to your fork and rear shock, allowing incredibly accurate recording of suspension performance over terrain. 

This data takes the subjective guesswork out of ‘feel’ when attempting to achieve the best suspension settings. What many riders might experience as a forgiving suspension set-up, could in fact be too soft. 

With the Motion Instruments technology, you have all the possible numbers relating to compression and rebound dynamics. Proper data replace conjecture with fact.

Anybody who has worked with big data knows that analysis is what turns the numbers into value.

Aware that even the keenest amateur suspension tuners don’t have spectacular technical abilities, Motion Instruments provide a MotionIQ which does all the data interpretation for you. Users can choose an entry-level MotionIQ application, which delivers deep fork and shock performance insights, free of charge. 

The MotionIQ Expert version adds functionality concerning wheel performance over terrain and works on a monthly $9.99 or yearly $99 subscription. Upgrade to a Pro version of the MotionIQ application and you can benefit from rich data insights which include overall dynamic bike balance, for $29.99 per month or an annual fee of $299.

There are three product lines being launches and each has a Pro or Expert grading. The cross-country system is priced at $519.99 and $359.99. For the Enduro system you’ll be paying $999.99 and $799.99. Downhill riders pay the most, $999.99 for the Pro Level and $839.99 for an Expert kit.

Lance Branquinho
Freelance writer

Lance Branquinho is a Namibian-born journalist who graduated to mountain biking after injuries curtailed his trail running. He has a weakness for British steel hardtails, especially those which only run a single gear. As well as Bike Perfect, Lance has written for MBR.com, Off-Road.cc and Cycling News.