Author Topic: Comparing bike geometry - a thing we made  (Read 3185 times)

Comparing bike geometry - a thing we made
« on: 07 June, 2018, 08:01:04 am »
Hello yacf-ers - looking for some feedback!

We built a site that lets you compare geometry side-by-side: https://geometrygeeks.bike

It's now got a huge database of bikes and it's easy to add one if yours isn't listed. Some manufacturers have got involved and sent us their data in bulk. Every bike is editable wiki-style in case you spot a typo.

We made it because I got fed up creating spreadsheets to do the same thing. It's very much a spare-time project by Dave and me, but a pretty fun one as it's taken off.

We're always looking for feedback to improve, so to the purpose of the post... if you're just seeing it for the first time, what are your first impressions? What works or looks good, what doesn't? What should we add next?

There's a wee widget on the site or you can drop us a note at hello at geometrygeeks.bike.

We do have a few new features we're working on, but I'll not mention them yet to avoid leading the witness...

Cheers all :)

Bob

jiberjaber

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Re: Comparing bike geometry - a thing we made
« Reply #1 on: 07 June, 2018, 09:49:39 am »
Other than clicking on the bike groups (Endurance road bikes for example) I couldn't see how I could select bikes that were of differing types. (eg I wanted to compare the Genesis CDF as there were 2 listed (2011-2014 and 2017) but no 2015 (which I have)....  I've worked it out now (its the green button) but it wasn't obvious :)

So it's just comparing the numbers?  I was hoping it was going to be something like the following:


Regards,

Joergen

Zed43

  • prefers UK hills over Dutch mountains
Re: Comparing bike geometry - a thing we made
« Reply #2 on: 07 June, 2018, 05:38:42 pm »
First impression? Almost useless. But with great potential.

What is needed (for me) is a search by features. Stack and reach to start with.  Ie I would start by searching for say reach=370+/-10 and stack=580+/-5 Then, when I get 384 results, I want to filter those: standover height, 12mm through axles (no, that's not geometry, but still), etc.

Also: simple page listing the number of bikes each brand has in the system (with a click-through to see models), just to get a feel if my favourite brand would be included in the results.

And I like jiberjaber's visual comparison.

Phil W

Re: Comparing bike geometry - a thing we made
« Reply #3 on: 07 June, 2018, 07:14:55 pm »
Other than clicking on the bike groups (Endurance road bikes for example) I couldn't see how I could select bikes that were of differing types. (eg I wanted to compare the Genesis CDF as there were 2 listed (2011-2014 and 2017) but no 2015 (which I have)....  I've worked it out now (its the green button) but it wasn't obvious :)

So it's just comparing the numbers?  I was hoping it was going to be something like the following:



Damn you, I was about to jump on the site till I saw it does not do a visualisation.

Re: Comparing bike geometry - a thing we made
« Reply #4 on: 07 June, 2018, 10:54:39 pm »
Ha ok, that didn't take long :)

The two new features we're working on are:
1) Search by geometry. Enter some parameters, see what's in the database. We've made a massive effort in the last few months to clean up the data so searches return useful results. This isn't too far away.
2) Visual comparison. This is seriously hard to make it good enough to be usable. Stuff like headset stack can really screw things up. This is further away, but we agree it would be The Best Thing, so we're working on it still.

@zed43: There is a 'bike directory' link at the bottom of the page that lists EVERYTHING. And you can search by brand. But I do appreciate that's not what you're asking for ;) Should be do-able. We'll have a think.

mattc

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Re: Comparing bike geometry - a thing we made
« Reply #5 on: 08 June, 2018, 08:17:49 am »
2) Visual comparison. This is seriously hard to make it good enough to be usable. Stuff like headset stack can really screw things up. This is further away, but we agree it would be The Best Thing, so we're working on it still.

A picture is worth a thousand words ... but usually takes a lot longer. Especially if you are trying to automate it; compooters are really good with data, less so at making pictures.
Has never ridden RAAM
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jiberjaber

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Re: Comparing bike geometry - a thing we made
« Reply #6 on: 08 June, 2018, 08:38:00 am »
The graphic above is taken from the spreadsheet at this link, if that helps.  :thumbsup:

http://gearinches.com/blog/misc/bike-geometry-comparator
Regards,

Joergen

Zed43

  • prefers UK hills over Dutch mountains
Re: Comparing bike geometry - a thing we made
« Reply #7 on: 08 June, 2018, 01:39:24 pm »
Awesome that the geometry search will be implemented soon. I noticed that "Tyre Max Width" is included as a field (though often has no value) which is nice! Can we have more frame characteristics fields? Front axle type (QR, 15mm, 12mm), rear axle type (QR, 12mm), brake type (rim, post mount, flat mount) would be high on my list. Also, what are you supposed to enter for "Front Mech"?

jiberjaber

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Re: Comparing bike geometry - a thing we made
« Reply #8 on: 08 June, 2018, 04:01:55 pm »
Awesome that the geometry search will be implemented soon. I noticed that "Tyre Max Width" is included as a field (though often has no value) which is nice! Can we have more frame characteristics fields? Front axle type (QR, 15mm, 12mm), rear axle type (QR, 12mm), brake type (rim, post mount, flat mount) would be high on my list. Also, what are you supposed to enter for "Front Mech"?

BB type also. (though some offer a option of either press-fit or threaded!)
Regards,

Joergen

Zed43

  • prefers UK hills over Dutch mountains
Re: Comparing bike geometry - a thing we made
« Reply #9 on: 08 June, 2018, 05:10:03 pm »
BB type is already available as a field. It could be improved by making it a dropdown with available options though; I added some data for the Specialized Roubaix, should I have used "threaded" instead of "BSA" for the BB?

Re: Comparing bike geometry - a thing we made
« Reply #10 on: 11 June, 2018, 07:29:55 am »
Cheers all for the comments

Re: fields and dropdowns - good idea. We do have a lot of fields available for anyone to edit, but they're all free text/integer right now. Dropdowns for many of them would be useful (although folks keep inventing new freakin' BB standards...)

Re: front mech - should probably be called front mech type. Direct mount, braze on, e-type, none... will think about this.

@jiberjaber Re: link, thanks!

Zed43

  • prefers UK hills over Dutch mountains
Re: Comparing bike geometry - a thing we made
« Reply #11 on: 11 June, 2018, 10:27:52 pm »
Re: front mech - should probably be called front mech type. Direct mount, braze on, e-type, none... will think about this.
A dropdown would kill two birds with one stone  :)

The "copy/paste a table with specifications" is awesome btw, it takes very little time to get a bicycle (in all its available sizes) into the system if the manufacturer has a somewhat sensible webpage.

Re: Comparing bike geometry - a thing we made
« Reply #12 on: 13 June, 2018, 09:32:03 pm »
The "copy/paste a table with specifications" is awesome btw, it takes very little time to get a bicycle (in all its available sizes) into the system if the manufacturer has a somewhat sensible webpage.

Watch this space... we have a new toy in development that will make it even easier to add from a webpage. It's awesome. I'll post here (if I remember) when it's done, else it'll be on our newsletter.