Wow…I missed a lot. Mainly cause I just got back from a 150mi brunch run with 6 other riders…tire pressures are fine and the LeePee TPMS caps work great.
It seems a backward step to go with the smaller battery that only gets half the operating time. I don't how its usage is increased or decreased considering it is on all the time.
Still looking...
The 1632 battery gives at the very least a year of operating time. I don't know how much longer because I always change mine out at the start of the year to make sure I have fresh batteries. But when I change them, they always still show as good.
As noted... pressure is supposed to be measured "cold". Cold in this case simply means that the tire has been at rest for enough time that temperature variations from rolling resistance has been factored out. I would hazard a guess that other sources of temperature variability (such as mentioned here) have been factored in by the manufacturer. So, seems best to simply measure (cold) and set based on the given manufacturers recommendation. I would also set thresholds accordingly. As to having only one thresholds for both tires... Seems like an (disqualifying) oversight to me. Maybe an oversight based on ignorance? Or perhaps they were just too cheap to update their app for motorcycle applications. In fact - thinking about it - this wouldn't work well for my truck either. The delta between the front and rear pressures on my truck is significant (IIRC 55 front, 80 rear).
It's good to know that the motion required isn't significant. I still would prefer that they register with no interaction with the bike. Battery life/savings might be a factor with this approach. But, if FOBO is correct and their setup's battery life is a year, then I don't see this savings as any big deal. Just add replacing the batteries to the regular annual maintenance schedule.
Multiple bikes and multiple phones would be a factor for me. But yes... It all depends on the individual's needs/requirements.
The bottom line for me here is the fact that not only does fobo cost 2-3 X's as much as the LeePee units but it appears that fobo has been a comedy of errors since their initial release and as it seems they are continuing that tradition as follows...
First fobo comes out with these mongo sized caps to accommodate the much larger CR2032 battery and I suspect they chose that large battery because unlike the LeePee units the fobo doesn't have timed circuitry that shuts off BT transmission after 5 minutes of sitting motionless which would mean fobo also lacks the "Motion Detection" feature to turn back on cause fobo is in an "always on" condition but after fobo realized their mongo sized caps were doing everything from ripping folks valve stems off to conflicting with brake calipers resulting in "sudden loss of tire pressure" (re: near death experiences) fobo decided to come out with FOBO 2 and here's where fobo doubled down on continuing their tradition of a comedy of errors where they decreased their battery size from CR2032 to the more size appropriate CR1632 (that all the other TPMS providers were using) and then while they bragged about how they made their fobo2 caps so much smaller "and lighter" expressing how ridiculous it would be to assume that these much smaller "and lighter" caps have any impact on wheel balance?...they completely ignore the weight added from the "Steel Valve Stems" they include and dictate that you use to protect them from any liability of their own poorly thought out physical products and I say physical because....
Whoever wrote their software/app did one heck of a job and if I were them right now I'd be wanting to put my foot up dumb & dumbers azz for their comedy of errors rushing their physical products to market with what was obviously near zero product development and all for near triple the price of their much savvier competition.
fobo's products reminds me of the sort of business model that starts out with bright, young american software writers coming up with a billion dollar idea for a product of convenience then playin with their BT 5.0 by Tandy kit followed with poorly thought through physical products as produced by some podunk nation then marketed at Made in the USA price points. JMHO YMMV LOL
How lazy can y'all get? Just bend over and check the damn pressure with a gauge. Next thing you know you'll sending your bikes out to be washed and waxed!
As it's been mentioned several times in this thread so far, convivence is only a smaller part of the value of TPMS. It's also been noted that on a touring bagger it's not always as easy as just bending over to check the pressure, it also involves rolling the bike back and forth in a limited space and light to find the valve stem and then either removing one of the bags or laying on the ground to get to the valve stem to check/adjust the pressure. If I can use a relatively inexpensive and reliable tool to do the same job in 2 seconds its more likely I'll actually check it before each ride. If that makes me lazy I guess I'm OK with that.
The most important reason by far though is that it lets you know your tire has developed a leak ~after~ you've started riding and well before you notice a difference in handling or appearance, and hopefully in plenty of time to get to a safer place to deal with it. I'd rather not be on the turnpike at 80 mph or deep in the Ozark Mountains with no cell service when I discover that I ran over a nail and developed a slow leak after I got on the road.
And yeah, if I could find a trustworthy place to wash and wax my bike at a reasonable price you betcha' I'd let them do it! I used to really enjoy getting out on a nice day doing that kinda stuff but these days I'd rather just be out riding.
The bottom line for me here is the fact that not only does fobo cost 2-3 X's as much as the LeePee units but it appears that fobo has been a comedy of errors since their initial release and as it seems they are continuing that tradition as follows...
First fobo comes out with these mongo sized caps to accommodate the much larger CR2032 battery and I suspect they chose that large battery because unlike the LeePee units the fobo doesn't have timed circuitry that shuts off BT transmission after 5 minutes of sitting motionless which would mean fobo also lacks the "Motion Detection" feature to turn back on cause fobo is in an "always on" condition but after fobo realized their mongo sized caps were doing everything from ripping folks valve stems off to conflicting with brake calipers resulting in "sudden loss of tire pressure" (re: near death experiences) fobo decided to come out with FOBO 2 and here's where fobo doubled down on continuing their tradition of a comedy of errors where they decreased their battery size from CR2032 to the more size appropriate CR1632 (that all the other TPMS providers were using) and then while they bragged about how they made their fobo2 caps so much smaller "and lighter" expressing how ridiculous it would be to assume that these much smaller "and lighter" caps have any impact on wheel balance?...they completely ignore the weight added from the "Steel Valve Stems" they include and dictate that you use to protect them from any liability of their own poorly thought out physical products and I say physical because....
Whoever wrote their software/app did one heck of a job and if I were them right now I'd be wanting to put my foot up dumb & dumbers azz for their comedy of errors rushing their physical products to market with what was obviously near zero product development and all for near triple the price of their much savvier competition.
fobo's products reminds me of the sort of business model that starts out with bright, young american software writers coming up with a billion dollar idea for a product of convenience then playin with their BT 5.0 by Tandy kit followed with poorly thought through physical products as produced by some podunk nation then marketed at Made in the USA price points. JMHO YMMV LOL
I haven't followed the history of any of these companines. I would agree that larger units (based on CR2032s) would have been undesirable - if not disqualifying. Even at their current size (most brands appear to be roughly the same) - based on CR1632s - they seem a bit large. Since all brands currently appear to be roughly the same size, I might expect them all to have similar issues with clearance. Wheel balance issues - if they exist - might be common to all of them. In my case, I wouldn't need thier steel valve stems.
You note the software is amongst the "comedy of errors", but don't really explain why. From what I can tell... It seems the FOBO app is probably to most feature rich/robost/well thought out option amongst the competitors and seems to be well recieved in reviews. So as to the "comedy of errors" in regards to the software, maybe I've missed something. But I don't see it. On the other hand, the knock off brands - from what I can tell - all seem to have some questionable limitations with their software.
Another thing worth noting is that FOBO seems to be an actual company - with an actual website. Some of the knock offs appear to only have a very limited Amazon store front. Might wonder how this might impact constumer service/support (both in the near and long term). FOBO does have help/support options (email and forum, but no phone number). Do the others? In terms of product documentation - FOBO appears to lead to pack here also. FOBO's manual and specifications sheet appear to be pretty thorough etc. etc.
As I noted... It's all about tradeoffs. Power/battery management schemes being one example. Price being another. I've noted some tradeoffs/requirements which I find important to me. What's matters to others - what tradeoffs are acceptable, what expectations/requirements one has for the product - may be different and one of the cheaper brands may be perfectly acceptable to them.
Going back to the FOBO specifications sheet... FOBO - unlike others apparently - at least provides one. Included in that specification sheet are the Mechanical & Environmental Reliability Testing Standards. Perhaps one thing to consider with this type of device - from all brands - is what happens in the case of catastrophic failure (and how likely is such a failure to occur?). I might want to look deeper into that aspect before putting these things on my bike and having the listed standards that they were tested to might be helpful in that inquiry. Did the other brands test theirs? To what standards?
An old adage comes to mind... In the end, you get what you pay for. That might come into play here.
I haven't followed the history of any of these companines. I would agree that larger units (based on CR2032s) would have been undesirable - if not disqualifying. Even at their current size (most brands appear to be roughly the same) - based on CR1632s - they seem a bit large. Since all brands currently appear to be roughly the same size, I might expect them all to have similar issues with clearance. Wheel balance issues - if they exist - might be common to all of them. In my case, I wouldn't need thier steel valve stems.
You note the software is amongst the "comedy of errors", but don't really explain why. From what I can tell... It seems the FOBO app is probably to most feature rich/robost/well thought out option amongst the competitors and seems to be well recieved in reviews. So as to the "comedy of errors" in regards to the software, maybe I've missed something. But I don't see it. On the other hand, the knock off brands - from what I can tell - all seem to have some questionable limitations with their .
yes you did miss something…actually a lot… like the part where I said that “whoever wrote the software/app did one heck of a job” but you seem to be content going on a tirade hyping all things FOBO while pissing on all other TPMS products so?…I’m out
yes you did miss something…actually a lot… like the part where I said that “whoever wrote the software/app did one heck of a job” but you seem to be content going on a tirade hyping all things FOBO while pissing on all other TPMS products so?…I’m out
Based on the context and overal tenor, I took that statement as sarcasm. Now that you've mentioned it - and after a re-read - it's clearer to me what you were trying to say.
No tirades or hyping here. I'm simply taking a look at the available options and commenting on what I see as potential tradeoffs/considerations for each. I'm also commenting on what tradeoffs would be acceptable/unacceptableto me. What other's find in that regard is up to them. As with most things... No option seems perfect. Again... tradeoffs.
I just installed these Leepee TPMS caps and they seem to work well but that voice warning in the Chinese accent " rear tire too low" just made me laugh.
So... This thread inspired me - for S&Gs - to buy the FOBO 2's. Here's one thing that I noted in the manual...
it senses the tire pressure against a built-in vacuum, resulting in an Absolute Pressure reading. The internal firmware will then subtract the sea level pressure of 101.3 Kpa (14.7 psi) from this reading. This final reading which will be shown in the app can be termed as i) Tire Absolute Pressure minus sea level pressure, or ii) Gage Pressure reference to sea-level altitude.
OK then... But what this appears to mean is that the pressure reading - with the Gauge Pressure setting turned off (the default) - is only really accurate at sea level. Discounting the effects of temperature and considering the equation... Pabs = Pguage + Patm and Pguage = Pabs - Patm... If you change altitude, Pabs stays the same, and Patm goes down (which it does with increasing altitude), then Pgauge goes up. So gauge pressure goes up with altitude.
With this formulation, Fobo Bike 2 sensor will read the same pressure value for any given time, irrespective of altitude (assuming a constant temperature).
Well sure... because Pabs doesn't change and Patm is set to a static value (14.7) so Pgauge won't change. But then they say...
This will ensure the correct tire footprint per vehicle manufacturer’s pressure recommendation, for all altitude above sea-level, given a constant temperature.
It will? Well... maybe... If cooler temperatures at altitude compensate perhaps. But what if the temperatures are roughly the same say at low altitude (sea level) leaving in the morning as they are at high altitude when arriving in mid afternoon? If you whip out the trusty tire gauge and take a measurement when you get there, will you see a difference it what FOBO is telling you? Seems like maybe so. But what seems important - always - is gauge pressure. Gauge pressure being pressure in relation to atmospheric pressure (which results in inflation). They go on to say...
As a corollary, a tire with a Fobo reading of, say 40 psi at an altitude of 5000ft, will read the same 40 psi when driven to sea-level, given a constant temperature
As already discussed... Yes - if both Pabs and Patm are fixed/static - then the gauge pressure isn't going to change. Lastly they say...
For users who wish to retain ‘Gage Pressure Reading’, the Fobo Bike App has a Gage Pressure, adjusted to local altitude using cell towers or individual phone barometer if available.
Apparently their fingers had a problem with the spelling of gauge. Anyway... So great... You can get gauge pressure (or something close depending on how accurate the barometric data is from either the phone or cell tower) with this thing. However, it seems odd that this seems to be considered an optional setting and not the default. And again, when they say...
This will ensure the correct tire footprint per vehicle manufacturer’s pressure recommendation, for all altitude above sea-level, given a constant temperature.
In relation to not having the Gauge Pressuring setting set to on, it seem backwards. It seems that you would want this setting to be set to on for that statement to be true.
Anyway... Long story short... Seems to me you would almost always want to have the Gauge Pressure set to on. IDK why you would want to use this with Gauge Pressure set to off.
Maybe I missed something. If so... blame it on the beer. But that's my 2 cents.
01-15-2023 | 05:01 PM
