Your opinion on lap timers?

[Insaneman1731]

In relevance to having one. I was reading around somewhere and some people think that only advanced riders need them. What do you personally think? No one should have them? Waste of money for beginner/intermediate? Pointless information if your not smooth? Whatever you feel on the topic throw it out there.

 

[RyanITV]

IMHO, the GPS lap timers are the way to go at any level - they allow much more analysis to show why you ran a certain time, what you did to run it and how it compares to others. Regular timers are pretty much just a benchmark at slower paces and don't mean much because you don't get at the underlying data.

Again, just my $0.02...

Ryan

 

[PJZOCC624]

I started using one last season for the first time. I use it to monitor my consistency lap to lap. I do NOT use it simply as a measurement of how fast I'm running. For example, if I'm at Beaverun, I go through the session in my head, and make an asessment as to how consistent I felt I was. I then check the timer to see if my mental estimation matches what the lap times tell me. It's not the final determination, but a percentage of my overall self-evaluation. If I see lap times showing 1:08.5, 1:08.7, 109.1, 109.3, then I'm pretty consistent. Conversely, if I see 1:08, 1:10, 1:09., 1:12, 1:13, then I'm not.

Make sense?

 

[Cole]

Touchy subject.

I personally have never run one. I heard horror stories from the get go about how much it affected someone's day at the track. To me, it made sense. I'm not racing. I'm at a track day. My day is more about fun. If I was racing, then I could see it coming into play, for the consistency aspect and competitive point of view. My days are more fun for me dicing it up with people and swapping just a little paint.

I could definitely see how it could affect negatively. If you showed improvement from morning to noon, then from noon on started degrading, I might become frustrated and therefore try to push more. At that point, I should be relaxing more and not forcing it.

Just my thoughts

 

[beac83]

I ran one for the first time last Saturday. Still have mixed feelings on it. I didn't run it Sunday. It's an analysis tool to help you correlate what you did during a session and how it affected your getting around the track. It's not about the times, but about what you are doing (lines, body position, consistency). The times just help with the post-session analysis. I have mine mounted on the tail, so I can't see it until after the session.

 

[lemondrop]

RyanITV;57527 wrote: IMHO, the GPS lap timers are the way to go at any level - they allow much more analysis to show why you ran a certain time, what you did to run it and how it compares to others. Regular timers are pretty much just a benchmark at slower paces and don't mean much because you don't get at the underlying data.

Again, just my $0.02...

Ryan

smart man....

anybody can benefit from a GPS with all the data logging....getting on the throttle too late?? early on the brakes....any of them data mines these factors

 

[geckert]

beac83;57568 wrote: I have mine mounted on the tail, so I can't see it until after the session.

I think thats a great idea. I have my speedo taped over so I dont focus on my speeds. I think if I had a lap timer that was visible while riding I would be worrying about my times and it would become a chore, a fun chore but still one. I will be getting one as soon as i can find a decent priced product.

 

[dlockhart5x]

Cole;57538 wrote: Touchy subject.

I personally have never run one. I heard horror stories from the get go about how much it affected someone's day at the track. To me, it made sense. I'm not racing. I'm at a track day. My day is more about fun. If I was racing, then I could see it coming into play, for the consistency aspect and competitive point of view. My days are more fun for me dicing it up with people and swapping just a little paint.

I could definitely see how it could affect negatively. If you showed improvement from morning to noon, then from noon on started degrading, I might become frustrated and therefore try to push more. At that point, I should be relaxing more and not forcing it.

Just my thoughts

:agree:

Never had one..

When I ride my 250 it is painfully obvious to me when I am riding well or not.

 

[mlmoore]

I ran one a few times last year. Wish I had saved the money because I have no desire to run it any longer. It gave me something else to think about but I've got enough going on I don't need something else to confuse me. LOL. I find the feedback from the CR's and other riders much more helpful to me than lap times ever will be.

 

[Meat]

Lap timers also sometimes break the illusion that someone is fast. Lap times had not been that important to me before because I had other things to work on. Now I am trying to get ym GPS laptimer hooked up to better analyze what I am doing out there.

 

[jas0336]

I told myself I wouldn't get one in B group because there are soooo many other factors that change your times. However, my opinion is that in I group or above they can give valuable data...especially the GPS timers.
I also really like the idea of mounting it where you can't see it.
I will be saving for the XT GPS model...right after case covers....and 520 conversion....and suspension work......oh, and after new chest protector....and I may get a trailer first if I get a truck that can pull it.
Nevermind, I'm just gonna follow Meat and see what his times were. I'll never get one :banghead:

 

[snikwad]

i like em, because i can measure my consistencey and see REAL improvements.
Like when u do a lap and you feel wicked fast but the timer says nope, its good cause then i think, hmm, where did i lose the time at, thats where the GPS type ones are beneficial, trouble is, i could buy a rear shock with the money that thing costs, so, no...

2, it gives me and my slow buddy's bragging rights.

3. if youre letting it ruin your day, because you arent going as fast as you normally do, youve got bigger problems. yes we all like to improve, but at the end of the day if i do 5 wicked fun sessions and never improve my time, then im still going home happy.

 

[EngineNoO9]

Have one but it's not visible so I look at it after the fact. Now for racing I may mount it where I can see it but I'm unsure. First time I ever ran with one I crashed 3rd session before lunch granted that was due to numerous factors, not the lap timer by itself.

 

[JGardy_781]

A timer is just like any other tool.

It can be helpful in gauging general progress (or lack thereof), and to a lesser extent lap to lap consistency (being that there's so much variability on track during any given session - was I in traffic in lap 2, 3 and 4? was there a bike between me and the beacon?).

Problem is, people misuse the tool and blame it for their own shortcomings, sorta like blaming the hammer when you hit your own thumb - it's not the timer's fault if you stare at it obsessively while you're riding, nor is it the timers fault if you have a miserable day because you think you're riding faster than your timer reports (or god forbid, someone doesn't put a beacon out...).

By their very nature, GPS timers seem better, simply by the sheer volume and general increase in quality of data available to the rider, let alone the lack of reliance upon said beacon and the accouterments and conditions required to keep the beacon working and a signal picked up by the on-board unit, but at this point, you're on the front-end of adoption. Being that, GPS timers cost is a few times more than an old-fashioned lap timer that we all used up until last year... Give it a few years, and you'll probably never see an IR beacon on pit wall at the track, and we'll all be carting around laptops to dissect our riding, session by session.

If you want a timer, get a timer. I like mine, but half the time, I don't even put it on the bike anymore.

 

[greeny]

how else are you gonna know if that new line ur running is quicker than the old one? i used to not care about lap times until i realized how much feedback timers give you with all the things you're trying to work on

 

[jasco]

Ran a lap timer for the firs time last weekend at Gingerman. I just got the XT GPS timer and like it so far. I must say that I never look at it on the track. I check times real quick between each session, but don't do much analysis at that time. I looked at it in more detail during the lunch break and at the end of the day. It was really helpful in showing me just how early I was cutting the throttle while setting up for turns. Showed me that I could make up a lot of time by improving my corner entry. I think it is going to help me get faster, safer over time because I can actually see what I was doing after I did it while i have more time to think about it.

Matt