Neat device for your Workout – an Anemometer!

pod said:

Sounds like a blantant bit of spamming to me

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No spamming! I'm a serious biker that's done 2975 miles as of Oct 28, 05 from the start of this year. I have always wondered about the weather and wind speed during my workouts, and I record my workout Polar HRM data all the time. You HR / avg speed performance will vary with the wind and temperature - so that's why it's good to have the devices I mentioned.

RapDaddyo said:

Although I haven't bought it yet, I plan to buy the same model you bought (Kestrel 4000), for wind direction and velocity during aero testing of my TT bike next spring. I want that model because it also measures altitude so I can check for flatness of my test route. The data recording feature is nice because the wind fluctuates constantly and I can see what it is for each test run. Compared to even one aero wheel, it's cheap. I would use a wind tunnel or velodrome if I had one, but unfortunately I don't have either.

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I think you need to use a small flag to determine wind direction, then you have to align the anemometer to the wind direction. I'm shopping for a small flag too!

It's funny how people haven't taken me seriously. I find this device very useful.

RapDaddyo said:

I'm working on building my own device. For my purposes (aero testing), it is basically only important for me to know the wind direction relative to the magnetic heading of the section of road I am using for my test (as opposed to the absolute direction relative to, say, True North). I am working on something that would fit on a standard camera tripod with a compass rose and a marker that I can read with some precision. Basically, I will just screw my adaptor onto my tripod, align the compass rose with the roadway and then put my free-swinging wind direction device on the adaptor and read it. After I build it, I'll post a photo.

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All that stuff won't be so portable! when I go out for a workout I always have a backpack full of tools, a patch kit, a pump, and a spare tube. I think I will also get a compass to record the wind direction from my flag.

Well, I just got my Kestrel 4000 on Thursday, and I used it for my night workout to measure the wind. The device was easy to setup without the manual, but I still have to read the manual yet. I am amazed at how small the device is, and if someone could make a bracket for it I think it could fit at the end of an aerobar.

It is very sensitive to wind, even a light breath. The lowest wind reading I got was .7 or .8 mph. And temperature and humidity readings are very fast and sensitive. This is a good device to also measure how good your AC / Heat is from your car.

But alltitude measurements vary with the pressure. I got differences in altitude of about 10 ft from the same location. I don't know how to set the ref altitude yet.

It was really helpful to record the wind speed of my workout on Thursday. My speed sucked because of the wind - 15 mph avg bike speed. But the wind was about 8 to 10 mph max gusts. I don't know if my meter has avg wind speed -I'm still figuring it out. Anfd I think I don't need a flag for wind direction because this wind meter is very sensitive to wind.

Now if I only knew what the other measurements stand for I think I could use my meter to predict if it will rain. But I usually predict if it will rain just by looking at the clouds. Like I don't know the significance of the wet bulb temperature, dew point, and barometric pressure readings.

It's really nice not to guess wind speed & weather data for my workout records anymore.