Sometimes technology can be so geeky, and sometimes it can also be so cool you can’t believe it. During our recent trip to Alabama to sample the 2017 Honda CRF450R, we were introduced to a product that is firmly in the later camp, the LITPro data acquisition device.
The general idea behind the LITPro isn’t exactly new, but the features and the interface that the LITPro brings to the table are awesome. Quite simply, the LITPro has the technology to make you a better rider. It can help you achieve faster lap times, get better starts, and maximize your on-bike training time.
Basically, the LITPro is a data acquisition device that secures easily to a rider’s helmet. The unit is pretty small, measuring just 88.2mm x 58.9mm x 17.6mm—or about the size of a deck of card. At 75 grams, it also weighs about half that of your typical helmet-mounted sports action camera. The LITPro can operate for 10 hours on a single charge and takes about 2 hours to fully recharge.
But there’s not much that is basic about the LITPro’s core technologies or its capabilities, which obviously go hand in hand (or, uh, hand to head?). The unit boasts HD-GPS, which features 20 times the resolution and better precision than a traditional GPS. It can map you on HD-Track Maps (where they are available, and the network continues to grow), and it uses proven sports algorithms to provide data such as airtime, G’s, launch speed, landing speed, acceleration, deceleration, and more. It also allows you to personalize the data by manipulating your split time segments on any track. Its Dual Wireless Bluetooth feature also allows you to connect a Bluetooth 4.0 heart rate monitor.
Just the LITPro’s lap timing feature alone is geeky-cool since it not only maps your lap and allows you to see where you are fast or slow, it also compares you with the top three fastest LITPro users to have ridden that track. That was a real eye opener for DirtBikes.com test rider Nic Garvin. More of an off-road guy, Garvin possesses expert-class speed on a motocross track, and since he was instantly comfortable on the bike, he was far and away the quickest rider of our group at Monster Mountain MX Park during our Alabama trip. However, later that night, the LITPro showed Garvin just how fast he was—or rather wasn’t—when the LITPro folks overlaid his lap times with Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen on the Monster Mountain track map. The software showed just how the reigning Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Champion was able to pull time on Garvin, and where. When the lap was over, Garvin learned that he would need to basically improve his lap times by 50 percent just to be within 5 seconds of Roczen on their individually recorded best laps. That German kid is fast!
Of particular interest was the LITPro’s Corner Analytics feature, in which the unit detects and analyzes every corner and highlights where you can most likely make up time. And again, you can always compare your corner technique with the fastest LITPro-recorded lap at the track and see what they do to be faster than you.
The unit’s Airtime Analytics feature also plays a huge role in helping you to be quicker. Everyone knows that big air looks great but loses time. The LITPro automatically detects and analyzes all of your jumps to give you a more scientific idea of your jump technique and how to improve it.
The LITPro will also automatically analyze your entire session (up to 99 laps—Garvin did 78 in one day at Monster Mountain!) and combine all of your fastest segment times to come up with a theoretical fastest lap. This gives you an idea of what you are capable of if you could just ride your best segments in a single lap.
How many times have you hears a top Pro rider talk about his or her start and how crucial it was to their finish. The LITPro can detect starts anywhere you practice them, even if you are not using a gate. Once you start moving, LITPro records everything until you begin to slow down again. The system can automatically line up all starts from the same session for easy comparison.
The unit is designed to be compatible with the following devices (sorry Android users—you’re sol)
• Apple iPhone: 5, 5c, 5s, 6, 6 Plus, 7, 7 Plus
• Apple iPad: 3rd gen, mini, 4th gen, mini 2, Air, mini 3, Air 2, and iPad Pro
• If the rider keeps the iPhone on his or her bike or person, the system can display live lap timing.
So what do you need to in order get the most from LITPro? Well, for starters, you need the device itself. Plan to spend about $499 for it, not cheap but really fair considering what you can get out of it. Then you’ll need to download certain apps from the Apple App Store. All of them are free. The two required apps include LITPro Sync to set up the device and LIT Pro MX to allow you to analyze your sessions. Other apps include LITPro Video, which can sync the acquired session data to video footage from any camera, LITPro Live for live timing, and LITPro trainer for coaches and mechanics who can monitor real-time data on up to four rider in a given session.
The LITPro is an amazing piece of equipment. In fact, it’s one of our favorite products of 2016 because it focuses on the largest bolt-on part of any given dirtbike, the rider.
LITPro, $499
NZN Labs, Inc.
43200 Business Park Drive
Temecula, CA, 92590
Phone: 951-760-0917
Website: https://www.litproapp.com/
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