Counting Downward

Oerth ordered some counters with the wrong rotation. He didn't realize the new gearbox required opposite rotation. As a result the counter runs backwards. As you say, this is not a problem once you get used to it. No accuracy is lost.

He may have fixed this by now. I don't know.

Rick:
Could you get the counter to count up by putting it on the right-hand side of the bike?

It will count upward if mounted on the right-hand side of the bike.

To summarize the situation:
The left is always right and the right is typically wrong, but for a few newer counters, the right may be right and the left is oddly backwards!

So, in order to produce documents with a ‘traditional’ presentation of data, should I just mount the counter on the right-hand side? I would assume that this should make the interpretation of data a bit more routine.

Mount your counter where it is easiest for you to use. Let your certifier know that it counts backwards. This should not be an undue burden for him/her.

Rick:
I do not understand your quandry.It should be a no-brainer if your counter mounted on the right gives the same results as a conventional one on the left.

Although I have an older, "correct" counter, I ran into a similar situation a few weeks ago.

I was measuring a 5km course and did all the calculations, then realized I was riding S to F, but had done the calculations based on riding the opposite direction, as is usually the case. Rather than recalculate, I flipped my wheel around so the counter was now on the right and counted down.

The problem I encountered with this was that the front fork partially obscured the counter, making it hard to read the digits, requiring that I perform some contortions to do so. It was OK for a one-time ride of a 5km, but I wouldn't want to make it a regular practice over longer distances.

I also noticed that Hugh Jones had one of the new, black, "backwards" counters when he was in NYC last month to measure the OT marathon course.

The new black "backwards" counter that I've seen has the counter perpendicular to the wheel as opposed to parallel to the wheel on the "old" type that I have. When the wheel is flipped around so the counter would be on the right, the numbers are now upside down. This might potentially cause some reading errors with some measurers and would physically have to get off their bikes, so that they could read the numbers the right way up. Not all the measurers out there are as smart as Neville.

What counter is this? Got a picture? The only one I know of like that is my own homemade chain driven counter.

This counter was received from Paul Oerth within the last month by another measurer local to me. I'll ask him to take a photo.

I purchased two of the Oreth-Jones counters earlier this summer. I attempted to mount the new counter on my bicycle but ran into the problems mentioned in this thread by Rick Brooks.





If I mount the counter on the left side of the wheel, the counter counts in reverse.

If I mount the counter on the right side of the wheel, the counter counts up, but I need to keep the counter facing toward the rear of the bicycle. The gray plastic tube that contains the worm gear mechanism does not fit between the wheel and the fork.



I may be able correct the problem by adding additional extra washers and spreading the fork out enough to allow the plastic tube to clear the fork. I would, however, need to find a wider hub for my quick-release wheel. For now, I went back to the older metal counter.

There are two output-driver ends to the gearbox. If you remove the dustcap from one end, unscrew the counter adapter, and put the counter adapter on the opposite end of the gearbox, it will rotate differently. Try it.

The black Veeder-Root counter has a short, square-shaped shaft. The gray, worm-drive mechanism that mounts on the bicycle wheel hub, has two threaded ends. One end is marked R and the other is marked L.

On the end marked L, there is a square hole that engages the square shaft of the Veeder-Root counter.

On the end marked R, there is a round hole on the surface. Looking into that hole, I can see the square hole. That square hole, however, is too deep for the Veeder-Root shaft to reach. The Veeder-Root shaft would need to be longer in order to work on the R end.

Justin,

My memory may be playing tricks. On the plastic gearbox I had, at one time but no longer, I recall a square insert at each end. So, sorry for the bad tip.

Pete, the certifier for Rick Brooks- me, is aware of his backward counting device. It was evident to me as I reviewed one of his apps. Being handy w/numbers, I quickly added up (subtracted?) what he sent in to check his calculations.

He asked if this might be a good topic for this forum & I said yes.