Open-Source eInk Bike Computer
Details
- External ID
- 49567437
- Source
- HN
- Company
- —
- Product
- Open-Source eInk Bike Computer
- Website domain
- opentrailpaper.com
- Launched
- Sept. 4, 2026
- Cohort
- —
- Upvotes
- 419
- Upvotes percentile
- 0.9920255183413078
- Tags
- —
- Fetched at
- Sept. 10, 2026, 5:31 a.m.
- Updated at
- Sept. 10, 2026, 5:31 a.m.
Description
Hey all, i just launched my Eink Bike computer project and think it is cool.Another tidbit, in the crazy things that AI has done... It has helped create a ANT (common sensor wireless protocol used in workout/biking) implementation for ESP32 by messing around with undocumented registers: https://github.com/RaemondBW/esp32-ant
Enrichment
- Theme
- open-source hardware and embedded electronics
- Vertical
- —
- Function
- Hardware & robotics
- Audience
- B2C
- AI stance
- Not AI
- Project type
- Hobby / open-source project
- Normalized one-liner
- bike computer for cyclists
- Manually corrected
- False
Could you build this?
No It involves custom embedded C/C++ firmware on an ESP32-S3 microcontroller, direct e-paper display refresh management, BLE sensor integration, and reverse-engineering proprietary radio registers for ANT.
What it would actually take: Building a real version requires embedded C/C++ development using ESP-IDF or Arduino, managing hardware timers, power profiles, and SPI/I2C communication. The hard parts are writing a custom low-level driver for the 4.7" e-paper refresh waveforms to avoid ghosting, implementing the Garmin ANT protocol via undocumented RF registers, and handling GPS NMEA streams and FIT binary file generation on a resource-constrained microcontroller. This demands embedded systems engineering and RF/wireless protocol expertise.
Discussion
20 comments analyzed.
Competitors mentioned: Garmin cycle computers, Trek Domane (in-frame storage), Canyon Endurace (in-frame storage), Sharp MIP displays
Concerns raised: No barometric altimeter for precise climbing measurement, Lack of weather resistance for off-roading durability, In-frame storage not practical for multi-bike users, SAAS model raises data ownership and control issues, Phone mounting on handlebars has water ingress and physical damage risks
Feature requests: Bill of materials and price estimates documentation, Weather-resistant board option, Sharp MIP display instead of eInk for frequent updates, Fixed-width font for number display, Battery/repair kit portability between bikes
Competitors
Other products that read as similar to this one — 31 launches clear the similarity bar, closest 8 shown.
Attention rank: #1 of 32 (itself plus its competitors, highest first — normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).
Launched 289 days after the earliest competitor.
- F32 · hn · 2025-11-19 · 302 upvotes · similarity 0.42
- Bike4Mind · hn · 2026-07-07 · 5 upvotes · similarity 0.39
- Open-Source 8-Ch BCI Board (ESP32 and ADS1299 and OpenBCI GUI) · hn · 2026-01-05 · 54 upvotes · similarity 0.37
- ADSBee, an open source dual band embedded ADS-B receiver for anything · hn · 2026-01-01 · 8 upvotes · similarity 0.36
- We built the smallest dual-band aircraft tracker · hn · 2026-08-26 · 95 upvotes · similarity 0.35
- Sowbot · hn · 2026-02-23 · 181 upvotes · similarity 0.34
- AI Router · ph · 2026-09-09 · 1 upvotes · similarity 0.33
- Mercek · hn · 2026-06-04 · 64 upvotes · similarity 0.33
Other launches for this product
- No other launches for this product.