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The Apple iPhone has enjoyed such great success due in large part to the amount of ‘apps’ that it has available for purchase (and some for free) from the Apple store. A staggering 70,000+ different apps are available from the store. (http://148apps.biz/app-store-metrics/) Many of them are very obviously useless. Take for instance the ‘I’m Rich” application that cost $999.99 and served no purpose other than show that one can spend money frivolously (Apple removed it from their store later on, but not before 8 people purchased it).

However, yesterday I stumbled upon an application that, while fitting into an incredibly niche market, shows just how useful a tool such a device can be. The ‘Test Rides’ application lets one attempt a sort of virtual test fit of how a bicycle will fit a person. It requires one to take a picture from a profile view in such a manner that the arms and legs are showing. The user is then required to map out the specific joints on the picture so that the application can then use that information to extrapolate measurements and using that anthropometric data will then inform the user of whether or not a certain bike is a good fit or not. In its current state, the application is still in its infancy, and thus fairly limited.

It requires the user to know certain bike measurements, many of which can be found online with some searching, but is still not readily available at one easy to find source (and some are not able to be found at all). Still, the potential for such an application is unquestionable, if extremely niche. While starting small as they have, it could blossom into an application that houses a database of extensive bicycle information with regards to ergonomics and user fit.

It does not take much for such applications to quickly bloom and become so much more. With the ability for users to submit data and help create a working database of parts and measurements, the Test Rides app could evolve from a primitive amoeba of an application, to a fleshed out, encyclopedic brain on the topic. The creative journey does not have to end at that junction either, as there are many branching off points that the application could take. It could become a resource for those who need replacement parts for a discontinued vendor/manufacturer, helping to prolong lifecycles of bicycles and keeping them out of landfills. Expanding outside of the bicycle market, a similar application could make significant impact in the snowboarding industry as well.

Snowboarding with poorly fitting bindings and boots can cause extreme fatigue early on in a person’s day, causing them to cut short their on-hill activities. Thus having a good fit is essential to having a good day on the hill. Ill fitting boots can cause problems turning on the hill (they drag in the snow as you edge on your toes and heels to turn) as well as causing general foot pain. In addition, not all brands of bindings fit each boot ideally (because of material choice, overall shape and stance

options). What if then, a similar app to Test Rides could be created from manufacturers’ data? Try this scenario: I walk into a snowboard shop and see a pair of bindings I really like and purchase them. But then I go home and use the internet and find a pair of boots that I would like to purchase but can’t find them in any retail stores to try them on and ensure a proper fit. What if I could pull out my iPhone, take a picture of my foot (both profile and from underneath to ensure arch and any other vitals are taken into account) and look up the compatibility of both my foot to the boot, and the boot to the binding.

In a few minutes, I have saved myself money from buying an ill fitting boot, or reassured myself that when I purchase those boots online, they will fit as perfectly as they can. Since clothing and shoes in particular are becoming one of the fastest growing sectors of the e-commerce/online shopping markets, it makes sense that the same principles could be ported over to shoe designers/manufacturers. The effect that such an application could have could be tremendous.

Initially, the Apple App store was mostly filled with either very functional things like organizers and calendars, to the less useful but entertaining games, and the very useless apps like the iPint (you hold your iPhone up as if it were a glass and drink virtual beer). But as people became more familiar and really sought out to create apps that had purpose and thought behind them, apps like Test Rides were born. Apps that may seem niche and useless to some (if not most), but will spawn ideas in another’s head to apply those same creative principles to another area, which keeps the ball rolling. What ideas will be sparked is impossible to say, but it is exciting to see just what new avenues people will take us on.