RFID Tag recommendations and sourcing advice for high school MTB series

[Mat Reive]

Hi everyone,

I am setting up a timing system for a high school mountain bike series located about 1.5 hours north of Toronto, Ontario, and I could use some advice on sourcing the right RFID tags.

Our Race Situation:

Field Size: Usually between 85 and 150 riders per race.

Logistics: We do not want to collect chips or tags after each race. The plan is for riders to keep the same RFID tag affixed to their front plastic number plate for the entire multi week series.

Environment: This is outdoor high school mountain biking, meaning the tags will be exposed to rain, mud, and vibration.

Our Hardware Setup:

We are running CrossMgr and are buying a Impinj R420 reader. For the finish line, we have cross track panel antennas (MTI linear and circular panels) mounted on the sides of the track to capture the riders as they pass.

The Tag Dilemma:

From researching the forums, we heard that the Impinj M750 (or R6) Dogbone architecture is highly recommended due to its excellent read sensitivity and fast performance with CrossMgr's tracking.

However, we are having a very difficult time finding a store that will sell us a low volume (we want to buy around 500 tags to start) without forcing us into a commercial 3,000 to 5,000 master roll minimum order.

Additionally, we are trying to figure out the exact material format to buy. Since the tags will be stuck to plastic bike plates that sit right in front of metal handlebars and cables, and could face mud and rain. We are looking at foam backed Dogbones (with pre printed numbers): These seem perfect because the 3mm foam acts as a spacer away from the handlebar metal, and they are durable.

Flat Paper Dogbone Stickers: These could work if we apply them to the front of the plates, but we worry about water degradation.

Tags to Avoid: We are staying away from raw "Wet Inlays" since the exposed aluminum circuitry will easily short out the moment mud or wet hands touch them.

 

My Questions for the Group:

1. Given our setup, are we on the right track aiming for the Dogbone R6 or M750 Foam tags? Or do you recommend a different style for multi week mountain bike plates?

2. Where are independent timing clubs buying low quantities (100 to 500 packs) of these tags in North America (or shipping to Canada) without hitting B2B distributor walls?

 

Any advice on specific vendors or tag models that have worked well for your youth series would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks,

--Mat

[Carl Worth]

Hi Mat,

I've been there facing the difficulty of sourcing small batches of tags.

My use case is running events that go around-the-clock for 3 days or
more, (this is backyard ultra). I typically have 75-100 runners in an
event. So with sweat, rain, changes of clothing, short naps when they
can get them, etc. the bibs and chips go through a lot of abuse
throughout the event.

I've been using Impinj R420 reader and foam-backed M730 tags.

I don't have a lot of experience with other tags to say whether others
might perform better, but these have been working well for me. The
biggest problem I have is with runners changing their clothing and
forgetting to move their tagged bib to the new outfit. (A lot of runners
have found that putting their bib on something like a belt that they
will always have with them makes it simpler than having the bib on the
clothing.) At least with your case you're less likely to have that
problem.

Feel free to reach out to me directly at ca...@slug.run and I can
share what I've found as far as sourcing in small batches.

-Carl

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[Jonathan Rosen]

Hi Mat; 

Supplies you'll need to buy; everything is on ebay.

1. Buy a roll of wet inlay (plastic only, no paper) tags from ebay.  Right now, I found 250 Avery Dennison Smartrac M750 inlays for $99.  Anything will work, just avoid anything with a paper backing that will get wet and kill the chip performance.  The tag needs to fit on a CR-80 plastic card that is 85mm x 54mm.  

2. Buy a pack of 500 Avery Dennison #5523 4x6 polyester laser labels.  Print numbers on them in 130 point bold font size.  Offset the numbers when printing so you leave room for the slot punch

3. Buy a pack of 500 CR-80 white plastic cards for $11 on ebay.  

4. Buy a slot punch on ebay for $20, solid metal. 

5. Buy a few rolls of 1/4" Velcro strap and cut to 6 inch lengths. 

Process for making tags:

1. Attach RFID tag to the plastic card. 

2. Punch two slots on one edge. 

3. Program a number using TagReadWrite.  Put a metal saucepan over your tag and antenna to "singulate" it, reading and writing only a single tag. 

4. Print and attach polyester (waterproof) labels over both sides of the plastic card.  This will cover the tag and make it waterproof. 

5. Cut and attach Velcro. 

6. Put in on the seapost. It will face your side antennas for perfect performance. 

7. Collect every tag after every race, and re-assign and hand them out.  

8. Replace lost/missing tags and test all of your tags before each race to confirm they work so you aren't surprised on race day. 

9. Never let racers take them home, it will screw up your registration. 

Race day setup:

1. Have a volunteer put all tags out on a table. 

2. Print a start list in last name alpha order and tape it down on both sides of the table. 

3. Racers can find their name and tag, put it on the seatpost. 

4. Return tags when finished so you can replace failed and missing tags after each event. 

Comments on your original post:

- number plates create problems, they will be mostly out of position and hard to read as they get pushed under wires on front and covered in mud.

- anything with paper will get wet and stop working; don't use paper tags. 

- foam spacers aren't necessary, the polyester label over the tag will protect it from water contact. 

- Chipcards on the seatpost are easier to mount and remove due to Velcro; no zip ties or pipe cleaners necessary. 

- RFID tags on the seatpost will face the antenna for best performance. 

- giving racers tags to keep will results in registration problems; avoid it by collecting all tags and re-assigning for each race. 

Sincerely, 

Jonathan M. Rosen

[Jonathan Rosen]

Correction; the Avery Dennison Smartrac Dogbone M750 tags are too long (95mm) for a CR-80 card (84mm) so go with the Alien 9662 wet inlay (82mm), there are plenty for sale and they will work fine.  With the R420 and a good antenna, you'll get great performance.  Remember to orient your linear antenna in the same direction (horizontal) as the RFID tag on the ChipCard and it will produce amazing results.   Using a single linear and single circular antenna (mounted vertically, one on top of another at around 4 or 5 feet from the ground) will deliver perfect results. 

[Jonathan Rosen]

[Jonathan Rosen]

On Sunday, May 24, 2026 at 4:52:30 PM UTC-4 Jonathan Rosen wrote:

[Mat Reive]

Thank you Jonathan and Carl for taking the time to share your knowledge and experiences. I will start to look around ebay to make an order.

One thing I am worried about using the seatpost is most mountian bikes these days have dropper seat posts which might be a problem. And if you mount to the frame under the dropper post the tag might hit the back tire on a full suspension bike.

--Mat

[Jonathan Rosen]

For a bike with a dropper post, simply move the tag to the chainstay or the seat tube. 

[Mat Reive]

Okay, thanks Jonathan. I'll try those locations as alternatives. Thanks again for the help getting started.

--Mat

[stuart lynne]

We use these: https://athleteracenumbers.com/products/bike-frame-numbers after trying a bunch of other locally sourced efforts.

We use race and all issuing of bib numbers and frame plates is done at the event.

Frame plates have the number done with 2x4" shipping labels on a Brother ql710w. Bib numbers are printed on 4x5" labels on a Brother QL1050n.

I built a number of RFID wands years ago using the cheap 5dBi patch antennas. Typically about $10 in North America, A lot cheaper if you buy 10 or more from China.

Use double-sided tape to attach to a metal paint scraper, attach 3m cable, and shrink wrap. Total cost about $25ish each. These can read and write the RFID tags.We have four in the box with an R1000, If you have four volunteers can handle several hundred registrations in an hour or two.

I buy Dogbones from https://www.atlasrfidstore.com/rfid-labels/, 5000 generally runs about $700ish, They will sell smaller amounts, I think the first price break is 500. 

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[stuart lynne]

Gmail glitched and sent previous early...

Here are the assembled frame plates. The upper ones are the standard race version. The bottom is a new template I did this year to increase visibility. Most of the officials at our races a) mostly use frame plates to get the numbers and b) thought the numbers were a bit too small. So I bumped the font size to use almost 100% of the available space on the label.



Bib number assembled, this is the older racedb format;

Don't have an assembled bib, but here is size comparison:

The biggest advantage is eliminating the extra volunteer behind the reg desk who has to dig for the required bib number from the (almost always messy) box of preprinted bibs.

And if (when) people lose or forget it, you print another one.

For the printers, we currently take two of each of the QL-1050 and QL-710w to each event. I buy old ones on eBay and keep a few spares.