Tracking watts, analyzing pedal stroke, riding courses...whatever. Interesting but not worth it in my opinion.

On the other hand, the ergo mode simply rocks. I was unaware of this feature until I started using a CT, and in short, you dial in watts, and the CT generates consistent wattage resistance. Change gears, change cadece, it doesn't matter, you still generate the same wattage. I've found this very helpful in doing highly structured (from my coach) workouts with progressive increase in both watts and interval duration. Think of it as being able to lift a specific weight for a specific number of reps.

I am borrowing a CT right now, but as soon as I need to return it, I will buy one.

1 - I got mine last winter and if I had to do it over again I would have gotten this instead of race wheels several years ago

2 - amusing but not sure how useful. I usually train by wattage but use the courses to keep my interest. Unlike Stevie I get bored without the bad video game graphics. But they did help me do some much longer trainer rides last winter by keeping me interested.

3 - Picked up mine off the ST classifieds. Keep your eyes open, they come up on occasion.

4 - the Spinscan relevance is somewhat dubious.

5 - being able to measure everything all the time and being able to structure workouts to be a more efficient use of time. And the ability to accurately track changes can be interesting.

6 - only thing I have found to not like is the price.

---

I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

i love my ct - especially helpful for those of us living in the northeast.
the im courses are fun but not very realistic. i don't pay much attention to spinscan in fact i rarely ride any courses these days, prefer to use it in ergo mode as the above poster also pointed out. the only "bad" thing is only having one bike and having to set it up and take it down during the week.

I bought a computrainer last winter and have made good use of it. I live in the northeast as well, so it is far better than going out in the extreme cold.

1) I paid $1,000 new. There was a guy on this forum that got a group together and gave us a volume discount. I found the used ones on e-bay selling for more than $1,000.

2) I use the courses to break up the monotony and it allows you to set a competitor at a certain wattage and you need to keep up.

3) I don't have any information on buying a CT, but maybe someone else on the forum can help with the same deal I had.

4) The spin scan helped me as I could see my wattage go up with a more efficient stroke.

5) The best thing is it is less boring. I can easily ride an hour plus on the trainer. It is also less stressful on my knees with the variable resistance.

6) The price.

Don L.

Where do you live - just wondering why you might be riding indoors so much. What else are you considering buying with that money for biking?

From all the reviews I have seen, the worst thing is that it is generally not very accurate in the power reading department. The same people who have said this find it a great tool for motivating oneself to train and doing lots of indoor hard workouts because they live someplace where it snows a lot so they can't get out to train outside as much as they would like to.

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/computrainer/

It's *extremely* accurate. I've ridden several of them, with my Powertap running as well. They match up almost perfectly.

---

**************
Too f@ckin depressed from various injuries to care about having a signature line.

Sponsored by Blue Shield PPO.

But your post brings up the point - how can one be sure a Computrainer is accurate? By using a $2500 calibrated SRM or a $1000 checked Powertap. Plenty of people have seen both good and poorly tracking Computrainers, but they had to use a real power meter to know that. And then there's the warmup time and calibration for each Computrainer. It's exactly the same problem with the Polar powermeter or any other thing that purports to measure power without using strain gauges (until some other better technology comes around).

Good question. Remember, I've ridden *several*, like as in at least 5 or 6. All were right on w/ my PT. I can say with enough confidence that my sample size of the universe was sufficient... they are accurate. And even if they aren't, if you continually use the same one -- and its error factor is constant -- then it doesn't really matter how absolutely accurate it is.

---

**************
Too f@ckin depressed from various injuries to care about having a signature line.

Sponsored by Blue Shield PPO.

They are consistent so they are good for tracking progress against themselves.

What would the difference be in a CT vs. a trainer with a simple watt meter (at much less the cost of a CT and PC)?

I ride my trainer in an outside area (greenhouse) where the conditions are often extreme heat in Summer and cold in Winter, so I'd rather not deal with a PC in that environment and thought the power training can be almost as good with a simple reading.

Along those lines, what about just knowing your RPE and training from there, with using your gear selection on the trainer as another indicator of effort?