You're articulating why Computrainers are solid training tools in my book. They work. I use a wireless HR monitor, but other than that, we're wired and worryless. Fire it up and it works.

Having said that, I have a PC that does nothing but CT and Training Peaks, so I'm not messing with drivers, new apps messing with old apps, etc. I took a simply PC, added a monster video card to handle anything, loaded a bunch of ErgVideos and love the winter training option it gives me.

Happy Hunting for a solution.

My CT broke after 3 years of very heavy use. Replaced it with a KICKR about 1 month ago. I much prefer the KICKR as I primarily used ergo mode on the CT and the KICKR ergo works very well and easier to adjust than the CT. Also, KICKR is about $500-700 cheaper. Will see about durability with time.

I was borrowing a CT for a year and loved it, but had to give it back last month. I didn't feel like dropping $1700 on a new one so I got a Kickr and love it! I'm running a Macbook Pro, Trainer road, and Garmin HRM & cadence. I've only had it for a month, but I've never had a dropped signal yet... I love not having to swap wheels or vacuum up remnants of my trainer tire. CT's are great, but so far I'm happy with the Kickr!

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Powered by Dalzell Coaching

Have been using a Computrainer since 2002. ( thank you to the most lovely Mrs Avago )
Best piece of kit I've ever bought.
for the first few years I used to 3D program, created courses and training sessions and enjoyed training against the Metal Man. Back then I had an old 486 PC that was dedicated to the C'Trainer... that's all it did, never failed me.
then I moved house and got rid of the old 486 pc and just used the handle bar controller in the Ergo mode or with Spinerval Videos... still perfect, never failed me.
two years ago I got the upgraded ( is that what they call it ) Racemate Software... well, at least I had metal man back, and Sufferfests appeared on the scene and they were a great change from Coach Troy.
then along came PerfPro and that raised the bar once again....
so how lucky am I? Computrainer, dedicated trainer bike, PerfPro and the whole Sufferfest library to say nothing for a whole stack of Coach Troy dvds.

in all of that time, I have had to replace the Stereo cable from the PC to the Handle Bar controller ( because I lost it in the move ) and the heart rate clip died quite early in the piece.

in that time I've had 3 TVs, 3 cars, 4 Bikes, but the C'Trainer is with me for life......

is it better than a Kickr? who knows, one day I may have to make a choice between them, but I don't think that'll be for ages yet.

Been using a CT for two years now and love it. I dont have a place to keep it set-up all the time (small condo) so the wires are a little bit of a pain to hook up all the time but it always works. I use it pretty much solely with trainer road in ERG mode for either Trainer Road programs (custom and pre-made ones) and Sufferfest Videos.

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Andy Mullen
Team Zoot

Another +1 for the Computrainer. Yes, Racermate's software is not the greatest but as others have pointed out, there are plenty of other options. Perfpro Sudio + Sufferfest videos, VeloReality, and Tour de Giro are my current go-to options.

I've had my Computrainer since 2007 and it has been rock solid and reliable. The only part I've had to replace was the original stereo-to-serial adapter (I replaced it with the updated USB adapter). To simplify the cabling a bit, I use ANT+ speed/cadence and heart rate but since your place seems to be a wireless black hole, you might have to resort to the wired cadence and HR options.

The Kickr is certainly a nice looking trainer but until my Computrainer dies or PerfPro stops supporting it, I can't justify replacing my CT. It's been a rock-solid training partner.

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"I eased off a bit. It never feels like you are easing off. More like you just stake out your place in the pain cave and sit there rather than venturing deeper inside..." -- Rappstar

There are plenty of us out here. Been using it for ~4 years and own two of them. Anything can be problematic, but wired communication is marginally more reliable. I haven't heard of many wireless interference issues with the Kickr, but in your particular situation you may benefit from the change.

I hope so! Having the signal drop 4-5times a session no matter what gets old quick.

We've had our two used computrainers for 8 years and 4 years. The 8 year old one has seen training for 7 IM races, and in the Great White North, we ride inside for several months.... It's indestructible, has never needed any repair work. The 4 year old one has needed a new screw fastener thing-y, which racermate replaced under warranty. We've had them set up in the basement for years.. Kids and animals haven't messed up any of the wires or connections. Doesn't look the prettiest, but IMO they're great units. Even with all of the technology upgrades that are happening, you can still use it old school or with Trainer Road etc.. I'd buy again.

14 years of steady use (year around,not just winters) and I have replaced a din cable, other than that it has been trouble free. I wish I could say the same about anything else I have purchased in the meanwhile. The best bike related investment I have ever made.

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Dean Wilson
http://www.anaerobiczone.com
Bicycle Protection Indoors & Out

Had the Computrainer for 4 years, now have moved on the the KickR and Trainerroad. For me, I like the differences between the two. No regrets.

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HoneyMaxx Ambassador
HoneyMaxx.com

I've had a computrainer for many years now. I purchased it used back in '07 or '08.

I've logged a ton of miles as most of my weekday rides are indoors year round and I ride outdoors in the summers on weekends.

The thing has never broken in any way. I did lose the cadence sensor because I caught it with my foot and it started to wrap around my pedal ripping it in half...but that's my fault.

Essentially the thing is awesome.

Now I have not updated the software and I'm not sure updated software is even available. So that does kinda suck. But you can't beat the reliability or durability of the CT.

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________________
Blogging

I echo the others. I have used Computrainers pretty much since they came out. My first was an old NES model that worked with a Nintendo game. The only reason it is still not in use is that some parts were thrown out by someone when I had it stored. Racermate was awesome in giving me an upgrade deal, and I have had 3 so far. They are indestructible, and I credit the Computrainer with great improvement over the years. It's so time efficient, and with some of the other programs, such a trainer road, I just have to keep the pedals moving. I'd get rid of my backup bike before losing the computrainer. The best purchase I've ever made in TRI.

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Gary Geiger
http://www.geigerphoto.com Professional photographer

TEAM KiWAMi NORTH AMERICA http://www.kiwamitri.com, Rudy Project http://www.rudyprojectusa.com, GU https://guenergy.com/shop/ ; Salming World Ambassador; https://www.shopsalming.com

Bought mine used off the classifieds here 4 or 5 years ago. I still use it whenever winter weather does not allow me outside.

I use retired PC that I can dedicate to it and a smaller lcd monitor I had sitting around. As with others, no problems ever and still like it. It is the only way I can get an indoor ride over 30 minutes without going nuts. Watching that little guy on the screen chasing the other little guy somehow mesmerizes me.

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

6 CompuTrainers running two sessions per week plus occasional workouts on the weekends, rock solid and trouble free for the most part. Running PerfPRO Studio so no wires on the bikes (wires run from handlebar controller stands under carpet to the computer. Occasionally, someone steps on a cable or pulls a cable out and it needs to be replaced, but basically trouble free month after month.

The only thing wireless is ANT+ heartrate, speed (and that's selectable between ANT+ and CompuTrainer), and cadence (ANT+ or wired).

Old Fortius from Tacx is wired (I used to have one). The Lynx VR trainer we make is wired as well but you might not like the price ;)
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Like mine but still boring after a while :0(

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__________________________________________________
Official Polar Ambassador
http://www.google.com/...P7RiWyEVwpunlsc2JtQQ

I have a dedicated room and bike for my Computrainer and it works great that way. Have had mine for almost 4 years and it has only had a few issues. The Polar wireless heartrate monitor gave out after the first year, and then a year later the cadence sensor started failing. But the Computrainer itself is still going strong. Also, I find the Racermate One software perfectly usable and not really that outdated looking.

I've had mine for.... 5 years? Something like that. two days a week, :45- 1:15 or more depending, ERG mode 99% of the time. Love it.

Wifey and I have two of them. We prefer them to the road and I have over 10K miles on mine, and it looks as good as the day I bought it.

I had one back in the mid 90's that i loved too, but I lost it somewhere during my army life.

I love computrainers, they are rugged and accurate.

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Austin Hardy -

I'm finding this intriguing to hear so many positive posts about wires. I usually try not to chime in every time someone posts here, if at all, and usually is too long-winded when I do, but I'd like to ring in if you'll let me. If anyone has heard from people their frustration with wires, wires, wires - it's me.


Ever since the issue was first raised with the introduction of Ant+ we have been trying to take this concern into account and at least remove as many wires from the bike as possible. The introduction of the cadence Puck has been well received. The off-the-bike stand (though a simple mic stand with our adapter) has been, as well. In my personal life I find wireless to be sometimes a greater pain than a pleasure. Far too often I find myself plugging in my wired headset when it's time to talk to mom or go direct to the router to stream something. Wireless, though it's getting better, does not even close yet to the speed and reliability of a wire. Though I think in 'the marketplace' it may be hurting us, I still to-this-day argue the undeniable merits of... the wire.


Again, I know we get a lot of grief over this - and I'm not really trying to defend one over the other (plenty already do that) - I often try and paint the big picture users need to see; that of what the CompuTrainer provides and to who. And to maybe give a look through the retrospectoscope of where we're at - and how we got here.


With CompuTrianer there are wires and there are wires. Some act as just switches and some as signals and some carry voltage and signals. The Controller is 'the computer' that does every physics calculation sending it forth and back between the Load Generator and the PC. Signals come in also from HR and cadence and some, like the cadence sensor is sniffed about 100 times a second. This is how the cadence sensor, though just a simple On/Off switch, can tell you where your pedal is at all times, rather than just that it was there at some point. We have to watch for it to trip in real-time. At 4Hz (Ant+) we'd miss seeing it 9 times out of 10 - for what we use it for. As simple cadence, that's not an issue, but we use the cadence sensor as a position source too, which is why we don't yet use it and will for HR. So really, there are very few wires we can loose and still allow the CompuTrainer to behave like a CompuTrainer.


We also have two types of user. Home users and Commercial. For the home-use market you may tolerate accepting packet drop-outs of one or two or five packets of data per second, which software can usually average out without being seen by the user. These momentary dropouts would not be the killer though. At some point software simply 'times out' if it happens too much. Generally the home user can muddle through and get satisfactory results. But, we also sell a LOT of systems into the MultiRider market. It's grown to more than 25% of our sales. Here you'll find 64-rider systems running all in the same room and some all using the same computer (depending on the software used). Can you imagine the potential nightmare of troubleshooting a wireless hiccup in this sort of environment? Typically the current MultiRider setup requires some infrastructure to route cables under a floor or away from the riders and shoe cleats, but from then on it is usually very painless for them to run. Because MultiRider use is commercial use - it has to work reliably or they risk unhappy customers.


But apart from the wires versus wireless debate, the need has always been one of accuracy and reliability for us. We have never been willing to sacrifice some part of what has kept us 'the one to beat' for the sake of some new trend. Granted. we have probably spent more to improve the things you don't see than those you do, but there are things about the system you should really consider as far-more-important than its bleeding-edge look (or lack thereof) or that everything is or isn't being beamed over the airwaves.


The key element we hold dear, more than anything, is the accuracy of the system to replicate outdoor conditions. This is what we call "wind-load" - or - taking your body weight and accelerating its mass in a wind-based world. And doing so correctly. Something like you get when actually riding your bike outside - the faster you go - the harder it gets. Or carrying your weight, and that of the bike, up a hill and do so accurately. For years we've received users report about so and so race time being very similar to what they got on the trainer. Users have sworn by how well it replicates the ride they are training for. It is the thing we've never found other trainers can even come close to replicating - though there are sizable efforts to do so. And for what it is worth, we pummel every trainer that comes on the market the same way we do ours, with the same types of tests we have to pass, and have not found any to come remotely close to doing what we do, and have been doing since CompuTrainer first came out on a Commodore 64 and IBM XT PC (how's that for longevity).


Longevity and return on investment. I see all these dates people bought theirs; 10+ years ago, Nintendo systems, used systems, all which should give anyone seeking a new trainer some reason to ask why this thing has lasted this long and why it might be worth purchasing. Though it costs more than the competition it can safely assure amortization of that cost over its lifespan far better than any bike you'll buy or (fill in the blank) product. It has been on the market, doing all the correct cycling specific physics now, going on 27 years. I have seen it outlast some people. It may outlast me.


Some users have changed to other trainers and stayed. I've know of some who switched and then came back. I think it is all based upon the kind of training you do. The most popular competitor user method (based upon reading SlowTwitch) is ERG mode on what is a closed-loop system. This means it uses a power meter to both control load as well as to say the load is correct. And ERG mode is ideally suited to allow this type of training. It will always stay in agreement, even if it's not wholly accurate or repeatable. Erg-based workouts, as popular as they are, can more easily mask how good a trainer is or isn't, since the load curve is opposite that of wind-load. Most only care the power meter matches and assume the power meter is correct. We've found this system to lack what we consider very important significant cycling physics control features. But again, happiness is relative. Many users can't tell whether applications created to work with CT (non-RacerMate products) don't have the correct cycling physics working either. We hope to help that change for the better with our current marketing message and our Open API, which I'm working to get out there.

Hope I've not bored you or irritated anyone else.

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Roger Moore
Software Development Mgr.
RacerMate Inc. http://www.racermateinc.com

Thanks for the reply Roger. Having been a user of the RacerMate wind trainer with the fan blades, and now multiple Computrainers with varying methods to run them, the products simply stand up, and make one better! I have yet to find anyone who bought one that did not get better....whether through better training, or using it more since they dropped the cash. It simply makes a rider faster without much setup or trouble.

Thanks from a longtime user and fan.

Gary

Thanks Gary. You can never tell when replying here just how long a reply is until you click send. Then holy $#!+ - that's long!

Did you know I still rebuild wind trainers for users? A few a year. We stopped production of those in 1988 when we went full-time on CompuTrainer and I still have a pile of parts for them. They seem to last a long time too. : ) We've often toyed with the idea of reviving the original wind-load simulator, just to do it. This was the first-ever wind trainer introduced in 1976 and clamped to the seat-post and rode on-top-of the tire. It was used on everything from rollers to adding resistance while riding on the road... though we tended to change rollers a lot for those users. I doubt we will do it, but interesting to consider.

Cheers-

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Roger Moore
Software Development Mgr.
RacerMate Inc. http://www.racermateinc.com

Roger, I wish I had my old one still, but sold it a long time ago. Mine had a threaded pipe to sit under the bottom bracket.....but I remember many of the variations. Bulletproof stuff, for sure!
I think you responded with a good overview of why you guys have lasted so long and seem to be the choice of many pros. As I said, they just work, and work, and work..........

I love mine and am going to get on it now.......thanks.

Gary