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Computrainer Veterans - help
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I'm a new CT owner and getting innacurate readings from the cadence sensor. Usually around 6-8 too slow. Has anyone else had this problem?
Also, does everyone calibrate in ergo mode before every ride?
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Re: Computrainer Veterans - help [Herschel34] [ In reply to ]
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my experience with cadence has been dead on with my bike computer. My speed on the CT is about .5 mph slower than on my bike computer, though, which was dead on last time I calibrated it on a marked mile.

I have done the warmup in ergo mode so far (purchased Thanksgiving), but have wondered if it couldn't been done in spinscan which would be much more interesting. Anyone?
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Re: Computrainer Veterans - help [mr. mike] [ In reply to ]
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The CT has to be out of "PRO" mose to calibrate. What I typically do is warm up using spin scan for about 5 minutes (enough to warm up the tire basically), then pause the spin scan, unplug the"ext pc" plug from the box and calibrate. Then plug back in, unpause and get going again.
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Re: Computrainer Veterans - help [mr. mike] [ In reply to ]
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No reason not to use Spinscan to warm-up. Just load the course you want, toggle to the split screen with the spinscan and don't hit start - just warmup.



I have a question. I can generate the same watts at the same HR at either 95 RPM in an easier gear or 80 RPM in a harder gear. The spinscan efficiency is much better at 80 RPM but the perceived effort is much harder and I feel like I would blow up sooner in the harder gear. So what's more important - spinscan efficiency or perceived effort?
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Re: Computrainer Veterans - help [jasinsf] [ In reply to ]
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I don't have an answer for you, but I get similar results--spinscan numbers are much better at somewhat lower cadences, although my "sweet spot" seems maybe a couple rpms above yours.
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Re: Computrainer Veterans - help [jasinsf] [ In reply to ]
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Spinscan and watts are both good measures, but neither tell you how you will perform 3, 4, 5, 6 hours later. It depends on what your workout is, but staying at that hard 80rpm will load up your legs far too early for a long ride. Mike McCormick had a great article about cadence on Ironmanlive.com recently.
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Re: Computrainer Veterans - help [Herschel34] [ In reply to ]
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Here's what the CT Tech guys had to say about the pre-calibration warmup:

"You can use any program to warm the system up. I recommended Ergo mode because it would put a constant load to the unit which would be more apt to warm it up faster, as opposed to a wind-load mode that produces watts (heat) based upon speed. Just be aware that if you are warming up uncalibrated, the watts values may not be as close as they should be (hence the need for calibration). If you use a wind-load based program (like SpinScan), make sure you're working against at least a 2 or 3% grade at the end of the warm-up. That should produce enough load."
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Re: Computrainer Veterans - help [jasinsf] [ In reply to ]
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My best guess concerning your situation is that since 80rpm allows you your best spinscan #s, you are using more of those muscle groups to provide better pedalling mechanics. I'm guessing these smaller, less used muscle groups are not as well trained, and therefore tire more easily at this point. At 95rpm you're using the larger, more "crude" muscle groups you've been using all your riding life, just not very efficiently. These aren't the muscles that are reaching their blow-up point at 80rpm. How long have you had/trained on the CT? This will improve with training. I'm likening this to the effect of PCs. New PC users aren't able to ride very long at all using these new muscle groups, even though they may have just been doing 5hr rides with regular cranks. A few months later they're back up to 4-5hr rides while on their PCs.
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Re: Computrainer Veterans - help [TriBriGuy] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks. I've only had the CT for 2 months. Historically always rode around 80 to 85 RPM. With the CT, I have been trying to get the cadence up. So I think it is an issue of training and getting better with time at the higher RPM. It is interesting to me that I feel like I could go a lot longer at higher cadence but the Spinscan is telling me I'm pedalling less efficiently.

"It is better to just strike a straight blow with a crooked stick than to spend your whole life trying to straighten the damn thing out!" (Bill Oncken)
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Re: Computrainer Veterans - help [jasinsf] [ In reply to ]
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I wouldn't go overboard for letting the spinscan numbers dictate your cadence. You've got to factor your physiology and the race distance into the mix. We had a thread here a few months ago where the analysis was "what do you run out of on the run: heartbeats or leg muscles?". If it's the legs that go, you may have hammered the bike at too low of a cadence (which kept you're heartrate down). If it's the heartrate blowup, maybe your cadence was too high on the bike. If you spin nice perfect circles at 80 rpms but walk the last couple of miles of the run...

I think the spinscan is great feedback, but IMHO it shouldn't be the only factor you evaluate when trying to determine YOUR optimum cadence for a triathlon.
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