Is the CompuTrainer Pro worth the cost over a regular high quality trainer (i.e., Kurt Kinetic Pro)? How accurate is the power meter compared to something like a Power Tap or SRM?
I think there are a bunch of posts on this, but sifting through the search function is too painful. Here is a blog from a pro who tested his computrainer versus his SRM, and evaluated the 2 products. The synopsis is that computrainers are very good and give you a pretty reliable estimate of your power output, but tend to be a little bit lower since it measures power at the wheel as opposed to at the hub or at the crank.
http://www.brandonmarsh.com/2008/09/srm-vs-computrainer.html
Depends on what you are looking for. To me it is worth it because I like riding courses it just breaks up the monotony for me and I can ride most of the courses that I race on.
If you are going to ride it like a typcial trainer then buy one of those as the cost difference doesn’t make sense.
In short yes. The reason is that all indoor trainers are boring after a while. The computrainer makes it very easy to get a focused workout without a lot of having to think about it while your doing it. Where other trainers you have to plan and track what you want to do while you’re doing it. The biggest obsticle for me on any trainer is actually setting it up and getting on it.
Computrainer vs. another power meter; For everyone I have ever had on a computrainer and had a power meter at the same time they were pretty close. The biggest difference is there is a bit of a lag in what is being shown on the computrainer vs what you see on the read out of say a powertap.
I bought a computrainer in 2005 and a powertap in 2007. In 2007 I rode my computrainer a lot and the the power numbers between the two were very close. I only did interval work on the trainer and never enjoyed riding for more than 1.5 hrs. I never rode any of the special courses, etc.
Last year, after not riding the computrainer for over a year, I sold the it. I recently bought a kurt kinetic road machine. I’ve only ridden it once, but it was good quality. I was able to pace my intervals off of my powertap. It’s not as convenient because I have to ensure that I keep the appropriate power, whereas on the computrainer, in erg mode, all I had to do was ride…it kept the same load.
In short, I would recommend buying a powermeter and a regular trainer, unless you are interested in riding specific courses, etc. That way, you have power outdoors as well.
My sense is that it really depends on what you do for indoor training.
If your indoor training is resticted to short, hard workouts, such as the Spinervals series that may last 45 min to an hour - then I would say, it’s not worth it. Your fine with a good standard indoor trainer such as a kurt Kinetic RR.
If you do long rides 1 hour plus to 3 - 4 hours, then you may want something that is a bit more inmteractive and stimulating. I know nothing about the Computrainer units but I know that many do long rides on them and love them.
The CT is 100% worth it. I have done all my long rides through the winter on it up to 4 hours and it was great. We had 6 CTs hooked up in my basement and it might have been the most fun training I’ve ever done.
The www.ergvideo.com videos kick the crap out of ANY spinerval video. It’s not even worth mentioning the two in the same breath.
Ken
Next to hiring a coach, the CT was the best investment we have made for our training.
I love my computrainer. I can more easily do sets, videos, and long rides.
All winter I was on the trainer and I plan to do at least one weekly ride on the trainer.
I prefer the coaching software to the courses, it helps me focus.
I have not used the ergo mode yet…but I’ve heard that is great for building power and doing sets as well.
Agreeing with most of the posts on the boredom factor. I can’t run on a treadmill or normal stationary trainer for 5 mins without starting to count the minutes until I am done, but I can ride the computrainer for an hour before I start daydreaming and I ride 3-4 times a week for a little more than 2 years. I still don’t get bored. The courses, the ability to race previous versions of yourself where it records your previous heartrate/cadence/power at every moment means there is enough to play around with to stay entertaining. Am I faster on the course if I go hard here? or up my cadence. Maybe I’ll race myself from a year ago and see how I’m doing. Endless courses.