Computrainer really worth it?

I’ve been contemplating it for awhile, and I have the saved the funds … is a computrainer really as great as it sounds? I’ve been doing some moutain biking to get some miles in through the winter (I live in KY), and I have rollers and a trainer with plenty of videos. We have a child on the way, so I’m thinking that there might be more indoor riding in my future. But, it’s a crap-load of money.

So, from those who have bought one, any regrets? Do I need the full-on, 3d set-up (I’ve heard the mapping feature is great)? Does anyone ever ride the thing using the modem to race/ride with friends … does that really work?

I’ve got their propaganda video and brochure, but I"m looking for an honest opinion. Thanks!

First off, I own a triathlon bike shop but I do not sell Compu-Trainers or benefit in any way from you purchasing a Compu-Trainer.
I own two Compu-Trainers. They are an excellent training tool and I consider them indispensible. If you’ve got the sales literature I’ll spare you the sales pitch but let me say this, it’s primary value is as a motivational tool that keeps you on the trainer longer (you don’t get bored as quick) and also can motivate you to ride very, very hard when your workouts call for that. I would recommend Compu-Trainer and suggest that, once you learn how to use it, you will appreciate it very much. Happy New Year.

Every penny. I purchased the 3D but now run the old PC version off a laptop. I don’t ride race courses as some do, so the mapping feature isn’t as important. I find it an amazing tool to do the same exact workout and chart progress over a period of time. It’s also interesting to see the correllation between HR and wattage. Ideally as the season progresses I’m riding the same workout at a higher wattage, lower HR, in faster time. I had a friend who purchased one and had buyers remorse until she learned how to use it. Now she’s bummed it sat unused for a season.

Most of the Spinervals workouts can be replicated as can a lot of Joel’s stuff. A neat feature is to save the last workout and then use that as a pacer (no drafting) in your next workout. It helps keep a marker on your fitness level.

Have fun!

I have a 3D version that I got just about a month ago. Being on the road for two weeks, I haven’t really gotten to use it much, but I can agree that I think it is worth every penny. It’s a sunny 65 degree day here and I just got off the CT. Even though I can ride outside in very nice weather nearly year round, there are just some things that you can’t do efficiently on the road and there is less control of the environment on the road (traffic, weather, stop signs, etc). Being able to do the various tests on the CT are also very valuable. Now I usually ride about 5 days a week, not because I want to train on the bike 5 days a week, I also like to ride just for the enjoyment of getting out on a beautiful day. Those type rides won’t be replaced by the CT. I also like to try to hit two of the intense group rides per week, and those also won’t be replaced by the CT. But being able to build an interval course, and do that a couple of times a week, or having it as an option for a rainy day is great. I highly recommend one, especially for those who are more time limited. On a strict schedule, a CT will give you more gain than any other training product IMHO.

Not sure. It depends on what you want out of it.

I bought a CT late this past summer so that I could practice the IM-USA course this winter. After using it once or twice, I let it collect dust while I rode outside whenever possible. For X-mas I also bought rollers (I’m up to 72 seconds today without grabbing the bar! :slight_smile: because a second CT and computer would have been too expensive, and my SO and I were having problems both wanting to use the CT at the same time. If I had to do it all over, I would have purchased Power Cranks first (probably my next purchase), rollers second, new NightRider lights third, and then maybe a CT fourth.

The biggest CT downside has been the very clunky and non-intuitive user interfaces. So expect a long learning curve (which I am still going through). For example, the latest 3d software update at last allows you to start at any point on a course. You do that by entering the mile number in a text entry box on the page BEFORE the race screen, but to have it take affect you must hit the CT’s F1 key once to “start the race” then again during the start countdown to have your special start location take affect. Their readme raves about this as a great UI design. Personally, I would have designed it so that you enter the distance on a screen which shows both the race profile and your selected distance on that race profile, also if you bothered to enter a special start distance why hit F1 twice? If I wanted to really have a nice UI, I would also have let the user’s mouse drag the bike icon over the course profile to pick the starting location. The CT software does not really take advantage of the mouse at all.

The other big CT annoyance has been calibration, required every time for accurate repeatable results, and the need to warm up the system before doing that calibration. I must admit I often don’t bother to calibrate, which defeats much of the purpose in buying a CT instead of something cheaper.

The most fun so far has been riding against saved performances.

In theory, the CT should also be very good at generating very repeatable workouts, and measuring your performance. I have not used that capability yet nearly as much as I intended when I purchased the system.

In my own household, the need to swap bikes (mine/hers) has also been a downside. I often wish I had purchased two less expensive systems we could leave setup instead of the CT.

I have never tried to race against someone else in real-time. I think you could probably exchange performance files via email, and “race” against someone else that way.

I think you need 3d for the polar spin scan, which is neat, but while I can now see what I am doing wrong in real-time, that has not made it easy to fix!

If I have read the manual correctly, I could probably do all the formal workouts I originally intended using the “new” coaching software (and I wouldn’t need as good of a PC either). However, I have hardly used the coaching software yet at all.

I don’t think I’ve done a single full “race” using the 2d software. With 3d available there did not seem to be much point.

I hope that helps.

-Bill

It’s as good as it sounds and then some! I got it in October when it was on sale and after talking to one of the guys at Computrainer I decided on the PC1 (2D) version since my computer is a few years old and has limited video memory. If I upgrade it later it will still be close to the original price, but I don’t see any need right now. I find that I get a much better workout than I do on my trainer, even better than on a solo ride. The rides are like fast group rides with the pressure on. I share it with my wife and I can switch bikes in about three minutes, it’s no problem at all. We even ride together with one of us on the CT and the other on the trainer matching heart rates and both end up with a good workout. I recommend the CT as the best way I know to improve your cycling, and it’s a lot of fun!

After several years of using a fluid trainer I bought the Computrainer (3D version) when when is was on sale at the end of the season. I think it’s great.

I particularly like the new course generating software. You can map out and do rides that are geographically remote from where you are or test out routes or races before you actually do them on the road. You can even ride routes that you would never do in reality like taking the expressway, rough dirt roads, or through high traffic areas. Yesterday I rode part of a 70 mile loop that I programmed around Lake Tahoe. Really cool!

There are so many rides, tests and workouts you can do, there’s always something new to try.

Richard

I have the computrainer pro, and it is a good investment. It has the automatic resistance changing and so on, but I think that there are cheaper trainers out there that do the same.
My advice… make sure you explore all options.

I’m a mountain biker, though I do road ride some. I have a Computrainer and I use it a pretty good bit. But I hate the software, and the promised update is stuck in legal limbo (and is about three years overdue already). Plus I hate Windows, so take that with a grain of salt.

What would I do if I were you? I’d probably get one of the cheaper options that has variable control via TrainerRoad. Look on their site for those options, but I’m pretty sure there are a couple that are a good bit less than a CT (but obviously still more than most other trainers). Those should be calibrated fairly well and then you’ll have good enough software to get you by.

But I don’t care about any of the really “advanced” features like calibrated workouts to videos and such. I just want to be able to manually control my resistance AND log it with a reasonable accuracy. And I want to do it with a Mac, not a PC. You can do this with a Computrainer (and it’s getting even better), but there are cheaper options now that appear, at least, to be “good enough”, if not just as good. Find out what TrainerRoad supports, then check the DC Rainmaker site for reviews on those trainers, and then decide.

–Donnie

Yes.

Do you realize this thread is 9 years old?

Do you realize this thread is 9 years old?

I didn’t, no. Should have noticed since a few of the replies happened on Dec 31 and it is still Dec 30. But still it’s really odd that it gets dug up on it’s 9th anniversary, too.

–Donnie

Yes, especially if you have a nasty winter, like we do here in NJ. I used mine for IMLP 3 winters in a row and it was great. Enjoy!

Hah I took mine off the computrainer and rode outside today. It felt awesome. BTW…merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Oh my word! I nearly laughed myself silly with this response!

I’m a mountain biker, though I do road ride some. I have a Computrainer and I use it a pretty good bit. But I hate the software, and the promised update is stuck in legal limbo (and is about three years overdue already). Plus I hate Windows, so take that with a grain of salt.

What would I do if I were you? I’d probably get one of the cheaper options that has variable control via TrainerRoad. Look on their site for those options, but I’m pretty sure there are a couple that are a good bit less than a CT (but obviously still more than most other trainers). Those should be calibrated fairly well and then you’ll have good enough software to get you by.

But I don’t care about any of the really “advanced” features like calibrated workouts to videos and such. I just want to be able to manually control my resistance AND log it with a reasonable accuracy. And I want to do it with a Mac, not a PC. You can do this with a Computrainer (and it’s getting even better), but there are cheaper options now that appear, at least, to be “good enough”, if not just as good. Find out what TrainerRoad supports, then check the DC Rainmaker site for reviews on those trainers, and then decide.

–Donnie

Just an FYI since you mentioned us here. We’re working on mac/pc computrainer support with our software. I bet we’re a week or two out from a beta. We’ll also be able to support a the power beam pro, but that development comes after the we’re finish with the computrainer.

I;ve been using mine for 6 weeks or so. I picked it up used at a good price . anyway, it’s better than a standard mag unti for 2 reasons
1- for days that you’re just looking for miles you can ride a course indoors which is better than just spinning on rollers or a mag unit. Much less boredom , more variety in effort and wattages. I bought an ErgVideo and its pretty cool too. I haven’t been able to get out as much as I want b/c of the holiday’s , but I can usually squeezed in an hour on the trainer. Plus I’m doing IMLP for the first time and can ride the simulated course whenever I want.

2- for interval days I just set the wattage where I want to be and try to hold it. It sounds just like spinning up your mag unit and maintaining a wattage, but it is harder. The CT does not allow you to take a little off the wattage.

What is the difference between the Pro & Lab CT? I am about to pull the trigger on one but the website does not differentiate between the two models. Thanks in advance

What is the difference between the Pro & Lab CT? I am about to pull the trigger on one but the website does not differentiate between the two models. Thanks in advance

Physically, they are exactly the same. The Lab units have been tested and calibrated at 6 different power levels. The pro units only get tested between 200 and 300 watts. They claim 80% of units tested would qualify as Lab units. They didn’t say how far off a unit has to be to fail the lab test. I would guess units failing the lab test would end up in the pro stock so if you buy a pro you have close to an 80% chance of getting a unit that would have qualified as a Lab unit.

First off, I own a triathlon bike shop but I do not sell Compu-Trainers or benefit in any way from you purchasing a Compu-Trainer.
I own two Compu-Trainers. They are an excellent training tool and I consider them indispensible. If you’ve got the sales literature I’ll spare you the sales pitch but let me say this, it’s primary value is as a motivational tool that keeps you on the trainer longer (you don’t get bored as quick) and also can motivate you to ride very, very hard when your workouts call for that. I would recommend Compu-Trainer and suggest that, once you learn how to use it, you will appreciate it very much. Happy New Year.

I completely agree - also spinscan is useful, the erg programming is amazing if you do interval training.