I did a search and didn’t see this posted, and thought it might be of interest to some here.
A thread on the Paceline forum has the details and some links (with a rather gruesome one) here: http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=179304 Flywheel failures, one that caused a very significant injury to the rider.
There was also a link in the thread about a Minoura unit with the same failure. This one looks exactly like the one I’ve been running for a good 20 years. Except mine hasn’t detonated all over the room and put pieces through the wall.
RacerMate Inc. has issued a recall for “Blue” powder-coated flywheels on CompuTrainers shipped prior to 2008. If you have, or know someone who has, a CompuTrainer with a blue flywheel, please fill out the form (linked to below) and a replacement flywheel will be sent and instructions given for removing blue flywheels from service. Your safety is our concern and we appreciate your help in addressing this recall.
Please consider that CompuTrainer is nearing 30 years on the market. There have been zero reports of failure until very recently. The ‘why’ of this seemingly long delayed failure is not known.
Flywheel forces are immense. Any damage to a flywheel prior to use can alter the integrity and this should not be related to a factory defect. Though the CompuTrainer recall is for blue flywheels, because these are the only failures reported, if you have any flywheel with apparent wobble (on any trainer), you should replace it. Request a replacement.
New flywheels are now forged steel instead of cast Zinc as before and can’t really be damaged unless you hit them with a sledge hammer - or drive over it with a car in your garage.
We are now stress-testing, at 80 MPH, every flywheel including those sent in/replaced from customers having service done. This is equivalent to about 10-times the inertial forces you would get riding it at 25 MPH.
Please consider that CompuTrainer is nearing 30 years on the market. There have been zero reports of failure until very recently. The ‘why’ of this seemingly long delayed failure is not known.
I read all the incident reports on several cites and it appears that all the failures were when riding in excess of 35 mph. I question the training benefit of riding a CompuTrainer at that speed, given that its principal purpose is erg mode where speed does not matter (acknowledging that too low a speed can lead to heat buildup in the load generator).
We ride all our trainers at 14-17 mph when in erg more, and when riding in slope/grade mode always caution our riders about excess speed on downhill sections.
RacerMate Inc. has issued a recall for “Blue” powder-coated flywheels on CompuTrainers shipped prior to 2008. If you have, or know someone who has, a CompuTrainer with a blue flywheel, please fill out the form (linked to below) and a replacement flywheel will be sent and instructions given for removing blue flywheels from service. Your safety is our concern and we appreciate your help in addressing this recall.
Please consider that CompuTrainer is nearing 30 years on the market. There have been zero reports of failure until very recently. The ‘why’ of this seemingly long delayed failure is not known.
Flywheel forces are immense. Any damage to a flywheel prior to use can alter the integrity and this should not be related to a factory defect. Though the CompuTrainer recall is for blue flywheels, because these are the only failures reported, if you have any flywheel with apparent wobble (on any trainer), you should replace it. Request a replacement.
New flywheels are now forged steel instead of cast Zinc as before and can’t really be damaged unless you hit them with a sledge hammer - or drive over it with a car in your garage.
We are now stress-testing, at 80 MPH, every flywheel including those sent in/replaced from customers having service done. This is equivalent to about 10-times the inertial forces you would get riding it at 25 MPH.
Thanks-
Thanks for this info. I’ll be sending in a request for 4+ units. I’d be interested in seeing pictures of what the test environment looks like for those 80MPH tests if you’re able to share.
Roger, I assume the replacement flywheel ships to anywhere globally including Canada? I have a pre 2008 model. Everything on mine looks fine. Will fill the form shortly. Most of the courses I wrote have max 6 per cent uphill and minus 2 downhill and I am always riding between 13 mph and 25 mph.
A motor capable of spinning that fast - direct-drive - and the flywheel completely encased in 1/2" steel plates. No pictures, but that’s what we’re doing.
Glad we’re able to capture a few more users here and get more replaced.
I put in my request for a new one yesterday. I have never had an issue with the flywheel and was surprised to learn of such an issue. My unit is now 11 years old but acts as if it is like new.
We could offer a host of possible reasons why now, after 25 years with no problems at all, these would finally fail. Sometimes you can deduce, sometimes you can’t. You still need to do the right thing with what you do know.
Bumping this for all to see. I have had a number of Computrainers and am so pleased with my purchase of them, as it has directly been responsible for my climb in the ranks! I would not hesitate to but another should mine have issues. These are so bulletproof and I have been a believer since my first one, which was the Nintendo model. Good stuff Roger!
I had mine in like two days after submitting the form (though I am near Seattle). Changing them out was under 10 minutes, including actually reading the instructions, and mine did require the included puller.