Hi-
I currently have an old Travel Trac 2000 trainer. It’s adjustable fluid – works alright, but doesn’t feel that sturdy. Handle’s broken off after a few years.
I see Computrainer is having a summer sale. I like all the additional data and features that are part of CT, but I’d want to make sure it’s pretty sturdy, too. If not, I’d rather go for a new trainer with fewer features like 1up but that’s supposed to feel rock solid.
Thoughts?
DKSF
The Computrainer stand is nearly bomb-proof. . .even the electronics portions are overbuilt, except for the cables. I had my Computrainer for 3 years with heavy use (~3000 miles/year) with no issues. The wheel secure mechanism is truly overbuilt, but a pain-in-the-ass to use. It screws on both sides, with a relatively high thread pitch, meaning it is slow to mount the bike on the trainer. . .but once you get it there. . .the bike isn’t going anywhere unless you want it to. The adjusters have a second piece that locks them in place. NO durability issues with the Computrainer itself. The only thing I ever had to replace was the 10’ 1/8inch stereo cable that connects the handlebar unit to the computer adapter. . .maybe $2 cost at Radio Shack. That’s pretty good product performance in my book. Far better than the issues I’ve had with my Computrainer’s replacement, the PowerTap Pro setup.
Like TGB says, it’s pretty much bombproof. Once on it’s pretty solid, and even climbing out of the saddle feels secure. All the parts are pretty much industrial strength.
While I agree that the stand and wiring is a bit of a pain if you are mounting and unmounting the bike more than once a week, you can mount and wire the bike in less than three minutes(including aligning the cadence sensor, etc), and unmounting the bike takes less time than changing your rear wheel does afterwards.
That sale price is pretty good. I think that I bought mine last year for $1229 including the 3D Pro software and free shipping, but I bought towards the end of the summer when they knocked the price down a bit more.(Of course, I have no idea if they’ll do that again.)
They also added a huge amount of new courses, which affords a great amount of variety for those long winter training sessions. A lot of them are 1/2 and IM distance, along with several Oly’s. This is great because last year there was a dearth of course in the 50-60 mile range.
I’m sure you’ll be happy with the CT.