I presently own a Computrainer and for various reasons ( not do to the quality of the product ) I am going to get rid of it.
I find it just doesn’t suit my present housing conditions.
In it’s place I am seriously contemplting buying a Cyclops Pro 300 PT.
http://www.cycleops.com/p-196-pro-300pt.aspx
Does anybody have any experience with this product or any advice either way.
Thank you.
Tonight was the first session of a 16-week training program that Michael McCormack has in his new facility and there are 28 of these bikes. Loved it. You can monitor watts, cadence and HR, and the bikes are pretty adjustible, including being able to go into the aero position. I hate riding the trainer, but I think I’m going to like going to this session every Thursday.
http://www.triathloncoach.com/m2revolution/
clm
Hey CLM, I think my wife (Azteca) will be starting in that session next week (she had travel this week).
I hope she’s not in the Thur. 5:30 session since we were full up! A good workout definitely.
clm
We’ve been selling them in our store for the past year. People seem to like them a lot as we haven’t seen one come back into the store nor heard any complaints. The buyers have made return trips to the store so we ask them about the 300PT.
The head unit is different from a normal PowerTap. You can set it up for up to 6 different users with different power/HR zones, user data (weight, etc.) and some other stuff. I know that you can download the manual from the CycleOps website for a closer look at all the features. The units weigh about 140 lbs. and are solid. A nice touch is that they have urethane roller blade type wheels towards the back of it so you can tip it up to facilitate moving it into position or out of the way.
The unit is highly adjustable as others have said. It has an aerobar type handlebar position and you can purchase aerobar pads to make staying in that position more comfortable.
You have to purchase them through a LBS as CycleOps won’t allow them drop shipped. Shipping would be a killer on the item too. We have one in the store for people to demo. At the moment we’re having an informal staff contest to see who can record the highest max power reading on the machine.
If you end up buying one I would recommend taking a look at the flywheel to see if it is lined up properly. Most of the time they seem to be slightly off which isn’t a big deal but will make slightly more noise.
canuck
I’ve had one for 2 years now. I think its a fine unit and has been very quiet, adjustable, and reliable … it is also very stable. I would highly recommend it and I researched quite a bit before my initial purchase. I use it to supplement my road training and much appreciate the power readings. Fortunately I live in the SW so I don’t have to use it exclusively because I require psychiatric help after 3 hours on any indoor device … but thats just me.
Dave
I hope she’s not in the Thur. 5:30 session since we were full up! A good workout definitely.
clm
Yup, that’s the one. She let M2 know she couldn’t make the first one, but will be there starting next week.
Cycle Ops advertises that this machine is adjustable enough to mimic your road bike position. However, the crankarms are only 170mm and no other size is available. I purchased the machine not knowing this and never felt comfortable on it (I pedal 175’s) and ended up selling it.
Other than that it was solidly made and very stable to ride. Value-wise, for a residential situation, with one rider, it strikes me as overkill and too much money. In a club setting it would be pretty cool.
Picked mine up a few weeks ago when my gf was unloading it. I have only been on it a few times bc I am not healthy and won’t be for awhile. She is a pure runner & couldn’t get into the spin thing.
As slow as I have been moving still absolutly love it. The only modification I have made was switching out the seat and unloading my old schwinn spin bike. Boyfriend is jealous, & if I could afford it would get him one. Never shopped for anything else, knew the pro pt was coming home with me the first time I saw it.
SIGNIFICANTLY quieter —and no chewed tires — than anything else I have owned.
I bought one about three weeks ago. So far I love it.
No problems, other than trying to do something with the data. I use SportTracks to track my workouts, and it does not import PowerTap files directly. So I had to come up with my own solution, which involves saving the data from the supplied PowerAgent software, pasting it into a file so that it looks like the data came from a Polar heart monitor with power meter, and then import the data into SportTracks.
Since another poster questioned why an individual would by one, I will give my justifications: Number one - It is always setup, ready to go. It is not dirty, requiring cleaning to even come in the house, as my bike often is this time of year. It is much more stable than any trainer I have ridden. I don’t care about the 170mm cranks, even though I normally ride 172.5-175. I just don’t think it matters. It is quiet. It doesn’t wear out my tires. I don’t have to clean the rear wheel, then still suffer some slip during high power. It doesn’t leave the black mess of worn rubber on my floor.
But seriously, it is a toy. I bought one because I had always wanted one, and I have the means to buy it. Will I be faster than if I continued using my old trainer? Likely no, but there have been times I did not ride the trainer due to my bike being too dirty, yet it was cold/snowing outside so I didn’t want to wash the bike.
Paul
I’ve heard reports that it uses either an ISIS or square taper BB. That would mean that the crank length could be changed. It might even be possible to change the BB which would open up even more possibilities.
I’d like to try and talk my gym into buying some 300PT units, but the 6-user limit mentioned above may be an issue.
Thanks
It really depends what you are looking for.
If you want a high inertia trainer with watts, your best deal would be the Kurt Kinetic Pro (the one with the total flywheel weight of 18 lbs) This high inertia trainer comes close to real road riding. You can get their computer to go along with it to measure watts: