Hello, I noticed in the December issue of Triathlete an advertisement for ErgVideo (ergvideo.com) for the computrainer. Anyone used one yet?? If so what is your experience?? I am curious to see how the video for computrainer will work.
jeff
some annoying putz keeps posting about it here.
Dude goes on an on sometimes…longest postings you ever saw. But he always says it’s cool.
Paul Smeulders
Developer and President
ErgVideo Inc.
humour impairment countermeasures: in case you think I’m slamming a customer…no I would never do that…the putz is me.
HEY!! I may be annoying and I may be a putz…oh wait, what was the third thing? 
Ergvideo is fun. It sure beats looking at the stupid 1980’s graphics that comes with the CT, or the bar graphs from the CS software. I LOVE being able to punch in a couple numbers and create a workout for myself with %'s in my proper zones. It’s great and can’t recommend it enough.
Mark
I love it. I rode the placid course weekly (or bits of it) during my build up for the race and it made 2:30 long computrainer rides completely bearable (even enjoyable!). (I live in FL so it was the only hills i was getting!)
i have posted before on my experiences so do a search on my name and ergvideo and you should find some more info
Slowtwitchers (and those with various facial ticks),
Paul asked me to chime in here, and I have to admit, I am REALLY stoked about these Ergvideos. Solo riders, pairs, and even Multirider centers can play these, and they'll provide you with workout after workout of challenging intervals, different scenery, varying terrain, and even racing simulation. It's all based on your wattage at Threshold, and the beautiful thing about these is that by using the MR3 software, you can vary the intensity in the middle of the freakin' ride. So, if you're good for four hills, but you feel a calf cramp coming on in the 5th, just drop the wattage, recover, spin through it, and get back up to it on number 6. You can customize your workouts to include certain segments of every video, so you can vary it from day-to-day and ride-to-ride, while still working on a scale of wattage progression. He's got Ergvideos for just about every single type of training, from the Monday recovery lollygag to Tempo riding, to longer thresholds, Vo2 intervals, MAP intervals, and finally, about 4 freakin' circuit race and crit sims that will really leave you crying because they're so hard. The helmet cams do a great job of relaying the action, and the workouts were based on hundreds of PM files done by the riders themselves.
This stuff will really change the paradigm of your training, and if your Ct is in the corner collecting dust, this is the excuse you need to pull it out and hop back on. Starting in January, I think all 8 of my MRC classes will be going in this direction. So long, blue & brown & black screen!
Rich Wharton
Online Bike Coach
thanks for the info…can you explain how it works…i do have a computrainer. does the resistance change when going up a hill on the video??? How do you keep pace with the video?
thanks
It doesn’t work like that - you’ll never be ‘off’ from the video. MR3 uses %threshold to create intervals, so when you do a 4-minute hillclimb, on the screen, you’re clmbing with two other guys who are doing their actual workouts, but above the screen, you’ve got a scrolling bar that says “115%”, “116%”, etc. until the hill ends. On another screen altogether, if you choose to go that route, you can read the actual values being created, but it’s really not that vital to the workout. So if I’ve scheduled 5 hills, and I know they’ll be at 115% of threshold, and my threshold right now is at 263, then the interval load being generated against me is going to be about 302w. If I start to fail on a workout, and that happened today in the 5th interval, I dropped the wattage using the “-” button on the handlebar controller, and it dropped my threshold from 263 to 245w. The interval average then dropped to 282w. Still within my Vo2 range, but less aggressive, and I still got a thoroughly great workout.
I’ll change it up and do the longer hills on Thursday - and will update you all afterward (if I can still lift a finger).
Would anyone be interested in a CT attached to a Rock & Roll? Just an informal reply would be appreciated.
I have a few courses and really enjoy the workout. I think the key difference between a regular computrainer course and the Ergvideo is not the “video” part , which is cool and makes indoor riding much more fun, but the erg aspect. I am constantly fighting the battle between trainer boredom and workout focus; I find it easy to stop paying attention on a regular computrainer course when I am employing my full anti-boredom countermeasures (watching tv, DVDs, Halo 3 on xbox-live etc.) and slack. The ergvideo keeps you focused since it forces your output and still can keep you entertained. It can “break” you if you can’t handle the wattage but other than that you keep riding.
A quick note on customer service… it is really unbelivable good. I had some questions playing video on my large LCD TV though my laptop (unrelated to the ergvideo program) and recevied detailed and prompt help from Paul. I would call it desoto-esque in terms of the tech-support.
So does that mean my hr pickup has to work? For some reason its stopped & I have the “newer” wireless kind I’m using with the flexible battery replaceable strap.
How many courses are needed to keep up the fun?
Do you buy several?
Thanks,
barb
ErgVideo Rocks!!!
Now you’ve done it. Given me a tough act to follow.
No, in all seriousness, thank you very much for the compliments. I’m glad to hear about people enjoying our product.
Paul
Who’s using HR any longer?
Seriously - the ear clip usually fails or drops or gets pulled out, and the ‘wireless’ pickup isn’t up to even Sigma standards, and no one’s been paid to look at PulsePower’s validity, so take the strap off and focus on matching watts with load.
I’m pushing 8+ classes a week through my MRC, thus the need for more videos, but honestly, these things are pretty addictive. Start with 3 and see just how good they, and you, really are.
So does that mean my hr pickup has to work?
Your HR pickup does not have to work at all, as operation is completely unrelated to Heart rate. What Richard is referring to in his posting is %Threshold POWER not %Threshold Heart rate. The computrainer Erg Mode regulates your POWER, and is not linked to your HR at all.
How many courses are needed to keep up the fun?
I suppose that’s a question that’s hard to answer. I mean, I can’t have fun in 3D mode regardless of the course or the graphics, and there are literally hundreds of courses. Part of that is that I’m spoiled by my own creation, and I think the ergmode has higher training value for me. I’m talking in terms of my own feelings of “benefit per training hour”. It forces you to do your training.
Nevertheless, I’ll try to answer by saying I have customers who have bought only one or two, and some who bought 9 on first purchase. The 3-packs are a super value, and have usefulness within the structure of your training program, year in an year out. As you get better, you run them at higher and higher power. My guess is that anyone with a 6-pack is VERY well equipped. Be aware that you have a great deal of flexibility with each ride to make it longer or shorter. You make one longer by loop-repeating your favourite section, or in the case of intervals sessions, by repeating your “favourite” sets.
When I ran a centre I was surprised by clients asking to REPEAT some videos. I said “why, you can try a new one today?” and they would say “no, I want to do THAT one again, but crank me up 10% harder this time…” …and so it went!
Do you buy several?
Oh that you would! Put it this way, it gets cheaper when you do: 3packs are discounted 11%, 6packs 16%, and 9packs 22% from the individual disk prices.
Paul
www.ergvideo.com
(there I go, being a putz with a long post again.)
for an individual riding alone at home is it really worth the $$ to get the multirider center?
To clarify, when you say “multirider centre” you mean the Software from RacerMate called Multirider III. …not a physical presence of multiple computrainers in your home.
It will very capably run a single bike at home, and provides all data you might care to see.
Using the MRIII with ErgVideo for one rider use is indeed purely a convenience thing. ErgVideo can also run with the “Coaching Software” which comes with your CT Pro3d package, and indeed lesser packages.
The MRIII has a nice feature in that the threshold power setting is adjustable on the fly from the handlebar controller. This is NOT available when running under “Coaching Software”. CS run in an absolute power mode, so if you have configured a ride that is above your abilities, you have no choice but to get off and reconfigure your ride. With MRIII, you have a “bail-out button” and can adjust if you overestimated your ability at the start.
So to answer, I would say that of all my customers who picked up the MRIII to ride with ErgVideo, NONE have rung me up and told me they’ve regretted it. Those I’ve spoken to have agreed it is huge toward improving their experience. Again, it isn’t necessary, but real nice to have.
Most people are initially surprised at being **forced **to perform. They expect the ErgVideo ride to feel like any other trainer ride where they had the ability to ignore the instructor, or take it easy whenever they feel like it. Erg Mode simply won’t let you, (unless you just plain stop). When they realize that there is no foolin’ around, they realize their initial setting of threshold may have been too ambitious (in some cases…showing off to others in a multirider facility!). Adjusting without getting off the bike is a good thing, and will allow you to finish.
Paul
As a recent customer, I can vouch for Ergvideo as being a far superior product than the 3D software that comes bundled with the Computrainer. Those CT “3D” courses’ visuals are plain uninspiring, repetitive, and like many others, I find you just end up ignoring the display and are better off watching a movie or other distraction.
With Ergvideo, you really want to keep your eyes on the road for what’s coming ahead, because in using the CT in Erg mode you really do need to start spinning fast before you hit the next hill, and planning for the climb ahead. It seems to be far more realistic, and even subtle changes in grade can be felt. I purchased both Placid and Muskoka, and plan to purchase more over the next couple of weeks.
Ergvideo has even organized their videos into “base”, “build” and “peak” packs (or some such terminology), to help rookies like me develop a more structured training routine through interval training. As Paul pointed out to me, just riding the various courses (Placid, etc). repeatedly may not be the best way for us triathletes to train. As such, I plan to keep using the courses for my long weekend rides, and use the “build” pack for my mid-week intervals and speedwork.
I think Ergvideo has hit the sweet spot in terms of what the Computrainer is capable of as a top-tier bike training tool.
I am getting so close to try, but …
I know I bought all the NA courses, and they were great for a while. I did the on line stuff for a while. But,
I just found they did not force me to work hard, so I then started to just use the Ergmode of the CS. That makes
me work hard, but again, I just got so bored, even when I started to try and watch DVD’s to help.
So, this last year I have gotten myself more outside, and ride the hills which does not give me any slack.
But, the cold and rain is coming, so trying to figure out what is the best way to keep the bike fitness up
when I know riding outside is either not possible, not safe, or I am just in the wuss mode.
Anyone in the Sacramento area have this s/w running? It again would be nice to try first.
I know the NA stuff would let you try the s/w for 10 days before you had to buy.
Anyone use the NA2 stuff and compare to Ergvideo?
Dave
Would you (anyone) recommend doing cycling or training peaks along with the erg video?
If you go to intellicoach.ca, you can go nuts with customizing your ERGvideo rides (like I do…) and you will see all the relevant CyclingPeaks scores (TSS, IF, NP, VI) updated on the spot. Tough to beat that.
Thanks
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