Looking at buying a computrainer,
why should I not buy one?
Yea I know its still a trainer, love hate relationship
Thanks
Darryl
before you do… check out TrainerRoad.com
$10/mo and you use your ANT+ speed cadence sensor.
x2 Trainerroad, unless you hate your money…
Brad
I LOVE my computrainer. Computrainer + ergvideo = no such thing as a boring trainer ride. Hard yes, boring, not really. I highly recommend it.
It helps, but the truth of the matter is I need to let some fitness go in the winter anyway so I sold it on ST classifieds and bought a KK and use a powertap. I mix it up with cadence drills and brief power changes but it is averaging out to about 3-4 hours a week. Its a great tool if you know you are going to have use it a lot but like you said…It’s still a trainer.
I can’t tell you why to not buy one - I got one with some ergvideos last November, and I love the thing. I was really close to getting a KK trainer, but really glad I spent the extra cash, I enjoy my training rides and am getting a lot more out of them.
It helps, but the truth of the matter is I need to let some fitness go in the winter anyway so I sold it on ST classifieds and bought a KK and use a powertap. I mix it up with cadence drills and brief power changes but it is averaging out to about 3-4 hours a week. Its a great tool if you know you are going to have use it a lot but like you said…It’s still a trainer.
x2 Powertap with KK is a MUCH better use of $$$
x3 on trainerroad. You MUST try this before dropping 1000.00+ on a ct.
Tacx
.
And it’s up to the OP to decide if this ^ is worth ~$1K more than TR. Personally, I have no idea what you’re talking about. 
All I know is that TR has this aging MOP riding more than ever this winter and actually looking forward to each seesion. I’m also looking forward to my next 20 min test to see how much my FTP has improved!
Brad
I think it depends on how often plan to use it, what you currently have and how much disposable income you have
I split my time between two cities. I have a CT in one city and a Kurt Kinetic trainer in the other. I also live in Canada, so am confined to a trainer 5 months a year. I must ride the CT 80-100 times a year and the KK 40-50.
I love the Computrainer. I use Ergvideos and Golden Cheetah. It makes the trainer more fun. Ergvideos to me are a must if you get a CT. One thing i love about the CT is setting it to 80% of FTP, turning on Netflix and watching a 2hr movie without ever having to look at my power meter. It’s on auto pilot so I can focus on my movie 
The CT in Erg mode forces you to hit your target power levels and times your intervals for you. All cool, but nothing you can’t do on your own.
But on weekends, in city 2 I have a Kurt Kinetic and I use Golden Cheetah. With the sufferfest videos and the virtual power feature of Golden Cheetah and the KK it’s pretty close to a CT.
If you have a ton of disposal income and plan to use it a lot a CT is fantastic.
Tools like Golden Cheetah, Sufferfest and TrainerRoad make a regular trainer much, much better.
Personally I think the first investment should be in a Power meter so it can be used year round and in training. But the CT is a good investment over time, especially if you plan to use it a lot.
Because you will blow a fuse 3 times and end up returning it like I did. I can think of tons I’d rather do with all that money as well. I’d much rather watch a movie or show than course footage.
Tacx
x2
.
It helps, but the truth of the matter is I need to let some fitness go in the winter anyway so I sold it on ST classifieds and bought a KK and use a powertap. I mix it up with cadence drills and brief power changes but it is averaging out to about 3-4 hours a week. Its a great tool if you know you are going to have use it a lot but like you said…It’s still a trainer.
Why do you need to let fitness go? I would think you would like to keep your fitness so you can gain more easier later…no
I can only hold on to peak fitness for so long before I have to detrain. I still train but at low intensity and duration over the winter.
But are ur times faster when you train back up to peak fitness? How do yu know you reached your “peak” if you lay off?
I’m no expert on power or power-based training, but I have a Lemond Revolution with the power pilot and I use it with Sufferfest downloads. I love it … WAY more than I like the Computrainer I had and a fair bit less expensive.
I know I have reached my peak because I get really overreached and I am unable to maintain training loads. If I increase training load at the right time and allow myself time to get detrained(let my FTP fall 15-20 percent) in the offseason, I race faster. All this is possible if I have a CT or not, but if I am not going to use a CT for fitness building sessions, I would rather use a KK and save money. If I was living in a really cold climate where I would have to do harder sessions indoors, I would have kept my CT.
Yes!..A much better investment than a P5… Enough said.
i just got a bushido with the pc upgrade and i have to say i love it so far. There are more then enough options for their Real Life Video selction and ergo videos. Set-up was a snap. I have a kk rock and roll with a powertap and i have to say i like the bushido alot more.