The CompuTrainer
It's time for an introduction to this fabulous piece of training equipment that resides in my garage: the CompuTrainer. This posting will be targeted at the unitiated - apologies to all the experts out there.
 | The computrainer is an indoor cycling trainer that looks similar to a magnetic or fluid trainer. You clamp the rear axle of your bike into the trainer and the rear wheel spins against a drum. The spinning drum can provide varying resistance. For magnetic trainers, there is usually a lever to select one of five levels. On a fluid trainer, the spinning drum pumps fluid through a coil of tubing, producing resistance that scales nicely as you ride faster - remember from fluid dynamics that air & water have similar properties in this respect... the computrainer uses electromagnetic resistance that can be altered by the computer to which the computer is connected. There are two modes in which you can use the computrainer:
* Standalone mode, where the head unit controls the resistance - this can be a fixed wattage that you specify or one of 50+ built-in programs
* PC mode - the holy grail of computraining - where you can download a a course (or draw one if you have their mapping software) and the computrainer will alter resistance to simulate every hill on the course |
| In PC mode, the computrainer software can tell you how fast you are going, how much power you are putting out, your pedaling cadence and even how balanced your pedal stroke is. I've used my CompuTrainer to "preview" far-away courses and to do power intervals in my garage, despite not having a power meter on any of my bikes. I also use the standalone "ergometer mode" a great deal. You set the head unit to maintain a fixed wattage and it will adjust the resistance as your speed changes to ensure that your power output remains the same. This can lead to an unstable equilibirum as you tire, since when you slow down it must get harder to pedal! In the other direction, it gets *easier* as you pedal faster, which doesn't always translate when you get out on the roads! |  |
If you are lucky (or well-funded) enough to have two computrainers then you cna link them together and race a friend. With RacerMate's Multi-Rider software you can link up to eight CompuTrainers together at once for group workouts. I know of four CompuTrainer training centers in the Seattle area - one in Ballard, one at the CompuTrainer office near the Burke-Gilman trail, one at Cycle U and one at Eastside Multisport in Bellevue/Redmond.
A CompuTrainer with the Pro/3D software retails for about $1500, so the target market is "cycling and multisport enthusiasts." The device can also work in a commercial setting - I know of multi-rider setups in the Seattle area at Seattle Multisport in Ballard, at Cycle U near Magnussen Park and at Eastside Multisport in Redmond.