Computrainer??

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by tomgaul
Is there a computrainer forum? any user groups? I just got mine and I'm ready to start and would like to know if I need help that some of you might be able to help me with it.

You know I never really thought about whether there was forum out there for us Computrainer owners. For a split second there I considered it might be a good idea to start one up but I have doubts it'd be a good use of time and effort. Why?

- I wonder that there are enough Computrainers out there to generate much traffic and therefore enough to keep a forum alive.
- Even though first impressions give you a sense of tremendous complexity straight out of the box, these Computrainer devices are awfully simple to understand once you get to know them.

So my thought was that a forum on the topic would quickly become a rather static web-based FAQ. What fun would that be? 🙂

There are probably a number of CT owners right here in this forum; and you've started a thread on it. Let's go from right here! What would you like to know?

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by tomgaul
Is there a computrainer forum? any user groups? I just got mine and I'm ready to start and would like to know if I need help that some of you might be able to help me with it.

... and congratulations on joining a rather exclusive club of very satisfied owners of the leading cycling training and fitness evaluation tools available.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by rollers
... and congratulations on joining a rather exclusive club of very satisfied owners of the leading cycling training and fitness evaluation tools available.

Thanks for the welcome, hopefully I'll get myself to use it and get a real benefit from it. So far I've only practiced on it to see that the setup is working, I got the 3d software with it and I'm using it on a spare pc hooked upto a tv. I started the Joe Freil work out today, I'm giving myself a week early so I can get used to the setup and function of it. How long have you had yours?

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by tomgaul
How long have you had yours?

About 6 months.

In that time I've gone from trying out the courses that came with it, to scouring the internet for other courses to download and running through those, to creating my own, and finally to creating and building a personal library of courses that I can use for any given situation - TTs, intervals, hill repeats, various recovery rides, spin sessions...

I'll be interested to learn whether you go through the same progression yourself.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by rollers
About 6 months.

In that time I've gone from trying out the courses that came with it, to scouring the internet for other courses to download and running through those, to creating my own, and finally to creating and building a personal library of courses that I can use for any given situation - TTs, intervals, hill repeats, various recovery rides, spin sessions...

I'll be interested to learn whether you go through the same progression yourself.

Well give me time, I did create my first route of the 25 mile loop I do regularly. I am contemplating the GPS add on though, if you can drive the route and map it that way would be very cool. I'm starting the Joe Freil Workout book to see how it helps me. I'm going to use my loop as a base, my best time for it has been 1:38:33, I'll be able to see if I gain on that over the winter and then in the spring on the real road. Are you using any type of structured training with yours?

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by tomgaul
I did create my first route of the 25 mile loop I do regularly. .... I'm going to use my loop as a base, I'll be able to see if I gain on that over the winter and then in the spring on the real road.

I do the same thing, except that I have several of these "reference" courses to test performance in different ways. Mostly they don't relate to any real places though. I've just created courses with various distances and gradients to fit the profile I need for a particular test. Depending on your goals in cycling you'll probaby end up doing this too.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by tomgaul I am contemplating the GPS add on though, if you can drive the route and map it that way would be very cool.

I'd love to hear how that works. I'd also love to be able to justify it. 🙂 There are a couple of hills around here that would be great to ride year-round.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by tomgaul
I'm starting the Joe Freil Workout book to see how it helps me. Are you using any type of structured training with yours?

Not really. The time I have for serious cycling is just too limited. I mostly just try to get on and ride as much as my time and recovey abilities allow. What I do each session depends on how long it's been since the last ride and how rested I am. The only thing I try to be religious about is putting in a recovery day after a hard ride. In my experience if I get too scientific and serious about anything then I'll either burn myself out or pull my whole life out of balance. For me it's about becoming as fit as possible without sacrificing other things important to me.

I am not sure if you have found this yet, but there is a forum for CompuTrainer users. www.performancecentral.net

My CompuTrainer is being delivered today, so I am excited. I have ridden one once now, and it seems very good. I too ordered the 3D software, but I am in Canada, so the topo software won't work for me.

That is okay though because I am in Toronto and there are no hills of note here. I am hoping to pull all kinds of nasty hills from Americans that I can ride all winter.

Just a note that I am also getting professional coaching too, and if you really want to improve, you should get an experienced coach.

Kind Regards,
Guru.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Guru_2_u_2
I am not sure if you have found this yet, but there is a forum for CompuTrainer users. www.performancecentral.net

My CompuTrainer is being delivered today, so I am excited. I have ridden one once now, and it seems very good. I too ordered the 3D software, but I am in Canada, so the topo software won't work for me.

That is okay though because I am in Toronto and there are no hills of note here. I am hoping to pull all kinds of nasty hills from Americans that I can ride all winter.

Just a note that I am also getting professional coaching too, and if you really want to improve, you should get an experienced coach.

Kind Regards,
Guru.

I was thinking of getting a coach but my family and work get in the way of cycling so I wouldn't be able to put myself into it like I should. Having the c'trainer lets me ride any time I want and one of the features I like is being able to save the last performance and then riding against it at a later time to see how or if your improving. Good luck with it. Also there are a lot of courses you can use that come with it that have hills for you. I have been using the 17 mile TT loop for now, I also have a 25 mile loop I created from the topo software that I do on the road.

1) PerformanceCentral.net (as noted above)
2) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/computrainer/

Also these two might be of interest to you - they are for web racing using software called "netathlon". (netathlon can be used with most of the modern 'computer' trainers) The first is moderated by fitcentric (which publishes netathlon) and the second is moderated by an enthusiast.

3) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/netathlonbicyclists/
4) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cycbercycling/