PC Coach Cycling Software

"garde" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Has anyone used this and is it any good?

I used it a couple of years ago, but was not overly impressed. It might have improved since then,
but I found the user interface very "klunky" and hard to use. The training plans it developed were
OK (generally a mix of harder interval work, and longer slower rides, with increasing intensity and
distances as you get closer to your goals), but nothing you couldn't develop on your own using one
of the standard training books (e.g., Friel, Carmichael, Burke).

A couple of things I found particularly irritating were:

1) Statistics/Graphs/Reports It is very difficult to get the answer to simple questions, like "how
far did I ride last month?", or "what was my average speed last week?". I just re-opened my copy
of PC Coach, and attempted to see some reports for rides I did in 2001...but, I was not
successful. The canned reports do not offer a way to specify "From" and "To" dates, and the
report only went back a couple of months in time.

2) Bike Tracking There are no provisions for tracking performance by Bicycle. So, if you ride both
mountain and road it's not easy to separate your stats by bike. Likewise, there is no way to
track bicycle maintenance (e.g., how many miles on your chain, tires, etc.).

3) No data export feature Whatever data you put into it is locked up in the software. There is no
provision for exporting your data to a spreadsheet so that you can analyze it in other ways than
those previously defined by the program.

4) Data Entry Due to the clunky user interface, entering ride data takes more time than necessary.
For instance, the software requires you to enter your Average Speed, even though you've already
entered ride time and distance...it should just compute that for you.

With a list price of $69.95, and no way to test drive it first, I feel like it is not worth
the money.

My dissatisfaction with PC Coach, and other ride logging software I've tried, led me to create my
own program - CycliStats. It is more of a training log/diary than a "coach" (unlike PC Coach, it
does not develop training plans). Besides the basic ride data it also tracks calories, climbing,
bike maintenance, and personal health stats. If this sounds like something you might be
interested in, you can download a fully functional trial version from the web site, and try it
for free for 45 days.

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~_-* ...G/ \G cyclistats.comcyclistats.comOpen ↗ CycliStats - Software for Cyclists