I do almost all of my riding indoors, and for MANY years I put an untold amount of miles on my trusty old Kurt Kinetic Green Machine. (The angry badger special if anyone remembers what that was.) But eventually I decided it was time to enter the world of the smart trainer, and so I had to go through that very same line of reasoning... what trainer is for me? I spent a lot of time considering it and comparing models, and in the end I chose a used Computrainer that I picked up for $400 off of a classifieds site. That is still about the going rate depending on the model and what all is included, although with Computrainer shutting down prices seem to have dropped slightly.
So, I'm going to go over my through process and explain how I came to the conclusion that the oldest smart trainer was still the one for me.
First, I wanted a system I could run a fixed gear bike on, which (at least at the time) meant either a wheel based system or the Lemond trainer (which has a fixed adapter) but since I wanted to be able to switch (quickly) between geared and fixed it really meant ONLY a wheel based system. For others direct drive might hold more appeal.
What I liked
There were two main things that in the end swayed me to choosing the Computrainer over another system, reliability and replacement parts. Those two things mean a lot to me since I like to DIY most of my projects and not rely on sending things back to the manufacturer.
I think when people talk about reliability in trainers, it's hard to argue that the Computrainer is still the benchmark, with many professional studios running units hard day in and day out for many years with little maintenance. That's not to say that some of the newer offerings aren't just as reliable, but they don't yet have the 20+ years of data that the Computrainers has to look back on. It's nice that as a whole the machine is fairly "simple" in design and all of the parts are well built meant to take a beating.
I like that the head unit controller is an easy to understand setup with no frills attached. (as you might expect) It's sort of like the old SRM units, just a couple of buttons, sturdy design, not much to draw your attention away from getting work done. The buttons don't provide quite the feedback I'd really like (sometimes you need to look to make sure you actually hit the botton) but overall everything works the way you'd expect.
While it's certainly not something unique to Computrainers, the stability of the unit is something I like as well. I'm certainly no sprinter, but occasionally I wind up for a meager 800-900w "sprint" in a zwift race or what have you, and I appreciate that a big out of the saddle move doesn't "rock" the trainer. It's a little back of the mind relief that this thing can take much higher outputs without throwing the rider off like a scorned bull that makes me willing to embarrass myself when the green jersey comes up for grabs.
And most of all I like the accuracy. After you've set your crr for the unit you can be confident that 250w today and 250w tomorrow are going to be what you're hitting. There is a great debate out there about whether accuracy is more important than inaccuracy so long as it's repeatable... but why not get it right if you can? This thing is accurate, repeatably!
What I didn't like
For all the things I did like about the Computrainer, there are some things that are not in it's favor. The biggest one is that it is a wired system. That means that ANT+, Bluetooth, and pretty much anything that will come in the future will NOT be compatible with the Computrainer, and (especially now with them being semi-defunct) it's unlikely that going forward there will be any reverse engineering to make it work (like what Zwift have done) and you aren't ever going to get it working on a phone/tablet/whatever. At current, this isn't a problem for me since I run a desktop to use all my programs, but I can see a time in the future when that becomes either cumbersome or just totally obsolete. You can use both TR and Zwift on your iPad (and Android, at least soon for Zwift) and while that's not the "norm" for most people in 2017, it might be in another year or two. That's something that will likely never work with the Computrainer.
You'd expect, as things look right now that we've hit enough of a lull in technology (both actual hardware and in programs like Zwift / TR being top of the hill right now) that you'll get a good couple more years out of the Computrainer before compatibility really starts to become an issue. Zwift and TR are the current big dogs, and both have been thoughtful enough to include compatibility with the Computrainer, if a bit crudely retrofit. Still, what's hot today is often overshadowed tomorrow, so this is a big sticking point to consider.
Speaking of negatives and software... there is the Racermate program made for your Computrainer. To say it hasn't aged well in the face of the Zwift era is, well, a huge understatement. While there are some parts of the software that are convenient (downloading a race course is simple) it's not something you can't do with the other programs (I just download the course from mapmyride and put it into Zwift)
There is also the video series... I'll admit, the first time or two you load one up it's got some novelty to it, but really, of the stack of videos I got with my Computrainer I've watched/ridden each of them once or twice, and now they are laying in a forgotten CD protector book with my Weezer albums.
Another negative towards the Computrainer is sustained climbing/big gear work. Since you cool the load generator by spinning it, once you slow your cadence down you start heating things up. Eventually you run the risk of burning up the unit... although the tyre might give up before then. For most people this will never be an issue, but it's something to consider if you were planning some epic Everesting challenge.
While I did list reliability and ease of getting replacement parts as a positive, it's also worth noting that it's possible that will change in the coming years. While finding a DIN cable or Audio cable will never be an issue, I could imagine a time where needing a new power strip or load generator might become more difficult. It's also worth noting that while Racermate does sell all the essential parts for the Computrainer as of now, they aren't cheap. $375 for the Handlebar controller, no matter how sturdy it is is fairly laughable. (*as of Nov 17 both the Controller and Load Generator are on backorder... maybe something to consider as well.)
Working with Zwift
Zwift is sort of the shared king of indoor training / entertainment (TR is less so entertainment) and very likely something you've at least considered if you're looking at a smart trainer. The good news is that the Computrainer does indeed work with Zwift... the bad news is that it's not without some hiccups.
Obviously, it needs to be wired into your computer. I think everyone is aware of that, so I won't belabor the point. No iPad/Android Zwifting.
Otherwise, the biggest annoyance is the calibration. The Computrainer needs a couple of minutes at a warmup pace for the tyre to get heated up enough for a stable pressure/crr reading. (I know, in theory if you got the pressure exactly right on the rear tyre with the same air pressure every time it'd be ok, but that's not real life.) Once everything is warmed up and get consistent readings when you check the crr then your Computrainer is ready to go and accurate. Unfortunately, Zwift doesn't have a way to do this calibration In-Game. Once your Computrainer is connected to Zwift, you lose any use of your handlebar controller, including setting the crr. Unfortunately, that means you are going to be spending the first 10-15 minutes of every ride you do off of Zwift, calibrating, then loading up the program. Some creative folks have tried things like yanking the cord from the computer, setting crr, then plugging it back up... but in my own experience/testing Zwift would never recognize the Computrainer again without re starting the program, at which point you might has well just wait and do it right. I wouldn't look for this feature to be implemented in the future either... it seems like if an in-game calibration was going to be added, it would have made it's way in around the time Beta ended. As mentioned above, it's unlikely much thought is given to a "dead" smart trainer any longer.
That said, once you are up and running things are great. The Computrainer response in ERG mode is fast and, well... it's a Computrainer. They didn't get everything right, but the things they got right, they REALLY got right, and the ride quality is one of those things. Outside ERG mode (in "riders choice") you have some crude resistance up/down controls and the things works like a slightly smarter dumb trainer.
Final Thoughts
The Computrainer is in an odd spot right now, and that makes it tough to recommend to the average person... certainly it's built like a tank, but how many of us are sending .50 shots at our smart trainer? It does pretty much everything you need it to do, but it (likely) won't do the things you will want it to do in a couple of years. They don't often break, but if a key part does break, how long will you be able to get parts for it? It's accurate, but it's not high tech. These are things that's the average person really has to weigh against how much they are willing to pay for "the nicest old house in the neighborhood." At present, I think $500 for a nice model with some extra's is about where I draw the line. Anything more than that and the competition is just too steep. Below that and you are in what i think of as "deal" territory. Sure there are other smart trainers in that price range, but nothing quite of the same build quality and reliability.
So at the end of the day, I think it's a good option for folks who have their eyes open going in and don't mind waiting for the right deal. I love mine, and hope I can get another 5 years or so at least out of it before I even start having to think about "upgrading." We will see!
I will be in Germany for the next couple of weeks. It's unlikely I will get any meaningful blogging done in that time, or the immediate future when I get back to work/real life. I will have another post up before Christmas for sure though! Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!
- Christopher Morelock
