But still, I would have loved to see a better locking system for quicker/easier removal of the bike. It got easier once I realized I was better off putting the handlebar controller on another object (as seen above), as that reduced complexity each time I moved the bike. But those were rare, few and far between.Īs any CompuTrainer user knows though – the real hassle was more around the cabling and wheel-on tightening mechanism than anything else. Not perfect of course, I’d occasionally get oddities around accuracy, drift, and spin-downs that couldn’t easily be explained. For the most part, the CompuTrainer worked without much issue.
I even bought their nifty dual-controller holder stand for our trainer room at the time:Īnd this would serve as my main trainer for another half-decade more, until the original Wahoo KICKR came out. In fact, so much BFF’s that when The Girl came along, we got another CompuTrainer (this time off eBay) – so we could ride side by side. Me and that little yellow resistance controller were BFF’s.
I would spend countless hours training for my first Ironman on it, as well as many more races after that. My how times have changed (on so many levels!). It’s funny, you can find my super-old ‘In-Depth Review’ on it here. It was actually the CompuTrainer that was my very first electronic trainer, which I purchased back in 2007. But by and large it’s remained the same, especially since around 2000. It’s also seen variations around the controller – at one point even integrating with Nintendo.
It’s seen a handful of different colors, as well as slight changes to the trainer frame and resistance unit. This built like a tank trainer has been around in various iterations for nearly 30 years. For the majority of folks these days, it’s the rugged CompuTrainer that’s most well known. Of course, that wasn’t the product that most people know today. Here’s a short little video clip I made of it in action some 6 years ago: That trainer used wind to provide resistance, and was one of the first products the company made. In fact, I even bought one of their 1976 trainers a while back…just for fun. While computer based training and the CompuTrainer may seem new to some, in reality the company has had a very long history. Additionally, they’ll be working to consolidate some of the general troubleshooting knowledge within the forums and their support teams, into more concrete troubleshooting guides and posting those. At present, RacerMate notes that once those parts are gone, they’re gone for good. They’ll be treated on a first come, first served basis. For those outside of this period, the company will continue to sell parts and trainers until those parts/trainers run out of stock. The company will continue to offer support for new CompuTrainer units, within their standard 1-year warranty period. The exact details are still being finalized, but here’s roughly what’s planned. However, the good news is that customers aren’t entirely left out in the cold. A more formal and public announcement from Chuck Wurster is to be sent sometime this week clarifying further on the exact details. In e-mails with the company this evening, I have confirmed the above e-mail is correct. It has been a marvelous 40+ years and we have enjoyed sharing in the victories and friendships we have made along the way.” As a small company with the premier indoor trainer in terms of performance and durability, we have found ourselves in a place where we cannot continue. Technology and competition from larger companies have both eaten into the marketplace. “It is with a heavy heart that those of us here at RacerMate must tell you that we are closing the doors on CompuTrainer. The e-mail sent to athletes was short and to the point. No company or product has had a bigger impact on the indoor training experience than the CompuTrainer has.
This marks a pretty significant event in the history books of indoor cycling. By this evening I was able to confirm those reports directly with the company, as well as get a bit more detail. Earlier today RacerMate, which has long made the CompuTrainer and other high performance trainers, notified sponsored athletes that the company is shuttering their CompuTrainer product line, as initially reported by Tom Demerly.
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