Computrainer lab
Then, to keep you from getting bored, you can do training rides on at least 100 different pre-programmed courses, featuring hills, descents, turns, you name it.
#Computrainer lab software
The software also accounts for rider and bike weights to more closely recreate what happens on the paved road.
![computrainer lab computrainer lab](https://www.thefastlab.com/wp-content/uploads/FastLab-Logo-trans-no-words-web.png)
You program the gearing you want – front and back, and shift gears while riding by pushing buttons on the control pad. You load it on to your pc, and essentially control the machine from a keypad on the handlebars. This controllable electro-magnetic resistance system is what recreates the feeling of riding up hills, freewheeling down hills, rolling flats, accelerating, sprinting – what ever gear ratio you want – got it? The bottom line is that the machine recreates the sensations of riding a real bike more closely than any other training system out there, and is accurate to within +/- 0.2%. Attached to the flywheel are copper plates that pass though a set of magnets at the base of the rear wheel – and basically create any resistance you want. Next is the 55 pound flywheel – that’s right – made from cast iron. – It makes getting on for a session that much easier. Just like the guy with the spray painted hair – “you can set it and forget it”. It comes with a complete frame, stand, bars, everything you need to set up without using your regular bike. What makes this trainer different from others? First. (A great feature if you’re wanting to know how you perform with different crank lengths…) The machine I tested was equipped with the also new Varicranks ( read the Pez-Review here)– which allowed us to change the cranks lengths in a couple of minutes, without removing them from the bike. When you hit a climb, the trainer tells you what the angle of the slope is as you feel the machine add resistance to your pedaling.The Velotron is a sophisticated cycling training system that comes complete with fully adjustable bike frame, electronic ergometer, and super software to measure, record, and learn from your performances. And there it is, on your monitor, delivered to you in real time, right below a little graphic simulation of yourself as you pedal around (for example) Seattle. There might be something else that I'm forgetting, but you get the idea. After you calibrate the bike and start riding, the trainer simulates the hills and conditions of your ride, and then lets you know in hard numbers the following: speed, time, watts, cadence, heart rate, distance covered, and averages of several of these. But the real goods is in the data ticker.
![computrainer lab computrainer lab](https://ep1.pinkbike.org/p4pb13055489/p4pb13055489.jpg)
Just about every bike course worth mentioning can be simulated on the trainer, with computer game like graphics to give you the cerebral gist of where you are.
![computrainer lab computrainer lab](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/BT0AAOSwiClh3zMy/s-l300.jpg)
I played around with the software on the Computer. I have a memory of visiting Nick Radkewich, an American trying to make the Olympic team back before the 2000 games, and in the middle of his apartment he had a wicked Computrainer set up. Computrainers have been around a long time it seems. Last week, I successfully hooked up a new Computrainer to an old Dell computer.