I was wondering if anyone has used a computrainer-based fitting system for power and stroke analysis. A local shop offers it, and I was thinking of tuning my position through it but was interested to hear if anyone has had any experience with it.

I was wondering if anyone has used a computrainer-based fitting system for power and stroke analysis. A local shop offers it, and I was thinking of tuning my position through it but was interested to hear if anyone has had any experience with it.

There have been long discussions about this on the Wattage list at Google groups. The feeling is it isn't very useful. The way a body responds right after a position is changed has little to do with how it adapts over time. A position that shows a drop in power right after the change might evolve to be the same as the original position.

Been fitting bikes for a while now, and can tell you it isn't much useful.

True power-based bike fits often take weeks of going back and forth and testing wattage on every ride....I am certain your shop is not offering this much intervention. The body takes too long for the muscles to actually adapt to a new position to determine in a few minutes or an hour whether it is more effective.

What I use of the computrainer when I do a fit is the spinscan, and only occasionally. If I really need some feedback on how one leg is activating through the pedal cycle, or what the relationship one leg has to another on a particular rider, I may use it. Even then, I take it for what it is worth, since it is not a direct pedal strain gauge device. It has been of assistance on some fittings but it is rarely, if ever, the final determinant.

There are many bike fitters out there who use it purely for the "Cool!" factor for the clients that have never used one. It is a lot of smoke and mirrors in many cases. Make sure your pro bike fitter has more education than a weekend course or two. Don't get me wrong, they (weekend courses) are a great starting point, but they still provide a limited scope on the possible problems that real world riders will present with and how to actually correct for these problems.

I was wondering if anyone has used a computrainer-based fitting system for power and stroke analysis. A local shop offers it, and I was thinking of tuning my position through it but was interested to hear if anyone has had any experience with it.

I tried the computrainer fitting for a couple of minutes. The crank arms are completely flat and since I toe out and have flat feet so my feet kind of bulge inward when I pedal, I ended up seriously rubbing the cranks (my normal cranks are low profile for better clearance). In order to get the benefit of the test, I would have had to move my cleats all the way in (assuming there would even be enough room), and who knows how that would affect efficiency, especially since I would then put them back with my ordinary cranks.

-ilan