Auzzie sales has an ergometer that is chain driven off your own bike. The resistance is lots of air, up to 2000 watts . Has anyone bought one or tried one that can give me honest feedback. The cost is fairly high($2000) Thanks BW
BT ER/Airgometer
- Thread starter Billsworld
- Start date
I can't give feedback on the specific device, but here's a more general piece of advice: look at the power curve for the device rather than the power 'rating' to determine what resistances the device is likely to produce. Sometimes the rated power occurs at a speed far beyond what most people are able to pedal, and the resistances available at reasonable speeds aren't really that impressive (if you wanted to simulate lower cadence hill climbing, for example).
This one uses your own bike derailer, and is built with a 7 spd cog, then goes back to the fan. Check out USAUZZIE sales or google BT Bicycles. I hear the US track team just bought 3, and the Aussie team has used it for years. Only drawback is that watts need to be calculated. I am a sucker for toysfrenchyge said:
I will ask them about what you said . Thanks
Billsworld said:
No experience with this particular trainer, but in general I'm a bit fan of ergometer training...the only question I would have is whether this is the most cost-effective approach available (esp. since you mentioned that you'd just acquired a PowerTap).
As you know I am more or less looking for 30 sec power. It looks like I could benifit from this more than a traditional trainer. If you have seen some other options I am all ears. Do you think the claims they are making are valid?? For a point of reference , there is a purpose built bar made for squatting. Co. made claims that it would do x. It was also supposed to be made special for Fred Hatfield prior to his 1008lb squat. I asked him, and he said it was a good bar, but he didnt design it and rarely used it. As you pointed out, could the claims be alot of airfrenchyge said:Yeah, I've looked at that site. Certainly the chain driven design eliminates wheel slip and tire wear, but other than that isn't it just a $2200 wind-resistance trainer??
Billsworld said:
Well, there's this:
www.CycleSimulator.com
However, my guess is that it doesn't sell for any less than the BT ergometer...handmade in minute quantities, and all that.
There's also the SRM ergometer:
http://www.srm.de/englisch/prod_indoor.html
but it's even more expensive, and includes a powermeter that you don't really need now that you bought the PowerTap.
In any case, I think the biggest issue for you is going to be finding something where the resistance is not only sufficiently high, but also adequately responsive to rapid changes in your power input (which means either a big flywheel or a steep resistance-vs-speed curve...such as with an air brake). Otherwise, you're not going to be able to do maximal efforts the way you'd ideally like to be able to do them (i.e., starting from a very low/zero cadence, just like a standing start).
Well, I'm not really saying the claims are full of air so much as asking someone 'in the know' what makes this device unique. The webpage doesn't talk about the trainer so much as say who's used it and what they've done, which doesn't give me a lot of insight into the device itself. I've heard other people mention that it makes some kind of noise if you pedal 'wrongly,' and I don't know if that's part of the claimed benefit.Billsworld said:As you know I am more or less looking for 30 sec power. It looks like I could benifit from this more than a traditional trainer. If you have seen some other options I am all ears. Do you think the claims they are making are valid?? For a point of reference , there is a purpose built bar made for squatting. Co. made claims that it would do x. It was also supposed to be made special for Fred Hatfield prior to his 1008lb squat. I asked him, and he said it was a good bar, but he didnt design it and rarely used it. As you pointed out, could the claims be alot of air
Assuming you're looking for lots of resistance, you'd really need the power curve to see how much it's capable of providing. The chain drive would prevent wheel-slip, which is an issue with typical tire-driven trainers under high torque, so that would be a plus for this device. Standing starts and the like would be impossible on a tire-driven trainer because of wheel-slip.
frenchyge said:
Well, that depends on how much force* you can generate. For example, this morning I was doing standing starts on my Velodyne without any wheel slip, but I'm the polar opposite of somebody like Bill when it comes to leg strength.
*I say force instead of power, because the two are practically the same during a standing start, and it's easier - for me, anyway - to think of the force being applied overcoming the friction of the tire-roller interface.
I have seen the SRM . Price isnt listed in $, but 3800 euro I think is alot more US $.I could buy this piece and an SRM for my fixed for about the same. The atraction to this one was the claimed steep curve you are speaking of. Do you think the air brake piece sounds good for my needs? Thank You BW OOPs . I try sprinting on the Kurt trainer. It gets up to 42-45 mph cranked down. WAY more than I can do on the road . It behaves like a lifecycle at the gym in those upper mph. As AC said I am looking to do standing starts etc..acoggan said:
Your point on the power curve was a good one . I asked them, and they told me that the curve was exact opposite of a standing start. Resistance builds with fan rpm. Good insight. I would love to know how the Aussie sprinters used it , or if it was more for the roadies. I will start looking into the SRM ergo. Damn its alot of $$. Thanks BWfrenchyge said:
Billsworld said:
The Australian sprint cyclists spend quite a bit of time in the gym (as they should) and have access to several indoor tracks, so the lack of low rpm resistance may not be as much of an issue for them - that is, I suspect that they may use the trainer primarily for higher speed and/or more extended efforts. The same may also be true for the roadies, who don't have to worry about standing starts. In any case, though, I wouldn't necessarily write it off entirely, as the A.I.S. obviously knows what it is doing and presumably would have designed an ergometer to meet what they view as specific needs...
BTW, have you checked with John Kruse re. his CycleSimulator? With that massive flywheel it definitely ought to fill the bill, and I'm curious as to how much they sell for...