I see Racermate a bit differently. They did produce an excellent product. It is still the gold standard for trainer durability, and the wired connection didn’t have the drop outs that are so common now in Zwift racing. They made two big mistakes IMO. First, not being willing to open their trainer to freely work on other software platforms (which of course didn’t stop it from happening, it just made them look foolish), and second not updating to direct drive. But innovate or die and all that. They chose the latter.
Whoa! How does it compare to the rock n roll by itself? I loved my rock n roll until it wore out (fluid finally leaked), but I still have it for some reason. I’ve tried various rocker plates (including Saris MP1, homemade, and Kickr inside ride (or whatever it’s called), and none come close to the actual rocking the kinetic provided.
I don’t think CompuTrainer and Wahoo are comparable cases at this point, either. It seems CompuTrainer not only missed embracing the open trainer standards revolution (like ANT+) but actually resisted it.
To me it seem like they were caught in an ‘innovators dilemma’. They tried (what many innovators do) to protect their cash cow instead of killing it to create a new one.
I haven’t seen that play out with Wahoo. As you indicate, they are still making useful improvements to their trainers.
But Wahoo (and the trainermarket in general) is probably at or near a stage where the most valuable improvements have been implemented in the products. Since trainers have a fairly long physical lifetime and trainers don’t become obsolete from generation to generation, I guess the replacement cycle will grow ever longer.
I thought it felt pretty similar, but it has been years since I made this frankenstein trainer. I used the exactly same rocking bearings and literally swapped out the top R&R frame piece for a piece of plywood. Since you still have the frame it might be worth trying it. I was going to secure my kickr core to the plywood, but I never feel it moving so I have just left it sitting on the wood.
There was a guy on Slowtwitch that swore by those things and had 3 or 4 of them, IIRC…he was also kind of a jacka$$ about them.
But they are apparently unbelievably accurate and the ride feel is supposed to be awesome because of the size of the flywheel.
I hesitate to see what one would cost, even with my employee discount. 
Wasn’t the money in some other techy business though? I think it was called Flo Scan or something, and Computrainer was a relatively small piece of it.
I beta tested the software that Racermate was working on near the end, and it was just continually too late vs where the market was going with Zwift, TR, Sufferfest and the like. They fell behind and it was like trying to catch up to a peloton when you let yourself get spit out the back.
H2O Fun was his name - he’s since been banned, but I’ll never forget the username because it’s the only person I’ve ever “blocked” on the internet
@Power13 beat me to the memes but…
If I remember correctly, H2O was also super into Powercranks which is another whole “fun” can of worms.
Back to the topic at hand, I don’t of course think that Wahoo is exactly like Racermate. Wahoo is a far more innovative company and I’m a happy customer of theirs, including recently buying a KICKR V6. Despite knowing full well that you can get ~90% of the performance for 1/3rd the cost I’m in a financial position where I’ll spend more on a premium product that I’ll get good use out of. The mistake of course is betting your whole company on the premium market (unless you’re Apple) because far more people generally people want cheap, good-enough products.
Oh, man…I had forgotten all about his love of PowerCranks, too…
To quote the great Robbie Robertson “This is sure stirring up some ghosts for me”
This. Even entry-level trainers are very good. I have a Suito, and because I prefer resistance mode for hard workouts and only use erg mode for endurance workouts, the trainer is more than good enough. I don’t even care about power accuracy since my Quarq power meter is my source of truth.
As for trainers, I think the money should be in accessories. Give me a good trainer as a “naked robotic core” and offer a bunch of accessories around it. The margins on accessories are much higher.
Plus, here are a few features I’d like to see in trainers:
FWIW, Wahoo added Trailforks integration today to the BOLT…
I’ve already linked my accounts and can see Trailforks routes in my Wahoo app…
I’m currently debating helping Wahoo out by buying an Elemnt Roam V2
My current Roam (v1) has been pretty faultless until recently (it now won’t download/sync routes, and elevation is all over the shop). But it’s intuitive to use, and it’s done everything I’ve wanted.
Learning how to use/set-up a Garmin doesn’t appeal, especially as I value intuitiveness over 100s of features I won’t use. While I could have been tempted with the 1040 (the solar option is right up my street, and the stamina feature actually does intrigue me), it’s
outside of my budget anyway. The Karoo 2 looks interesting, but the battery life could be an issue for audaxing. So that kind of leaves the Wahoo…
Am I going mad here?
I’m replying to your post, but it’s a general question for all. What exactly are these issues with navigating and learning how to use Garmin products? I’m about as lazy as they come as far as tech set up stuff is concerned and I have had zero issues plugging and playing with Garmin 1030 (or the 520 prior to that), Fenix 5 and now 7, 920XT, 205, 305, scale, etc. It’s all so simple so I’m wondering what the problems are as I see it regularly.
I don’t think so.
For me it’s the lack of a zoom feature. If you order the data fields correctly, zooming in and out of a single screen can replace several different data pages. It seems such a simple feature and I don’t think I have seen it anywhere else.
I’m a Garmin user and have been for a long time. Their user experience isn’t the most intuitive. You have to “learn it” and after that, it’s not bad. Wahoo’s claim to fame is the ability to setup/manage the entire GPS unit from your phone. Garmin is constantly improving, but it’s not on par with Wahoo yet.
So, I think the gripes about Wahoo vs Garmin are less true than they used to be, but when it comes strictly to the UX, there is still a gap. I generally find Garmin hardware on devices to be superior.
I’ll put a vote in for the LEDs on Wahoo computers. They animate to show navigation directions (left or right), and you can set them up to indicate power or heart rate zones (both the number of LEDS and the color change to match the zone you’re in).
I use them in both training and races - I can see in my peripheral vision what zone I’m in, so I can monitor my efforts and pace appropriately.
I realize some of you can do this purely based on feel and experience, but the LEDS aren’t affected by adrenaline - so they’re really handy for pacing during the start of a race 
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