Team USA Multisport Athlete: GamJams Reviews: Trainers and Rollers

From http://www.performancebike.com/:

Much more than a trainer, the Real Axiom is a cycling simulator, bringing the feel and view of the road inside by pairing a state-of-the-art electromagnetic resistance trainer with your PC.

Features:

Your PC communicates with the trainer, varying the amount of resistance, reflecting real world conditions as you ride through different courses
New features include the ability to race against a human competitor on a LAN and multiple menu languages
Includes 14 preset courses, a four week training program and allows you to program your own custom courses
View personal ride stats, like speed, distance, ride-time, cadence, heart rate and power output and store them for your own training history
Not only does the resistance change based on the course and rider input, the Real Axiom features two DVD’s of actual European road courses-the Limoges climb from the 2004 Tour de France and the 2004 Verona World Championship course - these courses are coordinated to the Real Axiom resistance unit so the rider will experience the ultimate in indoor training realism
The addition of the SofTrac roller improves traction, lowers tire wear and allows a much quieter, smoother ride
GPS/Google maps for Real Axiom/Real Power now available at RealAxiom.com
System requirements: Pentium III or better, Windows 2000 or XP, 10GB/7200 RPM Hard drive, 256MB RAM, USB port. DVD drive; Microsoft Vista download available at RealAxiom.com.

FirstDropped's opinion:

There are many things to like about the RealAxiom trainer. There are some drawbacks but overall it is a good product. One of the main reasons I was interested in this unit is it's comparability to a Computrainer. Where a Computrainer will cost you somewhere around $2.000 or more, the Real Axiom can be had at Performance Bike for only $799. (I bought mine in 2006 for ~$599). I have ridden a Computrainer numerous times and in most respects the Real Axiom is as good or better. It is my belief that Real Axiom, at any given slope (say 5%) is harder than a Computrainer at the same setting. However, the Real Axiom is limited to a maximum resistance of ~6-7%. Also, Real Axiom sells dvd courses that simulates riding famous TDF, Giro, Vuelta and other monuments of cycling. I have purchased the dvd's for Alpe d'Huez, Le Mont Ventoux, and Vassiviere. There is one dvd where you can race against a pro (I believe it is the Larciano dvd where you get to race Damiano Cunego in the "GP Industria e Artigianato di Larciano") and more courses are being released continually. Another reason I was interested was to help with training and motivation. This trainer comes with testing software that rates your performance and gives you a four week training program based on your test results. Another test provided with the unit is the Conconi test which is used in a lot of European Cycling teams. Let me warn you, the user forum for this particular test is full of folks whining about how difficult it is to complete this test. I have completed it once and can assure you that it is difficult. Personally, I like the RealAxiom. The trainer has a nice feel. The sofTrac roller is quiet and allows good traction for the tire. The unit tends to get warm especially when you put out some high wattage over an extended period. That is why you will see a fan in my photos pointing right at the resistance unit. The ~6-7% slope limitation isn't a big drawback since I don't think that you need any more than that for the races we have in the mid-Atlantic. This will be my second winter using the RealAxiom so I have included some photos to help with my review.

Here is a photo of my setup. (Note the Continental Ultrasport Trainer Tire).

This is a shot of the console that mounts on the handle bar. (Note: the first console that came with my unit had a poor design such that sweat would drip onto the RJ-11 connector and cause problems with the connection to the PC. This is the redesign with the connector on the underside).

This is a main menu shot. RealAxiom is how you get to the DVD courses. The Axiom button takes you to the Computrainer like profiles. History is self-explanatory and more is in the next shot.

More gets you to the Conconi and Training tests as well as where you can import courses and export data (to Excel etc.)

This is a shot of the Training Test screen.

This is a photo of the course I created for my 2 X 20 minute intervals. It is 30 miles at a slope of 0.5%.

This is a shot of the RealAxiom DVD courses I own. Note that Alpe D'Huez is selected and that is the profile you see.

This is a photo of the power file like BRILF posts. Please don't look at the numbers lest I get embarrassed.

In the picture below I have selected the Mont Ventoux DVD course and I am just ready to start.

Just a couple minutes into my Ventoux ride.

This next shot is near the start but you can see in the back ground the top of Ventoux (12 miles later, the two whitish spots in the distance or, as Armstrong would say, the surface of the moon).