For over 25 years, the creative engineering team at Seattle-based RacerMate, Inc., has been developing state-of-the-art indoor bicycle training technology that improves cycling performance while keeping the indoor rider challenged and happy. That’s a tall order, but RacerMate is a company driven by engineers with a passion for scientific innovation, technical performance, high precision manufacturing, and uncompromising quality. It comes by this naturally RacerMate is the subsidiary of FloScan Instrument Co., Inc., and electronic instrument manufacturer that has been the aircraft industry’s principal fuel flow meter supplier for over 30 years, based upon exemplary performance and a flawless safety record.

It all started in 1976 when Wilfried Baatz, the company’s president/chief engineer and most enthusiastic cyclist, invented the world’s first wind trainer. The original RacerMate was a pioneering product that started the whole indoor bicycle training movement. Then in 1986 came CompuTrainer, the first electronic bicycle trainer/ergometer with interactive motivational software and course creation. CompuTrainer’s features were enhanced a few years later with the addition of SpinScan electronic pedal stroke analysis software and modem racing software. The first 3D graphics were added in 1996, and Coaching software came along in 1998.

By this time, the RacerMate team of software engineers had long become an equal partner with the company’s mechanical designer in the quest for perfection in indoor training. The march continued in 2001 with the release of CompuTrainer 3Dv3.0 for Windows 2000 and XP.

Today, CompuTrainer is widely recognized as the leading electronic bicycle ergometer for maximum performance improvement, testing, and enjoyable indoor training. For testing and training their athletes, the Canadian Cycling Association coaches and national team members have officially adopted CompuTrainer, as have USA Cycling Coaches Association, USA Triathlon and USAT Coaches Association.

The system is popular with coaches and pro athletes not only because it delivers repeatable performance measurements, but also because it is so robust. The CompuTrainer easily withstands the rigors of the Saturn CyberBike program, where each unit supports 5000 individual races annually. In the triathlon world, CompuTrainer reigns supreme as the official bicycle ergometer of the Ironman World Championship and the personal bike trainer of four reigning world Olympic triathlon champions.

But the best is yet to come..

For the last three years RacerMate engineers have been working on a new electronic bicycle ergometer. Dubbed the Velotron and available now, this new ergometer uses an audacious design approach so original that patents are already pending on the details. The Velotron boasts unbeatable laboratory accuracy/repeatability (0.01 percent) and more than enough power-handling capability (2000 watts) to build a course with 25-percent grades. Perhaps best of all from the rider’s viewpoint, it has a mammoth flywheel, by far the largest ever used in a bicycle ergometer, which gives the smoothest, most realistic ride yet devised. Equally appealing, the flywheel allows the rider to recover while coasting downhill, just as in real life. Combined with RacerMate’s eye-popping 3D graphics, the complete experience on the Velotron is remarkably close to the real thing (and a whole lot safer!).

Velotron’s awesome performance specifications qualify it for several new roles. Sport scientists now have a new cost-effective testing tool that may be the most accurate electronic bicycle ergometer on the market. Lifetime accuracy is guaranteed by built-in electronic calibration verification. With by far the lowest level of internal friction of all bicycle ergometers, Velotron creates accuracy loads starting at 5 watts (just a third of what it takes to walk very slowly). This ultra-low load capability will enable medical specialists in orthopedic, cardio, and pulmonary rehabilitation to start their exercise regimens at an earlier stage than ever before.

With more than 25 years of innovation to build on, it’s natural to wonder what the future holds for CompuTrainer and Velotron owners. While the specifics are under wraps for now, one thing is certain: There will be a continuous stream of new software developments to make both systems more useful and more enjoyable to ride. RacerMate’s highly experienced software development team will be generating innovative new software on a regular basis software that is completely compatible with the existing hardware. While two-person races are possible today, linking up to four systems together for competition should be available in 3D near term.

Further down the line comes Electronic Bike Racing over the Internet, something RacerMate’s engineers have been dreaming about for a decade. But there was no point in pursuing it seriously until the advent of Velotron, the only ergometer accurate enough to make it technically acceptable. Now it has a realistic chance of technical success.

With such a promising future ahead, it is good to remember that when you purchase a CompuTrainer or a Velotron today, you can count on it lasting for years. And years. And years. The fundamental engineering soundness of the designs coupled with RacerMate’s careful (some would say fanatic) attention to manufacturing quality guarantees it. And when the occasional repair is necessary, the modular design of RacerMate’s products make it easy.

Indeed, there is no doubt that the RacerMate product you buy today will be with you tomorrow. Many original RacerMate wind trainers are still operating after 30 years. CompuTrainers in commercial applications have withstood well over 100,000 racer cycles without failure. Furthermore, they command a very good price on the used market (when you can find one!). Clearly, RacerMate is a brand you can depend on, today and tomorrow.

A Re-print from Made In USA 2002, an advertising supplement of VeloNews Magazine