Treadwall laps app?

A lap counter for a Treadwall Kore costs something like $400, which is around $740 Canadian these days. It seems to me it would be easy (for anyone who knew how to do these things) to write a cell phone app where you attach your phone to the wall somehow and it would counts laps the same way you can use a cell phone to measure angles (and maybe even track stuff derived from the rate of each lap?) Anyone here smart enough to create and sell such an app for $1?

Why not just measure the time you are on the treadwall and use your watch for free?
What is the advantage of counting laps?

Mark: Originally I thought I could vary the intensity of climbing for a given duration on a treadwall by increasing the angle. However, taking ARCing as an example, climbing 20 minutes at 15 degrees overhanging isn't actually more difficult that at 13 degrees if you just slow down; time alone isn't a good measure of intensity/workout volume/improvement. Climbing slower makes high volume overhanging climbing training easier if it is for a set time rather than distance.

And yes, it is super nerdy, but it just seemed like it would be dead easy to do.

A mechanical solution would be dead simpler. Bigish gear with numbered teeth (relatively easy to make out of wood with only a jigsaw). Short dowel or something attached to the corner of one of the treadwall panels. Dowel hits gear and increments it one tooth for each lap.

nerdlet wrote:Mark: Originally I thought I could vary the intensity of climbing for a given duration on a treadwall by increasing the angle. However, taking ARCing as an example, climbing 20 minutes at 15 degrees overhanging isn't actually more difficult that at 13 degrees if you just slow down; time alone isn't a good measure of intensity/workout volume/improvement. Climbing slower makes high volume overhanging climbing training easier if it is for a set time rather than distance. And yes, it is super nerdy, but it just seemed like it would be dead easy to do.

I guess I don't know which style of wall you are using, mechanical or motorized.
I have been using a motorized TW and typically set the speed to match my ideal average climbing pace- too fast to rest more than a brief wrist shake, not slow enough to even chalk up. Then I adjust the intensity by route selection and/or varying the angle.

I would be afraid to vary the intensity via speed because of adverse effects on technique at higher speeds, or engraining a sloth like tempo at the lower end. I tend towards slothfulness anyway, so have to be careful.

I don't think I could tell the difference in intensity between 13 and 15 degrees. But I can tell between 13 and 20.

If your TW is motorized, can you just time a single revolution and then calculate your total distance by dividing your climb time by the "unit" time?

Or just put a piece of tape on the start holds and count as it goes by, as John suggested.

When I used to use the treadwall a lot at The Spot Gym, I would count laps in my head, use a watch for time, and write down angle as well. That way I knew all of the above. Didn't need a counter or app either. I also would occasionally reach over and hit the stop button to be able to get a shake on overhanging terrain, then hit the start button again.

Thanks to all for the replies. I found a free iphone motion app that will do the trick, albeit I have to look at the data after a workout, rather than get instant feedback.

Believe it or not, the idea of counting laps had occurred to me, but I find this really distracting, irrespective of whether I am ARCing or AnCap training. I'd rather focus on climbing.

Mark E Dixon wrote: I don't think I could tell the difference in intensity between 13 and 15 degrees. But I can tell between 13 and 20.

That really surprises me. If I could improve my 2x20 min continuous climbing limit by 2 degrees in a season I'd I'd consider it a huge training success. Same goes for the higher intensity work.

Mark E Dixon wrote:If your TW is motorized, can you just time a single revolution and then calculate your total distance by dividing your climb time by the "unit" time?

yeah, the Kore isn't motorized, and its speed is prone to changing as the oil of the hydraulic braking system warms up from sub-freezing garage temps.

Mark E Dixon wrote:I would be afraid to vary the intensity via speed because of adverse effects on technique at higher speeds, or engraining a sloth like tempo at the lower end. I tend towards slothfulness anyway, so have to be careful.

Yep, I'm not trying to ARC fast, I'm trying to avoid slowing down to sub-sloth speeds and frequently stopping as a means of making the workout easier; or at least if I am doing that to be able to keep track of it (e.g. ARCing at 15 degrees for 20 minutes, did 15 laps is an improvement from ARCing at 15 degrees for 20 minutes but doing a mere 8 laps. When a reasonable ARC pace is reached, crank up the angle and repeat, rather than trying to go faster and faster).
By the way, I don't just find this speed problem ARCing, I also have the same problem doing AnCap interval style workouts e.g. 8x(40"/2') on a Treadwall for set time rather than distance. When all the moves and holds are set to be similar difficultly, it is way easier to slow down and do fewer moves as your power fades (and the final seconds tick away) than it is to continue cranking.