Yes its absolutely for real. It measures power, Cadence, it changes reisistence based on grade and even drafting! The graphics run off a nintendo and the trainer plugs into it. I do time trials and interval training on it, we actually have about 6 of these sets set up in one room ( 2 people) on each it can get pretty competitive. The company that makes it is Computrainer they have newer models that hook up to a pc. http://www.racermateinc.com/computrainer.asp