Turbo trainers - advice needed please
Discussion
I'm after some advice on turbo trainers please. I'm looking to maintain and perhaps improve my cycling fitness over the winter months, and think investing in a turbo trainer may be the way to go. I've got a few questions, and would be grateful for some advice
- how much do I need to spend to get something decent? Can I get something for that would be robust and reasonable for say £200 or do I need to budget more? If I can, can some recommendations be offered?
- can I use my normal wheels, or would it be prudent to buy a spare for the trainer?
- if I set this up in the lounge, so I can watch movies, is there likely to be any 'spray' from the tyre / roller that could mark the walls?
I'm keen to make the most of my current road bike enthusiasm and get some decent training in to justify the carbon bike I bought this year. I've set a personal target for a century in under 5 and a half hours, which as I live in East Anglia should be achievable with a bit of concerted effort on the training front.
- how much do I need to spend to get something decent? Can I get something for that would be robust and reasonable for say £200 or do I need to budget more? If I can, can some recommendations be offered?
- can I use my normal wheels, or would it be prudent to buy a spare for the trainer?
- if I set this up in the lounge, so I can watch movies, is there likely to be any 'spray' from the tyre / roller that could mark the walls?
I'm keen to make the most of my current road bike enthusiasm and get some decent training in to justify the carbon bike I bought this year. I've set a personal target for a century in under 5 and a half hours, which as I live in East Anglia should be achievable with a bit of concerted effort on the training front.
18.2mph Av Sp would be good going, over 100 miles (or were you referring to a metric 'century' ride?)
Can't help with advice on the turbo trainer front from personal experience. Either MTFU and apply lots of rule#5, or don't ride is my method. A friend of mine had a full Tacx set-up, with route videos to run on her laptop, but she didn't get the reliability she wanted from the software, so sold it all on ebay. She kept the turbo, just kept it low-tech, so to speak. She kept her bike bolted to the trainer over the Autumn/Winter, with a specific tyre, specially made for the purpose, and the other main accessory she had was a washable cover stretched between the seatpost and the handlebars to protect the bike from sweat. (Although, being a lady, she didn't perspire, she glowed
) The other main thing, if you have hollow floors, is some kind of rubber mat as I've heard that they can be very noisy on a lot of floors.
No doubt there will be some contradictory advice from people who have actually used turbo trainers later in this thread. I'm more than happy to be corrected if I've told you wrong.
Can't help with advice on the turbo trainer front from personal experience. Either MTFU and apply lots of rule#5, or don't ride is my method. A friend of mine had a full Tacx set-up, with route videos to run on her laptop, but she didn't get the reliability she wanted from the software, so sold it all on ebay. She kept the turbo, just kept it low-tech, so to speak. She kept her bike bolted to the trainer over the Autumn/Winter, with a specific tyre, specially made for the purpose, and the other main accessory she had was a washable cover stretched between the seatpost and the handlebars to protect the bike from sweat. (Although, being a lady, she didn't perspire, she glowed
) The other main thing, if you have hollow floors, is some kind of rubber mat as I've heard that they can be very noisy on a lot of floors. No doubt there will be some contradictory advice from people who have actually used turbo trainers later in this thread. I'm more than happy to be corrected if I've told you wrong.
I bought a basic turbo off ebay 3 months ago for 60 squid. It works, it goes round and gives magnetic resistance.
It doesn't have software, it doesn't have a video, it does get me worked out when it pisses with rain.
I have seen my pulse way over 200 when riding it - all the electronic stuff/video you only need if you have soft motivation/brain.
I tend to play alot of punk when riding the turbo.
PM me if you want the link.
It doesn't have software, it doesn't have a video, it does get me worked out when it pisses with rain.
I have seen my pulse way over 200 when riding it - all the electronic stuff/video you only need if you have soft motivation/brain.
I tend to play alot of punk when riding the turbo.
PM me if you want the link.
yellowjack said:
18.2mph Av Sp would be good going, over 100 miles (or were you referring to a metric 'century' ride?)
Can't help with advice on the turbo trainer front from personal experience. Either MTFU and apply lots of rule#5, or don't ride is my method. A friend of mine had a full Tacx set-up, with route videos to run on her laptop, but she didn't get the reliability she wanted from the software, so sold it all on ebay. She kept the turbo, just kept it low-tech, so to speak. She kept her bike bolted to the trainer over the Autumn/Winter, with a specific tyre, specially made for the purpose, and the other main accessory she had was a washable cover stretched between the seatpost and the handlebars to protect the bike from sweat. (Although, being a lady, she didn't perspire, she glowed ) The other main thing, if you have hollow floors, is some kind of rubber mat as I've heard that they can be very noisy on a lot of floors.
No doubt there will be some contradictory advice from people who have actually used turbo trainers later in this thread. I'm more than happy to be corrected if I've told you wrong.
It's the proper century I'm after, but live in the flat fens and have regularly achieved 18+ mph for 65m rides, so the target is to maintain this for another 35 miles, which is hopefully achievable. Interesting points about sweat control, not something I'd considered. Can't help with advice on the turbo trainer front from personal experience. Either MTFU and apply lots of rule#5, or don't ride is my method. A friend of mine had a full Tacx set-up, with route videos to run on her laptop, but she didn't get the reliability she wanted from the software, so sold it all on ebay. She kept the turbo, just kept it low-tech, so to speak. She kept her bike bolted to the trainer over the Autumn/Winter, with a specific tyre, specially made for the purpose, and the other main accessory she had was a washable cover stretched between the seatpost and the handlebars to protect the bike from sweat. (Although, being a lady, she didn't perspire, she glowed
) The other main thing, if you have hollow floors, is some kind of rubber mat as I've heard that they can be very noisy on a lot of floors. No doubt there will be some contradictory advice from people who have actually used turbo trainers later in this thread. I'm more than happy to be corrected if I've told you wrong.
I have 4 turbo trainers at the moment (in various locations around the world), the cheapest of which is the tacx satori. It is far and away the best of the lot.
Its the easiest to set up, it can handle a decent level of power and is relatively quiet. That said you will need a sound deadening mat to put it on.
You will sweat buckets so a sweat guard is handy, personally I just have a towel on the handlebars and use as necessary.
Buy a fan or two, set them at their maximum and point them at your upper-body.
They are boring but you don't need the same length of time on them as you would outside.
If you set it up properly and make it comfortable you should be able to switch off the brain and knock out an hour or two easily. Last winter I was doing a 4 hour session once per week! they are hard, you are sitting in your own sweat for hours and your shorts decide to eat you after a couple of hours.
If you are buying a cheap turbo trainer I would say the most important thing to get is one with variable resistance, also some are VERY loud so try before you buy.
Best of luck.
Tacx Satore http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...
Its the easiest to set up, it can handle a decent level of power and is relatively quiet. That said you will need a sound deadening mat to put it on.
You will sweat buckets so a sweat guard is handy, personally I just have a towel on the handlebars and use as necessary.
Buy a fan or two, set them at their maximum and point them at your upper-body.
They are boring but you don't need the same length of time on them as you would outside.
If you set it up properly and make it comfortable you should be able to switch off the brain and knock out an hour or two easily. Last winter I was doing a 4 hour session once per week! they are hard, you are sitting in your own sweat for hours and your shorts decide to eat you after a couple of hours.
If you are buying a cheap turbo trainer I would say the most important thing to get is one with variable resistance, also some are VERY loud so try before you buy.
Best of luck.
Tacx Satore http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...
I've also got a Tacx magnetic trainer, the "Flow" model. It's relatively quiet, generally speaking the early fan (air) resistance models were the noisiest, then magnetic resistance, with oil-filled ones the lowest noise level. Doesn't matter in a detached house or shed, but it might if you're in a flat or semi.
You can certainly get a good one on your budget, I paid extra for the gimmicks on mine so I could compare sessions; you can still get a comparison with the cheapest trainer that you can calibrate with a watch & speedo on the rear wheel, but it's just easier with purpose built kit.
Boredom is the killer but on the plus side there's no free-wheeling so you work harder than on the road. I use an MP3 player, a sheet of plastic on the floor underneath the bike and a towel over the frame/handlebars. After 45minutes everything is soaking wet, there's a puddle of sweat on the floor and I'm knackered. I can't imagine doing over an hour on the thing.
You can certainly get a good one on your budget, I paid extra for the gimmicks on mine so I could compare sessions; you can still get a comparison with the cheapest trainer that you can calibrate with a watch & speedo on the rear wheel, but it's just easier with purpose built kit.
Boredom is the killer but on the plus side there's no free-wheeling so you work harder than on the road. I use an MP3 player, a sheet of plastic on the floor underneath the bike and a towel over the frame/handlebars. After 45minutes everything is soaking wet, there's a puddle of sweat on the floor and I'm knackered. I can't imagine doing over an hour on the thing.
Read a lot of topics on this subject a few weeks ago when I was considering one. The general consenseus is that you have to be extremley well motivitaed to make use of them and most get used a few times and are then ebayed.
My gym has a few of the Livestrong static bikes and I do two to three one hour sessions per week on those and the amount of sweat I produce in that one hour is unbelievable. This is in a large open air conditioned gym. I'd hate to think what it would be like in my living/spare room.
The one I was looking at was the Cycleops Fluid 2 http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cycleops-classic-fluid-2-t...
P
My gym has a few of the Livestrong static bikes and I do two to three one hour sessions per week on those and the amount of sweat I produce in that one hour is unbelievable. This is in a large open air conditioned gym. I'd hate to think what it would be like in my living/spare room.
The one I was looking at was the Cycleops Fluid 2 http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cycleops-classic-fluid-2-t...
P
So when you do get one....
Get a fan too to keep you cool
Cover the bike with a towel to protect it from dripping sweat
Depeding on the model of trainer you may need to put someting under th efront wheel to level the bike up
oh and when you've cycled 20 miles..you would have cycled 20 miles...there aint no down hill freewheeling to be had
Get a fan too to keep you cool
Cover the bike with a towel to protect it from dripping sweat
Depeding on the model of trainer you may need to put someting under th efront wheel to level the bike up
oh and when you've cycled 20 miles..you would have cycled 20 miles...there aint no down hill freewheeling to be had
Thanks all, I've had a look at the various sites and Ebay and the best option appears to be the Tacx Satori on Wiggle for £153
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/tacx-satori-high-power-cyc...
Though I am tempted by the Booster but at over £100 more I'm not sure I'll get the benefit, but it's what the Pro's used on the TDF so must be good???
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/tacx-satori-high-power-cyc...
Though I am tempted by the Booster but at over £100 more I'm not sure I'll get the benefit, but it's what the Pro's used on the TDF so must be good???
I put up a topic about this only a few weeks ago after I was having the same dilemma but I couldn't decide between a TT or a set of rollers.
In the end I decided rollers were the better option for me. Personally I see a TT as to much of a similarity to a every day exercise bike, It would be to easy to sit on it lose concentration and then just half ass the work out.
I have since bought a set of second hand rollers off ebay for about £70. I love them. I set it up in front of the tv now and put on a film and away I go. The Pro's for me were the fact it requires concentration all the time. If you let your mind drift off you will start to wobble then fall off. Its another skill to learn and helps massively with keeping you in a balanced on the bike. Yes the first 2 sessions I started between a door frame and had some fantastic moments trying to get my sense of balance on them but now I love them. The noise in my flat is no different to the washing machine going off and I haven't had my neighbour down stairs moan about it once yet.
In the end I decided rollers were the better option for me. Personally I see a TT as to much of a similarity to a every day exercise bike, It would be to easy to sit on it lose concentration and then just half ass the work out.
I have since bought a set of second hand rollers off ebay for about £70. I love them. I set it up in front of the tv now and put on a film and away I go. The Pro's for me were the fact it requires concentration all the time. If you let your mind drift off you will start to wobble then fall off. Its another skill to learn and helps massively with keeping you in a balanced on the bike. Yes the first 2 sessions I started between a door frame and had some fantastic moments trying to get my sense of balance on them but now I love them. The noise in my flat is no different to the washing machine going off and I haven't had my neighbour down stairs moan about it once yet.
dave0010 said:
I put up a topic about this only a few weeks ago after I was having the same dilemma but I couldn't decide between a TT or a set of rollers.
In the end I decided rollers were the better option for me. Personally I see a TT as to much of a similarity to a every day exercise bike, It would be to easy to sit on it lose concentration and then just half ass the work out.
I have since bought a set of second hand rollers off ebay for about £70. I love them. I set it up in front of the tv now and put on a film and away I go. The Pro's for me were the fact it requires concentration all the time. If you let your mind drift off you will start to wobble then fall off. Its another skill to learn and helps massively with keeping you in a balanced on the bike. Yes the first 2 sessions I started between a door frame and had some fantastic moments trying to get my sense of balance on them but now I love them. The noise in my flat is no different to the washing machine going off and I haven't had my neighbour down stairs moan about it once yet.
Having both rollers and turbo trainers, I disagree, the concentration reqd to use a set of rollers reduces the amount of time you will use it. It is far easier to sit on a turbo trainer, turn off your brain and pedal your ass off. The most I can do on a set of rollers is about 90 minutes, I can do 4 hours on a turbo trainer. In the end I decided rollers were the better option for me. Personally I see a TT as to much of a similarity to a every day exercise bike, It would be to easy to sit on it lose concentration and then just half ass the work out.
I have since bought a set of second hand rollers off ebay for about £70. I love them. I set it up in front of the tv now and put on a film and away I go. The Pro's for me were the fact it requires concentration all the time. If you let your mind drift off you will start to wobble then fall off. Its another skill to learn and helps massively with keeping you in a balanced on the bike. Yes the first 2 sessions I started between a door frame and had some fantastic moments trying to get my sense of balance on them but now I love them. The noise in my flat is no different to the washing machine going off and I haven't had my neighbour down stairs moan about it once yet.
Obviously this is subjective, but I find the avg TSS for a turbo trainer is far higher than a set of rollers. I know it varies by rider.... this is just imo.
MHB said:
Thanks all, I've had a look at the various sites and Ebay and the best option appears to be the Tacx Satori on Wiggle for £153
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/tacx-satori-high-power-cyc...
Though I am tempted by the Booster but at over £100 more I'm not sure I'll get the benefit, but it's what the Pro's used on the TDF so must be good???
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/tacx-satori-high-power-cyc...
Though I am tempted by the Booster but at over £100 more I'm not sure I'll get the benefit, but it's what the Pro's used on the TDF so must be good???
I bought the Tacx Satori last year. It is a really solid piece of kit and does everything you need. Instructions are terrible though so take your time setting up and don't get frustrated !
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