Smart turbo trainer ... completely lost. Please help thanks!

[anonymous-user]

My daughter wants one of these cycle trainers for her birthday. You take the back wheel off then attach it to this and weave the bike chain around the gears on the trainer and off you go -

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/turbo-trainers/sm...

The problem I am having is that as far as I can see the trainer doesn't come with any gears (they call it a cassette). Her bike has 8 gears at the back and is Shimano but the only cassettes Halfords do are 9 gears and above (and their live chat people were hopeless). So I looked on eBay and found this -

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shimano-Acera-8-Speed-M...

So I thought if I buy the trainer + the cassette above + this tool ( https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-maintenance/... ) then that is everything she needs.

However I have no idea if that cassette will fit to that trainer and that is the right tool? I haven't ridden a push bike in 30 years so no idea about any of this stuff nowadays.

Could someone advise if the 3 items I listed will work together? Alternatively is there an 8 gear trainer out there ready to go without all this faffing with tools and cassettes? It needs to be able to connect to the internet so she can cycle in a virtual world with others.

Many thanks. Birthday approaching fast :-|

[2ono]

Why not go to your local bike shop and order a similar trainer and get them to order and fit the correct cassette at the same time. Then you have a bit of back up/support and also supporting a local business.

Everyone is a winner

[frisbee]

It'll work. You'll also need a 0.85 mm spacer behind the cassette.

If you want to take a cassette off you'll also need a chain whip.

If the current chain is worn then it may skip on a new cassette.

You may need to adjust the gears when you put the bike on the trainer.

[CooperS]

Whilst this might be covered the tone of your post it might be worth saying if it is Zwift she wants to use you'll also need a half decent laptop/ computer / Apple 4k TV to power the game. Saying that you can also use a Android, iPhone or iPad.

[anonymous-user]

Thanks all. I'm going direct to the (Italian) manufacturer to list the various parts I need as her bike's rear hub (length x diameter) needs some adaptor too I believe. So all in all as her bike is only 8 gears at the back (3 at the front) it needs lots of odds/sods to get it all to fit :-(

I had assumed it was a 5 min job to just buy one from Halfords but the more you look in to it the more complicated it is.

[defblade]

frisbee said:

It'll work. You'll also need a 0.85 mm spacer behind the cassette.

If you want to take a cassette off you'll also need a chain whip.

If the current chain is worn then it may skip on a new cassette.

You may need to adjust the gears when you put the bike on the trainer.

MikeStroud said:

Thanks all. I'm going direct to the (Italian) manufacturer to list the various parts I need as her bike's rear hub (length x diameter) needs some adaptor too I believe. So all in all as her bike is only 8 gears at the back (3 at the front) it needs lots of odds/sods to get it all to fit :-(

I had assumed it was a 5 min job to just buy one from Halfords but the more you look in to it the more complicated it is.

So long as her bike has a normal QR skewer on the back wheel, and the cassette that's on there currently looks much like the one you've linked, I'd be surprised if it doesn't fit straight on to the trainer.

Sheldon Brown lists 130mm/135mm as standard for 8 speed bikes, and Elite say:

"Great compatibility
One of the most distinctive features of the Zumo is its great compatibility with most bicycles currently sold. Zumo is compatible with bikes with 130 to 135mm hubs and quick clamping systems with 5mm diameter".



I bought a smart trainer this year. I more-or-less simultaneously converted from 7 speed to 8 at the rear (also running a front triple). I felt a bit like I was diving into what-ifs and unknowns, but TBH, it pretty much is a five minute job, so long as the spacer you buy has indentations to allow for the rivets on the back of Shimano cassettes, otherwise you'll spend an extra 15 minutes filing them in

I find SJS cycles very good for sourcing older-style components, with excellent customer service. (Opinion not hurt by them selling me my bike 20-odd years ago, but it's good that they still support the more "traditional" styles of bikes, rather than always moving to the next new thing and dropping the old, as you've found with Halfords and you'll also find with many of the larger on-line retailers, too).

The other thing that hasn't been mentioned is that, as you may have noticed on the ebay link you put up, not all 8 speed cassettes have gears with the same number of teeth; ie, they provide a choice of gearing. She may like to have the same range and steps between gears on the trainer as on her normal wheel (although it's by no means essential)... you'll need to ask her what her current cassette is. If she doesn't know, then a Sharpie is very handy for marking the tooth you started counting from on each sprocket, so you know when to stop! Buying one with a larger gear at the bottom end than she has now could lead to trouble with chain length and/or derailleur capacity (probably less likely on a triple set up, though).

[anonymous-user]

If you’re in Stroud as the name suggests, pop in and see Mike at Ark cycles in Bournes Mills. He’s the workshop guru and will be able to advise

[anonymous-user]

Not being silly but once you’ve costed it all up, you may find it easier, if space permits, to buy an old bike with a 10 speed cassette fitted and keep that permanently the trainer. You should find something suitable on Facebook for around £100 which will mean it’s simple to fit as the trainer will come with a spacer to fit 10 or 11 speed cassettes.

[anonymous-user]

@defblade - Thanks for comprehensive reply.

@pable - I remember Ark when it was Noah's Ark :-) As she lives in a flat in Devon she doesn't have the space to have a second bike but good idea. Do you know if Ark sells these types of trainer as I may give them the problem to solve.

I'm a bit lost with spacers and where to get them and will I get the wrong one etc etc. So I may just tell the shop her bike details and let them solve it for me.

Her bike incidentally is this: https://www.halfords.com/bikes/hybrid-bikes/carrer...

She likes the trainers with the interchangeable cassettes as she wants to get a better bike in a year or so.

[anonymous-user]

Yeah Ark sell trainers, definitely let them solve it!

[anonymous-user]

I'll call by Ark next week and see what they have in stock. Last time I went in Noah's Ark in Chalford was 15 years ago to buy a bike. I hadn't bought one in 30+ years so assumed £100 was enough, they didn't have anything less than £700 !!! So my visit was very short. Expecting to pay £500-£800 for this trainer thing.

[jesusbuiltmycar]

You could always opt for the Wahoo Kickr Snap https://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices/bike-trainers/... It is a "wheel on" smart trainer that has a great ride feel. I use one with Zwift.

[ian in lancs]

I have an eight speed cassette on my elite diretto trainer - i haven't had to buy any more mechanical bits; just used the bits in the box. The bike has an old style qr skewer. All works fine with zwift with iPhone, iPad or MacBook. I needed a heart rate monitor.

[anonymous-user]

ian in lancs said:

I have an eight speed cassette on my elite diretto trainer - i haven't had to buy any more mechanical bits; just used the bits in the box. The bike has an old style qr skewer. All works fine with zwift with iPhone, iPad or MacBook. I needed a heart rate monitor.

Thanks.

I just had a look at that Direto. On Elite's web site it says it comes with an 11 speed cassette so assume you bought an 8 speed cassette and simply swapped it? Is it as easy as that?

On their web site they don't say they are compatible with 8 speed they say this below, I don't want to buy something that won't work:

"This trainer features a new structure which is perfect to house derailleurs with long cages that feature greater capacity on bigger 12-speed sprocket sets. This is how the DIRETO XR is compatible with 9/10/11 speed Shimano®/SRAM, 9/10/11/12 speed Campagnolo, 12 speed SRAM NX and 12 speed Shimano® micro Spline cassettes. "

[ian in lancs]

MikeStroud said:

ian in lancs said:

I have an eight speed cassette on my elite diretto trainer - i haven't had to buy any more mechanical bits; just used the bits in the box. The bike has an old style qr skewer. All works fine with zwift with iPhone, iPad or MacBook. I needed a heart rate monitor.

Thanks.

I just had a look at that Direto. On Elite's web site it says it comes with an 11 speed cassette so assume you bought an 8 speed cassette and simply swapped it? Is it as easy as that?

On their web site they don't say they are compatible with 8 speed they say this below, I don't want to buy something that won't work:

"This trainer features a new structure which is perfect to house derailleurs with long cages that feature greater capacity on bigger 12-speed sprocket sets. This is how the DIRETO XR is compatible with 9/10/11 speed Shimano®/SRAM, 9/10/11/12 speed Campagnolo, 12 speed SRAM NX and 12 speed Shimano® micro Spline cassettes. "

I bought it from Halfords and it came without a cassette but with a Shimano freewheel fitted. Eight-speed cassettes slide straight on with a spacer. Buy the same ratio's as you have on the bike. You will need a freewheel tool and a chain whip to fit although its possible to stop the cassette from rotating holding tight with a rag to protect the hands. It's a two-minute job, especially for a bike shop. I'd buy a cassette and ask them to fit. The trainer effectively becomes the wheel and clamps to the bike instead of the wheel. A quick-release skewer comes with the trainer to clamp the trainer to the bike but you will need to choose the right spacer so as to not compress the frame too much. I'll do some pics and add shortly!

[ian in lancs]

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[anonymous-user]

ian in lancs said:

I bought it from Halfords and it came without a cassette but with a Shimano freewheel fitted. Eight-speed cassettes slide straight on with a spacer. Buy the same ratio's as you have on the bike. You will need a freewheel tool and a chain whip to fit although its possible to stop the cassette from rotating holding tight with a rag to protect the hands. It's a two-minute job, especially for a bike shop. I'd buy a cassette and ask them to fit. The trainer effectively becomes the wheel and clamps to the bike instead of the wheel. A quick-release skewer comes with the trainer to clamp the trainer to the bike but you will need to choose the right spacer so as to not compress the frame too much. I'll do some pics and add shortly!

Firstly thanks for the trouble you've gone to here - very kind of you.

I think I am understanding it more now. So basically buy a trainer, buy a Shimano 8 speed cassette, fit that to the trainer. Then when you say "spacer" that is basically to pad out the distance from the cassette to the bike frame to avoid bending it? So "spacer" in old money can be a number of washers to fit over the "skewer" (axle in my old money).

That sounds very simple. Three questions:

1 - Looking at the spec for her bike it says the cassette is: "Shimano HG31, 8 speed, 11-34t". So from eBay I can buy the 11/34 cassette here and that will fit? - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shimano-Acera-8-Speed-M...

2 - The rear hub is described as: "Black alloy, Quick release, 10x135mm". So I assume this means 10mm diameter axle/skewer. Is that diameter the same as the skewer supplied with the trainer as if the trainer's skewer is bigger or smaller then I guess it won't work?

3 - I'll need a tool to fit the cassette, does that come with the trainer or do I need to buy that separately?

Appreciate you have already gone above and beyond in answering my question I think I am getting a better understanding now.

[frisbee]

The spacer goes behind the cassette.

The freehub on the trainer, the splined cylinder than the cassette slides on, is sized for 11 speed cassette. 8 and 9 speed cassettes need a 0.85mm spacer, 10 speed cassettes need 1.85mm of spacers.

The distance between the rear dropouts, where the wheel axles slots in, is the same for 8 to 11 speed road bikes with rim brakes, 130mm. Mountain bikes and hybrids and disk braked road bikes may be 135 or 142.

Mountain bike and hybrid cassettes may not be compatible with road bikes, I don't know much about them.

There are other weird combinations as well.

[ian in lancs]

Pics of elite accessories- leaflet showing the cassette spacer, roughly a 1.5in dia metaL ring to move the cassette outboard from the spokes and Shows the two wheel fittings one pair for qr that I’m using and one pair for bolt fixing I’m not using hence the parts in the bag.

[NerveAgent]

jesusbuiltmycar said:

You could always opt for the Wahoo Kickr Snap https://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices/bike-trainers/... It is a "wheel on" smart trainer that has a great ride feel. I use one with Zwift.

Yep I have a kickr snap too. Not that far off a full kickr but a lot less expensive.