Turbo trainer - any good?
Discussion
Hi all - I've picked up some injuries and am a bit limited on the bike at the moment, so what with that and the bad weather/dark nights I thought I'd use Zwift + Turbo trainer. Borrowed a turbo from a friend and all works fine, but although it sends data to Zwift, it doesn't "receive" (so Zwift can't tell it about hills and change resistance). In fact you can't change the resistance on it at all.
I don't want to spend a fortune but I saw this one on Decathalon for <£200 which seems like it can alter its resistance to simulate a hill, which I think might make the training a bit more interesting (less dull marginally!): TACX FLOW SMART T2240 TURBO TRAINER - 800 WATTS
Does anybody know if it's any good? Would be a shame to buy it, and it's only capable of simulating a small slope rather than an actual hill! I'm not mega fit or anything, not a properly serious rider (just a bit of MTB and road) so I don't need Alps type hills, but a bit of a challenge would be nice
I don't want to spend a fortune but I saw this one on Decathalon for <£200 which seems like it can alter its resistance to simulate a hill, which I think might make the training a bit more interesting (less dull marginally!): TACX FLOW SMART T2240 TURBO TRAINER - 800 WATTS
Does anybody know if it's any good? Would be a shame to buy it, and it's only capable of simulating a small slope rather than an actual hill! I'm not mega fit or anything, not a properly serious rider (just a bit of MTB and road) so I don't need Alps type hills, but a bit of a challenge would be nice
Bought one in October and put a thousand miles on it without any issues....
Im a very amateur cyclist so not high performance, but have recorded figures over 500 watts, without any slippage.
I have it paired through an ANT dongle to my PC and use Zwift as my trianing software, so I can mix up structured training, with free riding around their virtual courses with other people.
I think its a good buy... Maybe not accurate in terms of power figures because the resistance is to the tyre and not the actual gears, so get some variability with how much tension you apply. But for tracking your own progress its good.
Get a fan....
Im a very amateur cyclist so not high performance, but have recorded figures over 500 watts, without any slippage.
I have it paired through an ANT dongle to my PC and use Zwift as my trianing software, so I can mix up structured training, with free riding around their virtual courses with other people.
I think its a good buy... Maybe not accurate in terms of power figures because the resistance is to the tyre and not the actual gears, so get some variability with how much tension you apply. But for tracking your own progress its good.
Get a fan....
Thank you! Yes I have a fan, but I think I need a better one! Even in this cold weather with a cold room 
So does Zwift vary the resistance when you go up/down a hill? Is it noticeable? Not too worried if it's 100% accurate in terms of power etc., as it's just a way to keep my legs spinning and try to regain a bit of fitness without stressing my knees & back/hip too much whilst recovering and building up slowly. The turbo I've used is fine, but you end up sitting in one or two gears because there's no variable resistance - at least having to drop a few / up a few for a hill would add a bit of interest.....
So does Zwift vary the resistance when you go up/down a hill? Is it noticeable? Not too worried if it's 100% accurate in terms of power etc., as it's just a way to keep my legs spinning and try to regain a bit of fitness without stressing my knees & back/hip too much whilst recovering and building up slowly. The turbo I've used is fine, but you end up sitting in one or two gears because there's no variable resistance - at least having to drop a few / up a few for a hill would add a bit of interest.....
dreamer75 said:
Thank you! Yes I have a fan, but I think I need a better one! Even in this cold weather with a cold room
So does Zwift vary the resistance when you go up/down a hill? Is it noticeable? Not too worried if it's 100% accurate in terms of power etc., as it's just a way to keep my legs spinning and try to regain a bit of fitness without stressing my knees & back/hip too much whilst recovering and building up slowly. The turbo I've used is fine, but you end up sitting in one or two gears because there's no variable resistance - at least having to drop a few / up a few for a hill would add a bit of interest.....
Yep resistance builds as you go up hill, so you get to use a fair few cogs to get your cadence right.So does Zwift vary the resistance when you go up/down a hill? Is it noticeable? Not too worried if it's 100% accurate in terms of power etc., as it's just a way to keep my legs spinning and try to regain a bit of fitness without stressing my knees & back/hip too much whilst recovering and building up slowly. The turbo I've used is fine, but you end up sitting in one or two gears because there's no variable resistance - at least having to drop a few / up a few for a hill would add a bit of interest.....
Riding freely round thr courses gives you a variation of resistance depending on the hills, but still not that motivating. The organised races or group rides add another element, whether its trying to match the speed of a group, or pacing yourself in a race. The alogorthms arent perfect, and theres always some clever nob who reduces their weight so they end up flying up hills. But it helps to make it more interesting than just trying to keep to a power level or cadence for a certain amount of time.
FurryExocet said:
Got one and it's sitting in the shed.... Free to a good home.
I used it regularly for a while to build up my fitness, but haven't used it in over a year
If you are serious and the other poster doesn't want to take if off you then I'm just down the road from you and I'd happily take it off you/give you something for it.I used it regularly for a while to build up my fitness, but haven't used it in over a year
I've got that very trainer, which I bought from Halfords for about £180 and have paired up with Zwift. It's very good and increases resistance nicely when it comes to a hill. The nature of these things means that it will never feel exactly the same as actually riding up a hill, but if you're prepared to move through the gears and not just rely on the resistance provided by the Turbo it can do a pretty good job. You'll need an Ant+ dongle if you want to use it with a PC though - it will talk directly to a Mac but additional sensors will need the dongle.
I like mine and can happily last an hour or more on it - whereas I'm bored after 30 mins on the rollers.
I like mine and can happily last an hour or more on it - whereas I'm bored after 30 mins on the rollers.
Scott W said:
FurryExocet said:
Got one and it's sitting in the shed.... Free to a good home.
I used it regularly for a while to build up my fitness, but haven't used it in over a year
If you are serious and the other poster doesn't want to take if off you then I'm just down the road from you and I'd happily take it off you/give you something for it.I used it regularly for a while to build up my fitness, but haven't used it in over a year
smn159 said:
You'll need an Ant+ dongle if you want to use it with a PC though - it will talk directly to a Mac but additional sensors will need the dongle.
Does the tacx flow smart and zwift work with an ipad (newest version) do you know? If so does it just use Bluetooth or does it need to be on a wifi network (I was thinking of using it in garage which is out of wifi range). DanX5 said:
Does the tacx flow smart and zwift work with an ipad (newest version) do you know? If so does it just use Bluetooth or does it need to be on a wifi network (I was thinking of using it in garage which is out of wifi range).
Yes it works and it uses Bluetooth. You will need a Bluetooth HRM for the full experience.citizenmtb said:
DanX5 said:
Does the tacx flow smart and zwift work with an ipad (newest version) do you know? If so does it just use Bluetooth or does it need to be on a wifi network (I was thinking of using it in garage which is out of wifi range).
Yes it works and it uses Bluetooth. You will need a Bluetooth HRM for the full experience.Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff