Which turbo trainer ?

John Young

John Young

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I am thinking of buying a turbo trainer for my bike for the winter months. I understand there is a type that's quieter to use so that would be good.

I don't want to spend a fortune, don't need top brand names or something that's the price of a new bike

Any recommendations please ?
 
As a non bike rider (ok, apart from motorbikes 50 years ago) what is a turbo trainer?
Just curious that's all...
 
Try and borrow one for a while, see if you get on with it... It's a thoroughly miserable activity, and lots of people buy a trainer, only to find they'd sooner stick their hand in the waste disposal unit instead.

If you like it, get hold of a decent trainer, that's compatible with Zwift Which is a virtual riding/racing/training software program, which will at least provide some interaction and distraction while you spin away in your garage or conservatory...
 
Yeah not sure I can add much as to say its miserable on a turbo trainer, I used one for a few years and would say try and borrow one first.
 
TheBigYin said:
Try and borrow one for a while, see if you get on with it... It's a thoroughly miserable activity, and lots of people buy a trainer, only to find they'd sooner stick their hand in the waste disposal unit instead.

If you like it, get hold of a decent trainer, that's compatible with Zwift Which is a virtual riding/racing/training software program, which will at least provide some interaction and distraction while you spin away in your garage or conservatory...
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Mr Bump said:
Yeah not sure I can add much as to say its miserable on a turbo trainer, I used one for a few years and would say try and borrow one first.
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Thank you both.....

Yeah I have tried one before (my brothers) and I agree its not exactly exciting - just like an exercise bike but its an option to keep 'fitter' over the winter when I can't get out......

My brothers was magnetic and quite noisy so I was looking at something quieter - I understand the fluid versions are quieter - is this correct from personal use ? :thinking:
 
I have a Cyclops trainer which I bought from Wiggle about five years ago, and it still works fine. You shouldn't have to pay more than £100 for a decent trainer
This is the kind of thing I have.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/...gclid=CMvfyP2azsgCFerpwgod6BED2g&gclsrc=aw.ds

The way to make turbo training more interesting, is to look at a TV or computer at cycling videos, and do intervals, anything which breaks the monotony.
 
in word or two words "mountain bike" for winter that's my goto, big cheap lights and some cheap Aldi gear :-)
 
I've actually got one of the Tacx Bushido computrainers - its basically a turbo, with an in-built powermeter, variable resistance that can be controlled by a linked computer and it's pretty damned brilliant - it links with DVD based training videos, which are proper HD quality visuals, that link to the trainer - so the faster you pedal, the faster you go - and conversely, the more uphill the video goes, the harder the resistance becomes to pedalling - stick one of these on the laptop, pair the laptops display to a big screen HD telly or a projector, and it's incredibly immersive, and is the only way to keep me on the trainer for more than 90 minutes at a time.


But they're not cheap. Tacx trainer hardware is good though, and a cheaper option would be something like this - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/tacx-blue-matic-folding-trainer/ - which, if you've got a ANT+ rear-wheel speed sensor (and preferably also a HR belt and cadence sensor) it'll work with the aforementioned ZWIFT with the addition of a small ANT+ usb "dongle".

(I'm currently in the throes of a Cardio Rehabilitation program at the moment - having had a "near miss" with a blocked artery about 7 weeks ago, and I've basically been told it's unlikely I'll be out on the bike for the next month or two, and that indoor riding is likely to be a major part of my future this winter - so I'm grateful that the Bushido and Zwift will provide some much needed "eye candy / distraction" while I'm churning out the Km's indoors this winter. Best yet, it even links my rides into Strava (some of you may have spotted a couple of "virtual rides" from me if you're members of the TP Cycling group over there...) and even does a certain amount of analysis - like this (don't laugh at how slow/weak the power figures are - remember - this is only 6 weeks from having 2 bits of metal inserted into my heart...)

2015-10-14_1228260 by The Big Yin, on Flickr

2015-10-15_1247130 by The Big Yin, on Flickr
 
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I am unable to ride a cycle due to disability but can row to a fashion - one thing that has always puzzled me is that there is no linkage to a fan which could provide apparent wind to cool you down as you work.
Just my 2p
 
well - it depends on which "magnetic" ones you're talking about - apparently the new Tacx Neo is pretty much silent - it's direct drive, replaces the back-wheel completely, and uses magnetic resistance from a series of neodymium magnets and a rotating motor to provide a variable resistance up to a level of 2000W (apparently - so, capable of handling TdF sprinters at their max-outputs). Of course, it's over a grand... I quite fancy one though - probably because it looks like something that Darth Vader would climb into and fly across the Stars in...

Tacx-NEO-Smart-e1438944378580-1068x640.jpg


Most of the noise on a turbo comes from the bike itself, the drive chain, and the interaction of the wheel with the roller - some of them use different material in the roller to "damp" the noise somewhat - Tacx for example use what appears to be a Delrin splindle with a stainless steel sleeve as a wearing surface... Price isn't always an indication of noise level either - for example the Lemond Revolution model is about £400 but it sounds like they took the entirety of WW1 and WW2, compressed the noise into a 1 hour burst and broadcasted it in a Telephone Box. A good Trainer Mat will help damp the noise if you're riding on wooden or laminate floors, AND it'll save having to explain the embarrasing stains on the carpet if you're not riding on something mop-able. You also need to budget for a fan. or two. Big ones. Ideally something like this or this
 
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As Mark says there are a lot of things that make noise even the floor can vibe, also the tyre you use.
You can get a trainer tyre as well which will help, I found most of the noise on mine was whoosh of spokes and aslo you need to get one of those stretchy bike thongs to stop sweat drips.
 
neil_g said:
I prefered rollers over a trainer personally. Worth a look.
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depends on the workout you're looking for I guess - rollers are great for developing "souplesse" - especially if you're riding them on a proper fixed gear track-bike, and they're great for keeping you involved (because if you mentally drift off, the chances are you'll physically drift off he rollers as well and break your neck), but they're tough to do hill-climbing intervals on - say 8 x 4 minute 70rpm and 300W sessions - I can cheerfuly program that resistance into the TTS software on my Tacx and whatever gear I attach the intervals at, it'll adjust the resistance to keep to 300w - so I can simply change gear to get my cadence as required.

I would add that my experience on rollers was 30 years or more ago, and these days there are a few roller-setups that have defineable resitance profiles (some of them even ergometer linked with computers iirc) - but tbh, now I'm not racing / Time Trialling and needing them for a pre-race warmup at the back of the race HQ, I'm not really interested anymore.
 
Rollers are interesting I started on a pair that were gifted to me and soon found out why after coming off a few times :-)

Check ebay and gumtree for the model you fancy there must be someone moving them on.
 
I remember using rollers each Winter back in the late seventies, early eighties, and they were great for keeping cadence up, and as Mark says - "souplesse", the silky smooth pedaling action.
However with the arrival of turbo trainers they are pretty much redundant, because you can do everything on a turbo plus a lot more.
I used to mix up the interval training, so that one session may be short, hard efforts (10 seconds to 30 seconds) on a big gear, then longer intervals (5 minutes) at above race pace in a race gear. Then you could try cadence intervals, which could help raise you overall cadence in any given gear. I used to warm up for five to ten minutes in a low gear (42 x 18), then use 42 x 15 at 120 - 125 rpm for 5, 10, 15 minutes or 42 x 16 for longer.
 
Mr Bump said:
Tacx sale on @ http://www.probikekit.co.uk/brands/tacx.list
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must admit, I'm slightly tempted by the prospect of upgrading to the new "smart" version of the Bushido... the whole "open ANT+ FE-C" control aspect of the new one allowing full ergometer-coupled use with apps like Zwift and TrainerRoad. Plus, my old Bushdo is getting a little long in the tooth and the bearings/tyre contact roller are definitely showing the signs of 4 very hard winters of use and abuse...
 
Mr Bump said:
@TheBigYin get yer wallet flexed tight wad :)
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To be honest, if the Cardio Rehab team at Pinderfields would actually get me on a proper "ECG Stress Test" to establish a true HrMax figure for me with the current cocktail of beta-blockers they've got me swallowing after having a couple of stents fitted, then I'd be more open to spending money on cycling apparatus - while they're still humm-ing and hah-ing about if and how much I can exercise, spending money on additional kit isn't really an option.
 
well that's fair enough is suppose, I can understand that, stents,,,,sheeeeet :-(
 
Mr Bump said:
well that's fair enough is suppose, I can understand that, stents,,,,sheeeeet :-(
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not as bad as it sounds - they found a weakness in one of the arteries, that had been agravated by a bout of pericarditis 6 months ago, and caused a partial blockage. Once that blockage was cleared the stents were simply fitted to keep the artery open and provide a little support while the weakness healed of its own accord. The ridiculous list of meds. is basically to keep things stable for a few months until the artery wall "grows through/over" the stents and the weak-spot becomes as strong/stronger than the rest. Medics say I was actually very lucky to find the problem when it happened, as I've avoided any permanent damage to the heart muscles, and should make a complete recovery - it's just that it's taking a little longer to get all the OK's to begin doing something on the exercise front than I was originally assured it'd take.
 
Ah then that's a win win I guess in a round about way its a good job they found it. I had a mate who was diving for years until a routine medical found he had a hole in his heart between two chambers, can't remember the full term for it but he was limited to 6 metres until some procedure.
 
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