Turbo trainers

[Blodwyn Pig]

I used to have a basic one, and did use it, prob 15 years ago, but had nowhere to set it up really, especially if weather was bad. But had a clear out in the double garage and got rid of our old Spitfire, so now plenty of room to set it up next to the tandem and the ‘76 VW camper. Wiggle have them on special at an astonishing £14.99 !!!  So very tempted, but will I use it?  Hmmm.

[PaulF]

I had a dumb trainer and found it hard to motivate myself on it for more than 30 minutes. I replaced with a smart trainer and a Swift account. The game aspect and teh virtual routes mean I engage more and use it more regularly. But that setup is the other end of the price scale from what you're looking at!

[Blodwyn Pig]

URGENT UPDATE !!!!!

I had another look at the advert, and yes it’s £14.99 !  BUT …….there is a voucher code……EXTRA10,    , and yes it works, …..so just bought one for £16.49 incl £3.49 delivery….. ………..”I likes a bargain, I does”

[toontra]

If it's not "fun" it's unlikely to get you motivated.  I use a Kickr with Rouvy for the visuals. Plenty of fan action plus music on the headphones makes the whole thing quite civilised, even enjoyable!

Discovering trainers was one of the (very few) benefits of the 2020 lockdowns.

[ElyDave]

I' with the smart trainer crowd and BigRingVR.  I rode in New Zealand and Norway in the same weekend last week.

[Snakehips]

I have the dumbest of dumb devices, even less sophisticated than Wiggle's £14.99 jobbie (imagine that!) , with a Wahoo Blue SC on an old bike  in the front room. I motivate myself by looking out of the window at the rain, wind, ice on the bird bath etc, and by creating new playlists. Since I started using this setup earlier this year I've done about a hundred rides of between 20 and 30 minutes , clocking up 10 to 15 'miles' each time.

[Kim]

Have one, use it rarely, consider it money well spent.

It does the jobs I needed it to do, vis holding the bike still while performing voodoo ergonomics in a controlled environment, and facilitating pedal-based phsyioterrorism in the early stages of recovery where stamina is unpredictable and liable to leave you stranded in the event of an actual Bike Ride™.

What I don't use it for is Tr**n*ng; I'd rather do an hour in the cold and pish than going nowhere.  I'm not sure if computer games would be an improvement, in this regard.

[toontra]

  I'm not sure if computer games would be an improvement, in this regard.

Certainly is for me.  E.g. With Rouvy you have high-quality video from hundreds of actual routes around the world, some fairly spectacular.  It's surprisingly engrossing, and you can choose to "compete" with other riders (real and virtual) on that route.  You need to have a smart trainer to get the most out it though.

[JonB]

Hmmm, I think I'm somewhere between 1 and 2 - I don't use it often (just started again now as the weather has worsened) but go through phases so I don't think it's a waste of money, despite voting for 2. I use it with Trainer Road which is completely uninteresting on a visual level but it does keep me engaged for an hour at a time, I've not tried Zwift partly because it doesn't appeal and partly because the wi-fi doesn't reach the garage. The Trainer is an Elite Drivo which I've found not to be that smart but it does a job, if I do end up using it more I might go for something a little more sophistocated when, or if, it does wear out.

[drossall]

The one posted by Blodwyn Pig is a remarkable price. In a way it's less basic than mine, which doesn't even have a resistance control. But I've voted for regular usage because mine is sufficient for my Zwifting. There's already a good Zwift thread though, so let's not repeat that.

[Lightning Phil]

Have a smart trainer and it got regular use. Then I got a power meter crank in Black Friday sales last year.  Training shifted outdoors. I’m sure the trainer will get some use over winter. But still heading outdoors for now.

[FifeingEejit]

I have one in the garage
It's -5 out there
Luckily yesterday was "cycle" day and today is "rest", tomorrow is "physio", it's not forecast to warm up on Sunday so I guess I'll need to run the wee heater next to it for a couple of hours again.

Suggestions on better heat options for a garage than a 1kw oil filled radiator are welcome

[mzjo]

I have a basic Tracx (Cycle track) which I got secondhand. It is regulable but the lever has broken a bit so adjusting it is a not very slick operation. I use it a bit from time to time with either music or cycling vids on Youtube as accompaniment, not as often as I ought to (or would like to) mainly because it can't be set up permanently and I frequently don't have a suitable bike available (usually what could be made suitable is somewhere in bits in the garage). It's great fun with the recumbent but now that bike is in S in L's garage due to lack of space so that combination is unlikely to happen very soon.

Do I understand, reading some of your comments, that a basic trainer like mine can be used with Zwift or have I misunderstood? I always thought there was a dedicated Zwift trainer and that was that!

[drossall]

Do I understand, reading some of your comments, that a basic trainer like mine can be used with Zwift or have I misunderstood? I always thought there was a dedicated Zwift trainer and that was that!

Absolutely. Again, I'd refer you to the Zwift thread and suggest asking more detailed questions there, but try reading here too. You can use a dumb, wheel-on trainer, speed and cadence sensors, and a heart monitor. But I'd recommend a power meter if you can get one. That other thread starts with me using just the cadence and heart sensors, and (as one strand among many) records my moving on to the wheel with PowerTab hub that I still use now.

It doesn't really matter what dumb trainer you use. You can lie to the system about what you have but, obviously, you want to say that you've got something with characteristics as close to your actual one as possible.

[drossall]

Suggestions on better heat options for a garage than a 1kw oil filled radiator are welcome

I mostly ride on the patio. No heating there. Everyone else is spending a fortune cooling down their indoor pain caves, so I let nature do it for nothing. So, if I had the luxury of a garage, I probably wouldn't want heating in there. I raced for the club yesterday on the patio. I might be in the kitchen this weekend, mind

[Blodwyn Pig]

Just had a look at this Zwift thing……Ooooooo! £12.99 a month , don’t think I’ll be doing that.  I’ll set it up in the garage with the doors open, listening to radio 3 I think, whilst looking at it lashing down outside. If I get bored, I can stop,fettle with summit, and then make a brew, sit down in the camping chair, and chill out.

[toontra]

Just had a look at this Zwift thing……Ooooooo! £12.99 a month , don’t think I’ll be doing that.

All of these systems have trial periods - usually from 2 - 4 weeks.  You can try them all out and see what you like best without paying anything.

[grams]

As well as an initial 14 day trial, Zwift gives you a free 25 km every month. Choose a hill climb to maximise time.

[drossall]

Just had a look at this Zwift thing……Ooooooo! £12.99 a month , don’t think I’ll be doing that.  I’ll set it up in the garage with the doors open, listening to radio 3 I think, whilst looking at it lashing down outside. If I get bored, I can stop,fettle with summit, and then make a brew, sit down in the camping chair, and chill out.

I got hooked in Covid and still use it a couple of times a week. However, a basic alternative is to find suitable cycling videos on Youtube, or I think one or two of the Zwift competitors provide a basic level of video service without estimated speeds and so on that you might be able to use.

[toontra]

If you can be bothered it's possible to string together a good few months of various free trial periods.  There's then the option of using different email addresses and repeating the cycle - possibly endlessly     That's what I did until I settled on Rouvy and wanted to retain accumulated personalised data.

[ElyDave]

Just had a look at this Zwift thing……Ooooooo! £12.99 a month , don’t think I’ll be doing that.  I’ll set it up in the garage with the doors open, listening to radio 3 I think, whilst looking at it lashing down outside. If I get bored, I can stop,fettle with summit, and then make a brew, sit down in the camping chair, and chill out.

BigRing VR is about $100/yr, but you don't get to do virtual racing with that, just high-def video rides of various places. Occaisionally someone will pick the same ride as you and you can watch their little dot moving along the course and their speed/power.  I just use it as a way to tailor the session to my plan. I have a stick "steady" hours ride, another that is good for 20 min warm up, 20-25min effort, 20 min warm down.  You can also "ride" classic routes, climbs, bits of race routes etc

[De Sisti]

I didn't vote because I use these rollers* instead. You can get zwift interactive set-up ones now.

*They have resistance levels 0-1-2-3

[Genosse Brymbo]

Like De Sisti I didn't vote, because I chose rollers and a Concept2 rower (with PM5 monitor) instead.  The rollers are an older, metal-framed version of the Elite Arion, which you can now buy for double the price I paid.  I use these in an unheated garage in winter.  In summer I ride a bike on the road.

For me it's a better alternative because:

The rollers allow me to train pedalling and balance.  I use a Tabata timer mobile app to practise cadence intervals with rest phases.  During the rest phases I ride no-handed, one-handed, and single-leg drills.  The rollers also allow me to warm up before rowing.

I like that the rowing machine is just an erg, because I don't need the motivational aspect of Zwift etc, and it's easy to track training progress.  I can just formulate a winter training program and test my fitness by attempting PBs over various distances later in the schedule. It's cheap - no subscription required and Concept2 hold my training log in the cloud.  Also it trains my upper body to a greater degree than a turbo trainer.

To counteract boredom I use the mobile Spotify app with Jabra wireless earbuds.

I didn't post to start a heated debate or flame war about turbo trainers vs. rowing machines.  Rather I wanted to point out that there is at least one alternative and my reasons for choosing it.  It suits my age, preferences and budget.  I'm a male and receive my state pension in 1 month's time.  I need to counter increasing muscle loss and lack of balance between now and my actuarially-predicted demise at 86.

[De Sisti]

Like De Sisti I didn't vote, because I chose rollers and a Concept2 rower (with PM5 monitor) instead. 

I also have a concept2 row erg with a PM5

[chrisbainbridge]

I had a tacx neo used with trainerroad. I was an early adopter of trainerroad and paying about £2 a month forever.
Then we got a peloton, mainly for my wife to try.  For the first time in her life she is engaged, training regularly and enjoying it.  I sold the tacx and now do all my structured work on peloton. Advantage is that I can also do weight training with it and my stretching.
Holidays I take a set of resistance bands and still do peloton workouts.