Dedicated turbo bike - any pointers?

[Freelanderuk]

I bought the same saddle that I use on my road bike for my training bike,so it only need adjusting and breaking in

 

[si_c]

I gave up on the Aspide and am now trying a few sample saddles from my lbs. I'm sure I'll find one that suits soon enough

In exciting other news I just retook the FTP test after 6 weeks of structured training. I scored 197 last time I took it so was fairly pleased with a score of 241 this time round I think I'll have a fairly easy week next week then sign up for another training plan

It's worth noting that some of the improvement that you get in FTP tests at the start is just familiarity with the process and how to pace yourself - if you check the power output from your first FTP run with the most recent you should notice that it's a lot smoother. But that just means that you were stronger than you thought you were!

 

[NorthernDave]

Interesting thread, as I'm about to embark on a similar program - in the spare room though as we don't have a garage.

I'm thinking of buying a basic Carrera road bike as a dedicated turbo trainer bike, rather than wearing out the drive train on the carbon bike.
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/carrera-virtuoso-road-bike-51-54cm-frames

How essential are things like cadence or heart rate sensors? Will having them make a big impact on training?

 

[JhnBssll]

Interesting thread, as I'm about to embark on a similar program - in the spare room though as we don't have a garage.

I'm thinking of buying a basic Carrera road bike as a dedicated turbo trainer bike, rather than wearing out the drive train on the carbon bike.
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/carrera-virtuoso-road-bike-51-54cm-frames

How essential are things like cadence or heart rate sensors? Will having them make a big impact on training?

I think having a dedicated bike has really helped, I'd definitely recommend it. I tried to get one with a similar geometry to my existing bikes but then raised the bars a bit to get more comfortable.

A lot of the training plans ask you to ride at a certain cadence so I would say sensors are fairly important. Having said that my turbo has the cadence sensor built in so I use that. I suspect a proper sensor on the bike would be more accurate but I've found its good enough for what I want. I use a heart rate sensor religiously because I had heart failure a few years back and I like to keep an eye on things, I don't know how vital it is though for those with normal organs I dont think it's used during the workout but can be helpful to judge improvements over time - I find if you compare average watts vs average heartrate for the same workouts a few weeks apart you can judge progress

 

[JhnBssll]

Today I started another 5 week FTP builder training plan, this one will take me up to the week before Christmas. I'll probably treat myself to a week off at that point before starting again in the new year

 

[NorthernDave]

Plunge taken, trainer etc collected today and bike will be ready Saturday.

The weather forecast looks ideal for indoor cycling this weekend.

 

[JhnBssll]

I finally found a saddle I can get on with on the turbo. To get to this stage I've bought and sold two saddles and borrowed a further 5 from the lbs I settled on a Prologo Dimension 143 and have just swapped the loaner for the real deal I've also got the replacement kickr core assembled and ready to calibrate later today

 

[Freelanderuk]

I just added a new fan to my setup

 

[Aleman]

I just added a new fan to my setup

Some people take this far to seriously !!!!

 

[Freelanderuk]

There is also a Wahoo headwind fan connected to my HRM on the floor hidein behind the ipad

 

[NorthernDave]

I finally found a saddle I can get on with on the turbo. To get to this stage I've bought and sold two saddles and borrowed a further 5 from the lbs I settled on a Prologo Dimension 143 and have just swapped the loaner for the real deal I've also got the replacement kickr core assembled and ready to calibrate later today

View attachment 448028

I must admit that the saddle is the weak link in my current set up - I've done a lot of fettling and it's now OK, but not great.
Might be time to keep an eye out for a replacement.

 

[JhnBssll]

Thought I'd update this thread as my setup has come on a bit. I'm now running a Kickr 2018 direct drive trainer and Kickr Climb grade simulator.

I'm just in the process of swapping to a new 1080p HD projector - the aspect ratio is different to my old one so I've had to strip the old vinyl off the garage door but then ran out halfway through creating the new screen I joined the club zwift ride this evening and felt like I was playing tetris for an hour

New vinyl is on order, I'll be able to get it finished early next week hopefully

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Thought I'd update this thread as my setup has come on a bit. I'm now running a Kickr 2018 direct drive trainer and Kickr Climb grade simulator.

View attachment 508043

I think you could do with a longer seatpost.....

 

[JhnBssll]

Replacement vinyl arrived so I've finished the screen off

For best effect I'll have to move the bikes out of the way but I'm sure I wont bother most of the time when I'm zwifting - that will be reserved for movie nights with mrs bssll

 

[Milkfloat]

A proper screen does not cost too much and you could mount is easily to the rafters.