First dabble into Cycling - Turbo Trainer Question

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danm224

New Member
Hi guys,

So I've just recently within the last 12 weeks or so got into cycling to improve my fitness and so far I'm really enjoying it.

I know soon the weather will get worse and nights will get darker so i'm looking at getting a turbo trainer to try and maintain my fitness through the winter months.

A couple of smart trainers i'm looking at come with 11 speed cassettes already on them, however the bike i'm riding at the moment only has a 9 speed cassette (11-34T).

So my question is (and may be a stupid one!)... Am i better buying a turbo trainer without a cassette for cheaper and using the cassette from my rear wheel, or can you "adapt" the 11 speed cassette on the trainer to remove a couple of cogs to make it a 9 speed cassette or is it not as simple as that? As i'm assuming I can't just attach my bike and start riding due to the difference in speeds?

Any help would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.
 

Garry A

Calibrating.....
Location
Grangemouth
I bought an identical cassette and left it on the turbo. 9 speed. Why do turbo manufacturers assume everyone is on 11 speed?
9 speed chain won't work on 11 speed cassette as it's too thick for the gaps between cogs.
 
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D

Deleted member 26715

Guest
Here comes the voice of doom & gloom, before you shell out £1K on a turbo trainer make sure that it will suit you, it is so boring, not that's an exaggeration, it makes boring look exciting, it is mind numbing dull even the all singing all dancing IT ones, but it's all a personal choice some people love them/it, personally I don't see the point in riding a bike to nowhere, I have to be outside & going somewhere, even if it's back to where I started in a roundabout way.
 

Trull

Über Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
Here comes the voice of doom & gloom, before you shell out £1K on a turbo trainer make sure that it will suit you, it is so boring, not that's an exaggeration, it makes boring look exciting, it is mind numbing dull even the all singing all dancing IT ones, but it's all a personal choice some people love them/it, personally I don't see the point in riding a bike to nowhere, I have to be outside & going somewhere, even if it's back to where I started in a roundabout way.
I found that problem too, however, since I joined (please forgive the plug) Aberdeen Dynamo [Abz-Dyn] in ZwiftPower the banter is great. There's a Messenger live chat to get everyone on the start line and then we see how we ride from there. Just like a regular 10TT half the time is prep+ race and the other half is celebrating/commiserating via the chat afterwards. So, for me the experience comes a lot closer to being as engaging as a real bike ride.

The key for me was to find local bike riders to make an online team and use Zwift.
 
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