How do you use turbo trainers

[thunderlips76]

Hi there, probably a stupid one. So I'm watching the GCN turbo training videos on youtube, the're pretty good but..... Do you keep your bike in one gear and just adjust the resistance, or can you change gear (at the same resistance ) if struggling, as you would on the road?

 

[Fubar]

Hi there, probably a stupid one. So I'm watching the GCN turbo training videos on youtube, the're pretty good but..... Do you keep your bike in one gear and just adjust the resistance, or can you change gear (at the same resistance ) if struggling, as you would on the road?

You can do either, it depends on the turbo but generally changing the resistance on the turbo will be noticeable (ie noticeably harder or easier, like going uphill or downhill) whilst changing gear on the bike will be, just like changing gear on a bike!

I keep a note of Resistance and Gearing for each session I do and try to do the same each time, so the effort is comparable (along with cadence, bpm, avg speed, etc).

 

[smokeysmoo]

You can use the resistance settings but IME they aren't enough on their own so you use the bike gears as well.

 

[numbnuts]

I like to do interval training, I have a small kitchen timer digital and I warm up first and then either lower the gears or put up the resistance and do that for say a minute or two and then back to a steady pace, I normally do that for about an hour. I also have a heart rate monitor and cadence which can be very helpful

 

[mcshroom]

I find using gears more natural than the resistance thingy, so tend to just use those.

Usually my routine with turbo trainers is 'get on, get bored, find waterproof, go out for a proper ride instead' though so I'm not sure how much help I am

 

[nethfel]

I use a Wahoo KICKR, and I usually either automagically through software control or manually change the resistance of the trainer and I vary the gears based upon the resistance of the unit and the type of effort I want to put in and what I have the trainer simulating (ie: if I have it simulating a hill, I tend to be in a lower gear )

 

[welsh dragon]

I use both the resistance and the gears. As said above using the resistance only isn't enough. Use the gears when watching the videos as if you are going uphill or downhil as you would on the open road.

 

[burndust]

I use a Wahoo KICKR, and I usually either automagically through software control or manually change the resistance of the trainer and I vary the gears based upon the resistance of the unit and the type of effort I want to put in and what I have the trainer simulating (ie: if I have it simulating a hill, I tend to be in a lower gear )

How do you change resistance manually on the kickr. ...i thought it was all software controlled

 

[nethfel]

It is software controlled, but what I mean by manually - if you use the Wahoo Fitness app itself to control the KICKR, you're not necessarily following a preset segment or routine - instead there are a set of controls that you can select what your resistance is (based on how you want to control it like targeted watts, level, resistance %, wind/grade, etc.) so in that sense, it is a manual control - you tell the software what you want it to be and the software sets the KICKR for it. It's not manual control like a dial on the unit itself, just manual control via software.

 

[burndust]

Ah I understand