Turbo Trainer Advice Needed!

[midlandsgrimpeur]

One thing you may notice (as do a lot of people, myself included), it can feel a lot harder than cycling on the rode to begin with. There are various theories as to why this is but it can be quite noticeable. When I first had one years ago it took about 3 months of regular use to be able to get close to my outdoor exertion levels (measured with power). Even today my power levels are about 10% lower than they are on the road. As above, a fan is also a must, unless you want to drip sweat all over the place!

 

[Dorset Boy]

To those that find it boring on a turbo, that's exactly why Zwift is so successful. It's immersive and if you engage with the social element then the time passes much quicker.
£17-99 pm is a bargain.
Or for a less social platform (due to lower numbers) then Mywhoosh is free.

I'd say buy a direct drive smart trainer every time. There's a reason wheel on ones are so cherap second hand - no one wants one anymore as the price of smart trainers has fallen significantly in the last couple of years.

 

[Animo]

Those old style dumb trainers do incredible things to the fabric of space time. You feel like you've been riding for an hour but actually only two minutes have passed.

 

[T4tomo]

One thing you may notice (as do a lot of people, myself included), it can feel a lot harder than cycling on the rode to begin with.

Yes quite clearly it is because you have resistance on the whole time, and don't get to coast and freewheel down hills.

As a rule of thumb half an hour on the trainer is worth an hour on the road.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Just to clarify one point: You can get wheel-on smart trainers.

A "smart" trainer is one that interacts with some kind of app that controls the resistance for workouts or simulations.
A "dumb" trainer is one where either there is no variable resistance, or where you manually set the resistance and it stays that way until you change it.

A "wheel-on" trainer is one that you put the whole bike in, including the rear wheel. Wheel-on trainers can be smart trainers. Some are, some aren't.
A "direct-drive" trainer has its own cassette and replaces the rear wheel. I think pretty much all direct-drive trainers are smart.

One or two posts above suggested that only direct drive trainers are smart trainers (or maybe I misinterpreted them)

 

[Drago]

To those that find it boring on a turbo, that's exactly why Zwift is so successful. It's immersive and if you engage with the social element then the time passes much quicker.

So much like actually riding a bike then?

 

[Sharky]

On my "dumb" trainer and using a fairly small gear, about 68". I warm up for about 5 minutes at a steady pace. Then for one minute, ride as fast as I can, trying to reach 100rpm, then go back to a steady pace for the next minute, then repeat for 5 or 6 repetitions, then a 5 minute gentle warm down.

This lasts about 30 minutes, which is more than enough. And I only do this when bad weather stops me getting out on the road.

 

[KuroSan]

On my "dumb" trainer and using a fairly small gear, about 68". I warm up for about 5 minutes at a steady pace. Then for one minute, ride as fast as I can, trying to reach 100rpm, then go back to a steady pace for the next minute, then repeat for 5 or 6 repetitions, then a 5 minute gentle warm down.

This lasts about 30 minutes, which is more than enough. And I only do this when bad weather stops me getting out on the road.

This is essentially what I'll be doing, I'm not training for any sort of race, nor am i looking to be cycling 100 miles in a day, I just want to make sure I keep my creaky old self moving over the winter so I don't find myself back at square one again next summer and only being able to do the same 6 mile loop every day lol

The other alternative is eventually getting an E-bike which would take some of the strain off my knees and hip, although to be honest cycling in this part of South London is a bit grim in the summer, so doing it in winter is like going north of the wall!

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

One thing you may notice (as do a lot of people, myself included), it can feel a lot harder than cycling on the rode to begin with. There are various theories as to why this is but it can be quite noticeable. When I first had one years ago it took about 3 months of regular use to be able to get close to my outdoor exertion levels (measured with power). Even today my power levels are about 10% lower than they are on the road. As above, a fan is also a must, unless you want to drip sweat all over the place!

With a good fan and plenty of fluid while riding, I found it was possible to get very similar indoor and outdoor numbers within a few weeks.

 

[fossyant]

So much like actually riding a bike then?

No, not really, and it costs you extra

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

With a good fan and plenty of fluid while riding, I found it was possible to get very similar indoor and outdoor numbers within a few weeks.

Yeah, some people don't struggle. Took me a lot longer.

 

[Binky]

To those that find it boring on a turbo, that's exactly why Zwift is so successful. It's immersive and if you engage with the social element then the time passes much quicker.
£17-99 pm is a bargain.
Or for a less social platform (due to lower numbers) then Mywhoosh is free.

I'd say buy a direct drive smart trainer every time. There's a reason wheel on ones are so cherap second hand - no one wants one anymore as the price of smart trainers has fallen significantly in the last couple of years.

I've tried Zwift several times and I thought it was boring to be honest and this was using a smart trainer.
I use a wheel on dumb trainer and ride along to cycling workout videos downloaded from YouTube, likes of CTX training etc. Yes it's boring as well but I honestly find it better than Zwift.
I've been tempted to finally get a smart trainer and use something like Fulgas which is "real world" cycling application which appeals more to me.
Millions though love Zwift but I'm not one of them.

 

[Dorset Boy]

I've tried Zwift several times and I thought it was boring to be honest and this was using a smart trainer.
I use a wheel on dumb trainer and ride along to cycling workout videos downloaded from YouTube, likes of CTX training etc. Yes it's boring as well but I honestly find it better than Zwift.
I've been tempted to finally get a smart trainer and use something like Fulgas which is "real world" cycling application which appeals more to me.
Millions though love Zwift but I'm not one of them.

In what way did you find it boring? (Genuinely curious)
As I say, I feel the key is to engage in the social aspect. Find social rides that suit your level and use the chat. Ride at a fairly consistent time of day and start to recognise riders that do the same.
I appereciate that being sociable isn't for everyone, but it really makes the time go by quicker.

 

[Binky]

In what way did you find it boring? (Genuinely curious)
As I say, I feel the key is to engage in the social aspect. Find social rides that suit your level and use the chat. Ride at a fairly consistent time of day and start to recognise riders that do the same.
I appereciate that being sociable isn't for everyone, but it really makes the time go by quicker.

The animation I suppose, doesn't appeal at all. I didn't get into social side but I don't care about that really although maybe if I had I'd find it better.
When you say chat, do you actually talk or writing messages? I know a few mates use Discourse I think it is to talk to other riders.

 

[<Tommy>]

I've tried Zwift several times and I thought it was boring to be honest and this was using a smart trainer.
I use a wheel on dumb trainer and ride along to cycling workout videos downloaded from YouTube, likes of CTX training etc. Yes it's boring as well but I honestly find it better than Zwift.
I've been tempted to finally get a smart trainer and use something like Fulgas which is "real world" cycling application which appeals more to me.
Millions though love Zwift but I'm not one of them.

It sounds like I had more success than you regarding Zwift. But In the end I found the racing culture a little unhealthy, people endlessly gaming the (flawed) system. And I was never really keen on the Mario kart elements. But each to their own really.

But if you do get a smart trainer I’d highly recommend trying rouvy. The videos are really excellent in my opinion and there’s lots of iconic climbs to go at.