Turbo trainer help please

[Alicemaylara]

Hi
Given it looks like I will be locked in my home for three months(!) I have purchased a turbo trainer for my bike. But it's basic and I now want to see if I can use any apps on my phone to make it more exciting for example tracking my distance, speed, or doing virtual rides.
I bought a Clarke CCTI Italian Bike Trainer so my question is, what other gadgets do I need? I have heard of Bluetooth sensors and power metres but I'm a bit confused on what I need!
Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Slioch]

Because your bike will be stationery, just having an App on your phone won't be any good because there is no movement to measure. You need some additional gizmo's attached to your bike, which measure movement on the rear wheel (as that will be the only one that's going around).

Depends how much you want to spend.

This one at about £25 should be able to measure basic speed and distance: https://www.wiggle.co.uk/cateye-velo-wireless-plus-cycle-computer/

If you want a few more bells and whistles, then £70 gets you this. It can also measure cadence (which I find useful on a turbo trainer), and also does clever things whilst connected to your smartphone. Make sure you get all the necessary bits to attach to your bike. https://www.wiggle.co.uk/cateye-padrone-smart/

Brands other than Cateye are also available.

 

[biggs682]

@Alicemaylara all I am doing is measuring my time pedalling

 

[rivers]

Speed and cadence sensor and a subscription to zwift should do it. It's the set-up I have at the minute, and while not as fun as riding outside with my mates, at least I can ride with my mates inside.

 

[crossfire]

I bought a cheap cycle computer £10 from Halfords and fitted it to the back wheel, bit of bodging needed to get it close enough but it gives distance and time, also speed though trying to keep at 20 is not easy, and my fitbit gives heartrate

 

[Alicemaylara]

Thank you to all for your suggestions and how your set ups work. I’ll take a look at them all and decide.
I await an app with Virtual Reality so I can enjoy some adventurous rides from the safety of my bedroom!

 

[boydj]

What I generally do on the turbo is sessions of between 30 to 60 minutes and I usually do intervals to make them reasonably hard and make the time pass a bit faster. If I want a steady session, I take a book in there and set up a shelf close enough to be able to read and turn pages but out of the way of the sweat that tends to drip after a while.

On the other hand, I've been out and about on the bike quite a bit in the last couple of weeks - making sure to stay well away from anybody else and making the most of the good weather we've been having. There's no reason for not going out on a solo ride, unless you're isolating because you've been exposed to the virus.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Just read the basic manual for your trainer. Looks like it’s magnetic and has 7 resistance levels via a remote lever operated / mounted on your handlebars?

How about?

Get yourself a HR strap and a bike computer than can be mounted on your handlebars and show your HR.

Experiment with the resistance levels to find out which suit your natural cadence for levels of effort as indicated by HR display. Turbos do generally prefer higher cadences for smoother operation.

Choose an easier resistance level that still gets you working where you can just about hold a conversation (talk to yourself to find out). Note HR range and resistance level this occurs at. Call this your lower intensity session and try and do at least an hour a day at this effort level. Watch TV box sets or films whilst doing this workout.

Now turn up the resistance to the point you’re beginning to breath more heavily and can’t hold a conversation. Be conservative at first, not too hard. This is your higher intensity session. Listen to music or podcasts during this session. Keep these sessions short, perhaps 30 mins at high intensity with a 10 min warm up and 5 min cool down.

If after a few weeks it begins to feel too easy then try upping the resistance level or pedalling faster so your Heart Rate gets back to where it was when you started.

Try to mostly do the low intensity sessions with the high intensity at most once or twice a week with at least two days between the latter.

This will be enough to keep you fit and healthy whilst confined to your house.

 

[pbkclements]

Hi
Given it looks like I will be locked in my home for three months(!) I have purchased a turbo trainer for my bike. But it's basic and I now want to see if I can use any apps on my phone to make it more exciting for example tracking my distance, speed, or doing virtual rides.
I bought a Clarke CCTI Italian Bike Trainer so my question is, what other gadgets do I need? I have heard of Bluetooth sensors and power metres but I'm a bit confused on what I need!
Any help would be much appreciated.

Sorry to 'freeload' on you're thread; I can't add anything on gadget recommendations, but just a quick question - did you buy your trainer online or from a shop ? - I'm looking for one for the same reasons, but think I'm maybe to slow off the start line as no one has stock.

Good luck with it anyway & hope it does the job.

 

[Fubar]

Hi
Given it looks like I will be locked in my home for three months(!) I have purchased a turbo trainer for my bike. But it's basic and I now want to see if I can use any apps on my phone to make it more exciting for example tracking my distance, speed, or doing virtual rides.
I bought a Clarke CCTI Italian Bike Trainer so my question is, what other gadgets do I need? I have heard of Bluetooth sensors and power metres but I'm a bit confused on what I need!
Any help would be much appreciated.

IF you can't get any of the tech to work with an app (not saying you won't), you could always follow a structured online turbo session on your basic trainer - I've not personally used them but I know my friend does, GCN have a YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/globalcyclingnetwork/videos

and I'm sure there are others available - the standard British Cycling 20 minute warm up is also useful to do before you start. just spinning on a turbo is quite dull, so a structured session makes it much more interesting - go for short ones to begin with so you don't get totally scunnered! Good luck

 

[Kestevan]

Have a look at Zwift (if you haven't already), turns a boring turbo session into something a bit more enjoyable.

 

[Alicemaylara]

Just read the basic manual for your trainer. Looks like it’s magnetic and has 7 resistance levels via a remote lever operated / mounted on your handlebars?

How about?

Get yourself a HR strap and a bike computer than can be mounted on your handlebars and show your HR.

Experiment with the resistance levels to find out which suit your natural cadence for levels of effort as indicated by HR display. Turbos do generally prefer higher cadences for smoother operation.

Choose an easier resistance level that still gets you working where you can just about hold a conversation (talk to yourself to find out). Note HR range and resistance level this occurs at. Call this your lower intensity session and try and do at least an hour a day at this effort level. Watch TV box sets or films whilst doing this workout.

Now turn up the resistance to the point you’re beginning to breath more heavily and can’t hold a conversation. Be conservative at first, not too hard. This is your higher intensity session. Listen to music or podcasts during this session. Keep these sessions short, perhaps 30 mins at high intensity with a 10 min warm up and 5 min cool down.

If after a few weeks it begins to feel too easy then try upping the resistance level or pedalling faster so your Heart Rate gets back to where it was when you started.

Try to mostly do the low intensity sessions with the high intensity at most once or twice a week with at least two days between the latter.

This will be enough to keep you fit and healthy whilst confined to your house.

Amazing help! Thank you. that’s the sort of easy training advice I need!

 

[Alicemaylara]

Sorry to 'freeload' on you're thread; I can't add anything on gadget recommendations, but just a quick question - did you buy your trainer online or from a shop ? - I'm looking for one for the same reasons, but think I'm maybe to slow off the start line as no one has stock.

Good luck with it anyway & hope it does the job.

I randomly got it from a website called ‘Power Tools Direct’. And comes today after 2 day wait so great service! Although I also found one on Decathlon which was slightly cheaper and would highly recommend them too. Good luck!!

 

[Alicemaylara]

IF you can't get any of the tech to work with an app (not saying you won't), you could always follow a structured online turbo session on your basic trainer - I've not personally used them but I know my friend does, GCN have a YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/globalcyclingnetwork/videos

and I'm sure there are others available - the standard British Cycling 20 minute warm up is also useful to do before you start. just spinning on a turbo is quite dull, so a structured session makes it much more interesting - go for short ones to begin with so you don't get totally scunnered! Good luck

Thank you 😊 so much helpful information from everyone. 🚲

 

[wajc]

Reading this thread has inspired my curiosity in to looking at Zwift myself - I found some useful web pages that I've linked to. I've also had a quick look at the Clarke CCTI Italian Bike Trainer and it is a classic (dumb) trainer similar to my Elite Chronofluid.

How to get started on Zwift with a classic trainer

Supported trainers

The important issue here is that your trainer is not one of the ones supported by Zwift, by that I mean they have no data for your trainer to use within their app regarding power levels (it could make you look like Chris Froome and it will upset the natives ) so something like Zwift might not be an option unless you invested in an actual power meter for the bike, a Zwift compatible smart trainer or a Classic trainer that is on the Zwift list. These will cost more than your original trainer.

Zwift Set Up

You could get something like a Garmin 500 with a speed sensor and heart rate strap. This is the setup I currently use with my trainer - although I'm not on Zwift (I would need an ANT + dongle to enable my Garmin 500 to connect to my PC to enable me to do this) .

However I can see my stats whilst I'm 'riding' and record these stats (speed, cadence, heart rate, distance, time etc) and upload it to Strava to have a look at later - other sites may be available.

Garmin 500s can be had pretty cheaply now as it's very much old tech (2nd hand from ebay is a starting point) . Choose an ANT + compatible heart rate strap (not essential unless you want to know your heart rate) and a speed sensor (essential, otherwise you won't be able to track your 'speed' on the trainer) - they don't need to be Garmin Branded and they will be much cheaper if they are not.

The other option which has already been suggested is to keep it really simple which has a lot going for it unless you want to start spending.

Because your bike will be stationery, just having an App on your phone won't be any good because there is no movement to measure. You need some additional gizmo's attached to your bike, which measure movement on the rear wheel (as that will be the only one that's going around).

Depends how much you want to spend.

This one at about £25 should be able to measure basic speed and distance: https://www.wiggle.co.uk/cateye-velo-wireless-plus-cycle-computer/