Turbo trainer - Wi-Fi connections?

[Gregbrowning79]

I'm thinking of putting a turbo trainer in my garage. It's 40 m away from the house and so I can't get Wi-Fi there. Am I able to set up training programs on my iPad (in the house where I have Wi-Fi) and then simply play them back in the garage, or do you need an active Wi-Fi connection during use of a smart trainer? Guidance appreciated.

 

[DCLane]

My 14yo uses a PC in one room and then transmits it to the TV using Chromecast. The cable for the turbo trainer so he can use Zwift is hard-wired to the PC though.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Can do this with zwift but with no connection there will be no other riders

 

[Heltor Chasca]

Can you plug in one or two of those relay/extender doobrees? About £15 to £20 each I think. http://www.netgear.co.uk/home/discover/wifi-range-extender/default.aspx

 

[si_c]

If the garage has power, you can use a powerline extender also.

 

[Red17]

I often turn off wifi using trainerroad once I have loaded a workout on my tablet (seems to stop it hanging when others in the house are using the wifi) although I do need to reconnect to upload when I've finished. I assume it would work similarly with an ipad.

 

[Matty T]

Hi - I use the sufferfest videos and you can download three vids and store them at any one time - maybe that might be an option if you can't get Wifi to the cave? Then just erase the one(s) completed and download more. (Sufferfest does have monthly charge tho).

 

[BikeCurious]

If the garage has power, you can use a powerline extender also.

+1 for powerline extenders. They are so easy to use, you just plug them in. It's what I use in my garage for the turbo trainer. I tried wifi extenders first but the speed was terrible. Powerline adapters all the way if you have power running to the garage. Wifi extenders won't have the 40m range you need.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Wifi can do well more than 40m if you are using a modern one.

 

[JhnBssll]

I use powerline adapters to connect the PC that runs zwift and a powerline WiFi extender for the tablet to run the companion app. They weren't installed specifically for these tasks mind, I installed them some time before the turbo went in

 

[cyberknight]

+1 for powerline extenders. They are so easy to use, you just plug them in. It's what I use in my garage for the turbo trainer. I tried wifi extenders first but the speed was terrible. Powerline adapters all the way if you have power running to the garage. Wifi extenders won't have the 40m range you need.

I found them a bit pants TBH, kept dropping the signal

 

[JhnBssll]

They've come a long way since they were first introduced; I've been using TPLink gigabit powerline adapters for a couple of years now to connect IP cameras to my CCTV recorder and they very rarely drop out - I get a signal loss warning from the recorder if they do and it generally only happens if the power trips in the garage. If it trips anywhere else the recorder turns off too so it doesnt matter

The other thing that can mess with them is old or faulty electrical equipment on the same ring; they can cause fairly significant interference to the mains power supply which temporarily knocks out the powerline adapters.