Wanting a turbo trainer that I can use online apps like Zwift etc.

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Peanut_77

Well-Known Member
Hi folks,
I'm a recreational cyclist and was wanting a turbo trainer that I can use with Zwift etc.

I've had a look at a load of trainers which range from £40 to £1000 I've done a little bit of research however I'm no expert, would it be cheaper to by a basic trainer and add a cadence & speed sensor and link up with Ant + or is it worth the money to buy one that has all that included.

I've had a look at the Tacx Vortex or Tacx Santori and you can get a decent second hand one for £100 or there abouts, this is the route I'm looking at at present however any advice or recommendations are welcome.

Cheers
Peanut
 

CXRAndy

Guru
Location
Lincs
Yes, adding Ant+ sensors to a cheap non 'power meter' trainer would work. However is you become more interested in indoor training, the experience is vastly enhanced with a 'smart power meter turbo'. Allowing automatic resistance adjustments for uphill and downhill. Plus you can then train to power and learn how to improve through training plans. Zwift has it all, workout plans, general riding, racing. If you got a friend who has a decent trainer and isn't using it currently, borrow it and experiment on Zwift for a week or two, Buy once if you can;)
 

bobinski

Legendary Member
Location
Tulse Hill
Have a look at Gp Lama’s YouTube page for an excellent review of the vortex last week, and zwiftblog on a series of articles on how to set it up.
 

Tommy2

Über Member
Location
Harrogate
If you're also planning to use/collect data whilst out on the road it would be better to use a dumb trainer indoors and then you'd be able to use the speed/cadence sensors in and out.

If you would need something to keep your interest whilst on the turbo then a smart trainer is probably the way to go.
Personally I find if I'm sticking to a plan (i.e speed/rpe/hr) then a smart trainer would likely hinder that as it will be changing gradient and resistance consistent with the terrain and not match what my plan says.
 

BurningLegs

Veteran
Personally I find if I'm sticking to a plan (i.e speed/rpe/hr) then a smart trainer would likely hinder that as it will be changing gradient and resistance consistent with the terrain and not match what my plan says.

Training apps like Zwift and Trainer Road can (and do) use a feature called ERG to actually help you to stick to a plan rather than change resistance for the terrain when it isn’t in keeping with your plan.

With ERG the trainer will ‘require’ a steady and constant wattage from you. So if you are being asked for 200 Watts and your cadence is high, the software will automatically apply a low resistance so you are pushing out 200W of power (or whatever is appropriate to your training program). If you reduce the cadence then the resistance will be increased so you still put out 200W.

This is great for training (and a huge benefit over a non-smart trainer) but it can be brutal if you are struggling in a section of training!
 

Daddy Pig

Veteran
Yes, adding Ant+ sensors to a cheap non 'power meter' trainer would work. However is you become more interested in indoor training, the experience is vastly enhanced with a 'smart power meter turbo'. Allowing automatic resistance adjustments for uphill and downhill. Plus you can then train to power and learn how to improve through training plans. Zwift has it all, workout plans, general riding, racing. If you got a friend who has a decent trainer and isn't using it currently, borrow it and experiment on Zwift for a week or two, Buy once if you can;)
Andy, you forgot to mention Bkool...
:laugh:
 
OP
OP
P

Peanut_77

Well-Known Member
Cheers fellas, quick question the smart trainer will automatically increase and decrease cadience going up hill and down hill however if I have a normal trainer and go up hill on the Zwift app how would that work? I’m assuming I would just have to pedal faster. Sorry might sound l8ke a dumb question.

Cheers
 

Daddy Pig

Veteran
Cheers fellas, quick question the smart trainer will automatically increase and decrease cadience going up hill and down hill however if I have a normal trainer and go up hill on the Zwift app how would that work? I’m assuming I would just have to pedal faster. Sorry might sound l8ke a dumb question.

Cheers
Smart trainers change resistance rather than cadence so it is harder to pedal... not sure about non smart trainers sorry!
 

CXRAndy

Guru
Location
Lincs
Smart trainer alters the resistance. Cadence is how fast the pedals go round, that is down to you to some degree and the resistance set by the trainer for the slope you're on.

A 'dumb' trainer is normally adjusted by either turning a knob to increase resistance or they have a fixed resistance and you change to a harder gear to increase your effort
 

Hagafan

New Member
Location
Durham
Check out decathlon they have a elite inertia digital turbo trainer the price looks very tempting for what spec it is.
 

Jason

Senior Member
Location
Carnaby Street
Borrowed a neighbours Garmin ant+ USB dongle on Tuesday evening.
Installed swift on laptop.
Once swift was running,it went looking for my sensors...
Speed/cadence
HRM
Started riding and did the London loop.
I also fired up the Garmin 800 to compare that against the swift measurements on my basic trainer.

On the flat sections -nothing much in it
On box hill in zwift my speed went down to 6mph, Garmin showed 13 mph
The loop on zwift recorded 6 miles total
Garmin recorded 7.3 miles
My turbo doesn't have a resistance cable/knob so I need to change gears to increase resistance.

Asked neighbour if he would sell the USB stick,and it's now mine.
Total spend £30 to bring a level of interaction to indoor cycling.
I can't justify spending hundreds on a smart turbo setup,when this gives a basic one for now.
 
Top Bottom