Swap for a road bike and turbo trainer?

I’m finding it difficult to ride a bike on the trails and manage a full time job and 2 small kids with family life. I feel my fitness has dropped massively so I’m thinking of advertising my HT for a straight swap for a road bike and trainer to Munch some k’s when the kids have gone to bed. Anyone else do this? I know TTs are boring as but at least I can do some training? Bad idea or….?

Suppose I could stick some slicks on the HT?

why not get a turbo and put the hardtail on it?

A turbo is definitely the way forward to try and keep up some fitness. I’ve got a really basic one but it does what I need it to do. I just use the GCN training videos, they’re alright.

You can go really over the top with kit but if I were you I’d get a cheap one and a trainer tyre for your HT and try it out. You can upgrade if you get into it more.

IME for riding a turbo it does not matter what bike you use it will be boring 😉

Personally I commuted and dedicated one night per week for riding

My fitness suffered but the trails were going nowhere and one day my kids would be grown up

Training for what? Riding more boring turbo? I’d rather be chunky and ride my hardtail less, but still ride it at least. 😀

Just get a turbo and a dedicated back wheel for the hardtail innit.

I’d suggest trying some different tyres on the hardtail first, find some suitable local circuits and if you have a suitable gadget, keep a record on Strava. It will be a tad cheaper than buying a new bike and then seeing if works for you. 😉

I’m currently trying to spend more time outdoors on the bike, not just because I’m not too keen on cycle commuting in the winter at ~0600, but also to try and continue regaining some fitness plus try to counteract my typical weight gain from SAD carb cravings. Did just short of 10 miles a little earlier on my Marathon Cross skinny setup, my biggest ride this year, the hills on the extended route almost killed me! 😆
http://www.strava.com/activities/840547109

Training for what?

next spring/summer? Keeping enough fitness to bang out some decent length rides as soon as the trails dry out is a good idea imo. Don’t think a turbo would provide that for me tho, but needs must I guess. If you can get out for a ride, ride, if you’ve only got an hour I guess a turbo will offer 1 hour of pedalling (as opposed to gearing up getting out briefly then spending longer cleaning).

If possible, commuting by bike is a good way to get you saddle time

I’m almost in the same place as you but my answer was lights.

Ride at night when the darlings sleep and now oldest is 12 wants to night ride with his dad = way cool.

Stick with it. Kids grow up.

James

Doh duplicated.

James

I proper 1 hour session on a turned will give you a load of fitness, or like me make you throw the turbo in a skip.

If it works for you…I run instead

Wash your flithy mouth out.
Now go and stand in the corner and consider the consequences of your actions young man. Face the wall.

What kayak says, what’s the point in being fit to do more turbo?.

Go to spin classes.

I never said I was training for anything.

I work 5 mins from home.

Drivers are terrible here, even more so at night (why would I need lights on, I have a Landcruiser, can’t you see ME?)

Time is a huge factor so spin classes would mean getting kit together, going to a class etc. Not always possible when the kids decide “I’m not tired!”

I **** hate running.

I just figured that having a turbo trainer would enable me to just have a half hour blast when I could.

Are there no loops you could do that barely involve traffic? My faourite loop, that I extended yesterday, has a lot of off-road, think less than 6 cars past me on the second half.

same situation for me with work and kids and dogs etc.

I got a turbo last winter and signed up to zwift. Best way for me to fit in some midweek excercise. Without it there are times when i can go four or five weeks without being able to get on a bike.

I’ve just got out the other side of kids, in that they are old enough to do their own thing and I get some time back. My cycling suffered hugely for quite a while as they took precedent. IME, anything you do is futile. Kids are rightly all consuming!

Edit, don’t ditch the hardtail, I ‘ditched’ my most loved Scott Endorphin and regret it almost continually.

Don’t sell the hardtail, sell the kids!

I’d not ridden for 3 years after this latest munchkin came along, to the point I’d sold everything apart from the camel packs. Last year after walking the South coast trail and nearly puking my ring out on a hill that I’d have previously ate for breakfast I decided it was time to get back on the pedals before it’s too late.
So I bought the Whyte 529 and chose the trails with godawful climbs. 6 weeks in spring, of 3 days a week, and my fitness on the bike was almost back to break baby level.

Personally I hated using a turbo. Like really hated it. Sat in my garage spinning away was a grim experience even with a film on. It actually made me hate my road bike so it didn’t get replaced when my bikes were stolen last year.

Riding with kids is hard – I’ve actually found it harder now the little dude is a bit older (he’s two and a bit now). However, I think I’m pretty lucky because I can get out three times a week (twice in the evenings) and once at the weekend. I don’t always do this because of work / don’t want to / weather.

On the post above, 5 minutes from work, living in an area with dodgy drivers, time factors (I’ve signed up to gyms nearly every year, rarely go), we’ve got a 6 month old at the moment, it’s all exactly the same setup I’ve got. Every winter my fitness goes off the rails, every Spring I get destroyed due to being unfit, just about build up some fitness by Autumn, then the clocks change and I complete stop again until the next year.

This year I joined in with the Zwift lot on the 6th of December and I’ve done just over 400 miles on it since then, over 23 hours so far.

Absolutely delighted, fits in great with my home routine. Just being a bit more active on the bike has got me commuting, when most years I’d be driving in at this time of year. I’ve signed up for a race tonight, which I’ll likely destroy myself on, genuinely find it all really good fun. Not sure why 2 hours of spinning on the roads in the pitch dark is in any way better than mashing myself for 2 hours on a race.

It really does depend on what you want to achieve

The fitness bit you can do on the turbo
The getting out and being outdoors bit you can’t

In terms of topping up the system, some people get that from fitness, personally I get that from being on my bike and the latter of the 2 statements. Sitting on a turbo wouldn’t help me as much

Zwift threac here

Nothing for me beats the outdoors however, young kids, dark nights … means you don’t ride so fitness drops so when you do ride its all a bit rubbish … yes try the turbo. I have ridden my bike about once every 6 weeks this year, depressing really

I got a family, night lights are £27 on amazon (admittedly they will probably burn my house down). I make sure Mrs Digmcr gets chance to do her thing as much as I do and basically got over going out late and being knackered at work the next day. I think I am fitter now than before kids as a result! I went throu a period of not riding and became utterly miserable and probably slightly depressed. If all you see is work and home for 6 years it’s enough to wear any brother or sister down! Basically decided to make it work

If you really wanna ride your bike you find a way, even if it’s a pants run around some flat local woods, you never regret going out once you get out

If you’re inclined to use a turbo then give it a go. Yes you’ll miss the great outdoor element (a very important factor) but fitness is also important and fundementally you’re training to be a bit more healthy.

Making a “big decision” and selling one bike for another is not the magic solution though. I’ve made decisions like that before and they don’t generate an improvement unless you are already committed to the improvement.

As others have said get a cheap turbo and a turbo wheel hooked up and give it a try. I did get a cheap road bike and rigged up a plywood and cable tie holder for my IPad. Pop on a film or programme depending on how long you’re going to ride for and just spin away.