elite muin

Questions I have..

It does not have ability to change resistance.. How does that work. Sure I can change gears but it said it gets harder the harder pedal. Is this going to be an issue when following a plan like trainer Rd?

It says it’s a smart trainer. Does this mean if I use it with zwift it’ll get tougher on the hills and easier on the flat, or does that just mean it gives me a power reading?

If it does give a power reading can will this mean that when I use the likes of zwift the power readings from my stages (which I assume are far more accurate) become redundant?

Ta

Seems there are at least 2 versions of this; one newer than the other. “older” one should be cheaper but won’t be controllable vis FE-C or the bluetooth equivalent
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/psa-elite-real-turbo-muin-half-price

Stick with the Tacx 2240 as the best entry level Smart Trainer.

Been using mine on Zwift for 18 months since breaking my spine.

Ah.. Thanks for the link to that thread.

This is clearly the cheaper one, however it still says it’s ant plus compatible? To be honest the biggest draw is how quite it apparently is.

Stuggling to make out from That other thread what the actual difference is between the 2!

ANT+ just means it’ll report power data etc outwards to pretty much “anything” (PC that has a dongle, Garmin etc computers). I hink ipads need bluetooth output(??)

FEC is the controllable version of ANT (I think the other version might be called bluetooth-smart)

Haven’t used one, so no idea on noise

I have a tacx flow at the moment. 2 reasons why I’m looking at direct drive.

One, it’s apparently much quite and I live in a 2nd floor flat

And two, by all accounts the power you generate is far closer to your outside power due to the resistance of the wheel throughout the pedal stroke. I reckon my outdoor power is easily 10% more than what I can produce on the turbo. After an hrs ride I can easily hold numbers far in excess of what I can indoors

how do you know your outdoor power, tpb ? You use a meter ?
Could you use that on the turbo ?

Yep, I use a stages both on the road and on my dumb tacx trainer.

I’m far from fit at the moment, but the other day I was out on the bike and after an hr of riding I averaged 240 Watts up a climb that took me around 11 min.

Based on an 8 min ftp test that would give me a ftp of over 220..more if fresh

On the turbo my ftp is around 205, using the same bike and power meter. I know there will always be a difference, but that seems quite a large discrepancy. And yes.. I use a big fan.

ftp are 20 min tests and best if you do the 20min back to back test to get an average. Then repeated over say a year at regular intervals. FTP subject to lots of variables. You cant just take one random time/output. 8 min FTP? No such thing. Besides road and turbo two different things. On the road your going up and down and avoiding traffic etc. On turbo your flat out nothing to avoid. Apples and pears. Besides each power meter or smart turbo has a different algorithm to work out your FTP.

Way ahead? Choose one method and repeat and record over time to record true progress.

I have the more basic non smart version of the elite muin fluid trainer. With the elite muin sensor it provides power, cadence, and speed. Changing gears changes resistance so it won’t work on routs with hills but perfectly fine for targeted power zones.

As already said the power reading comes from the same power meter on the same bike.

As for there not being such a thing as an 8 minute ftp test.. You might want to Google that one. There is absolutely a recognised 8 min test.. Trainer road use it for one! Basically 90% of an 8 min test result gives a good indicator if ftp.

Yes 11 minutes is an arbatery number, but if I can do 240 over 11 min then over 8 min that number will only go up.. Making the discrepancy even wider.

Changing gears changes resistance so it won’t work on routs with hills but perfectly fine for targeted power zones.

Hang on.. If I’m reading that correctly the resistance I’m feeling remains constant regardless of how much effort I put in? So even if I’m spinning away wanting a break the trainer adjusts the resistance to compensate and makes it just as difficult?

 If I’m reading that correctly the resistance I’m feeling remains constant regardless of how much effort I put in?

So the gears make no difference?

On mine the gears make a massive different. It’s like riding on a slight hill the whole time. In 1st gear (42 × 28) it’s easy to spin and generates about 72 watts while spinning. But I can’t turn 10th gear (42 x 11) for long.

Basically my apps on my pc can’t change the resistance on my trainer. I can by changing gear though and just use the power readings to know what zone I’m in.

Trainer road makes two points. One, 20 min is the preferd test and secondly FTP is based on repeat FTP tests not two different times/situations. Regardless of wether you choose 20 min or 8 or 10 min. Repeat tests using the same parameters are the key. Outdoor and indoor just aren’t the same even if you use the same power meter. I judge mine based on average over the year. Close enough for me. It doesn’t mean that one power meter or turbo trainer is better.

If you want to get a rough idea of what’s the best indoor trainer for your money then I’d suggest dcrainmker site. Gives a fairly un biased view and from my experience pretty accurate weighting of the pros and cons.

If you turbo you will know about resistance and peddling using erg. The trainer in erg mode will ramp up or down the resistance depending on what your doing. Having come from mechanical to smart turbos it works like this. Mechanical you move a lever to increase resistance for a given cadence. Smart turbos ramp up the power automatically for the same cadence. So if your on a smart turbo at 90 cadence you will have to provide a damn sight more power when the computer program says go from 250w to 300w for the same cadence. The smart trainer will try and match your cadence to the power. Maintaining a steady cadence is key. Lower cadence can see the same wattage but your standing on the pedals to get the power. Kinda mimics real life. Hopefully I’ve not over complicated this 😀

If you are looking at the Tacx 2240, https://www.cyclerepublic.com/tacx-flow-smart-turbo-trainer-t2240.html using “TACX40” code online to drop price to £180.

Halfords are doing a 2240 bundle, http://www.halfords.com/cycling/turbo-trainers/trainers/tacx-flow-smart-t2240-smart-turbo-trainer-bundle-with-tacx-mat-and-handlebar-mount-for-tablets for £275, so with paying in-store using your BC discount card it we be ~£258.
Alternatively, buy the 2240 from Cycle Republic using code and collect the mat/tablet holder from Halfords using BC discount, to spend ~£237. 😉

Ahem…

Sorry to hijack, the Elite Rampa’s lovely – smooth, quiet and Elite reliability. Would post it to you for £200, or knock a chunk more off if you can get to Dundee? Email in profile.

Not sure if anyone interested but I bought the Muin that the OP linked to at the top and so far, am very impressed.
Very quiet, feels very stable and all links very easily to my various electronic devises. Tried it on Zwift too and really liked it so will likely sign up to that in the new year. So yeah, it seems like a very good option for not a huge amount of outlay.