Please excuse the pose-iness of this question, but then it's STW, you lot are used to it. 😉

I'm getting fed up with crappy weather, sleety rain, salty roads and living in London where we have junctions and traffic lights (or speed bumps) every few metres. I don't get out on the mountain bike often enough and I'm thinking of buying a turbo and training at home. My road bike has decent kit on it (Ultegra SL) and I don't really want to wear it out sat at home on a turbo trainer.

Has anyone had any experience of buying a Spinning bike (those bulky things with a fixed wheel flywheel and variable resistance) for home use? I've seen various people using them (Peat at the start of "Seasons", for example) and it seems to make sense: near-indestructible machine, heavy and solid for long-term use; I'm not bothered about measuring distance, just working on heart rate and time.

eBay, as ever, has a huge range from the surely-there's-something-wrong-with-that to the would-anyone-really-pay-that sort of money… just wondering if anyone can offer me any advice on what to go for and where to look?

Cheers…

: P

G.A.Y

As long as you can get soemthing that matches the ride position and contact points of a 'proper' bike then you should be fine. Most gym bikes seem to be designed to be a bit 'sit up and beg'/sofa saddle for my taste.

I think turbo trainers are popular because they can be stored relatively easily and are sheap – a proper spin bike is heavy and expensive (on the whole).

Heavy isn't a problem, it will live in the corner of the cellar. Expensive is relative – it will probably work out cheaper than a turbo and a new groupset every few months.

Bikes like the ones on the Spinner site seem to be very adjustable, and from the few I've used at the gym I've been able to tweak them pretty well to my riding position in a minute or two…

: P

Either………..

Buy a turbo and a spare rear wheel. (Arround £150? £100 for the turbo and £50 for a cheep s/h wheel and cassette)

Or buy the same make & model spinning as you'r local gym uses, budget excercise equipment is horrible stuff and usualy relies on friction to provide the resistance so generaly feels lumpy and unrealistic. And theres a difference between spinning bikes and excercise bikes, the spinners at my gym have adjustments for the bars, saddle height and fore-aft movement, the excercise bikes are like stitting on a recliner.

I'd go for a turbo trainer personaly, just make sure you have a way of motivating yourself!

bought a roadie mag at the airport last week,

you'll be wanting one of these !

Holy cow, scaredypants, I was thinking of a couple of hundred, not a couple of thousand!

The spare wheel / cassette / chain / chainrings thing is a possible option, but a real faff.

: P

I like spinning bikes better than the turbo

the Jonny G ones are good, Startrak, Schwinn

Ebay will sort you out

Cheers uplink, that's what I was thinking of.

: P

rollers!

why chainrings and chain?

you'd realy struggle to wear out stuff indoors, I get 3000miles minimum form a chain when comuting all weathers, I'd assume indoors its lifespan would be indefinate!

Yep, agree with folk above, you're really not going to wear stuff out that fast!

I've had my main road bike for 6 years with Dura Ace 7800. For 2 of those it was my only road bike, so it's done a few winters. The chainrings are still original, it's had a chain and cassette every year as a token gesture. It's probably been used on the turbo 5 times, but done literally thousands of miles outside.

You're not gonna wear stuff out that fast inside! Boredom's the bigger issue IMO.

– chain, because it wears out at the same rate (in fact faster) than the cassette, so if I'm swapping wheels I also need to swap chains so the chain and cassette are matched. Maybe less of a problem indoors but can certainly lead to awful shifting problems out on/off the road.

– chainring(s) because if I start getting to the end of a chain (and cassette)'s life, they start eating chainrings and making the teeth hooked. Not as fast as chains and cassettes wear, but I reckon a new chainring for every three or four new cassettes, or else you get chainsuck.

It's usage that wears out parts, friction on each moving joint will eventually make it looser; I've got an expensive lightweight drivetrain that works really well, it seems pointless to wear through most of its lifespan just sitting inside. Granted, it will probably last longer being used in a clean dry environment rather than a dusty dirty wet one. Rollers are a nice idea but still use the road bike and its bits…

: P

yes chains wear out, but I'd put a bet on a chain on a turbo trainer lasting 10,000miles+

Ultegra SL is still just steel plates and steel pins, won't wear out any faster than 105/sora/tiagra.

The only reason I swap my wheel for the turbo is the tubo munches tires, so I keep a spare wheel with cheep and nasty rubber on it and just use them untill the tire explodes (500 hours IME)!

In a good years road biking I used to do probably 5000miles on the roads riding in all weathers and 4 turbo sessions a week (so another 150hours). Replaced the chain and cassette as a token jesture (they'r in a drawer somewhere looking in excelent condition for a 4x bike that never happend), could still sell the chainrings 'as new' even though I rode the bike for 3 years as my only transport!

You could have done an hours training session in the time you have been posting here 😉

This is England, winter breaks bikes and bodies. Crack on fella!

I've got an expensive lightweight drivetrain that works really well

No, you've got an out of date, mid-range drivetrain, a full replacement of which will cost substantially less than a mid-range turbo trainer/spin bike!

Chains/cassettes do not wear sufficiently fast on the road that you'll have problems swapping wheels around, I did it in the past with race wheels, training wheels and turbo wheels. Do people even get chainsuck on the road? I've never heard of it!

I wouldn't say outdated, its just ultegra in a funny colour and a few grams shaved off (mainly in the shifters for some reason?).

When it came out I assumed it was some kind of anti-saint a groupset designed for climbers and would have single chainrings, less gears, brakes so light that dont work, aluminium alloy sprockets etc etc.

It's the old Ultegra though, it's been superseded, which was what I meant.

The cassettes are £35 on CRC, chains are £20 or so, and rings won't wear out. It's just not really an issue IMO!

Of all the reasons for justifying a spin bike, saving wear on the road bike isn't a good one.

Can you not just go outside?

I thought shimano had been carefull and not made the new ultegra lighter than SL?

It always seems odd because dura ace isn't the 'best' you can buy (my FSA chain set is significanlty lighter), the brakes are neither the most powerfull or lightest, etc etc

I'm sure a dura-ace SL would make more sense, and generate more sales rather than splitting the ultegra market in 2, at best ultegra sl just hoovers up the guys who would build an ultegra bike and stick DA mechs/cranks on it.

Pretty sure Ultegra 6700 is lighter than SL.

Dura Ace has never claimed to be the lightest or anything, Shimano have always played it very safe in that respect!

Yes your FSA chainset is lighter, but I'll wager it doesn't shift as well, and Shimano can probably prove theirs is stiffer, not to mention the BB life and extortionate replacement cost. The brakes are pretty powerful, there's not really much that's gonna beat them there. You can make DA lighter with ti/alu hardware and such, the stock groupset is designed for folk who just want to ride thousands of miles on it without adjusting anything, and it does that rather well!

No idea bout shifting as I've never ridden modern shimano chainet (went form rubbish OEM FSA/cannondale to pimped FSA). Cant say I'd want it any faster, push the lever and it clicks up down at the next gate.

Shimano seem to make ridiculously thin chainrings though (or they did on U-sl), can't imagine that helps stiffness in real terms? Certainly cant make my chainrings rub on the front mech. Not saying my FSA is better than DA, but I'd hazzard a bet that its functionaly fit for purpous, unless your Chris Hoy, and saves some weight. Just think that releasing a dura ace SL (or even a new name entirely) would have generated more sales by pushing into a different market, one where people are still trying to cut weight as they'r not constrained by UCI regs.

Of course it's fit for purpose, my point is just that Shimano have always played it safe 'for the masses', rather than appealing to a niche market of weight weenies. Arguably that's what Yumeya's about, but it costs a lot for little benefit.

I doubt you'd see Shimano releasing a groupset which is functionally inferior in any way to its cheaper counterparts.

If weight matters, just pick and choose your parts!

I got a spinner bike from an auction for £7. 🙂

They are good.

I've made up a 30min video of singletrack to play in front of it on the laptop.

My point is not whether my groupset is outdated or not, it's that the solidity and durability of a spinning bike permanently set up in the corner of my cellar seems to make much more sense to me than wearing (however gradually) through my kit which I've paid more for so that it's nicer to use outside on roads and hills.

And yes, I could go outside. But I live here. See all those criss-crossy lines? They're junctions. Most of them have traffic lights, crossings or at least speed bumps. Outside where I live is not much fun. So I'd rather stay inside, get fitter and take the bikes to nicer places to enjoy them.

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Hey, just been reading yor thread and it so happens i got a keiser spin bike going for £100. Ive had turbo, roller and spin bike and find spin bike the best as theres no set up as it just sits in the corner and does what it does. I find gear wear next to nothing on the turbo but tyre wear is bad. Rollers really help with pedal efficiency rather than fitness i find as you have to be smooth and controlled, otherwise you bounce off them and into the sofa/tv/doorframe. I use my spin bike with same saddle as on the mtb so its comfy and i find an hour watching a dvd keeping my hr in 'zones' helps this time of year to keep fit. But they are perfect for sprint training if you have the motivation as you can really crank up the resistance and get your hr going and do repeats and add that little bit of speed. You really notice it after 3-4 weeks. look up tabata protocol and dont cry after youve done it!
Anyways, i have a keiser spin bike cos ive moved onto a Star trac one and am looking to get rid now. It has been used in my shed so has a little rust and the handlebars are a little stiff but they do move, i set it up and never moved them. But the resistance is working good and it is in good condition seeing as tho its been well used for a few years. I got it from a local gym after they upgraded and have used it to great effect. Im based in maidstone and travel up to sidcup orpington area a bit and if you were interested we could arrange something im sure. Let me know if your interested, MATT.

Sounds interesting Matt – could you email me at inigopete at hotmail dot com please?

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I have a kettler ergo racer GT. Fully customisable position like a spin bike but has the added benefit of the courses and programs that are automatically controlled like an excercise bike. Very quiet, very smooth and more electronically controlled resistance than my legs can turn. It measures wattage etc like the Wattbike and can also be plugged into a PC and used for VR racing. Occasionally come up on ebay for a bargain price.

Also takes normal pedals etc so I run single sided spds so I can clip in but my partner can use her trainers

I'm just weighing up whether to buy a WATT bike or not. They're pretty expensive for what they are but I think there are a couple of benefits to them

The first is the power measurement. I wanted to get a powertap but I train on both my MTB and my road bike. My Mrs also trains but she has Shimano where as I'm on campag for the road bike. she also has a 160 rear disc, I'm on a 140 so there's a benefit there straight away

also, by the time I've dragged the bike indoors, set it up, got changed and got on it, I'm usually fed up and can't be arsed. Its hard enough getting on the trainer as it is without adding all that crap to it. just being able to get on it when you're ready is ace. I've currently got an old roadbike set up on a turbi but its noisy and not the right size for the Mrs.

I say go for it if you can. Yes they can be expensive (I echo the comment about not buying cheap kit) and I could add the £1800 to my MTB fund which would buy me a much nicer bike. But if the engines not there in the first place, its a bit of a waste of money innit!

My point is not whether my groupset is outdated or not, it's that the solidity and durability of a spinning bike permanently set up in the corner of my cellar seems to make much more sense to me than wearing (however gradually) through my kit which I've paid more for so that it's nicer to use outside on roads and hills.

You're not listening are you? This wearing out of kit on a turbo is so negligible that it's not even worth discussing. I had a nice road bike and a winter bike for many years – in the winter, the nice bike lived pretty much permanently on the turbo (it's still there now, but doesn't get to come off for the summer anymore, and I also get to ride my new nice bike when it's nice out in the winter). Only very occasionally change chains on my road bike, and never had to replace a cassette.

The first is the power measurement. I wanted to get a powertap but I train on both my MTB and my road bike. My Mrs also trains but she has Shimano where as I'm on campag for the road bike. she also has a 160 rear disc, I'm on a 140 so there's a benefit there straight away

Yes, but you'll only have one Wattbike, so I don't see the advantage over deciding to train on either roadbike or MTB. I'm not sure what disc size has to do with it – not like you need to use brakes on a turbo, so just get a non-disc wheel for the MTB.

I've currently got an old roadbike set up on a turbi but its noisy and not the right size for the Mrs.

So get a better "old" bike – or even a new one for a few hundred (for the same reasons you don't wear out nice kit on a turbo, a cheap bike will work fine). One which is small enough to fit the Mrs, along with a long seatpost, a quick release seat clamp and an adjustable stem. It's not like weight distribution and handling is an issue. With either a powertap (which you could then use outside, unlike the Wattbike), or a Tacx imagic, which has boredom alleviation advantages over a Wattbike. You could even get two powertap wheels and still have change to put in the MTB fund.

I'm just weighing up whether to buy a WATT bike or not. They're pretty expensive for what they are but I think there are a couple of benefits to them

You also need to know about what it's telling you. Just having a read out of your power etc is of sod all use!

Aside from that I'd echo aracer's point. If you want to have power then I'd look at a Tacx Fortius turbo trainer or something, they're more user friendly. I've got an Imagic and it's good, but no substitute for going outside, I've used mine about 4 times in the last year.

Otherwise just buy 2 Power Taps, I've been using one for a few weeks and it's an excellent bit of kit, and still cheaper than a Watt bike.

I did fitness testing on a Watt Bike and they're quite neat, but I'd not consider buying one personally.