OK, it’s blowing a hoolie and there’s no chance of getting out on my bike. But, I’m getting more into my road cycling, and I’d like to keep up a reasonable level of fitness over the winter.

I’ve heard a few folks mention turbo’s (obviously not in public … it’s like some kind of closet AA conversation), which seems a reasonable idea. But I’ve got absolutely no idea about them at all. So, has anyone got any advice / suggestions etc (starting with the basics please!)

Right, let the p*ss-taking begin 🙂

basic training can be done with a turbo and a HRM, follow structured sessions and make sure you have a fan,a towell and a TV setup 😉

better still is a setup that gives a power output as heart rate can flucuate, then you can train to improve threashold better, classic road stuff is 2 x 20min at 85% FTP a couple of times a week and a session to improve pedalling and cadence

I would start with a cheapish setup and HRM to see if you can stick it out

also warm up and down for 5-10 mins at each end of a session

One word…

Sufferfest

Wouldn’t be without a turbo
The sufferfest videos are a good starting point and keep things interesting
The key thing is that you need to follow one of these videos or have a plan worked out before you get on it or it will bore you.

Yeah I’m thinking of one; you can ride a bike and watch fantastic documentaries such as Koyaanisqatsi at the same time!

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFBijDU8PpE[/video]

old school

Pete Read’s Black, Blue and White Books
Mastercoach Turbos sessions

the key is not to destroy yourself, the aim is to build, so the first few sessions should be easier and about getting used to the setup, timing etc

+1 for sufferfest

Nothing wrong with Turbos if you are serious about developing fitness.

I tend to use mine through the week for fairly intense sessions of no more than 60 mins then fit longer endurance rides in outside at the weekend. I have a coach and follow his training plan but I’ve tried the Sufferfest videos and they’re pretty good. Have a look on the TACX website as they have some training sessions on there. Google will give you more turbo training sources.

As for what type of turbo. I’d recommend a fluid model like the Kurt Kinetic Road machine or the Cyclops Jet Fluid Pro. They’re not cheap but they come closest to a road type feel and you can use speed as a reasonable, measure of your power output to judge your performance. Just stick a bike computer on the back wheel. There’s also no phaffing around with resistance settings with them. If you want to suffer more just get into a higher gear.

Turbo haters please stay away from this thread. We all know your advice about no such thing as bad weather just inappropriate clothing blah blah and just MTFU as its so much better out there in the dark getting rained and snowed on blah blah

Pete Read’s Black, Blue and White Books

Certianly old school and they’re a bit dated now with their advice on sticking to low intensity aerobic base building through the winter.

They’re a great way to get fitness if you follow a structure rather than just treat it as a ride indoors. If you know what to do, 20-40 minutes can make a massive difference to fitness levels. I have one you can borrow to try depending on where in the country you are as I don’t work normal hours and tend to just ride outdoors when it suits me.

I love my turbo, it means even if I’m working silly hours I can still cram some serious suffering into less than an hour 😀

Thanks for all the advice everyone – gives me a starting point to start looking into what to get.

iDave – that’s a very generous offer! I’m in North Wales, but travel a fair bit for work. Not sure where you are?

Have a look at trainerroad.com, has revolutionized my turbo sessions

Have plenty of workouts (including Sufferfest)

And if you have ant+ sensors the workouts will be based on that (HR or power)

Better yet if you have an ant+ speed sensor the calculate ‘virtual power’ based on your trainers power curve.

Excellent piece of software

Sue; I could bung a cam on me bike, then send you a DVD with the footage, so you can pretend you’re riding around That London’s Famous London!

How about that, eh? 🙂

Sue, I’m in north staffordshire. if you travel down the M6 it’s close.

clowner: ‘ant+ sensors’ – sorry, I have no idea what that means 😳

Elf – DVD of riding round London? Far too exciting for me!!!

iDave – ah, unfortunately I have to travel for work on the train, rather than drive. But many thanks for the offer.

Elf – DVD of riding round London? Far too exciting for me!!!

It’s ok; I’ll edit out the swearing*….

*Basically ittul be a silent movie.

The howling gale & horizontal hail got to me this evening,so I got the Cyclops out,first time this winter.It was’nt as bad an experience as I remember.I think the hardest part is psyching yourself up for the first winter session,after a couple of sessions it becomes routine.Just got to work out how to use my bargain Aldi HRM now 😳

Actually, a London DVD could be helpful for interval training; sprint as fast as poss to the next set of lights, rest, then sprint again.

Hmmm…

Oh, and is it at all possible to be able to collect data from an actual ride, things such as gradient etc, and then use this to create a ‘virtual’ ride on one of the fancy computer trainer set-ups? So you can ride a course you’ve set yourself?

Add in winds for even more ‘authenticity’.

That would be cool.

I bought one a few years ago. Then I bought decent lights and realised that no matter how bad the weather is I prefer real riding.

Still better than an exercise bike though.

A London training video for turbos could work, but how you you incorporate the metal box scares along the way? The standard of driving seems to have dropped significantly in 2012. My tally of Rabbit Nose Twitch inducing scary moments is as follows so far:

Cars – 3
Vans – 1
Bus – 1
Taxi – 1

Not a good start!

Oh, and the best advice I can give for Turbo training is to try leave it out if you can. Do not tidy it up and put, say, at the back of the garage. I really need to get mine out again – I put it away temporarily, many many months ago!

Definitely leave is set-up. I have my mountain bike permanently attached to the turbo with a slick tyre on a spare wheel so I can jump straight on it, whilst my cross bike has slicks on so I can use my rollers. It makes everything so much easier.

After 3 or 4 years off the bike last year I bought this

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-crono-fluid-elastogel-trainer/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=uk&utm_content=Elite-Elite_Crono_Fluid_ElastoGel_Trainer

Note: Wiggle appear to be changing their prices on it quite regularly, normally its £140 !! at which point its a bargain. I find it quite realistic to the road, and very very quiet when Jnr FD is asleep upstairs.

and started plugging away in the cellar, not really enjoying it and managed about 20 mins tops.

I then started using an online training website that gave you programmes and telling you how long to pedal at what cadence and level.

I then started using a fan in front of me which made a huge difference to how long I could stay on the bike.

I then starter using Sufferfest Angels which made an hour pass reasonably quickly!

I dont bother with a HRM, however I dont think I could do it without a cadence sensor though.

Mines in front of the TV and DVD player 🙂 in the living room 🙂

I’ve been using Seek out Cycles dvd’s with my turbo trainer.
Just an intensity level to ride to but the rides through the rockies make the hour pass pretty quickly.

Thanks guys!

I’m afraid I have some really basic questions:

– what’s the difference between a turbo and rollers? And what are the pro’s / con’s?

– attaching a bike to them: best to leave it attached? I was going to use my ‘summer’ road bike for it, but do I need a spare wheel or different tyres?

– is it advisable to have a fan and to find somewhere to set it up next a screen – tv or computer?

– what’s the difference between a turbo and rollers? And what are the pro’s / con’s?

I’ve never used rolers so cant comment, but they tend to be more expensive

– attaching a bike to them: best to leave it attached? I was going to use my ‘summer’ road bike for it, but do I need a spare wheel or different tyres?

Its a 2 second job to attach my road bike to the turbo and doesnt require any alteration to the bike. I’ve just used the same road tyre that I already had on the road bike, and I haven’t noticed any problems or increased wear.

– is it advisable to have a fan and to find somewhere to set it up next a screen – tv or computer?

Fan 100% basically it stops you over heating. No normal person could get on a turbo without a TV screen, or some thing to keep them occupied. As above though Sufferfest really are good.

– what’s the difference between a turbo and rollers? And what are the pro’s / con’s?

A turbo is supported and offers resistance, rollers aren’t and require balance and core strength, they are the better option for technique so I’m told.

– attaching a bike to them: best to leave it attached? I was going to use my ‘summer’ road bike for it, but do I need a spare wheel or different tyres?

Leave it attached or unattached it doesn’t matter, a spare wheel with an old tyre or a trainer tyre is the easiest option.

– is it advisable to have a fan and to find somewhere to set it up next a screen – tv or computer?

A fan will keep you cool and help regulate your HR, it is not essential though, a TV or Laptop playing DVDs or ‘The Sufferfest’ is a good idea.

I would really recommend The Sufferfest videos, they are brilliant

Only if said TV or Comp is in an room where you are happy to open the windows, even in winter the amount of condensation you can produce in a closed room can have the walls n windows dripping with it.

+1 the Elite Crono Fluid trainer, it uses your weight to push the tyre down on the roller, so results in a LOT less tyre wear over the trainers where you push the roller into the tyre.

Sue, I got back into using a TT just before Xmas. Did a load of research (you can see some of my posts via profile) and decided on a Tacx T2200 + Flow PC upgrade (plus TT tyre and HRM strap). Probably spent around £475 even though I set my budget at nearer £150. But after looking around, i figured the ‘extra capabilities’ of the aforementioned setup would mean I make far more use of it. The long and short of it is:

– 2200 can be used anywhere (although I’m pretty sure it needs mains power to run the flywheel/motor).
– Flow PC upgrade is where’s its at though: TTS software allows you to;
— run Real Life Videos (proper race stages that control the resistance on your TT so as to mimic the terrain as much as possible)
— follow training sessions with the Pro’s (similar to above)
— create your own training session, e.g. build it around intervals, watts, HR, cadence, slope etc
— create a freestyle session and change settings as you go

Loads of potential, but like most things, you need to do some research and then experiment to get the most out of it.

Cracking piece of kit though. Plenty of T1680s (predecessor to 2200) on Ebay. Plus there’s the 2220 combo but that needs the standalone head unit (£130?) to allow the TT to run when not attached to a PC.

A TV/computer is essential. The main issue with turbo is boredom. Its the key for me. If I have a long steady session I look at whats on TV and do the session or put in a DVD. I bought an end of season bike and it sits in the turbo all the time. I would go turbo, rollers require concentration.

Polar HRM, rear wheel cat eye for cadence. I set the resistance and leave it alone then use gears to up the power. I prop the front wheel up on some old books and use a £1 foam camping mat and small towel to protect the floor and catch sweat. It need not cost the earth.

Turbo for accurate focused training especially in the winter is great. Its improved my fitness and cycling. In the old days I got few quality rides in the winter. Now I have a great base fitness all in the comfort of my warm dry room.

Don’t forget they’re quite noisy – if you live in a flat they may not be a realistic option (unless you really hate your neighbours downstairs, I suppose…)

(Noise level varies, the fan models being the loudest, but even magnetic and fluid ones aren’t exactly quiet.)

The point about leaving it set up is that it’s one less excuse – turbo training isn’t that bad once you’ve started, and you feel great after, but you do need a certain level of motivation to get on the damn thing.

+1 for using sufferfest when you are set up. Otherwise follow some sort of interval/programme as it requires huge amounts of will power to ride on a turbo.

Make sure you have a towel handy too and set it up near a window/fan. If you do sufferfest, you might need a bucket handy as well to hurl into 🙂

The bf got rollers for xmas so we now have turbo and rollers to use. We live in a flat and the turbo isnt that noisy.

As someone that has a basic turbo trainer and no heart rate monitor or cadence sensor. I used to watch Jools Holland that I had taped, and vary my pace depending upon the pace of the music being played!

Not very scientific and I was OK until thrash metal band, Mastadon, were on and I turned blue…

“(Noise level varies, the fan models being the loudest, but even magnetic and fluid ones aren’t exactly quiet.)”

My fluid one is quiet (as you can expect) I certainly dont have to turn the TV up any more than I would normaly.

My fluid one is quiet (as you can expect) I certainly dont have to turn the TV up any more than I would normaly.

Mine’s a fluid model, and while it’s not that noisy (you can speak over it without having to shout) the general whirring noise could be a pain if you lived in flat below – I mentioned it as something to be aware of, and if Sue_W lives in a house it’s certainly not a limiting factor.

Apparently the Lemond trainer is close to unusable because of the noise it makes…

Mines magnetic and one laminate or wooden flooring it’s not so much loud as penatratingly hummy – not an option for in a house upstairs or a flat. Use it in the garage now, and therefore don’t need a fan. Might put a TV in there though as it does get really dull.

I am just about to buy that Lemond trainer.

It doesn’t wear out tyres and I don’t live in a flat. However I will be off checking reviews now

This seems rated highly rated by many – won the recent Cycling Plus group test:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/resistance-trainer/product/review-kurt-kinetic-rock-and-roll-turbo-trainer-11-45370