Please educate me about indoor bike training/trainers

I tried static and rollers and it's awful.  The modern smart trainer with a display is much less awful.

I would recommend a wheel off smart turbo.
With this you need some kind of device to control it and entertain you.
Then you need a fan to cool you down.  Ideally with some kind of remote so you can kick it on when you warm up.

I have;

Elite Direto trainer - no complaints

Apple TV4k off ebay  to run the software and connect to the trainer, and a 43" ex display screen - much better if you have space!

We run Rouvy, which has a plan but between 3 it's not so bad.
Rouvy lets you ride a route, with a video of the course and all your data overlayed. Since it's connected to a smart trainer the resistance changes as the terrain on screen does, which makes it quite engaging.  There are virtual riders to chase, and virtual team mates to draft behind.

Someone I spoke to recently highly recommended MyWhoosh that is free.

An 18" fan from Screwfix on a WiFi pug is OK.  The Vacmaster Cardio is excellent and a big step up in performance and price!

Possibly add a mat to protect the floor and damp some sound, and a towel to catch sweat and protect the bike.

I just put my Elite Turbo Muin in the garage yesterday as I have no bike to put on it any more. If you are near Manc and want to try it out then shout

Smart trainer (wheel off) and software of your choice to control it, much more engaging than staring at the wall and therefore more likely to result in sustained use.

On the flip side this drives the price up, unsure on current trainer offerings but would think around the £500 mark should get something decent? If you will be training in the house (as opposed to the garage) you may need to consider quieter options.

Software - MyWhoosh is currently free but most of the others will be subscription based. Zwift is the most populated (£18 p/m) or TrainingPeaks Virtual (free until March when it integrates with TrainingPeaks Premium). Also Rouvy at about £15.

Most will likely have a trial version so you can check them out before committing.

Hardware to run it on, do you have a capable PC/laptop? If not, Apple TV can be a cheaper option (£149 for a 4K 64GB)

Fan - as above, decent 18" floor fan will be good enough. I had one for years until it finally packed up, replaced it with a Vacmaster Cardio54 (~£70) which has a remote and has been a decent upgrade.

Make sure your garage (or wherever) has decent WiFi coverage, or ethernet.

 I have planter fasciitis

What are you doing to manage that? Anytime I hear anyone else is suffering with it I have to talk about my miracle cure, I mean proper "take up thy bed and walk" miracle cure 🙂

I suffered with it for a good 18 months, used inserts and a boot at night and even the eye watering golf ball massage. Then I came across a shouty man on YouTube, I think from a link on here, where else, and the modified calf stretch with the front foot across the body complete cured it for me. There are a few other stretches on the video as it can have different causes in different people but for me this alone completely eliminated it.  Certainly worth trying. Sorry I can't recall the exact video now but it shouldn't be too hard to find

Hardware to run it on, do you have a capable PC/laptop? If not, Apple TV can be a cheaper option (£149 for a 4K 64GB

I used to use an old (2016) IPhone SE with a dongle to connect it to a tv, Currently using an Iphone 12 with Zwift and a brief go on mywoosh. I’ve tried Zwift on a Motorola something or other, but that particular phone didn’t have a TV out facility and I couldn’t be arsed cocking about with casting apps.

I use an old TV, an old laptop with Win 11 on and the cheapest Tacx smart trainer they made. It works. I added a fan to the setup and it works better.

@avdave2 Think I might have seen the same shouty trainer man on u-tube. The twisting calf stretch thingy eased my Plantar fasciitis very effectively as well.

@ easily I'm running a Zwift Hub smart trainer with Zwift playing on a laptop in front of the bike. After five years I'm still enjoying Zwift and have recently even started hooking up with a few old friends for group rides where we can sit in our garages, scattered the length and breadth of Scotland and talk pish via whatsapp video call while trying to outsprint each other.....without actually looking like we're trying to be first over the line.

Argh! It still bugs me that indoor training is becoming synonymous with smart trainers costing a minimum of several hundred pounds. My setup probably cost £250 all in but that includes a bunch of extra sensors and accessories that you would also need on top of a smart trainer.

Granted if you really really need all the bells and whistles of virtual reality to get you through 30-60  minutes of exercise then I guess it's worthwhile, and yes, personally I really struggle with boredom beyond 90 minutes on a dumb turbo (boredom and comfort actually, I could do with investing in a rocker plate) but for shorter workouts I just don't think it's necessary.

GCN do a number of workout videos on Youtube, the 40 minute get quick fast sweetspot workout is a great starter for 10.

If you don't want to faff with Wifi connections etc. you can use something like 4k Video Downloader to download the video off Youtube so you can train advert and buffer free.

If you buy a decent dumb turbo with fluid resistance (and you can get really top end ones cheap second hand all the time now) like Cyclops, Saris or Kinetics amongst others, a front wheel block, a turbo tyre for the rear wheel, and something to prop your laptop on (old Black and Decker workstand here!) then that's your setup.

Accessories would include a towel, a fan (£30 for that Honeywell turbo one?), headphones if you don't have them already, and heart rate monitor/cadence sensor and rear wheel speed sensor.

I don't use power as the decent fluid trainers are reasonably consistent once you've warmed up (using the British Cycling 20 minute warm up) and you can use speed as a proxy, i.e. I did some 30 second intervals today at between 38-39km/h. That number is meaningless in any other context but next time I do the same workout I'll make sure rear tyre is inflated to the same pressure, the roller on the turbo is tightened to the same number of turns, I'll do the same 20 minute warm-up, and can then work to those same speed numbers and just try for an extra interval at the end of each set. I can see from the heart rate monitor that midway into my intervals I'm in the right zone. There's a speed curve associated with the trainer that could tell me what power my 38km/h equated to but I'd rather not know 😆

If you're not training for any specific purpose you can just experiment, my first winter on the turbo was just doing the GCN sweetspot workout and slowly experimenting with what speed I could hold for the two 15 minute intervals. Alternatively in the morning I'll try and do the same workout twice (90 minutes in total) but sticking to a much lower heart-rate, and calling it a Z2 workout.

Second hand rollers and your earbuds (with your preference of podcast or music)

With the money you've saved Get a playstation for afterwards if you feel the need to race virtual "friends"

@13thfloormonk I started out similar, Cyclops MagPlus with TrainerRoad using Virtual Power - so similar to you but with an ANT+ dongle and a laptop.

Perfectly good way of getting going.

I don't know what the OP's realistic budget is but a half decent smart trainer and app is night and day better imo 😉

Saris H3 is still a bargain £299 at Go Outdoors, possibly Blacks and Millets too.

 don’t know what the OP’s realistic budget is but a half decent smart trainer and app is night and day better imo

I'm sure it is, but night and day? I could believe that a truly immersive setup could make the long boring sessions more tolerable, and if I had friends 😎 and if they also trained online at exactly the same time as me and if they wanted to do the exact same sessions as me then the social thing could be fun, but if it's pure fitness and training effect you're after then I don't believe an expensive setup buys you much extra, a few % more accurate on power numbers perhaps?

I guess if you're new to it the bigger flywheel of a smart trainer is a bit gentler on your knees, and if you don't know the basics of training then just following some mad looking Zwift workout is better than nothing 😆

Don't overspend on it, there are bargains to be had.  You can even try a few options to see what suits you.

Rollers - great for a warmup, but the focus required made them difficult to ride for a longer session over an hour IME.  I'm sure with persistence you can get through that but eventually I'd steer off the edge when whatever i was watching on TV moved (especially POV bike videos!).

Dumb trainers - people used these for years. They're dull, but if you can put up with that you can probably get 10 of them for free on any local cycling clubs forum  as people upgraded them. If you can find a way to make it interesting then they might work for you.

Smart trainers - wheel on or off doesn't make a great difference unless you're doing higher intensity intervals.  As I said there's bargains to be had and I actually got my wheel-on trainer for free as someone had upgraded.

Saris H3 is still a bargain £299 at Go Outdoors, possibly Blacks and Millets too.

Budget depending, that seems like a good deal.

 I dislike anything with a subscription

MyWhoosh is functionally as good as Zwift, and free. But you will need a decent PC to run it. At the very least a laptop / PC with a dedicated graphics card.  I think it's the only software out there that doesn't require a sub?

Zwift will run on apple TV or most phones, which is far cheaper to buy, but then you have to subscribe.

Wahoo SYSTM (aka Sufferfest) is just videos and far less draining on hardware.

Ditto TrainerRoad

Or if you have a fairly modern Garmin head unit then they can create training sessions and communicate directly with a smart trainer.

I don't even use the social side of it, write my own workouts and have just jettisoned Zwift in favour of TrainingPeaks Virtual. I was paying £17 p/m just to have some entertaining to look at, as a long term TP Premium subscriber it's a no brainer.

Old days it was 60 minute workouts with the occasional 90 minute session if I could remain engaged long enough, smart trainer and app I'm regularly doing 2 hour sessions with some decent music to keep me going, honestly would have found that a struggle previously.

So for me yes, night and day - I'm training much better than I ever did previously and definitely feeling the benefits!

Old days it was 60 minute workouts with the occasional 90 minute session if I could remain engaged long enough, smart trainer and app I’m regularly doing 2 hour sessions with some decent music to keep me going, honestly would have found that a struggle previously.

Ah fair enough, yeah I think I would need to invest if I wanted to do regular workouts over 60 minutes. Is that Z2 sort of stuff?

I've settled on a structure of sorts, taking it ad easy as gears and terrain allow when riding in the real world, and supplementing with top end intensity indoors. Seems to be working and keeps the outdoors stuff enjoyable and short/hard workouts on the dumb trainer are fine, didn't even notice laptop had gone to sleep as I tried to hang on for some 30/30s this afternoon...

Similar pattern here, generally Z2 at weekends and outdoors this time of year.

Workouts midweek are generally an hour of structured intervals (or longer for SS/Threshold) with easy spinning tagged on the end until I’m either out of drink or genuinely had enough!

Take this with a pinch of salt as I don't really get into tech or data products or computer games - I just use a simple resistance trainer while either listening to metal or techno if it's a HI training session (function over all else!) or read a book or watch laptop TV if it's up to 90 mins low or moderate pace. Keeping it simple might be ok and if not, then spend a bit more on a more connected set up?

Am using a Decathlon basic smart trainer for £230, has a lower max power and incline capability but a reasonable choice as a starting point and ROUVY on an iPad on a tripod.  ROUVY is reasonably engaging as the routes real are world so at least it looks valid.  Not personally interested in racing as such but the ghost riders give a degree of competition.  Stick some ear plugs in and listen to whatever.  Potentially upgrade to the JetBlack Volt next winter if decide it’s going to get more than just occasional use.

I’ve just got back in, and there are so many replies to read, thanks everyone. I’ll start having a closer look at them all now.

Just be careful doing lots of regular cycling from doing not that much may actually hinder the injury resolving quickly

As a couple of others have mentioned, I'd start with MyWoosh for the online platform mostly as it's free. It runs fine on my iPad (although that is a newish Pro model), I think the only real advantage Zwift has is the online racing but doesn't sound like you want it for that anyway.

I started indoor training with a budget wheel on smart trainer I got from Halfords. It was an Elite Novo smart trainer. You basically just need a bike with an old school QR on the rear wheel. The bike sits into the frame of the trainer with the rear wheel sitting on a roller and is held in place by a clamp. It'll take any sort of bike or wheel size and I thought it worked really well. I'm a very big lad though and it wasn't heavy enough to hold me in place when I was getting out of the saddle for climbs or sprints, so I upgraded to a heavier Zwift Hub, which I think is the same as the Wahoo Kickr, where you take the rear wheel off.

I actually gave my old Elite Novo away to a mate who was looking to give Zwift a try. So like others have said, there are very likely good deals to be had on cheaper smart trainers. It's going for £179 in Halfords at the moment and connects flawlessly to Zwift on a Windows laptop that I sit on a box in front of my bike. The only other accessories I would get are a fan and one of those gusset / thong type things for your bike. It's a neoprene sweat guard that hooks onto your handlebars and stretches back to your seatpost to catch as much of the sweat as possible. Although hopefully you're not as sweaty as me.

I found static trainers really dull even with a box set or podcast playing, there's just too little engagement, I'd rather go for 10 walks round the block.

Never tried any of the online platforms, maybe the feedback system would help.

I'm currently enjoying my rollers I got for £20, it's far more like normal riding and keeps the element of "will I die" that you get with road riding outdoors as you try not to fall off.

I think this might be the PF treatment video referred to above: How to Fix Plantar Fasciitis (FOREVER!) 

I also worked remarkably well for me... Although 'forever' is a bit optimistic; I have to return to it fairly regularly.

Reading the turbo advice with interest. My current approach is dumb trainer + old episodes of Time Team on youtube. 🙂

I too was going to post the Plantar Fasciitis stretch. It’s a dramatically effective treatment when mine occasionally pops up.

You can, of course, get a workout with rollers and YouTube.  I used to watch the SuperX and sprint each time there was a pass. A close race left me in bits.  As above, when it went to onboard FPV footage it's hard to stay upright on the rollers!

It works, but some kind of engagement/feedback is much more engaging for me.

If anyone wants some Jet Black rollers for cheap, need a new band, and meet near Sheffield for handover then let me know!

I have a Kurt Kinetic rock and roll, the cream of the crop of dumb trainers.

It is FREE to the OP or anyone who can collect it, based in Northern Ireland

If you want a wheel off trainer then as someone mentioned above Saris H3 is a good bet. Being advertised under £300 plus you might get a discount code to bring it down further. I had one for a while with no complaints at all. Then you can choose what software to pair it with. I use TrainerRoad and Zwift but there are loads of options to suit your taste.

If anyone want's it I've a B'Kool wheel-on smart trainer (it's white, I don't know what model).

It works with Zwift.

Collect it from Reading.

I've also got a dumb Minoura hypermag which is fine via virtual power in trainerrroad, SYSTM etc.

Ideally I'd like to swap them for some rollers if anyone's giving up on those, but they're cluttering up my garage so they're free to a good home.

I have a Kurt Kinetic rock and roll, the cream of the crop of dumb trainers.

It is FREE to the OP or anyone who can collect it, based in Northern Ireland

I used to have one of these and if a dumb trainer is what you want, I don't think they can be bettered.

On facebook marketplace there is a choice of 2 within 30mins of me (This is the highlands - that's basically next door!) for less that £40 and they look mint. I'm sure similar can be found elsewhere.

However....I do like the Tacx Neo I use now. I didn't get on particularly well with Zwift (didn't like the gamified element, never really wanted to race and oddly the virtual crowded roads messed with my head) but I do like being able to load a training ride in (I use trainer day) and ride with the controller varying the effort. I just watch netflix or listen to a podcast/music. I'd always prefer to be outside if I can but sometimes when the weather is average or I just don't fancy the mess and faff, getting on the turbo (we still calling them that?) is a thing I'll do when otherwise I'd be say on the sofa.

Someone in Manchester is selling a Kinetics Road Machine with the Pro flywheel, that would be my perfect trainer but he's asking £100 which seems unrealistic these days, even if I was prepared to travel to collect 🙄

Thanks again for the many thoughtful replies. I've read them, but haven't had time to really think about all the options - I'll try tomorrow.

You should have a DM (if I haven't cocked it up!). I might be able to help you.

Well I asked to be educated and I certainly have been, thank you for all replies.

Special thanks to all those who offered free or cheap gear. I live near Eyemouth, so I'm not close enough to anyone to do a pick-up, but your generosity is appreciated.

Also for all the plantar fasciitis advice, I'll be working my way through that. Mine is not too bad at the moment, it just puts the fear in me of getting too far away from home and not being able to make it back as it comes on with no warning.

After reading all the replies I'm leaning towards the 'it needn't cost a fortune' answers, initially at least. If i'm still doing it after 18 months I might think again. I don't think for my usage I'll need loads of info or entertainment, if I can stick a laptop on my workbench and watch old episodes of Alan Partridge it'll do for me.

I've been looking on Marketplace and some of the prices are odd: some the second hand stuff is priced higher than discounted shop prices, and there seem to be a lot of cheap looking stuff going for almost nothing.

Anyway, all the posts have been useful as always at STW, so thanks once again.

Also for all the plantar fasciitis advice, I’ll be working my way through that.

Just to say that yes that is the video I'd seen linked to above and that I use that calf stretch after every run or ride, I don't wait till I feel a twinge and so far I've not had any reoccurrence. I think if you've had it once you may always be prone to it if you don't take preventative measures