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Mrs obviously thinks i'm fat ( i am) and is treating me to a turbo trainer.
I only have one bike, an Orange P7s which I don't really want to dissect to put on a TT.
Is there such TT available that I can just mount and ride and then easily remove should I want to ride around for my alloted time per day in the real world as well as it being suitable to ride in a virtual world such as Zwift where I can have the pleasure of being dropped by 29,000 other riders...
£400 ish budget
The technical answer is a direct drive / wheel-off trainer, though you may find it hard to source one for that price. Your other option would be a wheel-on trainer and a spare wheel fitted with a trainer tyre or slick and a compatible cassette. Knobbly mtb tyres aren't great on trainers.
You could fit a slick to your current rear wheel, but that'll render the bike more or less useless outside.
Best option: wheel-off trainer if you can find one that's in budget and available.
In true STW fashion I have an Elite Zumo and its great. Went from a BKOOL Smart Go and the direct drive feels much better than a wheel on. Plus it's MUCH quieter
If you have a £400 budget and only 1 bike that you also want to be able to ride off road.
There are a few ways you could go.
1. Find a "rim drive" turbo like the Minoura RDA.
Advantages: Cheap, no need to change wheel or tyre as the trainer applies resistance directly to the wheel rim
Disadvantages: Not available new, no smart features. Really quite a shite trainer.
2. Cheap direct drive trainer, the Elite Turbo Muin is under £400 from Halfords.
Advantages: Solid trainer, just take your wheel off and attach to trainer.
Disadvantages: Limited smart features on some of the cheaper direct drive trainers
3. Wheel on Smart Trainer and a spare wheel: A Tacx Vortex is £230 from CRC + a cheap rear wheel with a cheap slick or turbo tyre and a cassette.
Advantages: Solid trainer that works well with Zwift, TR etc. Spare wheel will proabbly come in handy at some point.
Disadvantages: You might really hate swapping wheels
Whatever you do ...
GET A BLOODY BIG FAN!!!!
Even at slow MTB speeds you have around 2.5m3 of air passing over you every second that's cooling you down. Sit on a turbo and there's nothing. You don't want to be quite at this stage
but it should give you an idea of what's required 😊
I’ll second the suggestion of a direct drive one, after years of wheel on trainers I got my first DD one today and it’s soo much better. You can non smart ones for less than £400 although there’s not any bargains around at the mo
You wouldn’t want to use a nobbly tyre on a turbo so you’d have to change wheels anyway unless you went for that minoura one, although I’m not sure how that will work with modern wheels without a brake track.
The other option is the 4iiii magnetic smart trainer, it’s a bit under £500 reviews are ok, not brilliant but probably the best you’ll get without taking a wheel off.
I think you might struggle to find anything in stock, most shops are entirely sold out currently.
I think you might struggle to find anything in stock, most shops are entirely sold out currently.
i'm finding that out now as I look around!
The muin is notoriously inaccurate. TBH you've missed the boat. Most places sold out now unless your willing to spend way more.