There's lots of stuff on the web, but do they generate a file containing power/heart rate etc so that it could be loaded to strava / Training Peaks etc?
Depends on what you are looking at but if it's an Ant+ fe-c what matters is the software you pair your smart trainer with. Zwift, Bkool, Trainer Road or some proprietary software?
Usually two parts, the turbo hardware, then some software/app that runs on a PC or pad/phone (e.g. TrainerRoad or Zwift.)
The hardware usually has a electronically controlled resistance, usually over FC-E wireless protocol. It'll often also give a virtual power value based on wheel speed and resistance. These are then transmitted to the software running on a computer. The computer can show you this data (along with other data it might collect from other devices, e.g a heart rate monitor). It can also vary the resistance on the turbo so that power matches some chosen interval or maybe to simulate hills.
The software will usually generate files that can be loaded to TrainingPeaks or Strava.
i've got a Bkool, absolutely love it and having over 500,000 videos, you can ride anywhere in the world and it's more entertaining than riding one of two virtual routes on Zwift, which I found mind numbingly boring.
The other beauty of Bkool is it tends not to attract the uber knobs who brag about wattage outputs etc and wax lyrical about so and so pro cyclist has just been spotted on the route etc etc 😉
So can I just ride to the power needed on my own workout without having to have a preprogrammed session?
How accurate are they compared to actual power meters? I've used virtual power on trainerroad before and found it to be about 20watts out compared to my power meter.
I know its about consistency but I'd like to use the power meter outside only and the trainer indoors without having to swap over the power meter.
So I guess I'm asking if I spend a few hundred pounds on a new "smart" turbo does it do any more than trainerroad with ant+ dongle and speed/cadence sensors?
The difference is the variable resistance controlled by whatever software your using but applied by the smart trainer.
yes the difference is it can react as id the road is going uphill as it would in the real world - ie the resistance varies with the real world route.
I have this feature on mine but rarely use it as its still a boring turbo trainer and about 45 mins is my limit dso I will be doing HIIT
Assuming your power meter is ant+ why dont you just get a USB dongle and use that bike on the turbo?
Just have a spare wheel with a turbo tyre on it?
I'm not bothered about connecting it to a computer, I have bike that stays on the turbo at the moment and I swap my power meter on and off the turbo bike.
If I could get a turbo that would do the power bit for me (and transmit to my Garmin) then I wouldn't need to swap the power meter each time.
It's more a convenience thing and as I spend quite a bit of time on the turbo, a quieter, more realistic turbo then the basic one I currently have would be a good investment for me anyway
Its a good question but I think either the turbo would need some computing capaibility or your garmin would need to do it from the supplied data which I dont think it can.
If your loaded get a wattbike.
A fair few turbo's can do that now. Semi smart I guess. Like the Kurt Kinetic ones, or the Lemond with the Wattbox. They're really just doing a virtual power calculation based on known speed/power curves and transmitting that over ant+. But with no electronic control over the resistance.
If all you are looking for is a turbo that gives you a power reading for your garmin and has good road feel then the Kurt Kinetic ones are well regarded.
That's pretty much it MrBlobby, a power figure calculated and sent to my Garmin
What about the Tacx Bushido or Vortex
If I wanted something like that I'd probably go for the kurt kinetic road machine. Meant to have a good road feel and be very consistent (i.e. no big drift in resistance and hence power as it warms up.) You can also get a "pro" big flywheel.