Absolutely blowing out my arse today riding Hamsterley on my full susser.. spoiled my ride, not keeping up with mates.. and I’ve had the click to do something about it.
With the nights drawing in, working full time and having an 18 month old I’m thinking the convenience of a turbo may be a good way to get fit over the winter.
I know very little about turbos other than they seem to range from £100-£1,500. I ride flats on my MTB, always have always will.. but I do have a CX bike that I used to use for commuting and I have some spds on that.
What should I be looking for? £500 budget absolute max.. any cheaper would be great. Should I just use flats on the turbo as that’s what I ride on the trails? Should I put the CX bike on the turbo rather than the MTB.. this would be more convenient as the CX doesn’t get used now I WFH. It’s 11 speed 105 drivetrain so is that something I need to spec for direct drive? My MTB has 12 speed GX.
Any help and advice most welcome.
Cheers
I'm in a similar situation although my kids 7 months old. I got s smart trainer. Messed around with rouvey for a bit but now I just do training plan stuff on training peaks before the fsmily get up.
I had a dumb trainer in the past and never used it.
My point is I would strongly advise a smart trainer even if you have to go second hand.
Use flats or clips. I'd put the cx bike on. With limited time you want everything ready to go straight away.
If you stick with it you'll get much much fitter.
Thank you, that’s really useful. Good point about having stuff ready to go, I’ve been trying to get my stuff organised recently to make getting out the door that bit easier, so CX it is..
I’m off to look on google now but I take it £500 isn’t gonna get me far with a smart trainer??
Wahoo Kickr Snap for that money unless you find a Good wheel off trainer going cheap.
Id also use the CX bike and have it set up permanently so you can hop on with the absolute minimum of faff, if you’re struggling fir time it makes a real difference if all you have to do is chuck cycle kit on and go!
Thanks, so does that just use the wheel/block/mech on the bike?
Good point re. faff, it really does need to be minimal so I can do quick sessions before/after work and at lunchtimes.
I do have a Snap yes
Yeh, the wheel is pressed against the turbo trainer which is providing the resistance (you’ll want to think about tyres choice, proper turbo tyres help, at the very least use slicks).
My turbo is wheel off (Elite Direto) with these the free hub is part of the trainer itself, they are better but good ones cost more. In my view they’re worth it if you can stretch to it, indoor cycling needs all the help it can get tbh.
There are cheaper wheel off machines out there, but when I was looking there was always some sort of compromise.
Oh. Zwift all the way!
Weeksy, are they still the go to sub 500 turbo?
I love mine mate, I must be 20,000+ Zwift km on this one without issue. A chunk of hours and pedalling
Elite Zumo if you can find one
Wiggle have their own branded on on sale very close to your budget : https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-xplova-noza-s-smart-trainer.
Don't forget ancillary costs, fans, table to put junk on, yoga/ trainer, Ant+ dongle, HR monitor etc. It can all get a bit out of hand.lol
Most of it can be adapted/made/cheap versions bought however which is fun and saves money too.
I don't use spds haven't for years but I DO use them on the turbo, does feel better. Even I don't have to worry about falling off on the turbo. Lol
Whatever turbo you end up with, I'd strongly suggest a wheel off one.
My OH and I messed about with various older non smart trainers that rely on rear tyre friction and they make a horrendous racket. Finally ened up with a Tacx Neo for her we got new so a bit pricey, but as I use mine a lot less I got a s/hand first generation Kick-r.
Paid under £400 for mine and built up an old rigid mtb for it so I keep the same feel whilst riding. A fan and cadence sensor where pretty much the only other things I had to buy as I already had a suitable PC and TV nearby.
If using an MTB you have to be careful of gearing when using Zwift etc for non-erg racing, but for training the bike gears don't matter as the trainer adjusts tension according to the workout.
In your position I'd look for either something like the above Wiggle thing or hunt out a well looked after s/hand Neo or Kick-r type, with your cross bike.
I’d go direct drive too.
Elite Zumo (finally) seems OK. £479 at Halfords, so possible to get BC discount too (£431). But stock is an issue. Check out DC Rainmaker for his other recommendations. It’s a fantastic site.
I’d also go SPD route if you have the shoes. You can put a lot of power down and having your feet locked in helps. But not critcal.
As others say, factor in some additional equipment. A fan and HRM were key for me (£40 the pair). For a ‘table’, I just used the bike workstand and a chopping board, and the ‘mat’ was an old carpet offcut. That stuff is pretty easy to bodge.
If you go with a DD trainer, and don’t use the CX bike you could save a few quid by taking the cassette off the rear wheel. If you don’t have the tools that will be another £20ish, or a bit more for another 11 speed cassette.
Should you want to buy any sesnors (HRM, cadence, power), choose bluetooth ones. Phones, iPads, laptops, Apple TV etc all use bluetooth (not ANT+).
Sounds like a lot of gief I know, but it all comes good in the end.
In summary, IMHO: DD trainer, CX bike, SPDs. £500 will be a struggle.
I just got a Kickr Snap and after one ride - the Zwift intro lap - I can confirm that it is a turbo trainer but at least you get to watch pretty TV while riding so not quite as bad as normal. Nice and quiet even with a 1x11 hardtail mountain bike with an almost slick rear tyre.
£429 plus ant dongle plus tyre plus big fan nicked from indoors plus spare laptop nicked from indoors plus big TV that was in the garage anyway
Thank you for the detailed information and links everyone. Sounds like the extras could run into nearly £500 on their own.. I guess my question is, how much do I need them to get the best from a smart trainer?
I have space, either in garage or office (which is to the rear of garage) and both have good ventilation so not sure I’ll need a fan? Maybe in summer.. I’ve got a TV that could be reappropriated but ideally I’d just want to use my phone.. as for HRM.. I don’t have one of those either.. or a spare laptop. I do have an old android tablet that could maybe be used.
I know you said £500 max but the kickr core we've had for a year has been fantastic. We ride flats on it. Wheel off regular mtb, hooked up - pedal away. However we have subscription to trainerroad which adds substantially to the cost.
Sounds like the extras could run into nearly £500 on their own
Depends, I just run Zwift through my IPad and my Turbo uses Bluetooth so no dongle
A basic but reasonable fan is £30ish maybe
I eventually bought a riser block to sit under the front wheel but used a lump of wood initially
You can do with just a mobile phone or iPad if needed.
Android tablet is unlikely to work
No matter how much ventilation you have, you will want a fan.
I would second recommendations for a wahoo kickr core although its above your budget, they are offering 0% finance on the kickr core.
Picked one up after breaking my wrist, started off with the mtb on it 1 x 11, 32t front and 46t rear but had to admit defeat on Zwift as the gearing is too low on anything but the steepest incline, was spinning 100+ rpm on the flat to maintain 170 watts.
Lucky a friend had an old roadbike with a 50t front crank I could use, needed a new chain but £4 later and its transformed zwift from when I was using the mtb, now can maintain 60rpm and average around 180 to 220w on the flats.
Brilliant bit of kit, and a great investment for the winter months with zwift, being a reasonably fit mountain biker who never rides road it was an eye opener.
You don't ever stop pedalling even on the downs, I considered myself a good climber but alp du zwift was an eye opener, 70 mins of an average 8% gradient was tough!
Invest in a decent fan, a couple of towels under the bike as you will sweat copious amounts! You will also need to buy a rear cassette for the trainer
I run zwift through my galaxy s20+ and hooked up to the TV via hdmi, looking at a newer laptop as zwift and screen mirroring eats the battery.
You also get a month of free zwift if buying through wahoo website, which I still haven't been charged for!?
Update. Thank you for all of the input everyone, I ended up with an Elite Direto X and couldn’t be happier with the setup I’ve now got. My original budget went well and truly out the window mind.. but hey ho.
Think I did 1 ride before driving to Screwfix and buying a fan. It’s a bit of a beast so only really need it on setting 1-2 (of 3). After getting really frustrated with the Elite e-trainer app being woefully poor I just skipped that completely and went straight in for Zwift which has been excellent. Cheap ANT+ dongle, laptop, Zwift companion on phone and off I went.
I honestly don’t think you can get better bang for buck in terms of a great workout in your own house, it’s just so convenient. The only thing I didn’t understand was something in the trainer instructions about setting the wheel circumference and then dividing it by 12.1.. I have no idea where I’m meant to do this or why but my stats seem sensible and I’ve been on a couple of rides with my brother and nothing seems amiss.
Pics of the pain cave now it’s all setup:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/HJsYLnPF/46-D7-D989-F39-C-4-F27-A52-E-A5-FD5216-D866.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/HJsYLnPF/46-D7-D989-F39-C-4-F27-A52-E-A5-FD5216-D866.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/wyVVHWZh/E94466-C1-BB50-4719-9-F3-B-669-D9243-B452.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/wyVVHWZh/E94466-C1-BB50-4719-9-F3-B-669-D9243-B452.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Looking good mate. Join in the social rides or even the forum race serues
I was gonna say, buy a pair of running shoes, save yourself a fortune, and get some fresh air too.
Too late! 😁
Haha - It would've saved an awful lot of money.. especially as I already have some good running shoes from a few years back.. that don't get used much these days.. my legs just cannot tolerate pounding the pavement for any duration!
Thanks Weeksy - I'll have to check that out once I've improved beyond my current 'fat lad' baseline..
Well pleased for you. That's a great set up,
Until you've tried it, the costs seem excessive. And hard to convince people that the end result is worth it, but it really is.
Enjoy!