Never used a turbo before, but considering it this winter. As much as I do love the satisfaction of getting out in the January weather (and the pub fire afterwards), it's something to do rather than watching TV and might be having surgery at some point, so having a turbo to get on asap could aid recovery...
I don't want to subscribe to anything paid, e.g. Zwift, but I would like the ride experience to be:
- Somewhat realistic /challenging - so I'm not uploading 30 miles of spinning to Strava.
- Possibly somewhat interactive - whether that means altering resistance manually to be able to follow a course I don't mind - I really don't know how these things work.
There seems to be a few more 'affordable' smart trainers around now - what can I expect from one of these - do they play nicely with free software / routes ?
Any advice appreciated.
The smart trainers seem to be a bit limited unless you pay for some form of subscription service....I got one last year and without the software its just a dumb trainer. the software it came with is limited...because they want you to subscribe to unlock the swift like features. I've not yet found any free software that gives you Zwift like features.
Before the smart trainer I just used to use a normal dumb trainer and followed programmes off GCN on YouTube. They have alot of really good turbo sessions on there, ranging form quick 20 minute blasts to sessions that last over an hour for various training goals. I subscribed to Zwift for a few months this year when in training for an event and it was fine, but when you boiled it down it was basically the same or similar sessions as the GCN ones but I was paying the monthly subscription for the privilege. Obviously Zwift also offers the usual social elements and race series things, so if that kind of thing floats your boat then you'll be getting alot more value from the subscription.
So not sure what I'm going to do this winter...keep the smart trainer and stump up a monthly subscription, or give the supplied software another go in its free access mode which gives you courses to follow, so resistance changes, and there are some training sessions on there, but the training element doesn't appear to be as good as Zwift's with nowhere near the range of packaged up training programmes Zwift has that build progression towards a specific goal. Or I could go back to dumb turbo sessions using GCN or British Cycling programmes. I've since joined British Cycling and apparently membership gives you a huge library of turbo training programmes for a whole host of goals. My brother uses them for his triathlon bike training sessions and rates them so might give them a go, but don't need a smart trainer for them.
The reality is that unless you are super motivated, you will hate riding any trainer, whether dumb or smart, without some type of on-screen interactive experience. With that in mind, either spend as little as possible (2nd hand), tyr it for a few goes, hate it and stick the thing in the cupboard, or buy a half decent smart trainer (can get good Elite ones now for under £500) and pay for a couple of months subscription to Zwift through the winter. Do you know anyone with a trainer and subscription who would let you have a go to see if it might be for you?
Tacx Vortex Smart can be had for £200. I’ve had mine for about 3 years with no issues so far. There are/were some workouts on the Tacx app (free) but if I remember correctly it was pretty limited.
I use The Sufferfest because it’s a bit daft, but that makes it more bearable and it works for me. Yes you do pay for it but I think you can suspend your subscription at any time (possibly cancel at any time but not sure).
The reality is that unless you are super motivated, you will hate riding any trainer, whether dumb or smart, without some type of on-screen interactive experience
Not in my experience! I've never considered myself super motivated, but found it easy to commit to twice weekly sessions on my dumb turbo using GCN videos.
I think the secret is using the turbo for 'hard' sessions. I tried doing Ventoux via a video I found online and it was just too long and boring.
If I was just looking to go easy I'd be using rollers!
Edit: actually the sessions maybe needen't be intense, just 'purposeful' e.g. know what zones etc you want to hit. Before I got a heart rate monitor I just based it on wheel speed, e.g. after experimenting I knew I could manage the GCN sweetspot session at 38km/h.
If you just go in aimlessly I imagine you could get bored pretty fast!
If you just want to dabble I'd try and get a decent older dumb trainer and see how you like it. For example I sold my old minoura trainer for £20 last year (it was near £200 new a few years back). The market is all smart trainers now plenty good quality older ones about.
I'd say GCN videos count as an on-screen interactive experience, in that they tell you to do specific things at specific times.
For years I used the original Sufferfest videos, before they launched the app version. These were motivating enough for me and I probably got to my fittest ever doing 2-3 a week in the work gym at lunchtimes and a couple of outside rides too. This was on a Wattbike so kind of like a dumb trainer, although I did have power numbers in my head that related to the perceived effort numbers on the videos.
The biggest issue I had with the videos was that sometimes I wanted to "just go for a ride" on the turbo - Zwift really helped for this.
Two-way interactive smart turbos make them so much more bearable, my Direto has been my cycling lifeline this summer, mixing up freerides and ERG training sessions. As much as it's nice to use the Surface laptop to Zwift/RGT/Virtugo for a bigger screen and ANT+ connections, the Zwift Android app runs fine on my mobile over Bluetooth, but then I don't race often at all.
As @13thfloormonk says turbos are best for targeted training sessions rather than just "going for a spin indoors to avoid the weather". Fifteen minutes of non-interactive turbo and I'm done, add in the targeted efforts and I can manage ninety minutes. A turbo also lets you be precise in your efforts - do a five minute effort close to threshold out on the road is hard because of traffic, junctions, lights, change in gradient and wind direction. On a turbo you just get your heart rate or power up to the required value and hold it there.
We've just got an old Minoura magnetic turbo. Noisy. If I was getting one now I'd try and get one of the direct mount models but they are quite an investment new. Also get a good big floor standing fan.
I use(d) TrainerRoad, nowhere near as graphics fancy as Zwift but a very precise set of programmes to choose from. There's a huge TrainerRoad thread on here if you can find it. I haven't been on TR for a couple of years now so it could have changed quite a bit.
Before I started with TR I used a feature on my Garmin 510 that let you set up a training session on it, all heart rate based from memory. Just searched, it's an app on my desktop - Garmin Training Centre - can create sessions based on heart rate or power. The sessions are created by simple dialogs and look like:
Ride for 5mins, keep HR in zone 1
Ride for 5mins, keep HR in zone2
Repeat the steps below 3 times
- go until my HR goes above 160
- go until my HR drops below 130
- Ride for 5mins
Ride until my HR drops below 90
You then download the activity to your Garmin and ride to it. The device beeps at you when you need to change your level of effort. All very simple but free. Might be all you need. It's not as good as TR though.
Look at being on a turbo purely as training or post surgery recovery (I used ours post hip replacement for example). Don't try and compare it to riding outside.
I don’t want to subscribe to anything paid, e.g. Zwift, but I would like the ride experience to be:
– Somewhat realistic /challenging – so I’m not uploading 30 miles of spinning to Strava.
– Possibly somewhat interactive – whether that means altering resistance manually to be able to follow a course I don’t mind – I really don’t know how these things work.
I'm pretty sure that both Zwift and The Sufferfest do free trials so you can give them a go and decide if you think the relatively modest monthly cost is worth it for you. Smart trainers are ace, either for adding involvement with Zwift or for training using erg mode, where the power level is set for you.
The DC Rainmaker site:
is probably your best go to for thorough reviews of smart trainers. I find the Wahoo Kickr really good and if I were buying again, I'd be looking at their reconditioned trainers - see the Wahoo site - but there are plenty of decent options out there.
I get the 'hurt yourself enough and you won't notice the dullness' thing as I used to function that way myself, but while something like Zwift is never going to be as good as riding in the real world, it's still pretty immersive - hills are harder to pedal on, just like in the real world and there are other people to chase / drop / ignore / race if you're that way inclined etc. Also erg mode on smart trainers is a cracking way of hurting yourself / training more effectively.
+1 for borrowing / having a go on a smart trainer / Zwift if you can.
****ing hate turbo. Would rather ride in pissing rain than use a turbo. I've had about 5 different models over the years. Each proclaiming to be better than the last-none felt like riding a bike.
This year I used a mates wahoo for about 8minutes.
I promptly bought one. And a zwif subscription and it's actually been engaging and makes me want to go nip out for an hour or two and use it (--its much easier to justify to the wife I'll be in the garage for a couple hours at arms reach than to go out ride my bike on the road for two hours with a new born in the house )
The smart aspect of the trainer -which ever way you control it to perform workouts (and there are free options) is a game changer.
Cheers for replies.
Also found this, for anyone else following thread:
https://blog.tacx.com/what-are-my-options-with-a-basic-trainer/
I'd say take a look on Ebay or classifieds. So many unused or hardly used turbo's on there, especially dumb trainers as people 'upgrade' to smart trainers. Smart trainers still command decent money on Ebay, so probably worth paying the small amount extra and get brand new and the benefit of the warranty and afetsales support (Tacx have been great in my experience) and avoid the faff of the logistics with buying second hand (they're very heavy and bulky). But dumb turbo's can be had for very little money so easily worth buying to see how you get on even if you end up upgrading further down the line.