Viewing 18 posts - 1 through 18 (of 18 total)
  • Budget smart turbo trainers?
  • thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    I know it’s the wrong time of year, but I’m unfit and I got back into Sufferfest recently, mostly because I’ve lost some weight ove the last couple of years and a buketload of power in the process, based on ‘virtual power’ I’m down from 275W FTP to somewhere around 220W (but can now beat people up hills I couldn’t before so I’m happy even if my ability to drop them on the flats has all but gone).

    The problem is either the old garmin sensor on my bike is playing up or the magnets are being less magnetic, or something else, but the power readings are not all over the place. I can be trying to do ~300W and it’ll go from 180 to 450 every so often, I’m guessing because it misses a revolution then assumes I’ve slowed down for a second, then put in a mahoosive acceleration the next. I was going to try applying the power smoothing option tonight, then new magnets, then new sensor if all else fails. But a set of garmin sensors is £55 (B’twin do a set for £35 and theres chinese sellers on ebay for £25). And looking around ebay you can now get smart trainers for around that.

    I know anything that isn’t >£600 isn’t actually measuring power, it’s just applying the same algebra as the virtual power measurements, but it’s at least one less piece of guesswork in the process, and really the benefit would be in the ERG mode not having to smash through a full cassette of gears between rest and sprint intervals.

    Stuff that’s in or around £60

    Tacx Vortex T2180
    Bkool Connect Sport (seller calls it Smart Pro, but I thought the ‘smart’ versions were black, this ones white and I can’t find it on google, is “connect sport” just part of their logo or something?)

    Any other options? I presume that anything that’s labeled ANT+ FE-C should work, there aren’t any quirks are there?

    The confusingly named Bkool

    Or even the next step up, Elite Turbo Muin B+, way more than I wanted to spend (I’d have to sell an actual cheap bike to fund it) but a far more serious bit of kit, and I do have an old trashed frame I could mount permanently on it with an MTB cassette/mech/shifter bodged onto the bars.

    I’m reluctant to go down the route of getting an actual power meter just yet as even though a Stages crank isn’t much more again, I’d then be tempted to get matching chainsets on all my bikes which makes it somewhat more expensive as none of them match currently!

    akira
    Full Member

    I’ve got a BKool smart pro 2 and I’m happy with it, works great with zwift. Slight lag from putting power down to registering it but not enough to really matter. Easy to set up and good good deal from Sigma a while back. BKool software bit rubbish for riding but I never use it.

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    nixie
    Full Member

    The Elite Turbo Muin B+ is notoriously inaccurate to the point where it and all wheel on trainers are banned from an upcoming zwift competition.

    akira
    Full Member

    Which zwift thing is that?

    n0b0dy0ftheg0at
    Free Member

    https://www.halfords.com/cycling/turbo-trainers/trainers/elite-direto-ots-2-percent-turbo-trainer is a great price at mo, £550 before using BIKEDAD promo code for 10% off and if you get lucky with getting British Cycling membership discount on top of that when you click and collect… ~£450.

    nixie
    Full Member

    @akira https://zwift.com/p/eracing-rules in the physical hardware section

    akira
    Full Member

    Ah the actual eracing, thought you meant just the mucking about races I do.

    nixie
    Full Member

    No not for the mucking around ones. Though I bet there will be a time when ZwiftPower ban certain models.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    The Elite Turbo Muin B+ is notoriously inaccurate to the point where it and all wheel on trainers are banned from an upcoming zwift competition.

    Haha, blimey. That’s pretty damming as reviews go! Wonder if it’s because its the only fluid resistance wheel on trainer?

    I did a bit of googling and despite the big expensive looking cast case they appear to be really badly built as well. Lots of stories of bearings lose in the flywheel, shafts not concentric, seals failing etc but convinced myself that 2 year warranty and updated models might have solved that!

    is a great price at mo, £550 before using BIKEDAD promo code for 10% off and if you get lucky with getting British Cycling membership discount on top of that when you click and collect… ~£450.

    Still £250 more than the muin which was £100 more than I really wanted to spend anyway!

    ozric45
    Free Member

    I would think a cyclops magnus would be an option. They are heavily discounted at the moment on pbk
    It will do 1500w and is one of the better wheel on trainer. I’m using a wahoo kickr snap wheel on and can’t really fault it. It’s not so much a budget option though.

    mogrim
    Full Member

    I’ve got a BKool Smart Pro, and I’m very happy with it.

    The power measurement is quite a bit off the real power output but it is at least consistent, so today’s 200W is the same as yesterday’s 200W, even if the real power is closer to 230… That said, it really doesn’t make any difference to your training assuming you do an FTP test using the trainer.

    It works fine with Sufferfest, which is all I ask of it. (I’ve also used it with Zwift and of course the BKool software). Sure, a direct mount trainer would no doubt be more accurate, and perhaps better for out of saddle efforts, but it’s not something I really use enough to justify paying that much extra cash for.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    I’ve got a BKool Smart Pro

    Does it look anything like the one in that pic?

    TiRed
    Full Member

    I think you have two options. Cheap turbo and a pedal or crank power meter for £400. Or a direct drive without PM for about £6-700.

    You won’t want to hear it but a Wahoo KICKR Core will be the best money you ever spend on an indoor trainer. It’s not cheap. But it’s a lot cheaper than the original. It’s silent and it has the very best road feel. You will be able to spend an hour or two riding it and wonder where the time went.

    I really can’t recommmnd them highly enough. And I have a cheap wheel on Tacx I hated and rollers I also love with my pedal PM. But the KICKR is just a superb piece of kit.

    https://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices/kickr-core-indoor-smart-trainer-reconditioned

    Just buy it and thank me When you are still riding it in five years time.

    mogrim
    Full Member

    Does it look anything like the one in that pic?

    No, mine’s got extensible sticky outy legs on the sides.

    My bkool

    Your picture’s a BKool Classic (if my google skills haven’t let me down).

    tiim
    Free Member

    Tacx Flow T2240. I’ve been using one for a couple of years of TrainerRoad and general turboing. It is fine. Yes it is wheel on and yes it is not 100% to the watt accurate but it IS repeatable and easy to set upto be repeatable (quick spin down test each use in TR keeps it consistent).

    I usually use it in erg mode and short (sub 10s) intervals can be a bit slow to respond but for the money it does the job well.

    £200ish at Halfords, sometimes cheaper.

    Also worth keeping an eye on the wiggle ebay shop (e.g. this, basically the same as the flow)

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Your picture’s a BKool Classic (if my google skills haven’t let me down).

    I think it’s a bkool 1.0, which I think is smart but predates fe-c but can have the firmware updated.

    You won’t want to hear it but a Wahoo KICKR Core will be the best money you ever spend on an indoor trainer. It’s not cheap.

    TBH I had kinda settled on that idea for the winter. If I can stick with this training plan over the summer in the run-up to SSUK* then I might bite the bullet.

    An actual power meter would be nice but I hardly ever ride with my Garmin on the bars as it is. The road bikes used mostly for club runs so apart from gathering data I don’t think I’d really do much training with it.

    * not taking it seriously, it just happens to be 11 weeks away and the SF xc training plan is 10 weeks so it fits together nicely.

    richardk
    Free Member

    I did some Sufferfest training with an old Elite magnetic resistance trainer, and a Stages power meter.  Worked OK, but you did spend time hunting the right gear and cadence to get the power right.  This was OK for longer intervals, but for shorter intervals (1 minute), then you spent a good portion of the interval getting to the power and so some benefit was lost.  Also, getting to some of the higher power levels was noisy – even with a dedicated turbo tyre.

    I’m now 3 days back into Suffering again, this time with a second hand Elite Direto.  I know its way more than you want to spend, but for me the investment is worth it.  Power changes driven by the app in erg mode are near instant – no gear changes or manual resistance changes.  It feels significantly harder.

    25mile TT in 10 days, then a weeks rest before the 4DP test…

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