Mrs B and I generally ride all through the year. We have some events hopefully coming up in 2021 (if not cancelled).
We dont ‘train’ we ride bikes and love it, but both of us want to be faster and fitter too.
So we thought indoor training may be the way forwards to maximise effort to reward.
I have a very old fan turbo trainer. I have a cadence/speed sensor and i have a Stages power meter.
We have several bikes so are happy to dedicate one to a trainer role.
We are thinking Zwift as it seems fun and interactive. So should we get a wheel out trainer? If so, what works best? Most reliable?
It will need to be fun and competitive to motive us, so any sughestions gratefully received.

Regards

Ian

I think you need to give some indication of budget

Budget. The Tacx T2240 suits me, less than £200, add in a dedicated PC, ANT+sensor and two screens. You are looking from anything from £200 to over £1,000 for a trainer. The more expensive, the better. Wheel out better if you plan to use different bikes. Note you’ll have to slightly re-index the mech, or not if lucky as all ‘hubs’ are fractionally different.

I’ve used the trainer much less this year due to WFH as I can get out during the day (stopped cycle commuting after receiving a badly broken back for my efforts).

Zwift is good ! I usually have Zwift on 1 screen right in front of me, then music/video on another screen.

I retire shortly so id rather buy something that will last and be hassle free than skimp.
Id stuggle to spend more than 1k on an indoor device, but as its a longterm investment im happy to spend up to that. Obviously Mrs B may have the last say on budget…..

This is quite a helpful site: https://zwiftinsider.com

Lots of useful links to Youtube set up videos/how to guides etc.

Definitely get a wheel-off trainer, they’re not that much more expensive, and they’re a lot better. http://www.dcrainmaker.com is pretty much the definitive site for turbo reviews, he’s got a fairly up-to-date comparison of the different models here:

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/11/smart-cycle-trainer-recommendations-guide-winter.html

I’ve used old dumb Saris fluid, wheel on smart Tacx Vortex and direct drive Wahoo Kickr Core smart trainers over the years and some sort of direct drive smart trainer would be my advice especially if you want the full interactive experience of Zwift. If budget doesn’t allow, go wheel on, but deffo needs to be smart IMO.

Thanks all. I will check the reviews and the zwift link

Ian

Remember to budget for a decent fan. I’ve a Cleva Vacmaster which is about £60 or so.

There are low, mid, high and silly pricess.

I started off low with a wheel on Tacx 2240.
It worked, wasnt as accurate as more expensive models and was noisier. But it did the job. It got me from a dumb trainer working off HR and perceived effort into Zwift. The experience is much more engaging. I like to do the races and tick off the badges from completing courses. If zwift isn’t for you it will be obvious fairly soon. You could get on with a power meter and dumb trainer but you lose a lot of the experience not having feedback.

I’ve now got a Tacx flow. £6-700. It’s quieter, more reliable (my FTP dropped 🙁 ). It just works better. In the same way xtr is nicer than slx but both work.

There are other non zwift options rouvi and a few others that let you ride real roads from GPS data or videos.

DC rainmaker is good for reviews.

Think about extras. Fans, mats, computer/monitor/TV etc.

As I share my trainer with wife and daughter we went with a Watt Bike, fairly expensive but they’re just absolutely faff free.
I use Zwift, more because the races on here. If I wasn’t doing those races and was aiming at getting fit then I’d be on Sufferfest. I’ve found this more mentally involving than trainer road.

If you’ve not done any indoor training before then beware of doing too much, you just don’t get a rest on a turbo, you are always pedalling. It might not be high effort pedalling but you don’t stop for the hour or so of each session. Consequently you need to allow for rest days. Even on a structured programme I don’t do more than three days a week but this does allow me to get out at weekends.

Make sure your computer is up to running Zwift, most recent kit should be fine.