I’m thinking about getting on the Zwift / Trainer Road / Sufferfest bandwagon and investing in a smart trainer.

The challenges, in the garage (large, communal and shared) there is light but no power.  It’s dry and there is space to set a trainer and bike up.  I have a bike, and would be setting up and putting away each time I ride. Trainer would be locked up between rides.

A lot of the smart trainers I’ve looked at (Wahoo, Tacx) require a power source to adjust the speed / tension as well as transmit data. No go, as I have no power source and want to be able to measure power (and possibly HR).  Wifi signal extends from the flat to the garage (hurrah).

I’ve looked at power cranks / pedals and paired with a standard trainer might be useful.

Anyone got any experience of a set up that might work in this situation?

I currently use a ‘dumb’ fluid trainer and stages power meter and HRM strap with a laptop. Assuming you have a decent battery in a laptop I think you would be fine.

The only drawback is that you do not get any varying load with the change in terrain. Zwift knows your power so your avatar just goes slower uphill if you output the same power.

I do find when riding in a group that people with smart trainers seem to ride away from me when an incline starts.

I’ve read about a ‘self-powered’one but can’t recall make; possibly Elite?

Tacx Neo’s generate their own power apart from the power needed to simulate the “flywheel” spinning along when going down hill.

Heavy old unit to have to move around though….

I have a semi-smart fluid trainer – it’s not responsive and can’t adjust the drag, but it measures power, time, speed etc. Works well enough for me, and obviously you can pair it with Zwift and other similar apps.

I use a dumb turbo (kurt kinetic with a BT power meter), and Zwift running on my phone via 4G on the bars.

Works fine for me, had a cheap smart turbo before but wasn’t overly impressed So sold it and went back to the KK. Power is power so if I want to simulate the feel of a hill, I change down a few gears and slow my cadence.

My dumb trainer is also a Kurt kinetic, if you go down the dumb trainer route they are difficult to beat.

I’ve got the Elite turbo muin semi smart fluid trainer. Was using it irregularly for 18 months or so until I recently upgraded to a powered elite zumo also used irregularly.
Anyway the muin does a good job. It overestimated my power by about 20% (no bad thing in events) but was at least consistent.
If you’re near the north east then i could be parted with it reasonably cheaply as it’s just gathering dust.

Never used a turbo trainer before but have been looking around for one and in doing so have seen that the Tacx Bushido is completely wireless, apparently generates it’s own power with you pedalling. No idea how good they are

Would getting power into the garage be a non-starter?

What would you run the software on, and is there going to be enough battery to run longer sessions…probably be ok but bear in mind the Zwift companion app for example is very heavy on the battery (in my experience)

What if you need to run WiFi extenders etc for a stable connection?

Can all be done without of course but I’d consider getting power in there if possible, best and braces etc.

Big old car battery and an inverter? Not ideal, but get two and consider it weight training.

How are you going to power your fan? You are going to need one!

How are you going to power your fan? You are going to need one!

+1

I overheat in my unheated garage at -5 without a fan, indoors at +20 with a fan is fine.

Thanks for the replies, including the serious ones.  Power definitely not an option, and given there is an open air grid (big one) just above my parking space I don’t think heating up will be a problem (not in the winter).

Tacx Bushido is discontinued, so now looking a rollers / turbo and power meter – seems a bit much for a bit of winter training though.

Trouble is, without the wind of a fan blowing onto you directly the sweat doesn’t evaporate as fast.

I would say that a fan is pretty much essential. It’s insane how hot you get without one.

Just to add to things a fan is absolutely essential – some folks have two or even three.

While I wouldn’t go that far, excessive sweat is one of the biggest issues for indoor cycling.

It came out as one of the top ones in this research article about problems using Zwift, Sufferfest etc.

Unsurprisingly, having a sore seat came out top.

I’m crap, I’m slow, I put no effort in, I have the leg strength of a gnat…I still would never be without a fan !

So I’d go for a “dumb” trainer and a crank based power meter like 4iiii with trainer road.

If you’re having to set up the bike everytime then a wheel off direct drive is just phaff (and probably needs power anyway).

Wheel on smart trainers aren’t as good as the power changes as the system warms up (especially if you’re in a cold garage).

Zwift is only really immersive if the trainer is smart but on trainer road you’re just following the bouncing ball as it were.

Depending on your budget and ftp the 4iiii option might be a good one as I think it has a battery but DCRainmaker wasn’t hugely impressed with it currently so buyer beware.

I have a garage without power and there’s no chance of getting power to it. I use a leisure battery and inverter to power lights, gaming laptop and turbo. The fan is a cordless one that I got from Aldi and is good for two hours on full or 5 hours on low which is adequate most of the time. Internet is provided via hotspot on my phone. The turbo is a neo which can be used without power but I plug it in. Push come to shove I could use the neo and a phone mounted on an out front Garmin mount in the middle of a field as long as there’s 4G.

I’ve got a bushido and it’s a great bit of kit. You can still get them just google.

what fan for smart trainer set up…?

Extension lead?! That’s what I do

Extension lead?! That’s what I do

I assumed this is a block of flats, communal garage situation and therefore running an extension lead, making alterations to the garage is not an option

Wattbike pro. Doesn’t need power. It’s what I use, along with an iPad and a Bluetooth speaker for music. No power needed and works a treat.

This is supposed to be one of the best fans for indoor training apparently. I don’t have one myself – still using a cheap tower fan – but as my training is improving I am starting to struggle with heat!

Vacmaster Air Mover

First off – what are you trying to achieve? If you are already getting easy hours in outdoors and just using the trainer for 1hr or less high intensity sessions, then it doesn’t need to be smart, and you don’t need zwift, Trainerroad or even just GCN videos are enough.

Second – I don’t believe you even need the power meter, you’ll quickly learn what speeds you can maintain and for how long, and programs such as Trainerroad convert this to power for you. I learned that I could just complete the GCN 40 minute sweetspot video at 38km/h on my old Cycleops trainer, so obviously the challenge every session was to maintain or better that.

Third – you don’t *need* a fan, but you won’t achieve best training effect without one. If you’re just getting started I reckon you’ll make a lot of useful gains even without a fan, I did! It’s also really good for heat adaptation if you’re planning on any foreign holidays…

Having said all that, I’m currently trying to do lots of easy base miles indoors (doctor’s orders…) and really really wish I had a fully immersive smart Zwift setup!

So I’d go for a “dumb” trainer and a crank based power meter like 4iiii with trainer road.

If you’re having to set up the bike everytime then a wheel off direct drive is just phaff (and probably needs power anyway).

well its less of a faff than putting on the turbo tire – and more imporantly changing it back so you can use it on a rare sunny winters day,

its less of a faff than putting on the turbo tire – and more imporantly changing it back so you can use it on a rare sunny winters day

Unless you’re using an MTB/knobbly tyres/expensive light weight race tyres changing tyres isn’t essential. Trainer tyres are marginally quieter and harder wearing but road tyres work fine. I’ve looked at direct drive trainers but my road bike has a Campag groupset which seems to ramp up the costs and limit the options. Buying a power meter and using my 20 year old turbo seems like the best option at the moment (I’m only really interested in competing against myself but that is probably more a reflection of my lack of ability). Like everyone else has said training without a power meter is fine, although a power meter makes it easier to compare numbers.

well its less of a faff than putting on the turbo tire – and more imporantly changing it back so you can use it on a rare sunny winters day

…ish. Chatting to a friend at the weekend he said that he has to reindex his gears every time he takes the back wheel off to put his bike on the trainer (or put the wheel back in). While swapping a trainer tyre is a PITA, at least it’s not indexing gears!

Don’t have time to notice the wall paper.

Big fan on wall, fairly quiet, cheap but also has 3 speeds via remote. Also tapped into to remote on off plug with other 2 fans. Angled to keep head cool ish.

2 cheapish/ quietish fans on floor angled at legs/torso. On a cheap remote control plug.

Remote control of fans is very handy for many reasons.👍

Water spray hanging on bars. Great for spraying head and face with cold water up a long climb or whatever.

Bit messy but it works.

I still get hot but then again im not very fit. Ymmv.

327W and your not even on the bike. Cheater… 😉

Remote ebike too.😉

Wattbike pro.

Would probably need its own parking bay.

…ish. Chatting to a friend at the weekend he said that he has to reindex his gears every time he takes the back wheel off to put his bike on the trainer (or put the wheel back in). While swapping a trainer tyre is a PITA, at least it’s not indexing gears!

I take off my back wheel when I use my direct drive trainer every other day, never had to reindex my gears once. I’d say there’s something else going on there.

Why not just put it in the flat? The direct drive ones arent all that noisy. You could probably make up skme sort of noise isolating mat for it if you were worried (training mat, thin plywood, training mat) to deaden the sound? Set it up in whatever room the washing machine is and your neighbours would probably never know.

I take off my back wheel when I use my direct drive trainer every other day, never had to reindex my gears once. I’d say there’s something else going on there.

Nope, most wheels dont have the cassette in the same place. Obviously some do, but it’s not a guarentee. And a trainer is just like another wheel.

If anyone is interested I have a Wahoo Kickr, table/desk and mat for sale.

Contact at
nsfweb at me dot com