and which one to buy.

waste of money and mind numbingly dull.. used mine 3 times, now sat gathering dust.

Just MTFU and get out on the bike, turbos are only good for warming up for TT’s or if you ahve a broken arm/shoulder and you cant ride owt else.

None. Boring, really boring.
If you have to “ride” indoors I’d recommend spinning classes – nothing like real cycling and kinda painful. But not boring 🙂

get boring quick, download sufferfest videos to make it a bit more fun. might as well buy a cheap one, more expensive ones are better but don’t get used any more!

to use at work for a hour at dinner.
cant really get out thru the day.

Extend pre/post work rides?

I use an elite realtour I picked up cheap… Tacx imagic is the same deal… makes it a little better but its always a chore…

Buy a fan and set up a tv to watch dvd’s … then use turbo for interval sessions as they make the time go alot quicker than just bashing out duration.

They are good if you really don’t like the dark and rain. They do give you a good work out.

But you need an HRM for them to be any use, and riding to work is probably just as good exercise.

If you get one go for a Minoura RDA one the drives off the wheel rim so you don’t need to worry about tyres

I hate them. Would rather go running.

not much good then by the sounds………..
longer commute then.

A really great training aid but not a substitute for riding.

I got one when i was recovering from an Op. Could go for around 20 mins before i lost the will to live. Now, like so many others, it is sat gathering dust in the loft.

I’m up to Leeds on Friday night for a weekends riding with a mate. I can bring it up if you’d like to borrow it to try it out?

recently injured my shoulder so can’t ride & have borrowed one off a mate. set up my laptop in front of me and either listen to tunes or watch films. i like it & am currently in the process of picking up a cheap one off the classifieds. i used to go to the gym a lot to do cardio work & it’s a good substitute.

They are boring, but you know that. If used properly, with a sensible training plan, they are very very effective, but you have to be well motivated. The sessions need to be hard and varied to help time pass.

They aren’t a substitute for riding but are great if you need to do some headbanging interval work which can be a bit unsafe on dark, wet roads.
I have a fairly basic TacX Sirius Gel which is fine, and I listen to music or the radio. I generally did 2 x 1 hour sessions a week through last winter with the intention of being fit enough to race on the roads in the Spring/Summer based on a very limited amount of time available for riding. It worked.

Don’t expect it to be fun or pleasant 🙂

Brilliant for training.

Just splashed mucho cash on a new one (Kurt Road Machine). Interval hell here I come.

EDIT: +1 for thesufferfest.com intervals videos. Perfect for breaking yourself. I struggle to stand immediately afterwards, and usually have to use the hand rail to pull myself up the cellar stairs.

they are bloody loud!!!

Magnetic or fluid for quietness. Side rollers for nobbly tyres. Use a clock and a training plan for intervals or laptop if you’re fancy. Regular 1hr sessions will make a real difference to your fitness if you do it right (i.e. suffering, redlining, tongue hanging out etc). Also a good motivational aid as if it’s a choice between riding in bad weather or a turbo session, I usually choose the ride…
You’ll need a big towel as well…

You can get quiet ones.

IMHO only really for super high end fitness, 30 second pedal til you puke, swallow it down and pedal til you bleed, then pedal a bit harder, etc, type intervals.

Def need a proper plan pyramid intervals are good, music, and a fan. Does work but you need a good base first. Not a way to gain or keep fitness.

Most people you see on spin bikes in gyms aren’t really trying you realise.

Makes me smile that just because some people haven’t got any clue how turbo sessions can fit into a proper, structured training plan, then they must automatically be rubbish.

As a brief example, a turbo is brilliant if you are doing single leg drills working on pedalling efficiency. A similar session on a road bike on the road is rather tricky, let alone on a mountain bike.

Useful for doing anaerobic threshold testing based on a 30 minute time trial as it removes a lot of extraneous factors such as wind, traffic etc.

🙂

waste of money and mind numbingly dull

i disagree, i bought one last december after toying with the idea for many years and its one of the most useful bits of winter kit i have ever bought.

the real breakthrough for me was when i got a few basic spinervals dvds which effectively taught me how to use it.

over the winter i would either do one of the dvds or watch a surf movie or something but still more or less stick to a riding plan from the dvds.

yes i still outdoor rode when i could, but if it was sleeting down then trainer all the way.

the very best bit about the trainer is that if you have a very limited time you get a really effective ride. if i was really pushed (in between running kids to beavers, guides et al) and could only grab 30 or 40 mins it had to be better than sitting in front of the computer reading forums!

I’ve turbo trained on cold wet dark nights, cos I didn’t want to go out in awful conditions. Half the time I hate it SO much I put some gear on and go out anyway. No matter how bad the weather it’s better than turbo hell.

Useful for doing anaerobic threshold testing

Interesting one this. I’ve got a power meter on my bike, and it hurts way way more to keep up a power I KNOW I can easily do on the road. I don’t know why this is. Some other people report this, some don’t Bit of a mystery. I ensure good airflow with a fan in my face and the garage door open etc but no matter what I do I just can’t get the power on the trainer. I’ve even done it outside but still no better.

Get some rollers instead. I had this debate last year and went down the rollers with resistance route. I’m hoping to turn them into free motion rollers by adding some skateboard wheels so i can sprint out of the saddle

like this

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS2yvBo8EMQ[/video]

to use at work for a hour at dinner.
cant really get out thru the day.

If you can’t get out and fancy spinning the wheels of your bike for 20 mins then goto be a good idea?

If you commute on anything but slicks though you might also need a spare back wheel with a slick tyre on 🙂

Makes me smile that just because some people haven’t got any clue how turbo sessions can fit into a proper, structured training plan, then they must automatically be rubbish

I agree…I got one a couple of years ago..made a huge difference to my fitness. If your work hours or location don’t give you the option to go out in the winter evenings, then a structured turbo session is great.

It’s not “fun” tho but v satisfying. I use the Carmichael Train Right DVDs..climbing 1 and 2 are great interval sessions, and when you get fit enough, do them back to back – make sure you have a bucket handy tho 😉

So, ton, to decipher

1. For fitness work in a short time, turbos are ace
2. Buy a fluid (best) or magnetic (next best) or fan (cheap but v noisy).
3. Download thesufferfest.com intervals videos and lay your hands on other structred sessions
4. Buy a big FO fan, as you’ll self-combust with the heat otherwise
5. Do two hard sessions a week and kick (more) arses when riding

5. Do two hard sessions a week and kick (more) arses when riding

and enjoy riding more because you’re much fitter!

If doing it at work I hope you’ve got a shower- the level of, uh, perspiration is far greater than when out getting a cooling breeze for some reason!

They are great for measured and focused training or intervals- where else can you smash it head down at a constant effort without soon coming across different terrain / traffic lights / junctions etc??

I’ve used a Tacx Excel for years – over the winter – and its great for training – generally high end interval stuff and power development – its no substitute for proper riding or as much fun as a night right – but when the weather a outside is crap or I don’t have time its better then nowt
At the moment I’m looking for some rollers for more endurance based work outs
Off now to do an hour while watching the commonwealth games while on the turbo

where else can you smash it head down at a constant effort without soon coming across different terrain / traffic lights / junctions etc

A reasonable point, but I searched out bits of road I could use for constant efforts, and I find it far far easier to get more power down.

+1 Kurt Kinetic and Sufferfest.
I think turbos can really improve your riding – especially if you have limited time.

+1 Kurt Kinetic + Kurt Computer (with watt’s)

there is some good plans HERE

But that Sufferfest DVD that come with the turbo is ok as well.

They are only loud when you have knobbly tyres on bike, use smooth ones and prob sorted.
They are great when it’s a howling gale and horizontal rain outside and great entertainment for the kids! They laugh at me 🙄

I use a Minoura, about £100, does the job but I do fancy an all singing/dancing one with video, look fun.

They are still quite loud with slicks on tho. I have a magnetic one and it’s still loud enough to make me have to turn the TV up quite a lot.

I have an Tacx Fortius and happliy spend a couple of hours on it a few times a week.

Riding around Spain or Italy (on DVD) isn’t too bad for when it’s cold and wet outside at home.

It’s also handy if you’ve got commitments at home and can’t get out.

My wife uses it a lot as well, as she doesn’t enjoy going out on the roads in the dark.

Using mine at the moment as I’m injured and can’t ride on the road – use a HRM to stay in the zone I want to train. Hard work but I don’t have any “lost” time where I’m not in what ever zone I want. Road would be better in the right weather conditions and I’m sure a power meter would be even better additon though at a cost. IMO not very good if you just want to “pedal along” but very good if you set zones, targets and have limited time.

Only just returned to the thread, I’m interested in the sufferfest stuff might make the turbo less tedious. Is there a particular favourite for anyone?

one extra thing to think about – don’t let your sweat drip on the bike, it will ruin the finish on frame, front mech and cranks. Get one of those bike bra things

the noise of the turbo trainer is nothing compared to the tv playing the Metallica and Anthrax videos… and you can get a bloody hard 45-60 min work out, knowing all you have to do is fall off the bike and crawl into the shower when it all gets too hard… I seem to have a degree of perverse self preservation when biking that means I’ll happily take any drop, but will always leave plenty of energy in reserve to get me home.. so a turbo trainer at home means I can go for broke!

I love using mine as it enables me to get some training in when mrs B is at work and the l
kids are in bed. I’ve got this one and it’s not loud at all.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Elite_Crono_Fluid_ElastoGel_Trainer/5360026397/

legspin – Member
Only just returned to the thread, I’m interested in the sufferfest stuff might make the turbo less tedious. Is there a particular favourite for anyone?
POSTED 5 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

i’ve just bought downward spiral which, as the name suggests, consists of interval training of decreasing duration from 2 mins flat out down to 15 sec bursts. Works for me so far