Turbo trainer

hothead

Hello,

I have a old noisy turbo that makes a racket to be honest. Are there any well priced quiet ones on the market? Not got a lot to spend. Any help would be great on this. thanks

Gav2000

I'm in the same boat, I'm looking for quiet, reasonable resisitance and reasonable cost. I'll be very interested in the replies you get.

Gav.

Lagavulin

Could I just ask if even the quiet ones are suitable to use indoors, say for example, if someone else is watching the telly in an adjacent room, or would it be like being on an old tram?

crackle

I bought one of these last year.

I wanted a cheap turbo because I didn't know how much I'd use it and how I'd use it and how good it would be etc.. etc... I can't say how it compares to others because it's the first I've had but it's reasonably solid, resistance is variable and it's quite 'ish. I daresay the better known makes are, well better, but this one has worked well so far, especially for the cost and now I know I'd use a trainer and that it's useful, then when it dies I will invest a bit more in a better one (it takes 26 and 700c wheel sizes)

Down the Road

Why not go to your Locl specialist retailer and ask. Simple really.

hothead

Always find them a bit expensive at shops, online seem better deals for turbos

ryanhami

on evanscycles they have some reasonally priced ones

JonnyCash

Hi All

I'm in a similar situation, about to buy a turbo for the first time!!!

Are there any reasonable priced turbos that give you time, distance, speed etc information??

Last winter i used an exercise bike and found that the information feedback and constant calculations broke a bit of the monotony!!

frankblackcat

I've been using a Cycle Ops Fluid for a year or so and am happy with it. Not sure if it counts as cheap or quiet, but the people in the flat below me never complain and it's a lot quieter than other ones I've used.

Jonah2940

Bought one of these a couple of months ago:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... %20Trainer
Very quiet and smooth. You'll need a riser for the front wheel though which is about £12.

crackle

JonnyCash wrote:

Hi All

I'm in a similar situation, about to buy a turbo for the first time!!!

Are there any reasonable priced turbos that give you time, distance, speed etc information??

Last winter i used an exercise bike and found that the information feedback and constant calculations broke a bit of the monotony!!

I think there are but they are not cheap, more at the high end. I use an HRM and a cycle computer with a rear sensor and a cadence sensor(Cateye Astrale eight); tells me everything I need to know barring power and I ain't serious enough to really need that.

Barbes

I bought a Minoura Hypermag 1200 last year for about £120 and it's excellent. It's simple mechanically, very easy to engage / disengage and so far fault free (I'd read about leaking fluid so opted for a mag resistance). I use it in a garage so no noise issues for others & it seems quiet to me. I don't bother with a riser or one of these daft sweat vest thingies - the yellow pages and a towel works fine.

knedlicky

I bought a Tacx T 1450 speedomatic with magnetic resistance unit about 8 years ago for £30. What is basically the same model now sells for about £80. There’s always a slight hum but it’s otherwise pretty quiet. I’ve had no problems at all.

Beforehand I loaned a simpler Tacx model (with less resistance) from a shop for the weekend to try out (no charge), borrowed from a friend a more traditional roller unit where the back wheel is free (but also less resistance), and persuaded one of the shops to loan me the T 1450 over a weekend (no charge).
I suggest you see if you can actually try out different options before choosing.

I wouldn’t spend too much money on a turbo because I think they are far from the real thing – for fitness you might well be better off getting out in Winter, on a MTB or simply on your feet, running hills. Just use the turbo when it's really bad outside or you've little time.

hammerite

Newbie questions on Turbos!

How do you log miles on a turbo? Do they show a reading which tells you the distance you have covered/time etc...... my speedo sensor is on my front wheel so it won't be moving.

Also what sort of resistance do you have to set for it to be effective?

and how do the DVD training aids work? Can I plug a turbo into a DVD player and watch myself climbing ventoux and getting the real resistance for a climb of that degree (I'm guessing if you can get that it will be mega expensive!).

I'm guessing I'm just going to have to set up in the front room with all the windows open and the TV on!

heavymental

I bought a basic Taxc model from bike24.com which was the cheapest price I could find at the time. Ships from germany but no problems with mine.

I also have a cheap HRM that I use with it and just try and stay in zones for the workout. 2x20 minutes intervals is long enough for me before it gets very dull. There's lots of more sophisticated workout available if you get into it. I found that the £80 I shelled out on mine was fine for the odd session. Course, if you're a stat junkie or training seriously then I'm sure rigging up a computer to get miles and cadence info would be good but for some cheap winter training a HRM, the TV and some loud music is good enough.

Also, mine is fairly quiet. Its a magnetic one I think. I think if I was on it in the room next door it wouldn't be too loud if the door was closed but the problem is I like to stick the music on loud otherwise its very boring pedalling away in silence!

Barbes

and how do the DVD training aids work? Can I plug a turbo into a DVD player and watch myself climbing ventoux and getting the real resistance for a climb of that degree (I'm guessing if you can get that it will be mega expensive!).

I think you're thinking of the i-Magic(?) which hooks up to a laptop which IIRC gives you simulated routes. It's probably 3 or 4 * the price of a standard turbo - which you'd probably be best to try first to see if you can hack it. I probably only use mine a couple of times a week (in winter) for half an hour each to keep ticking over. Rarely use it in summer.

BeaconRuth

hammerite wrote:

How do you log miles on a turbo? Do they show a reading which tells you the distance you have covered/time etc...... my speedo sensor is on my front wheel so it won't be moving.

The more sophisticated ones will tell you all sorts of things like power, HR, cadence, speed etc, but a basic turbo is just a resistance to pedal against. Some don't even have variable resistance.

I've never considered distance or speed on a turbo of much interest, but if you want to know then you can buy a computer with a cable long enough to reach to your rear wheel.

Also what sort of resistance do you have to set for it to be effective?

Some people do a simple calibration procedure to try to set the resistance as similar to a flat road as possible - again, I've never had much interest in doing this. You've only got to have a headwind on the road and the resistance shoots up, so why try and simulate a flat, windless road on the turbo?

I'm guessing I'm just going to have to set up in the front room with all the windows open and the TV on!

An electric fan isn't a bad idea!

Ruth

hammerite

Thanks for the replies Ruth/Barbes, much appreciated.

I'm only planning to use a turbo for a couple of evenings during the winter when it is too dark to get out (I live in the middle of nowhere, so it's a bit dangerous to get out on the roads round here!). So I guess a cheapo one won't be too bad to get me going. Connecting a computer up would be nice, but probably not worth the effort given the amount of use it will get.

Barbes

For me, money is well spent on getting a heavy unit so you can fully concentrate on pedal technique, cadence etc. and not worry about stability. I shelled out about £30 extra for the Minoura 1200 having tried a 1000 unit. Well worth it.