Beginner seeking turbo trainer advice - spare wheel etc

Tristero

Hello, I'm new here. I've had a browse and couldn't find the answer to my question (possibly because it's so basic), so I'm hoping one of you will help.

I'm going to purchase a turbo trainer this month, but my research tells me that tyre wear is going to be a major issue. I knew it wouldn't be so simple as just going out and buying one.. I'm a beginner, but I've quickly come to realise that the costs soon mount up.

Because I only have one bike and want to be able to go out on it as often as I can (ie instead of using the trainer), I can't fit a trainer-specific tyre to my normal wheel. I'm going to need to buy a second wheel which I can swap over when necessary.

Now, regarding this second wheel: will the set of cogs on it have to precisely match the set I use on the road? And if they don't, are there implications with the gear shifts? Will I have to spend time setting them up each time I want to use the trainer or go out on the road?

Also, given that I've never changed a rear wheel before, is it even a viable option to have a spare for use with the trainer? How time consuming is it to change?

Costwise, will I be able to pick up a cheap wheel with cogs without breaking the bank? My budget is small.

Or...

...is there a turbo trainer that doesn't wear tyres out, that doesn't cost the earth?

Pardon my ignorance. I have to learn somewhere!

Thanks in advance.

Michael.

csp

The trainer will eat up your tire in no time, so it's a good idea to have a spare wheel. I wouldn't worry about having the exact same cogs, as long as it's the same system. As for your never having changed a wheel before, watch a bike race and you'll se how time consuming it is.

Tristero

CSP, thanks for responding - I appreciate the advice.

One question: when you say "as long as it's the same system", what do you mean?

M.

pinnacleroadie

It should be the same make (Shimano, Campy etc) and should have the same no of cogs.

Tristero

Thanks, Pinnacle.

I'll get searching now. I've a nasty feeling this is going to turn out costly...

andyrr

Pick up a cheap wheel - Shimano-compatible more commonly available, Ebay rears around £30 or so, then the cheapest cassette with the same number of sprockets as your current one - maybe best to get one where the ratio is not that wide, ie closer to 11-21 than say 12 - 27, so that the jumps between gears are not that great.
Some people use std road tyres on their turbo - some turbos will chew them to bits some are not as bad, not sure which are best for tyre wear tho'
I certainly found that a turbo-specific tyre was worth the money - cost around £15 or so and will last ages on the turbo as they run really cool. Had mine (continental) on for 2 years or so and it has not squared off at all.

Tristero

Thanks for your replies.

I've had a look around and it looks like the cost will mount up a bit - maybe not that much, but more than I was hoping.

So.. I've had another idea:

I have access to an old racing bike (late 80s!) - only 12 gears, but the same size frame as my current one. If I was to fit a training tyre to this and use it exclusively for the turbo, surely I would get the same out of it as if I used my first choice bike..?

Or should I, ideally, be training on exactly the same setup as I would be using on the road? How much of an impact would training using different gears have?

This feels like a dumb question, but I hope one of you can help.

csp

This is probably a better idea, because the trainer puts a lot of stress on the frame, too. As long as you have the same position on this bike, it should be fine.

Gary D

Tristero wrote:

Thanks for your replies.

I've had a look around and it looks like the cost will mount up a bit - maybe not that much, but more than I was hoping.

So.. I've had another idea:

I have access to an old racing bike (late 80s!) - only 12 gears, but the same size frame as my current one. If I was to fit a training tyre to this and use it exclusively for the turbo, surely I would get the same out of it as if I used my first choice bike..?

Or should I, ideally, be training on exactly the same setup as I would be using on the road? How much of an impact would training using different gears have?

This feels like a dumb question, but I hope one of you can help.

If you have access to a second bike then definitely go down that route. I would guess that most people use a different bike on a Turbo anyway - particularly if they have a "best Bike". Spend as little as you can to start with. If you have never used a Turbo before you may not like it - they are incredibly boring - but do work!

I think if you do a bit of searching you will find Turbo training routines that you can work to. I use the ones that were published in Cycling Plus a while ago. Personally, I need a routine that is time based otherwise as I got bored I would just think s*d it and get off the bike too early :oops: :oops: .
I would say it is important to warm up slowly and then also cool down slowly. Then in the middle bit, if it is hurting, you are sweating like a pig and are knackered - then you have got it about right :shock: :shock:

Hope this helps,
Gary.

scapaslow

I'd agree with GaryD - spend as little as possible until you have tried it out. Not everyone can hack using a turbo.

Or should I, ideally, be training on exactly the same setup as I would be using on the road? How much of an impact would training using different gears have?

You'll have much the same spread of gears with bigger jumps between them than your other bike which should not be a problem for what you want. A lot of turbos have controls to vary resistance without using the gears. You'll still have a range of gears from easy to hard.

You might also be able to leave the old bike permanently setup on the turbo which can save time and hassle and would be an advantage over swapping wheels. Make sure you setup the old bike to match your existing setup in terms of your position on the bike.

Tristero

Excellent stuff. Thanks for all your advice - you've covered everything I was unsure of, and you've given me plenty of ideas.

All that remains now is for me to get that trainer tyre ordered.

I'll post back and let you know how I get on at some point in the future.

Cheers!

Michael.

Bronzie

Tristero, probably best to see how you get on with your turbo first but you'll need to factor in buying a decent fan for cooling you down when you're on the turbo. Without it, you'll ending up a sweating mass within 10 mins once you are working hard.

birdy247

And dont forget to check out www.turbotraining.co.uk to give you some inspiration!

eh

Turbos don't chew the tyre that quickly in my experience. I did December to March on one conti gatorskin (steel bead) which saw use the turbo at least once per week (often twice) and also doing on average over 100 miles on the road.

So my advice is to start using the turbo with the bike as it is, provided you have cheap-ish winter type tyre on rather than a super soft race tyre.

Tristero

Again, thanks for the excellent advice.

You're right, Eh - there can't be any harm going for it using the old bike's current tyre. I won't be using that one on the road anyway, so may as well wear it out before getting a harder one.

As for the turbo training website - thanks Birdy, that's exactly what I need. I was concerned that my training would be aimless as I've never done it before, so it'll be good to have a plan.

M.

Tristero

Well, I'm now the owner of a Tacx trainer. However, I'm going to have to wait a while longer as the old "racer" I mentioned in my earlier post in this thread doesn't have a quick-release mechanism, so I've got to get hold of some nuts at £12 a pair to fit the thing. Damn, and that seems pretty steep to me.

I had a look at the site Birdy recommended for training plans, but couldn't see anything for the complete beginner. I did find this, though:

http://www.tredzblog.co.uk/2007/02/turbo_session_1.html

If one of you could check it out and let me know what you think, I'd be interested.

One thing: it's for a standard 18-speed road bike. This old beast that I'm going to use here is only a 12-speeder (stop laughing). How do I transpose the plan for this? Is it as simple as saying (for example) gear 9 on the 18-speed = gear 6 on the 12-speed (9/18 = 6/12), and gear 6 on the 18-speed = gear 4 on the 12-speed etc (6/18 = 4/12)? Obviously top gear and bottom gear are set choices, but how do my 10 middle gears relate to the 16 middle gears of the bike used in the plan?

I realise I have to take into consideration gear sizes etc, but would my simple, fractions method be adequate?

M.

SBezza

I have done over 700 miles on my turbo with a normal tyre and the wear doesn't seem bad at all.

I would use it with your normal bike and see if you need a different wheel/tyre combo.

scapaslow

I think your approx calculations would be OK. I wouldn't worry about it much.

If you want to be more accurate find out how many teeth are on the sprockets of your cassette e.g. 13, 15, 17. 19, 21, 23 and your chainring teeth e.g. 53/39 then go to a gear calculator like http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/ and plug in the values.

You can then select a variety of 9 speed combinations (e.g. 13 - 23) to which you can compare. It would be helpful if the site you refer to gave more details of the gears used than 1 to 18.

dd1

Recently purchased a Turbo, and am just using a normal tyre. Not much wear, but then only using it if the weather is too bad to go out.

Can get pretty boring unless you're in front of a TV.

Also try the ipod downloads at

www.thesufferfest.com/

Dunedin397

If you're going to use a turbo trainer and only have the 1 bike, I'd definately recommend a 2nd wheel with a specific trainer tyre on it, such as those from Continental or Tacx.

If you've got a 2nd bike, then that's the best way to go, but I'd still recommend a trainer tyre for it.

I wouldn't worry about the number of gears on the 2nd bike, we both use old rigid mountain bikes that only have 6 sprockets, but that fine for the turbo (remember the number of gears doesn't always mean bigger gears, just less jumps between sprocket sizes).

The tyres on these bikes are road 26" Schwalbe Marathon Slicks (sadly no longer being made) and we've both done around 10000 miles over the last 3 years and tyres are going strong.

You may well find that different tyres are affected differently from turbo use, some may show little wear while others grain quite badly. Like anything, it's worth getting the right tools for the job, so putting some thought to the correct bike, wheel, tyre, etc is well spent. You'll go through a learning process on what works for you and what doesn't, but it's worth spending a few more pounds on kit that works rather on cheap stuff that you have to replace more often.

Cheers,

Dunedin

Dunk_911

I am also relatively new to road biking. I purchased a turbo trainer (Clycle-ops mag) last weekend from my local bike shop and it began to eat up my Contis so I got a specific trainer tyre (also Continental) and its eaten that too!, is it the tyre, the trainer or most likely me?

Thanks,

Dunk