Turbo trainer, fridge and TV....DONE.

Tino4444

Hi All,

I just thought I would let you all know about my winter cycling plan......

I have read all of the reports regarding the sheer boredom of using a turbo trainer but that aside I feel that if I am to become stronger, fitter and faster when cometing in Duathlon events and time trailing in 2010 then the turbo trainer is the way forward.

I have therefore set up a TV in the garage in front of my turbo trainer to entertain me when the boredom sets in......

The really great thing about this new set up though is the fridge that I have placed next to the turbo trainer. I can open the fridge door to get refreshments without getting off the trainer :P Just need to make sure its not full of cakes though!!

Cheers,

Tino.

Velke

" I have therefore set up a TV in the garage in front of my turbo trainer to entertain me when the boredom sets in......"


Ditto..... plus DVD and lots of Box sets.

Hadn't thought about moving the fidge....nice idea!

Once_In_A_Blue_Moon

Sorry to disappoint you, but it will still be very boring and I've yet to meet any mortal with a degree of sanity who can ride one for more than an hour!

It's still a fantastic piece of kit though, good luck with it.

skinarelli

With a similar setup myself, I recommend an electric fan to keep you cool as well.

Alex_Simmons/RST

Once_In_A_Blue_Moon wrote:

Sorry to disappoint you, but it will still be very boring and I've yet to meet any mortal with a degree of sanity who can ride one for more than an hour!

It's still a fantastic piece of kit though, good luck with it.

I've had clients that will happily ride indoors for several hours. They watch movies. Not for me. usually 90-min is about my limit, unless I have a very specific workout planned.

I too have the video and music set up but no fridge!

ride_whenever

so you have a fixed resistance and vary the gears that you apply to it?

skinarelli

Crikey!! You could paddle down the Mississippi on that!!

Anonymous

I have my own usher!

This is my set up...

boyoonabike

How do the training DVD's work? I've just splashed out on a Cycleops Mag+ and managed two 1 hour sessions - better than not riding and helps keep the weight down.

kingstongraham

Once_In_A_Blue_Moon wrote:

Sorry to disappoint you, but it will still be very boring and I've yet to meet any mortal with a degree of sanity who can ride one for more than an hour!

It's still a fantastic piece of kit though, good luck with it.

I made it through The Dark Knight plus a bit last year - must be about 2h30? With no TV, I think about an hour is my limit.

Alex_Simmons/RST

ride_whenever wrote:

so you have a fixed resistance and vary the gears that you apply to it?

The faster the flywheel turns, the more power is required. It has fan blades on it.

The bike has a 7 speed hub gear.

I've tested riders with MAP > 520W who finish on gear 6 of 7. That's steady state power.

Since flywheel is large, it also enables simulation of acceleration effort in standing starts.

garetjax

I advise an IPOD as well, within arms reach. You can buy speakers for it so that the music blasts out. And create your own song lists.

I enjoy turbo training. I have done it for the last two winters now. I did some steady 1-2 hour sessions, 2x20min work-outs and some 4x5 minutes eye-popping lung busters. My turbo has a power-meter and I go by Watts.

Trouble is, I don't find it translates to on the road fitness. It's odd as I seemed to get better at turbo training and I saw my watts going up ( i tested myself every 3 weeks doing a 10-mile TT on the turbo). But when I did some early season time trials on the road I was no better. I found I only got better by actually getting out on the road, especially by adding hills.

I'm thinking of using a higher resistance this winter, as I am inclined to "spin fast" when I'm on the thing.

turnerjohn

garetjax wrote:

Trouble is, I don't find it translates to on the road fitness. It's odd as I seemed to get better at turbo training and I saw my watts going up ( i tested myself every 3 weeks doing a 10-mile TT on the turbo). But when I did some early season time trials on the road I was no better. I found I only got better by actually getting out on the road, especially by adding hills.

I find this as well, nothing beets just getting out on the bike. wind, road surface, gradients and hum drivers (sorry different forum for that one I recon). Think its a mental thing, I can always go harder when there something "there" rather then making the turbo harder !

Alex_Simmons/RST

turnerjohn wrote:

garetjax wrote:

Trouble is, I don't find it translates to on the road fitness. It's odd as I seemed to get better at turbo training and I saw my watts going up ( i tested myself every 3 weeks doing a 10-mile TT on the turbo). But when I did some early season time trials on the road I was no better. I found I only got better by actually getting out on the road, especially by adding hills.

I find this as well, nothing beets just getting out on the bike. wind, road surface, gradients and hum drivers (sorry different forum for that one I recon). Think its a mental thing, I can always go harder when there something "there" rather then making the turbo harder !

Well it might be due to the different neuromuscular profile that comes from riding a trainer versus outdoors. It might be worthwhile considering ways to add in that variability on the turbo if you find this to be the case..

The following is an example of a comparison between 2x20s done indoors on my "Thunderbird 7" ergobike and outdoors:
Quadrant Analysis - 2x20s