Turbo Trainer

thefd
thefd Posts: 1,021
edited August 2012 in Road general
How many folks use a turbo trainer during the winter months? Are they any good?

I have spotted This one which gets good reviews. Has anyone had experience of it?

Lastly - is it better to buy now in anticipation of the colder darker nights ahead or will there be good deals to be got nearer winter time?
2017 - Caadx
2016 - Cervelo R3
2013 - R872
2010 - Spesh Tarmac

Comments

  • seanorawe
    seanorawe Posts: 950
    I got one on sale in Decathlon for £80 Its good for a bit of excercise indoors. I find it very boring though.
    Cube Attain SL Disc
    Giant CRS 2.0
  • Secteur
    Secteur Posts: 1,971
    If only this had been asked before ;-)

    But seriously, try and search this topic as there have been a lot of good threads which will cover all you need to know re: Turbos.

    My consensus - I'll happily ride in almost any weather conditions, but they are good for icy / windy days or for recovery sessions when you live somewhere hilly.
  • Pumpkin Positive
    Pumpkin Positive Posts: 392
    I can’t comment on the turbo you’re looking at, I have a CycleOps Fluid 2 for slightly more money and it’s been great. I would imagine it’s a good time of year to buy 2nd hand on fleabay…
    seanorawe wrote:
    I got one on sale in Decathlon for £80 Its good for a bit of excercise indoors. I find it very boring though.

    Yes they're boring but in the winter time they might be only the only option. You’ll lose interest very quickly if you just hop on and spin. You need some sort of structured training plan to get the most out of a turbo. Have a look at http://www.thesufferfest.com 40 min videos that you can download onto a laptop or ipad and each have a different theme (climbing, crit racing, etc). forty minutes might sound like a short session on a bike but if you follow the instructions on the video 40 mins is enough. Most of them use interval training to get the best out of a session.
  • dazzlers82
    dazzlers82 Posts: 50
    I bought a turbo as I am on call every other week so I can't ride an for winter I do between 30- 60 min on there i like it because I'm still exercising rather than sitting around awaiting a call, they are boring so I bought an aldi cycle computer to see how far I can go in a set time an if I can get my average speed up.
    Scott speedster 20 compact 2013
    Claud butler san remo 2012
  • thefd
    thefd Posts: 1,021
    dazzlers82 wrote:
    I bought a turbo as I am on call every other week so I can't ride an for winter I do between 30- 60 min on there i like it because I'm still exercising rather than sitting around awaiting a call, they are boring so I bought an aldi cycle computer to see how far I can go in a set time an if I can get my average speed up.
    This may seem a daft question but can Strava or a GPS computer (Garmin 500, etc) be incorporated to work with one - just to see how far you "have" travelled? Or does it need to be a wheel based computer system. I can't see how they would work with it, but thought I would ask.
    2017 - Caadx
    2016 - Cervelo R3
    2013 - R872
    2010 - Spesh Tarmac
  • dazzlers82
    dazzlers82 Posts: 50
    Wheel based as far as I'm aware but I manually enter my data into my endomondo app so I can keep a record of what I am doin
    Scott speedster 20 compact 2013
    Claud butler san remo 2012
  • cyclinggooner
    cyclinggooner Posts: 33
    the Garmin 500 can be used as long as you have the cadence/speed sensor (the magnets are all on the rear wheel) so speed and distance will be calculated by that rather than using the GPS data. Not sure if there is a specific indoor setting to use as I don't have a turbo trainer and only use my 500 on the road.
  • Pumpkin Positive
    Pumpkin Positive Posts: 392
    cyclinggooner wrote:
    the Garmin 500 can be used as long as you have the cadence/speed sensor (the magnets are all on the rear wheel) so speed and distance will be calculated by that rather than using the GPS data. Not sure if there is a specific indoor setting to use as I don't have a turbo trainer and only use my 500 on the road.

    On the 800 (and probably on the 500 too) you can turn off the GPS for use indoors.
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    You guys need this thread...
    viewtopic.php?f=40011&t=12869366
  • verylonglegs
    verylonglegs Posts: 3,954
    Personally I found one to be the devils work, tried it once many years ago and never again. If it's too cold and horrible for the bike I go x-country running but that is something I've always really enjoyed anyway so it's not so bad for me. If cycling was my only exercise I would struggle to maintain fitness in the colder months.
  • dubcat
    dubcat Posts: 737
    I have used one every day this week because I can't get out riding and I need to get my arse in gear for a long off road ride in September. I am not finding it too bad to be honest. I do 90 min sessions keeping my heart rate at a particular value. I watch episodes of bones and fringe on my ipad while i do it.

    Really glad I bought it. Without it I would not be getting any training for the ride done at all.
    2010 Specialized Rockhopper
    2012 Bianchi Infinito

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