Static trainers like wattbike

fixiebob

Hi all

I am thinking of buying a static trainer instead of using turbo this winter, watt bike ex demo might be just within my budget but is there alternatives that do a good job maybe proform tdf ?
Anyone have experience of watt bike or any others thanks.

twotyred

Would be helpful if you told us what you think a trainer will give you that a bike on a turbo won't.

BigFatBloke

fixiebob wrote:

Hi all

I am thinking of buying a static trainer instead of using turbo this winter, watt bike ex demo might be just within my budget but is there alternatives that do a good job maybe proform tdf ?
Anyone have experience of watt bike or any others thanks.

Wattbike feels more real compared to any turbos I have used. It is also a reliable accurate and robust power meter.

16mm

BigFatBloke wrote:

fixiebob wrote:

Hi all

I am thinking of buying a static trainer instead of using turbo this winter, watt bike ex demo might be just within my budget but is there alternatives that do a good job maybe proform tdf ?
Anyone have experience of watt bike or any others thanks.

Wattbike feels more real compared to any turbos I have used. It is also a reliable accurate and robust power meter.

It's not a powermeter you can use on the road though.
I've found that wattbikes are awesome for tempo and threshold training (winter stuff) but after getting a powertap I've found that riding and training on the road produces a different workout profile.
For example even on a nominally flat road, riding over small undulations without slowing can require going from 270 to 400 watts for a small amount of time, then 170W on the other side.
This was not really obvious to my perceived exertion, especially when fit enough to do this without my HR changing.

Another example on the wattbike I managed about 900 Watts sprinting.
I'm recovering from injury, but regularly see over 1100 on the powertap sprinting up hills ATM.

You also get your best data for analyising weaknesses and planning training from actual races where you're gonna ride harder than the wattbike.

I'll be using some rollers with a resistance unit and my powertap this winter.

lef

I would agree. Get a powermeter on your bike and get some rollers so you can mix up rides when you have to ride indoors.

fixiebob

Thanks all, i live in the far north of Scotland so there is a lot of days i cant get out even yesterday when it was nice and warm with light winds it was that foggy i couldnt see the end of my street.
It will also be used by my wife and im not that fussed about having a power meter on the road.
So i have plumped for the 2013 wattbike trainer after reading some terrible reviews of the proform tdf bike.

nicholsonsimon

Good choice. I have had a Wattbike for a couple of years now, and it's a great piece of kit for indoor training. Gives you lot's of numbers to assist you in whatever your training goals are.

NUFCrichard

Are they really worth 2000 quid? Though my rollers don't feel the same as outdoor riding, that isn't the main thing that stops me from using them enough, overheating and boredom are the real limiters.
Do people find that they actually ride lots more when they have a watt bike?

16mm

Seated, rollers feel better than wattbikes for me. I can't really ride standing on the rollers, and it feels wrong on the wattbike.

Wattbikes are great, but if you can't abide rollers/turbo then they're not going to magically make you ride.
It's still sweat and boredom, but you do have a power meter to watch. As Obrees book states, with care, power can correlate quite closely to speed on turbo...

nicholsonsimon

I suppose it's an individual thing, but for me the Wattbike was worth every penny, sometimes I don't want to ride out, especially if it's lashing down with rain/sleet, and I can do a very structured session on the Wattbike, hills, a threshold power session, a tt based one, any number of things. I use sufferfest sometimes to beat the boredom, or CTS dvd's on an ipad. I have rollers as well, but I can't get away with doing a session on them, and I have only ever used them for tt warm ups. Also there is the Wattbike ranking if you fancy a bit of competition. You're right though, if you don't usually ride indoors, a Wattbike isn't going to change that.