Indoor training advice

Davdandy

As Winter is fast approaching it is time for me to think about training indoors.I will of course you the bike when i can but what could i use indoors.

I have been offered an exercise bike,now i realise they are not the ideal thing to use but can they work to keep my fitness levels up or should i think about something else.

Another friend uses spinning bikes and others turbo`s.I just done know which is the best to get.Also i don't wish to use my Summer bike on a turbo,unless i get a cheap second hand jobbie for the task.

Budget is relatively small,say no more than £150 for whatever setup i choose.

The other thing is boredom while using the aids,does a video.dvd help and can they be made to use against any machine or just certain ones.And can they simulate hill climbs or downhill or even mix the two to give a truer feeling of cycling.

Sorry if all these questions have been asked before and i know they have but hey,that's what a forum is for.

cyco2

The exercise bike will do just fine. So, no need for an extra bike. After all that's all Graham Obree had to train on to get a world record and he only had records/tapes to listen to because DVD's hadn't been invented. Save your money until you have gained some experience with what you've got and do some research on this forum...that's what it's for

sloppyschleckonds

madasahattersley wrote:

Turbo training should not be boring. If you're getting bored your probably doing it wrong.

How many hours have you spent on the turbo this year?

jordan_217

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

madasahattersley wrote:

Turbo training should not be boring. If you're getting bored your probably doing it wrong.

How many hours have you spent on the turbo this year?

Knowing him, probably more than most have spent on the road.....

SBezza

madasahattersley wrote:

For £150 you could get a basic turbo (probably don't need variable resistance) plus riser block, mat, fan, thong etc etc.

Turbo training should not be boring. If you're getting bored your probably doing it wrong. Personally I find listening to music through good noise cancelling headphones is perfect, but that's for focus rather than curing boredom.

I agree with most here, but there is no way a turbo session isn't boring LOL, no matter what you do on it, it is boring as hell, though very effective and you can minimise the boredom with music, or movies etc.

phreak

Horses for courses isn't it? I do turbo sessions throughout the year and don't get bored by it. If anything it makes a blessed relief not to have to fight through horrendous traffic to get anywhere worth riding.

napoleond

I quite like the turbo. But thankfully I don't have to do mammoth 4hr sessions like SBezza...

SBezza

I do a lot of training indoors, and although I don't find it too boring, it is a hell of a lot more boring than riding outdoors. It comes down to your threshold of boredom doesn't it I suppose LOL, but yes I have done 4 hour + sessions on the turbo in the deep winter, watching a film here helps massively.

I could probably tell you how many bricks I have in my garage I have spent so long in there counting them LOL

skinnyrider

Get rollers. Time passes nearly as quick as on the road.
Riding on the road is boring too. When you've ridden the roads so many times you know every pothole.

diamonddog

Never found it boring on the turbo, music or dvd on and time passes OK.

SBezza

skinnyrider wrote:

Get rollers. Time passes nearly as quick as on the road.
Riding on the road is boring too. When you've ridden the roads so many times you know every pothole.

LOL you've got good roads then, ours have new potholes etc every time I ride them, which in Spring/Summer is almost every day LOL. There is not a lot of stimulus on a turbo, there is plenty on the roads, time passes by far far quicker as the stimulation is greater.

Rollers are fine and provide more stimulus that a turbo, but sod doing TT efforts in the aero position on the rollers

Davdandy

Correct me if i am wrong but rollers just ride like a flat piece of road,unlike going uphill for instance or is there something on them that can make the ride harder?

I do like the idea of `free` rolling though,like on a road bike.

Wrath Rob

Davdandy wrote:

I do like the idea of `free` rolling though,like on a road bike.

You're on a trainer to train. Free rolling isn't doing any training, is it?

I bought a cheap Tacx last year as my first trainer. I think it was about £75 from bikediscount.de. It got me through the winter and helped me make some significant gains. Knowing that I'll use one again this year I've sold that for £60 and bought a more expensive Kurt Kintetic one, £15 for 5 months of use is pretty good value. So I suggest that you buy a cheaper one and then upgrade if you use it.

diamonddog

IMO there will be more options to vary your sessions on a turbo than on rollers.

Davdandy

Wrath Rob wrote:

Davdandy wrote:

I do like the idea of `free` rolling though,like on a road bike.

You're on a trainer to train. Free rolling isn't doing any training, is it?

What i meant by free rolling was the bike being free of a track or runners,the bike can flow a little left and right like on the roads,i wasn`t referring to free wheeling.Thought i should clarify that,cheers.

I am growing to go along the turbo route though,but don`t want to splash a small fortune,i have done enough of that already this year on the bike accessories.

One thing i would ask is,is it easy to add a Sufferfest dvd to help in training and how is it connected or how is it able detect your movements,is it done on cadence or some other way.I have a laptop which i could use for it but done know how the dvds work alongside the turbos.

diamonddog

Davdandy wrote:

One thing i would ask is,is it easy to add a Sufferfest dvd to help in training and how is it connected or how is it able detect your movements,is it done on cadence or some other way.I have a laptop which i could use for it but done know how the dvds work alongside the turbos.

The one I have came with a DVD of part of the Milan/San Remo and gives info on target heart rate and tension settings, it runs for about an hour and you get to 'ride' part of an iconic race. Cost me about about £140.

The Bounce

Davdandy wrote:

...or is there something on them that can make the ride harder?

Yeah, rollers with a resistance unit. Get high quality ones and they become the best winter training device - so much more satisfying than a turbo.

Queue all the dissenters who can't ride hard and sprint on rollers... LOL!

Davdandy

The Bounce wrote:

Davdandy wrote:

...or is there something on them that can make the ride harder?

Yeah, rollers with a resistance unit. Get high quality ones and they become the best winter training device - so much more satisfying than a turbo.

Queue all the dissenters who can't ride hard and sprint on rollers... LOL!

But with high quality comes a high price,something i don`t have.

diamonddog

If you get a turbo you have no option other than to pedal, if you try and freewheel you stop. :shock:

Colinthecop

The Bounce wrote:

Yeah, rollers with a resistance unit. Get high quality ones and they become the best winter training device - so much more satisfying than a turbo.

Although there's not many youtube videos of people falling off Turbos. :shock:

As a noob, I quite fancy a set of rollers for winter, but I can't help but think a turbo might be a tad easier.

ric/rstsport

rollers are good fun. learn to ride them. in really bad weather i do my steady endurance sessions on the rollers and hard efforts on the turbo

Markjaspi

I've just bought a pretty good spinning bike off eBay (hardly used and as new) and really surprised how good it has been for training. Knocking out at least 30 miles a day on it at a good resistance level so I've managed to balance the time to the distance roughly to that I would ride it on a bike and have started doing hill intervals too.

To pass the time Ive been watching the tour of Britain I've recorded or something on sky go on the laptop a s time seems to pass OK.

diamonddog

Colinthecop wrote:

Although there's not many youtube videos of people falling off Turbos. :shock:

As a noob, I quite fancy a set of rollers for winter, but I can't help but think a turbo might be a tad easier.

A turbo will definitely be easier not to fall off.

ric/rstsport

i did see someone once fall off a turbo, as the QR skewer broke and they toppled over mid-interval effort. i also saw someone fall off a motorised treadmill while they were riding their bike. both were quite funny ;-).

diamonddog

That I would like to see.

shortcuts

Possibly a stupid question but here goes anyway. I have just invested in a turbo trainer for winter but also due to a shoulder operation I am unable to get out on the road for a while.
My question is re tyre pressures when using the turbo trainer. Higher, lower or the same pressure as I use when out on the road?

shortcuts

madasahattersley wrote:

shortcuts wrote:

Possibly a stupid question but here goes anyway. I have just invested in a turbo trainer for winter but also due to a shoulder operation I am unable to get out on the road for a while.
My question is re tyre pressures when using the turbo trainer. Higher, lower or the same pressure as I use when out on the road?

Doesn't really matter. I find 70psi is good enough for plenty of grip without excessive rolling resistance

Thank you madas. Appreciated.

Mikey23

I have no choice at the moment as still not fit to ride on the road after accident. Borrowed a tacx from a friend and getting some good use from it. Didn't realise how hot and sweaty it was going to be so I suspect a fan is essential. Back wheel is looking flat so special tyre is probably needed too. Missus has kindly allowed it in lounge so TV and music relieves the monotony. I find I'm constantly pushing the gears and have average speed set on my 500 and purchased a speed/cadence gadget. I can upload to strava as well so that keeps me in the loop. It is hard though and 1 hour 20 is my longest so far!

sloppyschleckonds

Mikey23 wrote:

I have no choice at the moment as still not fit to ride on the road after accident.

Sounds nasty, hope you're back on the road soon.

Alex_Simmons/RST

Mikey23 wrote:

Didn't realise how hot and sweaty it was going to be so I suspect a fan is essential.

Yes.

Good luck with your return.

Davdandy

Looks like a turbo is the one to get,judging from the reactions here.

By the way,has anyone had any experience with the Decathlon turbos,and are they worth the money.At around £100 they seem good value but are they.The bikes are highly rated so are the turbos?