turbo vs wattbike

gimli1001

The gym i got to has 4 watt bikes that i have now been inducted onto and there set up with a big screen to watch training vids such as the sufferfest

I pretty much have access to them every day, so would i be wasting hard earned pennies shelling out for a turbo trainer or are they worth it for time on the bike

AK_jnr

Depends how precious time is to you I spose. Turbos are great for hopping on in 5 mins but the wattbikes are brilliant so its up to you to weigh it up really. Unless you have a load of spare cash in which case get a wahoo kickr!

Dippydog3

AK_jnr wrote:

Depends how precious time is to you I spose. Turbos are great for hopping on in 5 mins but the wattbikes are brilliant so its up to you to weigh it up really. Unless you have a load of spare cash in which case get a wahoo kickr!

or even better, buy your own wattbike.

Alex_Simmons/RST

What matters most is doing the training. Consistently.

So whatever strategy resulting in that outcome is what will see your fitness best improve. For some they need others around them and/or other motivational aids, while some will prefer the convenience of doing the work in their own home.

diy

I'd use the watt bikes and just download my data. Just make notes of your set-up so that you can keep it the same each time. if you are lucky you'll get someone spin up next to you to bring you a bit of fight.

cougie

Alex nails it.

Will you use the Watt bikes ? Will you use the turbo ? What are you doing on the bikes ? Do you have a plan ? What do you want ?

'Racing' someone on the bike next to you might help you occasionally - but you'd do better with a proper plan and proper focussed sessions. Not every session is a race.

MikeWW

Personally I much prefer to ride MY bike on a turbo.
Also I find the Q factor different on the Watt bikes

ai_1

gimli1001 wrote:

The gym i got to has 4 watt bikes that i have now been inducted onto and there set up with a big screen to watch training vids such as the sufferfest

I pretty much have access to them every day, so would i be wasting hard earned pennies shelling out for a turbo trainer or are they worth it for time on the bike

That's really a question only you can answer.
I haven't used a watt bikes but as I understand it they're as good or better than a turbo for static training. The only upside of a turbo is that the saddle is your usual one. The answer to your question really depends on your circumstances and preferences not any specific difference between turbos and watt bikes. If it suits you, timewise, to use the bikes at the gym and you find it an acceptable place to train then I see no upside to the turbo trainer. It costs more, takes up space at home, creates noise at home which may or may not annoy others.
On the other hand, if you don't like spending lots of time in the gym or if the times at which you could use the bikes there doesn't suit you, or if it's too warm, or you find it hard to get comfortable on the watt bikes or for any other reason you think you won't use the watt bikes but would use a turbo, then maybe it's worth it. However, I don't think most people use their turbo as often as they foresee when they buy it.

gimli1001

thankyou for all the advice so then:

first off i do have a training plan that im following that has 3 or 4 turbo sessions a week and then 2 actual rides, the wattbikes are very good and give me data that i can download, my current cycling computer dosent work on my back whell so id need to buy new as well, so all thing considered it seems to boil down to personal preference so im gonna stick to the wattbike and use my hard earned cash on something else

many thanks for all the different views

steve

Silly Old Hector

Noticed tonight that my gym has just introduced 4 Wattbikes. Had a quick go with the 3min pedal test ( interesting data ), with my Garmin HR monitor being read by the Wattbike computer.

How do you get Wattbike power data back on to a Garmin or dowload the data ?

gimli1001

hector

not sure really never used a garmin with them, i always just plug a memory stick in

Silly Old Hector

Wattbike website is great for info, plans and general FAQs.

The Trainer Model B bikes in my gym can read Garmin ANT+ HR sensors and can write back to Garmin Edge computers. There's a bit of setting up to do, but looks OK.

I will try this in the next couple of days and let you know (felt guilty that the weather was OK today, so went on the road instead )

Dippydog3

Silly Old Hector wrote:

Noticed tonight that my gym has just introduced 4 Wattbikes. Had a quick go with the 3min pedal test ( interesting data ), with my Garmin HR monitor being read by the Wattbike computer.

How do you get Wattbike power data back on to a Garmin or dowload the data ?

Its easy. You just link the Garmin to the Wattbike via ANT+ just like your own bike.

I dont bother downloading from the Wattbike. By all means look at the screen, but record the ride realtime on your Garmin.

dyrlac

Also talks to a Garmin Forerunner 620 via ant+, tell the Wattbike to broadcast speed+cadence and tell the garmin to add a new sensor; I haven't yet figured out how to get power data to transmit.