Rollers or a Turbo trainer for the winter
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I do base miles, sessions of over 3 hours at times. Worked well for keeping weight down and keeping endurance. But I do get out on my winter bike too. The key to me was getting a heart rate monitor and being structured zone 2, then mixing it with tempo and 2x20s as spring comes in.
Watched all the classics on YouTube
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What about spinning classes?
The least time efficient method as well nil return on investment.
At least giving up on rollers/turbo you can Ebay off.0 -
I think I've decided on a turbo rather than rollers, I guess now is the time to strat looking what's best in the software etc.
Google would be my friend but some first had reports of what you guys think and use would help me out. I guess I could splurde 15-200 on the whole thing and I also have a 10% BC discount code for CRC I can use.Advocate of disc brakes.0 -
I've got a Tacx Bluemotion which does the job fine, no complaints. Think it was £150 or thereabouts? Would need to use your Garmin speed/cadence sensor with an ANT+ adapter on your computer to get virtual power etc. if you wanted to use TrainerRoad or anything (that's my plan for the winter).
I think if I was doing it again I'd go for a direct drive one instead because I think they are meant to be a bit quieter and avoids wheel slippage and faffing with the rear wheel. They are more expensive though.0 -
I think if I was doing it again I'd go for a direct drive one instead because I think they are meant to be a bit quieter and avoids wheel slippage and faffing with the rear wheel. They are more expensive though.
Never used one, but I was in the proximity of someone warming up on a Lemond direct drive turbo at a TT and it sounded like a jet engine! Do agree about avoiding wheel slippage though.0 -
I think if I was doing it again I'd go for a direct drive one instead because I think they are meant to be a bit quieter and avoids wheel slippage and faffing with the rear wheel. They are more expensive though.
Never used one, but I was in the proximity of someone warming up on a Lemond direct drive turbo at a TT and it sounded like a jet engine! Do agree about avoiding wheel slippage though.
I don't know what brand the wiggins team use, but they were warming up at the stafford gp and were very quiet. I'd be quite keen on one of the new direct drive ones if I had the cash.Saracen Tenet 3 - 2015 - Dead - Replaced with a Hack Frame
Voodoo Bizango - 2014 - Dead - Hit by a car
Vitus Sentier VRS - 20170 -
I do a lot of base work on the turbo in the winter. I much prefer 90 minutes watching a DVD to freezing half to death, getting soaked, or both. I do have a very high boredom threshold though. I also find a cheap speedo wired to the back wheel and a stopwatch to be all I need for motivation - there's always a PB or a season's best to aim for!
Luckily, I have the bike permanently set up, so it's very time efficient.0 -
There's also nothing to stop you splitting up your base training sessions into hour lengths. In fact, if you had a stretch after each one, you'd probably get even more benefit.
I once built a Marmotte training session on this concept when The Boss was working at the weekend - 90 minutes steady state, then half an hour to take the kids to swimming (equivalent to a long descent) another 90 minutes steady state followed by another "descent" to collect the kids. Then I bailed out in a "Virtual Valoire" rather than doing the final 60 minutes. :oops:0 -
LOL - I bailed out in a real Valoire one day when the Galibier was snowed off and I was soaking wet. I found a nice cafe with hot choky there.
The descent back down the Telegraphe was a bit shivery....
Turbos can be great when its crappy weather outside.0 -
LOL - I bailed out in a real Valoire one day when the Galibier was snowed off and I was soaking wet. I found a nice cafe with hot choky there.
The descent back down the Telegraphe was a bit shivery....
Turbos can be great when its crappy weather outside.
Through the week the only time I have for riding is roughly 6am-7am. It's already starting to be a bit dark and cold at 6am!
So the rollers for weekday rides will be making an appearance soon I think.0 -
So from a reccomendation I'm thinking about this turbo T
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/tacx-blue-motion-satori-pro-replacement-/rp-prod86561 which with my BC discount comes in at £112.
And has a higher inertia which is apparently more realistic.
There is a higher powered one for simulating climbing and to be fair I've got big strong legs however the main aim is to lose weight, but what do those in the know think of this
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/tacx-booster-ultra-high-power-folding-trainer/rp-prod68508
Cost of the second option is £158 with the discount.Advocate of disc brakes.0 -
There is a higher powered one for simulating climbing and to be fair I've got big strong legs however the main aim is to lose weight, but what do those in the know think of this
That's a bit of a red herring... If you look at the power curve for the Blue Motion (http://www.powercurvesensor.com/cycling-trainer-power-curves/) you can easily get to any sensible climbing wattages you might want even on the 4/10 resistance setting... Only thing that might be an issue in 4/10 is gearing, I use mine in 4/10 most of the time and I spin out in my high gear about 50km/h (on a 50:12), which is roughly 425 watts on that trainer (give or take). I can't think why you'd be trying to simulate climbing at 425 watts unless you're actually Alberto Contador. Even if you were wanting to simulate much higher for some reason, 50km/h is about 750 watts in the 8/10 setting.
Basically the Blue Motion has enough resistance for anything you might reasonably want to train for on it. Booster one claims max power 1050 watts and the Blue Motion claims 950, both of which are easily high enough.0 -
Right, credit card has been abused so now I suppose I'll need a training video, nine hammers sounds good Graham from what I've seen you post before.
I assume its a download to a laptop type of thing and set myself up in the garage?Advocate of disc brakes.0 -
2 options with Sufferfest, either get the app on iOS/Android and stream them or you can download them in MP4. There's also 3 of them available to stream on Strava Premium.
Depends on how reliable your internet connection is, and last winter there were a couple of them that weren't available to stream (Revolver and Elements of Style, Revolver is good but Elements of Style is just a gimmick really).
Just trying to remember which one was which - Nine Hammers is good yeah, hard. Blender I remember being good because it's quite varied. To be honest they were all reasonably entertaining compared to just sitting on the turbo staring at the wall, but the ones I'd be most likely to do again are Nine Hammers and Revolver. The later ones are a lot more polished presentation-wise.
I think I'm going to look at TrainerRoad this winter myself.0 -
Why opt for rollers or turbo trainer? Just get your bike out on the road and ride whatever the weather. It is the real thing. it is never boring, it is different every day. You can ride the same route but the wind, rain, traffic, light makes each trip unique. This is real cycling.0
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Been looking at a direct drive trainer but humming and heying about it as I already have a Tacx which I picked up for free about 2 yrs ago. It gets used regularly during winter time although it can get quite tedious perhaps it's just me with my v.short attention span!
I stuck a Sonos 1 speaker into the garage and Mrs Al has suggested sticking a TV on the wall although I think that's 'cos she's interested in using the TT now!0 -
6 posts in nearly 10 years... you must always right then... just love a real cyclists' opinion...Why opt for rollers or turbo trainer? Just get your bike out on the road and ride whatever the weather. It is the real thing. it is never boring, it is different every day. You can ride the same route but the wind, rain, traffic, light makes each trip unique. This is real cycling.My pen won't write on the screen0 -
Why opt for rollers or turbo trainer? Just get your bike out on the road and ride whatever the weather. It is the real thing. it is never boring, it is different every day. You can ride the same route but the wind, rain, traffic, light makes each trip unique. This is real cycling.
Because when the roads are full of ice in the winter I'd quite like to be able to spin for a few minutes without having to justify myself to some keyboard warrior.Advocate of disc brakes.0 -
Having finally done a reasonable (30 mins) workout on my rollers I have to say I don't think I need much resistance as I can easily be doing 200+ watts, which I guess isn't a lot to many here but personally that's above my FTP!
I have noticed however that resistance does seem to increase with higher gears and I'm doing most of it in 50/12, would changing the cassette to and 11-28 give me more resistance in 50/11?
However I would miss the 34/30 combo when riding outside.0 -
Having finally done a reasonable (30 mins) workout on my rollers I have to say I don't think I need much resistance as I can easily be doing 200+ watts, which I guess isn't a lot to many here but personally that's above my FTP!
I have noticed however that resistance does seem to increase with higher gears and I'm doing most of it in 50/12, would changing the cassette to and 11-28 give me more resistance in 50/11?
However I would miss the 34/30 combo when riding outside.
Yes another gear will give you more resistence, but as you say could leave you short when riding outdoors. Just dropping tyre pressures a bit makes it harder or even changing tryes, I found vittoria corsas with latex turbes tended to spin out pretty easily on tacx rollers but changing to michelin sc4 take a higher power to maintain the same speed....0 -
Yes another gear will give you more resistence, but as you say could leave you short when riding outdoors. Just dropping tyre pressures a bit makes it harder or even changing tryes, I found vittoria corsas with latex turbes tended to spin out pretty easily on tacx rollers but changing to michelin sc4 take a higher power to maintain the same speed....
One thing I have learned - about myself as much as anything - is that I can't have any difference in setup between inside and outside - at least nothing which would require extra time to switch between the two. Which is kind of why I'm doing rollers instead of turbo in the first place so I don't have to change wheels / tyres and the likes
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Interested in this Thread.
I use a Turbo at least once a week when i cant be bothered to get my gear on & go outside :oops:
Thinking about buying some Rollers as sometimes the turbo bores me.
Seen a set for £100 on wiggle/
Will it be a wise investment??0 -
Interested in this Thread.
Seen a set for £100 on wiggle/
Will it be a wise investment??
Definitely. You won't regret buying a set. Excellent work out and portable enough so you can take them with you to warm up if you race.0 -
I have a power trainer and rollers. I have a bike with a Stages wattmeter.
Is that good enough to get good use of TrainerRoad, or should I spend $550 USD on a trainer with resistance that the app can control?
So for example, if you like TrainerRoad, how much of it is lost if you don't have the trainer which has resistance changed by the app?
I would prefer to not buy another trainer. And I think I would rather use rollers as I don't like clamping my nice bike in the trainer - I already marred the skewer ends. And my older bike does not have a wattmeter.
I was all about to try Zwift but now they are charging for it. I am not sure I want to pay for both. How is TrainerRoad compared to Zwift for worth-ness of money?0 -
I have a power trainer and rollers. I have a bike with a Stages wattmeter.
I assume you mean Stages power meter - not to sound like a pedant but I'm sure you'd confuse some with that!Is that good enough to get good use of TrainerRoad, or should I spend $550 USD on a trainer with resistance that the app can control?
You can indeed use it with Trainer Road, I've tried it myself on rollers but the lack of resistance means it's pretty difficult to stay in the specified wattage ranges especially as I found I was in top gear the entire time an the only way to control my wattage being with my cadence, I constantly found I was too high on the easy bits and too low on the high bits.So for example, if you like TrainerRoad, how much of it is lost if you don't have the trainer which has resistance changed by the app?
Having a smart trainer is a big advantage in that you just keep your cadence steady and it forces you into the correct power output. But if you don't have that you just make sure the bar stays green, it takes a little more focus but is by no means impossible!I would prefer to not buy another trainer. And I think I would rather use rollers as I don't like clamping my nice bike in the trainer - I already marred the skewer ends. And my older bike does not have a wattmeter.
Most turbos come with a replacement skewer and it's a good idea to have a full replacement back wheel with a dedicated tyre.I was all about to try Zwift but now they are charging for it. I am not sure I want to pay for both. How is TrainerRoad compared to Zwift for worth-ness of money?
They are about the same price. But Zwift just introduced workout mode, which starts to do the same sort of thing as trainer road - nowhere near as comprehensively but it's only been out for three days! Plus you get the riding simulation too in with the price.0
