Winter training, turbos, spinning, TrainerRoad etc

Bullet1

So, with the nights starting to draw in I'm thinking about how to keep the fitness I've gained over the summer at a half decent level and give me the best possible start in the spring through a structured training plan etc. I've recently hooked up with a number of other friends who have started cycling this summer and love the idea of Trainer Road with its team creation to share data etc and keep all of us motivated over the winter months

I currently have a decent bike with an old entry level Tacx turbo trainer and temperamental Garmin speed/cadence sensor which I'm looking to upgrade.

In an ideal world, I'd buy a Wattbike (who wouldn't) but sadly i haven't got a spare £2k burning a hole in my pocket - I have however got around £500 maybe more for the right solution.

I'd preferably like some kind of fixed exercise/spinning bike which would then allow my wife to use it but I'm then concerned I wouldn't be able to get the right training program out of it an wouldn't get any power (virtual), cadence data etc unless any one can recommend something. You'd never get my wife on a turbo trainer.

Next up the solution needs to be relatively quiet - most of my training will be done in the evenings when the kids are in bed directly in the room above. I'd also like a trainer which will automatically adjust the power and effectively make it as simple as possible to set the intervals etc? Tacx Vortex?

The Wahoo KICKR looks a great solution, however is nearly double my budget but if it is such an incredible stand out solution could look to buy it over time?

Loads of questions - and advice would be greatly received.

markhewitt1978

For £500 I would go for the Tacx Bushido Smart - which is in fact what I did, was about £430. It does work really well in terms of being able to automatically adjust the resistance through trainer road.

e.g. I did a ride yesterday where the the power ramped up slowly and I didn't even notice that I'd gone from 60W to 160W without having to shift or adjust anything except pedalling harder.

The advantage of smart trainers like this is that it gives you the (estimate) power, cadence, speed etc straight from the trainer so you don't really need the sensors.

As for the noise, it's not silent (the Tacx Neo pretty much is but that's £1,000), but it's not much louder than the fans I use and I can watch TV at the same time, but you won't want to be in the same room as someone else at the time. My wife says she can't hear the trainer itself as the vibrations coming through the floor (I train upstairs)

diy

Plenty of ex gym bikes on ebay with basic computers etc. I'd avoid Spinners (STAR TRAC) though, they are engineered for all day use and quite a lot of the cost is the Mad Dog Brand, which you couldn't care less about, but a gym running classes does.

Make sure you get one that you can set-up like a bike, I have huge problems getting spinning bikes set up to closely resemble a road riding position.

Unfortunately there is quite a jump in price between bikes with computers and power sensors and bikes without.

Schwinn do some reasonable bikes in your budget with computers.

markhewitt1978

That's the advantage of a turbo. You're riding your own bike. I got an exercise bike last winter and the bars weren't adjustable so the lowest they would go is about a foot above the saddle!

diy

You'd never get my wife on a turbo trainer.

This is going to be a challenge. But int the £1000 budget I'd be looking at used watt bikes.

twotyred

The Wahoo KICKR looks a great solution, however is nearly double my budget but if it is such an incredible stand out solution could look to buy it over time?

Bit confused here. You say you want something that your wife will use and say you'd never get her on a turbo and then suggest buying a Wahoo KICKR which is essentially a turbo.

If you are happy to buy a device you put yours' or hers' bike on then there are plenty of good turbos around £500 or less that will give you virtual power such as the Kurt Kinetic Road machine or the Elite Turbo Muin which might be quiet enough for you.

Bullet1

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19722374#p19722374]twotyred[/url] wrote:

The Wahoo KICKR looks a great solution, however is nearly double my budget but if it is such an incredible stand out solution could look to buy it over time?

Bit confused here. You say you want something that your wife will use and say you'd never get her on a turbo and then suggest buying a Wahoo KICKR which is essentially a turbo.

If you are happy to buy a device you put yours' or hers' bike on then there are plenty of good turbos around £500 or less that will give you virtual power such as the Kurt Kinetic Road machine or the Elite Turbo Muin which might be quiet enough for you.

Ideally something my wife can use (which would be an 'exercise bike' as such) but guessing this doesn't exist within budget so a turbo trainer will be the best solution and just have to forego the bike we both can use.

markhewitt1978

Bit confused here. You say you want something that your wife will use and say you'd never get her on a turbo and then suggest buying a Wahoo KICKR which is essentially a turbo.

Nothing essentially about it, it's exactly what it is.

If you are happy to buy a device you put yours' or hers' bike on then there are plenty of good turbos around £500 or less that will give you virtual power such as the Kurt Kinetic Road machine or the Elite Turbo Muin which might be quiet enough for you.

At least with a turbo the OP can put his bike on it, and get a bike which is going to fit is wife properly and put that on it too. That IMO is the best approach especially with the likes of smart trainers.