Cheap turbo trainer - smart or basic?

tangled_metal

Looking at convenient training for general fitness, being cyclists we're thinking a turbo trainer is one good idea. We're not athletes looking for marginal gains or even to reach a goal. Just something convenient.

In my opinion a smart trainer might give me something to keep the interest going. My partner doesn't think so. What's your view?

We're not completely sure we'll like it so not looking at spending much. I like the look of tacx bluematic for basic trainer but tacx flow for a smart trainer, see link below. So Halfords do the basic one for £99 and smart one for double that.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductMobileDisplay?catalogId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=312028&productId=1237660&storeId=10001


Which would you go for in our situation? Do smart trainers help with motivation? Is there any better options out there possibly for less money?

diamonddog

I have used a basic turbo for a few years now and I have recently bought the Tacx Flow, the smart trainer is a far more motivational option IMO. The Tacx app offers all types of training sessions including creating your own and there is also the option of subscribing to Zwift which offers a lot more and costs about £8 per month.

neil h

It's gotta be the flow smart trainer all day long, I don't think there's much on the market that comes close for the money. That and Zwift is a wonderful thing to train with. I'm not the fittest person in the world, so motivation to go exercise was hard initially but going for a quick blast is really good fun (though my first FTP test was murder).

myideal

Would totally agree with the above. The tacx flow is a bargain and with Zwift it adds something else. It's amazing how much harder you can push when in a virtual race against people all over the world you have never met. Lol

The other night 1700 I noticed online, which proves how popular it's becoming.

Finesilver24

A smart trainer will get used regularly. A dumb one will get used a couple of times.

markhewitt1978

Finesilver24 wrote:

A smart trainer will get used regularly. A dumb one will get used a couple of times.

Important point. It's all about wanting to use it and the immersion a smart trainer gives encourages that.

fixie71

After six or seven years using my Tacx Flow it went on the blink so I went to replace with the Flow Smart, big mistake for me, could not get it to pair or work properly with my tablet, even though it recognised the bluetooth connection. In frustration it went back and opted for the Elite Qubo. The Elite took a bit of time to put together and work through the various leaflet instructions but I got there and I am back to similar to the original Flow type of operating, less the cadence. The heart rate monitor registers spot on, unlike the Tacx which was always way out of sync. The trainer will upgrade with an added Misuro B+ but I'll hang on before I try that one. Unlike the Flow the Elite does not require a plug in socket, it does not seem quite as stable either due to the suspension type fixing of the bike onto the trainer. After a couple of short sessions I think I'm ready to commit to more serious stuff now, the last five days have been hectic with trial and error of the new stuff, wish me luck!

slowbike

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Finesilver24 wrote:

A smart trainer will get used regularly. A dumb one will get used a couple of times.

Important point. It's all about wanting to use it and the immersion a smart trainer gives encourages that.

yup - it does depend on the person(s) aiming to use it.

I could use a dumb trainer for a TT warmup - because it's a short period of time and focused to an event.
I couldn't use a dumb trainer only for a training session as I don't have the willpower to stay on the bike - I need some sort of visual stimulus - I've tried training videos, they're ok, but the video doesn't interact with the speed you ride at. I'm now using BKool (partly because it was included in my Smart Turbo purchase and partly because I can upload routes to ride) - and didn't commute by bike today so I could get a turbo session in later instead. For once I'm actually looking forward to doing a session.
You don't _need_ a smart turbo for the online simulators but it does help with the realism

markhewitt1978

Slowbike wrote:

I could use a dumb trainer for a TT warmup - because it's a short period of time and focused to an event.
I couldn't use a dumb trainer only for a training session as I don't have the willpower to stay on the bike - I need some sort of visual stimulus - I've tried training videos, they're ok, but the video doesn't interact with the speed you ride at. I'm now using BKool (partly because it was included in my Smart Turbo purchase and partly because I can upload routes to ride) - and didn't commute by bike today so I could get a turbo session in later instead. For once I'm actually looking forward to doing a session.
You don't _need_ a smart turbo for the online simulators but it does help with the realism

That's the thing with Zwift when I'm on it I'm not pedalling going nowhere in the spare room, I'm climbing the mountain, or going through the underwater tunnel or climbing Box Hill. The boredom - or lack thereof is very similar to riding outside for me.

dabber

I've recently switched from a basic trainer to a smart trainer (Bkool Pro) and the difference is massive. As others have said, I now look forward to my turbo rides. So far I've used a mixture of Bkool rides and VeloReality rides. In recent days I've done a couple of sections of the Marmotte - Col du Glandon and Col du Telegraphe, plus Ventoux and Tourmalet (all on HD video on VeloReality). These have all been around 2 hours + with a large percentage being unrelenting climbing. It's hard work but provides a very real challenge for me and part of the challenge is keeping pedaling with no freewheeling. This provides both a physical and mental challenge for me personally. The longest time I'd spent on my old turbo was around 1 hour...
I've also uploaded one of my French rides to Bkool and ridden that in 3D mode. Seemed to work well and pretty representative of the real thing.

slowbike

Dabber wrote:

I've also uploaded one of my French rides to Bkool and ridden that in 3D mode. Seemed to work well and pretty representative of the real thing.

I've uploaded a few of my local routes - 3d representation is nothing like the real thing, but then I didn't expect them to do a google street view of the area ... I'll have to try a video at some point (need a faster computer first!)
Riding a route you know is good though - not sure the gradients were accurate, but at least I knew where I was and what was coming up.

dabber

Slowbike wrote:

Dabber wrote:

I've also uploaded one of my French rides to Bkool and ridden that in 3D mode. Seemed to work well and pretty representative of the real thing.

I've uploaded a few of my local routes - 3d representation is nothing like the real thing, but then I didn't expect them to do a google street view of the area ... I'll have to try a video at some point (need a faster computer first!)
Riding a route you know is good though - not sure the gradients were accurate, but at least I knew where I was and what was coming up.

Yes, sorry, I should have expanded on that. The scenery is nothing like the actual scenery but the climbs were pretty close to the real thing with one exception... there was section along a narrow valley for about 3 miles that is all basically flat/ a bit downhill. I wasn't paying attention to the gradient indicator/predictor and suddenly hit an uphill ramp of about 12% whilst in something like 50/12 ... some horrible crunching sounds followed :shock:
One thing I did do in advance was to note a few distance mileages of key points... like the start of a cat 3 climb that goes up to around 12%, like the distance to a particular village just to give me some reference points as to where I was. My overall ride time was consistent with my real ride time although my segment times were a bit slower.

SuperHans808

Remember you can use a dumb trainer with Zwift and trainer road, however it will only estimate power. I've found that the virtual power calculated with my Kurt Kinetic is pretty accurate too.

markp80

SuperHans808 wrote:

Remember you can use a dumb trainer with Zwift and trainer road, however it will only estimate power. I've found that the virtual power calculated with my Kurt Kinetic is pretty accurate too.

That's an important point - just because you have a dumb trainer doesn't mean you're just staring at the bedroom wall.
I have only ever used a dumb trainer but I've always been motivated with TrainerRoad and/or Sufferfest videos.
I might try Zwift one day, but I don't need a smart trainer to do that.

MarkP

Cardinal-Red

Consider scouring Gumtree / eBay for seconds hand ones. I bought a Vortex for £220 at the end of summer and sold it in Janaury for not much difference (upgraded mine to a Neo) and it was perfect.

Usual caveats apply but those sites are full of them.