11 speed smart turbo trainer and 8 speed bike....will it work?

binka

I’m looking to buy my first smart turbo trainer. An elite suito (when they come in stock). It comes with an 11 speed shimano cassette. I’m planning on using my specialised tricross for this which has is an 8 speed. I’ll only be using the bike on the turbo trainer from now on, it’s currently not used and gathering dust.

I’ve been googling trying to work out if this is compatible and what I need to do and I’m confused. Some website say you can use this trainer with 9 speed bikes and need to add spacers. No idea what a spacer is and it doesn’t mention 8 speed bikes. Another website say you’ll need to buy a different cassette.......now I could take the cassette off the bike and keep it on the turbo trainer. Would that work? Will I need a new chain? Will it be an issue that the bike gear shifters only have 8 clicks?

Thanks.

me-109

Not without an 11s shifter. You may be able to fit an 8s cassette to the trainer though.

webboo

The free hub on which a cassette fits I.e the splines, sometimes will take either a 10 or 11 speed cassette. These are a different width so you put a spacer on before you put the cassette on. This is to make up for the different width.
I may be wrong but I don’t think that you can fit an 8 speed cassette on a 10/11 speed hub.

binka

Ok, so best thing is to keep the 11 speed cassette which comes with the turbo trainer and get the bike to the bike shop and get it changed to an 11 speed? So new cassette, chain and shifters? Will that be expensive?

webboo

I suspect you will need a new chain set as 11 speed chain won’t work on an 8 speed chain set. Yes it will get expensive.
You might be better buying a second hand 10 or 11 speed bike, maybe one that’s been crashed and written off.

fenix

I'd try it and see what happens.

Changing gear will be a no no but you might find one gear that works and adjust difficulty via the turbo ?

Or save lots of cash and get a dumb turbo with a roller ?

binka

I’ve got a dumb turbo but I’m wanting to start with zwift so feel I need a smart one to get the most out of it.

super_davo

You can fit an 8 speed Shimano Claris cassette on an 11 speed hub with a spacer. Total cost for the pair will be about £15 (as long as you can get it fitted).

But you might be better off with an Elite Zumo - it's the model down from the Suito. Slightly less slope generation, slightly less max power, no cassette out of the box and about £150 cheaper, assuming you can find somewhere with it in stock. Save the money for a new R7000 groupset down the line to bring your Tricross bang up to date!

fenix

binka said:

I’ve got a dumb turbo but I’m wanting to start with zwift so feel I need a smart one to get the most out of it.

I've been on zwift for a few years now. A dumb turbo that reads power is great for me.