Turbo Trainer recommendations?

CRAIGO5000
CRAIGO5000 Posts: 697
edited June 2012 in Road buying advice
It's my birthday soon and the missus is looking to get me one but I haven't too much knowledge about which are the best buys at the moment. If anyone knows of any decent deals around then I'd be grateful of knowing.

Can anyone recommend a decent one for around £150ish? As Im using it indoors and obviously static, is it the cadence sensor I'll need to buy for my Garmin Edge 800 in order for speed to be recorded without a valid GPS signal?

Thanks,
Craig
Ribble Stealth/SRAM Force
2007 Specialized Allez (Double) FCN - 3

Comments

  • dw300
    dw300 Posts: 1,642
    Even if the you could get a speed reading on the Turbo, it's not going to be accurate since you have no drag. You'd be cycling everywhere at 30+ mph.

    Also, if you go for a fluid or an ergo, the resistance isn't linear .. so there no correlation between the speed your back wheel is spinning and how fast you might be going.

    Just train by feel, or by Heart Rate or listen to your body and let it tell you how hard to pedal (then pedal slightly harder).

    Regarding trainers .. this is pretty decent albeit slightly over your budget .. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000BT7HWY/ref=asc_df_B000BT7HWY8288302?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B000BT7HWY
    All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
    Bike Radar Strava Club
    The Northern Ireland Thread
  • dw300
    dw300 Posts: 1,642
    I have a slightly older version of this, its pretty decent fluid trainer, so infinite resistance curve, just change gears and pedal harder to increase resistance. It doesn't have the flywheel that the CycleOps has which gives a slightly more road like feel.

    http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-crono-fluid-elastogel-trainer/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=uk&utm_content=Elite-Elite_Crono_Fluid_ElastoGel_Trainer

    Also, buy a riser block for your front wheel, or fashion one from something reasonably sturdy.

    Also, also, use code DAD10 on Wiggle for 10% off if bought before Father's Day.
    All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
    Bike Radar Strava Club
    The Northern Ireland Thread
  • CRAIGO5000
    CRAIGO5000 Posts: 697
    I'd be going off feel and also running my HRM in tandem with the speed sensor. I'd know to adjust the turbo resistance to desired 'feel'. Could I, in theory, mimic road riding by cruising at say 20mph and adjusting the resistance as a crude way of calibrating it until my HR starts to average out at say 160BPM? (Like it would generally road riding on the flats?)

    By doing that, I'd have a turbo that's roughly calibrated for me to flat road riding and then all my future intervals should bear some relevant speed and approximate distance data?
    Ribble Stealth/SRAM Force
    2007 Specialized Allez (Double) FCN - 3
  • Garryboy
    Garryboy Posts: 344
    I have the cycleops jetfluid pro and use it with a garmin 500 + cadence sensor + hrm. I'll start by saying its my first turbo so I cant compare it, but I find my average speed on it over about an hour is about the same as my average out on the road on a (for me) lumpy run.

    For example, if I do a turbo session with say sufferfest the hunted, My average mph will be about 18mph. If I do my 30 mile loop which has about 1300ft of climbing my avg speed will be c18mph.

    My heart rate tends to be a bt lower on the turbo.
    I really like it, its smooth, resistance is just changed by changing gear and its reasonably quiet.
  • dw300
    dw300 Posts: 1,642
    CRAIGO5000 wrote:
    I'd be going off feel and also running my HRM in tandem with the speed sensor. I'd know to adjust the turbo resistance to desired 'feel'. Could I, in theory, mimic road riding by cruising at say 20mph and adjusting the resistance as a crude way of calibrating it until my HR starts to average out at say 160BPM? (Like it would generally road riding on the flats?)

    By doing that, I'd have a turbo that's roughly calibrated for me to flat road riding and then all my future intervals should bear some relevant speed and approximate distance data?

    The more I think about this and judging by what Garryboy said, this would probably work.

    I am guessing that the resistance created by the propeller in the oil would be designed by the manufacturers to mimic the increasing air resistance caused as you pedal faster.
    All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
    Bike Radar Strava Club
    The Northern Ireland Thread
  • foggymike
    foggymike Posts: 862
    It is dw, exactly that. As mentioned above the Cyleops ones are just about spot on though personally I think they are a bit noisy for use in the house - I was banished to the garage for sprint intervals :)

    With adjustable magnetic ones you have to do it yourself depending on what you want (you can adjust for higher resistance for hill training etc), or go the i-magic/bushido route where a computer does it for you. Bit more spendy though!
  • CRAIGO5000
    CRAIGO5000 Posts: 697
    After some deliberation, I'm going to go for this: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-crono-flu ... l-trainer/

    It has infinite curve which thinking about and so long as it's calibrated nicely, will leave me with just normal gear operation to adjust intensity while still providing a believable speed data compared to HR and cadence values.

    The reviews are excellent and so is the price while using the fathers day 10% off code too.

    I decided it's the one for me based on it replicating a road feel with a nice bit of flex while also being quiet and not needing resistance straps fitted to the bars.

    I'm also going to get hold of the Garmin GSC10 speed/cadence sensor and a cycleops riser block. The misses is going to love this set-up in the living room! :mrgreen:

    Thanks for the advice guys.
    Craig
    Ribble Stealth/SRAM Force
    2007 Specialized Allez (Double) FCN - 3

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