# Best (not most expensive) turbo trainer



## Skibird (12 Nov 2018)

Hi Guys,

All this rain is really getting me down as I can't (won't) go out with heavy rain/wind together, but don't want to lose the strengh I've built up from going out every other day.

I'm looking for something mainly for a mountain bike and it will get used on a regular basis, so it needs to be well built. There are so many out there (even Aldi has one for £50), I'm hoping with all your combined experience, someone will point me in the direction of a decent one.

Thanks in advance.


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## Globalti (12 Nov 2018)

How long is a piece of string? Loads of retailers sell fan trainers for £50 to £100, even Machine Mart. They work fine but they are noisy and you need to set yourself targets. Next step up is a smart trainer and you will be paying anything from £300 up I guess but they can give you virtual rides. 

The basic fan type is fine as you'll cimb off absolutely beasted especially if you use a HRM to gauge your effort.


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## CXRAndy (12 Nov 2018)

look on YouTube at Zwift races and see if it interests you. That will help whether dumb or smart trainer is what you need


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## fossyant (12 Nov 2018)

If you can get a Smart Trainer. Best for price is the Tacx Flow T2240. I got mine for about £160


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## Skibird (13 Nov 2018)

Thanks for the advice guys


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## JtB (13 Nov 2018)

The smart trainers are electromagnetic so you can vary the amount of resistance. I wasn’t interested in a smart trainer myself, so I went with a fluid trainer. Of the 3 types of resistance (i.e. fan, electromagnetic and fluid), fluid are probably the smoothest and quietest.


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## MrGrumpy (13 Nov 2018)

Skibird said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> All this rain is really getting me down as I can't (won't) go out with heavy rain/wind together, but don't want to lose the strengh I've built up from going out every other day.
> 
> ...



Dont know where you live (Western Isles Excepted) but its hardly rain and wind for the whole of winter ! Turbos/trainers would bore me senseless , think your missing out on a lot riding staying indoors !


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## Milkfloat (13 Nov 2018)

I would counter that direct drive electromagnetic are quietest. Especially the Tacx Neo - but that is not cheap at all. In my view a dumb trainer gets boring very quickly.


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## Skibird (13 Nov 2018)

MrGrumpy said:


> Dont know where you live (Western Isles Excepted) but its hardly rain and wind for the whole of winter ! Turbos/trainers would bore me senseless , think your missing out on a lot riding staying indoors !


It's only as a last resort, for the past 8 days it has been raining, including hail and wind, pretty much non stop (lovely and clear today so I have just done 18 miles), I just want something I can use if the weather is too bad. I'm only 5'3" and a small size 8 (don't know what I weigh as I never weigh myself), so very strong wind can take my bike from under me.


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## CXRAndy (13 Nov 2018)

Indoor training came as a revelation to me, helping me recover from serious foot injury. Since then ive been hooked. For the last four winters, i stay indoors from September till March.. I train upto 10 hours a week, using Trainer Road and Zwift. I race, have a structured training plan with TR. I treat my self with a week abroad somewhere warm to test out my legs cycling. Then return back to regular, warm, dry and very effective training on my Kickr


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## Heltor Chasca (13 Nov 2018)

I’m an outdoorsman. Work and personal lifestyle. I always was critical of everyone who spent time in gyms, pools or even squash courts. I didn’t get it.

Fast forward and a major shift in attitude and here I am having nearly done a full year on a smart trainer. (Wahoo Kickr Snap) It is genuinely a revelation and an addiction. I am 44 and probably as fit as I was when I was fully trained for a sailing world championship when I was 15.

(Also a TrainerRoad user)


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## Globalti (14 Nov 2018)

If your goal is only fitness a trainer is excellent but if, like me, you enjoy being out and pitting yourself and your bike against weather and terrain, winter can be a challenging time to ride, especially at night. 

I'm not cycling at the moment thanks to injury and am spending very little money because when I'm cycling most of my regular weekly cash is spent in cafes or pubs.


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## wonderloaf (14 Nov 2018)

fossyant said:


> If you can get a Smart Trainer. Best for price is the Tacx Flow T2240. I got mine for about £160


I don't know what others experience with the Tacx Flow is, but I've had a couple of problems with both the trainer and the app.

On the trainer the metal casing around the plastic roller started clicking, an internet search showed up a fix using super glue which was easy to apply and still working a year later. Then the casing around the electronics fell apart so is now held together with gaffer tape.

Also getting the apps to connect with my Android smartphone or tablet can be a frustrating experience (using either bluetooth or ant+), although I get there in the end. Getting your workouts uploaded to your webpage used to be a hit and miss affair, but last night after using the trainer and app for the first time this year pleased to report that this seems to have been fixed so Tacx have made some progress.

I primarily bought the Flow to use interactively with the Tacx films but find myself mostly using it with Youtube cycling videos, some of which are really good.


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## BrookeK (16 Nov 2018)

I went for the Elite Novo Force Turbo Trainer after reading a guide and would highly recommend if you are on a budget. The days are for too short at the moment to be able to cycle in the evenings.


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## JtB (16 Nov 2018)

Congratulations, now you need to sort out something to keep the motivation going after the novilty wears off.

I think there are some good training videos here: CTXC


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## si_c (17 Nov 2018)

I reckon that for your use case a decent indoor trainer and linking it up to zwift for example would be great to help keep yourself active over the wet months. I've been using a Tacx Flow T2240 like @fossyant for the past 2 years, mostly during the winter months, but occaisionally during the spring and summer when the weather has been particularly atrocious. I've just changed jobs however and will be using an indoor trainer with greater frequency - so I've pulled the trigger on a Tacx Flux from Halfords as they have them up for £400 presently for their black friday offering, which is an excellent price for what they are.


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## Nebulous (17 Nov 2018)

si_c said:


> I've just changed jobs however and will be using an indoor trainer with greater frequency - so I've pulled the trigger on a Tacx Flux from Halfords as they have them up for £400 presently for their black friday offering, which is an excellent price for what they are.



Oh no - why did you tell me that?? I've been contemplating at £450, but that extra £50 has swung the balance. I'm not at home, but my local Halfords has one in stock and I've ordered one. Will collect tomorrow evening when I get home. Hopefully I'll get another 10% with British Cycling, taking it to £360 - well into the territory for the better wheel-on turbos.


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## si_c (17 Nov 2018)

Nebulous said:


> Oh no - why did you tell me that?? I've been contemplating at £450, but that extra £50 has swung the balance. I'm not at home, but my local Halfords has one in stock and I've ordered one. Will collect tomorrow evening when I get home. Hopefully I'll get another 10% with British Cycling, taking it to £360 - well into the territory for the better wheel-on turbos.



Yep, that's what I did this morning, £359.99 with BC discount - don't forget that you now have to go online and download the discount voucher - you can't just rock up with the card anymore. I just emailed myself the PDF download and they scanned the barcode off that, so not really that much of a problem.

Just need to tidy up the spare room so I can assemble the thing. Now I just have to justify the purchase to Mrs C when she gets back from her parents


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## Skibird (20 Nov 2018)

Thanks for the reminder of the BC discount, I've never used mine as I always forget about.


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## nickAKA (22 Nov 2018)

Buying a turbo is a bit of a leap of faith initially. You don't want to spend a fortune in case you hate it, but if you buy something cheap and decide it floats your boat you'll end up buying twice. My advice would be to go mid-range - the better the quality of the turbo, the better the resale value will be if you decide it's not for you - but plan to use it at least over winter to get some value out of it even if you find it a godawful chore.
A smart trainer teamed up with zwift works for me but there are lots of alternatives, most smart trainers come bundled with software so you don't need to dive straight into a monthly subscription service.

Sorry - my setup is the elite qubo digital smart b+, running on Apple TV, an iPad or my (android) phone in beta. All work great, and at £250ish new it's reasonable, but yup you can pick them up cheap on ebay. It's done a few thousand virtual miles and still functions as it should. When it eventually dies I'll be going big on the next one...


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## Globalti (25 Nov 2018)

BrookeK said:


> I went for the Elite Novo Force Turbo Trainer after reading a guide and would highly recommend if you are on a budget. The days are for too short at the moment to be able to cycle in the evenings.



Not true! Night riding is fantastic, get an LED light and get out there. It's probably safer as well because you and cars can see each other much more easily.


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## fossyant (25 Nov 2018)

Globalti said:


> Not true! Night riding is fantastic, get an LED light and get out there. It's probably safer as well because you and cars can see each other much more easily.



Off road night riding, even better'erer ! Turbo is handy though.


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## Ming the Merciless (25 Nov 2018)

Mtb turbo in the woods


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## T.M.H.N.E.T (25 Nov 2018)

YukonBoy said:


> Mtb turbo in the woods


At night, with no lights


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## Globalti (25 Nov 2018)

Night MTBing in the SNOW is even better. We once went up to Darwen tower in snow and bright moonlight on a freezing crisp night. My cleats kept freezing up and wouldn't engage with my SPDs. The moonlight was so bright on the snow that we were able to ride without lights. Absolutely magical!


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## Ming the Merciless (25 Nov 2018)

Mtb n snow is like riding on velcro. Utterly brilliant.


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## beepbeep (25 Nov 2018)

I am very satisfied with my TACX Vortex Smart....Simple and easy to use with free software from TACX or using a Garmin edge...


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## gmw492 (30 Nov 2018)

Nebulous said:


> Oh no - why did you tell me that?? I've been contemplating at £450, but that extra £50 has swung the balance. I'm not at home, but my local Halfords has one in stock and I've ordered one. Will collect tomorrow evening when I get home. Hopefully I'll get another 10% with British Cycling, taking it to £360 - well into the territory for the better wheel-on turbos.


Just noticed this thread and your reply,looking at the same myself Tacx Flux from Halfords but pretty new to the smart trainer stuff, does it auto adjust if you go uphill on a course and is it worth buying any good, thanks


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## nickAKA (30 Nov 2018)

gmw492 said:


> Just noticed this thread and your reply,looking at the same myself Tacx Flux from Halfords but pretty new to the smart trainer stuff, does it auto adjust if you go uphill on a course and is it worth buying any good, thanks



It's a 'proper' smart trainer so adjusts resistance within whatever app you're using, early versions of the flux had some technical issues (based on what I read online, not personal experience) but they seem to have ironed out the kinks & like most of the top-end trainer manufacturers they have good customer service.


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## beepbeep (30 Nov 2018)

TACX Vortex sMART....Im happy with mine.


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## Nebulous (30 Nov 2018)

gmw492 said:


> Just noticed this thread and your reply,looking at the same myself Tacx Flux from Halfords but pretty new to the smart trainer stuff, does it auto adjust if you go uphill on a course and is it worth buying any good, thanks



I'm very happy so far, but I have nothing to compare it with. Zwift is a bit cartoonish, and has been a bit of a learning curve, but the trainer has been all I expected. I've been on it more in two weeks than I normally would in a month, which is the important thing. I'm going to do some of the training plans, which will provide more structured training than I usually do. 

It does increase resistance on hills. Unlike some of the more expensive ones it doesn't have a motor to make it freewheel when you are going down. 

ERG mode is a bit strange. It should provide a constant power output regardless of gear or cadence. However I like to overshoot. So in the past if my target was 180 watts I'll go for around 185-190. Erg will see the level sit around 177-180. I'll crank faster to try to go over the 180 and end up with higher cadence and still recording 177. So I have often found myself running at a higher cadence than I prefer. I'm learning I can back-off a bit and still get the same result, but it has taken a bit of time.


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## gmw492 (30 Nov 2018)

Nebulous said:


> I'm very happy so far, but I have nothing to compare it with. Zwift is a bit cartoonish, and has been a bit of a learning curve, but the trainer has been all I expected. I've been on it more in two weeks than I normally would in a month, which is the important thing. I'm going to do some of the training plans, which will provide more structured training than I usually do.
> 
> It does increase resistance on hills. Unlike some of the more expensive ones it doesn't have a motor to make it freewheel when you are going down.
> 
> ERG mode is a bit strange. It should provide a constant power output regardless of gear or cadence. However I like to overshoot. So in the past if my target was 180 watts I'll go for around 185-190. Erg will see the level sit around 177-180. I'll crank faster to try to go over the 180 and end up with higher cadence and still recording 177. So I have often found myself running at a higher cadence than I prefer. I'm learning I can back-off a bit and still get the same result, but it has taken a bit of time.


Sounds good, is all the training a subscription fee ? I know Zwift is payable and Tacx premium but does it let you have basic training free, Tacx premium looks similar to Zwift or is Zwift better


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## Nebulous (1 Dec 2018)

I haven't looked at tacx at all. Just went straight to Zwift. You get a week free, and then start to pay after that..

Edited to add:- I've just found a voucher in the box for a month free of tacx premium. I might try that after Christmas. At the moment I've enough on trying to learn zwift.


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## gmw492 (1 Dec 2018)

Nebulous said:


> I haven't looked at tacx at all. Just went straight to Zwift. You get a week free, and then start to pay after that..
> 
> Edited to add:- I've just found a voucher in the box for a month free of tacx premium. I might try that after Christmas. At the moment I've enough on trying to learn zwift.


Yes did a bit of research on it last night both look similar and the free trial on both will help decide, just ordering it now still on offer plus hopefully 10% discount , look forward to training on it , thanks


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## Mattk50 (2 Dec 2018)

Hi,

I been reading this thread with interest. My budget is about £!50, something for the winter at beginner entry level. Fluid seems best for me as it'll be quieter in our small house (?). Need something to work with Strava. Advice welcome?

Matt

P.S. Can I add I live near a Halfords, not sure how they rate with cyclists?


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## Ohthehills (3 Dec 2018)

Nebulous said:


> Oh no - why did you tell me that?? I've been contemplating at £450, but that extra £50 has swung the balance. I'm not at home, but my local Halfords has one in stock and I've ordered one. Will collect tomorrow evening when I get home. Hopefully I'll get another 10% with British Cycling, taking it to £360 - well into the territory for the better wheel-on turbos.




I did the same as you just be warned you will have to buy a different axil if your bike has a though axle you can get one for about 35 pounds I was gutted when I got mine home to set it up and couldn't put bike on it lol got mine from rutlands https://www.rutlandcycling.com/


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## Nebulous (4 Dec 2018)

Ohthehills said:


> I did the same as you just be warned you will have to buy a different axil if your bike has a though axle you can get one for about 35 pounds I was gutted when I got mine home to set it up and couldn't put bike on it lol got mine from rutlands https://www.rutlandcycling.com/



The bike on my turbo has a quick release. My turbo came with an adapter for a mountain bike, but not for a thru axle. The problem may be that there isn't a common standard for thru axles yet.

My only bike with a thru axle has guards on it and is in use on the road.


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## Jimidh (4 Dec 2018)

If you want to maintain fitness over the winter then a proper structured training plan incorporating some indoor training will do you wonders.

I’ve used trainer road over last two years in conjunction with a Wahoo Kickr and results have Ben very good. I also like Sufferfest videos but didn’t take to Zwift but i’ve Got friends who love it.

I still get outside over the winter but a few hours of proper internal training is excellent.

If you find training on a Turbo boring then I would suggest your not doing it hard enough.


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## nickAKA (5 Dec 2018)

Mattk50 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I been reading this thread with interest. My budget is about £!50, something for the winter at beginner entry level. Fluid seems best for me as it'll be quieter in our small house (?). Need something to work with Strava. Advice welcome?
> 
> ...



For £100-£150 you're going to get a decent wheel-on 'dumb' fluid trainer. If you want to track your effort in Strava you'll need to budget for a bluetooth speed & cadence sensor for your bike, and, I'd suggest a heart rate monitor too, which is taking you closer to £200-£250 which puts you into 'cheap smart trainer' territory. It's a no-brainer in that respect, go smart.
As regards noise, wheel-on trainers are noisy (relatively speaking), best not to delude yourself that any one type is significantly better/quieter than another.
If you want genuinely quiet, you're looking at significantly more money than your current budget.
All that said a cheap dumb trainer can be as good for your fitness as a tacx neo if you're motivated enough to use it correctly; smart trainers just help take some of the tedium out of it and can draw you into the more social / racing aspect of indoor training.


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## Mattk50 (7 Dec 2018)

nickAKA said:


> For £100-£150 you're going to get a decent wheel-on 'dumb' fluid trainer. If you want to track your effort in Strava you'll need to budget for a bluetooth speed & cadence sensor for your bike, and, I'd suggest a heart rate monitor too, which is taking you closer to £200-£250 which puts you into 'cheap smart trainer' territory. It's a no-brainer in that respect, go smart..



Can you recommend something then in that £200-£250 bracket for strava?

Thanks for your help btw.


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## nickAKA (7 Dec 2018)

Mattk50 said:


> Can you recommend something then in that £200-£250 bracket for strava?
> 
> Thanks for your help btw.



I've been using an elite qubo digital smart b+ for 12 months, they're solid & for £250ish RRP they're good value. There were loads available used on ebay last time I looked and there are probably other / better / newer options around now at this price point, but I'll leave that one open to anyone who's bought more recently than me!

Regarding Strava - you use apps bundled with a smart trainer or third party apps like zwift for workouts / training etc, you then upload the data it records during the workout to Strava.


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## Mattk50 (8 Dec 2018)

Thanks Nick, I'm going to look for my xmas present this weekend ;-)


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## Mattk50 (9 Dec 2018)

I managed to get a trainer second hand for 50 quid. Just set it up and used it, bit boring but better than a -20c wind blowing in your face I guess. Two questions, what's the point of a resistance 'thingie' with 5 settings when my bike has gears? And also, it's not smart, how can I incorporate some stats then into my strava on my phone, do I use Zwift as above? I think it's this one I have;

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-super...BOHTxt88bk72bq-huET1wwnjSFX5yMyBoCdvAQAvD_BwE


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## nickAKA (10 Dec 2018)

Mattk50 said:


> I managed to get a trainer second hand for 50 quid. Just set it up and used it, bit boring but better than a -20c wind blowing in your face I guess. Two questions, what's the point of a resistance 'thingie' with 5 settings when my bike has gears? And also, it's not smart, how can I incorporate some stats then into my strava on my phone, do I use Zwift as above? I think it's this one I have;
> 
> http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-super...BOHTxt88bk72bq-huET1wwnjSFX5yMyBoCdvAQAvD_BwE



The resistance lever - not really much point to it if you've got gears, handy if you haven't I suppose...
For recording data you'll need some sensors fitting on your bike. There are a couple of different types, the wahoo ones are solid :

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/wahoo-blue-sc-speed-cadence-sensor-with-ble-ant/

these are the 'old fashioned' type, the sensors use magnets to measure rotation, a bit cheaper but I've found them hit & miss on reliability.

Best type (IMO) are these:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/wahoo-rpm-speed-cadence-with-bluetooth-40-and-ant/
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/wahoo-rpm-speed-cadence-with-bluetooth-40-and-ant/
You fix the speed sensor on the rear wheel hub & the cadence on the left pedal crank, they measure rotation using magic & voodoo...
I've selected the wahoo versions because they're as reliable as any, cheap ones are a leap into the unknown.

You then need to pair them to your phone and run an app of some description to log the data. I've heard a rumour that you can do it all within strava, but cards on the table, I've never had it working successfully indoors.


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## Mattk50 (10 Dec 2018)

Thank you. I'll look at those sensors tomorrow. A quick question though, you've confirmed what I thought about the resistance lever though. Can you disconnect it as it's a bit annoying? I felt the urge to snip it in an instance but figured it'd render the resale value worthless!


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## Nebulous (11 Dec 2018)

Mattk50 said:


> Thank you. I'll look at those sensors tomorrow. A quick question though, you've confirmed what I thought about the resistance lever though. Can you disconnect it as it's a bit annoying? I felt the urge to snip it in an instance but figured it'd render the resale value worthless!



I set the resistance level at a mid setting and just leave it. I think you might need the lever to use zwift. Your turbo wont increase resistance on hills for instance, so when going up hill you would be expected to increase the resistance yourself, rather than the turbo doing it.


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## nickAKA (11 Dec 2018)

Mattk50 said:


> Thank you. I'll look at those sensors tomorrow. A quick question though, you've confirmed what I thought about the resistance lever though. Can you disconnect it as it's a bit annoying? I felt the urge to snip it in an instance but figured it'd render the resale value worthless!



I'd just tuck it out of the way, without knowing how it's connected you don't want to give yourself an unnecessary headache should you wish to move it on in the future.


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## Mattk50 (12 Jan 2019)

nickAKA said:


> I'd just tuck it out of the way, without knowing how it's connected you don't want to give yourself an unnecessary headache should you wish to move it on in the future.


 . Thanks for the tip, just wrapped it around the unit, a bit ugly but does the job. I'm getting into this now with youtube videos! Those sensors you suggest. Is there anything cheaper? I'm not after complete precision, just something to clip on near the wheel that 'talks' to strava on my phone and gives me pretty accurate data. I thought there'd be something nearer 20 quid but if it'd be bad then I guess I'll have to fork out more!


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## nickAKA (12 Jan 2019)

Mattk50 said:


> . Thanks for the tip, just wrapped it around the unit, a bit ugly but does the job. I'm getting into this now with youtube videos! Those sensors you suggest. Is there anything cheaper? I'm not after complete precision, just something to clip on near the wheel that 'talks' to strava on my phone and gives me pretty accurate data. I thought there'd be something nearer 20 quid but if it'd be bad then I guess I'll have to fork out more!



I'm sure you'll find something cheaper, I've seen speed and cadence sensors on Amazon that look identical to the Garmin ones but I have no idea if they're any good or not. I can only give you my opinion based on personal experience: cheaper sensors are hit & miss where the wahoo & Garmin ones just work, every time. If you have the funds, spend the extra, think of it as an investment in your fitness and sanity.
I've got lezyne speed & cadence on one bike that's equally dependable but it wasn't much cheaper tbh. Whatever you buy make sure it's Bluetooth for maximum chances of compatibility with your phone.


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## Mattk50 (12 Jan 2019)

Thanks Nick


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## HLaB (12 Jan 2019)

When I had a similar question to the OP 4 years back I settled for the Elite Turbo Muin and I've been quite happy with it for the money (circa £250 IIRC). Its direct drive and quiet; has a good resistance and pre power meter was good for virtual power. It'd be nice it it had smart variable resistance and was a bit more portable but that would have cost more.


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## Mattk50 (14 Jan 2019)

I think I'm almost there now bar one niggle! So the trainer set up, the lead is tucked away, wahoo speed and cadence sensors set up with wahoo fitness app in front (who needs bad weather!). So this afternoon for a 40 minute 'potter' it registered only 4 miles and an average speed of 5.7mph! That just cannot be right and something needs recalibrating somewhere?


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## vickster (14 Jan 2019)

Mattk50 said:


> I think I'm almost there now bar one niggle! So the trainer set up, the lead is tucked away, wahoo speed and cadence sensors set up with wahoo fitness app in front (who needs bad weather!). So this afternoon for a 40 minute 'potter' it registered only 4 miles and an average speed of 5.7mph! That just cannot be right and something needs recalibrating somewhere?


Well done for actually going 4 whole miles on a turbo trainer  

Measure turbo effort in time so good job on 40 minutes


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## screenman (14 Jan 2019)

Mattk50 said:


> I think I'm almost there now bar one niggle! So the trainer set up, the lead is tucked away, wahoo speed and cadence sensors set up with wahoo fitness app in front (who needs bad weather!). So this afternoon for a 40 minute 'potter' it registered only 4 miles and an average speed of 5.7mph! That just cannot be right and something needs recalibrating somewhere?



Is your tyre touching the roller?


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## Heltor Chasca (14 Jan 2019)

Have you entered your wheel’s circumference correctly in settings? It needs to be the exact measurement.


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## Mattk50 (15 Jan 2019)

Yup. Tyre touching roller. How do I find the wheel circumference, is it on the tyre? It seemed to work it out. I appreciate that the resistance of the roller and road surface would give different rides but should strava record the effort as roughly the same as being outside? I felt like I have cycled more like 20 miles than 4 miles. I'm not that unfit lol!


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## Mattk50 (15 Jan 2019)

screenman said:


> Is your tyre touching the roller?


Yup


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## Heltor Chasca (15 Jan 2019)

Mattk50 said:


> Yup. Tyre touching roller. How do I find the wheel circumference, is it on the tyre? It seemed to work it out. I appreciate that the resistance of the roller and road surface would give different rides but should strava record the effort as roughly the same as being outside? I felt like I have cycled more like 20 miles than 4 miles. I'm not that unfit lol!



Some manufacturers (eg Schwalbe) list it online. Or mark the tyre where it touches the ground (on or off the bike) and roll it in a PERFECTLY straight line till the mark reaches the ground. Measure the distance between the two points.
OR
Mark the tyre and curl a dressmaker’s tape measure around the tyre.

Hey presto : There’s your circumference.


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## Heltor Chasca (15 Jan 2019)

Mattk50 said:


> Yup



But is it tight? Wahoo Snap guidelines say: tighten the roller’s adjustment two full turns past the point where the tyre touches the roller. And even says a quarter turn more if need be.

Make sure your tyre is properly inflated and always the same pressure for accuracy.


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## Mattk50 (15 Jan 2019)

If I'm not travelling 'too far' then does this suggest the friction is too much rather than too little though? Should I have the trainer's gear setting lever on the lowest? I just tucked it away preferring to use the gears on the bike.


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## nickAKA (15 Jan 2019)

Wheel circumference setting info:

https://support.wahoofitness.com/hc...y-speed-sensor-with-the-Wahoo-ELEMNT-Android-

Re. contact on the roller - your trainer (like most elite trainers) uses your weight on the back wheel to give you the friction to drive the resistance roller, there's no locking it on so don't worry about that.


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## Mattk50 (16 Jan 2019)

Ok. So I have set the wheel circumference to 2.19m and the stats bear out roughly as below but I feel like I have done a 25 mile ride not a 4mile ride lol!

2.19m circumference
3.74 miles
46 mins
4.8 mph
70 rpm approx


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## nickAKA (17 Jan 2019)

Mattk50 said:


> Ok. So I have set the wheel circumference to 2.19m and the stats bear out roughly as below but I feel like I have done a 25 mile ride not a 4mile ride lol!
> 
> 2.19m circumference
> 3.74 miles
> ...



The circumference looks right, what gear combination are you in? I think you said you had the resistance set at half way on the lever, try turning it right down and getting into a higher gear & report back. Even as a novice you'd expect >10mph.
That said, if you're doing 46 minutes at a reasonably high resistance you're getting a good workout so don't worry about 'distance'. There are plenty of people on here that will tell you that in reality you haven't covered any distance at all


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## heliphil (17 Jan 2019)

my Turbo ( Tacx Flux Smart) gives plenty of resistance, I'm only doing about 18kph ( 12 mph) at a level I can sustain for around 10 minutes


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