Just got off my new turbo...

[fossyant]

I like it because I can leave the wheel in my bike when using it, then fold the turbo away after use. Don't like the idea of the higher up the range models where you have to take your wheel out, then you have a great lump of machinery sat there and it always seems to be in the way.
I also like the Tacx software because you ride with proper video clips of real roads showing. I don't like the simulated ones with digitally drawn roads, and spectral cyclists all over the place. It just looks so false.

Have you tried Zwift, it's very good. Works really good if you have a screen right in front of you - my turbo is set up in my garage - I maybe use it once a week - with Working from home I get out at lunch on real roads. But if I didn't have the turbo out, with a bike on it, and a computer sat in front of the bike, I wouldn't bother. The advantage is I just get changed, open the garage, put my shoes on and go. No fuss.

For the money the Tacx has been 100% reliable, some folk have had quite a few warranty replacements on the expensive ones. I paid £146 in the sale +10% BC discount from Halfords 4 years ago.

 

[tdcadillac]

It's a Tacx 2240.
Pretty low down the evolutionary trail, but as I'm not training to take over from a certain C. Froome it's good enough for me. I went up Col du Glandon on it on Monday!!!
The turbos vary in what they do and the astronomic prices asked for them, but the software is the same if you spend £200 (as I did) or £1200 for the top of the range.

Thanks Darius

 

[fossyant]

PS I've got a spare wheel with a cheap tyre on the bike - it's my winter road bike, but I'm not riding road bikes anymore, so even the best bike isn't used. I'm MTB mainly now.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Have you tried Zwift,

Only the initial 7 day trial. Wasn't impressed at all.

I'm not training for racing, and am certainly not interested in the social media side of things.
Virtual races or competing against other members is not for me.
When I'm on the turbo I'm using it to keep my fitness levels up, and I enjoy riding over proper roads and watching the real videos of the terrain I'm passing through. I use a tablet next to the bike, and that gives me all the performance data I need.

Don't get me wrong - I push myself quite hard, but my racing days are long gone and I don't want to get back into that scene. I'll never be as good as I once was (I was quite useful in my day) and if I try to go back down that road I'll only disappoint myself.

Horses for courses really: I understand why others may want that sort of experience, but it's not for me. (And SWMBO would kill me if I said I was competing again!!!)

 

[Wookee]

I've had an exercise bike in my mancave for years now and it's getting a bit knackered so will probably replace it with one of these. Acouple of questions if you don't mind?

Will it only fit QR axles or will it do the old fashioned nut and bolts too?
Is a turbo tyre necessary?
What is the maximum width tyre it'll take?

 

[fossyant]

(And SWMBO would kill me if I said I was competing again!!!)

I hear ya ! Not competing now either. Do you pay for the Tacx videos, or use the included ones ?

 

[fossyant]

I've had an exercise bike in my mancave for years now and it's getting a bit knackered so will probably replace it with one of these. Acouple of questions if you don't mind?

Will it only fit QR axles or will it do the old fashioned nut and bolts too?
Is a turbo tyre necessary?
What is the maximum width tyre it'll take?

Nut and bolt is OK as the trainer grips on the nut/QR end. Turbo tyre isn't necessary so long as you don't over tighten (I've never used one). 35c/40c should be fine on a turbo - hybrid size.

Don't use a knobbly tyre unless you want your fillings to shake out.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

I hear ya ! Not competing now either. Do you pay for the Tacx videos, or use the included ones ?

I started off with the included ones, but wanted a bit more variety than they were offering so bit the bullet and bought a year's subscription. So far seems good value for money. I reckoned with all the money I'm saving being stuck at home I could afford it.

There are rides all round the world. I've just started a four ride set. First was Col du Glandon, next will be Telégraph then Galibier and finishing up on Alpe d'Huez. God alone knows how the pros do all that in one day!

 

[Wookee]

Nut and bolt is OK as the trainer grips on the nut/QR end. Turbo tyre isn't necessary so long as you don't over tighten (I've never used one). 35c/40c should be fine on a turbo - hybrid size.

Don't use a knobbly tyre unless you want your fillings to shake out.

Thank-you very much.... Hopefully the static bike will last until prices calm down

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Will it only fit QR axles or will it do the old fashioned nut and bolts too?

It "should" take nuts and bolts as long as the overall diameter of the nut isn't greater than the diameter of a q/r.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Another advantage of "wheel on" trainers is that you can use various different bikes on them. At the moment my wife's 8-speed hybrid is sitting on my Tacx Bushido. Later this evening I'll put my bike on. A while ago when my bike was in the shop and I plonked my old 8-speed onto the trainer. With a direct drive trainer you don't get that flexibility, although they do have other advantages. (I do have to recalibrate the thing with each swap which is a bit of a faff)

Indeed. It is possible to ride a fixie on one, but I haven't tried. Would be an interesting experiment!!!

 

[Tenkaykev]

Embarrassing admission.

I'm new to trainers but just after lockdown started I managed to get an Elite Novo Smart from Halfords and its been a real boon during all the weeks of shielding.
I've been following a long distance route on Rouvy ( JoGle) an hour a day for several weeks. I can see my Avatar moving slowly along and the speed changing with the hills, what I didn't notice was much variation in the effort required, which in hindsight was a bit naive.
Then a couple of days ago I plugged it in jumped on the bike and moved my Avatar to the total completed distance so far and off I pedalled. What was different was that the gradients became far more difficult, more closely resembling real world effort, I could also hear what I take to be the servo moving in and out accompanying changes in difficulty.
That's when the penny dropped that I'd been cycling at a fixed power level without realising that turbos aren't supposed to work like that.
I've since downloaded the training app that came with the turbo and can change the power level successfully in that. In addition a trial download of Zwift reveals that the turbo behaves as expected with marked increase in required effort on encountering a hill.
So hopefully that's sorted and Zwift will be the app for me.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Ha ha.
I did that too. Just jumped on and rode. Wondered why never needed to change gear. Displayed speed varied but I was always at the same effort.

Then I set my tablet to talk to the machine.
Suddenly it became hard. Only made that mistake once

 

[Tenkaykev]

Well they are supposed to work like that sometimes - like when you are doing intervals at a specified power. All you have to do is maintain your cadence and the trainer adjusts the resistance so you are producing the desired power (or you collapse). This is "erg mode".

You can combine riding on simulated roads with erg mode and the results are a bit weird. I sometimes do interval sessions on RGT. This gives you a pretty landscape you travel through while doing your intervals. But if you happen to be going up a gurt big hill in the virtual world when your session wants you to be recovering between intervals and producing low power then all that happens is that your "speed" through the simulated landscape drops to almost nothing.

Speed dropping to almost nothing on a big hill? Who says virtual training is unrealistic?

It may well be me mis understanding the App. I'd have been blissfully unaware if it hadn't suddenly changed characteristics for that one session.
I'm reasonably tech savvy and followed a methodical process to try and pin down where the discrepancy is occurring. I've emailed Rouvy with details and I'll dig a little deeper tomorrow.

 

[Mattk50]

I think I need to buy a 'man cave' reading all these things. One of those outdoor 'buildings' you plonk in the garden to replace a shed but then where to put all the shed 'stuff'....