Where to put a turbo trainer?

[figbat]

OK, so with the New Year I am now in possession of a Wahoo KICKR Core. Unfortunately the day I received it I also tweaked my back (ironically, whilst hosing off my bike from a ride that day) so I have yet to set it up. The location is now under negotiation, with the previously-mentioned small office still in contention but the larger 'snug' room downstairs also an option.

I am also now wondering about accessories for the trainer - a mat of some kind, a towel, a table, a fan etc. I am assuming that I can use normal versions of all of these rather than paying for a Wahoo, Elite, Tacx or whatever ones?

Any other tips for keeping the training room from becoming a sweaty, smelly mess? I am planning on trying Rouvy and have a few options available for the device to use it on - iPhone, an ageing iPad or a slightly old laptop. If I am in the downstairs room there is a TV I could link up to, I assume I can mirror my iPhone to it whilst running Rouvy? (To be clear, I know I can mirror my phone to it, just wondering if Rouvy will work well like that?). Or I could connect the laptop to it as a monitor. Unfortunately I don't have an appropriate Apple TV.

Do any of you set up and break down again for training? The need for me to put it away sometimes is higher if I use the downstairs room. There is a great space for hiding the trainer and I suggested I could get some of those brackets to hang the bike on the wall when not in use, which received the face that clearly said this wasn't an option.

 

[CXRAndy]

You have my sympathy for having to dismantle your turbo rig every now and then. The thing I like about indoor riding is the instant accessibility.

Re smells, just have a window open. Fans gets what you can afford from any sources. I would personally prefer to set it up in a room and leave it . You will add a shelf for bottles snacks towels etc. Soon it will look like a man cave. You will need music or something to fill in the longer rides.

 

[13 rider]

Instead of putting shelves up for bottles I use an ironing board at the side on me while riding I got no other use for it 😁, in an ideal world a permanent set up is better as it's 1 less excuse to hop on and ride so although smaller the upstairs my be a better choice, Avoid smells with ventilation and or air freshener

 

[Mattk50]

I have a kickr snap which I always have to disassemble due to the missus wanting yoga room. A core would be just too much faffing. I'm thinking of getting one of those wahoo bikes but I'm not too certain of the differences between them yet and none of them seem to be on lockable wheels which makes moving it a pain!

 

[Buck]

A mat or towel underneath is essential.

If you use smart sockets for your fan(s) then you can turn them on when you need them (via your phone ) rather than have them on from the start when you haven’t warmed up.

I also crafted a phone holder for on the turbo so that I don’t have to take the phone out of its current case and have it on charge whilst being able to use the smart controls for fans etc and have the Zwift companion on as well.

 

[CXRAndy]

I got my lad a phone holder(trainer tray) like this

I bought myself a side stand like this but from PlanetX for half what Zwift are selling them for. They are identical in design, very heavy, sturdy

 

[figbat]

A mat or towel underneath is essential.

If you use smart sockets for your fan(s) then you can turn them on when you need them (via your phone ) rather than have them on from the start when you haven’t warmed up.

Great tip about the smart fan idea!

For the towel, I have seen it said to put a towel over the bars/frame as well as something under the outfit - to prevent corrosion. I’ve seen pictures of bars that corroded at the stem enough to snap. I am a profuse sweater.

 

[13 rider]

I always ride with a towel draped over both shifters to stop sweat dripping on to them . A headband can be a good idea for keeping sweat out of yours eyes . Floor covering of some sort I use a cheap yoga mat

 

[Buck]

Great tip about the smart fan idea!

For the towel, I have seen it said to put a towel over the bars/frame as well as something under the outfit - to prevent corrosion. I’ve seen pictures of bars that corroded at the stem enough to snap. I am a profuse sweater.

Definitely in that case ! I have a rubber mat under mine as it stops anything soaking through and is also easy to wipe/clean

You can also get sweat catchers that attach to the frame but I don‘t see their value.

 

[ColinJ]

Floor covering of some sort I use a cheap yoga mat

I have just mentioned elsewhere that Aldi have such mats in at the moment for £5.49! (~1.5 m x 0.6 m). I have bought one to stick under my trainer.

 

[CXRAndy]

Great tip about the smart fan idea!

For the towel, I have seen it said to put a towel over the bars/frame as well as something under the outfit - to prevent corrosion. I’ve seen pictures of bars that corroded at the stem enough to snap. I am a profuse sweater.

I have a towel which completely covers my handlebars, as I mentioned, I have my fan around 45° to the side of me just in front. Any droplets of sweat are blown away from the handlebars and frame

 

[ColinJ]

Any other tips for keeping the training room from becoming a sweaty, smelly mess?

I am not going to open any windows in the house in cold winter conditions when the central heating is on. This is an old poorly-insulated house so it costs me quite a lot of money to heat it to my preferred 18.5-19.0 C. I am not going to leak that expensive heat out of an open window!

So... I was thinking about using my dehumidifier next to the turbo trainer. It is impressive to see how much moisture it sucks out of the air when drying washing in front of radiators. I could easily see it extracting 500+ mL during a long, hard turbo session!

I haven't tested the idea because my turbo trainer hasn't been delivered yet. I will report back below in a month or two.

 

[figbat]

I set it up today and did a quick installation ride. It is, for now, in the downstairs room.

To answer one question - yes, you can run Rouvy on an iPhone and mirror it to a TV. Or at least I could with my iPhone 14 and LG smart TV. Sadly though there is significant lag and jerkiness between the phone and the TV.

Planning to move it all upstairs soon and sort out a more permanent installation.

 

[Buck]

I bought a mid-range second hand PC to run mine linked to an old 32” TV which then got upgraded to a larger one (43” IIRC) that I got when clearing my dads house Depending on how you want to set it up you’re best having a dedicated computer to minimise any issues such as a PC (graphics card will be key) but you could buy a Mac mini or similar. I know Zwift runs on an Apple TV but not sure about Rouvy.

 

[ColinJ]

I know Zwift runs on an Apple TV but not sure about Rouvy.

I have downloaded the Zwift and TrainingPeaks Virtual (formerly IndieVelo) apps onto my Apple TV 4k and they work well.

The Rouvy app is available for it, but I haven't tried that yet.

MyWhoosh is also available but apparently needs some bugfixes, though I have not checked that app either.