Buying Turbo Trainer Need Help

blainj2

Hi,

Made a decision to go ahead and get one of there to try and keep training through the winter. (My bike needs serious improvements). I know nothing about these so would like some help.

I will be setting it up in the house with my Felt F85. So want to make sure it will fit alright.I'd like to not have to change the wheel to a training wheel if possible and id like a digital display on it. I have no bike computer / cadence sensor on my bike at the minute if that makes any difference. I've seen a few people recommend bike24 for ordering it from and I'm happy to do that.

I picked out these two so far so was wondering if they will fit my needs and which one would be better?

Tacx Flow T2200 Cycletrainer

Elite Qubo Digital Wireless Cycletrainer

Im not sure if these are both Fluid and if i need a training tyre.

Also they both have heart rate monitor features but do i need an adapter to get them to work. Would I be better getting a cheaper turbo trainer and putting the left over towards a training watch like a Garmin 910xt & cadence sensor (which i plan to buy eventually or something similar to it). Do people use their watches with the turbos? Is that the best way to do it?

TommyTheGun

blainj2 wrote: »

Hi,

Made a decision to go ahead and get one of there to try and keep training through the winter. (My bike needs serious improvements). I know nothing about these so would like some help.

I will be setting it up in the house with my Felt F85. So want to make sure it will fit alright.I'd like to not have to change the wheel to a training wheel if possible and id like a digital display on it. I have no bike computer / cadence sensor on my bike at the minute if that makes any difference. I've seen a few people recommend bike24 for ordering it from and I'm happy to do that.

I picked out these two so far so was wondering if they will fit my needs and which one would be better?

Tacx Flow T2200 Cycletrainer

Elite Qubo Digital Wireless Cycletrainer

Im not sure if these are both Fluid and if i need a training tyre.

Also they both have heart rate monitor features but do i need an adapter to get them to work. Would I be better getting a cheaper turbo trainer and putting the left over towards a training watch like a Garmin 910xt & cadence sensor (which i plan to buy eventually or something similar to it). Do people use their watches with the turbos? Is that the best way to do it?

Bought this last week, felt f85 also, fits well, good reviews, haven't had a chance to use it much yet but first impressions are good:

Looks well
Seems sturdy
Instructions are simple

That's all I can add so far really, Sorry!

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-crono-fluid-elastogel-trainer/

BTH

TommyTheGun wrote: »

Bought this last week, felt f85 also, fits well, good reviews, haven't had a chance to use it much yet but first impressions are good:

Looks well
Seems sturdy
Instructions are simple

That's all I can add so far really, Sorry!

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-crono-fluid-elastogel-trainer/

I have one of these. 3 years and probably 100hours of use, there not a loss on it. In that time it has required zero maintenance nor any TLC.

blainj2

BTH wrote: »

I have one of these. 3 years and probably 100hours of use, there not a loss on it. In that time it has required zero maintenance nor any TLC.

Do either of you use a training watch with it with along with a heart rate monitor and cadence sensor? Would that work fine for monitoring cadence / HR / speed etc? It might make sense to get one of these and a Garmin 910xt as it wouldn't be much extra for both compared to the ones i have linked.

Do you need a training tyre with it?

BTH

blainj2 wrote: »

Do either of you use a training watch with it with along with a heart rate monitor and cadence sensor? Would that work fine for monitoring cadence / HR / speed etc? It might make sense to get one of these and a Garmin 910xt as it wouldn't be much extra for both compared to the ones i have linked.

Do you need a training tyre with it?

I use a 310xt with cadence/speed and hr sensors. Also recently started using trainerroad, but that another days work!

It not hard on tyres, so I'm using a normal road tyre (GP4000) and its still in good shape for road use too.

TommyTheGun

blainj2 wrote: »

Do either of you use a training watch with it with along with a heart rate monitor and cadence sensor? Would that work fine for monitoring cadence / HR / speed etc? It might make sense to get one of these and a Garmin 910xt as it wouldn't be much extra for both compared to the ones i have linked.

Do you need a training tyre with it?

Same as BHT, setting up trainer road as soon as my ANT+ usb device arrives this week. I have the cadence sensor/HRM set up from using the Garmin edge 500 on the bike.

Trainer road will bring it to a whole new level

TommyTheGun

blainj2 wrote: »

Do either of you use a training watch with it with along with a heart rate monitor and cadence sensor? Would that work fine for monitoring cadence / HR / speed etc? It might make sense to get one of these and a Garmin 910xt as it wouldn't be much extra for both compared to the ones i have linked.

Do you need a training tyre with it?

You don't need to buy a garmin for the likes of trainer road if you'd prefer that set up. you only need the cadence sensor & ANT+ Device

$10 a month, even if you try out , it's a significant saving

www.trainerroad.com

blainj2

That trainer road system looks interesting alright. Think ill purchase one of the cheaper turbos soon then and get used to it then maybe another few bits and pieces for Christmas or something to give it more readings etc.

If anyone else thinks that's a bad idea then let me know please.

redved

Not sure if this has been posted before but make sure you get a compatible turbo with trainer road.
There should be a list on the website.
It won't be too accurate but it should be consistent

tritriagain

just wondering as im in the market as well is there much difference between the two below. ive never used a turbo before and am new to triathlon so hoping the cheaper one would be ok.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-supercrono-power-fluid-elastogel-trainer/

or


http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-crono-fluid-elastogel-trainer/

blainj2

^^ I was wondering the same thing. There is the same question on wiggle and they said that the more expensive one has a better resistance system but im not sure if its worth the extra money, maybe someone here will know.

There are both compatible with trainerroad anyway if i ever make it to that level.

s_gr

I am also thinking of getting a turbo, has anyone used the cyclops classic Fluid 2

Its on wiggle here

Any advice on this would be great

BTH

blainj2 wrote: »

^^ I was wondering the same thing. There is the same question on wiggle and they said that the more expensive one has a better resistance system but im not sure if its worth the extra money, maybe someone here will know.

There are both compatible with trainerroad anyway if i ever make it to that level.

As I said, I have the cheaper one and it does the job perfectly. As for resistance, unless your max gear is something like 50*14 then you're not going to find it too easy to pedal. For me, on TR, 54*15@90 cadence is ~320watts. Unless you're some kind of Bryan McCrystal, there will be plenty of resistance in this for you

blainj2 wrote: »

That trainer road system looks interesting alright. Think ill purchase one of the cheaper turbos soon then and get used to it then maybe another few bits and pieces for Christmas or something to give it more readings etc.

If anyone else thinks that's a bad idea then let me know please.

I would advise having some form of metric to measure your effort on the turbo from the start. Otherwise you're getting on with no real plan or focus, and you'll likely only last 15 minutes. Unless there is a clear plan you will get bored very very quickly. At least with a plan there is only one "very".

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Just on the resistance i would disagree with BTH, i think it is important especially if doing some BG work in some of your sessions. I know on mine if i dont adjust the slope/resistance to a 4 or 5% gradient and drop it into the 53/11 then i will not be hitting the required cadence/wattage i want ot get out of the session.
BG work = less than 60 rpm for me.

tritriagain

ah jaysus lads youre confusing me with alt the talk of gears,cadence watt etc. i just want to be able to train to heart rate over the winter for max 1 hr on the trainer.thanks for all the help lads but will the cheaper one do for a mere mortal like me.

blainj2

I know my head was spinning a bit and I was doing some amount of googling to try keep up with the posts. Bit the bullet and ordered a few things anyway. I'll probably be sickened now when someone posts up something saying they are crap!

Nearly as excited as all the lads in the office who decided to go to the shop at lunchtime to buy GTA V!

TommyTheGun

used the turbo trainer for the first time today and the readings on Trainer road pretty much perfectly matched the real time display on the Garmin , so pretty happy

Trainer is very sturdy and feels pretty good, glad I purchased. 620+ positive reviews on Wiggle, can't go too much wrong I suppose

tritriagain

Which one did you buy after

TommyTheGun

Hi Tritriagain,

I purchased the Elite crono : http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-crono-fluid-elastogel-trainer/

not sure what the OP plumped for

Kurt Godel

TommyTheGun wrote: »

Hi Tritriagain,

I purchased the Elite crono : http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-crono-fluid-elastogel-trainer/

not sure what the OP plumped for

I have one of these since last year- coming from a base of not knowing what the F*** I was buying, its probably been the Tri purchase I've been happiest with. Quiet, smooth, simple to set up and dismantle. I've friends who have cheap trainers they hate (and so rarely use), but this one exceeds expectations. Best of luck with it over the winter.

blainj2

I went for the Elite Super Chrono from wiggle, seen a few other people recommend it in other threads and it wasn't much more. Will let you know how i get on etc even though i wont have much to compare it to.

sconhome

tritriagain wrote: »

ah jaysus lads youre confusing me with alt the talk of gears,cadence watt etc. i just want to be able to train to heart rate over the winter for max 1 hr on the trainer.thanks for all the help lads but will the cheaper one do for a mere mortal like me.

Buy the best turbo that you can afford. It will last donkey's years and be of tremendous use to you.

I have an 8 year old Elite with manual resistance 1-5 on it and it's still in use every winter.

Last year Mrs. AKW got a Tacx Flow ( long term its mine ) on which Ishe can control power output, view cadence, braking (resistance) and change slope. This one could be hooked up to a computer to work with the aforementioned software bundles.

Invest in a few training videos and away you go.