[Closed] Inspire me with pics (or ideas) from your Turbo setup. 🚴

Haven't got a photo of the current penny pinched torture chamber but:

Old 42" plasma tv on the wall of the conservatory, free off a friend who'd got it free and had just been given an even bigger one for free 😄

Laptop running sufferfest, couple of old but capable of ludicrus volume yamaha studio monitor active speakers.

Minoura hypermag trainer hobbled so the adjuster is 'off' (max resistance, easier than trying to get a consistent intermediate setting).

Alternative - set of elite arion mag+ rollers. But dont use them with sufferfest as they give about half the virtual watts (190 vs 325 FTP).

Tried zwift, kinda fun but without a smart trainer just felt a bit dull and Im not spending £500 on a trainer and another £500 on a laptop to run it at a decent fps.

Cheap, trainer was £60 and the rollers £15 as they needed a new belt, laptop is 8yrs old, tv and speakers free from different sources, half the cost was probably the speed and cadence sensors! But it works and gets the job done.

Watching with interest as I've just cleared space for mine (an old fan/wind resistance one).

If anyone has any ideas to suppress the noise from one of them I'd be interested.

I need to go low tech on the visuals (no internet in the shed) so thinking of an old low Res flat screen TV that's kicking about the house and some TDF DVDs if I can find something suitable.

I am that bloody minded that I can do 30 minutes without a swift type thing but the wind based trainer noise is horrid.

https://flic.kr/p/2iGqCyR

https://flic.kr/p/2iGqCCP

One Honywell fan. Going to buy a floor standing one. Don’t normally use turbo outside of winter but clearly this is going to change this year. I do have two windows and a door tho. So good to open those as it warms up.

Built the table from some old offcuts. Somewhat overbuilt but nice and sturdy.

Just moved from a 10 year old 21in Dell VGA monitor to that 27in Samsung 1080P. Had to move the bike back to get the full effect.

Turbo is Elite Directo. I don’t think it’s that loud. Seems quieter than my old Flux. Not an issue anyway as turbo setup is in the big shed nowhere near the house.

I use my MacBook to run Zwift. Two USB-C dongles, one for an ANT receiver and one for the HDMI connector. Have everything turned to max. For sound I have a small sound core portable speaker.  Mat is a 10q quid one from Aldi.

I’m going to build a monitor stand to get a bit more height. I’d like to get something a bit punchier for sound, but not sure I can justify it. I am going to run a CAT6 cable from the house as the homeplug/WiFi can be a bit patchy.

I don't really do the fan thing in winter, maybe i should but it just makes me absolutely freezing afterwards for hours and hours.

Today i'm getting the best of both plans on Zwift, so i'm putting the turbo in the garden, the laptop on the garden table and Zwifting outdoors 🙂

I do like a bit of music though so will have that on too.

I don’t really do the fan thing in winter, maybe i should but it just makes me absolutely freezing afterwards for hours and hours.

When it's been ded cold (last winter, not this one) I've sometimes had a WARM fan on me weeksy - it's quite nice to still have the airflow

A Minoura "dumb" magnetic trainer. Really quite old. Not bothered with changing it to a "smart" one even though 90% of my time on the bike this year has been on it for one reason or another. 4iiii power meter crank rather than virtual power.

I've a Vacmaster AM1202 fan - a bit of a hurricane! https://www.cleva-uk.com/products/vacmaster-air-mover

I use Trainerroad so have the ipad on a clip on bar mount just in front of me. My iPad's really old so can't run the latest TR software so I use my wife's iPad Mini. The problem there is that the ANT+ dongle I have for my iPad is the 30 pin type, they don't do one for lightning connectors so the data is over Bluetooth. Had to buy a dual channel ANT/Bluetooth HRM chest strap to use with it.

Not bothered with music or any similar distractions - I have tried showing the Belgium CX series from GCN racing but I didn't get on with it. Zwift would probably do my head in!

Inside

Outside.
Is bloody hot inside though. Not the quietest, but no worse than the washing machine 🙁

Watching with interest as I’ve just cleared space for mine (an old fan/wind resistance one).

If anyone has any ideas to suppress the noise from one of them I’d be interested.

I need to go low tech on the visuals (no internet in the shed) so thinking of an old low Res flat screen TV that’s kicking about the house and some TDF DVDs if I can find something suitable.

I am that bloody minded that I can do 30 minutes without a swift type thing but the wind based trainer noise is horrid.

Give up, you won't make an appreciable dint in the noise of those things. the best you could do is wear headphones, but I would actually be worried about your hearing if you wanted to use it long term!

I started with a beto air resistance turbo, used it for a year until the fan broke up! Then got a cyclops mag+ which was at least half the volume, then the Minoura which is half the volume again. Not as quiet as a direct drive trainer, but the quietest wheel on trainer I've tried. Quieter than the fan, and easily drowned out by the TV at a non-obnoxious volume even in the conservatory.

The other option is rollers, not useful for sprints but my elite arion mag rollers easily provide enough resistance for cardio workouts, just not 30s sprints. The only problem is I can't watch cycling videos, even the sufferfest ones I'd keep drifting off the side in corners!
Other pros:
A bit more like riding a bike
You can (almost) switch off and watch a film, I can't distract myself on a turbo it's too dull, but rollers are just enough to keep your concentration without making doing anything else impossible (a bit like riding a bike in a group and having a conversation).
It's not a plank or Pilates, but you do feel a bit more like you've ridden a bike and exercised more than just your quads.
Everyone reacts like you're some sort of riding god when they see them, when the reality is they take 5 minutes to get used to. My only problem is clipping in and out with stiff road cleats, MTB shoes are fine, but I can't get a foot out of plastic cleats and get it down on the floor without falling off sideways.

Meanwhile on Facebook

https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/lets-see-your-paincave/375/646
Plenty of ideas on this thread.
I have two 24" monitors mounted on the wall in my garage with am 18" fan from Wicks.

One thing I keep see being recommended is a wifi plug for the fan. Then you can turn it on and off from your phone without getting off the bike. After a set of over unders, I can barely get off the bike to turn the fan on!

@thisisnotaspoon - I think a bike on rollers acts a bit more like a normal bike than one attached to a turbo. The latter just doesn't move side to side so you get abrasion from the saddle.

Good point about limited body exercise when on the turbo.

Once you get to the quieter turbo trainers a lot of the noise actually comes from the mechanical vibration being amplified by the floorboards and the void beneath the boards. Some of the trainer mats are meant to help reduce that amplification.

@scaredypants - not sweating on the turbo? You aren't working hard enough! Steady state endurance workouts I'll just start to sweat after an hour. A threshold or VO2max workout will have me dripping in about ten minutes even with a seriously good fan.

I can’t watch cycling videos, even the sufferfest ones I’d keep drifting off the side in corners!

I've only been in a "lifestyle gym" a few times but one of them involved me wathching a footy match while on a treadmill. I assume it's because I was already running, cos I don't do this on the sofa - jumped up to head the ball when a cross came over. It was bloody scary when I landed ! Didn't injure myself but easily could have

he latter just doesn’t move side to side so you get abrasion from the saddle.

I think the rollers encourage you to move around more too, so you're not sat on the same 'bits' for an hour.

Currently just use iPad sat on a bookcase shelf but considering getting a (relatively!) cheap 65" 4k TV & Apple TV, there are a fair few deals on HUKD right now (mainly Currys eBay outlet!) Just wondering how much of a difference it would make really. GF could also use it for her Les Mills online stuff though now gym is closed!!

Generally find Zwift quite engaging so just have music on or maybe a podcast if it's an easier ride (group ride etc). Have tried watching TV but kind of zone out so end up missing 95% of what's going on, works ok if it's something I've seen a million times before tho e.g. Seinfeld 😃

Been following the DIY Rocker Plate group on FB for a while - might try making one at some point (or just buy one lol)

Having a big screen makes a big difference for me. I'm using a laptop to drive zwift. It's not got the best graphics card (I can't turn shadows on for example and big groups or dust make it chug).

Here's my setup at the moment. I really need to find the front wheel support (mia since we moved house) as front wheel turning on the rocker plate is disconcerting.

[img] [/img]

Currently just use iPad sat on a bookcase shelf but considering getting a (relatively!) cheap 65″ 4k TV & Apple TV

I wouldnt go that, big unless the room is massive, I'm reasonably close to a 42" telly (wall mounted, then a chest of drawers, big fan, space to walk between the bike and the fan, then bike and the top of the screen already feels quite high up. Not a problem in sufferfest where the numbers are all at the bottom of the screen, but might get tiring in Zwift.

If you've got 65" TV money to burn, I'd be tempted to get a s/h Occulus rift and an older gaming PC to run it. that'd be pretty cool!

@nixie
I really rate the Kurt Kinetic turntable riser for the front wheel. Had one knocking about from my old turbo which I coupled with my Neo specifically to do the MTB mission on Zwift. It felt great (so much better than having bars you can't turn!) I've left it on now. Not too expensive to buy one separately either.

I wouldnt go that, big unless the room is massive,

Thanks @zilog6128 I will take a look. A quick scan earlier did seem to show most blocks out of stock on a lot of sites. The one you suggested was one of the few that wasn't.

TV in my picture is a 40", doesn't need to be any bigger than that with how close I am. In fact the old 32" I was using before was also fine until it developed a fault. I have however been looking rather too closely at old gaming PCs trying to work out the minimum spec to run 4k with everything turned on :D. Think a machine around £400 would do it. Now my work PC is also at home I'm going to try a run from that as it has a better graphics card (only one run though as it also has a habit of crashing which I don't want mid game).

I watched Sprung 4 on my phone balanced on the bars yesterday.
I pedalled hard on the race sections and relaxed a bit on the jumpy/lifestyle bits.
It worked for me and I got out of breath and sweaty in the 50 mins it lasted.
I’m new to all this but it worked for me!

Tomorrow an iPad on a music stand!

Tomorrow an iPad on a music stand!

Anyone successfully used Zwift etc outside? As the weather picks up it'd be nice to get some fresh air, but I imagine seeing the screen outdoors would be an issue?

On the subject of big screens, last year I went from a Microsoft Surface (10") to a 32" TV. It was ok but I found it didn't really add to the experience. I am back on a laptop screen (14") now and its fine. I don't think you gain anything from massive screens, unless they are a long way away.

No pics, but a description. Mine is a somewhat budget setup.
Cold, damp garage.
Tacx Flux turbo with my old alu road bike on it.
Old pedestal fan without the guard as it kept watch on the fan blades.
iPad sat on a Pound shop stand on the shelving in front of me.

I'm a newbie to this turbo/zwift malarkey too (obvious reasons!)

Got an Elite Novo trainer from Halfords (£162 with NHS discount), and heading to pick up a BT cadence sensor and wheel riser in a bit.
My plan is to try to do as much in teh back garden as possible... Will be good to do in the evenings when I've got the kids.. Prob will have headphones in, and jsut use the ipad pro screen.

Looking for a good mount for the ipad - I've aero/TT bars, so needs to be compatible with that..
Suggestions?

DrP

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49690368251_c9dd4b96f5_5k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49690368251_c9dd4b96f5_5k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2iGY8i6 ]2020-03-23_01-21-39[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

Zwift on an iPhone here, with a lightning to HDMI adapter and a big HD telly.

Works pretty well.

I've just done a VO2max workout, 9x2.5mins at 120% of FTP. Normally I'd be drenched in sweat on a workout like that but the fan I linked to above meant I'd a few drips of sweat from my brow but basically it was the same amount as a Z2 workout.

GET A DECENT FAN!!!!!!!

At 10m/s which is 36km/h or 22mph then every second you have five cubic metres of air passing over you. That's a lot of cooling that you need.

One thing I keep see being recommended is a wifi plug for the fan.

Not thought of that, it's an excellent idea!

I've got a mega cheap remote that operates mains plug adapters for the fans. Then just sit the controller on the turbo table.

Very handy as you can warm up then switch them on as you need the cooling.

Stops the "oh, sod it!" moments when you forget to turn the fan on before a race too.Lol