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A pal of mine has a Ribble 7005 and wants to build his legs come rain or shine.
He has asked what is the best design of trainer on a low budget and would it be rear wheel on or off.
Over to you lot
Recommend what you’ve got. Kurt Kinetic Road Machine - brilliant thing, dead simple wheel on fluid trainer that just works. Built like a tank too and has a pretty realistic road feel. I’ve put out (very briefly) nearly 800W on it so gets plenty hard enough if you try.
Get the one with the v3 power pod thing and it’ll even talk to Zwift with an uncannily accurate power reading (although it does not have ERG or anything - you want harder, pedal harder).
Can be had second hand even in the current climate for the right side of £200. Love mine and at the moment don’t see the need for a full smart trainer.
Low budget?
Speed sensor, pc ANT+ dongle, dumb turbo with a zwift subscription using his current bike. You have to be a bit honest with yourself, as it's easy to drop the dumb turbo resistance so you look like your pushing 400w like a pro.
The values given might be not be accurate but they will be precise enough to measure the improvement. Do the 4 week FTP booster.
I upgraded to a smart turbo for 300 quid which is more accurate and a bit nicer but not sure it's 300 quid better tbh, more honest mind.
Wheel off looks a faff compared to the locking a full bike in but I've never tried it.
I've seen a jump from 185 to 220 FTP in 3 months despite being very ill for 6 weeks in the middle
Does he have any intentions of using Zwift or such?
Or is he just going to listen to music/watch a movie on a TV/tablet whilst he rides?
He wants to spin the legs consistently.
Living in Lancashire it gets wet and he wants to get leg strong in a measured time.
So reflecting that it’s just a simple machine and listening to the radio.
Thanks for the initial replies, it’s very much appreciated
Has he ever used a turbo before mate?
Poopscoop, in reply no he has not
A fan is worth having. Something that generates enough movement of air to be noticeable. Not an oscillating one, just point and blast. Without a fan turbo training is a sweaty horrible painful business. Enjoy!
Without a fan turbo training is a sweaty horrible painful business.
It's the same WITH a fan, just fractionally less sweat 😀
If he just wants to spin then a wheel on dumb turbo will be the cheapest option.
Chances are he’s already got a speed/cadence sensor so if he gets Zwift-curious he’s only a dongle away from a virtual ride.
I use all of the above as the turbo’s the last resort so no point spending loads. Zwift supports some dumb turbos, mine included, although you have to stick to their resistance setting. Which in my case means power tops out at 375w for my legs/gearing/turbo combo.
It’s the same WITH a fan, just
fractionally less sweatjust the sweat puddle is fractionally further back 😀
The cheapest second hand turbo he can find to see if he will actually use it. I can manage half an hour tops before i'm not interested anymore. So i just do high intensity stuff then gracefully climb off. The resistance cable was gubbed so i cut it off. Its on hard constantly and i just use the gears. Riding for long periods is for outside.
Wheel off looks a faff compared to the locking a full bike in but I’ve never tried it.
Much less faff for me (wheel off) as you don’t need to worry about getting a consistent pressure between wheel and the trainer.