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Looking at purchasing a turbo for the dreich Scottish winter , I know second turbosare peanuts these days as everyone isupgradingto smart ones.
Can anyone shed any light on the best budget ones (up to £300).
I've been looking at the Elite Qubo, Clyclops fluid 2 or Tacx Flow2240.
Tobe honest Iwillprobably give Zwift a go but wouldnt expect much from a lower end turbo, probably more for makinglittle workouts on the software supplied .
Your advise if appreciated..
if you can ride without zwift then the best option on a fluid trainers is wiggle £99, same price as magnetic but far superior.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-crono-fluid-elastogel-trainer/
having already got a garmin, i just bought the £45 garmin sensors (cheaper alts avaialble) for cadence and speed, works really well..
search Q&A and you'll need an ant+ usb stick for zwift and you are away
Oooft, didnt know this waspossiblewith a non smart turbo. Will investigate. Thanks...
I'm about to list a t2240 for sale in edinburgh, almost new. Works well and a good way to interface to zwift etc without going nuts.
I recently bought a second hand Tacx 2240. Really happy with it so far though yet to try swift.
HI everyone and especially whatyadoinsucka
Ive got an elite crono plus the garmin speed and cadence sensors what do I need on top to run zwift on an ipad mini (original) ?
Is it just a ant+ dongle and convertor to lightening pin?
Zwift with a dumb trainer is really crap IMO, with a power meter it's a bit better, but you really want a 'proper' ANT+ smart trainer.
If you want to do Zwift then I'd definitely plump for the Tacx 2240 or similar - NZCol's offer may be worth exploring. If you're a BC/Cycling UK member the 2240 is only £198 at Halfords.
Interesting- can you expand as I was just going to buy a smart trainer but thought Id make do with what I had which is unlike me as I like new stuff
The 2240 doesn't alter resistance does it which is what I thought would be the biggest miss
The 2240 doesn't alter resistance does it which is what I thought would be the biggest miss
it does.
Cheers jambo I thought Id read it didn't- so it that the thing that would be missing instead of using an elite crono?
it measures power as well rather than doing it as wheelspeed/zpower
The Tacx 2240 varies resistance with Zwift or the Tacx app.
I picked mine up for £146 from Halfords - they often end up in the 20% off sale plus BC discount. Had it about 18 months after my spine was broken by a driver.
Oh well looks like you've made me spend more cash then- thanks stw!
Must confess I thought the Tacx 2240 didn't do auto resistance change according to virtual terrain you are riding on.
It's gone up a fair bit in price over the last year, used to be common to see Halfords have it in sales down to ~£160 (back when I had no thoughts on a turbo), but this year (since thinking one might be useful for winter training) I don't think I've seen it in a sale below £220 before British Cycling membership discount.
2240 is great with zwift, alters resistance up to a reasonable level, above 10% gradient I think it doesn't get harder but it's plenty hard enough. Nice and small and cost effective, quiet too.
Tacx 2240 FTW
The 2240 is quiet. I used to have the original turbo (until a mate borrowed it, never to be seen again)which was very noisy. You can easily hear laptop speakers over the noise of the 2240 and bike.
The 2240 gradient resistance works really well.
You can use Zwift with a dumb trainer - you generally use resistance level 3 on the trainer. Zwift then slows your avatar down, so when climbing, you'll actually change to a harder gear to keep your avatar at a good speed - feels a little strange at first but it works well. I started using Zwift with a dumb trainer, but I soon switched to the 2240.
It will have you grabbing the gears when you hit a climb. Also budget in at least two fans - one desktop one and a pedestal fan. You'll need then.
I've got one of these, a couple years old, barely used (a handful of times). PM me if interested/want to make me an offer.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-volano-direct-drive-b-trainer/
Got a Tacx 2240, plus all cables etc to get started on Zwift (Ant+ etc) on sale on Gumtree at the minute for £180 but make me an offer 🙂
Downside is I am in Northumberland and they are bloody heavy things to post !
I seem to have bought NZcol's 2240 and will pick it up tomorrow. Thanks for the replies though. Ill no doubt be backon to see what else I need to get connected.
I bought a Tacx Flow 2240 from Halfords in October last year, did many faultless miles on Zwift over last winter.
Sometimes the trainer can be a bit slow to respond to gradient changes on screen, but it's not a big issue.
What was a big issue however was that in April this year the "Amber light of Doom" appeared on the trainer and indicated a fault with the electromagnetic brake. Tacx customer support was pretty hopeless, despite several attempts at firmware upgrades etc. Fortunately Halfords replaced the trainer without question.
So, great budget smart trainer, but not without issues.