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Bought the wife a turbo trainer to use while the gyms were shut using my bro in laws GT hybrid.
Now she's back at the gym I've put it away but thought I'd get her own bike built ready for Winter and was after some advice.
Already got the old wheels from my Genesis CdF I can use so it's a frame/fork and drive train issue next.
Do I literally pick up any old road frame I can get cheap, as it's not going to be used outside, and should I keep things simple with a 1x drivetrain as there's no need for brakes so can just get a single brifter?
Is this a wheel-on trainer? Assuming it is I'd just get anything in her size, road or mtb. If you get the latter get a new turbo trainer tyre, too.
And the 1x drivetrain is complicating things if you're talking about a road bike, rather than making it simpler.
Yep, any old road frame will be fine.
You may want 2 brifters just so you can ride on the hoods, not essential though.
1x will be fine but don't be shy on the chainring size, 50t minimum, or you'll spin out.
Is it a smart turbo? I used a 38T oval single ring on zwift and it was fine apart from the biggest of sprints. A simple turbo tho would need something bigger I reckon.
Narrow wide also necessary if there is any gear changing, as you can slip the chain. If it's more for block interval training where there's no rapid gear changing then any old chain ring prob fine.
If she's going to be doing some committed sessions over winter then make sure the 'any old road frame' is a good fit. The turbo can get v uncomfortable with an ill-fitting bike.
Yeah obviously "any old road frame" is one in her size just meant it doesn't need to be anything decent just cheap and cheerful.
She doesn't cycle so it's not specific training or zwift sessions it's just interval training done via her garmin watch so minimal gear changes though it was pretty much all done in 24th gear so a decent size chainring is a good shout.
Good point about riding the hoods also, never thought about that as previously the bike had flat bars!
Would some bull horn handlebars work? with a flat bar shifter
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/HBSELKP50/selcof-kp50-bull-horn-alloy-handlebar
50t minimum, or you’ll spin out.
Take this advice with caution. It will depend massively on the turbo set up: even on a dumb trainer I only ever needed to use a 50t ring for high torque efforts. I’d really struggle to get recovery intervals without my 34t.
Not to say your setup should match mine in any way, just that it varies a lot between setups and riders so just go with whatever gears suit your wife best
Take this advice with caution. It will depend massively on the turbo set up: even on a dumb trainer I only ever needed to use a 50t ring for high torque efforts. I’d really struggle to get recovery intervals without my 34t.
For ERG mode (which I'm guessing she's using if it's workouts on the Garmin) I believe the current recommendation is to use the small ring on most turbos. Certainly on mine I do 95% of the workouts on the middle ring of an aging Sora triple, I only ever use the big ring for proper big sprints. Which incidentally are crap on a wheel-on turbo as the resistance goes haywire when you unweight the back wheel 🙁
Which incidentally are crap on a wheel-on turbo as the resistance goes haywire when you unweight the back wheel
That should not happen and it doesn't happen if the turbos set up right. The wheels in a fixed location held tight by the skewer and the tension on the spring roller holds it against the wheel with a fixed tension.
So either it's a crap trainer or its set up wrong. -or I've also experianced it when I've been too lazy to fit a turbo tire and just chucked the bike on .....the tire can't cope with the torque of the sprint against a shiny metal roller.
Another point to check is that your wheels and road frame are the same spacing. The tour de fer is 135 spacing if the cdf is the same many road frames run 130. So best check that