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I managed to get a turbo trainer! Rarer than loo roll now.
Its basic magnetic one, I have a cross bike and a 26er to choose from. I have a big flat space at the top of the garden to use it in.
Never been on one, got no idea, any basic information links to get me going?
Cheers in advance
smooth tyre
whichever bike you're most comfy on
something to "do" (music, streaming tv, ...)
Basic turbo with nothing else is BORING!!!!
Sign up for one of the on-line programs like Sufferfest, Trainerroad, Zwift, etc. A few of these are doing a month's free introduction at the moment so you don't have to shell out cash unless you wish to carry on.
The trainer lifts the back wheel off the ground so unless you wish your weight to be forced onto the bars get something to lift the front wheel up a bit - an old telephone directory will do.
Get a fan, a really good one, no! better than that one. It gets really hot when you aren't moving through the air. Your frontal area is about 0.5m2 so at 5m/s (18kmh) that would be 2.5m2 of air passing over you every second so you can see you need something decent. Unfortunately, like trainers, they are getting to be rarer than hen's teeth.
Get a turbo specific tyre for the cross bike, a slick tyre will do but for a wheel-on trainer you are likely to end up with bits of rubber scattered behind the trainer.
The bike doesn't move, no really, it doesn't. So it will take your arse a while to get accustomed to it.
Top tip - turns out you cannot dump your turbo trainer behind the shed for three years and then expect it to work again.
A good fan is essential
Cheers everyone so far, I have a great view from the garden. So weather permitting I will be outside. I'll build a block from wood when I get it.
Do you have to have a smart trainer to use Zwift etc?
Any links to a training programme I can write down, print out, put on an iPad?
cooling, towel over bars and something to watch. Don't bother with zwift et al for a basic trainer.
Dunno about Zwift but you don't need one for Trainerroad, I've a "dumb" magnetic trainer and it's fine for TR.
I've not tried it recently but you used to be able to create workouts in one of the Garmin software packages and download it to a unit to follow on the trainer. Sort of: five minutes @ X, five minutes @ X*1.5, two minutes at 2*X, four minutes at X*0.6 then (2 minutes at X * 2.5, 2 minutes at X*2) repeat five times, etc. Where X is usually power but could be HR.
Generally, spend a few minutes warming up, either ramp or stepped increase, a bit of a rest then intervals of some kind with rest in between, maybe a longer rest then more intervals then a cool down. The harder the effort in the interval the shorter it will be and you usually target one "area" per workout. If you can see this: https://www.trainerroad.com/app/career/bobw/rides/75932506-dade-1 then it's three sets of three x three minutes at VO2max with four minutes between efforts and six minutes between each set. The horizontal white line is my FTP - the notional power I can hold for an hour, the red line is my HR, white line near the bottom is cadence. Whereas this is holding near FTP for extended periods - https://www.trainerroad.com/app/career/bobw/rides/75589928-fish-2 so longer intervals but lower power.
Basic turbo as others have said fan, water and towel. I do it watching training videos on YouTube. CTXC videos are good if you want to ride Australian roads they do loads of different lengths from 20 minute HIIT to 2 hour rides
Cheers everyone, any thoughts on tyres? a normal slick?
A slick will do but it will become polished due to inevitable slips on the roller. I use a turbo specific tyre, but it's one that really you need a dedicated wheel for since they definitely are not for outdoor riding.
Every session needs a purpose when you're on a turbo.
Do it once without any kind of plan and 5minutes will seem like 5 hours and utterly utterly pointless.
Whether it's to go steady for 10 songs on your playlist or to do 5 minutes at the same cadence in each sprocket up and down the cassette. Or whether it's a number of 10/15/30 second sprints.....
And then you need to plan when you're next going to do it.
And at the back of your mind, you always need to remember, however dull, that it is to keep you fit for when you do go outside.
Zwift - does feel a bit crap on a basic trainer.
Trainerroad - great for structured training
Sufferfest - like trainerroad but with a sense of humour. The workouts are more like actual rides with much more tweaking of power/cadence.
Get speed, cadence and HR sensors and a dongle + extension cable. And work through the free trials on each program. TBH turbo training is f****** dull, anyone who can do it without one of those programs has my admiration/sympathy/concern!
Also its much harder to judge constant efforts. Threshold efforts in particular feel easy on the turbo, like youre barely trying then all of a sudden the wave of lactic acid hits you at 15minutes.
First thing you need is discipline.
All the fancy software and training programmes are a waste of time and money without it.
You could always go a little more old school if you need distraction, and put the telly on in front of it.