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I've had a look through previous posts, via the search, as well as you can, but either everyone has way more money than me or the posts are 5 years old....
So...what turbo? Sadly despite the weather improving, I'm having ACL and meniscus surgery on Tuesday so no singletrack for me. Recovery for this is a bit epic and I think improved if you can use a stationary bike every day. We have an ancient turbo that I've been using for 20 min sessions prior to the op, but you can't change the resistance etc.
Considering getting a smart (though probably not super smart as budget limit is probably £200) turbo for recovery and then also getting my now shocking fitness back up in due course. We have the capability to link it up to the TV etc now and leave it in place. Used some sufferfest videos a few years ago and can see me doing something similar down the line.
Any recommendations, and what to look for? Want something that can take the mountain bike initially as think that will be easier than getting over the road bike frame .
Many thanks
I don't have a specific answer, but the DC Rainmaker reviews are comprehensive and he does an annual round-up of the best buys in different price categories:
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-reviews/trainers
If you can run to a smart trainer, Zwift is surprisingly immersive.
If you can stretch to £300, I’d buy a reconditioned Wahoo KICKR Snap from the Wahoo website. The smart control makes Zwift more fun, and it has an accurate power meter.has a bigger flywheel and hence better road feel
https://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices/bike-trainers/wahoo-2015-kickr-snap-refurbished
The other stock answer is to buy the Tacx T2240. I think its less than your budget and can be had from Halfords,Decathlon etc and is smart so good for zwift and sufferfest and the like.
I was going to suggest the trainer below for £120 but the robbing gits have now put it up to £200!
Very good trainer (not smart). Could have used remainder of budget to get Trainerroad subscription and Ant + kit to make it very effective.
Hopefully when the sun comes out Wiggle will reduce the price down again to the usual £100-£140
The stock budget answer is the controllable turbo from Halfords but I really wasn't impressed by the quality of it so if you could I'd try to squeeze a smidge more out of your budget and get something just a little bit better. The recondittioned KICKR Snap as mentioned would be a fab choice.
The Halfords tacx flow seems to be consistently recommended on here at around that budget, available for a bit less if you can use a BC discount. DC Rainmaker / Titanium geek also have good advice.
If you'll forgive a shameless plug, my Elite Rampa is still for sale and will take an MTB wheel, is fully smart etc: https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/elite-rampa-smart-turbo-trainer-200-posted/
Two-way interactive and as big an incline simulation as you can, it makes Zwift so much more interactive. At ~£200-300, that will probably be up to ~7% simulation.
My Direto has been great at keeping me going over the winter, with its up to 14% gradient simulation, can be had now for ~£550 from the likes of Athleteshop.
@gilesey I am tempted to be honest. Why did you decided to swap? Can you DM or email me some pictures? Details in profile.
Thanks for the answers. Will have a look. I also seem to be able to find the Taxc Flow and Satoris, and Elite Qubo Power in my budget.
The likes of the Directo look great, but I just don't think it will get that much use in a years time onwards, except when the weather is really bad. That said if I had something properly smart maybe I would use it more! Regardless, I want to decorate the bathroom more 😜
I'll be able to send pics early next week. Swapped for a Neo because I wanted something with a bit more power accuracy for Zwift. Rampa uses a pretty decent estimator, but to calibrate properly needs a power meter. Was about to buy a PM, but got a Black Friday price match, BC discount deal from Halfords on a Neo for £900 that I just couldn't refuse.
A *lot* more detail on the Rampa calibration here:
http://athletictechreview.com/2017/07/12/elite-rampa-review-ride/
http://athletictechreview.com/2017/05/27/elite-rampa-review-part-2-the-calibration/
~£550 from the likes of Athleteshop.
FRIDAY-13 will get you an extra 13% of that today only.
Bought my Drivo from them and had no issues.
Thanks Gilesey.
I probably wont be allowed on the bike for 6 weeks, so this is a bit of research in advance - and to be fair, the old turbo will be fine for the initial 5 mins I will be allowed to do!
I got one of these Elite Novo Smart from Halfords. With the 10% BC discount I think it's great. My first foray into turbo trainers but it works great so far from what I can tell.
I also got the elite novo smart from Halfords with an offer and BC discount managed to get it for £145.
Good points: is it's zwift compatable (others at work use it) and comes with a years sub scription to the app to run it and you can make you your own workouts.
Bad points: you have to use a phone/ tablet to change resistance, i cant see it being usefull im just level mode.
Bad points: you have to use a phone/ tablet to change resistance, i cant see it being usefull im just level mode.
Huh - thats interesting! Does it not adjust itself according to the route on Zwift? I had been looking at this one (I dont have BC membership, but it still seemed a good price). This sounds annoying.
Huh – thats interesting! Does it not adjust itself according to the route on Zwift? I had been looking at this one (I dont have BC membership, but it still seemed a good price). This sounds annoying.
Sorry, yes it adjust itself according to the zwift route. I ment if you want to use it just as a turbo.
Ah ok, thanks.
Mind if I ask a question - I’m tempted by a refurb Snap, but is the roller tensioner still a point of inaccuracy e.g. different tension or tyre pressure and your powers out from workout to workout?
Form that reason I’d be tempted not to record power from it but use my 4iiii - if I’ve paired it, can I do that?
FRIDAY-13 will get you an extra 13% of that today only.
Thank you... I’ve been thinking about a smart trainer for a while and that extra 13% made the decision for me!
I've got slightly obsessed with the Wahoo Kickr Snap this evening...budget creep!
Its not smart but I have a Tacx Blu Matic going for £50 if you're in the south east region.
Zwift asks what source the power is coming from. I believe the control of the smart trainer is separate from power. I’ve beeen absolutely delighted with my KICKR. It replaced a Tacx Sartori dumb trainer, and the virtual experience is so much better,I was less bothered about zPower vs measured power .
that being said, I also like to sit on the rollers at tempo and threshold watching races. Ad breaks make for rest periods. No Smart control, but an effort to stay on the bike! Another hour tonight to make 4 hours in the past week.
But the KICKR Snap is very good, I would expect any reconditioned unit to have any snags ironed out.
one point, buy cheap, buy twice. I’ve ridden my KICKR Moore in the past month than I did my Sartori in the past six months! Ithe flywheel is big enough to give a good road feel and Zwift is very immersive. I think £300 is very good value, and you would get more use out of a smart trainer compare with a sub one.
one point, buy cheap, buy twice
Yes this has crossed my mind. It is a general view I hold on many other things. Bearing in mind I will be fine on the dumb trainer for the next 2-3 months as I likely will slowly be building up from 5 mins every day, I am now thinking I'll maybe save some money towards something a bit better once I am allowed to put more pressure through my knee.
and you would get more use out of a smart trainer compare with a sub one
I dunno, I’ve done over 1000km on my static turbo this winter. I’m just not sure that if I’m using my 4iiii anyway (and Zwift FAQ/community comments seem to validate you can have split control/power) That £300 to do something I can do with my current gears for £0 is worth having.
If there was some evidence it’d improve my training I’d do it.
Can you borrow a turbo from anyone? Huge numbers of the things exist in a state of long-term hibernation after people discover that they are - in their raw state anyway - not remotely as enjoyable as riding a bike. We've loaned two of the wretched things to mates in the last few months.
In the long term, I've had one of the wheel-off Kickrs since last September and it's been brilliant. Super solid, reliable and great with Zwift and The Sufferfest stuff. Having a trainer that forces you to hold a set output during intervals makes a huge, if slightly painful, difference. Wahoo stuff just seems very well designed and made, if expensive.
Don't think we have any friends with anything better than what we currently have (well a couple of friends do, but they use thiers all year). Have realised we have some places nearby that do Elite, Wahoo and Taxc test stations with Zwift. Might pop and have a look and see if it is something I will actually use.
Mind if I ask a question – I’m tempted by a refurb Snap, but is the roller tensioner still a point of inaccuracy e.g. different tension or tyre pressure and your powers out from workout to workout?
That's the nature of wheel-on trainers. If you do some googling, there's a review of a Tacx Vortex, I think, where the tester dropped the tyre pressure slightly and induced a ridiculous over-reading error.
This: http://athletictechreview.com/2016/12/05/tacx-vortex-smart-review-part-2-spin-down/
Ditto if there's tyre slippage on the roller, which isn't always apparent. Or if you don't warm the trainer up for five to ten minutes before calibrating.
Basically if you want it to be as accurate as possible and consistent, it looks like you need to calibrate the trainer every session and check tyre pressure remains the same. Ideally you'd also want to clean the tyre regularly with isopropyl alcohol or similar to remove contaminants etc.
Obviously it doesn't matter if you're just Zwifting and don't take it too seriously, but if you're looking to use it as a systematic training aid and ride intervals based on power then it's a potential source of errors and possibly serious ones.
^^ But not if you are using a pedal/crank arm PM, because whatever the pressure of the tyre or on the roller, the force you apply at the crank is the force you apply at the crank.
Yeah, obviously. And clearly if you can be bothered to calibrate the trainer properly pretty much every time you use it, it'll give consistent results - or as consistent as the technology allows. I can't imagine that tyre slippage is a good thing regardless of how you're measuring power though.
Look at one of the Elite Crono Elastogel fluid trainers, you clamp the bike in and it rests on the roller using weight rather than the more traditional way of pushing the roller into the tyre which results in more tyre wear/noise etc.. With the fluid the resistance increases with the rear wheel speed so want more resistance or less, just change gear. Really quiet too. Use a rear wheel speed sensor and a cadence sensor and you are sorted.
Thanks Russell. That unit certainly looks worth considering if I don't go down the smart/full-Zwift. Would no doubt give a better ride than our current one.
Emailed you some pics, good luck with the recovery whatever you decide to go for.
Gilesey...it just dawned on me I never replied to your email. I am so sorry! Got lost in a haze of Tramadol!
So after all of that @p20 had a test of a Tacx direct drive today, and as a result we just ended up pulling the trigger on an Elite Direto at Halfords (at £606 this was some what mission creap!). However @p20 hates our old turbo, but was really rather impressed and felt with the proper thing he was also likely to use it too!
At the moment I am only at doing 10 mins in the lowest gear on the old turbo, so I won't be using it for a while, but I'm sure @p20 will get it set up asap.
No worries - Direto looks great and would have been my choice (instead of the neo) if it had been in stock!